《The Strongest Businessman》 1 Chapter 1: The Tragic Tale of Brothers Dylan Ford, the most influential and successful businessman of Earth, he established the world renowned Omega Trading Corporation, the biggest multinational corporation of the year 2050. He has branch companies in more then 50 countries. He is a very charismatic person and can easily communicate with people and seal any deal or contract with ease. He is also known to be "The Greatest Businessman on Earth" because of his accomplishment of being able to establish OTC (Omega Trading Corporation). Being a person who has reached the peak of the Business World, he also has many enemies. Threatened that they might not be able to bring him down, they bribed various share-holders of OTC to eliminate him because his potential in business can only be described as terrifying. Dale Ford, Dylan`s younger brother, held a grudge against his brother took part on this.With the help of other major share-holders of his company, Dale hired a infamous professional hit-man to kill his brother, Dylan Ford. ..... On thenight of October 31, 2050 .... As Dylan was walking to his Porsche to leave his company, he was startled as he encountered a black-clothed man carrying a gun with him with a black mask which covered has his face covered. From his gaze alone, one could see that he has ill-intent towards Dylan. This is the notorious hit-man Dale hired to kill Dylan. "Who.. Who are you?" Dylan asked "My code name is Black Mamba. I`m the one your brother sent to kill you hehe" The black-clothed man introduced himself in a sinister manner. " You''re lying! You must be one of the hitmen that my foes sent! Guards, capture him!" Dylan called out his dozen guards who was following him. He did not believe this man''s claim about his brother being the one who sent him. "Hahahaha, of course, knowing that you have a lot of guards, our employers also hired dozens of hitman to support me especially because your bodyguards are known to be individually strong and skilled." Some of the guards turned against their? co-guards. Apparently, some of the guards that his company has assigned to him recently were hitmen! There were also some which appeared to keep the other guards preoccupied. Being overwhelmed in numbers, the guards were being pushed back one by one. Although they were killing a lot more hitmen due to their skills in combat, they were only a dozen while the hitmen were more than double their number. "Sir Dylan, run!" A guard called out while being shot in the chest. Dylan gritted his teeth when he saw his bodyguards being overpowered by the hitmen. "Hahaha, what an evil man, your brother is!" Black Mamba laughed as he mocked Dylan. "What?! He.. Dale would never do that!" Seeing that his guards was being killed by the hitmen due to their infiltration to the guards, Dylan took it to himself to apprehend this man. Dylan defended while he charged to the man in anger. He ran in an arc-like path to try and avoid the gun within the hands of the black-clothed man. He threw his briefcase to block the vision of Black Mamba. He knew that if someone was to point a gun at him he should block his field of vision. So he used his brief case as a temporary shield to block the hitman''s sight and to get nearer to him. He was just to point the gun he got from his briefcase before he threw it to Black Mamba when the hitman suddenly moved. "I pity you. He paid quite a lot to get rid of you so that the company will become his. Hahaha. Now, die!" The man sneered as he pulled the trigger. He stepped backwards and simultaneously sidestepped to get a clearer view of Dylan and shot a couple more to his chest. "Bang" "Bang" "Bang" As the bullets pierced through Dylan`s chest, his whole life flashed through his eyes in an instant. Confused and conflicted, he never would have thought his own brother would want to kill him lestsend someone to kill him. The pain of his breaking heart was worse than the pain he felt from the bullets piercing through his chest. `WHYYY?!!` he roared in his heart. He remembered the times they spent together, the times they spent in the streets asking people for food, the times they spent in those cold and dark alleys hugging each other to keep themselves warm, the times they slept sleeping on each other`s back, and the times they spent to build a company of their wherein they started from scratch but with each other`s back they pushed through and persevere up until they reached the top. He remembered that scene 32 years ago, two 8-6 year old boys having only one piece of bread they stole from a bakery. ..... In an alley filled with junk and garbage, one could see a tiny hut that is poorly made. it has a broken piece of galvanized roof as its top and four old plywood as its walls which are nailed poorly to for wooden poststhat seems to be from a variety of woods stacked together. One can see a clumsily sawed entrance enough to fit a person while two boys are sitting in a dilapidated mattress on the middle with some ragged sheets on the side. It can easily be speculated that it was done in a jiffy. "Dale, take this bread" the bigger child said "No, big bro, you`re the one who got it while I did''nt. You eat it" the little one squeaked while his eyes betrayed staring intently at the bread. "Hahaha, you lil'' rascal. It`s fine. I''m not hungry" the big brother smiled as he saw his little brother''s gaze . " I''m not hungry to~" "Grrrr~" the little child tried to defend himself but his stomached betrayed him as it churned. "Hahaha, I knew it. Here, just take it. I can just sell some scrap metal but if I can''t, I can justone steal another one tomorrow." Dylan offered. "Okay" little Dale embarrassingly took the bread. " Wait, big bro." Dale called as he broke the bread in half and offered one half to his brother. "What are you doing?" Dylan asked. " I broke it in two so we would have one each" the little boy innocently smiled. "You little rascal" the big bro was touched by this gesture of kindness and ate happily with his little brother in that cold alley. ... `We were so good to each other. Our bond was so strong that no one could break us apart. Where did it all go wrong? Why did you do this to me?` Dylan said indignantly in his heart. His eyes were wet as he fall down to the cold ground. Then, another scene just 2 years ago started to enfold as he remembered that night when he was going to introduce his fiance to his brother. ..... As they were getting out of Dylan`s car and walked towards a luxurious 5-star restaurant to meet his fiance. They both wore Kingsman suit of black in color and black slacks. They looked dashing with their tall and muscular physiques and photogenic faces. This caused the girls passing by to look at them as if they were some supermodels. Dylan had that gentlemanlyand dreamy prince aura with him while Dale had that Hollywood star aura with him. "Big bro, why can`t I be as lucky as you? I mean although I haven''t met your fiance yet, from the way you described her everytime we talk, I guess she is a really beautiful and kind girl. " Dale said dejectedly. "Why, Lil'' bro?" Dylan said. "Do you remember the woman I have always told you about? The one who I wanted introduce to you?" Dale spoke dejectedly. "Yeah? The one whose first name was the same as my fiance." Dylan nodded. "The woman that i liked and have been courting for the past 3 years dumped me for a bastard he just met 11 months ago. I mean I gave her many gifts, flowers, and anything that a girl could wish but she still politely rejected as she will always say '' Dale, I''m sorry. It`s not that I hate you but I am looking for the man who will make my heart beat every time we meet or talk but that man is not you. You are handsome and charming, there are many girls out there like me. I''m sorry but I can`t accept your feelings for me''. Then she met this guy half a year ago and..." Dale stopped midway as he saw an extremely beautiful lady who seemingly was waiting for someone at the entrance of the restaurant and awkwardly continued " Ha... You are..." "Rose?" the sibling`s weirdly called at the same time as they were waling towards the entrance. The beautiful lady turned and had that surprised look mixed with a loving gaze on her face that made her look even more enchanting. She had that milky white skin and curvaceous body that would drive any man mad. Her eyes were mystical as if you were staring at the night sky. Her nose was a state of the art figure just by itself. Her lips were moist red that complemented her natural rosy cheeks. A lady like this could cause the downfall of any city on her wake. "You already know Rose?" Dylan asked with a shocked expression. " You... you... you`re THAT GUY??!!" Dale said with a face filled with conflict and hate. "What do you.. You mean she is that girl?" Dylan was lost at first and gradually realized something. "Dylan, I`m here... Huh?... Dale?" Rose said excitingly but stopped when she saw the man beside the man he loves and realized something as well. "BASTARD!! You will pay for this!" Dale growled while tears leaked from his eyes. He felt heartbroken, betrayed and lost because the woman she loved was stolen from him by his own big brother. Filled with hate, he furiously punched his brother and left immediately. Shocked by this, Dylan felt his heart break while blood started to drip from his mouth. Running to his aid was Rose, she angrily glared at Dale''s back and reprimanded him " Stop, Dale. Are you not going to apologize to your brother!". Dale stopped but did not turn and said, "Brother? I don"t have one anymore". "Dale, wait!" Dylan cried to him but did not even look at him and left him feeling lost. He thought that it was only a mere coincidence that the women they loved had the same name. How could Dylan have anticipated that the woman that he and his brother loved was one and the same? ..... Another scene started to enfold after the incident outside the 5-star restaurant. Dylan was walking into his office when he saw that Dale was standing opposite to his table while holding an envelope and some printed documents. Dylan saw how Dale was trembling while he was holding those documents. Dylan could not help but ask. "Dale, what''s wrong? Is something the matter?" "What'' wrong? Let me ask you. What the hell is wrong with you?! Why did you hide this from me all this time?!" Dale shouted as he showed the document to Dylan. Dylan saw the title of the envelope, "DNA Test Results of Dylan Ford and Dale Ford. 04/10/2030". Dylan felt his knees grow weak. It was because there was this physical examination that Dylan and Dale took when they became successful and built their own company building because it was mandatory. Since in a physical examination, blood is extracted to determine blood type. The doctors also asked Dylan whether to perform a DNA Test or not since blood was already extracted. Dylan said yes because he thought it would just be saved as a document. But when the resluts came, it became the most horrifying truth that Dylan could never accept because it showed that they were not blood-related! When Dylan read this, he could not accept the results and demanded the doctors to do it again and again because he truly believed that they were blood brothers. But to no avail, the results were still the same so he decided to keep it a secret as he was afraid that the bond he and Dale shared may be shattered. Dylan also considered the possibily of Dale accepting but he cant risk the brotherly bond they had. He could take risks in business but not in his family. "How did you find this?" Dylan asked in a slightly weaker voice "I was just going to deliver the financial report for this month myself since my secretary is ill and cannot go to work today. I was just going to leave it on your table and leave before you could even come back. When I saw your shelf that had a biomatrix lock on it was still slightly open, I was just going to close because someone else might see it and go through the company''s confidential document. But when I was just going to close it, I saw the title of that envelope! Now, tell me why did you keep this from me?!" Dale natrated his actions "Im sorry, Dale. I was just afraid that~" Dylan had a bitter expresion on his face as he apologized. He cursed himself for being dumb enough to not close his shelf properly "Sorry? Bullshit! Do you think your sorry is enough to compensate for the 2 decades that you hid this from me?! Why didnt you just tell me the moment you recieved the results but instead hid it from me all this years?! I can let go of the fact that Rose chose you and the incident a week ago! I can accept that we are not blood brothers! But why did you have to hide the truth from me? I thought that we would tell each other the truth always! Fuck you, you''re no brother at all! You''re just nothing but a fucking liar!" Dale held Dylan''s collar as he said every word on Dylan''s face. He pushe Dylan to the side and stormed out of the room by kicking the door. ..... ''Ugh...that''s right... I broke his heart... after then... he did not talk or even meet with me unless its on a meeting... I''m sorry, Dale... But you did not have to go to this extent... Rose... I''m sorry... I ca`nt go to our wedding now... I hope you can... live well and happily... without me... I... love you...'' Dylan thought as he laid on the ground. He closed his eyes and with his parting thoughts his mouth opened. " Dale... live well...good... bye... Rose... I love you...".Those were the last words that came out of his mouth and he submerged into darkness. Then, the security guards showed up saw his body lying on the ground with a few gunshots on his chest. They saw his killers? running away and immediately give chase after him but they had cars that was meant for escaping. One stayed behind to look after the body? of Dylan, his bodyguards as well as several hitmen, then, called an ambulance and the police. The news of the death of the CEO of the most prestigious company of Asia rocked the press and the media that night. It became the talk of the whole continent as many people was shocked the death of such a good man. The various people who got help from Dylan voiced out their dissatisfaction regarding the news and wanted a thorough investigation. Rose, Dylan`s fiance grieved in this matter when she heard this. She barged to the hospital and directly to Dylan where she cried for 6 hours on his cold body. She fainted from exhaustion and was then brought to the Emergency Room to rest. When she woke up, Rose mourned for the death of her love. She wanted to know why her husband died. Using the power of her family and her connections, she commanded several personnel to conduct a rigorous investigation. She would wait for hours on the room for any news or evidence that may lead to the cause of Dylan`s Death on that hospital room. Rose would cry for hours every time she remembered the times she spent together with Dylan. She neither drink or ate for days. She was disappointed knowing that she could not find any leads pertaining to this. On the seventh day of Dylan`s death, his body was moved and put in a coffin as per Rose`s instruction. Then, Dylan''s funeral came after and more than 10,000 people came and paid their respects as well as their thanks to every thing he did for them especially those street people he made houses for. Rose cried in his grave even when everyone left, one could see how broken she was. A fairy-like woman like her would be cold and indifferent to everybody because once a woman of her caliber loves a man, she would love that man even to her last breath. 3 months have passed ever since the death of Dylan, Rose died. During these three months, she hardly ate and left her room. She became increasingly thin as days passed. She hardly talked with anyone. Numerous occasions where Dale visited her but rejected seeing him. She was too brokenhearted. Finally, she died from depression but on her last breath she said " Finally, I am able to follow you, my love." and smiled as she lay beautifully on her death bed. Different organizations indebted to Dylan tried to investigate and bring justice to Dylan''s death like what Rose did. However, the still failed miserably as the killers seemed to just vanish from this world and any lead to Dylan''s death was nothing more than baseless statements. But, of course, it was all manipulated by the OTC because if they let others know the locations of the killers, the killers would sell them out and this would leave to the downfall of OTC. Despite this, the world will forever remember that great man who helped many but died tragically. The greatest businessman on Earth who started from scrap and evolved to the most successful businessman at the age of 40 years old. In 3 decades, he turned a scrap metal selling business into a multinational corporation. But the world did not know that his death is only just the beginning of an amazing legend. 2 Chapter 2: Reincarnated as a Small-ass Store Owner in a Very Strange World Dylan felt like he was being pulled into a black hole. He thought to himself ''Is this what it feels like to die? Because it surely is different than what I thought". He was rapidly drifting towards that mysterious force.Then, he felt as if he entered something. He felt weird for some reason. ''Is this Heaven or Hell?'' he thought this was somewhat strange. If he were in heaven wouldn''t it be, warm, pleasant and relaxing as if you were lying on some clouds? Or if he were in hell, wouldn''t it be hot, uncomfortable, and gloomy? "Where the heck am I? Was I rejected by both?" he did not know whether to laugh or cry if that were true. But if it were... what the heck was he supposed to be? What the heck is happening to him?! "Maybe... it will take... a little longer?" he bitterly laughed at himself. "What kind of situation am I in?" *Ring* *Ring* "Bells? Why am I hearing bells for?" Dylan did not know what is happening. Wasn''t he already dead? "Hey, mister." a voice rang in his mind. `A voice is this an angel`s voice?`. The voice was crisp and clear and... masculine? He was shocked what is happening to him. " HEY! Why are you not waking up yet?!" the man shouted at him. Then, Dylan was awoken by this voice. When he opened his eyes, it wandered around him while some of drool was still present on his face. He was in complete and utter daze. He was fascinated by what he saw because it was... a store?! Wasn''t he supposed to ascend to heaven or go to hell? Why was he suddenly in a store? ''God, you must be playing a joke on me, right?` he thought. "HEY! Were you not listening?! I told you I wanted to buy something! Why are you standing around and slowly rotating your head left and right to? Why, you don''t even know your own store?" the man roared at him. The man wore an aristocratic blue robe, he was about 1.8 m tall and was in his middle-ages. But what he said was true. He just arrived here. How was he supposed to know?! "B-buy f-from me? Clearly this must be some kind of joke, right?" he awkwardly answered. But, he found himself speaking a different language. A language he was unfamiliar with but he could speak fluently with it. What was going on in this world? Where was he? What was this store supposed? What does this all supposed to mean?But before he could even understand what has currently happening to him, the man in front of him said. "What is wrong with you?! I am trying to buy here and you ask me if this is some king of joke! You are a joke!! You`re entire family is a joke!!! Now, I know why this run-down store is being criticized by the people in the clan because it is without manners and etiquette and has poor services. What a joke for a store!" the man berated Dylan even going to the extent of insulting his family. This clearly left displeasure on his face. "Then, kindly get out, sir." Dylan said in an icy voice while his expression got increasingly calm. He was infuriated with this man`s arrogant tone. Even though he felt betrayed but he understood his brother`s reason and he hoped that he may realize his wrongdoings and do a good turn, but even so, no one deserves to harm his family. "That`s better, you`re finally talking. I want... uh... What did you say?" the man in front of him was shocked. He could not understand why he, someone who is from a prestigious clan would be chased out of this, run-down and seemingly broken store. " Do you not know who am I? I am Frank Aaron, an elder of the Aaron Clan, how dare you act so presumptuous in front of this elder?! I want 10 pounds of Silverdust Grass, a stalk of ...." Frank Aaron proudly stated and pointed at his list on the counter in front of him.But before he could continue Dylan interjected. " Sir, I have already seen the list of items you want to purchase since you have already placed it on the table long ago. Unfortunately, this `run-down store` has none of this items in stock for we have `poor services`. That is the entire reason why I kindly asked you to leave, sir. Because I do not want Elder Frank to waste his time with this owner that is `without manners and etiquette`. Or maybe Elder Frank is unable to hear well, so let me kindly repeat it to you, dear sir, Kindly get out, sir" Dylan explained eloquently with a faint smile on his calm face. Being the most successful businessman in his previous world, he even handled deals with many international companies, much less this arrogant man in front of him. "You.. You..." Elder Frank was unable to utter another word. Because of Dylan`s eloquent way of speech, he even used his own words against him. It was as if he was slapping his own self. He felt his cheeks burning from the embarrassment that he brought to his own self. He felt that he could just hide his head on a hole for a week. Unable to retort, he immediately left in embarrassment and said to Dylan, "You will pay for this." "Why would I pay something immaterial, sir?" Dylan calmly asked to the leaving man. "You!!" Unable to say anything, he furiously slammed the door shut and left as quickly as he can. When Dylan saw that the man had already left, He inspected his surroundings and saw various herbs. Then he said to himself, `Where exactly am I?`. Then a thought drifted to his mind, "Dylan`s Herbal Place". `Ohhh so I am in Dylan`s Herbal... Wait whose memories are these`. Then myriads of memories started flooding to his mind. It was the memories of the owner of this body. Then suddenly, everything became clear to him. He was reincarnated into this person`s body. He was shocked to know that their names were similar. "Dylan Ford" was also the name of the owner of this body. However, there was a slight difference, this Dylan was only 18 years old. He was shocked by this sudden turn of events, he became a young adult... AGAIN?! He looked on the mirror and he saw his present appearance. He did not have that outstanding prince charming appearance he had in his previous life. Instead, it was just a normal-looking guy with an average build. He was stunned by this at first but he thought it through. He can`t expect that everything would be the same as his previous life. Can he? But there was another thing he was shocked about because he encountered something in the memories of this owner`s body that shocked him so much that his eyes bulged as widely as he could. The world he was currently in was a world of... cultivation?! Does that he mean can grow stronger?! Then, he remembered the various light novels he had read. He may not seem like it but he was a die-hard otaku. He even promoted some mangas he liked to become an anime, even light novels to manga and to anime. That was why his company was not only liked by adults; it was also love by the younger generation of his world. Due to the stress, pressure, and ecpectations, that every consumer, worker, colleagues subconscoiusly gave him which was too much for one person to carry, Dylan needed a medium to relieve himself from the stress that he needed to be great and perfect always. That is when he found anime and manga. Dylan immersed himself with the amazing world of manga, light novels, and anime. He was psyched to discover new and different things one world after the other. This was why he retained some of characteristics of his youthly self. ''Oh, how I dreamed of becoming a cultivator. Mwahahaha'' he laughed hysterically in his heart. `My previous dream was to establish the most biggest and grandest company in the whole wide world but now it has changed to become the strongest and most invincible existence of all. Dylan then searched through his ''previous self`s memories'' and he then found out that he was in a world called "Great Mystic World". In this world, the strong devoured the weak. It runs by the most basic rule on any world, the law of the jungle. In this world, cultivators with the same belief or bloodline formed and created sects, clans, schools, in order to protect their ancestral heritage and doctrines. Countless wars among clans and sects occurred ever since the beginning of the Great Mystic World. Even spiritual beasts formed their own clans and warred against each other to be able stand in the peak of their world. Dylan discovered that the name of the country they were in was called the Mystic Clouds. The founders of this country named it like so because every century a very unusual phenomenon occurs on its skies wherein 6 giant clouds of 6 different colors namely: Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Green, And Orange. This phenomenon was called 6 Mystic Clouds Convergence because the six colors divide this country into 6 different parts which was later on called the Six Great Mystical States. The state he was currently in was the Red Clouds State in a city called Rising Cloud. Dylan was shocked that the country he was in had such a great history with it. His blood boiled upon thinking about this. There are so many things to discover and to explore in this world he was in. Then, he silently told himself that he would rise up to the top and conquer this world. He would leave his name in the annals of history of the Great Mystic World. It may seem impossible to any one who would dream or even thought of it but he firmly believed in himself and his capabilities because with it he was able to create a miracle in his previous world he was able to climb up to the top of the business world by just starting with selling scrap metal. His unwavering determination and tenacity that one could see on his eyes that day when he swore he would create the biggest company in the whole world when he was just a 10 year-old kid was now back in present in his eyes as he would leave legend that will never be forgotten by the Mystic Clouds Country or even the Great Mystic World. "Great Mystic World, get ready for no matter what you might throw to me. I, Dylan Ford, will conquer it all" He vowed to this new world. Unbeknownst to himself, an unprecedented adventure of him that would shake the world was about to enfold. 3 Chapter 3: First Obstacle to Greatness Feeling like a hero, Dylan stood on the top of the counter and put both of his hands on his waist with his chin held up high and a typical comical hero smile. Realizing that he was doing something silly, he carefully got down of the counter and mumbled to himself " What the heck am I doing with my life, if I combine the years I have spent living on both lives, I am already a six decade old man." Then, a sound suddenly caught his ears. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* The bells by the swayed as a plump middle-age man entered the door. He wore an aristocratic robe that is gray in color and wore various accessories on his almost non-visible neck, huge baby arms, and his two piglet like ears. Dylan recognized this man, he was the landlord of his previous self, Robert Bobman, otherwise known as Sire Bobman, he was like an real-estate owner and his past self was his tenant. Beside him, he had four personal guards each one of them had bulky and big stature.The plump man walked slowly but heavily. Every stomp... err... step he did made some of the pots containing herbs to wiggle violently, a few of them fell from their shelves. Dylan had a foreboding feeling that if this man were to jump within his store it might cause it to collapse. If the floor were alive, he would feel pity on it. *Step* *Step* *Step* "Well, well, well" Sire Bobman lazily said to Dylan as his guards followed him from behind. "Peasant Dylan Ford, we have something to discu... whoa!" Sire Bobman was walking towards him when a wooden plank on the floor could not hold on any longer until it broke and *Crash!*. Sire Bobman fell and his right foot was stuck on the broken plank on the floor. He could not get up no matter what he did. With his flabby arms, how could he? Dylan tried his best to hold back his laughter while maintaining his faint smile on the surface. It was hard not to laugh at a fat guy acting like this. But in truth, he was laughing in his heart so much that tears can be faintly seen on the edge of his eyes. He immediately wiped it as fast as he can and quickly went near to Sire Bobman. "Pfft, HAHAHAHA!!!" one of the guards laughed. The four guards, however, could not hold it back anymore and laughed. No one knew who started but once the first started the others could not hold themselves back any longer as they burst laughing from behind. Even Dylan had the urge to do so but he held back. He knelt on his right knee and offered his help to the fat man who was stuck. Sire Bobman was so embarrassed about what happened to him. ''Its all because of this accursed broken-down place'' he thought grudgingly in his mind. When he heard the laughing of the guards, he exploded. "You four... Don`t even think about asking for this month`s pay!" he roared and reprimanded the guards. The guards paled as they heard the words of their employer. They immediately realized what they had done. " Why are you standing there for? Are you not~". Before he could even continue, a hand was offered to him as it`s owner simultaneously said. " May I help you, sir?" the voice sounded so calm and pleasant. He involuntarily nodded and the hand helped him to get up after having a hard time. " It`s you..?" He was shocked when the young man who was normally scared of him was standing there calmly with a warm and faint smile hanging on his face and even helped him of his own accord. Before Sire Bobman could even say something, Dylan`s voice resounded, "I`m deeply ashamed of what has happened here, Sire Bobman. I apologize for the momentary inconvenience that I have caused you. Allow me to repay you with a cup of tea. Here are some comfortable chairs. They might not appear grand but it is of decent quality. I assure you. Here have a sit as well kind sir. Give me a moment as I prepare some tea". They all involuntarily obeyed his commands as they behaved themselves like obedient pups. Then they thought to themselves, `Is this some kind of magic?`. Magic? No, it wasn''t. It was Dylan`s natural demeanor. He may no longer posses his original handsome appearance but his disposition is something no one could retort to. It was his innate charisma that allowed him to easily converse with others. By encountering various important personalities and attending grand occasions. His charisma was further honed to the extent, you would feel like in a trance. His talent when it came to socializing was all summarized by his opponent`s in one word: Terrifying. That was the reason why many people chose to follow him and it was also the reason why he was able to create the Omega Trading Corporation. Thinking about how Sire Bobman and company obeyed his orders so willingly, they felt chill down their spines how was this originally easy-to-scare kid able to do something like this. It feels like they were dealing with an entirely new person. "How could I obey the orders of a mere peasant?!" Sire Bobman was enraged by this. Thinking about how he subconsciously did what that peasant told him to do drove him furious. Then suddenly, an aromatic fragrance filled the store. When it entered the nose of the plump man, he felt his nerves completely calming down and making him feel more peaceful. Then he felt a tingle on his spine, "What is this? It feels so... refreshing". He looked at his four guards and felt shocked that they had pleasant expressions on their faces. "Sorry to keep you waiting, kind sirs. Here is the tea I prepared." Dylan announced as he walked towards the group of Sire Bobman. He was confident in his tea-making skills because this was one of his favorite hobbies to do and one of his popular ways of entertaining guests back on Earth. Although he was unfamiliar with the herbs back at the kitchen., Dylan used them accordingly to the smell of the herbs as such he was able to create such a fragrant smell earlier.He carried a tray with teapot and five teacups. He gave them one each and gently poured the tea. The tea he prepared was clear green in color. The group of five took a sip the tea he prepared as they involuntary said with peaceful expressions written on their faces, "Good Tea." After they finished drinking the tea... "I''m glad you like it, gentlemen. So may I ask what brings you to my humble store? Is it because of the monthly rent I have not paid for 3 months now? Rest assured sir, just give me 10 more days and I will be able to earn the amount. Can I beseech this to you, Sire Bobman?" Dylan negotiate with his Landlord. "Hahaha, of course, Brother Dylan. It is of no hurry. You are my brother from today onwards, hahaha. You can just simply address me as Brother Robert, hahaha" Sire Bobman laughed as he patted Dylan`s back. He was clearly in a good mood after tasting the tea that Dylan prepared for them. Even from the words he had just spoken, one could notice the way he addressed Dylan from `Peasant` to `Brother`. "Hahaha, Thank you, Brother Robert. Allow me to escort you out." Dylan offered. " Hahaha, then I would thank, Brother Dylan for doing so. Farewell, hahaha", Sire Bobman accepted his offer and bid farewell to Dylan. "Come again, Brother" Dylan remarked. As Sire Bobman was walking with his guards towards his house, one guard could not help but ask, "Master, since when have you recognized Dylan Ford as your brother? But I must say he does make a good tea." "I agree, hahaha." another guard merrily agreed. "Just today, hahaha. I second your statement about his tea." Sire Bobman answered. Then, he suddenly remembered of something and shiver from his back followed. He was supposed to go and collect the overdue rent today. But instead, he left there with nothing at hand acknowledged Dylan as his brother? How terrifying was that man? He just discovered how his new found brother was terrifying. With just several sentences he was able to make him as his brother. ''But can he really earn 1500 gold coins in ten days? But he said it so confidently, so he must have a way. What a formidable brother that I have found hahaha'' he thought. The sun has set while Dylan temporarily closed his store. He wanted to familiarize himself first with his body and his world while he studies the memories of his past self in this world. He discovered that he owed Robert a total of 1500 gold coins. At first, he thought that it wasn''t that bad but he thought wrongly because he discovered that he had only earned about 10000 copper coins which were equivalent 100 silver coins or 1 gold coin. He thought to his self, ''Are you kidding me? This is no different from starting from scratch! Hey, past me, you must be playing at me, right?''. He could even imagine his past self, laughing at him from his grave thinking ''How do you like it in my body now?''. He nearly coughed blood from the stress. But then, he comforted himself, '' This is alright; I started from scratch and rose up to the top, didn''t I? I could do it once. I could do it again." As he consoled himself, he then tried to know what his cultivation level was. Judging by the age of his previous self, if he trained diligent at the very least he should be at the 5th level of the first cultivation realm, right? But he was shocked then again to discover that he was only at... the second level. ''The Heavens is playing on a joke on me right?'' Just how did his past self train that he was only at the second level? Did he sleep all day instead of meditating?! He now discovered how low his starting point is. 4 Chapter 4: Unwavering Determination Dylan felt so down in the dumps that he was only at the second level of the first realm. But at the very least he got a better understanding about the first cultivation realm. The first cultivation realm was called the Spirit Gathering Realm. The Spirit Gathering Realm has 15 levels; it is then subdivided into 3 sub-realms: Spirit Core, Spirit Veins, and Awakened Spirit. From the first to the fifth level, that is Spirit Core Stage. From the sixth to tenth, that was the Spirit Veins stage. The last five stages is the Awakened Spirit Stage. The Spirit Core is where natural energy is gathered. In this stage, a cultivator must open his spirit core for it to be capable of containing natural energy and strengthen it for it to be able to have a larger capacity. One could easily unlock this with a proper cultivation technique. Upon advancing to the Spirit Veins Realm, a person is capable of absorbing more natural energy at a faster rate with his spirit veins. In this world, there are 125 spirit veins inside a cultivator`s body. To be able to advance a level in this stage, one must be able to unlock 25 veins for each level. Many people get stuck in this realm because it gets increasingly hard to open up a spirit vein as a human proceeds. When a cultivator reaches the Awakened Spirit Realm, one would need to transmute natural energy into Spirit Energy. When a person is able to do so, he will be able to use Spirit Manifestation. Spirit Manifestation is an ability of a cultivator to summon an avatar. An avatar is a mysterious and ethereal entity for it can grow stronger with the owner. An avatar can be a beast, weapon, plant, human-like, and many more. An avatar can temporarily boost the strength of its user that is why many people dreamed of. Thinking of this Dylan was very depressed as he found out that he was only at the second stage. But he still strengthened his resolve. He comforted himself but was later, depressed as he discovered that there were 5 stages for each level: Initial, Intermediate, High, Peak, Pinnacle. Worst of all, he was only at the Initial 2nd-level Spirit Core Realm. ''How did I offend you, past Dylan? Why did you do this to me?'' he cried at his heart. But then a memory flashed through him, he saw the past. He saw a young man who was trying his best to train, day and night but he could not understand why he was not able to breakthrough past the 2 level or just the initial level. He was wondering why he had a bottleneck as early as 14 years old. So he decided to build a herbal store beside his house for hope that he may be able to encounter an alchemist that may be able to heal him. But sadly, no matter how long he waited there was none. He searched everywhere in the Rising Cloud City. He even went to some neighbor cities to seek for an alchemist but to no avail, he failed to find one. No matter whom he asked or where he would ask, he could not just find an Alchemist. He cursed the world why was he so unlucky as to quickly encounter a bottleneck just as he began cultivating. He could not understand why he was given such an ordeal.An alchemist is one of the most prestigious occupation a person could take but it is also one of the hardest to apply for because it has an extremely stringent requirement to a person`s constitution. One must have a great affinity to fire and a tinge of affinity to wood which was as rare as one in a thousand. Another, occupation that is extremely hard to become is a Beast Tamer because evento become a Rank 1 Beast Tamer, one must have complete knowledge pertaining 100 types of beasts including their habitats, behavior, characteristics and even their like and dislikes. He felt dismal as he returned to his homes. He almost lost all hope. He even wanted to commit suicide because with his present condition was no different than being a cripple. He despaired but just as he was about to lose hope. He met a peerless beautiful woman in a white dress while walking on a bridge at night. She looked like a goddess of the moon as she smiled upon him and the moonlight outlined her gorgeous face. The woman approached him and asked with her clear mellow voice, "Why are you looking so gloomy?'' He was stunned because this goddess just took her own initiative and talk to her. He politely answered to the extremely beautiful lady beside him. "Lady Fairy, it is just that for some reason, I am no longer able to advance my cultivation and am no different to a cripple." He bit his lips and bitterly said to the extremely beautiful lady. He thought that the lady would laugh at him but to his surprise, the peerless beautiful lady patted her in the back and consoled the devastated young man, "My father once said that there was an ancient expert who was stuck in a certain cultivation realm but he never gave up. He gave up his advancement in cultivation and wholeheartedly focused onto comprehension. Later on, that ancient expert appeared again, his cultivation remained the same but he was able to fight 10 experts who were one sub-realm higher than him and even managed to kill them all, although with a frightening price. He was then crowned the king of his country and passed away several decades after." As her eyes shone in reverence, her jade-blue eyes sparkled in the night and her light blue hair flew with the wind. "But I am just an ordinary man. How could I compare~" he was interrupted midway as a voice suddenly sounded. "Princess Elizabeth, there you are! His Highness, he''s been enraged ever since he discovered that you left the carriage. We need to go back right now or else His Majesty might do something rash." A man wearing a royal attendant`s robe cried. "Ughh... okay. Well then, I need to get going now." She turned as her clothes revealed an enchanting figure and her light blue hair followed. The lady left with an enchanting smile and chuckled. " You never know. It depends on your own mentality whether you would become a boring carp or a soaring dragon. I, myself, would love to see the birth of a dragon. hehehe". Left in a daze, he woke up right after and felt boiling blood coursing through his veins. Because he vowed to become a dragon. He vowed to be the strongest in the entire Great Mystic World. He also remembered the name "Elizabeth" in his heart and said in his heart that the next they will meet he will become a dragon and thank her for the motivation she gave him. That was why he never gave up; he believed that there was still hope for him. Since he cannot advance any further, he started to train his skills and techniques. He trained like mad for 4 years because now he knew that he could raise his strength through comprehension like that ancient expert. The mastery of a technique is categorized by Novice, Minor Achievement, Expert, Perfection, and Grand Perfection. Normally a Spirit Core expert can only reach the Minor Achievement level while the Spirit veins are for Expert and Perfection at Awakened Spirit. It is said that if one reached the Peak of Spirit Gathering Realm one could reach Grand Perfection level. However, the past Dylan who was unable to advance in terms of cultivation but he has reached the Peak of the Expert Level. He practiced three skills to the peak of the Expert level. The first is the "Boulder Breaking Fist", a fist technique that could break a boulder without damaging the fist. Next is the "Four Soft Steps", a movement technique that could allow a person to move by only making a soft sound. The last was the "Rushing Flow of Water Secret Technique" a secret technique is a skill that can boost the strength of its user. It allows a cultivator`s energy to be as soft as a calm Lake or as violent as a waterfall. Using these three techniques his prowess strengthens as it all complements with each other, resulting to a combat prowess comparable to a sixth level Spirit Veins cultivator. Strictly speaking, a person who is able to comprehend a technique to peak of the expert level could fight with a level 10 Spirit Veins cultivator. But due to the deficiency of the amount quality of energy could only allow a person to reach the strength comparable to a level 6 Spirit Veins Cultivator. Still, such prowess shows the exceptional talent of a genius in martial arts. Clearly, his hard work gave fruit to something amazing which would benefit the present Dylan on his path to greatness. However, it causes quite a strain and exhaustion to the body of a cultivator as his body could not keep up with strength he could release which eventually lead to over-exhaustion which was the cause of the past Dylan`s death. Discovering this, Dylan was no longer ashamed of his cultivation in the surface because he could fight to toe to toe with someone at an even higher level than him. "Past Dylan, I am sorry for doubting you. I will use this second life to prove that we can be the greatest in the world." he vowed to the past owner of his current body as he looked upwards. " I cannot waste anymore time. I need to cultivate or else I would waste the hard work the past me has done." Dylan reprimanded himself and continued practicing madly like what his previous self had done. He would not let down the past owner of his current body. An unwavering determination lit up in the eyes of that young man as he practiced the routine of Breaking Boulder fist. 5 Chapter 5: The Mansion in My Mind, is it a Treasure Trove or a System? During his crazed training, Dylan also experienced the fatigue and pain of training. If this goes on, he will be no different to his past self and die overexerting himself. He then realized the need to advance in cultivation. He then discovered that within his Spirit core there was an exceedingly large amount of natural energy accumulated. He pondered why he was able to possess such large amounts of energy. This energy was sufficient for anyone to be able to advance to the peak of the Fourth level just one step away from the pinnacle. It was the unconscious absorption of energy during the continuous training his past self, made. Then, he wondered what was the reason why his past self was unable to advance in cultivation. Maybe there was something wrong with his cultivation method? He checked his memories again. The cultivation method he was practicing was one of the most popular and most common methods of every cultivator at the Mystic Clouds Country, the Mystery of Clouds Cultivation Manual. Many cultivators in the city would cultivate this manual because it guaranteed entrance to the sixth level Spirit Veins in just a few years. So, there was no problem with his cultivation, then what was? Feeling helpless, he shook his head. Then, he remembered something. "On several novels, I have read the MC who gains overflowing power suppresses their urge to breakthrough and finds a way to balance out the energy to not damage their foundation and halt his progress in the future. They then, refined the remaining energy to produce an even purer type of energy compared to their peers!" "I can use this method on myself since I am currently incapable of breakthrough. I can use this to refine the overflowing energy in my Spirit Core to produce a 2nd level Spirit Core energy that is several folds purer than my peers. So that as I progress, I get stronger and stronger!" he exclaimed to himself and laugh heartily in his brilliance. As a diligent reader of various light novels and manga, he felt proud as his favorite pass time could help him in his present situation. `Mwahahaha. I, Dylan Ford, with my knowledge of thousands of light novels and manga, will be able to conquer this world.` he flattered himself in such a manner. But he then bitterly laughed at how childish his thoughts have been. Then after some thought, he began testing his hypothesis of refining the energy within his body. Using the Mystery of the Clouds, he began meditating. In his Spirit Core, he saw that large blob of natural energy and started to suppress the energy and refine it. The refinement could be defined as painful. As the energy was already part of him, it would feel like how you feel lively at morning but once you exhaust yourself, you need to replenish it through eating and resting. Exhausted energy could be replenished through absorption. The absorbed energy is then refined to become a cultivator`s own energy. This being said, the already refined energy would be further refined to create something purer but it is an extremely arduous and painful task to do so. But of course if one is in possession of a higher grade of cultivation technique compared to Dylan they would easily be able to refine natural energy into energy purer than what Dylan could normally refine. Technique is also categorized into three levels; Spirit, Earth, and Sky and is then further divided to low, middle, high. The Mystery of Clouds is a High Spirit-Class technique but only if one could obtain the three scrolls. Dylan is in possession of the first scroll which is produced nationwide but the second and third scroll are fewer. The first guarantees your entry to the Spirit Veins Realm, the Second Scroll guarantees your entry to the peak of Spirit Veins Ream while the Third Scroll could guarantee your entrance to the level 13 Awakened Spirit Realm. As for how much you could precede after then is up to how talented you are. It was like peeling the skin of a human but Dylan gritted his teeth as a thought continuously reminded him ''No Pain, No Gain''. The torture-like refinement lasted for over an hour, any random human would breakdown in front of this kind of pain but Dylan persisted. He managed to refine it three-folds which then resulted to a purer energy that a Middle Spirit Class Technique could produce but the original blob only had 30% of its previous size. He then did one round of routine for each skill for the last time that it was not as painful as it was before. Excited, he rejoiced and enjoyed the joy of training. After doing that last routine, he decided to rest. He went to his room and entered his small but comfortable bed. He closed his eyes as he slowly immersed himself to the darkness. Just as he was about to be fully asleep, he discovered a bright light on the corner of his mind. As he further sank to his dreams, he discovered that the bright light became brighter. He slowly approached the light and it left him wondering, what kind of dream would this be? It piqued his interest because slowly it outlined a building. Quickening his pace, the building became much clearer. Then he stopped several meters away from the building. Stunned, he saw an extremely grand mansion shining brightly. The light it emitted was not that blinding type of light instead; it was pleasant to the eyes and had a warm feeling to it. The mansion could be compared to a high-class building as it size was massive. Its height spanned about a few thousand meters with a width spanning hundreds of kilometers. The door of the massive mansion had decorations that had an alternation of diamonds, rubies, sapphire, emeralds, jades and many jewels that he could not recognize as it formed ancient runes that gave of an archaic aura. The mansion was mainly vibrant gold in color. It had two massive golden pillars in front of the mansion designed like the pillars of the Greeks as many pillars, though a little bit smaller in size, continued endlessly in a horizontal manner. The gate outside the palace was made of crystal glass as it caged the entire massive mountain. and had a an ark above it with herbs that emitted aura vastly stronger than him as it formed a hanging gardens that may be greater than the hanging gardens of Babylon. Between the door and the gate, a luxurious fountain can be seen as water as clear as a cloudless sky forming a pond comparable to a lake. It felt like it was ambrosia gushing out of the mouth of the fountain. Beside it was a heavenly garden that filled up the remaining space which was designed as beautiful as though a work of art. "Majestic... Beautiful... and ... Grand." Dylan marveled at the massively large mansion that suddenly appeared in his mind. He was shocked to see something like an immortal`s abode in his mind! This must be the blessing of the heavens to him. He proceeded forward until he was right in front of the door. Excited by what marvelous things he might obtain from inside, he put his hands on the smooth crystal gates and tried to open it. "Now, to enjoy my good fortun... what?... Why isn''t the gate budging?" He indignantly said. He tried with all of his strength to push the gates open but it did not budge by even a small inch. He tried again and again. He tried various ways to open the gates but to no avail, he failed. He tried attacking it, pushing it, injecting energy to it; he even smeared some of his blood hoping to form a contract with the gate. "What should I do to open this stupid gate?" "Maybe it only opens with a... password? That`s it. That`s gotta be it!" Dylan had an idea. " So let`s try it." " OPEN SESAME!!!!" he shouted. "..." No response from the gate. "Maybe I said it wrongly? Okay. Again!" "OPEEEEEEEN SESAMEEEEE!!!" "..." "Still no response? Again!!" "OPEN SAAAYS MEEEE" "..." "WHAAAT?!" "..." "AGAIN!..." "..." Several attempts later... "Open... please..." "..." Dylan had the impulse to cry. He tried to do different passwords. He almost said every possible way you can speak ''Open Sesame'' with but he still failed. He was truly in the verge of tears as he felt like a peerless woman undressed in front of him but could not touch her. That was what he currently felt, a gigantic palace-like mansion in front of him that was bound to have varieties of treasures inside, he felt dismal to this matter. He felt like the heavens were playing a cruel joke on him. "Heavens, I can see that you are laughing at me, right now. But can`t you at least give me something? Even just one thing at the very least?!" Dylan pleaded. Then, he suddenly thought of something. ''It can`t be... can it? Half of those stories which the MC transcended from earth gained... a system?! This system is in a form... of a mansion?'' But he could not think of anything more feasible than this. Since he already tried everything he could, just trying one more time, would not hurt, wouldn''t it? So he strengthened his resolve and said. " System... OPEN!!!" He cried for one last time. "..." "I knew it I pushed my luck. haha" He laughed bitterly at himself. Then on careful thought, there is no free lunch in this world. It does`nt mean a treasure appears in front of you that you can necessarily get it, some might even rob you or even kill you for it. So, he consoled himself with this line of thought. But suddenly... *Shake* *Shake* *Shake* His dreamworld was shaking violently. Dylan was in a daze because of this. It felt like there was a Magnitude 10 earthquake happening exclusively on his own world `Could it be... It really opened? Hahahaha` Dylan laughed heartily with his thoughts. But after several seconds, it stopped. But there were no signs of opening on the gate. `It did not... open`. Then what was that quake supposed to be. "Prrrrrrrrrt" a noise reverberated throughout his dream world Then, he suddenly woke up because he smelled something ominous. As a foreign odor entered his nose. Then, he knew that someone farted at his face. 6 Chapter 6: My Mischievous Little Sister Unlocks the Mansion? Angered by this, Dylan scanned his surroundings trying to find the culprit of this prank. He saw a six year old girl standing on top of him. The scarlet hair of the girl was tied back on a ponytail. Her eyes shone like a ruby while her little porcelain face hung a mischievous smile. She wore a ragged brown dress but it gave people who saw her an impression of seeing a little fairy who was pretending to be a poor girl. One could predict that this girl would become a woman who could bring the downfall of cities or nations. "Hehehe, how did my fart smell~ I mean how are you, big bro? Are you awake now?" the pretty little scarlet-haired girl chuckled as she saw that her brother`s eyelid opened. Then, she laughed heartily as though she did the right thing but her expression changed as she saw that 18-year old man`s grim look. She immediately got off the bed and fled for her life. "You little... How dare you... Scarlet!". When Dylan saw this little scarlet-haired girl, he immediately remembered who she was. Scarlet, the adopted little sister of his past self. Dylan immediate gave chase to Scarlet as he got out of his bed and intercepted Scarlet at the door who was running towards it. The terrified little girl was grabbed by his elder and was locked into one of his hand. The girl struggled as she was carried by her brother in a helpless manner. Dylan rubbed his fist on the hair of the little girl."Take this!". The little girl cried indignantly, " I... Ay jas wanned to- to wayk ap, b-big brooow! Waaah". As tears flowed down through her pretty little face and snot coming out profusely from her sculpture-like nose, she tried to say ''I just wanted to wake up, big bro''. "Okay, okay. There, there. I''m sorry for hurting you, okay? I knew that you did but you did not have to go as far as farting at my face,right? You could just have shook me to wake me up." Dylan apologized to his adorable little sister and lectured her about what she should have done instead of farting at him. Although he was angry, the loving memories of his past self overwhelmed him as he himself showed such a loving expression to a person''s sibling. "Ay deed. But- but,big brow did nat wayk up. I- I ownli did becows id''s awready nine in da morning." Little Scarlet defended herself while she tried her best to say ''I did. But, big bro did not wake up. I only did that because it was already nine in the morning.''. Then it hit him. The cause of the shaking was from Scarlet''s gesture of trying to wake him up. The reason why Scarlet reasoned that ''it was already nine in the morning'' because ''Dylan'' would usually wake up at dawn to open the shop and wake her up after he was done preparing breakfast. After which, they will eat together and Scarlet wouldwash the dishes. She was worried because something might have happened to her elder brother and besides, she was already so hungry so she did the sure way to wake her brother up but hesitated at first. She knew that her brother would sometimes experience pain at night because her brother would let out miserable moan that would wake her up. This made her worry even more that was why she strengthened her resolve and farted at her brother''s face to wake him up. Although the thought of it, made her want to laugh so badly because that was her nature. But, her concern for her brother overwhelmed that urge to laugh it out because she truly did want anything to happen to her brother for he is the only one who truly cared and loved her. Thus, she was afraid, no, terrified that if something bad were to happen to happen to her brother, then no one would care for her after. Seeing the concerned expression of his little sister for him, he softened up while he thought " That stare is got to be a cheat. There''s no way a person could be this cute.". He felt that his resistance was futile as he looked in Scarlet''s watery scarlet eyes. Those eyes were like the eyes of a pleading cute dog to his owner to caress it''s tummy. He then gave in to those eyes and that cute face, and offered to Scarlet, " Okay. Let me make it up to you. I will cook you something good for today. What do you want?" "What I want? Anything I want?" Scarlet pondered and smiled. "What... You..." Dylan found it difficult to get angry because those cheating eyes are pleading in that cute manner again. "Big Brother Dylan wants to make it up to me right? So Big Brother Dylan will cook me anything I want,, right?" The mischievous girl maintained her pleading look and paired it with a pleading cute voice. It was like an irresistible force coercing him to obey what this girl said. "Ugh, okay, fine. You win. Anything you want." How could Dylan resist such an irresistible doll like sister of his? "Yeeey!" Scarlet celebrated "Now what do my cute little sister want?" Dylan helplessly shook his head. This was simply injustice. How could fight the charm of this adorable child? He felt as though he was being taken advantage of. Well, he exactly was being taken advantage of by his troublemaking sister. The mischievous light immediately resurfaced as soon as Dylan agreed to her request. " I want a seasoned chicken, pork ribs, cattle''s milk..." the little girlspoke the list of what she wanted to eat in an exciting manner. She just can''t help but be blissful thinking how she would eat all her favorite delicacies. She continued to order seven more and then finally stopped. "Wha-what?" Dylan was stunned because his little sister knew exactly what type of food her elder brother had in storage in his storage room. He nearly spat off a mouthful of blood from regret. But then again, he could only do what was asked from him since he already had given his word so naturally he must comply. Dylan went to the storage and fetched the ingredients for the food Scarlet wanted to eat. Then, he went to the kitchen. Preparing the cooking tools he needed, he also cleaned his ingredients. He knew how to cook well in both lives so the cooking experience of both merged together and made his culinary skills to improve greatly. During cooking Dylan searched the memories the past him had on Scarlet. He found the child at the remains of a destroyed mountain range. While Dylan tried to search for an Alchemist that could refine a pill that would greatly benefit him to the extent of a full recovery four years ago. He saw a small two year old baby girl but there were no signs of someone in the vicinity. Feeling pity for the baby girl, he adopted her and called her Scarlet because of her beautiful scarlet face. After two hours of cooking, he prepared the feast and invited Scarlet. Seeing such a feast, Scarlet''s eyes could not help but water and her eyes emitted her hunger. "Eat up, Scarlet" as he turned around and leave because he would open up the store even though it''s already near noon. "Brother, wait!" Scarlet stopped Dylan. "What is it?" "I don''t want to be alone. I want you to eat with me. Please." "But I am just going to open the store. Although it''s late, I can still open." "Can''t it wait after you eat, Big bro?" Scarlet did her pleading cute look again. "Uh... Okay". Unable to retort, he could only give in. "Yeeey!" The little girl was joyous as though she had won something. After eating, Scarlet washed the dishes while Dylan quickly prepared the store for any costumer. After washing the dishes, having been bored Scarlet hung out at the store which was something she rarely did. After 3 hours of waiting, no signs of customer had passed the outside of the door. Unable to contain herself anymore, she said, "I''m going to find some customers for you, big bro!".Then, Scarlet dashed outside without a second word. "Wait-? Ugh..." Dylan failed to stop the little girl and helplessly shook his head. That girl just does whatever she wants. Several moments later, Scarlet came back with a self-satisfied look on her little porcelain face with another person she held by the hand. "Big Brother, I saw her outside and she seemed like she was about to enter the store. So I asked her what was she doing, she said she wanted to buy a herb." "En" the girl nodded as patches of faint red formed on her cheeks. The girl was extremely beautiful although not as beautiful as Rose or Elizabeth but she was not far off. She was a brunette with two long pigtails. Her hair looked so smooth and shiny and it flowed down gently like a river. She had an exquisite white skin and amazing facial features. Her eyes were like an opal shining faintly. Her wonderful voluptuous body would drive any man mad. She also had that shy princess aura with her that made her even more attractive. "May I ask for your name, beautiful fairy maiden?" Dylan politely asked. "I am Rea, Rea Cross." the brunette beauty replied. "Rea? What a cute name. So you are from the Cross Family? How may I help a person from a rich and enormous clan?" Dylan faintly smiled and calmly replied. Rea Cross blushed so much as she felt in a daze when she saw that smile of his. Even Scarlet was in a daze for a moment and thought ''Why does Big bro suddenly feel so handsome?''. The same thought struck through Rea''s mind. "Why does this average looking person suddenly feel so handsome?" This was Dylan''s natural charisma released that had been so sharply honed to a frightening level. Even though he looked average, the disposition and aura he exuded is like a gentlemanly prince from a fairy tale. "Um... I... I... want..." Rea was still flushed and unable to think straight. "Yes?" Dylan politely replied again. Rea was still in complete daze as she pointed at a certain pot from a certain shell. "A blue spirit grass? But with your families'' wealth, you could buy hundreds of kilograms of superior quality than what I have in stored in my humble store. May I ask if Ma''am Cross has a reason for this?" Dylan doubtingly asked but he maintained hi calm expression with a faint smile on his face. Waking up from the daze, Rea felt embarrassed as what Dylan said was true. Rea racked her brain for a reason until she formulated one. "I have just completed my first out of the clan mission so I wanted to buy something from the money I earned for a change. I am currently low in spirit energy so I need about 50 pounds of blue spirit grass." Rea replied although there was still faint redness on her cheeks. She had just said she was low in spirit energy. Spirit energy is only energy exclusive to... Awakened Spirit Realm experts. It is quite a shock that she is able to reach such a stage with her age only at 16. "Oh, is that so? Ok then. Here are your herbs, ma`am. That would be ninety silver coins". Dylan honestly stated the price. "Here is a gold coin keep the change. I will be taking my leave, sir." Rea shyly quietly cupped her hands and left. "Wow, a gold coin. It sure is good to be rich" Dylan exclaimed as she saw the back of that brown haired beauty. Suddenly, there was a trembling sound that he heard. *Tremble* * Tremble* "Scarlet, can you feel a trembling sound?" Dylan asked. "Nope. Why?" Scarlet honestly replied. "Nothing" Dylan said. ''Could it be... The mansion? Dylan closed his eyes and saw the mansion trembled. A white colored light shot out of the mansion''s massive door and to his hand. He was shocked what this strange stone was. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind and it said to crush the mysterious stone. Dylan involuntarily followed the instructions and crushed. He felt a sudden surge of energy that caused him to breakthrough to the third level. Wasn''t this a little too ludicrous? A stone could cause one''s cultivation to advance an entire level and ignored the stages. If a word of this were to reach the outside world it would cause uproar. "Why..... Was it because of someone that bought an item from me? Because it only reacted after Rea bought those herbs... Could it be that this mansion is not a treasure trove but an.... energy source?!" Dylan was lost but it was the only possible theory he currently had. ''If it wasn''t for Scarlet bringing Rea to the Store, then I would have never discovered this. The heavens are truly just! Hahaha now my path to greatness is clear. My legend will now officially begin. Hahahaha! 7 Chapter 7: Getting More Customers with a Single Tea Earlier outside the store. ... Rea was conflicted whether she should go inside and was walking back and forth. Although she was a very shy girl by nature, she was also the type of person who gets easily interested in things that caught her interests. As she was heading back to her clan, she saw this herbal store already near the outside of. Although it was a bit dilapidated, her curiosity got the most of her and momentarily stop in front of this herbal store. She was curious what kind of person would build such a store. She was also curious about the appearance of the inside of that store. Her mind let her imagined the different scenes and pop out many questions. She just could not help but be conflicted because of this. Being shy and curious at the same time was a very difficult personality to have because it gave her a lot of pain and disappointment ever since she was only a little girl. Being a peerless genius in her clan, she needed to hold herself back from things that piqued her curiosity and wanted to explore more. When she was 5, her father told her a story about their clan treasures. Due to this, she went to their ancestral hall and broke through the barrier tryingto Once find their clan''s ancestral heirloom. Once one was able to pass the barrier set up by their ancestors, it meant that she had an extremely strong and pure bloodline. When the Elders came as response to the alarm caused by someone entering the Ancestral Hall, they were shock as they saw a girl taking to a sword that seemingly acknowledged this little girl. This was the reason why her clan valued her so much. Not only did that ancestral sword acknowledged her, she also showed an exceptional talent that made her shine over every genius in their clan. It only took her 6 years to traverse the whole Spirit Gathering Realm. She currently is at the Initial 15th level Awakened Spirit Stage and such a talent awed the whole Cross Clan. Her talent granted her fame and countless of suitors. She politely rejected their requests to seek her audience as she was too shy to do so. As Rea was lost in her thoughts, a scarlet light flashed on the corner of her eyes. She followed the scarlet light and saw a little girl walking aimlessly. She looked at the extremely beautiful scarlet haired girl with adore and thought, "How pretty". Then, she covered her mouth as she realized that her thought actually led her to speak out. Although it was not particularly loud, the little scarlet haired girl heard this and revealed an expression of delight. "Big sister, big sister, hello!" The little scarlet haired girl ran over to her. "Uh... Um... Yes?" Rea replied quite awkwardly. " Big sister, why are you standing here outside for? Are you waiting for someone? Are you doing something? Where are you from? Can I know your name?" the little girl asked innocently to Rea. "Uh... Umm.. No..I''m Rea.. I''m from the c-city." Rea shyly said. She couldn''t handle the bombardment of questions that this little girl shot at her. "Ohhh, Hello, Big sis Rea. Nice to meet you, I''m Scarlet" Scarlet introduced herself to the shy girl. She offered her little tiny hands to the beautiful young lady. That picture would be a kind of painting any painter would want to paint. Hearing those casual words, Rea could not help but smile happily because ever since she became the most peerless talent of her clan every person she met would address her as "Lady Rea", "Princess Rea" and many more addresses of those sorts. She was truly happy to hear those simple words that came out from this little beauty. "Y-yes. Nice to meet you too... little-sis Scarlet." Rea was so happy as she said those words and shook hands together with Scarlet. She never had a little sister before so the thought of her having this little girl as his sister made her smile even more enchanting. "Big-sis Rea, why do you speak so awkwardly? Is it because you''re shy?" Scarlet said. "You look so pretty big sis and have such a pleasant voice." Scarlet complimented her after. "Y-yes, I''m really shy... I was like this ever since I was born... Thank you... little sis." Rea dejectedly said at first and smiled at the compliments of Scarlet. She was somewhat embarrassed when Scarlet complimented her. "Is that so? So what do you want to do big sis? Do you want to enter the shop with me? It''s a little bit broke but my big brother is the owner of that place and he is really kind. He cooks great food too." Scarlet asked. "R-really? Okay then. I hope I''m not causing too much inconvenience to you, little sis Scarlet." Rea told the little girl. "Hehe. Not at all." Scarlet chuckled while they started to walk. " Okay" Rea smiled. "By the way, big sis. Can I ask you a favor?" Scarlet looked back with a pleading cute look on her face. With that expression, her mischievous nature always shows. ''Too cute.'' Rea thought. "Anything you want, little sis." "Can you be my brother''s girlfriend, so that you can take care of him? Can you?" Scarlet requested. She thought that if Dylan had a girlfriend then, she would also have a person to hide on when her big brother is mad at her. This thought made her smile appear even more mischievous. But another thought past through her mind, "It will be better if she could stop Big Brother''s suffering". "..." Rea was speechless as she turned red. She never would have thought that this would be Scarlet''s favor. She became more embarrassed as she entered the store. Going back to the present... After successfully making a breakthrough, Dylan could feel that his comprehension and level is slowly being balanced. Dylan rushed to Rea to thank her. Rea, however, wanted to immediately flee. She tried her best quicken her pace without ruining her poise. She became exceptional in covering up her shy nature and covered it up with a calm and peaceful facade. She couldn''t comprehend how a mediocre looking man like Dylan could make her all flustered. Just as she was about to use her movement technique, a voice called her "Ma''am Cross wait!". She turned around and saw a man rushing to her. She was shocked by what she saw. ''Wasn''t he an initial 2nd level Spirit Core Realm? Why did he suddenly leap to a whole level? And this... Movement technique comprehension level is...peak of the expert rank?! His speed is comparable to a 7th level Spirit Veins Stage?!" She could not understand how this seemingly ordinary man could possess such talent. She stopped as the young man was about to reach her. She saw that this man''s face became more handsome?What was happening in this world?How could someone change so much in just less than a minute? She thought to herself. Dylan himself did not know that he had become increasingly more like his previous life''s appearance. It feels like overlapping the two faces slowly in a subtle manner while forming a perfect combination of the two. It seems like the further Dylan makes an advancement in cultivation, the more he becomes more similar to his previous life''s appearance. When Dylan reached Rea, he was somewhat short of breath. "Miss Rea, I would like to offer you a cup of tea as my token of gratitude to you and because you are my very first customer for this month. Will that be alright?" Dylan offered with his signature faint smile on his face. Then the magic of his charisma started to take effect onRea immediately. Rea was in a daze even before but now this brunette beauty became even more dazed and involuntarily nodded and followed Dylan. "Y-yes. I would like that". Rea replied " Let''s enter the shop first, ma''am" Dylan suggested. When they reached the store, Dylan politely gave a chair to Rea and went to the kitchen to prepare the tea. While Dylan was making tea, Rea was flustered. ''Why did I agree to him?!'' Ugh'' She felt dismal as she experienced a hurricane of emotions. But a good thing that Scarlet was bored, so she approached Rea and talked to her. This somewhat made Rea more calm and less flustered. After several minutes, Dylan exited the kitchen with that aromatic fragrance. This made Rea''s somewhat flustered face to turn tranquil. When she took a sip, she felt pleasant. Unknowingly, on her last sip, she had a peaceful expression with a genuine smile hanging on her face. Rea suddenly regained her senses. She involuntarily shivered when she thought of how she came back at this store willingly when Dylan asked her. But her heart warmed how this man treated like a proper lady without that common glint in the eyes of her suitors. Those eyes of desire made Rea feel really disgusted. But this man in front of her was a true gentleman in actions, thoughts and disposition. This made Rea''s heart started to race as she saw the smile hanging on his now handsome face.Then she smiled beautifully and thanked Dylan "Thank you, Mister Dylan. It was a good tea.". A feeling she never before felt was planted on her heart that very day. "No, it should be me thanking you, for buying here. I hope you will come again miss" Dylan smiled. "Maybe... no... I will visit this place from time to time. I want to see Scarlet too. See you store owner Dylan." Rea said in her pleasant voice. "We will await you, ma''am" Dylan bid his farewell. "Big sis, will you be Big Brother''s Girlfriend or not?" Scarlet shouted. "You.. little... What are you~" Dylan was furious when he heard the other party''s reply. "Ummm..I will... consider it." She turned and her hair whipped beautiful in the afternoon sky and then, she smiled beautifully to Scarlet. "Okay, Big-sis Rea." Scarlet was delighted when she heard that reply. "..." While Dylan was rendered speechless, he helplessly shook his head while he saw that beautiful silhouette disappear throughout the horizon. He closed his shop and entered the house. He tried and performed experiments on the mansion and discovered two things. First when he ordered to buy something from him, it did not work meaning that the customer should do everything in his or her own discretion. Second, he discovered that it only works only if the transaction was made on the shop or any shop he seemed his shop. "It seems like the Mansion has rules that I have got to follow," he contemplated. So the next day, he decided to set up a stall outside with a sign saying "Dylan''s Good Cup-a-tea" He decided to use the aromatic fragrance that was being produced during tea making as it is being brewed. The aromatic fragrance filled the air and a middle aged person came. The middle aged person was beguiled by the smell. After the tea was brewed, the man ordered to buy a tea. When the man drank it, he loudly said "what a great tea". *Tremble* *Tremble* *Tremble* "Hahaha yes I knew it." A white little rock appeared on his hand. But when he crushed it he only advanced by three stages. So he deduced that he will gradually form resistance to the rock. But if he was about to daily make a customer, and then he would have good and amazing variety of teas. Another person came and bought a tea. Another rock appeared again and he advanced to the Initial fourth stage. Both man liked his tea and said. "Brother, I will recommend this to my family so expect more customers because it''s an extremely good tea hahaha" "Me too, I will also invite some of my friends here tomorrow" "Thank you so much Brothers. Here take this free cup of tea" Dylan said. "Then we won''t be polite hahaha" both men said. After finishing the tea, the good man left. They bid their farewell and enjoyed the feeling of entering such a state. It was intoxicating for them. He estimated it would only be two stages he can advance after reaching the fourth level. His last costumer of the day was an old lady. The old lady loved his tea and said to bring her entire family tomorrow. When the stone appeared and he crushed it, he only advanced by one stage. He was shocked his body was rapidly forming resistance to the energy of those mysterious white stones. "This is bad. I need to maximize every usage of the mysterious white stones. I need to prepare food to so that people would recommend this place and I could have more customers which also mean I will have more of these mysterious white stones." 8 Chapter 8: The Rise of the Broken Down Herbal Shop. After closing the shop, it was already night time. Currently, Dylan has advanced to the High 4th level Spirit Core Realm. With this sudden increase in strength, he felt he needed to consolidate and stabilize his cultivation. After several cycles of circulating his cultivation technique, he managed to fully stabilize his cultivation. He was surprised that the purity of his energy is nearing the High level Cultivation technique energy. He also realized that his capacity for energy has also increased significantly. It was nearly comparable to a Spirit Veins Realm Expert. Previously, Dylan was disappointed that his body was having an increasing resistance to the mysterious white stones. Now, he understood why. It was because the stone has nourished his body to an extent that it felt like he was being reborn. The purity of his energy and capacity for energy has improved significantly because of this. He was no longer disappointed when he thought of this but instead, became fired up. ''If my resistance to the energy is increasing, then I would just have to increase the number of customers I have. I could induce millions of regular customers in my company back on Earth. So why can''t I do so now? Getting customers is as easy as pie for me.'' Dylan thought proudly to his previous achievements. ''But I have another problem; my stock won''t be able to keep up with my customers. If I have more or less 10 to 15 customers a day, my stock would only last for at least 5 days and at most a week. I need to find a shop to be the source of my ingredients. ''.Dylan calculated. He realized that he was severely lacking in ingredients. So he formulated a plan. "I desperately need an investor and suppliers of ingredients. Based on my memories, there is a hunter''s guild nearby called Hundred Hunters. Hundred Hunters is a guild of vicious men that hunts all day long and kills more than a hundred beasts daily. So I can make them my supplier for meat. For my spices and my tea herbs, let''s see... the Misty Herb Garden is the one with the greatest herb production in Soaring Cloud City, so they will be the one to supply my herbal needs. For my investor, let''s take Thousand Treasures Pavilion, the biggest auction house in the city." He said as though everything was natural but if anybody were to hear what he just said they would puke blood from shock. Those three were giants within the city. Each one of them has a large web of influenced that flowed throughout the city. If the three heads of those three were here, they would be angered so much that they would turn red. It would be an insult to them how this owner of a run-down shop had the guts to utter those words to their respective organizations. When he entered the house, Dylan saw Scarlet looking at her with a peculiar gaze. "Is there something in my face?" He said. "No it''s just that... big brother, you became more handsome today." Scarlet said to her elder brother in a daze. "Eh?" Dylan was shocked by what he heard. He even thought if he were hearing right. "Uh, no... it''s nothing... It''s just you look a bit more unfamiliar all of a sudden, big bro." Scarlet seemingly woke up from her dazed state and organized her thoughts. She cursed herself why did she say that to her own brother. "Oh, really? I don''t really feel much of a change . Oh, maybe it''s because I broke through today." Dylan hypothesized. " What? Big bro finally had a breakthrough?! What''s yours cultivation level now?" Scarlet changed the subject and excitingly questioned her brother. Finally after more than 4 years her big brother, Dylan, made a breakthrough. "High 4th level Spirit Core Realm!" Dylan disclosed smilingly. He did not wish to hide anything to his little sister because it was pointless to do so. Although her little sister is quite the trouble maker, he still trusted her with all his heart because the current Dylan was influenced with the past Dylan''s memories. It was the bond they had as brother and sister. "Really?! Big bro is really the best." Scarlet knew how hard it was to cultivate and to advance a realm. She was so excited when she heard that her big brother Dylan leaped two whole realms. No matter what happens, she still believed that her brother would be the strongest.She immediately jumped to Dylan''s embrace and hugged her. Dylan was momentarily shocked but his expression warmed right after. He hugged that adorable little scarlet haired girl firmly. Then, after several moments later, he released her and slightly patted her head. Scarlet also reluctantly let go of his brother. ''I wanted to hug big brother a little longer though. Big bro Dylan smelled so good too''.Then, she was shocked by what she had just thought. "What am I thinking?" she loudly reprimanded herself. "Ehh?? Scarlet, are you feeling well? Why are you acting weird today?" Dylan heard Scarlet''s unusual cry and he immediately inquired out of concern. "Huh? Err.. uh... Right, it''s getting late already. I need to go to bed." Scarlet tried to change the subject. "Ehh? But we''re just having dinner. Are you sure you''re feeling well?" Dylan found Scarlet''s behavior somewhat odd. "Umm, of course I am. It''s just that ate too much earlier and I''m feeling sleepy already. There''s no need to worry, big bro. I''m still full. Good night, big bro. I''m going to bed now." She said hurriedly and went to her room on a whim. "Uh, okay. Have a good rest." Dylan reminded When she arrived at her room, she finally calmed down. She gently laid on her small bed and slept soundly. With Scarlet asleep, Dylan ate hurriedly as he decided what he should do next. "To attract the attention of those three organizations, I need to have a sudden increase in my customers. It not only needs to be many, it needs to be a crowd. I can maximize my output in three possible ways. First, by doing a public cooking which would definitely attract people because it will pique their interests with a line of thought, ''What is he doing?''. Second, I need to create an environment that would be appropriate for long duration dining which will attract a number of people but is quite strenuous. Third, I need to maximize my estimated number of customers to more than 50. This will cut my supplies to a maximum of 3 days. I will be gambling it all on these three days." "If my calculations are right, my initial number of customers will be 10-15. So I need to push it to 50 people. Every person would at the very least pay for 100 silver coins due to my menu. This will add to 5000 silver coins equivalent to 500 gold coins. If I continue this for three days, I would get 1500 gold coins which would square off my debt to Robert." "But that''s not what I want to achieve, my goal is to add 25 people per day and that will cause me to have a total of 2250 gold coins in 3 days!" Dylan planned everything according to his current resources and capabilities. He felt that he needed to prepare a whole night for this. That is why he immediately tidied up the dishes and the whole house. His first task was to create a platform for his public cooking tomorrow. He set off to the borders of "Beast Forest" and chopped of some wood. He chopped trees into lumbers. It took him one hour to chop the sufficient lumber he required. It would normally be impossible for a person to chop at such a speed but since Dylan has already entered High 4th level Spirit Core Realm and is comparable to a 7th level Spirit Veins Realm Expert in strength. He was able to do so with ease. *Growl* *Growl* He accidentally awakened a spirit beast called "Wind Wolf". A spirit beast which known for its speed and agility. The wolf was infuriated that this person woke him up from his good self by chopping of these trees. The Wind Wolf pounced towards Dylan as it exuded the aura of a Pinnacle 5th level Spirit Core Realm. But how could this wolf compare to Dylan in terms of strength? Dylan rushed towards the world and seemingly vanished. The Wind Wolf stopped on this tracks as his target disappeared from his line of sight. The Wolf noticed that from above a young man flipped and use the heel of his head to smash the skull of the Wind Wolf. An instant-kill by Dylan had occurred under the veil of the moon light. But he heard a few more growls and saw three angry Wind Wolf each one at the Peak 5th level Spirit Core Realm. They madly pounced at him with eyes filled with bloodlust. But Dylan also did not delay as he used Breaking Boulder Fist to wipe out all three wolves at once. They maybe greater in numbers but under absolute strength, all is futile. "Great, now I have just enough meat to last 3 days!" Dylan rejoiced in his luck. What poor wolves they became a supplement to Dylan''s scarce supply of resources. Dragging the four wolves in by their tails and the bundles of lumber he cut, he proceeded to the front of his store. When he reached his store, he placed the wolves'' carcasses by the side and started making the platform. 9 Chapter 9: Discovery Under the Moonlight and the Break of Dawn Under the curtain of moonlight, a young man solely making a wooden platform could be seen. Amidst his construction of the wooden platform, he caught his breath a little bit and gases upon the starry sky. Of course who could this young man be aside from Dylan? "The sky in this world is different compared to Earth''s starry night sky."Dylan wondered. Indeed, the night sky of the Great Mystic World is different because it has three moons of different sizes. The biggest of the three is colored white; the little moon is of light blue in color, while the topmost and the second biggest moon are yellow in color. Dylan remembered the legend behind the three moons. The legend depicted that the Great Mystic World only had one large moon in the beginning. As years past, the moon started to gain intelligence and later on successfully transform into human form. But the heavens did not permit it to be so. So, it casted the Heavenly Tribulations onto the moon. The Heavenly Tribulation was frightening, it nearly killed the moon but at the end of its life, it''s power erupted and broke through to become a deity. Its human form became more apparent as it finally chose a gender. It became a female goddess overflowing with beauty. With her new gained power, she fought the Heavenly Tribulation and rocked the whole world until it dissipated. Unwillingly, the Tribulation Clouds faded. Just as the Moon Deity rejoiced in victory, the space bended countless of times until a whole was pictured through space. A god descended and it was called the Seven Kills God, a renowned expert for massacre and overflowing with battle intent. He fights anyone to quench his thirst for battle. That is why he rushed here sensing someone has reached the Deity Stage. He did not care whether it was a beautiful goddess. He was only interested in fighting. When the Moon Deity saw his appearance, she knew she couldn''t escape. That was why she prepares herself for battle. Unfortunately, the Seven Kills God was too strong. He sliced two times; the first severed Moon Deity''s head, the second separated the torso from the legs. Disappointed, the Seven Kills God left. The three parts formed into three different moons in size and in color. The torso was the biggest, the legs were the slightly smaller, and the head was the smallest. That was how the people of the Great Mystic World believed how the moon came to be. Thinking about this, Dylan sighed as even a strong expert like the Moon Deity could perish as well. He clenched his fist and swore that he would become stronger than the Moon Deity and even the Seven Kills God. He would become the strongest there is. His eyes brimmed in fires of determination as he started to construct once more. After an hour of work a decently made wooden platform was formed. He tested its durability and capacity and was quite satisfied by what he made. It could hold a total of 25 persons max. Just as he was about to proceed to organize the setting outside of his shop, he noticed something different from his shop. "Wasn''t that sign broken when I opened the store this morning? Wait, the door is fixed?! The windows are no longer cracked?!" He was shocked. Although these changes were negligible, as the store owner, he knew every detail in his store. Every inch and corner of the store was known to him. He momentarily stopped his beautification of the outside of the shop and entered the store. He was shocked to see that the store was more clean than usual. The hole left behind by Robert Bobman vanished. He inspected every part of the store he knew that had some broken and he was shock to find out that almost all of them were gone. "Could it be because of the mansion? No this isn''t a direct effect of the mansion... But maybe it was related to me... Or to be exact my growth in strength?" Being an intelligent person,Dylan deduced this. He also found out that his current appearance had some slight resemblance to his old face when he was checking for that broken mirror at the side of the counter. There was no change in the store or his appearance before. The only thing that could have caused this was his advancement in his cultivation level. Aside from that, he could not think of anything else that might have caused these sudden changes. That would explain why earlier Scarlet said he looks more handsome today than usual. He speculated that the mansion was made by at least a Deity level being whose cultivation was greatly related to business due to it giving rewards for the buying of costumers and subtly improving the condition of the store. If his assumptions were correct, it would mean that the cultivation path set to him by the mansion was extremely suitable for him like it was tailor made for him. He, who was the greatest businessman of his time on earth, would be able to use his acquired skills and experiences from his past life in order to make himself stronger. Not only that, his workplace would also develop in accordance to his growth in strength. Given all of that his cultivation path, would be different from the norm. His cultivation would be dependent to his skill in business and finance. It would also be dependent on the number of costumers and the popularity of his brand. One could say that his cultivation would be easy and hard at the same time. But with Dylan''s skill and experience, it would only be a matter of time where his company in this world would flourish. Thinking of this, Dylan''s eyes burned with determination and intently gazed upon the horizon where his thoughts drifted over and said, ''My path has been clarified. Great Mystic World get ready for the rise of Dylan Ford." He was even more motivated to finish with the construction of the setting he had in mind. He made common wooden fences and placed it around the platform in a square like manner.The square fences were 20 m long in each side. He crafted a small ark in the front to be set as a door. He based the look of the door by the ark on the mansion, though it was greatly inferior to the real thing, it still possessed that ethereal feeling to it. After the fences, he started making the tables and chairs. For the tables, he decided that it would be also square so that it would be able to compliment the surrounding fences. For the chair he made it atypical so as to give the feeling of simplicity to the setting. Overall, the whole area feels peaceful and serene that would have a great impact to the costumers. But he was only able to make 4 sets of the table and chairs. A set was compromised of one table and 4 chairs. He was still lacking 10 more sets. So, he decided to once again venture to the woods. This time, he also awakened several beasts. He woke up a horde of Fire Chickens but the strongest was just initial 5th level Spirit Core Realm and the others were only at the Pinnacle of the 4th level. They were twice as big as normal chickens especially the 5th level one which was bigger than the rest. So he happily slaughtered them all as he thought they would serve as a good dish and went back to the store. After three hours of work, he was able to create 15 more sets and used the rest as letterings for the platform. He still felt dissatisfied about the outcome. Although it already looked great, he wanted it to have a perfect appearance so as to render the costumers in awe. Then, thought of something that would better the look of his store. It would be flowers. Flowers maybe simple but they are pleasing to the eyes and if used properly they would attract countless of eyes. So he went back to the forest, in its vicinity you can see countless flowers but he only selected those he knew because others might be poisonous and if something bad were to happen to a costumer, he would be held accountable. Fortunately, it was only flower picking so he did not wake up any beasts. After checking it several times, he was relieved that there was none which was poisonous. So he returned after. After he decorated it the, roses, daisies, chrysanthemums, dahlias, yellow bells, jasmine and other flowers along with some vines were scattered all around the fences especially on the entrance. It looked like a mini garden of Paradise. He saw that it was already dawn when he finished. He silently sat in meditation for a while to relieve the tiredness that he felt. When he felt refresh and all energized he painted it all with white. He used his energy to heat up the paint to hasten the drying of the paint after he was finished brushing the fences and the table. His ideal mini Paradise garden has been realized as the letters in front of the platform was emphasized by the waking sun. "GARDENFORD RESTAURANT" Feeling satisfied, he happily stretched his body and prepared the ingredients. Suddenly, a trembling noise happened in his mind. "Could it be another stone? Maybe it''s because of my voluntary improvement of the store that caused this. I wonder what I will receive." Then, a light shot from the mansion gates and materialized in his hand. The light faded and revealed a book. "A book?" Dylan was shocked. In the book inscribed was " Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies". It was a cultivation manual. "This- this.... Hahahahaha!!!! I''m invincible!" 10 Chapter 10: Cosmic God Laughing heartily, Dylan opened the book "Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies" trembling in excitement. This was the cultivation technique that would change his destiny. On the first page, the introduction of the manual has been written: " I, Cosmic God, known to be the Conqueror of Galaxies, crowned strongest among my peers, roamed the cosmos and developed the ultimate technique. I used rivers of time as my water, the vast space as my earth, grasped heaven and earth with nothing but my hands, and used galaxies as commodities for my own business. All others bowed down before me for I am supreme, endless, and invincible." The words written in the manual was extremely overbearing and exuded a true expert''s dominance. He used time as his drinking water, used space as his stepping grounds, and used galaxies as commodities?! How amazing was that? What was overbearing? This was overbearing! The words contained a vast and mighty aura far superior than anything he has felt before. He was overwhelmed by this but he gritted his teeth and quietly endured. Just the faint aura was enough for him to feel suffocated. "I need to endure it" he thought relentlessly. He advanced one more page and prepared himself for another wave of mighty residual energy left behind by the Cosmic God. He needed to endure but he just can''t. Just a single page was already terrifying. The illumination of the characters within the page was blinding. His body had the impulse to close the book. "No if I crumble in the face of a single page, how am I able to become the strongest in this world?!" He roared and he forcefully opened his eyes. He has finally seen the characters written within: "Making the stars and galaxies of the heavens to obey my every command, the earth will crumble with a single wave of my hand, the vast space will bend and the rivers of time will halt according to my will. In my presence, millions of warriors will kneel. Nothing will be able to stop my dominance and in the Peak of the Cosmos I will eternally stand!!!" Those words reverberated in his mind. It overwhelmed him with overbearing aura. His body absorbed vast amounts of natural energy but it was not in a noticeable manner. The absorption was subtle as though the flow of natural energy just changed directions. In a hall of a palace far away from Soaring Cloud City, an elderly man noticed something different. "What was that!" The elderly man noticed. "Oh, the natural energy flow just changed. There is nothing to be worried about the sudden change in the natural energy flow. It happens every month. Although it happened just a bit earlier, there has been many instances of early change in energy flow throughout the history of the kingdom lest in my time in the throne, there has been several times that it happened." The middle aged man reminisced as he sat in his throne with six different colored gems on the top. From what he said, he seems to imply that he is a king. With the royal robe with 6 colors and a crown of six gems, these two things can only be in the possession of the King of the Six Mystical States. "Calm down, Chancellor Merkel" the King said. "You are right, Your Majesty. I was being paranoid. But I felt an extremely powerful aura in a moment. Maybe I was just being overthinking, Your Majesty. Please forgive the insolence of this humble servant." Chancellor Merkel apologized. "There is no need for that. You are my trusted aid. It''s okay." the King smiled. "I am unworthy of your compliment, Your Majesty." Chancellor Merkel bowed. "How is the Competition? Is it going per schedule?" the King inquired. "It is going per schedule, sir. Half a year from now, it will begin and we will be able to find the man that will be able to heal Princess Elizabeth." Chancellor Merkel answered. "Hopefully" the King prayed. It was unknown whether what he said was an answer or just a thought that slipped through his mind. His eyes wandered off in midair as though he was in deep thought. Back in the Gardenford Restaurant, a young man was sitting crossed legged and was silently absorbing energy from his surroundings. In his mindscape, he was experiencing extreme pain as though he was being bended and warped to another place. Then, suddenly the excruciating pain stopped. Feeling better from the numbing pain he just felt, he opened his eyes as he saw an unfamiliar place. Then, he saw a young boy who cultivated day and night. He experienced and past through countless of storms. He got unceasingly stronger as he trampled countless geniuses under his feet. He became so strong that he could conquer galaxies. This man was devilishly handsome and a perfectly engineered body. He was a man that countless women would have sought for even the most peerless beautiful maiden would fall in love in first sight of him. He had a distinct feature to him and it was his silver white haired and space black eyes. The two may seem in contrast but they strangely complimented each other in a captivating manner. He was the true epitome of handsomeness. In his peak, he conquered countless of galaxies and immortal empires. He never made a sect but he had thousands of allies. Each one was the strongest in each of their respective homelands. He even went and sold the galaxies he conquered that he found boring to countless powers. His supreme dominance was displayed to those who were evil as he vanquished them from existence. He was also extremely interested into business as he made different types of businesses to pass his time. "Could.. he be... the Cosmic God?" Dylan doubted. He was unsure why he was seeing the legend of such a great person. But the deeds he had done was inscribed in the introduction of the "Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies". But in truth he was shocked by what he saw such might was the thing he wanted to achieve. The scene changed as it unfolded another scene in his eyes. "Wait... Isn''t that the MANSION?!" With the appearance of the mansion now he was more than certain that the legend of the person he witnessed was none other than the Cosmic God. Not only did the mansion it was a hundred times bigger than what it was in his mind. It was much more grand and extravagant. The pillars were much more refined, the flowers were much more exquisite, everything was better. It felt like the upgraded version of the mansion. "I guess it should be named the Cosmic God Mansion then, shouldn''t it?" Dylan decided to name the mansion this way to commemorate the previous owner of the mansion, Cosmic God. "I wonder if the mansion would look like this if I am able to unlock it." He mumbled to himself. In the Cosmic God Mansion, Cosmic God with his comrades were enjoying a banquet. Cosmic God was holding two beauties comparable to Princess Elizabeth, no, they were even more beautiful and enchanting compared to Princess Elizabeth. But of course, Princess Elizabeth is still young. She may even surpass this two once she reaches maturity. Just from this scene alone, one could see that Cosmic God had multiple wives. He had two more wives that was in his back and occasionally talking and laughing with him. "Hahaha, I never would have expected that Cosmic God was a womanizer." Dylan laughed. The banquet had also sorts of exquisite and delicious delicacies, beverages and fruits. The food filled all the way to the end of that one hundred meter long pure gold long table. Even the chairs were made of pure gold. Not only was it pure gold, it had countless jewelries decorated all over the table and chairs. Cosmic God having conquered countless galaxies looted unimaginable wealth, Dylan could just imagine how wealthy Cosmic God was. "I would be rich if I could sell just a single one of those. It would be so good to be that rich." Dylan''sbusinessman instinct kicked in and felt dismal because he knew he was unqualified to enter the mansion yet. "Oh, how Heavens is playing tricks on me" Dylan complained. But he consoled himself because he knew he would be the one in possession of such a treasure in the future and he also knew with his strength having such a treasure would only bring him his own impending doom. Suddenly, a long explosion was heard outside of the mansion occurred. *BOOOOOM!!!* Shocked by this, Cosmic God and his comrades quickly got out of the mansion. Outside, an army of cultivators that was millions in numbers readied for battle. There were 8 distinguishable figures in front. Each one of them exuded an aura that was stronger than Cosmic God. When they sighted the Cosmic God exiting the mansion, they immediately charged to him and locked him down. The Cosmic God''s companions tried to provide assistance to him but to no avail, the millions of cultivators blocked them and started charging towards them. They were outnumbered by approximately 1000 to 1. The four peerlessly beautiful wives of Cosmic God were also preoccupied by the hindrance of four God level beasts. Although they wanted to help their beloved, they needed to defeat these 4 beasts. A war that shook the Cosmos occurred. The battle lasted for days. The millions were reduced to one hundred thousand but Cosmic God''s allies were thoroughly depleted of their energy reserves. They could only resort to self-destruction that reduced the numbers of enemies to ten thousands. Their loyalty and friendship that they shared with Cosmic God was until the death. Such strong bonds were truly envious. The four wives already killed their god level beast opponents but were blocked by the remnants of the army. Since they were also depleted of their energy reserves, they could only resort to self-destruction that killed over twenty thousand cultivators. The army remaining was only ten thousand cultivators while the 8 strongest figures was only 4. Slaying four stronger opponents while being sieged by eight would be an almost impossible to task to do. Such terrifying and tyrannical strength was amazing. At his last moments, Cosmic God looked elsewhere. The army did not notice peculiarity from the actions of the Cosmic God and thought that it was just him surveying them but Dylan thought differently because he felt or more like he knew that the Cosmic God was staring at him. The Cosmic God''s lips moved slightly as it transmitted... towards Dylan?! But, the army did not thought of this peculiar; they even thought he was using a last resort skill incantation so they prepared themselves as they changed. The words that were transmitted to Dylan were: "Successor... Avenge my comrades.... my wives... and me." Dylan was shocked because Cosmic God was able to transmit a message to him even though they were eras apart but on further thought, it does make sense because Cosmic God can bend and halt space and time according to his will. Cosmic God burned his life force and ignited his cultivation to raise his strength to an unprecedented level. He knew he could only maintain this strength for a brief moment so he focused everything he had in one slash of his sword. Seeing this, the army hastened their advance with the lead of the four great experts and struck out their strongest attack. He used that one strike to eradicate his opponents but caused him to dissipate at the same time. "BAAAAAANNNGGG!!!!" Cosmic God killed all of his opponents but died in the explosion because he did not have even a scrap of energy left so he was vaporized by his own attack. The attack caused Dylan to feel a moment of excruciating pain but after a while the pain slowly faded as he slowly opened his eyes. The entire experience might have felt long but it was only a little over 10 minutes that passed in the real world. With the sun shining, he looked up to the clear blue sky and swore. "Master, Disciple will do his best to avenge you and everyone you loved and cared" Dylan clasped his hands and bowed. He kowtowed three times to acknowledge Cosmic God as his Master. He looked in the sky and a resolute glint appeared in his eyes. "To become the strongest!" 11 Chapter 11: The Herbal Shop turns to a Restaurant? After experiencing the entire lifetime of Cosmic God,Dylan became more motivated to strengthen his cultivation more. His horizon was broadened thanks to that experience. Although it was now somewhat vague, he still remembered the important parts. He was also shocked that the cultivation technique book of Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies was gone but when he scanned his mind, a page will appear. It was the first verse of the Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies. Dylan scanned his body and he was shocked to see that his Spirit Core was twice as bigger as before and his energy was purified two folds and was now comparable ta a peak Middle Spirit Cultivation technique energy. This strange occurrence mystified him thhat just a single page of Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies was already comparable to a peak Middle Spirit Cultivation technique or maybe even a High Spirit Cultivation technique. What more if he were to acquire the entire book itself? As expected of a cultivation technique made by a true peerless expert, it was still so formidable with just one page of the entire technique. What''s more surprising is that an incomplete cultivation technique would cause a person to get cultivation deviation but this incomplete technique did not. Dylan could only deduce that every single segment of this cultivation was perfect. Because only a true perfect cultivation technique was able to do so such a thing. It was so perfect that it could be usedseparately but if combined the cultivation technique would be more perfect and exquisite. "Wow, my spirit core and energy has improved so much with just one reading! I wonder what the effect would be if I kept on cultivating diligently everyday?" Dylan thought excitingly. Dylan noticed that the energy flow in his Gardenford Restaurant was calm which gave off a warm effect to the overall atmosphere of the setting of the restaurant. Dylan did not notice it but his ability to sense energy had been greatly heightened due to his cultivation of a high grade technique. "Ahh, right. I need to wake Scarlet and let her eat breakfast." Dylan was struck with a thought. He entered the store and into Scarlet''s bedroom door. He knocked a few times before the little girl woke up. When Scarlet opened the door, her hair was messy, her nose was runny, her eyes were still half opened, and her mouth still had drool on it. She wore cute little pajamas that was a little big on her but it made her look cuter in contrast. Sighing, Dylan told her that they would eat outside so she needed to at least fix herself out. "We are going to eat outside so fix yourself. Wash your face, comb your hair and brush your teeth." Dylan said. "Okay. Wait a sec- Did big bro just said that we were going to eat outside? Where?!" The sleepy eyes of Scarlet abruptly livened as soon as she heard those words. They usually don''t eat outside because it was expensive. "Err, Is it really okay?" Scarlet realized that her brother must have wanted to go outside because he felt bad that she did not ate supper yesterday. "Of course. Now go and get change." Realizing Scarlet''s thoughts, he pushed her back to her room. "But-" Scarlet tried to say something. "Butts are for pooping. Now dress up." Dylan insisted and closed the door from the outside. After several moments, Scarlet went out of her room with a clean white dress with her hair tied on a ponytail. Seeing that Scarlet was done, Dylan took her by the hand and lead her to the outside of the store. "Big bro, where are we going?"Scarlet curiously asked. She wondered what type of restaurant they were going to. Maybe it was not an overly lustrous restaurant but she was still happy that her big brother would bring her outside to eat. ''I should order a lot of food since big bro is the one paying kekeke." Her mischievousness took over with a subconscious grin on her sweet petite face. "No!" Scarlet suddenly said. She was red-faced when she realized what just happened. "It''s okay. Don''t worry." Dylan warmly smiled to her embarrassed little sister and patted her head. Dylan was shocked that this girl would suddenly would say no and that warmed his heart because despite her troublesome nature, she is still her loving and caring little sister. ''When we reach, the restaurant I should order less to not burden big bro too much.'' she kindly thought. "We''re here." Dylan stopped and announced. "Whaaat???" Scarlet was puzzled. They only took a few steps outside of the house and suddenly they were in a restaurant? How ludicrous would that be? ''Big bro, you must be kidding me, right? There''s no way a restaurant would suddenly appear out of nowhere. You must be trying to get back at me from farting on your face the other day. I already said I''m sorry okay?" Scarlet was in the verge of crying. She felt that his brother was playing a joke on him because of her prank yesterday. "Big bro, you don''t have to tease me like this. I have just been here yesterday. How could a restaurant appear here overnight?" Scarlet was already teary when she said that. "Oh right. You still don''t know yet. Here''s our new restaurant, Gardenford Restaurant!" Dylan presented the beautiful garden-like restaurant. "I''m sorry, big bro... What? Whe-where did this came from?!" Scarlet was in total daze. How could such a beautiful store appear in their front yard? "Wait, big bro did you just say that that... Err, I mean this, this is ours?" Scarlet was even more dumbfounded when she realized the magnitude of Dylan''s words. "Yup, I built it overnight. Don''t worry. Although I did not sleep, I''m not sleepy not tired at all." Dylan confirmed and informed her sister of her condition so she wouldn''t worry too much. "Really?" Scarlet found it unbelievable but when she meticulously examined her brother she saw her brother''s eye bags have deepened although very faint and her hands was covered with scratches and scars all over his hands. Only then, did she believe her elder brothers claim. She was still dumbfounded how her big brother must have gone through to construct such a beautiful restaurant. She felt extremely bad that she did not help with the construction of this store but she knew that she would not be able to offer much help too. She felt helpless and cursed herself for her uselessness. ''I''m so useless. I could not help big bro at all.'' She felt depressed thinking about this matter. She had the urge to cry. "I made this so that we wouldn''t suffer anymore. From now on, I promise you a great life little sis." Dylan warmly replied. This made Scarlet frown even more and tears slowly crept through her cheeks. She felt extremely touched and at the same time felt extremely useless. Seeing this, Dylan understood and crouched to level his face with Scarlet''s beautiful petite face. "You don''t have to feel that way. Why don''t you help me in preparing the tables? I would hire you as a waitress but you''re still too small. So if you want to help, why don''t you be a dishwasher instead? When you grow up about 14 or 16, I''ll let you be the waitress then. Would that be okay?" Dylan knew what she was feeling. Taking care of her by his own all these years, made him understand Scarlet like the back of his hand. "Okay." Scarlet''s face brightened as she heard this and smiled beautifully.Although she did not like doing the dishes, but that was the least thing she could do right now with her age. "So eat up. So you could have the energy to do the dishes all day." Dylan said. "Right!" Scarlet nodded. They entered the Gardenford Restaurant and Dylan cooked a meal for Scarlet. Scarlet waited for a bit before she was served a sumptuous buffet breakfast. They sat on a table set near the cooking platform. "Yummy! I''m sure big brother Dylan''s food will be liked by a lot of people." Scarlet happily assessed Dylan''s cooking while she gobbled the entire meal prepared for her by Dylan. Dylan sat across her and smiled while he finished his meal. After eating breakfast, Scarlet cleaned the table and washed the dishes while Dylan set up the cooking equipment''s he need on the cooking platform. It was around 8 in the morning the time where people would it breakfast at and thus was also when Dylan commenced his cooking and officially opened the Gardenford Restaurant. "Let the games begin." Dylan smirked as he proceeded to cooking his warm-up dishes. "If my conjecture is correct, the promised time of the old lady would be.... NOW!" Several moments later, a group of 9 people was walking at the road leading to Dylan''s Shop. "Grandma, where are we going?" A five year old boy asked her grandmother who was the elderly woman who drank the tea Dylan prepared and promised to bring her family with her. "Dear, we are going to a place where good tea is brewed and good snack is served." the grandmother replied. "Then why are we going to the direction of that broken down shop, mother?" A middle-aged man seemingly the father of the five year old boy spoke to his mother. "Oh, because that was the place where I drank that tea and ate that good bread." The old lady replied. "What? That place is a place where a wastrel of business resides!" The middle-aged man disdainfully said. "Calm down, dear." A mature beauty spoke to calm his husband. "Ugh, okay." The middle-aged man grunted. "Why don''t we make a bet, oh dear son of mine?" The old lady challenged her son. "What bet?" The middle-aged man asked. "If you like that man''s cooking, you are to apologize in front of him but if you don''t, I would apologize to you that I ever brought you here." The old lady explained the stakes. "Why should I?" The middle-aged man clearly was not interested in such a bet. "I will give you your father''s last spirit stone if you win." The old lady taunted. "Mother, stop it please." The wife pleaded. "It''s okay, dear." The old lady faintly smiled "What?! Are you certain, mother?" The middle-aged man asked for reassurance as his fists tightened. A spirit stone would enable him to advance in cultivation by leaps and bounds. "Yes." The old lady calmly said. "Then, I hope you would not renege on your promise, mother." The middle aged man grinned "Of course." The old lady confidently said. "I was thinking of ways to make you give it to me. I did not expect you to gift it to me like this, haha-" the middle-aged man stopped midway as he saw something he never expected. As they approach the store, the middle aged man was shocked by what he saw. It was a garden like place and everything was warm and pleasant. It was like a mini paradise garden. He was getting increasingly stunned as he saw a young man atop a platform cooking something that exuded a fragrance that could calm anyone''s nerves. He knew who he was, he was Dylan Ford the owner of that broken down herbal shop. He was more shocked by what he read in front of the platform, "Gardenford Restaurant". "This-this" the middle-aged man was speechless. Because he knew that this place was originally a broken down shop and now... it turned to a paradise restaurant! The young man saw them walking and greeted the 9 of them. "Welcome to the Gardenford Restaurant, dear customers. I hope you enjoy yourselves dining here." Dylan spoke with his calm face and signature faint smile hanging on his handsome face as he exuded a warm and gentle aura that welcomed all. 12 Chapter 12: The Legendary Occupation Dylan gently opened the door and respectfully guided the group to two tables. He placed the two tablesclose to each other andadded another set in order to accommodate the entire group. "Here is your table, madams and sirs." Dylan presented the table with utmost etiquette. " I will be proceeding to the platform now so I may be able to start cooking for you." Dylan informed his costumers. "Okay." A burly man about 2 meters tall replied. "Now, ma''am and sirs, may I take your orders?". Dylan acted as though a professional waiter of a 5-star restaurant. He gifted them a list of the gourmet that was the menu. "Yes." A 16 year old teenage girl replied to Dylan blushingly. She never had seen a handsome man act so gentlemanly and elegantly that she found it hot. She had seen many men that were more handsome than this man but they did not have that princely disposition that Dylan had. ''I never thought that a store owner could be this hot!''. She thought in her mind. "Thank you, young lady. May I ask what particular dishes you wish to order?" Dylan specified his question and smiled. There was another 18 year old young lady within the group. Her faced went red as she stared intently at this man. She was mesmerized by his natural disposition and character. "I..." the young lady said. "Yes ma''am?" Dylan asked the young lady. "I... like you.." the young lady stated in a faint voice. "Huh?!" The entire family was shocked by what this girl just said "Hmm?" The faint smile on Dylan''s face stiffened. '' I asked you what to order then you suddenly say "you like me"? Isn''t that way off from what I said? This girl must not be in the right mind!'' Dylan did not know whether to laugh or cry because this girl just suddenly confessed right of the bat! But Dylan feigned ignorance as he quickly thought of an excuse. "You like what dish ma''am? I wasn''table to hear you from the faintness of your voice, ma''am. May I ask you what it was again?" Dylan asked in a polite manner. "Uhm, I like... this." The 18 year old lady pointed at the words "Glazed Pork Ribs." Dylan held a pen and started to write down the order. He then smilingly asked, " How about the other gentlemen and ladies? What delicacy would you like to dine with?" "How about you recommend as some of your best and serve it to my family, Store Owner Dylan?" The old lady interjected and smiled. "If this is not against anyone, then I will humbly do so." Dylan reconfirmed. "Of course.", the old lady said "Then, I will take my leave, ma''am." Dylan excuses himself from the group for him to start cooking. He went up in the platform and started cooking. Dumbfounded, the middle-aged man was unable to comprehend what is currently happening. "Wasn''t he supposed to be a wastrel owner of a broken down shop? How is he able to exude such elegance and calmness that I have only seen with the head of the Thousand Treasures Pavilion? What''s more it seems to be he is able to influence us to do his bidding? When did this Dylan Ford become so formidable?" It was true that the previous Dylan was a newbie to the Business World and did not even have the slightest inkling of any business related information and knowledge. He had an extremely limited view towards business and management that was why he was deemed a wastrel of the local business community. Because despite of opening a store for the past four years, Dylan was still unable to get little over a hundred customers. But, that was then. Now, the new Dylan, who was recognized to be the greatest businessman of earth, was the one who is inside the body of this world''s Dylan Ford. He would be able to change the entire negative image that people assigned to his former self. He would be able to prove everyone wrong. ''I don''t believe that he will be able to cook that well." The middle-aged man said. "Are you sure, Gary?" The old lady questioned her son. "Uh.. of course I am. How is someone able to cook so good overnight??" Gary retorted. "Grandmother, what did you say his name was again?" The 16 year old teenage girl asked suddenly. "Yes, grandmother. I would like to know as well." The 18 year old lady butted in. "His name is Dylan Ford. Why do you suddenly ask? Is it because you find him to your fancy, Mary and Marie?" The old lady teased her granddaughters. "..." The two beauties did not reply for a moment. "Mother, stop spouting nonsense! My daughter, Mary, would never like such a waste!" Gary bellowed. "Yes, mother. Marie is a beauty that has over a hundred of suitors. There are several people who are more handsome and stronger than this Dylan Ford and come from better background. As her father, I disallow this because Marie has a good future ahead of her!" The 2 meters tall burly man was a little bit angry from his mother''s comments. He bore some resemblance to Gary. "What Richard said is right! Both of our daughters our jewels to the clan!" Gary forcefully agreed from his brother''s explanation. "Oh, really? But can''t you see that Mary and Marie or even your wives is already flushed red?" The old lady questioned. "..." Every woman present was silent after hearing those words. "What do you mean? There''s no way- what??" Richard scanned as he saw that it was true all four women that were mentioned was flushed red. "Ha-how?" Gary stuttered. "It''s because of that man''s natural charisma. He is able to be elegant, calm, warm and humble at the same time. It is a very difficult thing to do for various businessmen. They may be able to act this way but it will sometimes give others who have good eyes of discernment that these businessmen are acting somewhat forced. Even when I was conversing with the branch head of Thousands Treasure Pavilion, he was still somewhat forced and unable to perfectly harmonize these four." The old lady explained. "Even the branch head of Thousands Treasure Pavilion cannot?" The Brothers were shocked by knowing this. Although they knew that she is approaching her rest, they could never doubt the woman who managed the whole clan after their father died. His knowledge and expertise was something they would not doubt. Their mother was a veteran in business and had an excellent eye of discernment. She could judge the people''s character by just basing on their movements and habits. But they still found it unbelievable that a lad who has not even reached the age of 20 could do something like that. "But, Dylan Ford is able to do so. The condition in which he was just displaying is called Harmonized Soul. Harmonized Soul is attained if you''re able to perfectly harmonize two or more auras at the same time. In the business world, that is one of the most sought for requirement for the most legendary occupation in the Great Mystic World, the Mystical Magnates." The old lady continued. "What?!" The brothers were dumbfounded. "He- he has the qualifications... of becoming... a Mystical Magnate?!" Both of them shuddered. It was a good thing they weren''t as dumb as to offend a Mystical Magnate. A Mystical Magnate has the ability to gather experts because of their influence and power. It was rumored that there was a man who sullied the name of a Mystical Magnate. His whole clan was exterminated by the experts gathered by the Mystical Magnate. They felt a cold tingle down their spines as they felt horrified by the strength of such a person. They felt relieved not being too rash. The women, on the other hand, were stunned. They never thought that Dylan could become such a person. The two young ladies felt their heart racing. As any women would like strong and handsome men, they felt more infatuated towards the man cooking on the platform. "Have I fallen for this man?", they both murmured softly. "Now, do you understand why I, Marites Aaron, came to befriend him?" Marites Aaron said. "Yes mother." Both man simultaneously nodded. "It seems like we would have a good meal." Marites smiled. As Marites finished, a brilliant smell flooded the air. The fragrance was nerve-soothing and peace-inciting. All of them felt that their nerves calm down. They felt relaxed and at peace. It came from the young man who was just preparing the plates. He slowly went down from the platform and walked over to them. "Dear customers, your dishes will be here in just a couple more minutes. How about some nice tea first?" Dylan said and placed over cups to each one of them and poured the tea from the searing hot teapot. "Thank you, sir Dylan." Marites thanked as she received the tea. "No, thank you, Ma''am Aaron." Dylan smiled and left. ''Oh, it seems like this Dylan Ford''s hearing is much better than I expected.'' Marites was amused because she knew that she never introduced herself to Dylan before. It was only today did she first spoke of her name. Although there might be other explanations, but her intuition told her so. A woman''s intuition is rarely.wrong. ''Mystical Magnate, huh.'' Dylan contemplated as he looked through the sky and faintly said. "Let''s get ready, hehehe." He smiled. The whole Aaron family liked the tea even the little boy got a taste of it and liked it. The tea was mellow and serene which is appropriate for any age group. "What good tea..." Garry complimented. "You were right, mother. I was wrong." Garry apologized. "Hahaha. It''s okay. You can apologize to Store Owner Dylan later. But for now, let''s just enjoy this tea and later on our meal." Marites said. "Yes, mother." Gary replied respectfully. After several minutes... "Here are your orders, ladies and gentlemen." Dylan presented the exquisite food he prepared as he gently placed it on top of the tables. Each food was a delicacy. Just a look would water a person''s mouth. There were glazed pork ribs, exquisitely roasted chicken, seared wolf meat, fruit and vegetable salads, and herbal beverages. The family started eating as soon as they were served the food. "Yeeey, food!" The little boy gobbled. "Delicious!!" "It is really delicious" "Compliments to the chef!" "It is both exquisite in presentation and taste!" Dylan received many compliments towards his cooking as he smiled and simply said "Thank you for enjoying my cooking. I am very glad that all of you fancied its taste but I have to take my leave as other costumers will be coming." Dylan knew that the smell of his food has already spread and was bound to attract customers. So he politely excused himself. As he excused himself, he walked towards the entrance and opened it. Then, suddenly people started appearing. He welcomed them warmly and guided them to a table seat. This time it was a group of 6, it was the group his first customer brought. After a while a group of people also appeared and he did the same thing as well it was strength of 11 brought by the second costumer he had. He prepared and served every order that was given to him. Every single one of his customers liked his food and did not spare a single scrap of it to be wasted. More and more customers came. The whole restaurant was now filled with 45 people and it was just lunch. Even if they were great in numbers, Dylan was still able to outstandingly entertain each and every one of them. The quality of his cooking spread like wildfire and as swift as the wind in the city. The news of a new restaurant, Gardenford Restaurant, was spreading all throughout the city so many people started to go to test the food there. In Gardenford Restaurant, it was noon. But, the number of customers skyrocketed to 65! Dylan was still able to entertain all guests despite the great numbers. "I underestimated the curiosity and gluttony of humans." He bitterly laughed. 13 Chapter 13: People Misunderstood Dylan? Dylan was still able to cope even with the gradual increase of the customers. Scarlet was tired from washing all the dishes too. .After finishing their meal, the Aaron family took their leave and bid farewell to Dylan. They were escorted out by Dylan. "I''m sorry, sir Dylan. I have misjudged you. Truth be told, I thought you were a wastrel of business that was why I did not think too highly of your restaurant but you have broadened my horizons. Thank you." Gary Aaron apologized in a way that did not seem to be n apology "It is alright, sir Gary. People make mistakes." Dylan did not know whether to feel gratified or angry by what he said. But, he still chose to stick to his warm tranquill face. "But before I take my leave, may I ask a question, sir Dylan?" Gary inquiried. He seemed to be quite curious of something. "Certainly, what would the inquiry be about?" Dylan politely gave permission. "If you had such skills and talent from the very beginning, why did you wait for four years before you made something as amazing as this? Is there any particular reason?" Gary asked. "I would wish to know as well, sir Dylan. Why did you wait for so long?" Marites was quite curious too. "I would like to know too." The 18 year old Mary said. "Me too." The 16 year old Marie added as well. Consequently, everyone overheard that particular question as they seconded every inquiry regarding this matter. There was about a total of 75 customers that asked in chorus, "WHY??!!" Everyone was quite curious as to why such a great person would choose to hide his genius and talent in respect to Business and Culinary Arts. Of course, being a first time customer of Dylan, they were surprised how learned and practiced every single movement that he made and every single word he spoke. His actions seemed to look like a brilliant veteran business manager doing his job. The way he welcomed these customers, the way he presented his dishes, the way he conversed with the customers, and the way he carries himself while multitasking was amazingly poised and exquisite. Since he was only a 18 year old young man, they thought that it was his outstanding talent and disposition that allowed him to be able to influence them like that. There were even some girls who have fallen to him all throughout the duration of their dining. Once Dylan served a group, he exhibited utmost importance to elegance and manners and every time he left a group there would be one or two girls who would like him. His every action was dreamy in their eyes. They could never would have imagined that the person right in front of them was no longer the past Dylan they knew. The former Dylan could be truly regarded as amateurish and juvenile of him to build a shop without a single inkling of business. "Umm, it''s because.." Dylan paused for a bit as he slowly turned his head and saw a crowd that was anticipating the words that would come out of his mouth. "I... just didn''t like... being too popular... that''s all." The crowd was dumbfounded by Dylan''s shy remarks. Dylan rubbed his nose in embarrassment he knew what he said would be difficult to believe so he was preparing how to reason it out. "So that was the reason. Sir Dylan disdains fame and worldly affairs that was why he was indifferent to money and power." Gary Aaron said with amazement. He was already in awe how Dylan was able to create such an amazing restaurant in just a night. It was because her mother told her that yesterday when she came this restaurant was non existent. When he scanned the area, he saw a saw and an axe with a couple of wood stacked at the side of the broken down herbal shop. He was then able to deduce that this was made all night and alone by Dylan. "With such an outlook for things, there''s no wonder that sir Dylan possess his different amazing qualities." His wife also joined this line of thought. "Ohhh." "Really?" "Sir Dylan is so magnanimous." "What an amazing young man" "Sir Dylan you''re so dreamy!" The words that Gary and his wife had said triggered a switch in the crowds'' minds as it caused a unified understanding about Dylan that he was magnanimous and unworldly. He cared not about worldly things like money and fame. He now seemed more like a sage indifferent to all worldly matters. Each and everyone in the crowd thought of it this way. The ladies had something additional in mind. It was the thought, ''Sir Dylan is so cute when he is embarrassed''. Some girls nearly fainted by this. Dylan''s disposition and charisma was just overwhelming. When he rubbed his nose, some girls felt their nose bleed. But what was the reason for his recent change? That was the question raised by Richard Aaron. "But, sir Dylan, why was it that you had a sudden change of heart?" Richard inquired respectfully "That''s right, why is it that you changed your mind, Sir Dylan?" Richard''s wife asked politely as he supported his husband''s inquiry. "Yes, I''m also quite curious." Another man in the crowd agreed. "Me too." A woman''s voice seconded. "I''m pretty sure that sir Dylan has an appropriate reason for this." Marie created a leeway for Dylan to speak. "..." Dylan was speechless. He was unable to understand why these people were able to connect that to his reason. This matter was getting extremely out of hand. He knew he needed to take actions now or else it may get worse. He did not know whether to laugh or cry because of what this people are saying. If this spread, he would be considered as a sage. But if the truth was found out after, he would be called a fraud even though he was completely innocent in respect to this matter and it was this people whom thought of it as such. He would be regarded as a criminal without doing something, which was why he needed to speak out. "Wait, let me clarify everything first, the-" Dylan was just about to say something when someone suddenly interrupted him. "Sir Dylan, may I ask why you keep on going at the back of the stage?" A man suddenly asked. "Huh?" Dylan was stunned. What was this question for? This man just spontaneously shot a question related to the current matter. "Right, I saw sir Dylan repeatedly go at the back of the platform every time he finished serving a group of costumer." Another man confirmed. ''What does me going to the back got to do with any of this?'' Dylan thought. "I would also like to know. Is there something that was bothering you at the back of the stage" Mary asked curiously. "It was because-" Dylan was just about to reason when another voice interrupted him. "What nonsense are you lot talking about? The more important question was raised by my brother; you can wait for your turn after Sir Dylan is done answering that!" Gary reprimanded that man who asked about why Dylan goes to the backstage often. ''Can someone just allow me to speak without being interrupted?'' Dylan felt helpless these people were controlling the flow of the discussion and he was helpless in doing something. "Uh, I''m sorry, Brother Richard." The man cupped his fists and apologized. "It''s of little concern. Just wait for your turn brother; I''m pretty sure sir Dylan would happily entertain you." Richard smiled and cupped his fists as well. ''Happily entertain, your foot. I would do anything just to get out of this mess!'' Dylan thought miserably. "You are right, Brother Richard." The man said. "Ah, where were we? Sir Dylan, can you please proceed with your explanation?" Richard smiled. "Of course, as I was saying,-" Just as Dylan was about to begin again a hysterical cry sounded. ''Oh, for Pete''s sake, what is it now?!'' Dylan was getting angry in his mind because of the repeated interruptions. "My Little Ricky is gone!" Gary''s wife cried. "WHAT?!" The entire Aaron family was shocked. "Where is my son?!" Gary roared as his cultivation of 10th level of Spirit Veins Realm burst forth. Everyone shuddered in his might but what was more mind boggling was the appearance of an... Avatar! It was Granny Marites who exuded a cultivation level of 14th level of Awakened Spirit Realm. Granny Marites'' Avatar was a big water crane. "Where is my grandson??!!" Granny Marites roared while the entire Aaron family let out their might out of fury. "Grandma, Daddy, Mommy, calm down. I''m here." A cute little boy squeaked. "Oh Rick, we were worried about you." The entire family worriedly generalized. "Oh, I just wandered off to that platform over there." The little boy recounted his steps. "What?" The family was startled. The little boy continued "I met an extremely beautiful fairy girl back there but she looked really really sick. When I asked why her face was white, she said it was because of feeling really tired and really weak. Then, I heard your voices so I said goodbye and hurried over." "What happened to my Little sister?" Dylan charged to the boy and asked. "She fell asleep after I left." Little Ricky honestly answered. *Sigh* Dylan sighed in relief. While Dylan felt relieved the entire crowd was shocked. "Sir Dylan had a younger sister?" "She is extremely sick?" "She is at the back of the stage?" The crowd was shocked and then suddenly came to a unique realization. "So that was why Sir Dylan kept going to the back of the platform because it was to check his little sister''s condition." The man who asked that question earlier came to a realization too. "Eh?" Dylan was confused. ''Condition? Why is he thinking that my sister is sick?'' "So that was the reason why Sir Dylan had a sudden change of heart. It was to gain money to treat his sister''s condition." Richard added as he looked in admiration. "Ehhh??" Dylan was in a daze.How could they connect it like that? "So that was why you spent all night just to build this restaurant because it was for you sick little sister." Gary said in amazement. "Ehhhhhhh?????" Dylan was now lost. The crowd now knew how this restaurant came to be. They were also residents of the Rising Cloud City so of course they knew that this restaurant was not recently here. "Sir Dylan is such a good elder brother." "Sir Dylan is so kind hearted." "Sir Dylan is so inspiring." "So prince-like." The crowd complimented him endlessly. He was dumbfounded how this scene came to be. ''What-what just... happened?'' he thought blankly. 14 Chapter 14: Elder Frank gets Slapped to Death Dylan was truly at a lost. He could not comprehend what just happened. The crowd was able to connect those hints to create such a ludicrous conclusion. Dylan was at a lost on what he should say. But on careful note, he might be able to benefit from this. He contemplated and recalled what the others have just said. He, then, realized and found their train of thought. If he denied it, it would be very disadvantageous to the stores reputation. It would cause the face of the store which was him to become a fraud. If he accepted it, it would be very beneficial to him and Scarlet because if this news were to spread then counting by the number people present, the number of customers that he will have will double or even triple. It would also reflect him with a good image and reputation that would instill security to the customer''s uncertainty towards an establishments morals and principles. ''If I accept it, it would cause a boost to the stores reputation and credibility. Since Scarlet is still asleep, I could just tell her later on when she wakes up.'' Dylan thought. The way Dylan assessed the situation in his mind and formulated a plan in accordance to the flow of discussion is a characteristic possessed by business experts that is spontaneous adaptability, the ability to be able to handle a situation as it differs unexpectedly. It is an on-the-spot way of thinking that is capable of resolving unexpected problems occuring in a business. For example, Dylan also dealt with several of this situations in his career in his past life. Once, on a branch of his company which was selling toys was downgrading due to the overwhelming rise of the opponent toy company. It was due to a series of toys which were able to fight interactively in a small arena. It was introduced by a robotics inventor and called it "Arena Battle". Seeing the documents, given to him by his secretary, he personally took action. Since kids like interactive toys those days, he recruited a group of famous inventors and introduced his idea to counter "Arena Battle''. He called it "Dungeon Quest". His idea was to create a board game of different series. The board game is able to play interactively as the avatars of the players. The avatars would be able to really fight with the dungeon monsters and bosses. He Incorporated his knowledge from Fantasy Role Playing Games which was an atypical roll the dice type of game but with the use of imagination the kids are able to portray monsters and beasts of different sizes and races. His idea was to materialize that concept into a board. With the technological advances man has created for the past decades, this originally impossible concept could be made. The inventors and technicians he invited was shocked but they were intrigued by the challenge that Dylan has posed onto them After a month of hundreds of tests, they were finally able to create the game. Although the game was somewhat expensive, the kids loved it and it rocked the entire business market. It topped the charts as the number one store in just a month from its release. Teenagers, young adults and even middle aged was intrigued and played it. The nerds back in the days who played role playing games in campaigns felt their youth was bestowed once more to them. The reviews and the feature of such a game was full of praises. It became one of Dylan''s Trademarks in Earth as it produced a billion players worldwide and earned him billions of dollars. That was what he was going to do. He would use the public opinion to boomerang him with even more benefits but at the same time he will reciprocate it with his outstanding services. So he began to commence his plans. "Ugh, yes. Everyone has caught me red-handed on my act of covering the truth." Dylan acted as though he was caught by some investigators. "So, sir Dylan was trying to keep such a burden for himself. Allow me and my brother to help you in your ordeal." Gary Aaron offered. But suddenly a large carriage showed up in front of the restaurant, four familiar burly man formed a column outside the door as a big plump man exited thecarriage. The carriage was as big as a towtruck. It had many accessories of jewelry as it formed the letter "B". The carriage wiggled slightly and seemed more elated from the ground. One could just imagine the weight of the plump man. "Hahaha, Brother Dylan you need not say those. As your sworn brother, you could have just told me that little sister was sick and I would have immediately helped you." The big plump man announced. It was Sire Robert Bobman. "Brother?" The crowd was shocked. Sire Bobman was one of the wealthiest men in the entire city and Dylan was his sworn brother. Why did they not have heard of this? If this were to spread out no one shall think about causing trouble to Dylan ever again. " Oh, if it isn''t Brother Robert. I knew you would come by lunch. So I prepared a special feast for you." Dylan greeted and presented a reserved table with an extremely large chair. "Oh, you did not have to, Brother Dylan. Hehe." Robert chuckled while he arrived at the front of Dylan with his four body guards at his back. "But I even specially made a table and chair for my sworn brother. Can you give me some face here, Brother Robert?" Dylan looked upset as he said the first sentence and smiled asking the latter. "Okay then, brother. Then, I will be impolite. Hahahaha." Robert laughed while patting Dylan''s broad shoulders. "This way, Brother." Dylan said. "Then we should get going then. We bid farewell to sir Dylan." Granny Marites bid farewell in behalf of the family. "Wait, may I request that you wait here for a while, ma''am?" Dylan halted them. "Is something the matter, Sir Dylan?" Marites felt slightly baffled. "I have a gift for those who is the first to come to my restaurant." Dylan stated as he smiled. "Ohhh, then we would to trouble, Sir Dylan." Marites bowed. "I may have to trouble, madams and sirs, to wait for a while." Dylan bowed to Marites too. "Ohoo, a gift, I wonder what would it be? But since it came from Brother Dylan it is bound to be extraordinary." Sire Bobman commented. "Indeed After that chat, Dylan guided Robert to his table and presented his feast. He also served food for the guards. "Delightful! What wondrous flavors. Hahaha!" Robert devoured the numerous food that Dylan prepared and laughed heartily. He never tasted such exquisite and such outstanding flavors. The guards were also all smiles as they ate their food. Everyone was eating joyously and serenely enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. .... Outside of Gardenford Restaurant, a new carriage arrived it had an insignia of a big letter A and small letter a looking like "Aa". It was the insignia of the Aaron Clan. A middle-aged man walked out and said. "This place again. Tsk. I''m gladly that that blasted store is gone. I wonder who the owner of this restaurant is. He might be a rich and powerful man hehehe, I need to curry a little favor from him to squash that Dylan Ford like a bug. Mwahahaha." The man laughed sinisterly. If Dylan was here he would be able to recognize that this was the very first person whom he encountered upon being reincarnated intk this world, Elder Frank. Elder Frank was here because he was assigned to fetch the Clan Heads Family back to the Clan Residence. He approached the paradise restaurant and he was extremely shocked that everything was exquisitely made. When he saw the Clan Heads'' Family, he approached them and greeted them. "Elder Frank greets Clan Heads'' Family." Elder Frank greeted them. "Oh, Elder Frank. Are you here to escort us?" Clan Head Garry questioned. "Yes, Clan Head." Elder Frank nodded. "Why do you look so irritated, Elder Frank?" Mary noticed. "Oh, it is because I suddenly remember a scum who was without manners and etiquette and even asked me to leave his store without even entertaining me. Even after I told him, I am an Elder of the Aaron Clan." Elder Frank disdainfully described. "There was such a matter? Tell me who it was. I will help you deal with him. That man looks down on the Aaron Clan if it is as what you have said." Clan Head Garry said somewhat displeased. "I agree, Clan Head. Such a person must be punished." Elder Frank respectfully said. ''Get ready to die, Dylan Ford.'' He thought. "So who was it?" Clan Head Garry questioned once more. "It was... You?! It''s you?!" Elder Frank was shocked when he saw Dylan Ford walking towards them carrying a teapot. "Oh, if it isn''t Elder Frank. How have you been?" Dylan slightly smiled. Elder Frank became even more furious when he heard that. "Clan Head, he was the scum who was without manners and etiquette. Please administer justice." Elder Frank reported. He grinned so wide in his heart saying ''I told you will pay for what you''ve done to me. Now, receive retribution.'' "Since you are nothing but a peasant waiter, go get me a drink." Elder Frank judged Dylan''s appearance and thought that he was a waiter. "..." Dylan just smiled amused like he was watching a clown. "Are you deaf?! I told you to get me a drink, didn''t I?! Clan Head, this was what I was talking about earlier! A scum with no respect towards our Aaron Clan." Elder Frank reprimanded Dylan while kissing to Clan Head Garry once more. "Enough!" Clan Head Gary was so embarrassed and angry at the same that he slapped Elder Frank in his face. He even used a battle technique to do so. "What?!" Elder Frank tried to defend but being only a 7th level of Spirit Veins, he was unable to guard a full power attack from Clan Head Gary who was a Pinnacle 10th level of Spirit Veins Realm. *Slap* *Bang* *Crash* Elder Frank cough blood after crashing several meters away from the Clan Head. ''What was happening didn''t the Clan Head say he was going to help me? Why was he slapping me instead?'' He was on the verge of crying too. He was severely injured when he saw a line of ladies coming towards him. ''It seems like the heavens has pitied me and blessed the minds of these ladies to help him.'' he thanked the heavens. But he thought something ominous when he saw their expressions that were of fury. These women were clearly infuriated by the berating this Elder Frank did to their "Prince Dylan". *Slap* *Slap* *Slap* * Slap* * Slap* Elder Frank''s Face was filled with blood and he was crying with snots dripping from his nose while laying helplessly on the ground after experiencing numerous baptisms of slaps from these women. ''Just what the hell did I do wrong??????!!!!!!" He felt extremely indignant to what happened 15 Chapter 15: Getting Employees Elder Frank was profusely bleeding blood from his swollen face. He felt experience wronged. Why could this have happened to him? ''How dare you say that to Sir Dylan?!" The Aaron Brothers appeared in front of him and formed a fist. "Ngoooowww shhtaaaap..." Elder franked pleaded with his now pig like face. He looked quite pitiful even Dylan pitied him. Dylan only wanted him to learn a lesson but he never thought that the situation would evolve like this. However, unable to restrain their anger, the Aaron brothers, smashed their fist to the lying Elder Frank. Even though there was a strand of pity on their thoughts, how could they offend a future Mystical Magnate who could easily exterminate clans such as theirs? So they could only hope to satisfy by doing this. Risking the life of an elder for the lives of the entire clan that was quite a good deal. "Wait, stop-" Dylan tried to stop them but he was too late as the their fist has already smashed against Elder Frank abdomen. Elder Frank coughed mouthful of blood, he was dying. ''Clan Head and First Elder, you did not have to hit me so hard. Why? Why are you doing this to me?'' Elder Frank''s facial features was already a mess so he could not speak well because his face was severely swollen from the continuous slaps and some of his teeth was already blocking the opening of his mouth making him look even more miserable. "I''m really sorry for the insolence of this elder, sir Dylan. Let me finish this bastard off." Granny Marites apologized to Dylan as she unsheathed a sword. It produced spirit energy fluctuations. It was a spirit rank weapon. ''Sir Dylan? Both Lady Ancestor and Clan Head called him like that. Is he really the owner I encountered that day?'' Elder Frank now realized how foolish he was as to spout nonsense in front of a man that even the Ancestor needed to be polite with. He was really someone who was looking to die. Weapons are also categorized in 3 divisions; The Spirit, Earth, and Sky. It is also divided to low, middle, and high. The weapon that Marites put out was only a middle spirit rank weapon but it was already pretty impressive he was able to take out one judging by their status. ''Lady Ancestor, please don''t kill me. Waaaaaah. Is this how am I supposed to die?'' Elder Frank thought gravely. "Waaiiit!" Dylan shouted. Granny Marites stopped due to this. The blade of the sword was just an inch or two away from Elder Frank''s neck. He was thanking Dylan in his mind. ''Thank you, Benefactor Dylan. My life is now indebted to you!" He said so in his mind while tears flowed like a current from this two swollen eyes. "Why? What is it, Sir Dylan?" Marites failed to understand why she was stopped midway. Shouldn''t he be angry after all this man said? ''Maybe he thinks that killing him directly is a light punishment? That should be it!.'' She thought that Dylan still had that impulsiveness and hot-bloodedness of a youth so she could not exclude that fact because this man was still only 18. "I understand, Sir Dylan" Marites felt like she knew what to do. "Good, you should stop this~" Dylan nodded and said. "You want me to sever his limbs first, right?" Martires asked quickly after she said her first statement. "Yes, that is what~. Wait, what are you talking about?" Dylan reprimanded Old Lady Marites. "Ugh, that''s not enough? How about cutting his tongue and plucking his eyes?" Old lady Marites tried again. "No!" "Ummm, burn him alive?" "Of course not!" "Castrate him?" "NO!" Dylan felt cold sweat dripping from his spine. Thus old lady might have developed a fetish for torturing others he thought. ''I should distance myself from sadistic people like her''. "Just let him off, okay?" Dylan requested. "Okay, sir Dylan." Marites bowed. Elder Frank was relieved that Dylan stopped this old lady or else he would have lived a life of hell. ''Thank you so much, sir Dylan!'' He cried tears of joy. Even the crowd felt chills about how this old woman could be so ruthless. They thought that they better not offend this woman or else they would suffer a life worse than death. Even the two brothers felt cold from what their mother just mentioned. "WHO DARES INSULT MY BROTHER?!" Robert roared. "Guards! Cripple that man of his manliness!!" The Guards immediately obeyed their masters command. Personally, they were quite angry as well because Dylan was such a nice person to them. ''Not again!!!'' Elder Frank howled in anguish. Dylan tried to stop them he was surprised that each one of this four guards were 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm. So he was unable to stop them from advancing. The guards jointly kicked but they were halted by Dylan as he shouted. "Stop!" Then, the guards stopped releasing their aura and jumped over by Eldet Frank. "How would you like this scum to be killed, Brother Dylan?" Robert asked to Dylan. "No no one''s going to die in my store!" Dylan disagreed. "Okay, then how about by the forest we could feed him to the beasts." Robert suggested. "No!" Dylan did agreed once more. "Throwing him to a den of snakes?" "No way!" "Breaking all of his bones and hang him?" "I said no!" ''Oh my gosh, I am surrounded by sadistic people here.'' He felt dismal because of this. Although he knew he had to kill someone eventually, but he doesn''t want to torture someone. "Okay, then." Robert scratched his head and could only helplessly agree. Elder Frank felt like Dylan was his guardian angel that saved him from harm and death over and over again. ''Thank you so much, sir Dylan. I would never forget this debt for the rest of my life!'' Elder Frank pledged in his heart. Dylan would be his benefactor for the rest of his life. With those as his last thoughts in his mind, his consciousness faded and he fainted bleeding outside of Gardenford Restaurant. "How about this? Since you are so keen as to see him be punished. How about having he serve under me? I am currently lacking in personnel so I need to accumulate manpower eventually." Dylan compromised and said this reason as an excuse. But the truth is, he is truly in need of employees who will be able to help him. He smiled faintly and cupped his hands to these giants within Soaring Cloud City. Elder Frank''s eyes shine as he heard that. He could use that opportunity to repay his debt of gratitude to Dylan. He already pledged that he would do anything in order to repay Dylan. He would work hard on doing so. "Since sir Dylan is so magnanimous, I would gladly agree." Old lady Marites agreed. "Since that is sir Dylan''s decision, we would also agree." Clan Head Garry and First Elder Richard agreed. "Since my brother has already spoken, I would also agree and since you are in need of employees. I could send you some servants of mine. Hahaha." Sire Robert Bobman laughingly agreed and offered some assistance as well. The crowd was shocked by this. These giants within the city was able to compromise for the sake of gaining favor from Dylan.The girls were all excited hearing the news. They needed to be an employee of Dylan so that they would be able to get closer to him. "Thank you for understanding." Dylan heaved a sigh of relief as he saw that these four compromised. "By the way, Brother Dylan, what are your requirements for your employees?" Robert asked. "Uhmmm, as long as they are fully competent. I could just train them accordingly." Dylan nonchalantly stated. "Okay. When will you have the job accepting?" Robert inquired once more. "After lunch." Dylan said. "Good. Hahaha." Robert said. After the quarrel, Dylan presented the tea he specifically made for Marites and bid farewell to the Aaron''s. Elder Frank was being healed inside of his house. The Carriage was only enough for ten people to fit. Unfortunately, Elder Frank lost consciousness. So the Aaron''s could only give him some medicine. Robert assigned a doctor to nurse Elder Frank back to his healthy self and said goodbye to Dylan because he still had some matters to attend to. After which, it was already two in the afternoon. Dylan cleaned up the tables after he bid farewell to his costumers. After doing the dishes, he tidied the tables and organized the chairs to form the sets. He knew there were people that were waiting for him outside and was waiting for his signal to commence the job acceptance. But he wanted to check on Elder Frank who has been resting for two hoursand more first. When he entered his house, he saw a beaten up middle-aged man who was lying in bed and was being applied medicinal liquids onto his wounds. This was Elder Frank. Elder Frank has now regained consciousness. He is somewhat able to speak because of the ointment and medicine that the doctor applied to him. "Thank... yooouu.. sir... Dylan." *Cough* *Cough* Elder Frank thanked him the moment they met again. "It''s okay. But do you agree to be my employee? It was part of the deal and~" "I... dooo..." Elder Frank agreed with great difficulty in speaking. He raises his hand as a sign that he was going accept the deal. Slowly raising his hands, he waited it to be shook by Dylan. "Thank you, Elder Frank." Dylan smiled and shook his hands. "Just... caall... me.. *cough*... Frank, boss." Frank smiled which was a bit grotesque due to his appearance but one could see the joy in his face. "Welcome to the job, Frank." Dylan missed the feeling of being called boss. He felt so happy to hear someone call his name like that again. He then left the room to let Frank rest and be nursed by the doctor. The doctor said with enough rest he would be able to work within three days'' time. While he was walking towards the exit of his house, a trembling suddenly occurred in his mind. "The Mansion?" Dylan was shocked because when he received payment from his costumers earlier it never trembled again like it used to but it still produced the stones. "Could it be because of me accepting an employee? Hahaha, Cosmic God Mansion, you truly are a wonderful thing!" He laughed as he entered his mindscape. The mansion door''s shot out a blinding gold light. The gold light shot towards Dylan and materialized to different shapes. "I wonder what the reward of receiving an employee is." He wondered. The light materialized to a sword. The sword emitted large quantities of spirit energy. This characteristic was only possessed by a High Spirit Rank weapon. "Hahaha, so costumers gives me energy stones, upgrading the establishment is cultivation technique while getting employees awards me weapons?! The mansion is a gift set. Mwahahaha!" Dylan laughed heartily. He held the sword and its information filled his mind. It was called Waning Moon Sword. 16 Chapter 16: The Mischievous turns Mysterious After brandishing the Waning Moon Sword a couple of times, Dylan was satisfied by its sharpness and strength. With the correct usage, he could even fight an 8th level Spirit Veins Realm Expert. He exited his mindscape and went back to the real world. Dylan suddenly reminded himself something. He lifted his hands up and a sword materialized in his palm. He brandished it several times to test it''s veracity and after confirming that it was legitimate. He suddenly thought of something. "What if I command it to go back? Will it go back to my mindscape?" He thought of it and tested his conjecture. The sword vanished and when he closed his eyes it was within the gates. He reached out to grab it and the sword moved passed the gates as it placed itself on Dylan''s palm. He parted with the sword once more and went back to reality. He thought of materializing the sword once more and it did. Seeing that his hypothesis was right, Dylan felt blissful. "Hahaha. It works!" Dylan celebrated. ''Does this mean the Cosmic God Mansion is a portable storage type treasure as well? Since it is within my mind, it means that my treasures are safe as long as an expert attacked his mind. "I wonder." Dylan thought of experimenting a bit. He came tin front of a chair and thought of it to be transported to his mindscape but to his disappointment, it did not. He, then, deduced that the Cosmic God Mansion only allows materialization of things in the real world and his mindscape that are from within it. "It''s time for me to go and entertain my job applicants." Dylan reminded himself and exited his house. As he was going to wards the stage, he looked at the back of the platform. He remembered Scarlet and went inside the restaurant to see how she was doing. She entered the kitchen and saw a girl lying on a bed sleeping soundly. When Dylan was just about to leave,he heard a peculiar sound. "Nu..weh..bee..a..po...yy..." The sound had an archaic feeling surrounding it and it heated up the environment. "What?!" Dylan felt baffled. What was currently happening inside this room? After the sound faded, everything went back to normal. However, this caused Dylan to feel more baffled. The most baffling thing was that... The origin of the sound was familiar... To be precise, the voice was familiar... "Could it be.. Scarlet?" Dylan was dumbfounded but the voice he was sure that it was Scarlet''s voice. This made Scarlet become more mysterious. He began to recall how he found this girl. Whilst he was searching for an Alchemist that would be able to heal his affliction,he came across a rumor that a village which was suspected to be burnt down by wildfire could be found somewhere near the area he was travelling. Dylan became curious about this matter so he decided to take a slight detour. He asked for directions and eventually found a mountain range. The locals told him that the village could be found after you hike around the foremost mountain of the range. So he hiked for half a day until he reached his destination. On the mountain range, he saw a burnt down valley. This burnt down valley was where the village originally stood. Dylan saw some remanants of houses even though, he was from afar. He walked closer towards the valley. The rumor said that the fire started at late midnight that was why no survivor was left alive. Only charred bones were left on the remaining corpses. The ruins of the village were apparent and could be inferred that the disaster happened recently. After scanning the place and going for a few rounds, he felt he satisfied his curiosity already. So he decided to go and continue on to his search. "Waaah... Waaah... Waaah..." Dylan heard a faint cry that seemed to come from a small little child. He followed the direction of the crying as it loudened. He reached the place where the cry sounded most. It was a house that was completely burnt down. In the middle of the house, he saw a young girl crying. This crying little child was of course, none other than, Scarlet. Dylan approached her but the little Scarlet was far too afraid of strangers. So she trembled and cried. Dylan figured that this girl should be the only survivor of the village. He thought that the girl would be somewhat hungry from not eating for a few days. So Dylan took out a piece of meat and threw it in front of Scarlet. The little girl did not want to but her stomach and mouth betrayed her. Her mouth was salvaging and drooling while her stomach churned and growled. Unable to fight her hunger, she dived to that meat and devoured it. Dylan kept throwing some prices of meat that trailed towards him. It was a common method to lure an animal. It was a good thing that this little girl walking just an infant.So her intelligence is only like a baby animal. She followed the trail of meat and gobbled them all. When she finished the final piece, Scarlet then realized that she was tricked. Dylan grabbed her and rubbed her little stomach with his fingers. He tickled the stomach of the little girl as it laughed loudly. He offered her water and she drank the entire container empty. The little girl was satisfied as he cuddled herself and slept on Dylan''s embrace. Dylan noticed that she had beautiful scarlet long hair so she named her Scarlet. It was not because he wanted to but when he asked the little girl what happened but she could not remember anything at all not even her name. Dylan felt helpless and disappointed at the same time Dylan felt helpless because he was left with a girl he was supposed to take care of now. Because if he reported that there was a kid in the site, he would be asked why he was on a restricted site. He would then be imprisoned. He still needed to heal his affliction so how could he afford to do so. He felt disappointed because he would be unable to ascertain what the true cause of the fire was. "From now on, you are my little sister. I''ll call you Scarlet because of your hair."Dylan adopted her as his sister. So, he carried the little girl and walked out of the mountain range. Presently... "That''s right I found Scarlet at that burnt down valley!" Dylan recollected. However, his train of thought caused him to feel goose bumps all over his body. Because he thought, " What if the fire was not an incident? What if it was man made? What if it was... because of Scarlet?" Although he did not want to accept it, it was the only possible reason. Everything became clear to him now. The reason why Scarlet was the only survivor would be because she was the one who started the fire. If it was a wild fire, then the some of the villagers would have been able to wake up and evacuated their family. But what if it wasn''t? What if it was caused by a large amount of exceedingly hot flames? What if it was caused by a sudden influx of energy?! If what he thought was true, then Scarlet was in possession of a power that was vastly more superior than what she could handle. If Scarlet had a sudden influx of overwhelming energy inside her and was unable to control it perfectly. However, Scarlet was as asleep when it happened so she was unable to control it. The fire that was released was so powerful that it could burn an Awakened Spirit Realm. If Dylan were to receive it, he would be roasted alive. This flame caused flames to spread from Scarlet''s house and to each and one of the neighboring houses. The flames burned fiercely that no one was left alive as they themselves were unaware of how they died. The flame spread throughout the village so fast that it was on every house in a minute. But even if his sister was another or some kind of freak, he would still love her and accompany her all throughout their lives because he was Scarlet''s elder brother. "No matter what secret you may possess, big bro will still like you. With big bro here no one will be blessed to bully you even once. Sleep well, lil sis. I love you." Dylan caressed her hair and patted her back several times. No matter what happens, their bond as siblings will never break apart. Dylan put a blanket on top of Scarlet. The beautiful scarlet haired girl was really astounding even if she was asleep. Dylan kissed her on the forehead and wished her a good nap. "Don''t worry, Scarlet. Big brother Dylan will give you the best life you could ever have and we will leave happily together. This is just Brother''s initial steps to Greatness. " Dylan promised to the sleeping little beauty in front of him. 17 Chapter 17:Conducting an Interview After Dylan checked on Scarlet, he decided to proceed with the acceptance of employees. He realized how urgent his need to grow stronger was because of what he just encountered a while ago. The mystery that shrouded Scarlet annoyed him because he was unable to comprehend what it was. He knew that if he became stronger, he will be able to share the burden that Scarlet carried with her. The fastest way to grow stronger was to make his business soar because the mansion will give subsequent rewards every after he was able to complete a certain task like getting costumers, hiring employees and improving the state of his workplace. Currently, the thing he could do to upgrade his strength is to accept employees. He grabbed a table and chair and placed it outside of the wooden gate. He took out a thick compilation of papers and placed on his left side while he took out three pens of three colors: black, blue and red. He watched the concentration of people far away silenced and the atmosphere suddenly became tensed when they saw Dylan brought out a table and chair from the restaurant and sat on it. Right now, several tens of people was lined up in hope to become an employee of his currently rising brand. His brand, the Gardenford Restaurant, was one of the most trending topics in town. The reviews of the customers, who dined there previously, were one of the primary reasons for it. They said that the food was a delicacy that a person must eat if not, they would truly be missing out in life. Another reason was the service that the owner provided to each and every one of the costumers. It was rumored that he was able to balance out the time he introduced the newly arriving costumers while cooking and serving the costumers who was already dining. He never delayed and stalled for time. The costumers felt like everything he did was within his calculations. The food served was never burnt or raw and he was able to serve it exquisitely too. He never asked a costumer to wait but he was still able to welcome and guide the upcoming costumers right after he was just done talking with the former. It seemed like he was able to anticipate the timing and arrival of the various costumers while keeping in check the food he served. His ability on time management was impeccable. Not only that, he was able to do so while maintaining finesse and calmness. He never showed any type of distress or panic as he handled each situation with a clear mind and peaceful smile. But, every single detail that the costumers observed and speculated was true. Dylan being able to experience everything in business was capable of predicting the probability of costumers coming in his restaurant. It was due to his accumulative experience he got from his eccentric nature. Most CEOs would be laid back and occasionally immerse themselves to work just to check its condition and only if it was necessary. But Dylan chose not to. He secretly conducted an immersion all throughout his company''s different branches. All of the branch and franchises that Omega Trading Company created was individually different from each other. Some was a fast food chain, others were shopping and fashion line, several were industrial company and even construction companies. He tried every job a person could have in those outlets because he wanted to experience first-hand what his employees are doing during their work so that he would be able to formulate solutions to different problems of different scales. He became a waiter, a salesman, a cook, a fashion designer, a construction worker, an assistant manager, a coordinator, a branch manager, a stylist, an engineer and many more. He would struggle for every job he took but he would be able to quickly adapt and perform excellently. He would stay for a month to each job so that he will be able to accumulate enough experience. Not even, his employees were able to recognize him up until he confessed that it was him which would cause them to be in utter shock. He interacted with countless personalities which caused him to be able to appropriately condition his way of socializing and approach to different kinds of people. His skills were not based solely on talent alone but it was also because of his nature and experience that he accumulated all throughout his business career. Another reason was the beauty and profundity of the workplace. It was described as a place of serenity and natural beauty where eating or resting is extremely advised. Now, that the applicants were here they were able to see the description that they were told about. It matched every concept and description in the discussions they heard on the streets. It was a mini Utopia like place for dining and getting along with acquaintances and friends. Some girls, however had a different ploy in mind, they were here to get closer to Dylan because of the rumor that he was exceedingly prince like. This further strengthened the resolve of these applicants to pass the screening and the interview of this job. But their bodies stiffened as soon as they saw Dylan signaling them to come forward. All of them walked towards him and formed one long line. While they were walking towards him, Dylan divided the thick compilation of papers in the middle into three and raised his hands with threefingers pointing upwards indicating to form three lines. So, the rest followed his instructions. The formed three lines accordingly. Dylan then put three pens in front of the piles of paper. When the applicants arrived in front of Dylan, Dylan had already counted the totality of the applicants which numbered 33 people present. He stood up and announced: "Welcome to Gardenford Restaurant, I assume that all of you are here to apply to my establishment. Am I right?" "Yes!" The applicants answered in unison. "Do you have any questions that any of you would like to ask?" Dylan loudly said. Some applicants raised their hands. Dylan randomly chose a person.it was a man he had black long hair that he tied with rubber. "How does the interview go?" The black haired man spoke. "Applicants just have to fill up a form. The form is in the form of these piles of papers. I know what you are all thinking. What do you need to write? That''s pretty simple you just have to introduce yourselves to me using this papers. You can write it in any way you want. I''m not particularly against handwriting but at least make it legible. Also, include all your personal information, I promise that I would only keep it as documents and will be kept with utmost confidentiality." Dylan explained the mechanics as clear as possible and smiled after finishing. ''The interview was as simple as that?! Was this for real?!" The applicants were shocked by his way of doing things but they still complied. After an hour, they passed their papers to Dylan. Dylan skimmed through the paper for a while. He was already capable of reading a single applicant`s "application form" in a minute even though it was a few pages long. After half an hour, he stood up and announced once more. "Congratulations to all of you! You are all now a permanent employee of Gardenford Restaurant!" "What?!" The entire group was shocked. They were able to get a job with just several pieces of paper?! How ludicrous was this? "Sir Dylan. May I ask a question?" A timid girl called out because she could not help but ask. "Yes, lass. Is something the matter?" Dylan faintly smiled. He remembered the name of this girl. It was Leila. "Is what you said really true? You were not jesting with us? We got the job and would be paid?" Leila wanted a confirmation to what Dylan said. "Of course. Why would I lie? You will get 10 silver coins per hour and you need to work 8-10 hours a day." Dylan clarified. "Really?!" The crowd was shocked the pay was ridiculously high. Ten silver coins? They could only earn that after they worked for a week in other places. Each one of them would have a maximum pay of 100 silver coins a day! That would mean they would get 3000 silver coins in a month! This job was too good to be true for them. But there were 33 of them that would mean he has to bring out 100 000 silver coins just to do so? Although, it might seem impossible for others but it was nothing for Dylan because just for this day he already earned 15 000 silver coins which was above his expectations and that was only his first day what more for the upcoming days where his costumers numbers would skyrocket. If this pace keep up, he would be able to earn 1 000 000 silver coins a month. "Is there a catch?" Another person asked. "What do you mean?" Dylan was confused. It was a girl named Allana "Do we have to sell our organs or something? Like for example, our liver?" Allana asked like a scared cat. "What? Of course not." Dylan said. "So, it''s our purity?" Alana''s expression became horrified. The boys shivered when they heard this. Were they included in this as well? Didn''t the rumors say the owner was an upright man? But who would blame them their employer just announced that their salary was several times greater than their previous jobs. "No, of course not! You just have to work hard in order to earn it. I promise if I were to lie, may the heavens strike me with lightning and grind me to dust." Dylan bitterly laughed because only when he made the pledge did the crowd calm down. ''Why would they think like that?'' Dylan felt abysmal since his employees treated him as such. "I also promise to treat you all well. I will give you 6th and 13th month bonuses too. I promise that I am an upright and straightforward man and disdains act of evilness and depravity. If I break this oath, may heavens punish me." Dylan swore once more. "Sir Dylan, is there really no catch? It''s just very hard to believe." A man named Ronald asked. "How many times do I have to say there is none!" Dylan spoke strongly and felt helpless by this troublesome bunch. 18 Chapter 18: Breakthrough! Perfection! The new employees of Gardenford Restaurant finally calmed down their "out of this world thinking".Dylan explained to them the technicalities of the contract. The contract shook the employees even more when they heard this. "The salary will increase depending on the performance and service rendered by the employee to thecustomers..." "Huh? Is this true, sir Dylan?" Dylan''s new employees almost simultaneously asked. "Yes. Is there a problem?" Dylan spoke. "Uh, no, sir. But how does the performance of an employee be evaluated?" A man named Jay questioned. "Oh, that? I was just about to discuss it to you. An employee''s performance will be evaluated by me and the customers themselves." Dylan replied. "The customer''s?" The employees exclaimed. "Yes, they will evaluate you with an evaluation form that I will entrust to you to make as your first task. Each one of you will make a total of 30 evaluation forms which has your name written on it. The parameters for the evaluation of employee performance and service are: Attitude, Interpersonal Relations, Degree of Skill, and Customer Satisfaction. They will evaluate in a scale of 1 to 10. If you have a rating of 7 from at least 10 customers, you will have one fold greater salary. If you have 8, two fold greater salary. If you have 9, you will have three fold. If you have 9.5, you will have four fold. If you have 9.8, you would have five fold. But if you get a perfect rating, you will receive tenfold salary and not only that, you are to be directly promoted to a higher position." "It''s that simple?!" The employees were shocked. ''Is this job real? Why does it feel like it''s? just a dream?'' " If you will it to be simple, then it will. If you will it to be hard, then it will." Dylan spoke wisely. "Yes, sir!" The employees excitedly said. They couldn''t help but tremble in excitement. There salary is still able to increase! They would do anything just to not be fired with this kind of job which has such a generous boss. Dylan smiled because of this. Because this was the reaction, he was aiming his employees to have. He developed this type of method back when he was in Earth. This method targets the necessities of a human and human greed. What does people need most in any world? What ignites greed and passion most? It is money! Dylan planned to use this very nature of humans to provide greater performance from his employees within a short amount of time. This would also drive his newly acquired employees to try learning more for the sake of getting a raise. This would also imply that they would work just as Dylan predicted them to be. When Dylan executed such a method back in Earth, his employees became more motivated to better their performance in their works. Even the most unproductive people in his company, started working better than they used to. Although there was situations, wherein his employees forced costumers to evaluate them greatly, he simply fired them for doing so. He knew such a situation might happen at moments of desperation and extreme greed. So he strictly prohibited: "None shall coerce their customer to evaluate them with high remarks, else I will terminate his contract immediately and have him fired! Am I understood?!" With an indifferent expression in his face, Dylan prohibited. Hinting that if they do so, he would mercilessly fire them without a shadow of doubt. *Yes, sir!" The employees knew that it was just fair to prohibit them to do so because it is part of being an ethical business. If a customer dislikes a certain matter, of course, the workers will be unable to do anything about is because it is the freedom of opinion of the customer to perceive different matters. The same way other way around, if the consumer, finds it likeable there would be no reason why he or she would not rate it highly. "Okay, so let me finish discussing the contracts then..." Dylan continued. After several minutes, Dylan finally finished discussing and ordered his workers to work with their forms. After an hour , they then were finally able to finish 15 evaluation forms which they would gift to the consumers. It was already approaching night as the sky accentuates the setting of the sun.From Gardenford Restaurant, the sky looked gorgeous while the three moons were further accentuated by the bluish hue covering the skies. The crowd was mesmerized by this scene as they felt they were witnessing a natural phenomenon occurring here. The sky became contrast with one another but it formed a painting like scenery in their very eyes. They would never had thought that such an inconspicuous place such as this would have such a scene to impart to them. "Okay, it''s fast approaching night which means supper will be the next battle we are about to face so get ready in approximately 40 minutes. So all girls, please prepare dresses with a matching apron on your lower extremities then proceed to cleaning the whole area while all boys help me with chopping wood first. Understood?" Dylan commanded them as he separates them in a group in order to maximize time. He delegated that the girls change first and clean. Because of three reasons: First, it was not because he discriminated girls but it was because he knew that most men are not as good as cleaning as ladies ,whom are meticulous with every detail, would be. Second, men are more suitable with dirty work compared to girls. Lastly, all of this girls were beauties so when the costumers arrive and see them on their uniforms, they would be attracted to them. Uniforms were legendary attires that would cause anyone to love them especially with beauties wearing? them. They would cause a commotion that would incite greater consumer population later on. He knew that costumers would arrive while the ladies are cleaning. A scene that more than 15 ladies wearing apron while cleaning a restaurant could only be described as heavenly. As a die-hard Otaku, Dylan felt his blood boil because it is one of an otaku''s dream to catch a glimpse of beautiful scene. He also knew that the girls would be surprised and would bashfully greet them out of not knowing what to do. He smirked because he knew this would give a positive impact on both man or woman, child or old. Such an ingenious plan, Dylan truly deserved to be called the greatest businessman of Earth. After a while, the were now able to reach the woods. He delegated the boys to group themselves by threes and started to chop. The boys were shocked at how strong and proffecient? Dylan was he was able to solely chop a tree by his own and turn it into lumber. Such a strength was not what a High 4th level Spirit Core expert would have because they felt it was already at the Spirit Veins Realm already. This caused the boys to feel somewhat frightened but they also did not delay on their work as they worked hard to finish also. But, suddenly. "Rooooaaaaaar!!!!" "What?!" The boys were shocked as they saw a large bear who exuded the strength of an Initial 7th level Spirit Veins Realm. They were scared witless. They knew they were going to die because all of them were only 4th level Spirit Core Realm. ''How could we be so unlucky?'' ''We just wanted to earn a good job with a good salary.'' ''What did we do wrong?!'' ''I wish I should not have taken this job!'' ''Are we all going to die?'' ''Mommy, you were right! I should not have taken this job!'' All of them thought hysterically. They could not accept they were going to die and cursed this job. But they were dumbfounded, when a person walked in front of them and towards the Bear. "Don''t worry, I''m here." Dylan said reassuringly. ''What? How could we not worry that bear is an Initial 7th level of Spirit Veins Realm while you are just comparable to an expert who just broke through to the Spirit Veins Realm. You must be jesting with us?'' They thought that money was nothing compared to their lives so they decided to ran for their lives when they saw a scene that caused their eyes to bulge. The bear fell down from a punch from Dylan. *Bang* As the bear fell, the thought, "How is this possible?". They were all dumbfounded but their expressions panicked when they saw the bear stood up and bellowed angrily. "Oh, no, sir Dylan watch out!" They warned when they saw the bear charging at him. "Hehehe, [Boulder Breaking Fist]!" Dylan smirked and punched with all his might. The bear also pounded furiously. When both forces met, it created a loud explosion that scared of all the spirit beasts around and fled. Fists and paws were exchanging blows continuously.Dylan maneuvered his movement technique continuously. He found enjoyment in this fight as his blood boiled ragingly. The bear found it harder and harder to deal with this human. So he struck out with all his might! That strength carried a force enough to seriously injure Dylan. He struck his fist without care as his mind became clear and his understanding about [ Boulder Breaking Fist] broadened while his strength increased abruptly. "Is this enlightenment? Hehe. My [ Boulder Breaking Fist] has broken through Perfection! Hahaha!" His fist''s might doubled, no tripled. When the two all out strikes met, an explosion even louder than before resounded.The bear felt his arm was breaking. The large bear felt ominous as he realized that he had offended someone he should not have. He could only roar miserably as his entire arm was destroyed and another fist with the same strength landed on his chest. Fog covered the two figures while the boys were left shocked as the shockwaves forced them to fall over their butts. "A- amazing..." The boys now had a new found respect towards Dylan. Not only because of his strength, but also because he saved their lives. Their eyes glittered with respect when they saw a figure carrying a dead bear''s carcass on his back and smiled at them. They swore to never betray this man and serve until their very last breath. "What''s with those faces? Let''s return immediately. You carry the lumber while I carry this large bear. We''re going to add another menu tonight and that is Bear Meat! Hahaha!" Dylan laughed. He looked extremely wrecked. His hair was a bit off a mess and his clothes were partially tattered. "Yes, sir!" The boys said in unison with their new found respect for their boss and followed him to exit the forest. When they returned, they saw a large crowd who was just about to arrive on their store. "About a hundred huh? Hehehe okay. Let''s do this!" Dylan smiled joyously. He was really happy because he was finally able to breakthrough to the Perfection stage. He entered his house and changed for a bit and walked with his business mode on. "Welcome to the Gardenford Restaurant, Every one I hope you enjoy your meal!". As he ordered his employees to line up and greet the customers. They all were their uniforms and bowed. "We hope you enjoy your meal!" The employees repeated. The large crowd came bustling into the restaurant and the employees guided them to their seats while Dylan commenced his cooking. 19 Chapter 19: In Job Training Dylan commenced his cooking as the salivating aroma spread across the restaurant. The customers gulped involuntarily as the wonderful scent entered their noses. Being a chef to several franchises of his company, Dylan is fully capable to this kind of effect to his consumers. He cooked all three of his best selling food: Glazed Pork Ribs, Honey Dressed Roasted Chicken, and Saucy Wolf Belly because he knew this would pose an appeal to his customers. His employees were entertaining the guests. They had some skill to converse and receive guests so he was already pleased but it wasn''t up to his standards. But, he then consoled himself as he thought that he could still work with this standard of performance and make way for improvement. It was better than starting with scratch. Amidst cooking, he announced that he was collecting evaluation from the costumers to his new employees. He said there would be forms given to them. After which, the employees distributed their evaluation forms to their assigned tables. There were 33 tables where each of the 33 workers were assigned respectively. Each of the tables were filled with 2-4 people, some even had only one person occupying it.There was originally fourteen sets but with the help of Dylan''s employees, he was able to quickly create nineteen more identical sets. Although quickly made, they would not lose out in terms of quality from the original ones. ''Having employees sure eases up the job.'' Dylan sighed in relief as he thought back how he arduously created those 14 sets for two to three hours but it only took half an hour to finish with the help of his new workers. The newly made tables were placed around the vicinity of the store. Most of the employees were doing well but a few were not. One of which was the timid girl named Leila. The table she was assigned to was a table of men which were interested in her. "Beauty. Do you mind sitting here with us and chat for a little bit." A brawny man spoke with a shade of lewd glint from his eyes. He was clearly infatuatedd by the beauty of Leila. "Umm, sir, c-can you please order something now?" Leila was trembling as he said. "What?! Are you ordering me around?! I already told you that I would be ordering once you''ve? startedhaving a chat with us!" Another man roared as he slammed the table with force. It was a good thing the table was still able to hold on despite that burly man''s strength. "Eeek!" Leila was getting increasingly scared by this bunch. "Little brother, calm down. You''re scaring the beauty. We wouldn''t want to chase her away, would we now?" Another man whose physique was a bit smaller in comparison to the other two but was the tallest among the three. "That''s right, little brother. You should not scare away a beauty." The large man from earlier spoke. "Uh, I''m sorry, eldest brother." The burly man said. "Beauty please, pardon my youngest brother, for what he said. But could you care as to join us for a short chat?" The eldest apologized to Leila. "Uhmm, I..." Leila stuttered. She was scared with this brothers because she knew they had an ulterior motive towards "Sir, if that is the case, how about I do it in her stead? Would that be alright gentlemen?" A confident voice spoke with pleasantness and calmness present in his words. Who else could it be other than Dylan? "Sir Dylan..." Leila was shocked and grateful at the same time. She was shocked because wasn''t Dylan cooking the orders of other costumers who had already requested their orders how did he have the time to stroll around all the way here? She was grateful? because Dylan saved her from such a complicated situation. "What?! That was not what my eldest-" the youngest brother could not continue what he just said because Dylan interjected. "What would be the purpose of the chat? What would be the subject of the discussion?" Dylan eloquently spoke as he smiled faintly. "That-" the youngest brother stuttered. "That? What particular topic is "that"?" Dylan asked as he smiled. "It''s the..." The youngest brother felt his mind go blank all of the sudden. He could not think of anything to say. He felt like his mind flew away. ''Huh? Being able to force my impulsive brother into submission in just a few sentences? Just who is he?'' the eldest thought. "Oh, it was just about the food here and we wanted to have a chat with her. Who doesn''t want to have a chat with such a beauty after all?" The eldest smiled. "Oh, is that so? I wouldn''t have the right to speak on her behalf about chatting but I do possess the right to speak with you in regards to the gourmet of my restaurant. May I ask what type of inquiry would you like to ask?" Dylan stated smilingly. He knew that the most dangerous one amongst the three was the eldest because Dylan was able to deduce that he was the cunning type. "Oh, is that right?...." The eldest replied blankly "Yes. So if you want for me to recommend some dishes I would like to recommend our best sellers the Glazed Pork Ribs, Honey Dressed Roasted Chicken, or Saucy Wolf Belly. You may also try the Spicy Bear Meat which has become a recent costumer favorite. If you like beverages, I recommend the Still Lake Tea or the Three Colored Leaf Tea." Dylan suggested. "I... Okay..." The Eldest was in a daze. "Would you like to take all or is it according to a selection that sir had in mind?" Dylan asked in a smile. "Yes..." The eldest answered dazed. "Thank you for your time. We will be coming back after a while." Dylan excused themselves?. They were just about to leave when Leila said: "Sir Dylan... The form..." Leila pointed at the hand of the second oldest who was shocked "Ohhh, sir, Are you done? May I get the evaluation sheet now? If not, please answer it quickly." Dylan turned his back once more and talked to the second oldest. "Uh.. yes..." The man''s hands moved weirdly as it check all items with the column of ten and handed it over to Leila. "What?!" Leila was shocked in her evaluation as it was rated a perfect 10. Leila could not help but to recollect what just happened earlier the domineering brothers was forced into submission with just a few words? They were rendered speechless in the end. They were all as obedient as per dogs as soon as Dylan opened his mouth. They were defenseless and lost in a daze. She could not associate the three earlier from the three she just spoke to a while ago. Her boss was that formidable! He was able to serve his costumers with ease and take full control of the flow of discussion. That was his natural charisma. "Is everything okay now? Let''s go there''s plenty more costumers to serve." Dylan spoke to Leila calmly like the scene earlier never happened. "Yes, sir!" Leila excitedly said. Because of Dylan''s amazing performance, Leila was more motivated to work. "But, sir. How about the meals you are cooking? The must have been ruined because ofme. I''m extremely sorry, sir Dylan!" Leila apologized dearly. "Huh? What are you talking about? Although I left my post on the cooking platform that does not necessarily mean that I was neglecting my cooking. Ruined? Of course not. I had some free time so when I saw you in a bit of trouble, I came to help. Don''t worry, the meals I cooked are just starting to become even more delicious. Hehe." Dylan replied smilingly. "Uh..." Leila was stunned by this. ''Could the rumors be true? He is truly capable of welcoming guests, resolving unexpected problems and cook exquisitely at the same time. Just how amazing is sir Dylan?'' From what Dylan said, Leila was able to speculate that he was able to completely predict the time he will spend dealing with each type of situation at hand. This caused her to feel even more astonished because a person needs to have an exceedingly wide sense of outlook and overview on the restaurant to be able to split his concentration as such. "Now, get back to work and work hard, okay? Remember to stay calm and confident. Because with those two you will be able to quickly solve any problem at hand. Understood?" Dylan gently said. "Yes sir!" Leila replied with great enthusiasm. "Good!" Dylan approved of her enthusiasm with a thumbs up. On the other hand, the three brothers felt terrified about what happened. They also felt extremely angered that they were forced into submission. But it wasn''t? necessarily force into submission, it was more as if they blankly followed his commands willingly. "This grudge must be paid!" The eldest swore. "Right!" His two younger brothers agreed. They formed a grudge in their hearts that they would have revenge. They were intently observing Dylan after what happened. Amidst cooking, Dylan would leave the platform a couple of times. All instances were to help his employees having trouble with serving his customers. Each time he would handle them with complete calmness and solve them with ease. All of the troublesome customers would lower their heads in his manner of doing things and his disposition like what he did to them. These instances caused them to feel even more intimidated to Dylan. They were becoming extremely shocked as Dylan was still able great food to them. When the food entered their mouth, they felt that their taste buds were dancing in happiness. They were shocked about how well he could handle his business. No matter what problem, he face he would solve it in a short amount of time and go back to his platform to prepare the dishes. All of his movements were dignified and elegant. They felt like he was one of those legendary existences- the Mystical Magnates. Although it was only a possibility, his manner of management could only be compared to those beings who are considered emperors in business. So with this thought in mind, they discarded the thought of getting revenge. Because if they offended such an existence they would be sinners of their clan for causing its extinction. So they hurriedly finished their food and left their pay and exited the restaurant. The amazing performance of Dylan was gradually noticed by the entire crowd. They were now able to confirm his amazing skills. His cooking, management, problem solving skills, and demeanor was all high class. They felt he was just? a Mystical Magnate in disguise. His employees was also becoming increasingly more proffecient as the night deepens. His guidance to them was on point and his performance gave them their motivation to improve more especially those whom Dylan helped like Leila, they became increasingly better at managing customers. Dylan was also extremely satisfied by this. His employees and customers were all having a good time. So he anticipated that tomorrow would be another great day for his Gardenford Restaurant! He was not only able to train his employees but he was also able to give a great impact to the customers as a rising establishment. 20 Chapter 20: Breakthrough? to the Spirit Veins! Another Function Unlocked! Dylan was satisfied with the performance of Gardenford Restaurant today because he had a total income of 25,000 silver coins. Nearly double than his income earlier that was 15,000. He was also extremely satisfied with the improvement that every one of his employees have shown. Among his employees, Leila, Allana, Ronald and 3 more people were doing beyond his expectations while the rest performed as per his predictions. There was one employee, who he was shocked with, however, for she showed astonishing display of talent in regards to business management. She was a woman called Diane. Diane, from the very start, was able to carry herself with finesse. She was fully capable of welcoming her guests and did not meet with many problems at all. She was a costumer favorite and men would want her to be the one to entertain them. The main reason for this is that she was a beauty herself. She had misty gray hair and storm gray eyes.She also possess an excellent body for a girl her age. Dylan was completely surprised by her rating because it was 8.6 already! The others could barely score a 7 but she was already near nine? How incredible was she? Dylan even considered that she might be a scion from a great clan judging from her demeanor and outstandingness. She also gets along well with her fellow workers although with only women. So when Dylan received the tabulation of the ratings. He was shocked to see that there were others who gained an 8 as well? Diane Sky, 8.6 Leila Hemsworth, 8.25 Jack Hale, 8.1 Ronald Mcneil, 8.0 Mary Aaron, 8.0 Marie Aaron, 7.9 Allana Sloe, 7.8 Rick May, 7.75 Jason Bateman, 7.6 Larry Murray, 7.5 That was the top 10 and all the rest was able to have a rating of 7.4 -7. There was not one of his employees that was rated below 7. This made him to be really satisfied with the fruits of their training. ''Jack Hale, huh? Let''s see... Oh, he did perfrom quite excellently.'' Dylan recollected the scenes which enfolded the restaurant. Being the Greatest businessman of Earth, Dylan needed to read and scan various data in regards to his company''s different branches. So in order to cope up with such mentally exhausting exercise, he used it to hone his memory and mind to be near photographic. By doing so he would only need to slightly read the pages and he would be able to remember the entirety of It''s content. The same with occurences and happenstance, all he needed was to be able to quickly observe a scene or event. That was why he was able to remember Jack Hale''s performance during tonight''s service hours. But being able to attain a photographic memory was not an easy task. He needed to train his mind to be able to picture any document or any event indefinitely. He was only able to achieve this after 2-3 years of repeated mind conditioning. That was why he is able to compartmentalize his memory based on event or content. As he progressed in his work, he was finally able to achieve a memory near perfectly photographic. He was also shocked to see that the Aaron Cousins were doing quite well too. "Okay, everyone?. That is all for today. I know it was quite a tiresome. Thank you for all the services and help all of you have rendered to me." Dylan thanked them earnestly. "You''re welcome, sir!" The employees said in unison. "Let''s have another great day tomorrow. See you all in the morning. You are all dismissed!" Dylan joyously said. "Sir, yes, sir!" The employees acknowledged and slowly left one by one. After they left, he went to check up upon Scarlet. Surprisingly, Scarlet was still asleep so she carried her on his back and transported her to her room. He also checked how Frank was faring and he was glad to see his steadily getting better. Seeing that everything went well, it''s time for him to advance his cultivation! He went into the depths of the forest to cultivate. When he found an inconspicuous cave, he went inside and he caught a sight of a green serpent as big as a car! The breath the green serpent exuded was of Peak 6th level of Spirit Veins Realm. The green serpent suddenly? opened its'' eyes as it sensed a presence in its'' habitat. It''s eyes shone with viciousness and wrath for a measly human has entered its'' territory. It''s strength of 6th level Spirit Veins was fully displayed as it tried to intimidate this human. The human has not even reached the Spirit Veins Realm and it was brazen enough as to barge to its'' homes. It was also a perfect timing since this serpent was thirsting for some human meat. It''s slim tongue slipped through its scaly mouth as it thought of the sumptuous meal he would have. It''s eyes were now completely bloodshot as he wanted to devour this insolent human as it used an incredibly horrifying hiss. The green serpent was confused this human was completely ignoring as it tried to scan his surroundings. The strange stale atmosphere continued when the human thawed the ice as he spoke. "It''s not bad for a cave! Hey, serpent, you''re the one staying here, right?" Dylan asked the serpent. "..." The serpent was extremely confused.Why was this human suddenly talking to it? "You''ve already reached the Spirit Veins Realm so you must at least have developed intelligence already, right?" Dylan spoke. "..." The serpent awkwardly nodded. "Then, stop acting dumb!" Dylan reprimanded. "!!!!" The green serpent was shocked to the extent it''s mouth was widely opened. "Can''t you see that I want this cave? Now leave!" Dylan demanded. " The serpent nodded in a daze as it went towards the end of the cave when it suddenly realized what happened. Angered by this he went forward to charge at Dylan but when he was charging he saw that Dylan was not dodging but instead scratching his head. "What a troublesome snake." Dylan remarked as he silently disappeared in front of the serpent and he appeared right on top of it. "[Boulder Breaking Fist- Perfection]" "?!?" The serpents? eye''s were bulging as he knew he should not have offended such a person and he only caused his own doom. *BANG!!* A loud explosion happened and the serpent died without a head as it was smashed. "Finally some peace and quiet. Now, I advance!" Dylan spoke as he raised two hands and circulated the "Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies" cultivation technique. Two white stones appeared in each and he crushed them as soon as they appeared. He had a total of 175 Primal Stones! Dylan decided to name it as annual stones because they were stones which started his cultivation path. His aura quickly rose as he broke through! Peak 4th level Spirit Core Pinnacle 4th level Spirit Core Initial 5th Level Spirit Core He was shocked to find out that he required 10 Primal Stones just to break through the Initial 5th level but he still gritted his teeth as he continued. Intermediate 5th level Spirit Core High 5th level Spirit Core Peak 5th level Spirit Core Pinnacle 5th level Spirit Core Dylan was even more shocked that he needed 20 to advance from the Initial to the Intermediate, 25 for Intermediate to High, 30 for High to Peak and 35 to reach the Pinnacle stage. Using the "Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies" was really different to the Mysterious Cloud Technique. It''s grade is higher and it''s consumption rate was higher too! He was also schocked to see that his natural energy was ofhigh grade already! "Ughh, I still have 45 more! I hope it''s enough to break through!" He started using all remaining Primal Stones and decisively pushed through but he was lacking by a bit. "If only I had 5 more, I could easily breakthrough then." Dylan felt bitter about his lack of Primal Stones. "Wait, from some light novels I have read. A lack of accumulation of Qi, Magic, or Spirit Power could be remedied by concentrating the accumulated energy to a single point and let it burst forth to the entire body. The sudden influx of energy would cause a qualitative leap on energy to but is an extremely dangerous task to do..." Dylan remembered some of his memories of the light novels he has read and tried suggesting it for himself. "I need to risk it!" Dylan had that unwavering determination in his eyes like what the past Dylan had. So Dylan executed this method. He concentrated all of his natural energy to the center? of his Spirit Core! He accumulated it to the point where the energy felt like a bomb waiting to explode. Dylan waited for the moment where the energy would try to burst the most to release it. After several minutes, he said, "NOW!" The sudden explosion of energy flowed throughout his body as a excruciating pain followed. He gritted his teeth as blood sipped from his mouth. "I have to endure!" Dylan was showing his tenacity while blood continued to sip from his mouth. "Arrrrrghhhhhhh!" He roared as he broke through to the Spirit Veins Realm! After half an hour, Dylan''s? complexion became better as he reinforced his cultivation with several circulation of Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies cultivation technique. "So this is... Spirit Veins Realm." Dylan smiled because he finally brokethrough. He felt extreme happiness in cultivation and deesired to become even stronger. "This... Is the life I want." Dylan said to the wind as a handsome smile appeared on his face. "Time to leave.. Huh?" Dylan stood up and prepared to leave when he saw something inconspicuous in front of the mansion gates. "What are those?" He saw gray colored stones and there were 17 of them he saw a single silver stone slightly bigger than the rest. "17? Could it be that this are stones awarded for every 10 costumers while this stone is for a hundred costumers?" He quietly deduced. It was highly likely that it was the case because 175 Costumers had 17 tens and 1 hundreds. So, it was the most probable theory for now. "I wonder what they do?" Dylan grabbed one gray stone and crushed it. The energy flowed through his body and felt extremely comfortable. "Oh, it''s just like the Primal Stone... WHAT?! I advanced?!" Dylan was even more shocked. Because he was initially only initial 6th level Spirit Veins Realm and now he was a Intermediate 6th level expert?! How ludicrous was this?! "I- it- it''s... A higher grade of Primal Stone?" Dylan was dumbfounded by this new function he discovered! 21 Chapter 21: Deca-Stone and Centurial Stone Dylan was shocked by the mind boggling discovery he just made! This stone was able to quickly make him advance a stage?! How amazing was this stone?! The sum left would help him breakthrough to the 7th level immediately! Judging by the consumption rate of his cultivation technique, 16 of this stone would help him to be able to directly advance a whole level! Reaching the 6th level Spirit Veins Realm would enable him to fight toe to toe with a 10th level Spirit Veins Realm because of the purity of his energy is of High Spirit Cultivation technique and his comprehension towards his techniques that have already broken through to the Perfection stage. If he were to advance to the seventh level, then he would be able to completely dominate the Spirit Veins Realm and fight with a level 11 Initial Stage Awakened Spirit Realm. He would not need to fear anyone as he will become as strong as a local clan head in any city. Being able to balance his comprehension and his cultivation, his strength has soared indefinitely! Even he does not know as to what extent his strength has increased. "I guess I''ll call you "Deca Stone"." Dylan named the gray colored stones. With the use of the Deca-Stone, he was able to break open 5 spirit veins in a flash! Since every level in the Spirit Veins Realm requires to unlock 25 veins, each stage requires that a person should unlock 5 spirit veins in order to advance. Many people would do anything just to be able to unlock a single vein but with the help of the energy supplied by the Deca-Stone, Dylan is able to easily commit a breakthrough. If word got out regarding the mystical wonders that this stone would enable a cultivator to be able to quickly unlock 5 spirit veins, the whole city of Soaring Cloud would be driven crazy about this matter. "Now time to cultivate once more!" Dylan reverted back to his prior position sitting cross-legged in meditation. He adjusted his mental state and entered a perfect cultivation condition. He grasped two stones and gripped on it. The two stones shattered as an earth-shattering energy entered all throughout Dylan''s body. The energy ventured all across Dylan''s? body and cleansed all of the impurities he had previously took. The energy circulated continuously as it carried all the impurities within Dylan''s Body as Dylan advanced to the High 6th level Spirit Veins Realm.. There was a sticky darkish liquid substance forming on top of Dylan''s skin. The skin melted away from Dylan''s body bit by bit. By the time the sticky substance was completely cleansed, Dylan felt that his body has become lighter compared to before. It was more fairer in complexion. He opened another 5 spirit veins just like that! He had now a total of 15 veins and the duration of time in which he did to do so was onlyan hour! If people were to know of this, they would faint from shock! It was not the sickly pale white complexion but the lively and healthy rlsy white skin. His muscles became more defined and buffer. His hair was a bit long as well so he thought that it needed to be cut. Suddenly, strange sensation filled his mouth. He vomited black stinky substance and he felt brighter than ever as though he was reborn. " Is this... Marrow Cleansing, Purifying the Body?" Dylan scanned his memories as a thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Marrow Cleansing, Purifying the Body is a special phenomenon that would occur once a cultivator manages to refine an energy or treasure which has utmost purity, superior in strength, or great herbal and medicinal efficacy. The energy purifies every inch of a cultivators'' body and forces all impurities out of the body through sweating and vomitting. It is said after undergoing this type of cultivation phenomenon your foundation deepens by several folds and his comprehension would be beyond comparison. It would also ensure stable and robust cultivation base that would not fall into Cultivation Deviation. Cultivation Deviation is a condition of a cultivator wherein? the cultivators'' cultivation base would divert from the norm of cultivation which is equivalent to becoming a cripple. With the occurrence of the Marrow Cleansing Purifying the Body, he would be almost guaranteed to not fall into Cultivation Deviation. "This stone also incites such a great phenomenon? Unbelievable..." Dylan could not fathom the mystery that the Mansion have in stored for him. Even the most initial of its mystery left him unbelieving. What more of the latter mysteries he will discover in the future? But, he also knew that there are responsibilities that corresponded with the strength he would be gaining. He needed? to avenge the death of his late master and his master''s wives and comrades. He needed to find out the identities of the perpetrators and the murderers to realize his quest. "Okay. Continue!" Dylan decided to not delay any further and started resuming his meditation. He took out his 16 other stones and started cultivating again. With the boost of the Deca-Stone, he was able to shuttle through in his advancement! He opened another 10 spirit veins this time and with a total of 25 veins, Dylan has formally entered the Pinnacle stage! But he discovered that he was no longer unable to advance because there was only 2 more left. Recalling his expenditure, he used 1 Deca-Stone to advance from Initial to Intermediate, 2 to reach High, 4 for Peak and 8 to reach Pinnacle. His rate of consumption doubled every single stage he advanced to. This disappointed Dylan for a bit because his rate of consumption has risen more significantly that he thought at first. "Now, I know what the main characters of light novels feel because of their overly robust cultivation base, they tend to use more resources than what the masses use. How breaking it is." Dylan laughed bitterly at this. Now, he knew what the main characters of the light novels that he had read truly felt. He felt tragic to how he used all of those Deca-Stones. "Well, there''s not much I can do about it is there? Strength truly comes with a price." Dylan consoled himself by telling his self like so. After feeling down about the Deca-Stones, he checked his condition and after truly verifying that everything was fine, he felt relieved. With some thought, he did some routines and he was shocked to discover that he has also attained Perfection in his movement technique, Seven Soft Steps. After careful consideration, he then felt that it was only natural because the Marrow Cleansing Purifying the Body occurred and helped him with the slight push he needed to comprehend the Perfection stage of battle techniques.He now felt even more confident that he could dominate the entire Spirit Veins Realm with this boost! "Hahahaha, I''m even stronger than before." Dylan laughed heartily as the joy of becoming stronger overwhelmed him. After laughing for a few minutes, Dylan calculated that he had already spent five hours in this cave! Although he did not sleep, he could not feel any type of tiredness and fatigue. He knew it was because of the cleansing that happened in his body. "It''s now time to check the other stone. I''ll call it Centurial Stone." Dylan picked up the stone and held it parallel to him. "I wonder what this stone would do for me!" Dylan anticipated many things from this little stone as the prior two contributed greatly to his cultivation. "Maybe, it would be a higher grade of Deca Stone too?" Dylan''s eyes brightened in excitement as he anticipated the wonderkid ability that this Centurial Stone would have. So, Dylan slowly crushed it. The remains formed into a tube and shot towards Dylan''s abdomen. "It''s a bit different? But who cares as long as I get more powerful!" Dylan howled in excitement. ..... But after waiting for several moments, nothing happened. The sudden increase in his cultivation did not happen. This made Dylan confused. "What just happened? Did I do it wrongly? Or maybe it needs to take some time?" Dylan awkwardly thought but he still persisted to wait. After waiting for 5 minutes.... "It just take some time. Patience is a virtue!" After 15 minutes... "Maybe... A little bit more time?" After 30 minutes.... "Did I really do it... wrongly??" After 1 hour.... "Hey, please work already! Pleeeeaaaasse!" Dylan began to beg. After 2 hours... "Charan! Ughh... Still nothing!" Dylan was now in the verge of crying. After 3 hours... "WHAT THE F***!!! WHY IS NOTHING HAPPENING?!?!" Dylan exploded in anger. He could not understand why not a thing is happening. He felt like he wasted a treasure. After 4 hours of waiting.... "Nothing... The heavens is making fun of me... HAHAHA!" Dylan laughed hysterically but in truth his heart was broken from wasting such a treasure. "It''s been 5 hours, huh... I think it''s nearing dawn... I need to go back and set up the restaurant..." Dylan spoke bitterly. He felt that wasting such a treasure is the same as wasting his efforts entertaining a hundred costumers. So he sat down and meditated to fully recover. He sat down cross-legged and entered meditation. But, his body trembled as he opened his eyes in shock. "How can this be...?" Dylan was stunned as though he saw a ghost and he became to utter words that even he did not believe himself despite being the one who said it. He said: "The ... Centurial Stones''s function...is to give me... an additional.... spirit vein?!" 22 Chapter 22: Visiting my Investors Dylan was totally stunned about this discovery he made about the Centurial Stone because it gifts an additional spirit vein to the Spirit Veins System inside a cultivators''body. In the Great Mystic World, any cultivator possessed? an additional physiological system apart from the nervous system, muscular system, skeletal system, etc. It is called the Spirit Veins System. The Spirit Veins System has one center which is called the Spirit Core. Within the perimeter of the spherical Spirit Core, there are numerous pathways of energy that could be found. These pathways are called the Spirit Veins. Spirit Veins are definite in its numbers which is 125 veins because it is as ordained by the heavens itself. However, the Centurial Stone breaks this ideology as it added another spirit vein into Dylan''s Spirit Veins System. It simply is going against heavens will! This means that Dylan could unlock more spirit veins compared to the ordinary cultivators! If he were to be able to get just 5 of this, his power would be twice stronger than a Pinnacle 10th level Spirit Veins Realm Expert.Five is equivalent to a stage! That would mean his cultivation would be twice stronger even if he fought an expert with a High Spirit level Cultivation technique! But people who would be in possession of such a high grade technique would be elites of a grand clan. In the Great Mystic World, clans, sects, and schools are categorized into divisions. They are divided by:Noble, Great, and Grand. A Noble Clan are clans who have a Awakened Spirit Realm Expert as its backer just like the Aaron Clan. A Noble Clan requires that a clan is composed of at least 200 members. For Great Clan and Grand Clan, those are powers that transcended the comprehension of the people in the Soaring Cloud City. Dylan has no memories that pertains regarding the Great Clan and Grand Clan as well as the next Realm. But he knew that if one is able to become an Awakened Spirit Realm Expert at a very young age like how Rea Cross did, he would be recruited by a sect or clan of such scale. Rea Cross of Cross Clan had a branch family in the Soaring Cloud City but he knew a genius like Rea Cross was a scion of the main clan in the capital city of Mystic Red Cloud Country, the Mystic Red Cloud City. This is where the main bases of various powers are founded and established. "Rea, huh? I wonder how she is doing right now?" Dylan wondered. "It''s time to get going already." Dylan got up and dashed to exit the cave. When he reached outside, the sky was already at dawn. With his new gained speed, he easily covered several kilometers of distance in just a short amount of time. During his travel, he found some beasts that initiated an attack in him as he stepped onto their territories. All of the beasts he encountered was only 5th level Spirit Core Realm in Generaland the strongest monster that he encountered was a Pinnacle stage 5th level Spirit Veins Wild Boar. Along the way, he was able to easily kill 3 wild boars, 10 fire chickens, 7Three horned ram, 2 boulder sheeps. He tried them up to a a rope and dragged their corpses out of the forest. When he reached the Gardenford Restaurant, he was tired from all the skirmishes he had with beasts he had killed. It was about 6 in the morning and he started to set up the store systematically after taking a bath. After an hour of setting up the store, his employees arrived all together. " Good morning, sir Dylan!" The employees greeted. "Good morning to you guys also. Let''s have a great day today!" Dylan smiled and encouraged. "Yes, sir!" Employees were energized as they replied to their employers, encouragement. After an hour of setting up, they finally finished and they prepared the tables too. "Hey, I would like everyone to help me with something." Dylan called forth the attention of his workers. The workers'' seemed a bit confused about Dylan''s sudden request. "What is it, sir Dylan?" His employees replied very respectfully. "Guys, help me setting up a large flying tent over the restaurant." Dylan said. "Ohhh, what is it for, sir Dylan?" Employees curiously asked. "I anticipate that it will rain shortly. So, Jack, please lead the boys and cut down four trees with symmetrical height with each other and trim the miscellaneous branches.Diane, you will be in charge of designing the tree with the other girls. Just make it simple and subtle but refreshing. Could this be done?" Dylan instructed. "Yes, sir!" Jack and Diane replied directly. "Thank you." Dylan was gratified by the replies that these two provided with confidence. After half an hour, the 4 symmetrically high posts about 5 meters high each was carried by the boys. Back in Earth, such a task would not be easily done in such a short period of time by humans even with great numbers but here in the cultivation world, it was easy with numbers for every cultivators possessed? strength of 10 men so 10 cultivators of 3rd level of Spirit Core Realm and above are as efficient as 100 people at work in Earth. After this, it took another half hour to decorate the posts, the posts were designed with vertical parallel lines and decorated with vines and flowers to make it a flower pillar. It was simple but attractive and is perfectly in sync with the design of the restaurant. Dylan on the other hand was working on the roofing of the restaurant. Dylan had knowledge with regards to construction because he also had a branch company that solely focus in public works and infrastructure. So he applied it to the making of this roofing, he used four slim lumbers and intersected it at a middle point to create a square pyramidal roofing. He used nails to hammer them together and he use d other four equivalently long so that the lengths of each side would be equal. Since there was no "plywood" in this world, Dylan used bundles of flat lumbers and placed them into the roofing structure and nailed them individually for sturdiness. When Dylan saw that the four posts were placed into the four corners of the restaurant, Dylan lifted the roofing which also decorated with orchids and vines and jumped 5 meters high. With Dylan strength, he was able to effortlessly perform such a jump while carrying a heavy structure like the roofing. Dylan placed it perfectly on top of the restaurant. It was now 9 in the morning and their were already guests waiting for them outside. So without delay, Dylan dressed up to his cooking clothes and started cooking while his employees entertained the guests and guide them to their table. "Welcome to Gardenford Restaurant. Have a nice meal." Dylan and his employees greeted the arriving costumers. This made the expressions of the customers to be more pleasing. While his employees were attending to the costumers, he cleaned and he fitted the meat of the Spirit Beasts he slaughtered while constantly producing the salivating fragrance he always exuded. His employees were still trying to work upto his standards. Although they were already considered decent and was gradually improving while working, they were still far from Dylan''s standards but regardless of so, Dylan was already happy seeing his employees working their hardest. The customers was even more fascinated because this restaurant was constantly improving. It''s personnel, its structure and it''s menu was constantly improving. The new addition to the design which is the roofing and the four pillars added to this restaurants beauty it perfectly maintained its coherence despite a drastic change in appearance. "Hehehe, the mansion''s Workplace Improvement ability worked like a charm." Dylan smirked because the sudden increase in his strength further beautified the restaurant subtly. The Cosmic God Mansion was really such an amazing treasure to have in possession. Currently, it was only 10:00 A.M, the restaurant was housing 100 customers and it was still increasing as the hours pass by. The amateurish waiters and waitresses were starting to show panic in face of overwhelming number of customers when it reached lunchtime. They were panicking because the numbers were increased to 150 in just an hour. But with Dylan''s occasional help, they were able to accommodate all customers accordingly. This number was already nearing the numbers he was expecting to accommodate today and it was only lunch. "Darn, I did not expect that there would be this many people in just lunch. At this rate, my stocks would be unable to support the customers tonight at supper." Dylan was feeling problematic because of this unexpected turn of events. "It seems like meeting my investors is a must today." Dylan solved his own problem with some thought. When it reached 12:00 noon, the customers number fluctuated upwards as it reached the numbers of 200! This caused Dylan''s employees unable to cope up with a large number of people. The restaurant was almost unable to fully accommodate the large number of people because of lack of tables but it was a good thing that Dylan made 15 more sets a few hours ago while setting up the restaurant just in case. So Dylan had to step in and entertain every customer in his restaurant. He first worked with the troublesome arrogant ones and after silencing them. He moved to the rest. He did everything in an organized manner and calm disposition. At the very end, he was able to easily entertain the costumers while keeping their meals? although with a bit of effort. This performance only rendered both customers and workers to be in utter shock as he was still able to solve the problems at hand with ease and without losing his cool. They were even more certain that this person could have the potential to be a Mystical Magnate or be one already! After the customers finished their meals, they escorted them one group after another until they were all gone. The customers were sufficiently satisfied with there meals while Dylan''s employees were all exhausted from all the pressure and working. "That was one tough batch of customers to deal with." Roland said. "You''re right." Allana agreed. "It was really really tiring to deal with that many customers... Ugh." Leila complained a bit. "But sir Dylan did not have any problem dealing with 200 customers and did it so easily." The cold Diane added while her eyes had a light of reverence to that figure on top of the cooking platform. "You''re right. He truly is like a Mystical Magnate!" Jack''s eyes shone with determination as he, no, they both swore that they would become his disciple. "Sir Dylan is truly outstanding..." Leila''s eyes shone with an unknown light as she looked intently to the back of that handsome figure. Dylan was contemplating when he suddenly turned his back and said, " I will just go out for a business meeting." "Business meeting?" Those words shocked Roland and his fellow workers. "Yes, so please help my sister with the dishes, okay?" Dylan ordered. "Yes sir." They replied. Dylan left the Gardenford Restaurant and went to the Soaring Cloud City. When he arrived at the city, he caused a commotion as the people knew that this man was the owner of that excellent restaurant called "Gardenford Restaurant", Dylan Ford. While he was walking on the streets, he encountered women and men who wanted to befriend him. "Sir Dylan, Do you have time tonight?" A coquettish lady said. "Sir Dylan, do you want me to warm your bed?" A voluptuous lady asked seductively. "Sir Dylan, why don''t you come to my house and have a small chat? I have a beautiful daughter who may interest you?" A Noble man said. "Sir Dylan, How have you been?" A middle aged businessman said. "Sir Dylan, I love you. Please, let me bare your babies!" A desperate mature woman said. But they were all politely rejected by Dylan after some chat with ending the chat like so: "I appreciate your offer but I would need to go to an important business meeting. So please, excuse me." Although they were rejected, they knew that it was impossible to get close to Dylan at first try so they just happily acknowledged his request. Dylan was walking towards the Thousands Treasure Pavilion, it was an infrastructure of extravagance and adornment. He entered and inquired at the counter. "I am here to meet the Pavilion Head of Thousands Treasure Pavilion, Sir Galagher." Dylan smilingly siad. 23 Chapter 23: Meeting the Three Giants Kayla, she was the counter girl of the greatest establishment with regards to business and trading in the whole Soaring Cloud City, the Thousands Treasure Pavilion. She was the one who would entertain the guests and customers who come in to Thousands Treasure Pavilion. She would answer and guide the guests according to their inquiries and appointment. But, such a life became increasingly duller as each day passes. "Is this really my fate? To become a counter girl for the ready of my life?" Kayla felt resigned to her fate. She was only 18 years old and a great beauty at that. That was why she got the job of being a counter girl because her refreshing face would make the costumers feel more attracted to vising the Thousands Treasure Pavilion. She could have gotten a higher position but she never had any talent with regards to cultivation. This was the reason why the Human Resources Officer of the pavilion could only offer her this job. She proved to have good memory and speak fluently. So she was given this job which was perfectly aligned with all of his good points. So with no choice, Kayla accepted the job at the very least she had a big sum as income so she did not have any qualms with the job. She was even commended for her services because ever since she became the counter lady, the customer rate of the Thousands Treasure Pavilion has increased by 8%. She became popular to the masses especially to the men. It was just as any day has gone for Kayla. Customers kept coming in and out of the pavilion. She became dull from this atmosphere. No matter how bustling and how lively this place would get, she was already used to it after working here for two years. Despite being 18, she was only High 2nd level Spirit Core which was slightly better than the Dylan in the past. When someone reached 18, the normal speed was that he/she reached the 3rd level Spirit Core Realm. That was why she was deemed to be a below average cultivator. "What''s? happening over there?" Kayla curiously tilted her head when she saw that there was a group of people that were moving towards the counter. They were seemingly surrounding a person in the middle. When they reached the gates, a dashing man went forward from the center of the crowd. The man was dashing, so dashing that he almost seemed like a prince. Ha had an above average built taller than most men, his skin was healthy white and his somewhat formal clothes were like a prince''s clothing. His hair was jet black and his eyes was strikingly attractive. This was none other than Dylan. Dylan completely transformed overnight, he bore even more resemblance to his old appearance now. His appearance was now a perfect fusion of 50/50 of his previous life''s appearance and his current. This was because of his sudden advancement in strength that added this type of effect. "Where did such a handsome man came from?" Kayla felt her heart being captivated by the smile of that handsome young man. "Sir Dylan, you are so handsome." "Sir Dylan, I love you!" "Sir Dylan, please take me as your wife!" "Dream on! Sir Dylan will take me, not you!" "Feeler!" "I''m the most beautiful here so stop, sir Dylan will pick me!" "How narcissistic of you! Sir Dylan will surely pick me" "Ngoooowww, swir, Diwan wiw pik miii!!" All types of girls were screaming how much they are in love with Dylan. Some were beautiful, some were ugly, some were seductive, some even had disability in speaking or standing. They were all attracted to this man. ''Dylan? Is that Dylan Ford? He''s that Owner of the restaurant called Gardenford Restaurant... Why is he here?'' Kayla thought to herself. She was even more surprised when the young man suddenly approached her. She got to admit that the way this Dylan Ford walked was undoubtedly hot. She felt her face getting hot with every step this man took closer to her. When Dylan reached the counter, her heart was beating fast. She wanted to look at his face but as her gaze climbed up to the face of that tall figure, she was able to see his broad shoulders, his accentuated Adam''s apple, his calm, pleasant smile and his attractive space black eyes that could suck a person''s soul into it. "Good afternoon, may I ask about something?" Dylan asked. "Uh... Y-yes..." Kayla absentmindedly spoke. "May I ask if Pavilion Head Galagher is here?" Dylan smiled in a charming way without even trying to. "Yes.... He.... Is..." Kayla could only speak broken words in the face of such charm. "May I trouble, miss, to guide me to his office?" Dylan kindly asked for a favor. "Yes..." Kayla dazedly said. "Thank you very much, young miss." Dylan smiled. "Oh I''m sorry for being rude. I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Dylan Ford. May I ask about yours?" Dylan self-introduced. "Me... My name is... Kayla Mae..." Kayla spoke brokenly. "Please lead the way, Miss Mae." Dylan spoke with a faint smile. Kayla lead the way to the office of Pavilion Head Galagher. The Thousands Treasure Pavilion was a 3 storey building. In the topmost floor was where the office of Pavilion Head Galagher could be found. Each floor was intricately designed and well developed. This amazed Dylan because the construction here maybe different than how it was in Earth but it was nearly comparable to some business firms in some ways. ''How fascinating.'' Dylan eyes glittered in his thoughts. As they continued to walk, they arrived at the third floor and there was a door that was decorated with about 120types of weapons, armors, and miscellaneous equipments that were suitable for battle. ''So this is the famous Door of treasures, huh?'' Dylan remembered some details pertaining the Thousands Treasure Pavilion. A branch head is ranked according to the number of treasures in his door. A head with 10 treasures would be recognized as a 10 Treasures Head while someone with a hundred or more treasures is called a 100 Treasures Head. The highest rank a branch head could reach is 500 Treasures Head because it is said that 500 and above are ranks of the elders on the Thousands Treasure Pavilions Headquarters. "So sir Galagher is a 120 Treasures Head eh?" Dylan said. While Dylan was thinking of various things, Kayla was panicking because they had already arrived at the Door of treasures. She did not know why she did what Dylan told her willingly but she was terrified because? how could a counter girl like her bring a businessman to the Pavilion Head Galagher''s office without setting an appointment?! "Thank you, Miss Mae. You may leave me if you want." Dylan said. "Please, you may just address me as Kayla, sir Dylan." Kayla was finally able to reply with courteousness. "Okay, Miss Kayla. I will be proceeding to the office now." Dylan smiled. "Wait-" But before she could stop him, Dylan had already opened the door and entered the office. When Dylan entered he saw a ornamentally designed office, one could denote that the person who works here was a peace loving person. Dylan saw a desk in front with a middle aged man was resting with his eyes closed. The man had a serene expression on his face but it suddenly slowly unclosed as it felt a foreign presence within his vicinity. Dylan was in faint shock when he saw this the perception of this man was amazing but when he saw that Kayla was turning ashened face as those eyes slowly opened, her fright turned to horror. The middle aged man''s serene face changed when those serious and stern eyes opened. He seemed to become a totally different person compared to him sleeping. His black long hair followed him when he stood up and his arms was clasped behind his back as his aura of 15th level of Awakened Spirit Realm burst forth. "WHO ARE YOU? WHY DID YOU COME TO MY OFFICE WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT?!" The middle aged man shouted in a deep stern voice. "I-I''m v-very sorry Pavilion Head~" Kayla tried to explain when Dylan stepped forward without hesitation as he introduced who he was. "Greetings, Pavilion Head Galagher, My name is Dylan Ford, the owner of the Gardenford Restaurant." Dylan calmly introduced himself with a fine bow. "Dylan Ford? Gardenford Restaurant? The newly rising Business?" Pavilion Head Galagher was obviously discontented. "I don''t care who you are! But, how dare you audaciously come here!?!" Pavilion Head Galagher was getting extremely angry at the moment. "I can explain, sir~" Kayla tried to explain but Dylan kept butting in. "Calm down, Pavilion Head, the others will be arriving any moment now. Then, we could have a proper discourse." Dylan consoled Pavilion Head Galagher as he smiled faintly. "Others? Discourse? What nonsense are you talking about?!" Pavilion Head Galagher became beyond furious by this seemingly act of mystery this Dylan Ford was playing. But, suddenly... "GALAGHER!!!" Another angry voice resounded as the door was kicked open with two individuals appearing. The first was a brown haired man with a savage wolverine like expression on his face and his showing muscles were filled with scars that was evidently from beasts. The latter was a person of calmness, he wore a scholarly robe and with a monks air around him. The former was the Guild Master of the Hundred Hunters Guild and the Garden Owner of the Misty Herb Garden. "What the f*ck was that letter all about?! Having a business meeting and you demand for I, Blood Wolf, to com here in a specified time?! How arrogant can you be?!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was enraged beyond any reasonable doubt. "Blood Wolf, contain your anger. But, he is right, Galagher. Since when did you have the guts to order us around? Remember you may be the biggest establishment within this city but we are not some pushovers you can treat lightly!" The Garden Owner whose name was Elmer Green was clearly infuriated as well. Their auras filled the room and this made Kayla, 2nd level Spirit Core practitioner, unable to hold on. ''The- the three giants are all ga-gathered here?! Just from their pressures alone, I feel like I am about to be crushed to death.'' Kayla thought in horror as she felt like she was about to collapse when a hand grabbed her and she suddenly felt a warm energy enveloping her. "Are you alright?" Dylan said as he covered Kayla with his aura. "Ye-yes." She answered embarassingly. She was blushing because there has never been a man who held her like this before. ''Its warm'' She thought. "Wait here?, I''ll just do something quickly" Dylan gifted her with some of his energy to ward off the warring energies in the environment. "Okay. Where are you going?" Kayla asked but Dylan was already walking forward. ''Ehhh?! Why is he heading there?! Is he trying to court death?!'' Kayla was complete and utter shock when she saw what Dylan did. She was dumbfounded and did not know what was going on. But as she felt like so,the three experts were arguing. "What letter? I never sent any letter to either one of you!" Pavilion Head Galagher retorted. "Preposterous!" Guild Master Blood Wolf shouted. "Did I put my name on it?" Pavilion Head Galagher asked angrily. He was clearly infuriated by being accused of doing something he never did. "No... But, it said that we come here by 2." Garden Owner Elmer Green replied. "Then, how are you sure it was me?!" Pavilion Head Galagher defended. "Because the meeting place was your office!" Guild Master Blood Wolf roared. "Then, how are you not sure that it may just be because he/she wants us to have a war that would either benefit our businesses and lead it their own destructions?!" Pavilion Head Galagher debated. "Ugh... You''re right, Galagher. We''re sorry for letting our emotions got ahead of us." Garden Owner Elmer Green apologized as well as Guild Master Blood Wolf when they realized it. They felt used because of this. "But if it wasn''t you, then who did?" Guild Master Blood Wolf had a savage expression when he asked.. "I did." A voice resounded. "Who?... You?!" Pavilion Head Galagher was shocked out of his wits! "Who are you?" Garden Owner Elmer Green grimly said. "F*cking brat! How dare you!" Guild Master was truly wrathful now because he felt angered being ordered around by a little brat. "My name is Dylan Ford. Nice to meet you all." Dylan stood calmly in face of this 3 giants and smiled confidently. When Kayla heard of this she knew and thought, ''I''m done for...'' 24 Chapter 24: I am Already a Mystical Magnate? Dylan was standing with utmost composure even with the presence of the 3 Giants of Soaring Cloud City. He did not show any signs of retreat, in fact, it seemed like he was trying to level himself in par with theses three giants in both business and cultivation here in Soaring Cloud City. He was standing stoutly and proudly with his hands behind his back while his face held a smile that exuded calmness, pleasantness, warmness and confidence. It was quite bizarre yet amazing how this four independent airs could form a equilibrium and synchronized with each other. ''He is standing confidently and looking directly at the eyes of the 3 Giants. Maybe he has a plan?'' Kayla thought. But Pavilion Head Galagher thought differently. ''What?! Is this Harmonized Soul State?! How is this possible?!''Pavilion Head Galagher was obviously shocked by this sudden turn of events because this man could harmonize 4 auras perfectly with ease?! Pavilion Head Galagher was only able to barely fuse three types of emotions but was already proffecient with two. This caused even more shock to Pavilion Head Galagher because he knew how hard it is to harmonize the soul and reach Harmonized Soul State. ''Not only has he reached it but his mastery is already comparable to a 3rd tier Mystical Magnate!'' Pavilion Head Galagher was beyond shocked by this young man in front of him. "What?! Harmonized Soul State?! You have achieved it?!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was equally stunned and the same was true to Garden Owner Elmer Green as he was dumbfounded by this as well. "Harmonized Soul State? What is that?"Dylan was a bit confused about what he said. He was unsure of the Harmonized Soul State. "What?! Are you kidding me?! You already achieved it but you don''t know what it is?!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was on the verge of crying. He was also trying to break through to balancing three emotions but he just can''t. "Nope, but I have heard of Harmonized Soul? Are they the same?" Dylan asked curiously. "What? You are f*cking kidding me! Of course they are the same!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was a hot tempered person that is why he gave off the feeling of a hot blooded youth. "Calm Down, Blood Wolf. It''s? unright for us to act so childishly in front of him." Pavilion Head Galagher stopped Guild Master Blood Wolf. "Galagher is right, Blood Wolf. It''s okay.Let me explain it to you then?" Garden Owner Elmer Green defended and offered to explain. thus: The Harmonized Soul State is classified into three basic levels. Novice Soul, Mysterious Soul, True Soul. Novice Soul is the state of Harmonized Soul State where one is able to balance and simultaneously exude two types of emotions. In this state, one would be able to beguile any opponent whose cultivation is weaker than him. Being able to reach this state would make one be considered as a Magnate Apprentice. Guild Master Blood Wolf and Garden Owner Elmer Green falls into this category as they could only harmonize two airs. But even a Magnate Apprentice, is a lot more stronger compared to other cultivators. The reason why Mystical Magnates are more stronger than normal people and other occupation is because of an energy that could only be cultivated by a Mystical Magnate. A Mystical Magnates have a special energy that they collectively called as Magnate Strength. Magnate Strength is a type of energy that gives birth to a subjugating force that would force their opponents who were ordinary cultivators to be unable to fully fight with their fullest of strength by 10%. But if fellow Magnates were to fight with one another, their Magnate Strength will cancel each unless they are able to produce an ever stronger Magnate Strength than their opponents. A practitioner who have reached the Mysterious Soul would be able to subjugate his opponents energy by 20% when he would be able to completely balance three emotions of the soul and would be able to beguile those who he the similar cultivation level he has. Once a practitioner reaches this stage he is deemed to be a Mystical Magnate. Pavilion Head Galagher is already considered as one. But, when a person is able to reach True Soul,he would be able to drag a practitioner of higher cultivation than him to a illusion world and would be able to suppress 20% of their original strength. When a person reaches this stage that means he/she already has reached the 5th tier of Mystical Magnate. This was why Mystical Magnates were feared in this world because once they reached a certain realm, they would be able to crush any person with a thought of their minds. ''Ohhh, so this is the reason why the people of this world fears the Mystical Magnates because they are capable of suppressing them up until the cultivators kneel on the ground from their complete dominance, huh?'' Dylan thought. ''Moreover, it seems like I am extremely suited to this kind of profession in this world.'' Dylan had came up with a sudden goal in mind and it was to become the most amazing mystical magnate in the Great Mystic World. "Ohhh now I get it. So I am Already a Mystical Magnate?" Dylan finally exited from his deep thought and remarked as so. When he made such a response, Galagher and Blood Wolf nearly vomitted blood from anger. He talked as if it was easy to reach and this made them envy his talent even more. To not practice any Magnate Manuals yet able to reach such state naturally was an overkill for them. ''Acquiring True Soul state without training? Hey Blood Wolf, do you think that he may be one of those people.'' Pavilion Head Galagher sent a transmission to Guild Master Blood Wolf. Spirit Communication is a form of transmissional exchange of information by two or more spirit practitioners. This type of skill is only accessible for those who have reached Awakened Spirit Realm. ''Those people? You mean... Those "people"?!'' Blood Wolf replied. When he correlated Dylan with those "people", it felt like it all made sense. ''Yes, those ''people"!'' Galagher affirmed. ''If that is true, then we could have such a great helper to our businesses!'' Blood Wolf exclaimed. ''Yes, but that is only true if he was one of "them"!'' Galagher added. "Being able to meet someone who is a Magna Magnate! That is truly a great fortune for us!" Elmer Green also joined in. Their transmission could be tapped since they did not try to hide it. "Yeah." Both nodded in approval. They could only reminisce the great legend of those awarded the name of Magna Magnate! A Magna Magnate was someone who would be absolutely destined to be a Mystical Magnate. These are prodigies so overwhelmingly talented that they could fight an entire sub realm higher than them this is because of three things. First, one has to acquire the True Soul state. Second, his Magnate Strength would be twice or thrice as thicker and richer compared to normal Magnate Strength. Third, is the Soul Depth. Soul Depth was another requirement for becoming a Mystical Magnate because Soul Depth is the measure of the capacity on one''s soul. A person''s soul could be measured through the use of a Soul Tablet. The soul? Tablet has 25 dots. Each of those dots represent a tier of the Mystical Magnate. 1-5 represent a Magnate Apprentice, 6-10 for Mystical Magnates and 11 or higher is for the higher realms of Mystical Magnates. But, a Magna Magnate would be able to score by 6 at the very least without even receiving training. "Okay, then. So what was the the letter all about?" Garden Owner Elmer Green curiously asked as he sat with the other two and Dylan in the table. "Good question and nice timing for it, sir Elmer. If you still don''t fully know me, my name is Dylan Ford and I am the owner of the new establishment, Gardenford Restaurant." Dylan introduced himself once more. "The purpose of me gathering you three here is that I want you to become investors of my business. I would like to make the Hundred Hunters Guild as my meat supplier while I would like for the Misty Herb Garden to be the one to supply me of my herbs. For my equipments, I would like for Thousands Treasure Pavilion to help supply it for me." Dylan offered as he smiled while subconsciously using his Harmonized? True Soul State. "Yes..." The three answered plainly and emptily. "Perfect, now please sign this contract for me, kind sirs as this would signify the formal start of our transaction and business collaboration. Do not worry, I would not take advantage of you as each of you would have 12% shares of my monthly profits. I can fully assure you that you would not regret this decision of signing this contract and help you earn millions in a just a short amount of time." Dylan faintly smiled and exuded utmost confidence as though millions of gold coins were something earned monthly while placing the contract in front of the three. The three just woke up from being dazed and they have realized that they have already signed the contract. And when they heard of what Dylan said, their minds told them that it would be impossible to earn that much with such a small restaurant but when Dylan finished his words, they gradually learned to believe him. ''To be able to beguile us three at the same time.... He truly is a Magna Magnate! At the very least we did not lose out in this transaction.'' The three shook Dylan''s? hand as a form of formality and to signify the formal start of the business collaboration. While this happened, Kayla could not believe what she just saw envelope before her eyes. A Mystical Magnate? Dylan was a Mystical Magnate?! Although Kayla was not shock about the fact that all three giants were Mystical Magnate because no one knew how long have they exactly lived but Dylan was one too and he was only 18 years old?! What''s more is that the latter even seemed stronger compared to the former?! She just could not understand what the hell happened here!! "What.... How... I...." Kayla could only stutter when she sat by the corner as the three giants shook Dylan''s right hand. 25 Chapter 25: The Second Page Dylan was still discussing some few things with the three giants while Kayla was left in complete shock. ''He was really able to make a deal with contract with the three giants... Maybe he really is a Mystical Magnate...'' Kayla was still lost because if any would have been standing or watching all this time, they would be dumbfounded about how this newly rising businessman was able to seal a contract signing with the three giants of the city. "So, may I ask some help from the Hundred Hunters Guild for some manpower?" Dylan asked. " What for?" Guild Master Blood Wolf''s brows narrowed. " I need to renovate my workplace and create extensions because if not, I will not be able to accommodate all the customers that will arrive at my restaurant." Dylan calmly replied with his signature warm smile. " Okay, then." Guild Master Blood Wolf agreed spontaneously and this stunned the other two as they have known him for a long time, it was nigh impossible to get him to do what you ordered him to do because he was used to the lifestyle of being a savage lone wolf. "But..." Guild Master Blood Wolf continued. "Yes?" Dylan replied. "But on one condition." Guild Master Blood Wolf stated. "What is it, Guild Master?" Dylan inquired. "You need to show your strength first! My men doesn''t? follow any weaklings. So you must endure three strikes from me in order to gain my approval!" Guild Master Blood Wolf accentuated. ''So he agreed in order to test Dylan, huh?'' The two thought so. "Blood Wolf, you must restrain your behavior. Dylan is already our business partner so you must refrain from doing this impulsiveness." Pavilion Head Galagher reprimanded his longtime? friend. "I know. I''m not going to kill him. I''m just going to test him that''s all. Don''t worry of course, I will hold back." "Even so, you may cause unnecessary harm to our friend, Dylan." Garden Owner Elmer Green supported Galagher''s reprimand. "Okay. Let''s do it." Dylananswered out of nowhere. "That''s right, Dylan. We should not be fightin~ What did you say?" Pavilion Head Galagher was shocked by the answer of Dylan because wouldn''t he be courting his own death?! " Blood Wolf is someone who abhores losing more than anything else and this implies that it would be difficult for him to hold back at the heat of the moment." Garden Owner Elmer tried his best to dissuade Dylan from doing anything rash that may cause him disaster. " It''s okay, Garden Owner Elmer and Pavilion Head Galagher. Thank you for your concern and I am fully aware of my limits. Of course, I would not do anything rash." Dylan thanked them for showing concern for him but he was fully capable of handling this situation himself. "What aware of your limits?! You''re only at the Pinnacle stage of 6th level Spirit Veins Realm!! And you want to receive three blows from someone who has reached the 15th level of Spirit Gathering Realm?! How could we not be concerned if that was the case?!" Pavilion Head Galagher firmly dissuaded Dylan from doing this bet or else he might regret it so he could only sternly reprimanded him as such. ''Those should stop him from being rash and arrogant.'' Galagher thought. "Okay, sir Galagher but I really need the manpower so I have to decline." Dylan spoke in an utmost natural manner. "HAHAHAHA. Now this is how a man should be! I''m liking you more now. HAHAHA." Blood Wolf bursted laughing after hearing Dylan decline. "Blood Wolf, stop this now. You might accidentally put Dylan into harm''s way!" Seeing that Dylan was so keen on doing this, he could only try to dissuade Blood Wolf but upon careful thought, it was obselete doing so because of his Hot blooded personality. "That is right. Please stop this now." Pavilion Head Galagher seconded. "Hahahaha, you know what my answer is to that, right? Because once I have decided to do something I see to it I stick to it until the very end. It''s fine to be hot-blooded and impulsive once in your life, right, young Dylan?" Blood Wolf disregarded their attempts of dissuading him. "Yes, sir Blood Wolf. I am fully aware of the gravity of my actions." Dylan said. "See? He is aware. So what are you guys getting flustered? It''s just receiving my blows." Blood Wolf rubbed his point to the faces of his two old friends. "Okay. Do what you want then." Pavilion Head Galagher could only unwillingly concede while Garden Owner Elmer could only shook his head in disappointment. ''I wish the gravity of offending a Magna Magnate which I am sure you are aware of would pop into your mind.'' Garden Owner thoughts were also the same as Pavilion Head Galagher''s. "So, what are the rules, sir Blood Wolf?" Dylan asked. "The rules are simple. For the first attack I use 10%, for the second I use 30%, and for the last strike I use half of my strength." Blood Wolf explained. "Are you sure, sir?" Dylan tried to reaffirmed. "Huh?" Blood Wolf was somewhat lost about Dylan''s question. "Nothing, nothing. So shall we proceed, sir? Dylan said. "Uh... Yes." When Blood Wolf heard those words, he adjusted his mindest to gametime. The two were stationed about 3 meters apart. Seeing that Dylan was ready, Blood Wolf commenced his first attack. He accumulated a globe of energy on top of his index finger and when it stabilized after a few seconds, Blood Wolf said, "Here, take this!". The globe sized energy shot through the air and towards Dylan at a fast speed. Materialization of energy is something that is exclusive to the Awakened Spirit Realm only so it was a pity that Dylan could not use it yet. Dylan simple lifted his right hand and pointed his index finger to the incoming energy. He slightly bent his elbows and used force to straighten it again to puncture it. "What is he doing? Is this a technique?" Garden Owner Elmer asked Galagher. "It surely is. Blood Wolf''s attack is enough to injure a 5th level Spirit Core so Dylan needs to use a technique to defend against it. Huh.. What happened to you? Why are you suddenly looking ashened face?" Pavilion Head Galagher asked. "He.... He puncturred it using brute force..." Garden Owner Elmer said stiffened. "What?! You did not feel any fluctuations of energy?!" "No..." "How is that possible? Not even his clothes are wrecked." "Maybe he cultivates a Body Cultivating Technique?" "I.. don''t know..." Similarly, Blood Wolf was shocked and he became a bit discontented about how Dylan was able to easily block it. "You''ve got some skill. So take this next." Blood Wolf hated losing so he concentrated a large amount of energy to another ball but this ball was now as big as a small bicycle tire and launched it with an even greater speed. "This strength is enough to injure a 7th level practitioner! What is Blood Wolf doing this is already 40% of his strength!" Galagher panicked. "Don''t worry, Dylan surely has a strong techniq- Hi just going to punch it?!?" Elmer Green was dumbfounded. "What?!!?!" Galagher was similar alike. They saw Dylan clench his fist and smashed it directly to the energy ball and the energy ball exploded faintly like a balloon popping. This shocked all three giants because he used his brute force yet again. This left Pavilion Head and Garden Owner to be speechless from shock. "How is this possible?!" Blood Wolf was even more angered. "I won''t accept this!" Blood Wolf roared as he placed his arms forward and conjured a energy arrow that was rotating while accumulating energy. It formed a small vortex on the air as it spun faster and faster. When it reached its peak, it shuttled through the air and was as fast as a bullet. It pierced through the air as it charge forwards to Dylan. Pavilion Head Galagher and Garden Owner Elmer awoke from this sudden realease of energy. "Is he trying to kill the young man?! That is already comparable to a 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm attack?!" They both dashed to save Dylan but to no avail, they reacted to late as the arrow was already in front of Dylan. "Damn it!" Pavilion Head Galagher cursed. When Guild Master Blood Wolf heard the curse, he knew he made a grave mistake! "Oh no!" Blood Wolf regretted his actions. As they were thinking about those, Dylan placed his right fist to his chest and his left forwards while he slides his right foot backwards forming a lunging position and shot his fist forward when the arrow reached him. . "[Boulder Breaking Fist-Perfection]" he roared in his mind. *BOOOOOM* A large explosion happened and fog permeated everywhere. When the fog cleared, Dylan could be seen unscathed and unmoved in his position with a dashing smile on his face as he said: "Thank you for letting me win." Everyone was shocked by this scene. A Pinnacle 6th level Spirit Veins Realm cultivator was able to block an attack that was comparable to a 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm attack without injury?! Just where did this talented person can from?! How is he able to be both strong in cultivation and being a Mystical Magnate?? "Did you feel that..." Pavilion Head Galagher asked dumbfoundedly. "Yes... Mind and Body Coordination... Reaching Perfection..." Garden Owner Elmer said. "He reached perfection while being in Spirit Veins Realm..." Guild Master Blood Wolf was shocked too. "Although it was only a Low Spirit Rank Technique, he was still able to cultivate it to such an extent..." Pavilion Head Galagher said. "What a peerless talent he is..." Garden Owner Elmer exclaimed. "Yes..." Guild Master Blood Wolf agreed. While they were shocked, Kayla was also shocked because she spectated and watched the entire thing unfold. She was left in shock when she saw everything especially what just happened because how could someone be so strong. When she saw Dylan smiling after the fog faded, she felt or more like she knew that she has fallen for this man. She could not help but replay in her mind how handsome he was when he blocked that attack. "Have I truly fallen....?" Kayla asked herself because she never felt the hastening of her heartbeats because of someone else. As everybody was thinking as such, Dylan said this, "I''m sorry sirs. But I am no longer able to stay for too long because I have already left my restaurant long enough. I expect sir Blood Wolf''s promise will be fulfilled. Thank you for this transaction and business meeting. I will be taking my leave now." Recovering from this, The three giants woke up and insisted to escorting him out of the Thousands Treasure Pavilion. Along the way, Blood Wolf apologized for what happened and Dylan of course did not mind because during the exchange he was finally able to gauge his strength that was now comparable to a 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert. After which, all three promised sending some of their men to help in the renovation of the restaurant and Dylan thanked them for this. It was about 4 when he arrived at the Gardenford Restaurant. He saw that there were already three groups of men there and he knew that they were from the Three Giants. The number of men amounted to 30 meaning 10 from each giant. They all had the levels of 6-8 and they were already informed about Dylan''s great strength. Although it was somewhat unbelievable, but it came from their bosses so they did not have any reason to doubt. They started the renovation upon Dylan''s arrival. They worked effeciently and quickly? so the renovations were made accordingly to Dylan''s plans. With the help of his employees and these men that the three giants sent they were able to finish it in two hours. The original 20¡Á20 meters was now 75¡Á75 meters and the roofing was also renovated to this size. The table sets were now 150 in numbers. The platform was bigger and the gate was upgraded to. Overall, everything was perfectly according to Dylan''s wishes. Suddenly, a trembling happened in his mind as a light so bright it illuminated Dylan''s mindscape. Dylan saw apage materializing in front of the mansion. "Hahahahaha finally the second page!" Dylan laughed heartily. 26 Chapter 26: The Rock that Fell from the Sky Dylan was rejoicing on how he had obtained the second page of the Cultivation technique Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies. He was laughing loudly in his heart but only a wide smile was found on display in his handsome face. When the employees saw Dylan smiling widely all of a sudden, his employees were gossiping and trying to figure out what their boss was currently thinking. "Why is sir Dylan smiling widely all of a sudden?" Allana suddenly asked to Leila. "Huh?" Leila was caught off guard as she was staring at Dylan all this time. "Ohhh, hehehe. You were starting at sir Dylan, right?"Allana teased. "Uhmm, no..." Leila denied embarassingly. "Hehehe, stop denying it." Another girl teased her name was Jeanne Parker. "Ooooohhh, Leila has got a crush on sir Dylan. Hahaha." Ronald Treat teased too. Ronald was unable to join the ranks of the top 10 as he only got 7.35 rating but it was enough for him to be ranked eleventh. "Stop it!" Leila blushingly stomped her foot. "Enough with the teasing guys!" Larry seriously remarked. "Okay." Allana pouted. "Anyways, what do you guys think is sir Dylan thinking right now?" Allana questioned her co-workers. "You''re right. I''m also quite curious about what sir Dylan is thinking right now." Ronald grinned as he spoke and looked at Leila. "Why are you looking at me for?" Leila questioned this man. "Hehehe, are you thinking that Sir Dylan might be preparing a dinner for two with you? Hehehe." Ronald replied teasingly. "Jerk!" Leila pounded her fist onto Ronald''s head. "Ouch. That hurt." Ronald complained. "Hmph, serves you right!" Leila smirked as she was somewhat satisfied with her little revenge. "Maybe sir Dylan is thinking of our performances." A gray haired guy guessed. His name was Joma Kray, he was one of Dylan''s above average worker. "Really? I think sir is thinking of the rapid development of the restaurant." Larry joined in the discussion as well. "Hmmm but maybe sir is thinking of... Nevermind." Allana was about to say something when she took it back at the most crucial moment. "What?" Everyone became curious because of the sudden retrieval of thought that Allana was about to say a moment ago. "Hehehe, are you sure?" Allana asked playfully. "Yes." They all said. "Ever noticed how Dylan was smiling ever since the renovation?" Allana asked in the same manner. "Yes. But why? Does it have anything to do with any of this?" Ronald asked curiously. "Yes, it does." Allana said. "How?" Joma said. Everyone was becoming increasingly curious as every moment passed. They started pondering over what Allana said. "Okay, I''ll explain. The men came before sir Dylan and sir Dylan was not, even the least, shocked. This is where it gets interesting. Let me rephrase how the sentence went. Since the men came for renovation of the restaurant and sir Dylan was smiling ever since the renovation, wouldn''t it be right if I say that sir Dylan if I say that sir Dylan was smiling ever since the men came to the restaurant?" Allanadeduced and smiled playfully. "What?!" This hypothesis that Allana formulated truly shocked them to their core. "Sir Dylan is.... Gay?" Larry could not help but ask. He really couldn''t believe it. "No..." Leila felt heartbroken when she heard this. "Do you all believe me now?" Allana spoke jokingly. "Oh, is that so?" A voice that came from her back sounded. "Of course, didn''t you hear what I just said?" Allana spoke haughtily without turning. "So are you implying I was deaf? What if I told you that I heard every single thing?" The voice talked back in a calm manner. "Yes. If you have heard it, then you should have caught up immediately." Allana replied in the same manner. "Oh, so now you are implying I''m dumb and slow?" The voice asked. "Yup. So can you please shut up? Who the hell are you anyway?" Allana became angry of the repeated retorical questions the voice said. But, she got a familiar feeling of this voice. A nagging feeling told her that it was really familiar. When she turned to face the origin of the voice, she saw a familiar handsome face that was distinct from any she ever knew. At the same time, she also felt extremely ominous as the face clarified. "Sir... D-Dylan.....?!" Allana stuttered because thinking back of what she had just done, it was already grounds for her to be fired. "Yes?" Dylan replied smilingly with calmness and warmth. "I''M SOOOORRRRYYY." Allana broke down and knelt. "Why?" Dylan asked "DON''T FIIIREE MEE PLEEEEAAAASSE!" Allana begged for mercy as tears was flowing down from her red eyes. She deeply regretted what she had just said. She wished that she should have never said it to her fellow workers. She really wanted to hide in a hole forever because of what she did. "Don''t worry. I won''t fire you." Dylan replied with a faint smile. "Really?" Allana? calmed by a bit but tears continued to form a tiny stream from her eyes to her jaws. "Of course, but..." Dylan''s? smile was getting a bit stiff. " But?" Allana was trembling in fear as she was afraid that Dylan would take his words back. This job although one of the hardest, but the earnings? was worth it. She just did not want to lose this job. "But there would be a punishment for your claim earlier " Dylan''s smile and voice had a tinge of anger with it. "What is it, sir Dylan?" "You are the one to do the dishes for a whole week!" Dylan ordered. "Whaaat?!" Allana? was shocked. The number of dishes that they used every day was nearly more than 250. So Dylan ordered the boys to buy 500 sets of plates and platters as well as 500 sets of utensils and equipments needed by the restaurant. A set was equal to 100 silver coins so Dylan had to spend about 100 000 silver coins. Dylan also needed to buy the extra land he used for the renovation from Robert Bobman. A square meter was equal to 500 silver coins and since he used 55 squared meters for the renovation, Dylan had expended 27500 silver coins for the land. He also paid his debt of 1500 gold coins or 150000 silver coins. So Dylan had totally gone from riches down to being poor once more. Dylan''s heart ached by the expenditure of approximately 277 500 silver coins which was near his overall earnings of more than 300 000 silver coins. He also used the remaining moneyto buy for the nails, moonshine stone, a stone that used the moonlight to illuminate, and materials that the workers needed and that only left him with a measly 250 silver coins. How tragic it was that more than 300 000 silver coins which was equal to 3000 gold coins quickly disappeared in a short span of a day. But, Dylan knew he was doing this for the improvement of his brand and would quickly gain back his losses with his skills in business. "Why? Is there a problem? I could change the punishment if you want. You could..." Dylan continued saying up until three punishments when Allana agreed to washing the dishes as the other punishments could only make her hair stood up over the difficulty. "No more, sir... I agree to washing the dishes for a week..." Allana being pale faced accepted her fate. "And if you are still wondering what I did this afternoon, okay. I will narrate." Dylan said. He narrated what he did this afternoon in a summary and as he was talking each one of the employees were looking at each other marvelling at their bosses greatness. They now understood where this men came from. "Do you now understand?" Dylan asked. "Yes sir." Everyone replied in a respectful manner. "Good. Now get back to work and enough with the chitchat." Dylan disciplined his employees. "Yes, sir." Everyone replied in approval. Everyone went to their stations as they prepared for the arrival of the customers. The made fun of Allan while waiting as some said things like, "Serves you right" and "Hahaha don''t worry it''s just one week." Allana became depressed because of the teasing of her fellow workers but adjusted her attitude quickly to prepare for the upcoming customers. It was another stressful restaurant as the customer''s numbers increased from 200 to 300! It was because of the widening of the area that the workers made prior to the customers arrival. Dylan did not let the 30 men to help as he discovered that none of them had any experiencces with regards to customer service and interpersonal communication. In the end, he could only let them go back to their respective organizations. On the other hand, he was very satisfied that his employees were already nearing his standards as their general ratings were 7.5 already. Their improvement was really up to his standards but even though they improved significantly the great number was still overwhelming them. So, Dylan still needed to step up and help them. After a tiring night, all of Dylan''s employees were beat and tired of 4 hours of unending and constant services and left after saying goodbye to Dylan. Thanks to the Gardenford Restaurant''s quality of gourmet that was top notch, customers kept piling in. This made Dylan feel the need that he needed to find more employees at this rate because his current number of employees will be unable to fully accommodate such number of increasing people to serve. Dylan no longer needed to clean up and restore his equipments as they were already made stationary and fixed. He also had the workers to create gate so that he would only need to lock up the restaurant when closing it. Dylan went to the forest to train. He fought dozens of monsters and killed them for extra stock. He familiarized himself first with his newly acquired cultivation level. Although because of Marrow Cleansing Purifying the Body, it would almost ensure that he would never fall into Cultivation Deviation but he still wanted to play itself and further strengthened his cultivation base. He was just about to check out the Second page of the Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies when he saw something in the sky. It was like a shooting star and he was just about to make a wish when he noticed it heading to his way. "What the heck?" Dylan was shocked to see that the shooting star was following him like a homing missile. Dylan started running on the opposite direction but the shooting star kept tilting to his direction. The homing shooting star was getting increasingly closer and is constantly moving at a fast speed. Dylan got a better glimpse of the thing that was following him. It was not a shooting star but a rock that was as big as a car wheel. He was helpless seeing that the rock was still following him. "What did I do to deserve this?" He looked back and saw a rock that was nearing him. The next moment he felt the smashing force that the rock had and felt immense pain from it. Everything blacked out for Dylan and he became unconscious after the incident. When he woke up, it was already morning. He quickly tried to feel his face but he found out that there was no injury nor bleeding. "Just what the hell was that rock?" He questioned himself. After doing some stretching, he meditated to recover. While meditating he discovered something that dumbfounded him. Inside the mansion gates, at the top of fountain, he saw something that wasn''t there before. It was... the rock that fell from the sky! 27 Chapter 27: A Mystical Magnate arrives He could not help but wonder what was this origin of the rock? How was it able to enter the mansion?! He was really confused about the rock. "Oh, well, most light novels have this type of twist. But I think it should be a treasure that will help me in my future adventures." Dylan decided to disregard the rock in the Cosmic God Mansion. Dylan exited the forest and headed towards the Gardenford Restaurant. He moved swiftly and dashed to the gates. He took out his keys and hie opened the door right after. He prepared the tables and the chairs while waiting for the arrival of his employees. When his employees arrived, he coordinated with them to finish the preparation of the table sets. After the completion of the preparations, he ordered them to change clothes and switch to their uniforms. Dylan was waiting for his employees to finish changing clothes. While waiting, he heard a very familiar voice. When he turned around to take a look, he caught sight of that beautiful little scarlet haired girl who was his little sister. His heart warmed at the sight of his little sister. This type of warmth was the kind that a person could only feel to his kin and family. "Brother." The little Scarlet squeaked. "Hiii, lil sis." Dylan pinched Scarlet''s cheeks with both of his hands. "Owww, big bro, stop doing that." Scarlet complained. "Hahaha okay okay." Dylan laughed in return. "Hmph! You''ve been spending all your time to this restaurant and forgot about your pretty lil sis." Scarlet pouted at him. "I''m sorry. I''ll make it up to you, somehow." Dylan apologized as he also felt guilty with leaving out Scarlet after he started his restaurant. The fact that hislittle sister helped in washing the dishes even though she felt tired,made him guilty even more. Even if the plates were piling up endlessly, she still insisted on helping despite Dylan getting more employees and having them switch in a Dishwasher Shift. She was the one who washed the dishes for the entire first day. On the second day, she had some load off because of the Dishwasher Shift that Dylan devised. But, since the customers kept increasing also they were forced to cancel the Dishwasher Shift and continued with the proceedings of customer welcoming. "How?" Scarlet was still pouting when she said that but there was a faint smile mixed with it. "How about I''ll cook you a great meal for breakfast?" Dylan offered. "Hmmm, okay. I accept but this doesn''t mean I''m not complaining anymore. Hmph." Scarlet turned her head sideways as she said those words. "I know. I know." Dylan simply smiled after saying this as he proceeded to the cooking platform. Scarlet sat in a table near him. After several minutes if waiting, Scarlet divulged in the luxurious and high class food. She was extremely happy about this treat from her brother. Dylan was smiling the entire time when she saw her sister''s beautiful smile. Although he found Scarlet beautiful, he did not have any desire of romance because he still loved Rose. ''Oh, Rose, how I miss you. I wish you are doing well.'' Dylan thoughts of melancholy kept flowing bit by bit. The times he spent with Rose kept coming back to him. The dates they had, the nights they spent watching the stars, and the times they spent together. It all kept coming back to him. He could still see the face and the smile of that peerless beauty. A tear went down on his face as he remembered a scene that made his heart break. Outside? of a 5-star restaurant... This was the same scene wherein Dale left the Dylan after punching him on the face. The crowd was shocked by what suddenly happened. There were some that were trying to find a camera as they thought that this superstar level looking people were shooting a tragic scene for a movie. They felt like they were acting because it felt so realistic that it seemed like acting. But, when they confirmed that there were no cameras, they felt pity and sympathy for the brothers. "Why..." Dylan was feeling lost as he was left by his brother. "Oh... Dylan...." Rose placed her hands to his cheeks and looked at Dylan worriedly. "If I only knew... I..." Dylan''s? eyes were like rain pouring down from the sky. "If you only knew, you would have never thought of meeting me?" Rose smiled. "No.. that''s... not .... what I mean is..." Dylan could not organize his thoughts. He was too caught with the pain he was feeling that moment. "I understand. But, I am at fault too, you know. Ideclined Dale''s feelings for me for the sake of my belief that love at first sight and falling in love for the first time because I believe that First love is pure, lasting and undying...." Rose self depreciated. "I thought that my belief would not be able to come true and I know that this is a selfish desire. However, all throughout my life, I have been doing what my parents said and helped all people I see in need. I thought that I should be selfish for once so I decided to wait. My siblings got lovers way before I did.But you changed all of that when you became the love of my life... I love you Dylan..." Rose hugged the crying Dylan and kissed him on the forehead. Presently.... Dylan''s? tear reached down to his neck. Dylan had really missed Rose so much. Dylan kept saying that he needed to become as strong as Seven Kills God first before he is able to traverse dimensions as easy as walking by it. So, his urge to become stronger became even stronger. Unknowingly, the scene in his mind changed when he thought of his lover. It was another place and the beautiful rays of 3 different moonlights bathed that place as it focused on a bridge. ''This is where the past Dylan met Princess Elizabeth, right? Why am I thinking of this again?'' Dylan said. Dylan still couldn''t happen why this happened everytime she thought of rose. But he slowly started to realise that this may have been the past Dylan''s feelings for Princess Elizabeth. The past Dylan''s motivation was what Princess Elizabeth said to him that night. That motivation became? inspiration as the days pass in his training. That inspiration became fancy after weeks of training. Finally, his fancy for her became love as months have passed in his training. Dylan felt more conflicted by what was happening to him. Having two sets of memories gives birth to two different sets of emotions. Although Dylan was the one who controls his body currently, but his mind and heart was still not originally his even though he knew he increasingly became more like his past life''s self. His heart felt conflicted having loved two persons at the same time. Dylan stopped thinking of this matter for a second when he saw that a group of man wearing beast skin clothing arrived in front of his restaurant. He knew this was this month''s supply of meat. He greeted the people who came to deliver the supply and invited them to eat before they left. Who could say no to such an offer? That was why they were able to enjoy the quality cooking that Dylan was famous about in the Soaring Cloud City. After a while, the supply for the herbs and spices finally came and the equipments came after. Dylan all offered them to eat before they left. So after eating these men happily left with a full stomach after bidding farewell to Dylan. After which working hours came once more as the customers kept coming in. It was a good thing that the number of customers did not add once more and was still 300. So Dylan was still occasionally helping his employees out but not with the same frequency as yesterday. He kept checking for Scarlet''s condition at the kitchen. It was a good thing that Allana was stuck with dishwashing too so the load with Scarlet halved. Scarlet and Allana liked each other''s company as they both are mischievous and playful by nature. Dylan could hear some laughing every once in a while. This made Dylan smile knowing that her little sister was happy with the company of another person. Dylan continued to cook as well as he always have. His employees were also adapting faster to this type of pressure. They were still able to keep up just slightly. Their overall performance was already 7.8 rating. This made Dylan happy that their progress was steadily following the pace he assigned. The overall progress of the restaurant was really satisfying for Dylan. After lunch, Dylan conducted another Job acceptance in which he was able to gain 52 new employees. All of which were of decent standard of working. So all in all, he had 85 employees now. Unlike the first batch, Dylan had to conduct a seminar first so that this new batch of employees would be able to follow the experiences that the first batch had. Dylan was able to teach them various things and gave a lot of tips regarding customers service. So when night arrived, they did quite well but, of course, they could not compare to the first batch. A week passed. The Gardenford Restaurant became even more livelier than usual. It''s normal number of customers were 400 a day. Jumped to 450 at the end of this week. Dylan had to make the foods all by himself at first but in the second batch, he was able to encounter a man who said in his application form that he has been a chef for all of his life. His name was Alden Hanes. Dylan of course guided and trained him before he allowed him to cook publically. Dylan was able to find another who was able to cook good food and the name of this girl was Marielle Kurt. After 3 days of constant training, the two were finally able to produce food that was of Dylan''s standards. So, Dylan finally allowed them to cook beside him at the cooking platform. Allana was also done with her punishment and was able to work as usual again. Scarlet was finally able to rest because the number of employees his brother were large enough to implement the Dishwasher Shift. In this one week, Dylan was able to earn a little over a million of silver coins which was equal to 10000 gold coins. When word got to the three giants, they were shocked. In one week, he was able to gain 10 000 gold coins that was the same as their income for a week as well. How was a new establishment which was only a week old able to compare to their century old establishment?! This type of management skill and business tactics left them in shock. As the Gardenford Restaurant fame spread all over the city, money would just be piling up for Dylan. He truly deserved to be called the Greatest businessman of Earth! On the gates of Soaring Cloud City, a carriage arrived. The carriage had the insignia of three stars with the insignia of a country of color red and had an "M" engraved at the middle of it. If Pavilion Head Galagher was here he would be able to recognize that this insignia was the insignia of the "Mystical Magnate Tower" of Mystic Red Cloud Country. A person got out of the carriage. He wore a robe that bore that same insignia in his back. The starts implied the level of the Mystical Magnate in the Mystical Magnate Tower. Thus, this man was a true pledged Tier 3 Mystical Magnate. "Soaring Cloud City... My masters origin, huh...." That man slowly said as the sunlight flashed through his young and handsome face. 28 Chapter 28: A New Brand in Town The young man went back inside the carriage after a short breather. The carriage proceeded towards the deeper parts of the city. When people saw the carriage, they immediately made way because when they saw the insignia of the Mystical Magnate Tower, an existence which was an unfathomable behemoth to them, they could only resign themselves and moved to the sides. In this scene, an individual could see the prestige and how venerated the Mystical Magnates are on this world. When the young man saw this scene occurring, he simply smiled and ordered the horseman to proceeded further onwards. The carriage proceeded to a large infrastructure called the "Vigor Hotel". Vigor Hotel was derived from the name of this young man whose name was Andrew Vigor. The Vigor Hotel here was only a branchhotel as he stationed the main hotel at his home city "The Cloud Peak City" which was very close to the capital. The Cloud Peak City was a city that was far bigger than the Soaring Cloud City. The cities within the Six Mystic Cloud Country was ranked according to their proxemity from the Capital of each state. Soaring Cloud City was a bit far from the Capital so it was called the Middle Proximity City. The Cloud Peak City was classified as Inner Proximity City. For cities which are farther they are called the Outer Proximity Cities. Cities get their funding according to this ranking. Thus, the nearer the city is to the capital, the higher their fundings are. Andre Vigor constructed this branch hotel 2 years ago and it was already ranked number 4 in the power structure of this city. It was only slightly a bit off from becoming a Business Giant in the Soaring Cloud City. But, he accepted it since he would be able to gain that title here sooner or later because he was a tier 3 Mystical Magnate. His carriage arrived at the hotel and he exited as soon as the door of the carriage was facing the door of his hotel. His staff was already lined in two columns left and right as they were expecting his arrival today. He notified this branch''s manager that he would be visiting this city a week ago. That is why the staff of this branch of Vigor Hotel prepared the hotel for the arrival of its owner. Although a Mystical Magnate was a title that would make people think twice before offending you and your business, this does not mean that your business would not fall and would be able to function indefinitely. A Mystical Magnate must also check his business from time to time in order to ensure proper working ethics and discipline within his management and staff. This was what Andrew Vigor was doing. He was checking the condition of his brand in order to prevent it from declining. The staff bowed to him in unison and greeted him, "Welcome, sir Vigor." Andrew Vigor was walking towards the entrance when a lady caught his eye. He moved closer and inspected the face of the lady. The lady was trembling with fright when she saw that Andrew Vigor was coming towards her. When Andrew Vigor arrived in front of this lady, he used his left hand and lifted up the face of this lady to get a better look "You are quite beautiful." He said. "Thank you, sir Vigor." The lady replied politely. Some girls were looking at her with envy. If they were able to have the chance to "serve" a Mystical Magnate like Andrew Vigor, they would do so without a shed of remorse. If they were also given the chance to bear his child, then that would mean a secure life for them and their children. "Come to my room tonight." Andrew Vigor ordered as he climbed up the stairs and meet up with branch manager. Vigor waved his hand dismissively and the staff dissipated. Andrew? Vigor made an overall checking of the Hotel. He checked the lobby, the function hall, the mess hall, and every segment of the hotel. Vigor also checked the performance of the staff and utility. After roughly two hours, he was guided by the branch manager to a VIP Suite where he will stay for a couple of days. Within the suite, a king sized bed, exotic furniture, and refreshing designs could be found. A figure was standing near the king sized bed with a thin white sleeping dress. This was the lady that Andrew Vigor commanded to come to his room to serve him. He ignored the lady as he drank wine and bathed first. When he came out in the bathroom, he poured another glass of wine and approached the lady. He removed his bathrobe and gestured the lady to "attend" to his needs. The lady shyly did so as he was drinking the glass of wine. When he finished, he threw the glass elsewhere and pushed the girl on top of the large bed. He saw the lady shyly covering her beautiful legs which invited the nefarious flames in his groin. He later experienced a night of passion as he slept soundly after those long hours of excitement. On the morning, Andrew? woke up and saw a naked girl lying in his embrace. He stood up and took a shower. He wore some of his business attire and proceeded to the lobby for his meal. He was dining with some of the finest foods of the restaurant. While eating, he called forth his secretary to report the overall standing of this branch''s condition. The Secretary arrived at the mess hall. She had a smoking hot figure and seductive face with her. She woke sexily towards Andrew Vigor while she carried some papers with her right hand. The buttons of her uniform appeared to be bursting because of the size of those twin peaks. No wonder this woman was the Secretary of this young Mystical Magnate. Her looks and figure was enough to salivate man with just a glimpse The Secretary waited Andrew to finish his meal before moving beside him and greeted him. The Secretary started narrating the documents she has at hand. Andrew signalled for her to sit beside him. He also made everyone leave the mess hall momentarily. The employees could only nervously leave as they knew that those reports have their livelihoods at stake. They prayed that their performance was of standard for their boss. "This branch was able to perform a little above average than what we have expected it to be. Their customer service was quite decent as many reported that they were satisfied with the services provided by this hotel. But, their has been mediocre reviews over the room structure and there has been only few dishes which were commended by the customers...." The Secretary continued for half an hour before finally enumerating all of them. This made the employees gasp with the competence of this secretary. A witty brain to match a salivating beauty. "... That is the end of the reports, sir." Andrew was able to amazingly listen to that long report. Clearly, he was used to such lengthy reports. After some time, Andrew was able to digest the report and devised some improvements to the customer service, the room structure, quality of food and many more. After? the confirmation of his secretary that all of his suggestions were feasible, he called the Branch Manager and delegated his instructions for further improvement. The Branch Manager left with a sigh of relief and started disseminating the information to his utility and staff. Back at the Mess Hall... "Sir, I have something to report to you." The Secretary said. "What is it, now?" Andrew Vigor said in a somewhat annoyed manner. "Sir, it is about a new brand that has been established 10 says ago." The Secretary started to report. "Why should I care about some newly established brand in this Middle Proximity City?!" Vigor was even more annoyed when he heard that report. "It''s because~" The Secretary tried to reply. "Didn''t I tell you to only report to me important matters?! Why are you telling this useless news to me?!" Vigor was angered. Why was her Secretary insisting to report about this newly established brand?! "It''s because this brand~" the Secretary tried once more. "Again?! How many times do I have to tell you?! I don''t care!!" Andrew Vigor roared. However... *Slap* "Youuu!!!" "How many do "I" have to tell you to please respect me sir? Do not be so rude as to interrupt when I am speaking! Then, fine, I won''t report to you about something as useless as a business which have a owner that was capable of making the three giants to sign a deal!" The Secretary harrumphed in anger. "What did you say?!" Andrew Vigor was shocked by this news. This shocking news made him forget the pain he was feeling on one of his cheeks. "It''s just something useless. Don''t mind it." The Secretary walked out. "Hey, wait out. I''m sorry. Okay?" Andrew apologized. "Hmph." The Secretary was still clearly angry at him. "I''m sorry, okay? So what is this news all about?" Andrew Vigor asked once more. "The new brand is called "Gardenford Restaurant". It''s owner whose name is Dylan Ford, is an extremely handsome and charismatic person who is suspected to be a Mystical Magnate. A week ago, he was seen entering the Thousands Treasure Pavilion. After entering the Guild Master of the Hundred Hunters Guild and the Garden Owner of the Misty Herb Garden was also seen entering it." The Secretary said. "Couldn''t it just be a coincidence?" Vigor asked. "After two hours, reports saying that the three heads were seen bidding farewell to Dylan Ford. There has also been reports saying that they were able to see the men of the top three towers arriving at the Gardenford Restaurant and having a good chat with him. It was also sighted that there has been deliveries of supplies of meat from the Hundred Hunters Guild, supplies of herbs from the Misty Herb Garden and equipments from the Thousands Treasure Pavilion outside the Gardenford Restaurant. So with all of this information, could it still be a coincidence?" The Secretary said. "What... This can''t be..." Andrew Vigor was speechless after hearing that report. "A moment ago you were complaining how useless this report would be. Now after listening, you are completely speechless? Hmph!" The Secretary beautifully turned around with her hair whipping and left the dumbfounded Andrew Vigor alone in the mess hall. 29 Chapter 29: Declaration of War Andrew Vigor was so much shocked regarding the news. He never anticipated that an establishment who just started last week would immediately be able to sign a contract with the three giants. He felt that his business is being threatened by some other business. This was the reason why he ordered his secretary to gather data pertaining to this newly established restaurant called Gardenford Restaurant. He found out how amazing the place was. The design and the structure was as though it was replicated from a garden from utopia. ''From where did he get this idea of setting up a garden in a restaurant?! Just how ingenious could this Dylan Ford be??"The more he thought about it, the more infuriated he became. He was able to visualize that if a individual were to place a garden within a restaurant, the garden would give off a pleasant vibe which would excellently compliment the process of eating. A customer would be able to feel more comfortable and relaxed while eating. Additionally, the fragrance of the flowers would soothe and lift away all stress that a customer would be experiencing. This would also transform the state of mind of the customer to the most optimal state of mind for interactive conversations with the waiters and waitresses. "This type of setting would ease up the job of the waiters while rendering great customer service to the consumers. This is like doing things with half the effort but double the result. How far has this Dylan Ford foresaw that he is able to model out a situation and environment that are both optimal for both customer and staff??!" He could not accept such a thing as surrendering against a local businessman. He also discovered that the reviews for the food reached 11 in the scale of 1-10! The foods that are inscribed into the menus are exotic, new and refreshing! He also found out the ability of how Dylan was able to manage every possible situation that would occur within the restaurant. He also learned of his impeccable service and interpersonal relations that he is able to simultaneously cook while serving a customer. The people who witnessed it thought that it was as if he knew what, when and where anythingwas going to happen while cooking. Andrew became even more incensed when he learned of all of this reports. He even found some news unbelievable that he thought this man was Mystical Magnate that was of higher tier than him. If that was true, then he would have no choice to unwillingly let this matter go. But, when he discovered the profile and biography of Dylan. He smiled with an evil grin on his face. Because he discovered Dylan''s origins and other details describing his life. His secretary''s competency when it comes to gathering information is top notch and since he has a master of great standing in this country. He was granted access into information that some could only hope to know. Thus, he was able to find out Dylan''s weakness. "I finally found your weakness, Dylan Ford. Mwahahaha!" Andrew laughed evilly. "You may have great wits and natural talent when it comes to business. But your origin still betrays you. Having such background is a grave sin in this stereotypical world. Mwahahaha!" Andrew laughed even more. He summoned the staff in this branch of his Vigor Hotel and gave money to them to make an overall upgrade to all facilities and utilities in this hotel. Vigor was able to gather 200 man for the renovation and he directed the accordingly. After 4 hours of labor, the whole hotel was transformed to anew.it was much more appealing to the eyes compared before and more grand. Andrew also emphasized the renovation of the mess hall and transformed it into a independent restaurant called Vigor''s Gourmet. Since he was declaring war, he had to do it thoroughly to completely crush the opponent under his feet. Another reason for the separation of Vigor Hotel and Vigor''s Gourmet was that according to his statistical analysis consumers prefer restaurants compared to hotel. Using his connections, he found about a dozen of 5-star restaurant chefs. He called his previous clients and did some ceremonious chit-chat before? requesting for staff. If a person was to observe him, he/she would see that Andrew? was holding a rectangular stone tablet that was the size of a book. This was called a Spiritual Transmission Tablet. This type of communicative device could only be used by those people who have reached Awakened Spirit Realm since it requires the use of spiritual transmission. He also lectured the staff especially the waiters and waitresses on what they must do during service hours. He also instructed some people to play some light jazz music during service hours. This sudden upgrade of the Vigor Hotel piqued the interest of many citizens in the Soaring Cloud City. A swarm of customers barged to the Hotel. The customers discovered that those who want to proceed to the Vigor''s Gourmet should book a room for at least one night. So since they were just here for a taste, the might as well do so. About 300 people occupied the Vigor''s Gourmet. The customers who have already visited this place felt that they were served quite differently from before it was as though something has changed. The waiters became more formal and polite than usual. The customers felt as though they were attending abanquet of a high-class person. It was completely different from the amiable and warmness that they felt in the Gardenford Restaurant. They felt that they have stepped into a whole new world. The reason for this sudden change of atmosphere was because of the instructions of Andrew Vigor. He wanted to make the customers feel differently and that was exactly what he achieved. The attitude of the customers became much more restricted. They were unable to laugh like how they could on the Gardenford Restaurant. They felt the need to become more formal, mature and dignified. Although it somewhat restricted them, but when they saw others correcting their posture and their disposition, they could only follow. They did not know why but they felt intoxicated with this kind of atmosphere of becoming people of high status like aristocrats. The atmosphere, the waiters and waitresses, the music, the food transformed them into this. They felt like they needed to fit in to what other people did. Andrew Vigor smiled because of the sudden change of disposition of the customers. He was grinning sinisterly because he felt that these people were doing according to what he commanded them to do. Andrew Vigor used the essence of society to create this type of mood. Society coerces you to what it dictates what people should be. In this sense Andrew Vigor became the puppetmaster of society and the customers became his puppets which would stand and bend in his discretion. After the service hours, the customers left but they were never the same as before they entered this establishment. They walked more dignified and proud and refused to look eye to eye to the people around them. Andrew wrote a letter and gave it to one of his staff to deliver it to Dylan Ford. The employee immediately left and delivered it to the Gardenford Restaurant. When he arrived, he left it on the mailbox and left right after. The day after.... Dylan did everything per usual. He prepared and opened the restaurant and cleaned it inside. When his employees arrived, he allowed them to do all the necessary preparations while he cooked meals for Scarlet. During this one week period, Frank Aaron was finally able to join them. Frank surprised Dylan with his skills in management of the restaurant and the staff. So he gave Frank the job of being the Manager. Everything was going perfectly this past few days. His employees were now able to perform upto his standards as their general ratings were now 8.0! He was really glad about how his employees were performing upto his standards. They clearly worked to improve themselves in order to impress him. Because of this, he was able to spend a little bit more with Scarlet. But he still couldn''t hang out with her in public as she was the "reason" why he started this restaurant. Today was just the same as any day when Dylan noticed something different. The number of customers has decreased by over 10%. But he still proceeded as usual. At the end of the day there were only 410 customers who entered the restaurant slightly lower than the norm of 450 customers. But he thought it might just because of him not cooking anymore. He was just going to close the Gardenford Restaurant when he saw a letter inside the mailbox. He opened the mailbox and took the letter to open it. He read the content of the letter and he knew that it was a Declaration of a Business War. A business war is where a two business will fight for a ranking in the power structure of a city. There has been countless business wars among the three giants and they alternated the one who was at the top. Sometimes it was the Thousands Treasure Pavilion, the Misty Herb Garden, it the Hundred Hunters Guild. "A business war with the #5 the Vigor Hotel? He wants to challenge me for being the number 4?" Dylan was a bit shocked but then he smiled. "Interesting." Dylan was amused by this. For the following 3 days, the number of customers in the Gardenford Restaurant was decreasing by 10% each day. The latest number of customers was only 270 customers only. Dylan was still come despite this happening. Then, he learned of the upgrade that the Vigor Hotel didand the separation of the Vigor''s Gourmet. Now, he knew what he was up against. Currently, there was a staff meeting in the Gardenford Restaurant. Everyone was arguing what they should do while Dylan sat in his chair with both his arms on top of the table and his fingers intertwined with each other. it appeared that he was deeply thinking of something. Suddenly, a voice rung out. Roland was running towards the Gardenford Restaurant and when he reached the table of the staff meeting he spoke: "Guys, have you heard? There was a news about sir Dylan!" "What news?" The employees replied. "Urrr... It''s about ..." Ronald hesitated when he saw Dylan in deep thought. "Speak..." Dylan slowly said. "It says that sir Dylan was a... bastard child.... of the king of the Six Mystical States...." Ronald spoke brokenly. "What?!?!?!" Everyone was in total shock when they heard of this news si Dylan was what?! "So word of it has finally gone out..." Dylan slowly stood up and he still wore a calm face as though he was expecting it to happen. 30 Chapter 30: Origin Everyone was even more stunned when they heard that Dylan did not deny that fact. So, does this mean that Dylan was truly a bastard child? If that was true, then how did this piece of information got out? All kinds of thoughts were piling up one after the other. They just couldn''t comprehend how was able to end up here in the Soaring Cloud City. "If you''re all thinking whether it''s true or not, it is indeed true." Dylan spoke calmly. "????!!!!!" Ronald and everyone could not be any more speechless. They thought they were prepared but it was a different story when Dylan, himself, admitted the whole thing. "I am indeed the bastard child of the king of the Six Mystical States." Dylan admitted wholeheartedly. The crowd was left in total shock. Their mouths were opened and their thoughts were blank. They could not fathom what Dylan had to go through all this yearsas he was the bastard child of the king of the Six Mystical States! "To clarify let me tell you a story..." Dylan narrated a story that would forever be etched into their minds. "It was common knowledge the Mystical Clouds Country was split into six states. Each state had a king that governs it. Each king received the title of the power of the Mystical Clouds upon coronation of the thrown. Each state has a Royal Clan guarding the crown of the Mystical Clouds. It was inscribed on the ancient scriptures that on the day of Harmonic Convergence, the 6 mystical clouds gather at the middle of the Mystical Clouds Country. In this area, the most strongest king is born and he is called the True King of the Six Mystical States! This occurrence only happens when a youth of kind heart and clean soul is able to live up to the age of 15. He would then unite the Six Mystical States under one banner. During the age of 15 at the hour of Harmonic Convergence, the child will gain all 6 powers of the Mystical Clouds and would reign invincible. There has been 5 True King of the Six Mystical States that has been born and all of which succeeded in their request. But a child of such benevolence was almost difficult to be born as the middle of the Mystical Clouds Country is where all 6 countries commonly clash. In this type of environment, carnage and sin flourished as it was the only way for the people to survive. After the death of the fifth true king, the kings constantly mold it''s environments for it to become a place of despair and abandonment. Thus, the people residing in this area gradually forgot the importance they have. This was to prevent the permanent unification of all six states.The kings new that the True King could only be born at the middle of the Mystical Clouds Country. Thus, it was named Center of Birth but it was then named as the Center of Desolates due to the interference of the kings. The kings of this era wanted to be free from any type of restrictions so they were against the birth of the True King. The kings of each state had come together and form an alliance in order to stop the birth and the dominance of the True King of the Six Mystical States which was against to the scriptures. The kings successfully stopped the birth of a true king ang it was assumed that the true king would never again come. There was an entire 500 years without the birth of a True King and the Mystical Clouds Country gradually forgot the legend of the True King of the Mystical Clouds. But, 40 years ago,a Harmonic Convergence far different than any Harmonic Convergence that has ever occurred came to being. The clouds were more vibrant and more stronger than it has ever been. It all landed at the hands of a.... 15- year old boy. With that boy, the True King was finally reborned once more into this world. He unified all 6 States under one flag. It was called the Mystical Clouds Alliance. Each king in this period were more supportive as they felt ashamed by the arrogance of their ancestors. This true king also made his own clan, The Ford Clan. The name of the true king was known as Derik Ford, my father. Although he created his own clan, he was almost unable to have his own offspring. With the great power in his bloodline, it was utterly difficult for just any woman. So that was why the elders of the clan, searched for a woman who was able to contain this type of power, finally they were able to find a woman who was of peerless beauty and was in possession of the rare physique called Energy Devouring Vein. A type of physique in which the body develops an abnormal Spirit vein which could directly refine any type of energy be it natural or from another cultivator. Derik Ford was betrothed to her and they bore a child. But although Derik was happy with his child, the one he married was not the one he truly loved. But, for the sake of the clan, he did. 18 years ago, the most shocking news was uncovered as the people were able to discover that Derik Ford had a concubine who was able to give birth to a child. The woman''s name was Melissa Magma, the eldest princess of the Molten Rock Country, the enemy of the Mystical Clouds Country. Unfortunately she died of child birth. That was the day I was born into this world. My father incurred the wrath of both countries. All of the most mighty individuals gathered to kill my father. My father died after countless of times being chased by the two countries'' most mightiest forces..." Dylan finished his narration of the story. The employees were shocked about what they have just learned. The child the world condemned was the one who was standing in front of them!?! Who would not be shocked?! What was more shocking was that her mother was the eldest princess of the Molten Rock Country the archenemy of the Mystical Clouds Country?! The eldest princess was known to be the greatest beauty that the Molten Rock Country has ever seen. Her talent was also vastly superior to most geniuses? and was known as the Magma Phoenix of the Molten Rock Country. They never would have thought that she would be their boss'' mother. They were completely speechless for some time before a person gathered the courage to ask another question. "Sir Dylan... How were you able to... I mean... How did you end up in this place?" Jack Hale gritted his teeth and asked awkwardly. "From the day, I was born. I was bound to be condemned by the world that was why my father left me in this city before he died." Dylan replied "How old were you when you were left by the True King?" Diane asked next as she tried to calm herself down. "I was only 3. My father fought continuously for 3 years just to protect me "Dylan answered. "Can... sir Dylan... still remember his father?" Leila asked trembling. "Uh... I remember my father''s last words when he left me by this store.. ''Son, Father committed a great crime.. to his... country, clan and family... But father did not regret! Do you know why? Father has loved your mother ever since we were little... From the moment Father laid his eyes upon mother... Father knew she was the one when mother went to Father''s home when she was only little... Father and mother would secretly meet and talk at night for a whole month... But mother had to go homeand warned father not to go to her unless he was strong enough... So father waited until he was strong enough to go to mother... The days that father? and mother spent was the greatest time father has ever had...The day you were born was the most greatest day of our lives...So son, live your life well and remember to never let the one you love go...''" Dylan spoke while faint tears dropped from his eyes. Every single one of Dylan''s employees'' heart melted when they saw their boss crying. No one couldimagine the pain he had to go through in order to proceed with his life. Most girls have already cried. Scarlet run to his big brother and embraced him tightly while she cried "BROTHER!!!" because of how tragic Dylan''s life was. Dylan was shocked and cried as well the first time he learnt of this when he searched through his memories. He cried because the pain the past Dylan felt when his father felt was so real. The pain of being unable to do anything and the pain of being helpless was heart-rending. His employees could only feel the sadness and pain that he exuded at this moment that made them feel sympathy and pity for this young man. The burden he carried on his shoulders was too much for him but he still persevered. But they did not know that Dylan has already lived two lives which were both heartbreakingly tragic. The first he died because of the betrayal of his only Brother while the second he died while training to try to prove the world his worth. Now, Dylan is already living his third life and he won''t waste it anymore as he will prove everybody his worth and become a legend that will shake the world. "Why have you told us this story, sir Dylan?" Jack asked once more. He was beginning to idlize Dylan more and more. "Because you all deserve to know. If? you want to go, you may go. I won''t stop you. I have already prepared your salaries. For those who want to leave, it''s okay. I understand." Dylan said while hugging the crying little Scarlet. "I won''t leave." Jack said. "Me too." Frank spoke. "I won''t leave sir Dylan too." Diane said. "Urrr... Me three." Leila squeaked . "WE WON''T LEAVE YOU SIR DYLAN!" All of his employees said The debt they had with Dylan was too much. Dylan helped them with so much in this past week. They would never be able to repay Dylan in their lifetime. They discovered that every time they would return from work , their homes wouldhave improved significantly. Their families told them it was because of workers of the three giants. But they knew that this workers only answered to Dylan. Not only have their families life improved because of him but they also improved as individual in both skills and character. That was why they stood ardently with Dylan and be with him until the very end. "You guys... Thank you..." Dylan felt touched by their display of loyalty. "I will not disappoint your loyalty and belief in me. I, Dylan Ford, promise that I will become strong enough to protect you and never let any of you fall into harm. If I were to break this oath may heaven punish me." Dylan swore an oath to them. "We swear to stay loyal to Sir Dylan, no matter what happens, until our last breath. If we were to break this oath may heaven punish us!" The employees did the same as well. On that day, a new found bond between boss and staff was forged. An oath that will never be broken by any type of danger or harm. 31 Chapter 31: Its time for a COMEBACK! Dylan was quite teary-eyed seeing that his employees are quite ardent with staying with him and he pledged not to let them down. It was already nighttime so he decided to bid farewell to his employees. He closed the shop and walked back to his home with Scarlet. At Vigor Hotel... Andrew Vigor was laughing so hard. Hearing that the news he had spread out was already causing a huge sensation in the Soaring Cloud City. The current talk of the town was whether or not the news circulating around the city was a fact. Truth is, Andrew was unsure whether it was true but because of Dylan''s surname being Ford and the last sighting of Derik Ford carrying his child was in the vicinity of Soaring Cloud City as reported by the allied forces of the two countries also adding the fact that Dylan''s age was 18 years old which would be the same age as Derik Ford''s bastard son, he spreaded the news. He did not really care whether it was real or not. The name of the child was never publicized and even the speculation that the offspring was a boy was uncertain. It just all came from the collective opinions of different types of people that it became a fact. But, one thing was for sure, Derik Ford was seen burrying Melissa Magmain a beautiful meadow in the Center of Desolates while carrying a child because it was seen by a large number of people from afar. "Now, it would only be a matter of time when the Gardenford Restaurant will fall and my Vigor Hotel and Vigor''s Gourmet will flourish in this city. I might even be able to surpass the three giants at this rate. HAHAHA." Andrew was really happy at seeing the downfall of others. One could say that he has a sadistic side in him that blooms out in this type of instances. "Hahahaha, I could implement the Vigor''s Gourmet to my other branches as well and this will bring me more income. Bwahaha!! I want to see what this Dylan would try to pull off now his image has been ruined. Hahahaha. Oh well, it''s time to have some fun and celebration for my victory." Andrew was really at bliss that night. He summoned two fine looking ladies and invited them to his room to "serve" him. It was true because of the unique atmosphere that the Vigor''s Gourmet was exuding. It invited a lot of customers and made them intoxicated with this kind of atmosphere. Various people kept coming back wearing more luxurious clothes than they ever had. The more the customers became intoxicated with this, the more money it meant for Andrew Vigor. That was why he "celebrated" this way and consequently a night of passion has passed. The next day... Andrew Vigor sent three messengers to the three giants. He offered them 12 % shares of the Vigor Hotel and Vigor''s Gourmet like Dylan but there was more. He said that if they would accept his offer, he would put up a good word to the officials of The Mystical Magnate Tower and help them become Honorary Elders. This type of offer tempted the three giants because becoming an Honorary Elder equates to having great prestige and more cultivation resources that would help them breakthrough. And if the rumors were true about Dylan, they could only break off their ties with him. But being uncertain also gave them a great dilemma. If Dylan was not what the rumors claimed him to be, then his talents as a Magna Magnate would almost secure him entrance to the 9th tier of the Mystical Magnate and they would have to face the grudge of such a talented person. That was why after some discussion through spiritual transmission they answered that they were not ready to answer such a question like that and remain neutral unless it was truly necessary for an answer to be spoken. Andrew anticipated their decline and he only smirked because he knew sooner or later, those old men would fall into temptation and accept his deal. But for now, he could only watch as bit by bit his brand becomes more popular and popular. He could only see a swarm of people arriving in his Vigor Hotel and eating like aristocrats. Andrew laughed in this display of superiority that this people are showing ever since the opening of the Vigor''s Gourmet. He sat in his chair and occasionally smiled and laughed as though he was watching a television show. On the other hand, at Gardenford Restaurant, the customers have now decreased by half of their original customers and it was still apparent that it would still decrease if nothing happened. Dylan proceeded as usual with every proceedings and processes in his restaurant while giving some pointers to his staff. Since Dylan was not voicing out his opinions about the decrease of the customer the staff could only endure it. But with the decreasing of the number of customers each day, the employees were now able to be more perfect in their execution of their techniques and skills Each and everyone of them was shocked because they were still able to improve despite the decrease in number of the customers. This sudden decrease of customers was not the environment they were used to. This environment had a lot of leisure time compared to the prior one. In this environment, it was evident how much the employees have improved over the course of two weeks. This was what Dylan''s? objective was. It was to refine the skills and polish their minds with the help of this rest. Dylan was waiting for the right moment to strike back. That was why he was planning to further train his employees first before that opportunity arrives. So that when he strikes back it would be a huge comeback. This type of work environment continued for two more days. All of Dylan''s? has now significantly improved in all aspects. Be it time management, interpersonal skills, customer service, and attitude all of which has shown signs of drastic change. Dylan''s employees were used to a fast paced working environment and was rapidly improving due to the pressure given to them by this environment. However, this type of environment was enough to accumulate mental stress and fatigue in their minds. But, thanks to the sudden drop of popularity of the Gardenford Restaurant, they were finally able to feel calmness and leisure. Compared to how rampant the environment was back at the Gardenford Restaurant''s peak, this type of environment could only be considered as calm and leisurely for these fast paced workers. Dylan wanted them to experience slowness and subtlety in order for them to slwly bring out the fruits of their hardwork and efforts they have put during working. The Gardenford Restaurant''s customers has now dropped to less than 30% it''s original customer count. The only ones who kept coming back are those who were extremely loyal and grateful to Dylan like the Aaron Family and Site Bobman''s men. It was at this time of crisis a person could witness the birth of a friend and the departure of a traitor. Despite being like this, Dylan remained unfazed to all of this crisis because he knew he gained something from this type of disaster. For others, it may seem a completely hopeless situation but for him, it was only a blessing in disguise. "It''s time for a true comeback!" Dylan smiled. This smirk signified the start of something amazing. He gathered his employees for another? staff meeting and the agenda? TheGardenford Restaurant''s revival! "Hahahahaha, finally the time has come!" Frank shouted. "We will do our best!" The Aaron Cousin''s eyes burned with determination. "We will revive the Gardenford!!" Larry, John, Joma, and every boy roared. "For Gardenford!!!" The girls shouted. "COMEBACK IS REAL, MA''HOMIES!!!" Ronald bellowed. "Okay that''s enough! Let''s start the meeting!" Dylan announced. Dylan discussed the procedures? and approach they were going to take for their campaign against Vigor Hotel. He listed materials that they were going to need for this comeback operation to be successful. The employees were shocked by the methods that Dylan would be using for their counterattack because it was all new and never before done in any Business War in the Soaring Cloud City. However, they knew that Dylan would only gamble when he knew that he would be the one winning. Dylan distributed the lists of materials that they were going to need. He assigned groups for each materials that was necessary for their counterattack. After distributing the lists, Dylan adjourned the meeting and let his employees buy the necessary items. In the Soaring Cloud City, the entire city was shocked by the sudden activity of the Gardenford Restaurant. It''s employees were seen going through dozens of stores to buy something. "Heh, a last minute struggle from a dying insect!" Andrew commented with disdain. He laughed afterwards as he thought that Dylan was now no different than an insect running away from the sole of the foot. "Keep reporting to me what they are doing I want a detailed information about everything that Dylan''s employees have done and the places they went to." Andrew commanded. "Yes, sir!" His employees replied in unison and immediately left to track the tails of the employees of Gardenford Restaurant. "Sir Andrew, what are you intending to do?" The Secretary got nearer to Andrew until she was a meter away from him and questioned his actions. "Oh, nothing. I just want to know what last minute struggles would Dylan Ford do. Hahahaha." Andrew laughed. "As you wish. I will now take my leave. Pardon me." The Secretary excused herself from Andrew''s audience. "Amanda, wait!" Andrew stopped his secretary whom he called Amanda. "Yes? Is something the matter sir?" Amanda asked. "Why don''t you stay for a little and we could~" Andrew gazed at her with a lust-filled stare. "Let me stop you there, Andrew... I may only be an "assigned" assistant by our master to you so that I may be able to gain some experience on the outside world and not your personal pet. So please stop fantasizing about anything happening to us because you are only a 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm!" Amanda domineeringly said while she exuded strength that was far stronger than those within the boundaries of the Spirit Gathering Realm. Amanda left the room as quickly as possible. It even seemed like she disappeared when she left and only left a gentle breeze that have her fragrant scent. Andrew could only cough bitterly at what happened. He always forgot about the fact that Amanda was far stronger than him and was his master''s fifth disciple while he was the eighth. It was a good thing that Amanda wasmerciful or else he would only be a body without a head at this moment. After several hours of waiting, his employees came back and reported four things. The employees were split into four groups. The first group went to the Thousands Treasure Pavilion and bought two large boxes. The content was isolated but after some discussion with the wrappers of the box, they were able to learn that it was all paper. The second group went to the Hundred Hunters Guild and bought for animal skin but the animal skins that they were buying were selected into five animals, White Hare, Black Neon Cat, Rock Lions, Wind Wolf and Wild Boar. The third group went to the Fashion Lane, a street that was filled with cloths and designing materials. They hunted for different types of cloth and bought 10 meters each. The last group went to the Art Guild and bought for painting materials and inks. Andrew was left in completely? and utterly stunned by this news! What was the use of buying all of those stuff?! They were completely unrelated to the Food Business Industry!! But Dylan still bought them and for what purpose? Andrew felt that Dylan became more and more mysterious, the more he got to know him. 32 Chapter 32: A Giant Killing In the Gardenford Restaurant... Dylan was constantly laying out his plans and constantly guided his employees what to do. He was striving to reach out to customers of all age groups and gender. Dylan was currently compartmentalizing his Gardenford Restaurant into three sections. He called the three accordingly: The Kid''s Playroom, The Main Hall, and The Eden of Old. The Kid''s Playroom was a compartment near the cooking platform. It was the original space where the restaurant first started, the upper middle side. Dylan fenced this area of 20x20 meters and have it designed into a children''s playhouse. Dylan designed the small compartment to have three different kid slides and he also assigned some of his employees to make some toys for the kids. The entrance to this compartment was the three kiddy slides. It was only of a height of 5 meters. The Kid''s Playroom was further subdivided into three sections. The left slide led to the little girl''s section. It was filled with toys and stuff that were handpicked by Scarlet. It had small table sets for tea parties and dolls and stuffed? toys for the kids to play with. The right side led to the boy''s section and within it was filled with toy dinosaurs, Spirit Beasts and iconic action figures of this world like the Sword Saint Zoro,Dragon Slayer Zain, and Combat Emperor Kai. The middle slide led to the middle section which was for all boys and girls. The Main Hall was where the young adults and middle aged would be sitting and dining. In this area, Dylan planned to execute a plan, never before seen in the Grand Mystic World, a beastman-themed cafe! This was the purpose why Dylan had one group of his employees to buy beast skins. He envisioned that the girls would wear bunny girl and cat girl costumes while men use the wolf skin, lion skin and boar skin to be dressed asbeastmen. Dylan did not want his employees to be harassed so he requested that the design for the beastman-themed uniforms to not be overly vulgar. He Incorporated the common maid outfit with the beast skins. Dylan assigned Beverly Wagner, Ronald, Steven Hans, and 3 other female employees with the design as they were the ones who had some experience working in tailor shops. The catgirl attire had that cute anime style cat ears and cat tails on the maid dress with cat paws for the hands and feet. It also had a choker paired with it that had a cat bell attached. The cat paws on the hands could be conveniently removed as it was only designed to be small and be stored by the back pocket of the dress to not pose as a hindrance while serving food. The bunny girl costume was slightly different as the maid was more fit in order to emphasize the figure of wearer. The collar was slightly lowered and the hips were given more emphasis as a small furry rabbit bun was sown to it. The skirt continued above knee because the bunny girl costume had stockings? paired with slip-on flat-soled shoes. It also had cute bunny ears for the head For the men''s costume, it was slightly revealing as it was all designed to show the upper bodies of all men. For those with regular and muscular builds, they all used the wolfman attire. The wolfman attire was designed with a wolf fur vest, wolf skin arm bands, wolf teeth necklaces and wolf skin slacks. While employees which have fatter physique will wear the boar costume, the boar and the wolf costume have same design but the boar vest was more thicker compared to the wolf? vest. As for the lion attire, it was designed based on Dylan''s physique because the employees said he should be the one to wear the lion uniform because he is their boss. Dylan was coerced by his employees by wearing this lion attire. The lion costume was designed as a sleeveless fur coat that did not have any buttons to emphasize Dylan''s upper body. The uniform also had lion skin armbands and lion teeth necklace. The only difference was that Dylan was supposed to wear a mask of the head of the Rock Lion like Hercules'' nemean lion mask. The mask was only half the head of the lion so it only reached Dylan''s nose. For the Eden of Old, it was another compartment wherein elderly people and people of extremely high status could dine. This area? was placed by Dylan in the center of the restaurant because this was where the calming fragrant scent of the flowers concentrated. Dylan made a 15 m2 fencing in this compartment but the material for the fence was completely different than what was used normally. Dylan used a special type of tree he came across in the forest the other day to do this. IIT was called the Illusion Isolating Tree. When Dylan found this tree, it was only 7 meters high and 1 meter thick. This trees special ability was to entrap humans or animals in its shade as it''s leaves exuded air that causes one to fall into illusion. Once this air enters the mind, it isolates the victim from any type of interference outside but this air could only survive under the shade of the tree. That was the reason why it was called as the Illusion Isolating Tree. It was a good thing that when Dylan saw this tree, it was only in its infant stages. It only exuded faint air like what it was known to have under its shade. The shade formed a faint blanket all around the tree and when Dylan entered it, he discovered that he could not hear any sounds from outside like birds chirping and the wind rustling. He only heard the swaying of the leaves. Dylan did not let his guard down and continuously reminded himself to be mentally alert. This gave Dylan the idea to use this infant tree and chopped it to lumber. When the fence was made, he decorated it using the leaves of the Illusion Isolating Tree together with some fragrant flowers. He placed little bouquets? of this flowers and leaves on top of each fence. When Dylan entered, he felt the exact feeling he had when he entered the shade of the tree. It was peaceful and silent inside this are as the shades of the fences isolated it from the outside world. Dylan only made 10 table sets for the Eden of Old because he wanted different elders to converse and socialize with each other.Everything was quaintly made and fitted to the tastes of the elderly so that they will have a more comfortable place to stay in. Dylan assigned Frank to this area because he knew Frank had the right capabilities to serve here. Dylan also began to his next step which was to use propaganda as a form of advertisement and a method to clear his name. To invite customers, he first needed to clear his name. So he had Jack, Scott Dean, Larry, and 3 others who had experience in working in a publication and news center to create articles that contradicts the rumors circulating around the city. Dylan also warmed them to not use this as an avenue for them to sabotage the other business because he reminded them that their goal was to only clear his name and regain the restaurant''s lost popularity. The next step is to create flyers. Flyers were now seldom used by business as it was only a waste of time and effort but they did not know that in this era ,wherein people have not discovered cellphones and computer, it was one of the most effective ways to promote customer interest towards their business. In this type of era, regular people tend to read more if they are not cultivating and practicing to further expound their knowledge for future breakthroughs and comprehensions. So Dylan assigned Leila, Allana, Greg Mower, and 12 others for the drawing and laying out of the flyers because they are the ones which have experience in drawing and calligraphy. Dylan wanted them to make use of their talents and skills that they have gained during working and further improve them because they will be of great help in the future. Everyone was working hard for one certain goal and it was to clear Dylan''s reputation and take Gardenford Restaurant back to its former peak. All of them stayed in the Gardenford Restaurant that night until they all finished their works after midnight. They all slept soundly while Dylan gave all of them blankets so that they would not catch cold and cough. Dylan was sitting on the cooking platform and rechecked all of the articles, flyers and costumes one by one when someone pulled his shirt. It was a little girl covering herself with a blanket. "Big bro, aren''t you gonna sleep yet?" Scarlet rubbed her eyes while saying. "Just a little longer and big bro is going to sleep then." Dylan patted Scarlet''s head. "Ohhh... what is big bro doing?" Scarlet sleepily said. "Big bro is just rechecking some stuff. Lil sis, you can go to bed first." Dylan smiled. "I don''t want to... I''m scared..." Scarlet spoke with watery eyes. "Okay okay. Wait just a minute." Dylan stored all of the documents and costumes backstage. "Come here." Dylan carried her little sister like a baby and sung a lullaby to her while walking towards the house. "..." Scarlet smiled sweetly as she hugged her brother like baby and slept. Dylan delivered the little girl to her room andgently placed her on her bed. Dylan was about to leave when a hand was holding his hand. Seeing his little sister unwilling to let go of his hand, he took a chair and sat on it. Then, proceeded to his sleep. At dawn... "Time for a giant killing!" Dylan said when he opened his eyes and left the sleeping little beauty after covering her with the blanket she kicked out of her bed. Everyone was up and seemingly prepared for battle. They all prepared for today''s battle. Dylan stood on top of the cooking platform. "Today is the day, we make our comeback! Are you all ready?!" Dylan shouted. "YES!!!" The employees roared. "All units, deploy!" Dylan commanded. Dylan assigned them into different units: the Flyer Unit, the Article Unit, and the Preparation Unit. The Flyer Unit and the Article Unit immediately ventured to the city and spreaded out the news as quickly as possible. As it was only dawn, there was only a few people around so the two units could move as fast as they could and paste the flyers and articles in every conspicuous place they could find. The preparations unit prepared the tables and everything needed for the restaurant. Two hours later, all units were united at the Gardenford Restaurant. Dylan ordered them to wash up and put on their uniforms right after. All of the employees did not delay any further and bathed. The boys bathed outside Dylan''s house after getting water from the lake nearby while the girls bathed at the lake nearby. After an hour, they all gathered outside the restaurant lined up to greet the customers. Now they were wearing their uniforms. It was really eye-catching. Above the restaurant gates, there was a long tarpaulin-like paper which said "Welcome to the Gardenford Restaurant. We''re having a family discount for the whole week! For every 5 persons, an additional 10% discount is given to you!" In the Soaring Cloud City, a commotion once again shook the city. The news regarding Dylan Ford was fake news? Discount? New Sections for the old and the kids?! Beastman-themed cafe?! People were in for a total shock. They would not have anticipated any of this. At first they thought, it was just Dylan Ford defending himself but after similar claims, it became a collective truth. Swarm of citizens that numbered to 500 people wanted to check out the Gardenford Restaurant''s new gimmicks and rushed to the Gardenford Restaurant! When they saw a large number of employees wearing beastmen uniform , the large paper on the restaurant gates, and the additional fences inside the restaurant, they were shocked because it was all true! "Welcome to the Gardenford Restaurant! We hope you enjoy your meal!" The employees said in unison and guided the stunned customers to the restaurant. In just an hour, the Gardenford Restaurant earned a total of 3000 gold coins which was equivalent to 300 000 silver coins! It was as Dylan said a ''Giant Killing''! 33 Chapter 33: Invitation The Gardenford Restaurant was able to gain such a large amount of money because of its gimmicks. For instance, the beast-themed uniforms were able to give a huge impact to the citizens of the Soaring Cloud City. Never had there been a restaurant which have implemented this type of gimmick before. Such a refreshing type of customer raising method gave a great positive impact to them. Especially for some nerdy people, they were willing to pay again and again just to have some catgirls or bunny girls serve them. Not only were the beastman-themed uniforms eye catching, but the customer service of this restaurant''s employees were also excellent. The costumers were shocked how good the workers here are from the several days that they were not dining here. The customer service ratings were now at the average of 8.5! This was a drastic improvement from their initial results of 7.0 two weeks ago! What fast improvement theses employees were experiencing ever since they were accepted in this restaurant. This type of employee guidance was impeccable. The businessmen who dined here could not help but feel shivers down their spines with how formidable Dylan is. His manner of management with his employees, customers, and business was truly frightening. Only now did they understand how terrifying Dylan''s abilities in business are and swore to never offend this coiling dragon because they had a feeling that they will surely regret doing so if they did. The compartmentalization of the restaurant was also a huge hit. The Kid''s Playroom was a huge hit for children 4 to 10 years old as they felt that they became one with their elements and enjoyed playing together with other kids. The girls had their tea parties and doll playing while the boys had their imaginary fights. The kids were having so much fun playing that they wanted to stay longer. When a boy got hurt and cried from playing imagination, Dylan immediately interfered to aid the kid who was in pain. Although Dylan interfered, he was able to successfully immerse with the kids playing as he introduced himself as a powerful warrioir. The kids were shocked by the sudden interference of this man who they called "evil lord" and attacked him all together but they could only concede when they witnessed his might. But, they soon discovered that the one they deemed as an "evil lord" was actually a "benevolent sage" that reminded them not to "vanquish" an enemy bit instead they should persuade him to be part of their campaign as the more forces they have in their ranks the easier it would be for their future campaigns against evil. The boys'' eyes shone in respect and reverence as they witnessed Dylan''s benevolent act of "healing" an "injured'' enemy and helping him get back up to his feet. They swore in their hearts to become someone who was as kind-hearted and strong as Dylan. The kids wanted to play with him even more but Dylan could only decline as he spoke these words to the children: " I shall now take my leave. The wind whispers that I still have many to help those who are in need of my assistance. Worry not, young ones, I can see the each one of you possess the heart of mighty heroes. Let my teaching help you in your future journeys and adventures and guide you to the better path for you. We shall all meet again! Hahahaha." The children found Dylan quite heroic even the girls saw this display of kindness to that kid. The girls thought that they had seen their prince charming that they had been waiting for. The boys felt that they saw the idol they were aspiring to be. The children loved Dylan and were even willing to write reviews about him and the restaurant. The parents also had a very good review regarding this Kid''s Playroom as it was placed in a conspicuous place and the spaces between each fences was wide enough for them to see the activities of their children and was narrow enough to prevent kids from accidentally going out of the Kid''s Playroom. All of this made monitoring their children easier while not having any trouble entertaining them as they have other playmates who were kids just like them. When the parents of the child, who got hurt and cried, saw what happened to their child, they immediately regretted leaving their kid in the Kid''s Playroom and was set to make a complaint against the restaurant. But when they witnessed how Dylan handled the situation with finesse and even caused the children to idolize him, they felt relieved. In fact, every parent who saw this felt relieved and felt more reassured leaving their children to play when they saw how Dylan was still able to allocate some time just to help a kid who inconspicuously got hurt and play with their children. Some single women felt how charming Dylan was when he was aiding the boy and stopped the boy from crying. They felt that Dylan would make a good husband and a good father making them look into his direction a couple of times. They were anticipating him wearing a beastman costume as mature thoughts flowed all throughout these ladies minds. The Eden of Old was also praised by the elderly. They could not help but praise the ingenious work Dylan did. When they entered the Eden of Old, they were unable to hear anything from outside world as if they? were taken to a paradise where peacefulness and silence were the only sound they could hear. When they looked over the fence, they saw the other customers talking and laughing but they were unable to hear even a sound of what they were saying. When they sat over the chairs of the tables, they were isolated from the outside world by the flowers and vines all over the fences. It was an out of this world experience. The elderly were able to freely interact with each other.and eatwithout any type of distractions. Their topics were all about how amazing this type of setting was. They could not help but feel it would be a waste to live so they bought more delicacies for them to prolong their stay in this "world" of peace and quiet. The discount that Dylan also came up made the sales of the restaurant skyrocket by twice because families would have more discount depending on their numbers. That was why many families orderedtwice as much as their normal expenditure as they would get 10% every 5 persons in their group. There was even a group of customers that were a family of 25 and got half the price for the buffet they ordered. Each of those were reasons why the Gardenford Restaurant was able to gain 3000 gold coins which was equivalent to 300 000 silver coins and it was still increasing at that! Over at the Vigor''s Hotel and Gourmet... Andrew could only open his mouth in awe as he discovered how high Dylan was able to gain in the span of one hour!Discount? Beastman-themed Cafe? Compartments for the kids and the elderly?Advertisement? Why didn''t? he thought of any of that?! It was all so simple but it could bring good effects to a business brand. He noticed that the customers he scavenged? were leaving over by one. He saw a swarm of ladies heading to the Gardenford Restaurant talking about something like Dylan wearing a beastman costume. Andrew? was thoroughly angered! He called Amanda and said that he wants her to deliver a challenge to Dylan. Amanda could only warn him to stay composed and think carefully of his next course of action but Andrew disregardedAmanda''s advice and roared at her to just follow orders. Amanda shook her head but she did not retaliate and followed his orders. Amanda took her leave and quietly set off to the Gardenford Restaurant outside the city. Andrew was alone in his room and roared in anger: "Dylan Ford!!! You will see how I,Andrew Vigor, will crush you!!! I refuse to admit defeat to someone like you!!!" Back at the Gardenford Restaurant, Dylan was finally forced by his employees to wear that Lion King costume. But, Dylan incredibly looked immeasurably hot and handsome in this type of attire. He exuded something different from his gentlemanly prince charming aura. It transformed into a dominating, wild and badboy king aura. His chest and abs were like perfectly engineered and completely complimented each other. Dylan''s current appearance caused the girls to sweat, even Diane, an ice queen was blushing at the sight of this "spectacle". When Dylan was seen by the restaurant wearing this, some girls fainted from shock, some ladies had their nose bleeding, while the rest of the females were blushing. The men had the eyesfilled with envy because that was there dream body while the boys further idolized Dylan and further dreamed to become someone like him someday. There was even a small percentage of the men that Dylan saw lipbiting, winking and gesturing at him to come to them. Dylan felt shivers on his spine when he saw those gazes and quickly averted his eyes and placed it somewhere else. Dylan''s gaze landed upon a lonesome figure outside the restaurant. Dylan approached this lone figure and he saw thatthis was a woman. The woman was devastatingly beautiful coupled with her smoking hot figure. She was already comparable to Rea Cross! The woman was seemingly looking for someone so Dylan approached this woman and talked to her. "Good morning, dear customer. How may I help you?" Dylan said as his face was half covered by the mask. "I''m looking for Dylan Ford." This beautiful figure was none other than Amanda. "Ohhh you are currently talking to him." Dylan replied and lifted his mask off. "What? Really?" Amanda was shocked. When she saw that this man was similar to the drawing, she gasped in shock. When she saw Dylan''s illustration, she thought Dylan was only handsome because Dylan paid the illustrators but now it seemed like he was even more handsome compared to the illustrations. Not only that, she never anticipated that this Dylan Ford would have perfectly engineered body that was showing in front of her. '' How could he be this handsome??He is already comparable to a few young masters that I have seen in the capital?'' Amanda thought as she felt her heart racing and pounding from this sight in front of her. "Yes. Do you have any concerns?" Dylan politely asked " M-my boss has instructed me to give this letter to you. Please pardon me, for I will now take my leave." Amanda first stuttered after recovering from being dazed but eventually was able to calm herself down and leave after saying goodbye. When Amanda left, Dylan opened the letter he received. "Oho... An invitation eh..." Dylan felt amused by Andrew''s move. 34 Chapter 34: Confrontation! Andrew gets lectured! When Dylan finished reading the invitation, he folded it and placed the letter back to the envelope which he then stored in his pocket. He went back inside and continued serving the customers. After two more hours, the restaurant has finally finished serving their customers and the waiters and waitresses were bidding farewell to the customers one by one. The whole 3-hour period was a very festive one for they were able to serve a total of 700 customers and were able to gain 500 000 silver coins over all! The beastman-themed? cafe was a huge hit to the customers but ,of course , there was a small percentage of the customers that found it unsightly and vulgar and continuously complained. But, even so, Dylan was able to pacify them by personally serving them. Dylan was able to make this small group of antagonistic customers? to perceive neither negatively? nor positively? but neutrally towards the theme. Dylan did not force them to like the overall? theme as he knew there would be some customers that would be voicing out there dislikes due to their own view and perspective of these matters. But by serving them diligently and patiently, Dylan made the perception of these customer to somewhat change. But, most of the customers have good reviews regarding the beastman-themed uniforms/cafe as it was refreshing, eye-catching and very attractive. Also, majority of the customers was greatly in favor of the subdivisions of the restaurant because this insinuated that Dylan cares for the customers and is able to measure their needs and wants. For example, kids are highly energetic individuals that would explain why they tend to be hyper and naughty as they want to always play and is in need of constant attention of others. That is why kids cause great amount of headache to the adults. Adults have various of things to do and would sometimes be unable to entertain their children. But thanks to Kid''s Playroom, kids were able to satisfy their needs to play and needs of attention by playing with other kids while adults are able to converse freely with their peers while occasionally monitoring their children. Another example is for the elderly, they fancy places of peace and quiet and most high likely refrain from going to overly noisy places. With Eden of Old satisfying their fancy for peaceful and quiet places, they would be more than willing to pay for the prolonged stay in this section of the Gardenford Restaurant as they are able to peacefully eat and socialize with other elderly people while reminiscing their past experiences which most young adults and children find annoying and boring. Overall, the customers'' feedback was exceedingly possitive. Dylan''s employees were beat up from the work but they were still smiling as they felt they have already achieved their goal. Dylan was currently rechecking the stores income. He was still shocked that he was able to gain 500,000 silver coins in three hours as it was slightly bigger than the 400,000 silver coins he was expecting. But the more income, the better it was for his brand. He was now able to learn 5,000 gold coins, enough to buy 5 manors in the Soaring Cloud City. Most people would be struggling saving for a big house which was of 100 gold coins but Dylan would be able to easily buy one with his current income. A house that was the same as his house which only fit to accommodate one-two persons was only 1 gold coin. For a slightly better house, it would be for 10 gold coins. For a larger house, it is sold for 100 gold coins. For a high class manor, 1000 gold coins would be the price but for a clan residence it ranges from 10,000- 50,000 gold coins depending the quality. Dylan felt saitsfied with his gains. After checking the restaurant''s income, he went to check on how his employees were doing before he goes to Vigor Hotel. "Hooo, what tiresome bunch they were." Ronald let out a breath of relief while he irritatingly complained. "You bet. I feel like my whole body is aching from fatigue." Scott Dean agreed. "Oh, stop complaining you, two. We still have some dishes to do." Larry reprimanded them as they? still have more important things to attend to than sitting and relaxing. "But we''re still beat. Ugh..." Greg Mower complained as well. "Yeah, can''t we just have a 5-minute rest?" Allana interjected. "Why, you!" Larry became slightly angry. "Just leave them be, Larry. It''s okay." Dylan suddenly spoke. "Uh, but sir.." Larry was at a lost for words. He could not understand why Dylan was so forgiving. "Larry, it''s fine, sir Dylan already said it''s okay for them to rest." Jason Bateman spoke. "Just let them be, Larry." Rick May seconded. "Ugh, okay..." Larry could only resign after being convinced by the two. "Okay, guys. I will be leaving the management of the restaurant temporarily to Frank, Diane and Jack." Dylan announced. "Where are you going, sir?" Marie? Aaron said. "I was invited by someone to go somewhere." Dylan replied "Was it the woman you talked with earlier?" Mary Aaron asked. Mary was able to see Dylan talking with a beautiful woman when she was serving a family near the gate. "Oh, you saw that? Well, yes, because it was an invitation from her boss." Dylan was slightly shocked when he heard Mary ask about the woman from earlier. He immediately took note in his mind how observant Mary was. "Ohhh." The Aaron cousins replied in unison. "So, sir Dylan, must be going to the Vigor''s Hotel and Gourmet right? Please be careful on your way there." Diane reminded. Dylan was stunned when he heard that Diane was able to deduce that he was going to the Vigor''s Hotel and Gourmet even though he didn''t say anything. But on careful thought, Diane was a very intelligent person ever since Dylan met her so it wasn''t strange for her to be able to deduce that. "I leave matters here in your care." Dylan reminded them before he left. "Yes, sir." Everyone nodded. At Vigor Hotel... Dylan was finally able to reach Vigor Hotel after half an hour of walking. Dylan still hasn''t bought his own carriage so he could only walk by foot. Dylan entered the hotel and appraised the facility and staff. "Quite decent." Dylan commented nonchalantly. He headed to the VIP area because it was the venue of the event. Wearing a classic suit, Dylan still looked quite dashing because of his natural charisma and princely appearance. He was momentarily stopped by the guards before entering as it required the invitation. Fortunately, Dylan brought it or else he would have to go back to the Gardenford Restaurant just to get a stupid letter. When he entered, Dylan was shocked as he only saw one table. The table was varnished and designed beautifully. It was a circular wooden table but it seemed like it was harder than iron. Dylan had an inkling of what it might be. It was an Iron Wood Table. It came with a hefty price of 500 gold coins and chairs of the same material could be seen as well. There was only 5 chairs. In the most prominent chair sat a handsome young man about 24 years old. He wore his Mystical Magnate Tower robe and a luxurious velvet suit underneath it. This was none other than Andrew? Vigor. A voluptuous and hot woman was standing next to him wearing a black cocktail dress which exposed her curvaceous body. She was Amanda, Andrew''s secretary.The other four chairs were still vacated. Obviously, one was intended for Dylan to sit in. Andrew? stood up with a professional smile hanging on his face and greeted Dylan. "Greetings, my friend. My name is Andrew Vigor. This is my secretary, Amanda." "Greetings to you too, my friend. You may call me Dylan, friend." Dylan reciprocated the greetings. "Greetings to you as well, ma''am Amanda." Dylan turned to Amanda''s direction and greeted her. "Greetings to you too, sir Dylan." Amanda greeted Dylan with apparent redness on her face. "Hahaha, it''s okay if Amanda did not greet you back, she was like that when we first met~ Huh?" Andrew was shocked when he heard Amanda reply. Back when her master introduced her to him, she was haughty and did not greet him back but he understood because of her status as his master''s fifth disciple and strong backing. Andrew could not understand why this haughty woman would greet this bumpkin. ''Why did she reply to him? Why is she red? Does she have a fever? Is she sick? That must be it! How do I differ from this bumpkin! Hmph!'' Andrew thought. But Andrew? did not know that this wasn''t Amanda and Dylan''s first meeting. He thought that Amanda might have only assigned another person to deliver the letter for her but he never would have thought that Amanda would be the one who sent the letter herself. "Oh, is that so?" Dylan merely smiled when he heard this. "Ugh... Yes, well anyways..." Andrew''s? smile became slightly stiff as he felt embarrassed by what he said and tried to change the subject quickly to prevent him from being further embarrassed. "Welcome to the Vigor Hotel, Friend Dylan. How was my establishment for you?" Andrew was expecting Dylan was shocked with his hotel. Unfortunately, Dylan has already seen and even made after better hotels than Andrew. "It is fairly decent, my friend." Knowing that Andrew was his enemy, there was no need for him to be polite as he knew that this smiling man was the very same man who sabotaged him and his business but he still showed formality in his words. "Pretty decent? May you enlighten me how my hotel was only "fairly decent" to your taste?" Andrew''s? smile was getting stiffer as he heard those words. First, his secretary was acting weird and now this bumpkin, rates his hotel as fairly decent? "Are you sure?" Dylan doubtedly ask. "Well, of course. We, fellow businessmen need each other to better our businesses. Criticism and rivalry is a common thing to do." Andrew replied straightforwardly. It appears that he also have mastered harmonizing four emotions and auras. ''So he''s most probably a Tier 3 Mystical Magnate. Judging his mastery over Harmonized Soul State and his three star logo of the Mystical Magnate Tower...'' Dylan thought. "You are right. It is a common thing. So here''s? my insight regarding your hotel. First and foremost, I see no coordination between your employees. On my way here, I saw three to two instances wherein two or more of yourmaintenance team bumped into each other while cleaning and started arguing each other. This type of disharmony promotes disorganization and decreases the level of productivity of your workers." Dylan stated expositorily. "Uh, that''s a minor problem." Andrew said dismissively. "Minor? You must be jesting. What if this type of argument was witnessed by your clients and your customers? Would it not reflect on the face of the hotel? Would it not increase the probability by which your customer service ratings and number of customers plummet? There''s more, if the customer was a part of a publication wouldn''t it be easier for them to criticize your establishment and even if they are not assigned for the editorial section of the news, they would just need to report it to their Editor-in-chief to transfer the making of the article. So how could it be a minor problem? Friend Andrew must be joking right?" Dylan explained "...." Andrew and Amanda was left speechless by this. This Dylan Ford was able to connect myriads of highly possible factors to that one problem?! What''s more frightening was that he was absolutely right?! Critics are very meticulous people so they would be able to connect minor problems with various factors that may lead to a business'' downfall. Just how far does Dylan Ford able to foresee things? "Not only that, there''s several more problems in which I have cited that may cause a great blow to your hotel and restaurant''s reputation. Should I still enumerate them?" Dylan smiled and asked once more. 35 Chapter 35: Low-key Face Slapping Andrew was left in complete and total shock. He felt embarrassed about neglecting such a critical problem. What was even worse was that he regarded it as "minor problem" and there was still a lot more problems that Dylan was able to cite. He felt his? face was searing hot from the humiliation he just received. Amanda was even more shocked. He never expected that a local businessman could be so eloquent and have foresight with matters related to to business. Dylan has further widened her horizons as she now began to open up her mind that there could be other talented businessman besides businessmen found within the capital. "Uh, we can discuss it another time, friend Dylan. Today, we have much more important matters." Andrew tried to bring forth a smile that was not a smile. "Oh, what could these Important matters be?" Dylan was intrigued by these important matters Andrew was talking about. Suddenly, the doors opened as three individuals walked inside the VIP room. They exuded a breath and majesty of true Mystical Magnates. These three were people which were very familiar to Dylan. They were the three giants. It seemed like each one of them was able to meet a fruitful encounter that enabled them to breakthrough. The one in the middle was Pavilion Head Galagher who was now exuding able to perfectly harmonize three auras and formally became a Tier 2 Mystical Magnate. The one on the left was Garden Owner Elmer Green while the one in the right was Guild Master Blood Wolf and it could be inferred that both of them has successfully promoted themselves from being Magnate Apprentices? to Tier 1 Mystical Magnates?. "Hahaha, it seems like we''re having a festive meeting today." Pavilion Head Galagher laughed as the three of them were walking towards the table. "It seems like we were the ones causing the delay of this meeting." Garden Owner Elmer stated. "Hahaha, we meet again, little brat." Guild Master Blood Wolf laughed heartily as he talked to Dylan. "Greetings, Pavilion Head, Garden Owner and Guild Master." Dylan bowed ceremoniously. "Welcome to my Vigor Hotel, dear friends." Andrew greeted them somewhat impolitely. ''Dear friends, huh? It seems like there''s? a conspiracy going on here.'' Dylan noticed Andrew''s somewhat informal manner of address towards the three giants whom people people normally respectfully address as "sir/s" and "lord/s". But what Dylan found really strange was that the three giants were dismissive about this. Dylan was able to gather these points as he was very meticulous in nature but he did not raise this topic for now. The three finally arrived at the table and sat down with Dylan and Andrew. Andrew raised his hands and flicked his two fingers. After a short while, two pairs of maids and butlers came and served a full course meal for the five businessmen. The appetizers, meat dishes, fish dishes, deserts, salads, drinks and main course were all finely made. "Before we immerse ourselves into a discourse, put us first fill our stomachs with a sumptuous meal that I have prepared specifically for this meeting. Please enjoy your meals." Andrew spoke. Dylan and three giants all nodded in response as they all started to dine. Andrew wanted to exploit the fact that Dylan was a commoner and has never eaten in a formal meeting before. When Andrew meticulously examined each one of his files, he discovered that Dylan had no training and guidance when it came to business and anything. That is why Andrew? concluded that all of his learnings were self-taught? or innate. Andrew wanted to test Dylan''s etiquette and manners when it came to formal banquets as he knew that Dylan had no experience with these types of formal meetings before. He was smiling evilly in his heart as he would use this weakness to humiliate Dylan because he knew very well how learned a person needed to be in order to part take such formal meetings as Andrew himself experienced lengthy lectures regarding proper etiquette and manners. '' Humiliating me? I''ll show you true humiliation. Hehehe.'' Andrew thought as he sliced a portion of the meat dish and ingested it. "Friend Dylan, it''s? okay that~" Andrew was just about to complete the sentence he was preparing when he saw Dylan calmly eating and elegantly slicing his food in a learned manner. There was no waste in Dylan''s movements as Dylan properly fed himself with a bite size portion of the appetizer. His movements were refined and exuded eloquence and he was eating calmly as though it was a habit of his. This made Andrew absolutely confused. ''Was''nt he an orphan?! Didn''t the data say that he never studied?! What''s this?! How is it possible he is able to competently carry himself with elegance while eating?!'' Andrew enragedly thought. "Huh? Yes, friend Andrew? What is it?" Dylan questioned Andrew. "Oh hahaha, it was nothing. My tongue just slipped." Andrew immediately came up with an excuse. "Really? I thought I heard you say "Friend Dylan, it''s okay that~". That what? Would you care to continue, friend Andrew?" Dylan sensed that Andrew was about to say something that was meant to humiliate him. So, Dylan used his own words against him to give him a taste of his own medicine. "True, I heard that as well. It seemed like you were trying to say something and was clearly not a slip of the tongue. Don''t worry it''s okay to share with us." Guild Master Blood Wolf was trying to fan the flames between the two of them. Apparently, he was stirring up trouble for Andrew. Blood Wolf was quite displeased on how informal Andrew greeted so he was trying to get a small revenge from him. "Oh, that... Friend Dylan, I was saying that it''s okay that you don''t like the food. I can have the chef to prepare other meals for you." Andrew immediately thought of an excuse but even after he said it he did not immediately realize how careless he was. "Hmmm, I don''t recall I have made a remark saying that I don''t like the food served here. Are you sure it was me?" Dylan inquired smilingly. "Oh, I thought you did not like it when I saw your serious face. But, what do you mean by am I sure it was you? Are you insinuating that I am the one who did not like the food of my own establishment?" Andrew grunted as his voice became deeper as he progressed in his words. Clearly, Andrew was holding? his anger in but he found Dylan''s smiling face looking like it was mocking him. Normally, Andrew would be able to manage his emotions without any difficulty as he was able to reach the Tier 3 Mystical Magnate but the repeated emabarassments and humiliation he experienced at the hands of Dylan caused his usual calm and proud state of mind to crumble piece by piece. That is why he was speaking carelessly and blinded by his emotions. "Oh, do I have to be joyous and smile to show my appreciation towards the meal? I think not because I believe that to properly evaluate a meal a person needs to be in full concentration when examining the taste of the meal. Only when he is ready to give evaluation may he be able to express his reaction towards the meal. Many gourmets choose this type of method as it is orthodox and conventional but, of course, we cannot exclude the fact that there are eccentric gourmets which deviates from the norm and straightforwardly assess their food during the first taste of the food. However, this could only be done by people who have diverse and vast knowledge regarding culinary arts and tastes. I heard that such rare gourmets and epicure are rare even in the diverse population of the capital. But for normal connoisseur of high class gourmet, needs to evaluate a meal be depth of flavor, texture and harmony of the ingredients'' tastes. Although it may be presumptuous of me to say that I am doing what these gourmets do but openly voicing out your opinions about food or any matter without rigorous analysis is plain simple-mindedness . Do you not agree, Friend Andrew?" Dylan thoroughly explained his point but Dylan was not done yet. " Friend Andrew, I have never mentioned that I nor you dislike the food of your establishment. But stating that I am insinuating that you don''t like the food of your own establishment without any basis, people would think that you are defending yourself and think that it was true. Wouldn''t you agree, friend Andrew?" Dylan calmly continued with his relentless bombardment of statements that left Andrew speechless and burning with rage while he closed his argument with a warm and pleasant smile. "Why... you?!" Andrew''s mind was all about getting revenge as he felt that he was left with no face at all. What was worse that what Dylan said was all true and they were all on point and each point correlated to support each other. He could not find a flaw in Dylan''s words as his mind was being blocked with anger and fury. But, what truly irritated him, was that Dylan''s tone was not rude nor domineering. It was just a friendly tone that you use with your colleagues and comrades. He was unable to resort to force as it was evident that Dylan was just trying to prove a point and nothing more. Pavilion Head Galagher and Garden Owner Elmer was extremely shocked by Dylan''s eloquence and wits. His expositions and explanations left Andrew speechless, without face, and turning red from rage. Although he said those words, he just seemed like a scholar trying to persuade a person to believe in him. They found themselves thinking of how unfathomable this young man had become. "Not too shabby, little brat. What a way to slap a person''s face. Hehehe." Guild Master Blood Wolf mumbled as he smiled satisfyingly to Dylan''s performance. Andrew was just about to say something unreasonable and slam his hands on the table when a slim hand grabbed his shoulders and a voice softly whispered. "Calm down, the meeting has yet to start. You have to prevent Dylan Ford from getting the upper hand. Remember, you still have an alas you have yet to place. Calm your mind and adjust your breathing. You have not lost the fight yet." The voice slowly disspated but Andrew knew the owner of that voice and that beautiful hand. It was Amanda who calmed him down. Andrew readjusted and he calmed down because Amanda was right he still has an alas he still has yet to place. Andrew looked back at Amanda who was calmly standing beside him and gave her a glance of gratitude. When he finally turned to the table to face Dylan, he showed the former proudness and arrogance he displayed when Dylan first entered this room. When Dylan saw that proud and arrogant smile plastered on Andrew''s face, he knew something big was about to happen. 36 Chapter 36: Turning the Tables Around Andrew was now smiling confidently and the anger that was previously seen on his face has been burried by that proud smile of his. Andrew calmly clasped his fingers and rested them on top of his stomach and crossed his legs as he slowly sat like an aristocrat. This sudden change in disposition of Andrew made Dylan feel uneasy. Dylan scanned his surroundings and he discovered that the three giants suddenly became more aloof and dignified with their auras. Even the savage looking Guild Master Blood Wolf was in sync with this sudden change of atmosphere. Dylan became more alert and on guard because he feared their might be a sudden ambush among the four others? in this table. So instead of waiting, Dylan took the initiative to break the frozen atmosphere in this room. " So what were the important matters that you spoke of earlier, Friend Andrew?" Dylan asked in a calm manner. "Oh, it seems like Friend Dylan is eager to know those matters. Okay then, I shall not delay any longer." Andrew spoke smilingly as his train of thought followed with the recitation of his statement '' Fool, since you are so eager to fall, let me help you by sending you on your way. Wahahaha.'' The three giants stood up and spoke in unison. " Dylan Ford,the factions administered by us the three giants of the Soaring Cloud City hereby terminate any type of connection and relationship to you and now formally starts an alliance with Lord Andrew." The words of the three reverberated throughout the room. Andrew was smiling ever since the first down to the last word that the three giants articulated. Andrew was feeling as though he was already witnessing his victory over Dylan Ford and his Gardenford Restaurant. He was feeling blissful thinking that Dylan''s downfall would imply the rise of his Vigor Hotel. He could not help but feel giddy when he thought of this. He turned to look to Dylan trying to get a sight of the expression he wanted Dylan to bear. '' Hahaha, now despair for me, Dylan Ford. This is where your story ends. Bwahaha.''Andrew''s? smile was reaching his eyes as his head tilted to Dylan''s direction but his expectations were far from reality as he saw a fully warm and calm smiling face sitting on that seemingly lonely chair. Dylan''s smile did not diminish one bit. Not even stiffness nor forced expressions could be seen on his handsome face. It was as though everything that the three giants announced were nothing but common gossip or topic by friends. ''Huh?! What is happening here?! Why isn''t he showing the slightest bit of shock?!'' Andrew was hysterically thinking because he could not understand why Dylan is still able to stay calm at such a moment. Dylan was losing three of his main suppliers. It seemed as though everything that occurred was already anticipated by Dylan. ''Maybe he''s just trying to put up a brave front... Hahaha. Although I salute you with your acting skills that you are able to almost trick me into believing youbut this type of bluffing will not work on me. Hahahahaha.'' Andrew consoled himself by speaking words like this on his mind. ''Let me add some more stress to you. I refuse to believe that you will not show your true emotions once you have been pushed to the very brink. Hahahahaha.'' "Not only that, I, Andrew Vigor, is accusing you of trickery and improper usage of the powers of aMystical Magnate. The three giants have already confessed of this usage when you used it against them. This is against the rules set by the Mystical Magnate Tower. Written on Article XI Paragraph 28, I quote, ''A conferred Mystical Magnate of the great tower shall not use the powers of Harmonized Soul and King of Souls for deception, adultery, massacre or any type of villainous acts. If violated, any Mystical Magnate of higher? tier or equal tier shall be given sanction to carry outcapital punishment to the violator.'' and I end my quote." Andrew was smirking as he quoted the specific verse inscribed in the Tower Constitution Scrolls of Mystical Age. Andrew, as a conferred Mystical Magnate of the Mystical Magnate Tower,learned these laws as it was mandated by the Council of Elders that every Mystical Magnate should learn of the rules and regulations inscribed within the ancient scrolls. Even Magnate Apprentices have to learn this as well, that is why the three giants were also aware of the rules. That was why he also assumed that Dylan knew as he felt that a businessman of his caliber would at least be a Tier 3 Mystical Magnate. The three giants told him it might be because of his natural talent when it came to business and trade but Andrew suspected that Dylan was already a Mystical Magnate who was conferred by the Mystical Magnate Tower as he was able to beguile the three giants which even though, he was capable of doing so but cannot do it so easily like how the three giants described what Dylan only had to do in order for them to be hypnotized by Dylan''s Harmonized Soul State. Andrew was assuming that Dylan was already at? the peak of the Tier 3 Mystical Magnate who even have the potential to breakthrough already. Andrew was smiling widely and was hoping to watch Dylan''s expression to change but he did not know why and how Dylan could still be smiling calmly at this moment. Andrew felt that something was off when he saw Dylan smiling. He checked his soul state and he confirmed he was not beguiled? by Dylan.Andrew? has been using a secret technique that prevents anyone under Tier 4 to not be able to beguile anyone as long as that someone is within his proxemity. "Why are you smiling fpr, vile villain?!" Andrew roared. "Oh, nothing. It was just I find it funny." Dylan merely smiled at him. "You find your? death funny?" Andrew sarcastically asked. "Nope. Because I am not the one who should die if what you stated was true?" Dylan smile became even more calmer as he looked at Andrew. "How preposterous! Are you insinuating that I should be the one who is supposed to die? Die, evil man." Andrew stepped forward and executed a movement skill of far higher grade than Dylan. Andrew moved so fast that Dylan was not able to see it. After the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Dylan and a battle skill of the same grade was executed. Dylan tried to block with his [Boulder Breaking Fist-Perfection] but he discovered that he was only able to mitigate the force it had as it hit his torso and sent him crashing to the wall. *Crash* Dylan crashed on the wall and somewhat struggled to stabilize his footing while gravely staring at Andrew. ''A Initial level 11 Awakened Spirit Realm? But has High Spirit Rank Techniques which reached Expert Mastery?'' Dylan analyzed his opponents strength. He now knew how delusional he was when he thought that he could fight Andrew. Someone who was equipped with High Grade Spirit Rank Techniques in both Cultivation technique, Movement technique, and Battle techniques. Despite having the overwhelming strength that he has, he figured if he were to fight with all of his with someone of similar arsenal of techniques with the same comprehension, he would only be able to fight someone at the Intermediate level 8 Spirit Veins Realm. But if he were to fight someone equipped with a slightly inferior grade of techniques that are Middle Grade Spirit Rank Techniques with the same comprehension, he would only be able to fight a Pinnacle level 9 Spirit Veins Realm. Higher grade of techniques are more difficult to comprehend but they are paired with a higher output of energy and power. That is why each grade is twice as strong as the other. Dylan felt depressed about this but he had to set this aside because he needed to deal with this situation for. "It seems like Friend Andrew has made a grave mistake here." Dylan sighed as he stood up. "What do you mean?" Andrew frowned as he walked up to him. "You have stated that the offender should be conferred, right?" Dylan inquired. "Yes, a conferred Mystical Magnate caught in the conduct of villainous acts are subjected to capital punishment! Now, surrender your head to me!" Andrew acted righteously. "Then, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but I have not received any type of conferment by the Mystical Magnate Tower as a licensed Mystical Magnate so I should not be subjected to this injustice. Another reason is that I have only received knowledge that I possess Harmonized Soul State 2 weeks ago and I have not received any training about the powers of a Mystical Magnate so I wholeheartedly apologize to my misconduct as I don''t? have an inkling about the proper usage of these powers. Thus, you have no right to carry out any type of execution for this type of act is outside of your current jurisdiction." Dylan defended himself. "What?!" The three giants were at a lost for words when they heard of this. How was this possible that they fell for Dylan''s unknowing act?! They fell for the subconscious enchantment Dylan did. They could not help but feel bad for themselves thinking about how embarassing it was to be beguiled by a newbie in the Magnate world. "No way...." Andrew was trembling after he finished listening to Dylan''s defense. He could not help but feel how unbelievable it was! An 18 year old businessman had the abilities comparable to monstrous veterans in business! But, what he didn''t know was that Dylan already formed a business empire on his past life that spread all throughout an entire continent! "One more thing, if what you said is true, then friend Andrew, you, yourself is the one doing the villanous act as you have intentionally tried to kill an innocent businessman because of misconception. If we try to add the fact that you and I are currently taking part on a business war, one could easily claim that you are doing this vile act in order to eliminate any type of potential threats to your business. Then, this would be an entirely different matter as the motive of you intention to kill is to eliminate a competitor you are currently experiencing defeat with. This would imply that you are trying to kill an innocent businessman for your own personal gains. If the three lords are righteous enough to report this to the Mystical Magnate Tower, then friend Andrew would be subjected to capital punishment, am I not right?" Dylan added as though he was just stating a fact to his close friend. But Andrew can''t help but feel cold sweat slowly dripping on his cheeks when he witnessed how Dylan turned the tables against him. He was just standing there ashened face and trembling. "How disappointing. But at least I have witnessed the appearance of a worthy opponent." Amanda whispered to the winds. But when Andrew heard of this, his expression changed to desperation and insanity looking as though he was going to do something evil to Dylan. 37 Chapter 37: Andrews Insanity Andrew was fuming with anger when he heard those words. He felt like Amanda was belittling him and praising Dylan instead. He could not help but feel extremely incensed when he thought of how Amanda regarded Dylan as her opponent. "Is my standing in your eyes really that low that you would go as far as compare me to a country bumpkin, Amanda Cross?!" Andrew roared so hoarsely he sounded like a beast. "I admit that you have decent talent and I believe in masters words that you can reach the 9th tier but that is everything you will ever amount to. You will never reach the rank of Lord much less a Duke because of your lustful nature of harassing your employees and malicious ways. So stop dreaming! However, this Dylan, is a Magna Magnate that is already comparable to the fourth tier which is very rare in the? Mystic Red Cloud State. I have already seen enough and shall report your misdeeds to the towerI will now take my leave and return to the capital." Without delay, Amanda disappeared in sight after she ended her reply. "What speed!" The three giants had their eyes glittering from the strength that Amanda possess because that was the strength of the next cultivation realm. "Damn, that woman! Argh!!!" Andrew bellowed angrily. "She is from the Cross Clan? The same as Rea." Dylan was somewhat at a loss. He never would have thought he would meet another "Cross" in this city. The Cross Clan are extremely popular not only in the Mystic Red Cloud State but in the entire Mystical Clouds Country. The reason for this was the Cross Clan''s founder was the 18th True King of the Six Mystical States 1000 years ago! He was the last True King to ever exist in the Mystical Age,Jiro Cross!Jiro Cross was known to be the strongest practitioner of the dual swords. He is one of the five True Kings that were able to successfully establish a clan which are still able to steadily stay on their peaks without any signs of decline. Dylan could not help but remember the very first customer he had who had so much overwhelming talent that she was able to reach the Pinnacle of the Spirit Gathering Realm at the age of 16! ''I wonder how she is doing.'' Dylan wondered. But as Dylan was reminiscing, Andrew sank even more to insanity as he was left by his secretary after an embarrassment like that. Andrew was boiling from rage and since Amanda, the one who lit the flames of fury in his heart was now gone, so he put all the blame to Dylan. "It was because of you!!" Andrew was sinking to further depths as his eyes turned bloodshot from anger and his nerves started appearing on his face from the constricting of his face. He was filled with wrath and killing intent because if Amanda were to report the tower about his wrongdoings, he would die an untimely death. "Surrender now, Andrew Vigor!" Guild Master Blood Wolf shouted. "Shut up, you senile old fool! Don''t you remember about the deal we made?! I gave you 10 soul stones each so that you would all be able to break through! Now, keep your end of the deal!!" Andrew loudly insulted Guild Master Blood Wolf as he reminded them of the contract. Soul stones are similar to Spirit Stones because they are both cultivation resources for Cultivators and Mystical Magnate. Soul stones are materials which contains significant amounts of soul energy that will help aid the refinement of the Magnate Strength. That is the reason Mystical Magnates try to collect as many Soul Stones as possible in order to have a greater chance of ascending to the next realm of the Mystical Magnates. "Now that you are dying the contract is now obselete, you disrespectful brat!!!" Guild Master Blood Wolf reprimanded Andrew. "Do you remember this?! This is a Magnate Contract Seal you all signed! So if you want to betray me by attacking me, you will break the oath you promised on this contract and your souls would be severely damage leaving you to a life of a retard! Hahahaha!" Andrew mockingly laughed at Guild Master Blood Wolf''s foolishness. "What?! A Magnate Contract Seal?! You tricked us?!" Pavilion Head Galagher was shocked when he heard this. "You told us that it would only be used as a form of document! How dare you trick us!" Garden Owner Elmer who is usually calm became angry because they were tricked into signing a Magnate Contract! They were ignorant about this because they thought what they signed was only a document. A Magnate Contract is leaving behind your soul imprint that is made from Magnate Strength and leaving it onto a Soul Lock Scroll which was made from the leaves of the Soul Lock Tree. This is a contract Mystical Magnates sign in order to prevent miserly businessman or deceptive businessmen to commit any type of crime. It is a method to ensure that businessmen who would sign the contract would follow the deal they have made with one another. This is because if broken, it causes a backlash which is two times stronger than you in your soul and it would result to retardedness which would be the same as living a life worse than death. "Hahaha, it wasn''t easy but during our meeting, I was secretly performing a beguiling technique but you were all too idiotic to notice it and followed my suggestions like mindless buffoons! When I told you to release your Magnate Strengths for me to assess the amount of soul stones that I would be giving you, that was when I manipulated your Magnate Strengths to create? soul imprints of each and every one of you! Hahahahaha! Of course, if you were aware on what I was doing the creation of the soul imprints would backfire on me, but you were all stupid animals to fall for that!" Andrew laughed like a madman as he was relentlessly mocking the three giants. "You!!!" The three giants were filled with intense regret and hatred because of Andrew''s mockery. "Now, I fully activate the contract! Hahahaha, I will now receive immunity from any type of harm you three are currently thinking of right now! Hahahaha!" "And here I was thinking you were some principled person to accuse me of doing such evil acts but here you are acting like someone who is simple-mindedly blurting out his crimes. Just how hypocritical can you get?" Since Andrew was done with the display of formalities and was acting more hypocritical as each moment passes by, Dylan could no longer remain idle and showed his disdain openly. "Shut the fuck up! You are the reason I am acting like this! You''re the hypocrite! You''re entire family are all hypocrites!'' Andrew howled in madness. "Since I am going to die anyway, I will have you die before me! Hahahahaha!" Andrew was like a psychopath as he continued to scream while laughing. "Tell me, how to undo this type of contract, sir Galagher?" Dylan was willing to help the three giants even though they betrayed him, but he knew it was because of Andrew''s deception. Although he was also able to get their support through beguiling, but Dylan was unaware on how to properly use his peerless Harmonized Soul State up until now. He arrived near the three and asked. "Ugh, I truly am very thankful, sir Dylan. But, I only know of two ways to make the contract useless. The first is for an outsider to snatch the contract and destroy it with spirit energy but this is option is out of the option as he is stronger than you and you still have yet to reach the Awakened Spirit Realm. The second is to use "Se Battre Pour Un Client". This method means to "fight over a client". It is a method which you use your Magnate Strength to enter the Soul Lock Scroll and trigger the Soul of the Contract which will invoke "Se Battre Pour Un Client"." Pavilion Head Galagher discussed the options. Although he wasn''t? aware of what the Soul Lock Scroll looked like, but he was still able to read several books about it. Thus, giving him the knowledge of this matter. "Galagher, are you serious? This may endanger Dylan''s life!" Garden Owner Elmer spoke in shock. "Yes, there is no other way." Galagher replied while he shook his head bitterly as he could not think of no other way. "Okay." Dylan answered as he tried to control his Magnate Strength. When it manifested, it went slightly out of control as a huge ball of energy formed a giant blob. Dylan concentrated and focused on the scroll above Andrew who was fast approaching him. "Hahaha a last minute struggle, Dylan Ford? What a disappointment you are! Hahahaha!" Andrew laughed madly when he saw Dylan generating his unstable and uncontrollable Magnate Strength. He rushed forward with the intent to kill! He produced a sword and started injecting spirit energy on it as an Avatar of a long sword appeared on his back while he dashed forward. "Hahahaha, die!" Andrew yelled insanely. Dylan was finally able to guide his Magnate Strength towards the Scroll? and it shot forward as fast a bullet and entered the Soul Lock Scroll floating within Andrew''s vicinity! The energy successfully entered as a human like persona started to appear on top of the scroll with its eyes closed and its arms were placed on his lap. Dylan knew he was successful on releasing the Soul of the Contract after his Magnate Strength entered the Soul Lock Scroll. But unfortunately, Andrew''s Avatar striked out and Dylan was hit as he was sent flying. He knew what he had to react but the blade was faster so Dylan was in for more pain. He was bleeding but he successfully released the Soul of the Contract which means he would finally be able to fight over the ownership of the Soul Lock Scroll. "Hahahaha, you are still, alive, huh? Let me finish off? your suffering for good. Hahaha!" Andrew laiughed in his madness as he tried to approach Dylan and try to kill. "Let the negotiations begin... Soul of the Magnate Contract open the seal!" Dylan shouted. 38 Chapter 38: Donst Compete with Me Dylan had a large incision on his chest where blood was constantly gushing out. Dylan was feeling extreme pain while he felt that his body was weakening every moment that passed. He felt like time became slower and felt that every second became as long as a minute. The pain he felt was excruciating as he thought, ''How were the MC''s of those light novels able to withstand this type of pain? I knew it would be very painful but I did not expect that it would be this painful!''. Dylan gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the searing pain. He kept thinking of how amazing those MC was to be able to endure this type of pain. Although his skills in business administration and management are godly, he could not deny the fact that he was still a noob when it came to fighting and cultivation. He was just like an infant trying to walk but it was difficult because he is in a completely different world from his home world. But, since he was sent here, he needed to be able to adapt quickly. If not, then he would just serve as a stepping stone for others. ''It may be hard to cope because of my lack of knowledge but I have the Cosmic God Mansion supporting me so it would somewhat ease the burden of being foreign to this world.'' Dylan self-evaluated. Although it was a bit long to describe, in reality, only a few seconds has just passed. Dylan concentrated once more to his opponent, Andrew, who was staring viciously at the materializing Soul of the Contract. The Soul of the Contract was becoming corporeal yet transparent. It stopped further materialization when it reached the point that it appeared like a ghost. The Soul of the Contract had the appearance of a gorgeous beauty that wore a plain white dress. In it''s torso, a scroll that emits two different types of shades could be seen. The shade signified the constant devouring of Dylan''s Magnate Strength and Andrew''s as these two energies constantly fought with each other. "The challenge has been set. "Se Battre Pour Un Client"..." The Soul of the Contract clasped her hands and seemingly prayed. Her eyes emitted bright and blinding light while her illusionary body floated in mid air. The wind swirled in madness as it formed a tiny tornado within the room making the Soul of the Contract its center. Dylan and Andre felt their souls were being sucked of their bodies. Behind their backs, their Magnate Strength started gushing out as it coalesced to human molds. Soon, a transparent replica of both Mystical Magnates could be seen floating atop their heads. Dylan and Andrew? had both their eyes shut while the eyes of their replicas were trembling and slowly opened. Dylan''s body stopped bleeding as it lay on the wall and Andrew''s body fell to the ground while a cocoon of energy started to mask both their bodies. The cocoons shot out a strand of light that attached to the backs of the ghost-like replicas of Dylan and Andrew. The ghost-replica of Dylan started moving while it slowly examined it''s arms, body and face. "What is this? What happened to me?" The ghost-replica spoke in a strange manner. The way it spoke was as though their was several echoes that simultaneously follow its'' voice. But, this was clearly Dylan whose consciousness was transferred onto this ghost-like avatar. Dylan was utterly confused when a voice suddenly called out his name. "Dylan, this is the first step of the Se Battre Pour Un Client. It extracts an "Avatar Soul" that is created using the Magnate Strengths of your body!" Pavilion Head Galagher clarified the details to Dylan because he noticed that Dylan was too astounded when he was transported to the "Avatar Soul". "Ohhh, so what happens next?" Dylan inquired as he adjusted his mindset. "According to the books I have read, a meeting table will appear that will present us as judges who will decide whether whom has the better deal but remember the final verdict is said by the Soul of the Contract. It knows whether or not this deal is beneficial to your company or not. Do not recklessly throw in offers as the Soul of the Contract will base its verdict according to wits and skill of the challenger and the challenged." Pavilion Head Galagher explained all of the knowledge he knows about this Se Battre Pour Un Client. "According to what you have read..? You mean you haven''t tried this before?" Dylan awkwardly asked because he suddenly felt a bit nervous when he thought about it. "Ahem.. Well, yes... I have never tried it before." Pavilion Head Galagher embarassingly replied. "Are you serious, sir Galagher? Then what happens if I lose the deal?" Dylan felt nervous now as he felt that he was doing something dangerous. He tried his best to keep calm and fortunately it was effective because if other people were they would panic. "Yes. If you lose, you will be forcefully demoted to one rank and feel extreme weakness for a short time. But if you win, then Andrew will be the one to receive the consequences." Pavilion Head Galagher replied. "This is quite a mess I got mixed in with." Dylan bitterly laughed. But, this was the only way he could survive because if he will not release the three giants from the restrictions set by the contract then, he would only suffer by the hands of Andrew and die a horrible death. That was why, despite knowing the danger, Dylan would still repeat his choice if he was given a chance again because even though he might receive some serious injuries, it was still better than death. "Hahaha, what a pointless effort this is, Dylan! Hahahaha, you will still die, no matter how much you struggle, you are nothing but an insignificant worm in my path. Hahahaha, do not be delusional the gap with our strength and knowledge is like a giant chasm! You will only die trying to traverse this gap. Bwahaha!" Andrew maniacally laughed at Dylan. He was gloating because he had so much experience with regards to every basic knowledge and even a large amounts of past knowledge about "Mystical Magnatism". "Are you done with your narcissistic chatter?" Dylan ignored Andrew''s constant gloating. "You!! Don''t try to compete with"Mystical Magnatism" with? me!" Andrew roared. "We''ll see." Dylan simply smiled as a form of reply. The Soul of the Contract was creating a large meeting table that was "U" in shape. At the base, three chairsmysteriously appeared while two seats appeared in each arm of the meeting table. Before Dylan could even react, his Avatar Soul was transmitted to the chair of the right side while Andrew was placed on the left side. The three giants magically floated and was carried by an extremely strong force which coerced them to seat on the vacant three chairs at the base. The Soul of the Contract followed as it appeared behind them floating above their heads. "Se Battre Pour Un Client, commencer''. " The archaic voice of the Soul of the Contract subtly flowed throughout the room. Dylan was a bit stunned when he heard of this. He cannot help but wonder how this world had a very similar language to French. Although if a Frenchman was here, he would not be able to understand it as well. Unless he had an instance like Dylan, where he had the memories of his past life that enabled Dylan to quickly adapt to the Great Mystic World. Dylan could not really understand it but the language they spoke was similar to French yet it wasn''t? at the same time. While Dylan was pondering about how strange it was, Andrew took the initiative and stood up with confidence as he showed disdain to the pondering look that Dylan had. "Let me go have the privilege to go first because I know that a certain someone is still inexperienced and amateurish in Se Battre Pour Un Client." Andrew implied that Dylan had still milk on his lips and was still too inexperienced to debate with him. He was also very confident with himself as he was equipped with proper education and training that Dylan never received. Andrew also had participated in mock Se Battre Pour Un Client several times already and he was always the one who came out the victor as his wordplay and ability to turn right from wrong was near flawless. "Granted..." The archaic voice of the Soul of the Contract replied. " Let me first state the prior deal that I and the three clients have made. I have offered the clients 12% shares of my Vigor Hotel and as well as my newly established brand, Vigor''s? Gourmet. After which, we had a meeting wherein we discussed the other details of the Contract. The meeting discussed about how I offered the position of Honorary Elder to the clients and the transaction of 10soul stones for each of the client. We also discussed how my business will enable them to be treated as VIP guests in any of my company? while I would gain constant monthly supply and advertisements from them. I wholeheartedly admit that I used my Harmonized Soul State but it was not only for the reason for my self gain but to also free them from the underlying hypnotism that the challengee has imposed carelessly to the clients. I end my case." Andrew was smiling all the way from the start to the final sentence of his defense because? he was confident that he would be able to crush Dylan. "What?! That isn''t true! How shameful can you be?" Guild Master Blood Wolf barked suddenly when the last sentence of Andrew entered his ears. "Are you sure it wasn''t true? My galant reason to save you from the treacherous hands of this swindler is called shameless? How hurtful your words are as it was aimed to me, your saviour... But I understand, you are still in the premise of this wretched person''s illusions. Do not worry, dear client, for I will do everything in my power to save you from his evil clutches." Andrew had tears flowing in face while he raced his fist trembling as he swore those words. He really acted like a man who had done something virtuous but was repaid with ingratitude. "What the heck are you talking about?!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was enranged to the point were veins started to show on his neck. "Blood Wolf, stop!" Pavilion Head Galagher halted Blood Wolf by blocking him with a hand. "But he is clearly lying!" Guild Master Blood Wolf defended. " It is futile. The Soul of the Contract basis it''s conclusion on what is said. Not on what what was said. This is the reason why wits are able to defy the truth in this battle. The ancestors designed this type of battle to refine the critical-minded and the intelligent and it was also to determine whether who was more skilled when it comes to business. Wits will win over the truth, Reason is better than facts that was what the Ancestors believed in. They believed that to be able to climb to the peak, a true Magnate must not be benevolent and kind or else he would be treated as gullible and easy to take advantage, he must be versatile and flexible, ruthless and merciless. Because in this world the truth matters less, power rules over all!" Pavilion Head Galagher gravely spoke. "Ugh, Damn it. That fucking snake might get away with this!" Blood Wolf cried indignantly. "Let us just hope that Dylan would be able to counter Andrew''s lies." Garden Owner Elmer spoke with a tinge of anger to Andrew and pity to Dylan. "I hope so..." Pavilion Head Galagher said as he watched the calm and silent Dylan who was sitting with his eyes closed. 39 Chapter 39: Let me say it again Dylan slowly opened his eyes and he smiled while he looked at Andrew. He slowly stood up and stared straight to the Soul of the Contract. The Soul of the Contract was holding a scale that faced him and Andrew. The left scale was elevated higher compared to the right and Dylan knew that this was because of Andrew''s performance. The Soul of the Contract evaluated Andrew? quite high to be able to cause him to be able to place significantly higher than Dylan. But, even so, Dylan was not the slightest bit of afraid of what happened. Dylan slowly looked to Andrew with a calm expression as though he was not affected by Andrew''s performance. "So, is it my turn now? Shall I start?" Dylan asked Andrew. "Of course, you may, ''Friend'' Dylan." Andrew appeared as though he went back to his original self who was exceedingly confident and proud. But, even so, he couldn''t still contain his anger when he forced himself to say Friend to Dylan. It was a good thing he was bowing because everybody would have seen how warped his face was in that one moment which he said Dylan''s name but when he raised his head, it was full of smiles leaving not even a shred of that maddened expression he had. "Okay, then. First and foremost, I offer 21% shares of my company to the clients." Dylan some calmly "Ahem, friend Dylan, that would be a total of 63 % of your company that you will be giving out. Could you please reconsider?" Andrew coughed and acted as though he was pleading. But, in reality, he was laughing so much about how dumb Dylan was to be able to carelessly raise prices in this Se Battre Pour Un Client. ''HAHAHAHAHA, what a dumbass moving he is doing! He''s simply throwing towel over to me. Hahahaha!'' Andrew laughed in his mind when he saw that his scale moved up once more. "What do you mean friend? 63%? You may have understood my statement. I just stated that I would be sharing 21% shares of my company to the clients and not 63%. Meaning that I would only be giving 7% to each one of them! I suppose friend is not that good in numbers to be able to misinterprete what I have just said." Dylan calmly rebuked with a friendly smile. "What did you just say?!" Andrew''s? screw that he tried to push back was loosened once more as his face showed anger. Little did? he know that his scale slightly descended. But he was still able to grit his teeth to maintain a bit of his sanity and tried to commence a counterattack. "Ahem, if you reduce it to 7%, then that would mean that my deal would be better regardless of what you offer next." Andrew chided as he maintained his poise and demeanor. "Oh, really?" Dylan''s? lips slowly formed a bright smile as he continued to speak. " What if I told you that I could offer 7 soulstones to each one of the clients for every week that they are able to do business with me? Would that make my deal better than yours?" Dylan smirked and crossed his arms as he knew this was the moment he was waiting for. "What?! Do you think that soulstones are cheap?! They cost 1500 gold coins each making it more expensive than Spirit Stones which are only 1000 gold coins each! If you give them 7 soulstones individually, then that would mean 21 soulstones and that would cause about 31500 gold coins! You are planning to earn that amount of money in just a week?! You must be dreaming!" Andrew defended his offers with a barrage of questions. "Is that so? Then what if I told you that just today my Gardenford Restaurant earned over 7000 gold coins from 750 customers? And that does not even include? what I still may earn later in the evening? I suppose it will still get bigger after receiving a perfect 10 on my restaurant''s review in both management and customer service/ satisfaction. I estimate growth of another 300 customers which would imply that I would be able to get around 200,000 to 300,000 worth of silver coins equivalent to around 2000-3000 gold coins. So all in all, I would gain around 9,000 gold coins and if multiplied to the number of days in a week, then I would gain an average of 63,000 gold coins a week. That said, I would be able to buy the 21 soulstones each week, wouldn''t I?" Dylan calculated and presented his estimated earnings. "That is only my average estimations?. It''s not that I want to brag but my previous estimation of my total number of customers was only 500 and I would only earn around 400,000 to 450,000 but I was wrong as my gimmicks were able to invite more customers to come?. So if I were to estimate a little higher, wouldn''t that mean I would gain bigger?" Dylan explained as he countered with a barrage of facts! "What?! 63,000 gold a week?!" Everyone was flabbergasted! They could not help but believe as they have seen a large flow of people that exited out of the city and headed towards Dylan''s restaurant. Dylan''s earnings for a week is already enough to be called the top business in Soaring Cloud City! Such weekly income was greater than each one of the three giants'' establishments. "How are you sure that you are able to maintain that number of customers and income?! We all know that people tend to get tired of something quickly!" Andrew tried to do every possible way he can to hinder Dylan from winning. He was shocked that now it was Dylan who was elevated above him instead of him being above Dylan. He was getting increasingly furious and scared of each word that would come out of Dylan''s mouth. "How am I sure? Simple. Because my brand is new and fresh." Dylan said slowly with a smile finishing it. "You!!!" Andrew was speechless as he could not find anything to say. Andrew could no longer rebut because it was true. In business, new brands that are able to become popular was able to sustain their income for at least 6 months to 1 year at most with the right management. With Dylan managing Gardenford Restaurant, it was almost assured that his income would not decrease but grow steadily instead. That was the same thing that happened to his Vigor Hotel on its first several months in any city he constructed a branch. "Oh yeah, I remember what you said earlier. Let me say it again. Don''t compete businesses with me." Dylan smiled as he knew he had already won. He just changed some words that Andrew said to make it his. Unwillingly acknowledging defeat in his heart, he could only kneel and look lost. The Soul of the Contract finally made its verdict and it sided with Dylan. The Soul of the Contract reverted back to its original form and floated towards Dylan and landed on his hands. The Contract emitted another blinding light that shot towards Andrew. When carefully examined, a large chain could be seen as it pierced through Andrew''s chest. Andrew felt increasingly weaker as the chain embedded to his chest. Although this was only an Avatar Soul, the pain he felt was so realistic and heart-wrenching. When the chain reached a certain point, it stopped moving forwards and slowly retracted. As it retracted, Andrew still felt an indescribable pain but there was another pain that he was experiencing at the same time. He felt as though a thousand worms was laying waste in his chest and he knew that it was the consequence of the Se Battre Pour Un Client, the forceful demotion of rank. When the chain was fully extracted from his chest, it retracted back to the contract that Dylan kept. Both of them slowly returned to their bodies. Although the pain faded and there was no wound on his chest, he still felt pain, the pain of damaging the foundation of his Magnate Strength. It would greatly affect his future as a Mystical Magnate and he would greatly struggle to advance than what he used to. The feeling of pain turned to being lost as it further drived Andrew to sank to the depths of insanity and depravity. He looked at Dylan as he blamed him for everything! He lost his future! He lost his fortune and entire life! He wanted revenge so badly! "It''s all because of YOU!!!" The voice Andrew? had transformed into something more of a beast compared to a human. "Don''t even think about it, Andrew? Vigor! Don''t even think of hurting Dylan while we are still here! We will also detain you and wait for the Mystical Magnate that will punish you for your evil deeds." The three giants kept their end of the deal as they immediately dashed in front of the wounded Dylan to shield him away from Andrew. "Hahahahaha! Do you really think so?!" Andrew''s eyes was filled with insanity as he drank a vial of liquid. His aura got stronger and stronger but it only stopped at the 13th level of Awakened Spirit Realm. He knew this would still not be enough to take on the three so he escaped as fast as he could. He drank a drug that enables a person to have a sudden growth in strength in exchange for burning his/her blood. It temporarily cancelled out the effects of the forceful demotion. "What? A strength-enhancing drug?" The three giants immediately have chase "Don''t even think about getting away with this, Andrew!" Pavilion Head Galagher said. "It''s really a good thing to have a contingency plan set just in case! HAHAHAHAHA!" Andrew laughed maniacally as he escaped through the windows. While in mid-air, he cast an incantation. The three giants were just about to jump when the room suddenly lightened up and an energy barrier covered the entire room. "An entrapment array?!" Garden Owner Elmer spoke in shock. "Dylan Ford, you can have the last laugh for now but tomorrow will be the day of your death and your Gardenford Restaurant! Here is a little farewell gift for you! Kaboom! Hahahahahaha!" Andrew said as he fell and landed on the ground and continued to escape. The surrounding people distanced themselves a bit when shards of glass started flying around and a man fell from the sky. They found it strange about what happening this late afternoon but what happened several moments after shocked them even more. *BOOOOOM!!!* The room three floors above the ground floor, where the man who fell came from, suddenly exploded. They were shocked why did something like this happen within their usually peaceful neighborhood. The bystanders were even more shocked when they saw three shadows descending from the room that exploded. They were flabbergasted when they saw that it was the three giants who were somewhat wounded and burnt in some parts of their bodies. Guild Master Blood Wolf was carrying a person on his back which they immediately recognized. It was Dylan Ford who was bleeding and was currently pale-faced. They could not help but wonder what the hell just happened?! 40 Chapter 40: Unexpected Discovery! The Need to be Stronger! Guild Master Blood Wolf carried Dylanwho was struggling as he was enduring the pain of his slashed chest. Pavilion Head Galagher and Garden Owner Elmer was evacuating the employees of the Vigor Hotel. The fire from the explosion was quickly spreading. There were some that was in critical condition as they experienced some 1st-degree to 2nd-degree burns. It was a good thing thatthere were only a few who were in critical condition and the most employees were stationed on the second and ground floors. The explosion was only a diversion of Andrew for him to buy enough time to escape but the explosion was strong enough to be able to harm a 6th level of Spirit Veins Realm. That is why it was still able to cause a considerable amount of damage to the hotel and cause a large amounts of people to be injured or suffer burns of different degrees. The two giants were not so heartless as to let this people suffer this type of pain and injustice of losing their jobs. They first rescued all the employees that are found within the 3rd floor. The explosion caused havoc as it continued to spread and blaze upwards. It continued its path down to the 3rd floor but it was a good thing that the people evacuating were able to meet the two giants shortly after the flames descended to the third floor. After some time, the forces of the three giants was able to arrive in time and helped in the rescue of all the employees. After which, Garden Owner Elmer and the there two giants went to the Misty Herb Garden because there, Dylan would be treated. Along the way, Dylan finally lost consciousness because of severed blood loss. His consciousness faded as his vision darekened. When the three arrived at the Misty Herb Garden, they immediately placed Dylan on a room that was seemingly like an emergency room. Dylan was placed in a reclining platform as Garden Owner Elmer tasked his medical assistants to remove Dylan''s clothes. The assistant obeyed and changed Dylan''s clothes. When they took off Dylan''s clothes, the wound that cut across his chest was fully displayed. When Garden Owner Elmer saw this his brows narrowed, he saw how the wound was being quickly infected by something.He quickly deduced that Dylan was poisoned by Andrew when he slashed the sword. "That bastard sure is cunning." Elmer Green rebuked that vile man who even risked the lives of his employees whom were currently hospitalized in his Misty Herb Garden. Aside from being a Mystical Magnate, Garden Owner Elmer was first a Herbal Doctor. His skills was so refined to the extent he was recognized as one of the Three Giants. Elmer Green was further recognized when he made his own faction, the Misty Herb Garden which manipulated the herb and medicine flow of the Soaring Cloud City and is known to be the best business on hospitalization within the city. Garden Owner Elmer began the operation as soon as he finished sanitizing his hands. He wore gloves and a disposable lab coat made form silk. He assigned his male assistants to disinfect Dylan''s wound and cleanse it for the application of the medicinal liquid he was making.He concocted medicinal liquid which composed of 8 different herbs that were effective for healing wounds and neutralizing poison.The medicinal liquid was quite effective when it was applied as it lessened the rate of infection. The poison was not that complex to Elmer that is why he was able to quickly concoct a antidote for it. Elmer Green quickly regulated Dylan''s condition. The medicine he applied to Dylan had a ingredient that had a similar effect to that of an anesthesia.So when it sipped it into the wound, he directly stitched up the wound and cleanly finished stitching the wound after several minutes. He checked for Dylan''s vitals and upon assuring he was in good condition, he left Dylan in the care of his nurses to send Dylan to a room to rest as he checked for the condition of the victims of the explosion in Vigor Hotel. After 12 hours from the operation, Dylan awoke from his slumber and found himself in a unfamiliar room. He checked for the wound in his chest that Andrew inflicted and saw a stiched wound that spanned from his left shoulder to the right side of his hips. He was stunned when he saw the wound was quickly showing signs of recovery but he knew this was because of him being thrice stronger than an average human granting him faster recovery. "It seems like I still need to grow stronger or I might not be able to keep up with other geniuses." Dylan felt that he was not progressing enough. His strength was trivial when compared to Andrew. Andrew was in possession of high level techniques that he was not able to access. He felt like he needed to work twice or thrice as hard in order to be able to triumph against his peers to be able to crowned the strongest genius. Dylan''s thoughts were right because if he was to fight a genius from the capital like Amanda he would be only a laughing stock as he would be quickly defeated. Although Andrew and Amanda were disciples of the same masters, it could be clearly seen that Amanda was far more valued compared to Andrew. Dylan got up and felt some pain coming from his wounds but he still managed to balance himself. After walking around, he was able to get used to the pain. When he opened the door to exit the room, he was greeted by three familiar figures. These three men had a debt of gratitude to Dylan as he released them from Andrew''s deception. They were truly bent on repaying Dylan by protecting him. "Friend Dylan, you''re up already? Why don''t you rest for a little bit more?" Pavilion Head Galagher urged. "I''m sorry, sir Galagher, but I must go home. I am worried about how my sister is doing as well as the condition of my restaurant." Dylan declined Galagher''s offer. "Don''t worry about it. Our men are standing guard on your restaurant ever since Elmer finished curing you. So, just head back to the room and relax." Guild Master Blood Wolf surprisingly urged Dylan to rest. Clearly, he now favored Dylan. "Thank you, sir Blood Wolf, but I cannot rest easy if I do not see it for myself. Please let me go." Dylan really wanted to see how things are for himself. "You, ungrateful brat! Here, I was showing my goodwill to you and you straightforwardly decline it?!" Guild Master Blood Wolf was pissed when he saw Dylan decline his offer. "I''m sorry, sir." Dylan apologized and bowed. "It''s fine. Let him be. We can just have some people guard him until he fully recovers. Would that be alright, Dylan?" Garden Owner Elmer suggested. "Absolutely. Thank you so much, sir Elmer!" Dylan was absolutely grateful to Elmer''s leniency towards him. "Ugh, okay then." Blood Wolf could only unwillingly accept. "It''s decided. We will each have assigned a guard as strong as a 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert." Pavilion Head Galagher said. "Agreed!" The other two replied. "Thank you very much, Sirs. I will not forget this favor!" Dylan thanked them wholeheartedly. The three simply nodded. After their conversation, Dylan was escorted back at dawn to the Gardenford Restaurant by three strong Awakened Spirit Realm experts. Dylan was glad that nothing happened to his sister and employees. "It''s- It''s, sir Dylan! He''s okay!" Ronald shouted. "Really?! Where??" Everyone searched until they found a young man slowly walking with a cane while being followed by three guards. Receiving the news about Dylan being severely injured, they could not help but worry so they decided to stay in the restaurant and waited for news. They wanted to make sure that the Gardenford Restaurant was safe as well as their boss'' beautiful little sister. "SIR DYLAN! WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" Ronald shouted as he sobbed. "SIR DYLAN!!!" The emotional ones which was around 30 in numbers charged towards Dylan. "Wait, wait." Dylan somewhat panicked. He would be smothered to death by this emotional people who were charging towards him but it was a good thing he had the three guards to protect him. "Hold it right there!" The three guards blocked all thirty with their large bodies. "Ouch!" "Uf!" "Grrr." "That hurt!" "Hey, let us through!" The employees were trying to push forward but to avail. These three were like towers blocking them. But the three guards neglected a little shadow as she passed through the spaces of their feet.When they turned around, they only heard the cute voice of a girl. "BWIG BROOOOW!!!" The small shadow leaped through the air and gestured a hug to his brother. "Scarlet, wa- wait- Uff!" Dylan was tackled by her sister who yearned for his embrace and this triggered a sudden surge of pain in his body that caused him to fall backwards as his weak body followed Scarlet''s momentum. "Cri.ti.cal..Hit.." Dylan''s face turned slightly pale from the impact of falling as he held a crying child in his embrace. "I was so worried about you big bro." Scarlet cried. Hearing this, Dylan could not help but feel warmth. He slowly paced his right arm on his sister''s head and caressed it as he said, "It''s okay. Big brother''s fine now. Don''t cry. Big brother''s alright." "Mmm." Scarlet slowly nodded as tears flowed down her cheeks. Her head was burried onto Dylan''s chest as her hair reflected the light of dawn. The sight of these two hugging was a scene to behold. The surrounding people felt like they were watching a play of a big brother and a little sister reuniting. "Don''t do anything that will harm you, big bro. Please?" Scarlet turned his head and faced Dylan teary-eyed. "Uh... Okay, I promise. Stop crying. I''m alright." Dylan consoled his crying sister. "Okay." Scarlet smiled innocently. "You can get off of me now. There are still people watching, you know." Dylan smiled back. "Ohhh, sorry." Scarlet shyly said and quickly got off? of Dylan and stood up. "Hahaha it''s okay. There''s nothing to say sorry about. Look at you, you''re all dirty now. Go and take bath while I make breakfast for you." Dylan smiled and messed up Scarlet''s hair. "Yes, big bro." Scarlet agreedand hugged Dylan who was sitting on the ground. She then, headed towards the house while she was skipping happily. Dylan watched this happen and he got up. He got up? Earlier, he was struggling to get up but now he was able to get up? What just happened? He checked his shirt and he saw something that shocked him the most! His wound was now gone! ''What?!''. Dylan was utterly dumbfounded. He thought he was hallucinating for a second there. He checked his shirt drenched from tears once more. It was thoroughly gone! Not even the stitches were there, not even a scar! ''Could this be because of.. Scarlet?'' Dylan asked himself. He was sure the wound was still there when Scarlet hugged her. But after Scarlet got off him, it was gone. He felt that Scarlet was becoming more and more mysterious as she grew. He felt the urgent need to grow stronger because if he could not and malicious people were to discover Scarlet''s healing prowess, then he would be helpless as those people take advantage of her unique constitution. They may experiment on her, dissect her, and torture her for the sake of gaining her abilities. Dylan was unsure of what more abilities Scarlet has hidden on her but he knew that if there were, Scarlet would be in jeopardy. The only way to protect her was to grow stronger! ''I can''t let anybody know about this. Ugh, I''m still too weak to protect Scarlet! I need to be stronger and fast! I think it''s time to use the Second page!'' Dylan resolutely thought because heneeded to become stronger to protect those who are dear to him. 41 Chapter 41: The Magical Table of Contents Left in a daze, Dylan was standingawkwardly. His employees finally conceded after being stopped by the three guards by a couple of times. Seeing how disappointed they were, Dylan told the guards to let them near him for a while. Hearing this, they rejoiced and quickly approached Dylan. The employees each asked whether Dylan was doing fine or still feeling the pain of his wound. Dylan smiled wryly when he heard of this because his wound has already healed. It was already healed by Scarlet so he felt somewhat bad that he needed? to lie to them and act like he was still injured. "It''s still hurting but I can manage. Sir Elmer told me that after several days of rest and application of medicine I will be able to quickly heal." Dylan said "Ohhh, then please rest, sir Dylan. Rest assured. I will manage the restaurant in your behalf." Frank spoke. "Okay, then." Dylan agreed. "It seems like sir Dylan is still feeling a bit nauseous. I assume this is from the operation, right?" Frank was concerned for Dylan''s welfare so he asked. "Ugh, just a little bit." Dylan scratched his head. " Then, we can''t be negligent it may be a side effect of the restaurant so you must rest, sir Dylan. Mary , Marie, please guide sir to his house." Frank ordered his two neice to assist Dylan. "Ugh, you don''t have to do this." Dylan told Frank. "No, sir Dylan. You must rest. Remember your welfare is the welfare of the restaurant." Frank reminded Dylan as he was the face of the Gardenford Restaurant. Dylan could only helplessly follow.Frank''s order because he was still ''recovering'' after all. Marie and Mary came near Dylan and assisted him because ''he'' still cannot walk too well. Dylan was walking slowly on his own and he started to lag back from Marie and Mary. Seeing this, the two ladies traced their steps until they reached Dylan. Each took one arm and wrapped it around their backs. They used their strengths and easily carried Dylan. Shocked by this, Dylan could not help but say, "It''s okay, Mary and Marie. I can still manage." "Sir Dylan, just let us do what we were ordered to do." Mary smiled in response. "Sir Dylan, you don''t have to act so tough. We saw how you struggled walking earlier." Marie smiled as response as well. "Oh, okay." Dylan could only smile wryly. He only tried to make the lie that he still had a wound more believable by lagging behind by a little bit. He never expected that he would be treated like this. Some of the boys had envious gazes towards Dylan because what a privilege it was to be carried by two beauties in that manner. The two girls were blushing as they walked towards the house because the man they fancied was so close to them. Their hearts couldn''t help but quicken as their faces showed a genuinely happy smile. But Dylan had no knowledge of this whatsoever because the faces of these two beauties were facing forwards. Thus, he was unable to see their red faces. Upon reaching the outside house, he was totally amazed because he could see from the outside of his house that the interior was now completely transformed. All of the vases and containers were cleared out. The floors was replaced by cement instead of wood. His roof was now replaced with better material. Every aspect of his house has transformed! It was now bigger and wider and better looking. It could now even be considered as a large house worth 500 gold coins! He asked to Mary and Marie how did this happen and they replied it was because of the cummulative effort that all the employees have done. They wanted to surprise him. They saw how Dylan was focused on improving the restaurant and their skills in business that he forgot to improve his own. They also knew how generous Dylan was to their families and their homes every time he secretly gave them food and provisions. So, it was decided that they would repay him yesterday by secretly improving Dylan''s house because Dylan said that he was going for a business meeting. But, they did not expect that he would be placed in a great ordeal in which his life was on the line. So they stayed in the Gardenford Restaurant to guard Scarlet, the restaurant and the newly renovated house. Dylan was shocked and felt warmth because of his employees goodwill. He felt so blessed to have them because they even went as far as renovate his home and he was sure that they spent a hefty sum to do this. So he said to them, "After I recover, we are going to have a feast to celebrate our win in the Business War. Just inform everyone once you return. You can go back now. I can manage from here. Tell everyone to work hard." "Understood." Both nodded in unison and left. Dylan went inside and familiarized his house for a while. After familiarizing himself with his new and better house, he went upstairs where his room was found and at the hall towards his room, which was opposite to Scarlet''s room, he saw Scarlet who just came out of her room. When Scarlet saw Dylan, she smiled at Dylan and Dylan knew what it meant. Scarlet danced and he danced as well. Their silly dance had begotten laughter and smiles. Dylan rustled Scarlet''s hair while Scarlet pinched his cheeks. After their sibling time, Dylan told Scarlet that he had to rest and Scarlet nodded as she said goodbye. "Good bye, big bro. Sleep well! I hope you recover soon. I will be at the restaurant playing with big bro Roland, big sis Allana and big bro Scott." Scarlet waved her hands to Dylan as she descended the flight of stairs. "But you already have.." Dylan mumbled as he smiled. Dylan went to his room and rested after circulating [Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies cultivation technique] several times. After resting for a few minutes, Dylan locked his room from the inside and stealthily went out to the window. He dashed towards the depths of the forest after checking that no one saw his escape. He ventured deep to the wilderness and slaughtered several Spirit Beasts along the way. He found another underground cave and scouted inside. After killing the 9th Level Spirit Veins Realm Wild Boar inside, he occupied the cave. He still needed to be cautious not to let anyone know about the existence of the Mansion so he had to distance himself from the city. Dylan could also not risk going to deep to the forest because he might encounter a Spirit Beast far stronger than him. That is why Dylan picked a place where the periphery of the area are only of Spirit Veins Realm beasts. Dylan started his meditation and entered his mindscape. He saw the large amounts of Primal Stones! The primal stones was approximately 1800 in number! His collection of Deca-Stones have now reached 180! His Centurial stones were that of 18! He tried to find a Millenial Stone but to no avail, there was none. So, he came into conclusion that the stones are rewarded based on the number of customers he had entertained for a day. "Time to cultivate!" Dylan shouted. His cultivation base has now been refined to the extent that it has now entered the purest state of natural energy! Although Dylan had the cultivation technique of Cosmic God, he did not depend on it too much. He refined his own natural energy to a more refined energy 3 times a day and endured thepain for the past 2 weeks. Unfortunately, his purity of energy wasn''t able to advance to Spirit Energy but it was still able to become the purest state of natural energy. With this, Dylan was more confident of his robust cultivation base that in the Spirit Gathering Realm, he would not fall into Cultivation Deviation. He reached out for the Deca-Stones and crushed two with each hands. Dylan''s? aura started skyrocketing! Peak 6th level Spirit Veins Realm! Pinnacle 6th level Spirit Veins Realm! Initial 7th Level Spirit Veins Realm! Intermediate 7th level Spirit Veins Realm! High 7th level Spirit Veins Realm! His cultivation was rapidly rising but their was no signs of imbalance within the energy equilibrium. One could see how robust Dylan''s cultivation base has become. It continued to shuttle until the 10th level! Initial 10th level Spirit Veins Realm! Intermediate 10th level Spirit Veins Realm! Dylan''s? Deca-Stones were now fully depleted but he did not lose heart as he grabbed the entire collection of Primal Stones and used it! Every level now used 700 stones! High 10th Spirit Veins Realm! Peak 10th Spirit Veins Realm! There was only four hundred left and it was insufficient for Dylan to advance any further. But Dylan was still content with the current level of his cultivation! His speed of advancement could already leave some geniuses to dust! He was just going to use the Centurial stones when he saw an object near the Waning Moon Sword. It was a shield! When he touched the shield, it''s information flowed into his mid like what happened with the Waning Moon Sword. The name of the shield was the Shield of Dusk. The shield was named as such because the craftsman of this shield used the Dusk as the inspiration to create this shield. It had the ability to burn the majority of an attack equal to the strength of its owner! Dylan was amazed by the function of this shield. He was also commending the work of the blacksmith because even the picture of dusk was beautifully painted onto the center and was encircled by runic inscriptions. "What an amazing shield! This could be used as a trump card against my opponents?!" A sword and shield that were able to appear and reappear with a thought? What an amazing pair of trump cards! "Hahahaha, what a bountiful harvest! Now to check the second page!" Dylan was excited by the surprises given by the Cosmic God Mansion. He was thrilled and excited to discover the power of the second page! "Now, present to me your gift second page of the [Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies]!" Dylan opened his arms as though he knew he was welcoming a blessing. The second page slowly floated and presented itself in front of Dylan and Dylan gladly grabbed a hold of the second page. "Hahaha, the second page is... Huh? Table of contents?!" Dylan was shocked by this. His master, the Cosmic God, still put a table of contents in his Cultivation technique?! Dylan felt like he was being played with by his late master and could only smile wryly because of this. "It still makes sense though. Even Cultivation manuals need table of contents for the practitioner to refer to." Dylan consoled himself by saying those words but he was still disappointed. Despite being disappointed, he continued to read the table of contents of the [Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies]. Table of Contents of the Cosmic God Manual Creating the Legendary Core........................1 Cultivating the Ancestral Veins.....................13 Releasing the First Seal.... ........................25 42 Chapter 42: Darkness Comes "No way..." Dylan was at a lost for words when he saw the table of contents! Because he now discovered that the Cosmic God Manual was a path! A path for him to become a supreme being like his master who was also the creator of this manual. "A Legendary Core and the Ancestral Veins? What is that? A level higher than the Spirit Core and the Spirit Veins?!" Dylan''s blood boiled at the thought of this. He was granted access to a manual that hethinks would be able to strengthen himself even more! He knew his strength was already invincible in the Soaring Cloud City but it was only above average within the capital so he needed this type of boost to be able to compete head to head with the geniuses of the younger generation. Although he was uncertain to what extent are those geniuses stronger compared to the practitioners of the Soaring Cloud City, but he was sure that there would be a great disparate between the two. Theoretically speaking, he would already be as strong as the three giants but he felt that it wasn''t? the case. Dylan felt like that each of the three giants would be able to crush him if they were to take Dylan on seriously. Dylan felt that he should not base his strength in theory because if a mismatch happened and he fought someone on the level of Pavilion Head Galagher, Guild Master Blood Wolf and Garden Owner Elmer, he would be slaughtered. So, he started regulating his standards of strength. He felt that he had enough power to at least fight a 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm who would already be using his Avatar. So for now, the number of levels in which he could jump levels would be three. But if he were to be able to unlock the other sections of the manual, he had this hunch that he would be able to fight 5 levels higher than him without the support of anyone else! Dylan was smiling because of his domineering thoughts. "HAHAHAHahahaha..." Dylan was laughing loudly at first then it gradually died down and turned to disappointment which slowly became apparent in his face. Because the reason for this was a thought that struck his mind. On careful thought, the pages were not so easily acquired as the Primal stones, because he needed to be able to create an update or improvement on the establishment, Gardenford Restaurant. So to be able to unlock it, he must be able to open up branches of his company. Dylan was uncertain how many branches he had to be able to set up but he thinks that it should at least be 5 branches for him to be able to unlock the first chapter of the Cosmic God Manual. "Oh, man. Getting a chapter is this hard already?But it is still manageable though a bit hard even for me." Dylan dejectedly utter. Dylan was holding the second page and he called forth the cover to place it inside. When the Cosmic God Manual appeared on his hand, he opened it but he was forced to close his eyes because there was a blinding light that was emitted. When the light dimmed, the second page that he was holding disappeared and was now attached on the book but there was more. There were 10 more additional pages! "Additional pages? What else did I do to~ Ohhh, the contract with the three giants. A business contract is considered as an improvement of a business because it enables the business to have benefits with the transaction and to have more business allies to rely on. Thus, I should have expected this already. But 10 pages is quite a big sum. Well, according to my experience, every time I discover another function of the mansion for the first time, it handsomely awards me so 10 pages is really worth it! Hahahaha." Dylan self-contemplated and felt greatly relieved knowing that he was able to gain 10 pages of the cultivation technique of Cosmic God. "Huh? What is that?" Dylan''s? eyes caught something floating in front of the mansion. When Dylan noticed it, it slowly floated towards the gates and passes through it as though the gates did not even exist. The floating object slowly descended onto Dylan''s hands. It was a cubic box like thing and on closer look, it was wrapped and decorated like a gift? A gift? Dylan opened the "gift" and he saw a small black and white bead. Dylan wondered why the mansion gave him this "gift". But in careful consideration, the thought of a gift was something which he received from his employees so he speculated that this gift was from the kind intentions of his employees who wished to repay their debt of gratitude to Dylan. But he wondered why was it in the form of a bead? "A bead? What is this for?" Dylan reached for the bead with his right hand as he spoke. When his finger came into contact with that bead, the bead dissolved as it entered the surface of Dylan''s finger and flowed until it reached the center of the back of his right palm. It formed a tiny black circle on the back of his palm. Dylan found this peculiar because when he checked his palm there was a tiny white circle on the center of the palm. The two were in complete in opposite of each other and this caused Dylan to have a headache about these two dots because he was clueless as to what the functions of these two opposite are? But at least he knew that this was a gift that he received because of his employees'' kind-heartedness and goodwill. That was why he thought that at least it should not been something that would cause him great affliction and harm. He was unable to think of what kind of functions did these black and white circles have to offer to him. Being unable to think of what abilities he received from these circles, he dismissed it because he thought that he would be able to find its function sooner or later. After dismissing that thought, Dylan prepared to train and switched to his cultivation mode. After several cycles of circulating the Cosmic God Manual. He picked the book once more and read the first chapter. "Let''s see what this chapter about the Legendary Core is all about." Dylan smiled. He flipped the pages and tried to read the introduction of the first chapter. After 1 hour, he still was not able to understand anything about the chapter. Dylan felt that it was written in a different language compared to the Introduction Page and the Table of Contents. But, when Dylan checked the first two pages, he discovered that they were written in the same manner but he was still able to understand what it said. Dylan analyzed the characters to try and form a pattern to be able to decode what was in the text but no matter what he tried, he just couldn''t decipher it. When he tried to read the Table of Contents, he discovered that he was only able to read the first three chapter titles but for the rest of the chapters, he was unable to read any of it. After some time, Dylan formed a hypothesis that to be able to read the text he needs to be able meet a certain criteria. For example, if Dylan was able to become stronger, then he would be able to read more text than the text he could read now. Dylan felt that this was a feasible guess because his master must have been worried that his disciple would disregard foundation and fixate himself/herself in the rapid increase of power. Thus, affecting his/her talent and future accomplishments because of the unstable foundation he/she has. Dylan was not so addicted to power that he would disregard his foundation in exchange for temporary power. According to all the novels he had read in his past life, all of the successful MC''s focused more on? strengthening their foundations before breaking through to a higher level. Dylan would follow these steps in order to prevent Cultivation Deviation from happening. Since he was unable to read the text, Dylan focused on training his Battle Techniques. While he was training, he could not help but wonder whether the Cosmic God had a reward that were solely for different types of Battle Techniques like Movement techniques, Weapon-based Techniques, Martial Arts Techniques, etc. He really wished for this type of function because the only thing that was lagging behind was his Battle Techniques. His Battle Techniques might still be useful for his current level of strength but Dylan would eventually outgrow these techniques sooner or later. That was why he was in desperate need for high grade Battle Techniques. In the outskirts of the Soaring Cloud City.. While Dylan was training, in a different location, a man with dishevelled hair, ragged clothes could be found. He was sitting near a bonfire and awaited his meal to be cooked. He was none other than Andrew Vigor. How tragic it was that a once proud and aloof Mystical Magnate could turn into a runaway man which was in dire states. He was still unable to recover from the forceful demotion of rank in his Mystical Magnate foundation and was still extremely weakened. The after effect of the drug and the consequences of losing the Se Battre Pour Un Client combined it put too much toll into his body. After resting for a day, he was now able to kill an Spirit Veins beast because he was able to regain some strength from the medicine he possessed. "There are only at least 2 days left before my executioner will arrive.... ARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!" Andrew was feeling extreme hate, anger, and despair because his days are numbered and he was only waiting for his death to arrive while Dylan would most likely be recognized by the emissary that the Mystical Magnate Tower will send and give him proper education. He could only feel angry about it and was helpless about everything. "Damn you, Dylan Ford! I curse you and your entire family!!! I hope you die the most gruesome death possible!!! When I become a ghost, I will haunt and curse the next nine generations of your family!!!" Andrew growled so loud that he sounded like a beast. His eyes bloodshot and filled with hate and bloodlust. "Is that so? You must quite hate this man named Dylan." A black robed man mysteriously appeared. His entire body was covered by the black robe but it could still be inferred that he was a man by the unusual depth of his voice?. His face was only partially visible but he appeared like a middle aged man. His face carried unusual coldness and evil as his lips formed an an arc. "What? Who''s there?" Andrew became alert and prepared for battle. "It does not matter who I am. Let us just say that I am someone who will grant you the power to realize your desires. As long as you come with me, you will be able to kill this Dylan and become stronger! If you use your hate and turn it to the world, you will reach unimaginable heights. So, what do you say?" The black robed man invited Andrew with an evil smile on his partially covered face. "Really?! Is what you''re saying true?!" Andrew could not believe what he just heard. "Of course, just shake my hand and follow me and your wish shall be fulfilled." The black robed man reassuringly said and offered his hand. "Then, I accept. Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil, I will! Just to kill the man who took away everything from me!!!" Andrew did not hesitate any longer. He had already hit rock bottom there was no difference if he were to dive further because he was going to die anyway. This man presented him a favor that would enable him to kill Dylan, so regardless the price, he would do so just to kill Dylan. He shook the hand of this man to seal the deal. "Great, Welcome to the darkness. Mwahahaha." The black robed man evilly laughed as dark clouds was conjured around them and consumed them. The next second the dark clouds was drifted by the wind and dissipated. A bonfire was left burning as the curtain of the night came. 43 Chapter 43: Attack! Inside the Underground Cave... Dylan had finally finished his routines on all of his Techniques. After six hours of nonstop practice, he was finally able to balance his level of comprehensions of all of his techniques. Of course, he would not be able to achieve this, if it weren''t for his daily practice of his techniques. The reason why Dylan was finally able to advance his comprehensions was because he was free from his concern for his business because he was sure that even without him, his employees would be able to perform per his standards His training and daily guidance to his employees has brought forth competency and commitment on the individual work ethics of his employees. Being temporarily released from his worries, Dylan was able to empty his mind and enter a state of clarity and enlightenment where he was able to easily pinpoint the errors of his movements and improve them once sighted. Dylan was able to clearly sense the energy flow within his body and regulate it to be able to use every drop of potential hidden on every strand of energy he utilitzes. This enabled him to be able to create a systematic approach that allowed him to conserve energy while utilizing every ounce of his strength. [Boulder Breaking Fist-Perfection] [Four Soft Steps-Perfection] [Rushing Flow of Water-Perfection] Dylan was quite happy with his harvest in his training session today. Upon figuring out that he had already stayed in this cave for about 8 hours or so, he decided to exit the cave. When he got out of the cave he saw that the sun was nearly set, so he rushed towards his house in order for him to make it in time for dinner. After several minutes of travelling at top speed, Dylan slowed down knowing that he was near the vicinity of his house.He waited for a while before climbing to the window of his room because he wanted to make sure no one saw him entering his room through his window. When the coast was clear, he jumped towards his room and landed as gentle as possible to prevent any sound being emitted from it. Fortunately, no one has checked his room yet. Dylan was relieved to know that the door was still locked and the paper he pasted on the slim space of the door was still there and was not ripped yet. This meant that no one has opened the door yet. After letting out a sigh of relief, Dylan changed his clothes after taking a shower. After taking a shower and putting on some clothes, he opened the door and saw that there was a tray filled with plates and bowls that were covered but were exuding sumptuous and delicious odor of food in front of his room''s door. He saw a note attached to one of the plates and he picked it to read it. "Hello, big bro. How are you? Are you feeling better yet? Here is your meal for the day. It was cooked by a lot of big brothers and bis sisters. They said they made it especially just for you to make you feel better immediately! We hope you get well soon, big bro. We love you. Love, Scarlet and everyone else." Dylan smiled because he knew that Scarlet was the one who thought of this but he knew that Scarlet does not know how to write this neatly yet and he recognized that this handwriting was from Leila. Dylan picked up the tray and placed it inside of his room. The food was somewhat cold now so he used his natural energy to slowly heated the food and after reaching the level of being freshly cooked, he opened all the covers and started eating. After one satisfying meal, he went down his house to wash the dishes. When he arrived at the sink, he placed the dishes on it and just as he was about to turn the faucet he heard a sound from outside. "Awoooooooo!" A long and synchronized howl of a pack of beasts reverberated the entire restaurant. A large number of beasts were charging towards the Gardenford Restaurant. About 3-5 kilometers away, the demonic horde charged as they encircled the entire restaurant. "A spirit beast horde! Run!" A customer shouted. "Ahhhh!" Another panicked "Ma''am, sirs, please calm down!" Jack tried to control the situation. "How can we calm down?! There is a spirit beast horde right outside of this restaurant!" A hysterical customer argued. "Saaaaave us!!" A middle aged man pleaded. "Please, settle down, ma''am and sirs!" The employees were attempting to control the panicking crowd. "Oh, noooo!! We are all going to die!" An old man spoke while his hand holding a cane was trembling "Heeeeeelp!" A pregnant woman was screaming as she was seeking assistance from the staff. "Why are spirit beasts attacking? They usually don''t even dare to get out of the forest lest get this near to the city? What''s happening?" A fatty screamed ashened face. "Waaaaah!" Kids were crying because of the chaos. "You, all of you, you should all fight those beasts!" A nobleman screamed "Yeah, that''s right!" Another aristocrat agreed. "Protect all of us!" The customers demanded in unison. "Ma''am, sirs, please calm down. There is no need to make unreasonable demands!" Frank spoke in defense of all the employees. The customers in the Gardenford Restaurant panicked and they were already fighting with the staff and demanded that they fight for their safety. The workers were trying to calm down the masses but they were being forced to act as warriors. The customers were continuously acting hysterical as they saw the large horde of spirit beasts attacking. Each single one of those beasts were as strong as Spirit Veins Realm! Their number of beasts visible were over 300 and it could be seen that there were still large shadows of beasts from behind meaning that there were other beasts stronger than the forerunners. "Damn it! This must be Andrew''s doing!" Dylan dashed out of the house to take control of the situation! Dylan ran as fast as he could while he shuttled through the panicking customers until he reached the cooking platform. He jumped and flipped in mid-air then forcibly landed on the platform which shocked the costumers and the staff alike. "Sir Dylan?!" The employees was stunned. "Dylan? Isn''t he the owner?! I thought he was in a severe condition?!" The customers were shocked as well. When the staff saw Dylan appearing, they immediately asked how was he feeling because they were still worried about him but Dylan dismissed their worries when he replied he was already fine. "Dear customers, I would like to ask each and every single one of you to calm down. I am Dylan Ford, the owner of the Gardenford Restaurant, and I assure you that we will do everything in our power to stop the beast horde''s attack. I know that some are panicking and some are worried for not only themselves but also their families and I understand that. That is why I am asking for your assistance and cooperation in this time of crisis because we can only solve this together and not apart. So I ask everybody to please listen to my instructions because if you do, I and my employees will do our best to successfully evacuate every family and every individual here!" Dylan spoke as loud as he can. "Okay, we agree." "We will cooperate!" "We hope you stay true to your words!" The customers agreed one by one and finally everyone? of them agreed to cooperate and coordinate with Dylan and his employees. "Thank you very much, everyone! Now, the first thing we must do is to gather forces! To all cultivators who are in the Spirit Veins Realm and above, please come forward because you will be part of our vanguard unit. The purpose of the vanguard unit is to create a way to the city.Currently the monsters are fast approaching and will only take about 5 minutes to reach us. So, I implore everyone who is in the Spirit Veins Realm and above to please come forward." Dylan announced? his devised plan on his head as he finished the customers who were Spirit Veins Realm and above gathered in front of the platform. There were a total of 400 customers. Half of this customers were kids, elderly, and people who were only at the Spirit Core Realm. A quarter of the remaining number was women whose strengths were at the Spirit Veins Realm and above. The rest were all men who were at the same level. They were able to quickly gather 200 people who were of this strength! 180 of which were people whose strength was Spirit Veins Realm while the remaining 20 were people whose strength was at the Awakened Spirit Realm! Among the 20, 12 were men and 8 were women. Dylan also calculated his manpower. He had the three tanks that the three giants assigned to him and he also had another 60 Spirit Veins Realm practitioners that the three giants sent to him in order to be trained. 10 of which were of the 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm. He assigned all 60 to be in the vanguard unit to ensure the safety of the customers but he assigned the three tanks to him to guard the restaurant. Within his 80 employees, every single one had already trained to the level of 6th to 7th level Spirit Veins Realm. So he cut them into two groups one of which will help in the defense of the restaurant and the other to the vanguard unit. Although the assigned group was unwilling to go, Dylan reminded them that the customers'' safety was their priority. Besides, the distance of the city to the Gardenford Restaurant was only about 2 ? kilometers so once they successfully guided the customers to safety they could rush back immediately. "Jack, I assign you to be the leader of this group. I hope you understand. Please, protect the customers and remember to stay safe. Come back safely." Dylan entrusted Jack because Jack was already at the 7th level Spirit Veins Realm, despite his age of 16 the same with Diane. The two of them were the most competent and the most talented youngsters in his employees so he trusted Jack to be able to perform just like he has always did. "Yes, sir. I promise to not disappoint!" Jack said assuringly. "Good. Now, go and prepare your group." Dylan smiled as he watched Jack nod in his instructions. So all in all, the vanguard unit has reached the number of 300 and Dylan organized them in an "?" arrow like manner while the customers were found in the center. The vanguard unit was arranged in a "?" pattern because this type of formation enables breaking through the enemy lines be comparable to an arrow piercing the armor of a warrior. "Since we have already gathered, the time to move is now! The spirit is now within sight! Vanguard unit, go!" Dylan initiated the command. The vanguard unit easily penetrated the portion of the beast horde which was covering the path towards the city! The vanguard unit fought hard with all of their strengths and worked together to kill the beasts which were aiming to devour them and their families. The beasts were like mindless zombies jumping and leaping one by one just to kill a human but they were killed by the warriors of the vanguard unit! This type of battle continued for quite some time. After 30 minutes, the vanguard unit was able to pass through the enemy lines like an arrow piercing the armor of a warrior! The kids were crying and traumatized by the sight of those monsters but thanks to the vanguard unit they were still alive so they vowed to themselves to become strong enough to defend themselves and their families just like what their parents, siblings, or relatives did today for them. Fortunately, there was no casualties but there were a large number of people within the vanguard unit who got inflicted with serious injuries. They continued their journey to the Soaring Cloud City which was already in sight. The group of the employees guided the customers to the entrance of the gates. Before they left, they asked the customers to go to the three giants to send reinforcements to the Gardenford Restaurant. "Wait for us, everyone. We will make it so please hold on!" Jack prayed as he and his group together with the 60 men from the three giants made their way back to the restaurant. 44 Chapter 44: Andrew Appears! The Deathmatch Begins! Back at the Gardenford Restaurant.. Dylan and his companions were fighting with the spirit beasts that surrounded the Restaurant. The three tanks were singlehandedly taking care of the north and east sides as they overwhelmed the monsters like war machines. Dylan took care of the south while his employees struggled in the west flank. The restaurant has suffered considerable damage and it has not even an hour before the strike. The numbers of the original spirit beasts has been reduced to 150 but they kept increasing as new ones replaced the dead ones! They keep coming back to their peak number of 300! Another hour has passed, Dylan felt like he already killed over two hundred beasts. The employees were able to kill over 450 spirit beasts while the three tanks were able to kill about 700 beasts. Fortunately, the vanguard unit was able to arrive in time so they were able to completely eradicate the beast horde of Spirit Veins Realm! Dylan felt that there was more or less 1400 spirit beasts that appeared. He scanned the area and mountain of corpses could be seen and he could see that all of his employees were already tired and out of breath if another attack were to happen then they would be wiped out. Most of his employees were already injured and a minority was severely injured. Dylan felt how insufficient his strength was but he could not dwell on that matter yet because there are other important matters he needed to pay attention to. He was in high alert as he scanned the surroundings because he feared that there would be another attack. To recover his strength, Dylan crushed ten primal stones. Although primal stones were already obselete in increasing his strength, they were still enough to replenish his energy. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* Dylan became vigilant as he questioned, "Who''s there?" "Hahaha, what a wonderful struggle you displayed, Dylan. I was quite amused as I watched. Hahaha." A person wearing a black robe slowly walked out from the shade of the wild. He was slowly clapping his hands as unspeakable coldness could be felt from him as though he was... already dead. "Andrew! Did you do this?!" Dylan angrily questioned him! "This? Well, yes, it was all part of my revenge! Mwahahaha!" Andrew laughed maniacally. "How could you put all those innocent people in harm''s way?! Do you still possess even the slightest conscience inside of you?!" Roland protested angrily. Although he was completely tired, he just couldn''t keep in the anger he felt for this man! "Oh who are you? Hahaha, pfft. You ask, why? Why?! HAHAHA, it''s all because of this man! He took away everything from me! If it wasn''t for him, I would still have everything I had! My future, my talent, and my money! It''s all because of him!!!" Andrew''s? hatred to Dylan showed like an eruption. He was fuming in anger everytime he saw Dylan''s face! "But that doesn''t give you the right to put anyone''s life into harm''s way!" Larry reprimanded him as well. "That''s right! If you really wanted to settle everything with sir Dylan, you should have done so face to face! But you couldn''t because you''re nothing but a coward!" Jason seconded. "If you were a true man, you should have just? accepted your defeat at the hands of sir Dylan when he defeated you back at the Vigor Hotel!" Rick voiced his anger as well. "That''s, right!" Scott agreed with haste. "Yeah!" John strongly felt the same as well! "SHUT UP!" Andrew''s aura became even more cold and chilly as dark clouds started to appear from his feet and his hands! He stretched his arms and subsequently six arms formed from the dark clouds that Andre was conjuring. He aimed at Rick, Scott, John, and everyone? who spoke. The six hands grabbed their necks and started lifting them up to the air! "What are those?!" Everyone else was shocked when they saw how those dark hands formed and grabbed the necks of Jason, Larry, Roland and everyone? who voiced out there opinions! "You bastard!" Frank cursed Andrew. "DIDN''T I SAY TO SHUT THE FUCK UP??!!!" Andrew was extremely angry at the moment and the slightest noise annoyed him greatly. He formed another dark hand from the dark and grabbed Frank by the neck and lifted him up to the air as well. The seven men were trying to do their best to get out of the bindings of these hands but they were not able to do so because it was too resilient and tough to destroy. They tried attacking it but they were unable to destroy as it slowly regenerates. "Andree, stop what you''re doing right now!" Dylan dashed towards him and executed the [Four Soft Steps-Perfection]. "Hahaha, you imbecile, my strength is far stronger than what it used to be and I can easily block any single one of your attacks! Hahahaha, I''m easily comparable to those three old fools! Mwahahaha!" Andrew confidently said as the black clouds conjured a shield. The shield further fluctuated and had formed dark spikes that were later shot to the charging Dylan. " You are not the only one who got stronger!" Dylan used his [Four Soft Steps-Perfection] to its fullest extent. He sidestepped and leaped past the spikes. The spikes were only able to graze his clothes but not cost much damage when he was evading all of them. He looked like he was dancing rather than he evading the projectiles. His movements were refined and flexible as he escaped the spikes. When he arrived at the shield, he sidestepped and leaned to the left side of the shield where Andrew could be found. He spinned to the side until he was able to arrive in front of Andrew. Dylan changed his stance and executed the [Boulder Breaking Fist-Perfection?]. Andrew was flabbergasted because of Dylan''s? swift and flexible movements. Dylan wasn''t this fast when he was fighting the beasts. Although Andrew was shocked when he saw how great the increase of Dylan''s strength is, he was sure he would be able to easily kill him. But, now it seemed like he will need to put more effort in doing so. Andrew furiously? stretched his arms towards Dylan to block him by forming a shield. "Too late. [Rushing Flow of Water-Perfection]!" Dylan continued to strike his fists and brought his full power! Using the [Rushing Flow of Water-Perfection] Secret technique, the speed and potential energy, Dylan built up during evading the projectiles that Andrew shot towards him, was fully utilized as he stretched out his fist. The use of the secret technique enabled him to use every single energy that he was storing and fully utilized every ounce of strength that he could get for every strand of energy he was releasing! The hastily made shield that Andrew conjured crumbled? in the face of this overwhelming force and it continued to strike until it reached Andrew''s chest where the full impact contained within Dylan''s fist was completely released! "Take this! [Boulder Breaking Fist-Perfection]!" Dylan roared as he launched a full-frontal assault to Andrew as he smashed his fist into Andrew''s chest! Andrew felt a strong surge of energy in his chest which exploded with force that caused him great pain as he was blasted away from his original position! Andrew crashed several meters away from Dylan. Andrew was lying down on the ground with some rubble and dust on him. Dylan''s strike clearly caught Andrew by surprise and inflicted great damage to him. Andrew''s dark hands dissipated as soon as Andrew was blasted away. The seven hostages were finally able to escape from Andrew''s grasp thanks to Dylan. The seven were coughing for several times and was trying to catch their breaths because of the constriction that Andrew impose onto them. Several moments later, their conditions finally stabilized. "Thank you, sir Dylan. *Cough* *cough* *cough*" Jason was the first to thank Dylan for saving the seven of them. "Thank you so much, sir Dylan. We are really sorry. We were truly careless." Roland was next to say his gratitude and others? followed. "That''s right. We were careless." Frank apologized as well. "But, sir Dylan, you sure showed him who''s boss." Scott praised. "It''s? fine. Don''t be confident just yet. I''m sure he won''t be going down that easily." Although Dylan was able to deliver a deadly strike, he was certain that Andrew wouldn''t be going down that easily because he had this feeling that Andrew was just too overconfident that was why he let his guard down. Dylan had this foreboding feeling that the dark clouds that Andrew conjured had more abilities that would grant Andrew great power. Andrew slowly stood up and cleaned himself from the dust and rubble. He spat some blood and stretched his body. The dark clouds were slowly being conjured once more but this time Andrew was more serious as he conjured his Avatar. His Avatar''s appearance changed from being a sword to a spider. But the spider was peculiar in appearance. It did not have the legs it would commonly have because at the end of each legs was not the usual pointed ends, instead it was replaced by hands. The hands were the same hands that Andrew used to strangle Jack and the others. "You caught me by surprise when I had my guard down but you won''t get to have another chance to repeat something like that again." Andrew said seriously. "Sir Dylan, let us take care of him." One of the three tanks said. "Don''t worry, I prepared a playmate for you guys. Look." Andrew smiled as he pointed at the place east to the restaurant. "Rooooaaaaaar!!!" A tiger as big as 3 meters and was red in color. The tigers arm was already as big as an average human would be. The entire body of the tiger was emanating a strength of 14th level of Awakened Spirit Realm! It was known as the Blood Tiger! A ferocious beast that lists over blood of Spirit Veins Realm beasts and practitioner. It was known as one of the kings of the forest near the Soaring Cloud City. "What?!" The seven employees were shocked and they rushed to the restaurant. "Disregard me! Protect my employees first!" Dylan ordered. "But we were ordered to protect you." The three tanks replied in unison. "I can manage by myself while dealing with Andrew but they can''t deal with the Blood Tiger. Now go!" Dylan shouted. "Yes, sir." The three tanks could only comply and engage combat with the Blood Tiger. The three tanks charged at the Blood Tiger simultaneously. They attacked the Blood Tiger one strike after the other. TheBlood Tiger was just feeding on some corpses of the Spirit Veins Realm beasts when the three tanks attacked it. It was extremely enranged and started to attack the three tanks. The roar of the tiger was strong enough to blow away any Spirit Veins Realm beasts and practitioner. It''s claws was enough to to directly injure any practitioner at the same realm. The three tanks were no pushovers as well as they slowly pushed back the domineering strikes of the Blood Tiger. Being familiar with each other''s skills, they were able to create combos that render great damage to the Blood Tiger. The four were continuously exchanging blow after blow that started a match that shook the Soaring Cloud City! "Hahahaha, now with all of the nuisances gone. Let us continue where we left. Hahahaha. Get ready to die, Dylan Ford!!!!" Andrew bellowed. "You don''t know who''s going to die for sure!" Dylan got ready for battle. "Then, let''s see who will be the last one standing and stand above the corpse of the other!" Andrew charged. 45 Chapter 45: Deathmatch: Dylan versus Andrew Dylan also attacked the moment Andrew charged at him. "Man-eater Spider, attack!" Andrew roared as his Avatar was sending four fist strikes towards Dylan. The four fists was launched into four different directions as they travelled to Dylan. Dylan used his [Four Soft Steps-Perfection] and was able to easily evade the four fists with just two steps as he advanced forward but Andrew anticipated him to be to dodge all four that is why Andrew had already prepared another set of attack for Dylan to receive. A three pronged attack! An attack from Dylan''s north, northwest and northeast! "Hahahaha, evade that!" Andrew shouted. Three fists were attacking in three different directions. Dylan tried to retreat backwards but he couldn''t because the four fists he just passed were quickly readjusting themselves and directed another strike to Dylan. So he decided to push forward once more, he executed his [Four Soft Steps-Perfection] once more as he head to the one in front of him. Andrew smiled at the sight of this. When he saw Dylan was near the fist, he ordered the fists to abruptly transform into three times it''s original size. This was because Andrew fused the three fists temporarily to form a bigger attack that will push Dylan back. "What the heck?!" Dylan was shocked because he did not anticipate that these fists could fuse so quickly. Dylan raised him arms in an attempt to blocked the attacks that came as he was pushed back. Just as he was pushed back, Andrew highly jumped in mid-air ,about 10 meters high, seemingly preparing for another attack. So, Dylan tried his best to stabilize himself as fast as possible. When he saw that the other four fist strikes were combining themselves into one entity, Dylan jumped to his left side and flipped in mid-air. He stabilized himself after landing and watched the two giant fists crash onto one another. Dylan did not delay as he dashed towards the descending Andrew. While running, he sensed a rumbling feeling on the ground one step ahead of him but as he was dashing he was unable to quickly change directions and was forced to follow his built up momentum. Subsequently, after he made one more step, a black fist appeared from the ground and delivered an unexpected uppercut to Dylan. Dylan was knocked to mid-air while feeling the intense pain from the uppercut of the black fist. Dylan''s mind was blank as he was knocked in mid-air. He felt like a professional boxer delivered a devastating uppercut that was aimed specifically to his chin. Seeing Dylan momentarily losing his state of mind, Andrew took this opportunity and made his way to Dylan by quickly redirected his descending body to the already close Dylan. As he shuttled through the air, he balled his fist and clad it with the dark clouds he conjured. He sent another jab to Dylan''s face. Another painful blow for Dylan but this jab forced some sense into him. Disregarding the pain, Dylan used the momentum of Andrew''s descending fist and bent his body backwards to elevate his right foot that was already preparing for a full-swing kick. Dylan flipped in mid-air and delivered a deadly blow to Andrew''s chin but Dylan was not done just yet as he fully utilized the momentum given to him and used his left form to execute a bicycle kick to Andrew''s chin once more! The feet are physiologically known to be 3-5 times stronger than the arms because the muscles of the feet are used to the weight of the body when a human stands, walks or jumps. Thus, Andrew experienced an even blanker mind than Dylan as blood flowed his mouth because of the intense force he received from Dylan''s kicks! Dylan did not know why he was able to do something like that. He was shocked in his self that he was able to do a bicycle kick while in mid-air. Maybe it was because of his desire to kill Andrew once and for all, maybe it was because of adrenaline, or maybe it was because based on defending oneself reflexively. Dylan felt his blood boil from all of this fighting and he felt like he was in his element. But he dismissed this thoughts because he was currently in the midst of a battle and he could not afford to be distracted. Dylan took advantage of this but he knew he had little time to do so. So, when Dylan landed on the ground with his body facing downwards, he jumped using his arms and legs and delivered a headbutt to Andrew''s stomach. "It''s now or never!" Dylan leaped and headbutted Andrew with all his strength. Andrew, on the other hand, was also able to regain some of his senses from the pain of being headbutted by Dylan but he coughed quite large quantities of blood! He was angered by Dylan''s all-out attacks because he did not anticipate he would directly go for the kill. Thus, for him to make use of this moment to strike, he instantly conjured his avatar on top of him and Dylan and he telepathically ordered it to bash Dylan with all eight hands. "Die!" Andrew roared desperately. Dylan knew what Andrew did but he did not retreat because if he did he would lose the opportunity to deliver a killing strike. Enduring the recoil of his headbutt and all the pain inflicted to him, Dylan roared and extend his hands. He thrusted his hands forward as he called forth the Waning Moon Sword that was stored in his mindscape. "It''s do or die!!" Dylan shouted! Andrew was dumbfounded when he saw that Dylan did not retreat but he did not falter and made his Man-eater Spider execute his command. But, he was stunned the next moment when he saw that a sword mysteriously appearing on Dylan''s hand that he thrusted forwards earlier. "No way!!! Argh!!!" Andrew cried in agony as the sword penetrated his chest. The sword pentrated the center of his chest and pierced through till it reached the exterior of Andrew''s back. Dylan withdraw the sword as soon as it fully pierced because he knew that the wound he punctured would secrete large amounts of blood. Dylan was not sure whether he pierced the heart because the next moment, he was bashed by eight large fists. Andrew crashed several meters away from Dylan who received an all-out attack of the eight fists of the spider. His wound was excessively bleeding and he continuously coughed blood. Dylan, on the other hand, felt excruciating pain on his back. He felt that if the strike was a little stronger then his back would have snapped and he would have been finished. He coughed 3 mouthfuls of blood from the pain and injury he had in his back. Although, it took quite long to describe all of this events happened in a mere minute. Both were struggling to get up but they knew they had to because if they don''t the other would kill them. "Damn you, Dylan Ford!! Why don''t you just fucking die?! I did not expect you would be this crazy that you would risk your own life just to kill me!! I guess I have no choice but to use my trump card!! I thought that the first time I would use this skill is to kill the executioner sent by the Mystical Magnate Tower. I never existed that I would use it on you! But, for the sake of killing you, all would be worthwhile!! I will let you die the most terrible way possible!!" Andrew cursed Dylan again and again. He changed his stance and chanted a language different from the native language. When Dylan heard of Andrew''s insane cries, he prepared himself for the unexpected. He could not waste his energy to reply with Andrew''s crazy nonsense so he stayed silent and slowly crushed some Primal Stones to recuperate. " Pu..so... ng... dilim... kalu..luwa... ng... lagim!" Andrew awkwardly chanted a language that exuded an archaic feeling. It was as if he just learned it only recently. "Wait, this feeling I have felt this before! Right, from Scarlet, I felt the same feeling when she was sleeping at the back of the platform but a different vibe. Scarlet''s vibe was warm and exuded dominance but this exudes coldness and unspeakable evil. But they have this sense of familiarity... Could they be the same ancient language but they only differ through usage?" Dylan could not help but mumble. He knew that the way Scarlet and Andrew delivered this language was completely different yet both had a certain sense of similarity with each other. "Just where did Scarlet come from? How did Andrew learn of this language that seemed to be ancient and lost? How are they connected with each other? Could they be the same language or different languages?" Dylan could not connect the dots with regards to this mystery. While Dylan was pondering about this as he was struggling to stabilize himself and was trying to recuperate, Andrew was floating in mid-air with the Man-eater Spider behind his back. He and the Man-eater Spider was covered by a cocoon made up of the dark clouds. On the same moment, it broke open and it revealed Andrew who? was fused with his Avatar! Andrew''s bare? upper torso replaced the position of the head of the Man-eater Spider with a height of 2 ? meters. His hair was standing as though it was jolted by lightning. He had 6 additional little eyes that were on his forehead and the teeth of his mouth became sharper than they used to. But what was truly terrifying was that he exuded the breath of an Initial 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert! Also, the wound that Dylan inflicted to him was gone! "Are you ready to die, Dylan Ford?!" Andrew asked him. "Have you really sunken so low that you are using these forbidden techniques?"Dylan spoke gravely. "You''re the one who forced me to be like this! But I don''t regret my decision of joining "them", because they gave me enough power to rule a city like the Soaring Cloud City! Hahahahaha! But, my dreams are not limited to that! My dream is to become? an entity like the True King of the Six Mystical States! Mwahahaha! I have to thank you because you have given me the chance to be able to do so! As long as I consume the souls of each practitioner within this city, I would be able to reach the peak of the Origin Realm! Bwahahahaha!" Andrew''s? voice had undergone a drastic change because of the fusion. He has truly become an ominous and selfish beast that only thought for his own benefit even if it meant killing an entire city. "I don''t know how a degenerate like you became a Mystical Magnate in the first place and I don''t know what kind of freakish organization or power you have joined but can you think clearly for a second. It''s your own twisted mind and ideals that made you what you are! Don''t blame it on other people. You are the one who said so yourself that you will use the innocent lives of the people leaving in this city for your own selfish gains!" Dylan defended righteously as he injected his natural energy to the Waning Moon Sword! "I have heard enough! Now, die!" Andrew screeched as he created multiple energy balls and directed every single one to assault Dylan. Dark balls of cloudy energy appeared one by one and wassimultaneously shot to Dylan! This was the special ability that Awakened Spirit Realm practitioners possess the Spiritual Energy Manifestation that enables them to create and mold energy in accordance to their desires. Dylan was assaulted by a wave of dark energy balls that is why he used the special skill of the Waning Moon Sword, Energy Slash! It is a skill that helps the user to amplify his energy to the extent that he is able to use Spiritual Energy Manifestation! But if the user was already an Awakened Spirit Realm Expert, this sword would double the strength of his Spiritual Energy Manifestation! But the energy slash was extremely draining and totally dependent to the capacity of the user for energy! Dylan himself could only use this skill for 10 times only. But, this was the only way he could hope to fight with Andrew who fused himself with his Avatar through a forbidden technique But, in order to defend Andrew''s barage of attacks he slashed one Energy Slash per wave that was sent to him. Dylan was dashing left and right and continuously changed directions because of the unceasing barrage of energy that Andrew released. "Hahahaha, that''s right! Run away, Dylan! RUN AWAY! HAHAHAHA!" Andrew felt like he was in control of Dylan''s life as he continuously created multiple energy balls. Andrew''s energy reserves were thrice as much as any 15th level of Awakened Spirit Realm Expert in the Soaring Cloud City. That was why he was confident he could do this for lengthy periods of time. After 10 minutes of attacking, Andrew got tired of this wild goose chase he was doing so he decided to make a move! Dylan had already used his Energy Slash 8 times already. "It''s time to end our little game, Dylan!" Andrew moved so fast that he covered the distance between him and Dylan in an instant! He appeared in front of Dylan intending to finish him once and for all! "What the-?!" Dylan was shocked when Andrew appeared in front of him so fast. "Eight Armed Fist!" Andrew executed his Battle technique that blew Dylan several hundred meters away! But fortunately, Dylan was able to bring out the Shield of Dusk just in time to block Andrew''s battle technique!Dylan let out a sigh of relief because of this. He stood up and prepared himself as he looked like a gladiator ready for battle with his sword on his right and his shield on his left! He fully injected all of his energy left in him into his weapons! " Oho, what nice artifacts, you got there. I would have to thank you because later they would fall into my hands. Hahaha. So as a token of gratitude, I will kill you using my strongest skill! Hahahaha!" Andrew spoke as though he was already the winner as he approached Dylan. "Let''s see you try." Dylan taunted and he dashed more than a hundred meters in just a few seconds! "Hahahaha. Resistance is futile! Now die! Arachnid''s Killer Web!" Andrew stretched his arm as strings of black spider was bombarding each other in the air and on the ground. They devastated the pathway to Dylan! This type of strike was enough to kill a Pinnacle 15th level of Awakened Spirit Realm Expert! But when Dylan was only a hundred meters away. He stopped and hid on his shield. The path of destruction continued to pass through him and it was followed by a loud explosion! *BOOOOOM* Smoke filled everywhere and the only thing that could be heard after was the loud laughter of Andrew and the cry of Dylan''s employees... "HAHAHAHAHA I DID IT! I FINALLY KILLED HIM!!! MWAHAHAHA!" Andrew celebrated. "Noooo!!!!" "Sir, Dylan!!!" "You, monster! How could you!!! Cries of agony and despair could be heard as the smoke faded. They mourned for the death of Dylan. The three tanks were just about to deliver the finishing blow to the Blood Tiger who was already lying and bleeding on the ground when they heard the explosion. "We''re sorry, masters. We were unable to protect Dylan Ford!" The three left their into the body of the tiger as they apologized to their absent masters. "That''s what you getfor messing with me, Andrew Vigor! HAHAHAHAHA!" Andrew was so blissful that he was crying years of joy. "You really think so..." A shadow leaped out of the sea of smoke and headed towards Andrew! "What?! How?!?!?!" Andrew was so shockedthat he felt he saw a ghost! "Crescent Moon Slash!!!!!!" The shadow horizontally slashed Andrew''s body as he bisected Andrew''s torso and the Man-eater Spider''s body! Blood splattered as a face was shown that? brought smile to those who were mourning. He smiled to them and turned their cries of mourning to tears of joy. The death match has ended and Dylan Ford was the victor! 46 Chapter 46: Despair Dylan emerged victorious in his first ever deathmatch in the Great Mystic World. Although he was still trembling because this was the first time he killed someone, Dylan was still able to maintain his composure as he reminded himself that the one he had slain was a man of warped wickedness and evil. "Sir Dylan was so awesome!" The boys cheered. "Is it just me or sir Dylan just became hotter?" Girls conversed while looking at Dylan''s exposed body. "Sir Dylan, won! Woohoo!" Dylan''s employees were celebrating for him as they approached Dylan. "Hahaha, it''s finally over." Frank rejoiced. "Right." Dylan agreed. At first, Dylan was not so confident in killing Andrew because there was still a gap between them. But thanks to Dylan''s? strategy of hiding his artifacts while waiting for the right moment to strike and his all-out attacks, he was able to gain the upper hand and eventually win. Especially at the last moment where Andrew released his strongest attack, he had no choice but to believe in the capabilities of the Shield of Dusk to endure the strike. Fortunately, the Shield of Dusk was able to burn about 50% of the attack but it was cracked after receiving the remaining half of the Arachnid''s Killer Web. He estimated that the strongest attack Andrew executed was enough to kill a Pinnacle 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm. That was why he was so shocked when he discovered that the shield was still able to be intact despite the magnitude of the Arachnid''s Killer Web. Dylan also received some of the attack that is why his upper shirt was destroyed because he needed to leave the Shield of Dusk and sneak to Andrew''s back in order to deliver his finishing blow. He was thankful that it all went according to plan. If it weren''t for the astounding abilities of Dylan''s weapons, then he would have never gotten to close the gap between him and Andrew. Another factor was his tenacity and guts to risk his own welfare for the sake of dealing continuous deadly strikes to Andrew that eventually made way for him to deliver his final strike. Now, Dylan was just happy that this ordeal was done already. He was relieved that none of his employees died and they were all only injured. "Big bro is the best! You defeated the monster!" Scarlet jumped and hugged Dylan. "Scarlet, why are you out here? Didn''t I tell you to stay put inside the house?!" Dylan was shocked and immediately scolded Scarlet as he worried for her safety. "Ehhh, but you already defeated all the bad monster, so I thought it was safe already... I''m sorry, Big bro." Scarlet frowned and felt bad. " It''s okay. Just stay behind big bro. Big bro is going to protect you." Dylan smiled. "A''right." Scarlet smiled sweetly as Dylan rubbed her hair. "Sir Dylan, look! Andrew is still moving!" Leila was very meticulous and observant that was why she was able to see the movement of Dylan''s torso. "What?! Are you sure?" Dylan was shocked that Andrew was still breathing despite being bisected into two different halves. "Yes, he''s there!" Leila pointed. "No way! How is he still alive?!" Dylan was confused and dumbfounded when he saw Andrew crawling and struggling to move. Andrew could be seen to be moving as he called out a name. "Byron! Help meee!" Andrew called out desperately like this name was his final day of hope. He was dragging his bisected body while his sliced torso was bleeding nonstop. Andrew''s face got increasingly pale and it could be easily inferred that he was losing blood at an alarming rate. "Byron, you promised to help me! Now, help me get up and kill my heart''s demon, Dylan!" Andrew''s voice got louder and louder as he repeated the name "Byron". Dylan and company were finding this peculiar and strange. Especially Dylan, he was pondering that maybe? this "Byron" was the one who taught Andrew that ancient language that Dylan found similar to Scarlet''s language. Suddenly, at the dark corner of the forest, a distinguishable figure could be seen. The black figure slowly approached the Gardenford Restaurant. He was wearing a pitch black robe and the hood of the robe only allowed the lower half of his face to be seen. The black robed man was slowly walking on the clouds that were similar to the clouds that Andrew conjured but the difference between the two was like heaven and earth. Andrew''s dark clouds were like night clouds but this man''s dark clouds were like the true clouds of death. Everyone in the restaurant was feeling an indescribable cold feeling from him and it was like there were an army of dead humans marching towards them. They also felt a pressure of vast inferiority and from this they subconsciously thought that this man was far stronger than anyone whom they have met before. Dylan and company was unable to make the slightest movement because of the invisible pressure this man was exuding. "Byron, you finally came! Hahahaha, get ready to die, Dylan Ford!" Andrew''s eyes brightened when he saw that dark figure who was walking on his dark clouds. "Haaay." Byron sighed seemingly disappointed. "Who are you?" Dylan was already exhausted and had already received a great amount of damage but he still alerted himself and prepared for the possible battle. "You can call me Byron." Byron introduced himself. "Byron, help me. How do I reattach myself to my body? Quick, tell me or I might die from blood loss." Andrew hurriedly asked for aid from Byron. "Trash, you dare talk to me?" Byron disdainfully looked at Andrew. "What did you say?!" Andrew became more angered. He didn''t expect Byron to disregard him just like that. "You told me I had great talent if I became a Malevolent Magnate and could become as powerful as you?! Now you''re just disregarding me just like that?!" Andrew was incensed to the point he coughed out blood. He felt betrayed and abandoned by Byron. Malevolent Magnate? Dylan was shocked! This man Byron was a Malevolent Magnate?! Malevolent Magnates are the occupation that are completely? opposite to the Mystical Magnates. The Mystical Magnates acquire power and prestige through ethical business but the Malevolent Magnates gain power through deception, massacre, and all types of vile means. But the people who take this occupation are extremely few because Malevolent Magnates are chased and hunted down by the Mystical Magnates of the Mystical Magnate Tower as a form of mission. "You think this Lord cares whether you are a talent or not? I can find much better talent than you like for example this kid right here. But, I can still help you live if you agree eating this "Devil Seed"." Byron spoke nonchalantly while he pointed at Dylan. "What? You fucking bastard! How dare you trick me! By eating that seed, I would be no different to a mindless dog!" Andrew roared. He was feeling more incensed that this man was willing to teach Dylan more than him. He felt that everything he had was falling to the depths of the abyss. "Enough with the nonsensical chatter. I gave you a choice. Eat the seed or die like a dog. " Byron spoke. "Then, why did you have me power if you.were just going to make me into a mindless puppet!!??" Andrew protested. "Okay. I''ll answer your question but this will be the last. Because it is my hobby. I roam around the entire country and find people who curse the world and give them power to do what they desire. Once they accomplish their desires, I backstab them and make them choose whether to eat the Devil Seed or not. Either way, I''ll force them to eat it anyways. This way the hate they will have will flourish and grow stronger which are essential for my Deviil Puppet collection. The more they loathe me before they die, the stronger the puppets I will acquire from them." Byron carelessly spoke. "Coincidentally, I was roaming around the Mystical Red Cloud State and sensed an extreme concentration of hatred that led me to you. I saw how much you loathed the world and this man, Dylan. So I offered you power but unfortunately, you were unable to carry out your revenge. But I can still see that your hate is growing even stronger. If you continue to develop it, I might acquire a high level Devil Puppet from you." Byron continued. "..." Andrew felt lost and deprived because he was just one of the many people who victims of these man''s depraved schemed. Black chains? started appearing and started to lock his movements. Andrew knew that this was Byron''s doing so he looked to Byron with unimaginable loathe as he cursed this man in the depths of his heart. "Now that''s a good boy." Byron locked Andrew''s mouth open and placed the seed on Andrew''s mouth. "Someday, you will die a horrible death!" Andrew accepted his fate and ate the seed. He said those as his last words as he felt an extreme pain followed by the death of his mind. Following the death of his mind, his body was reformed and turned back into a human. Byron chained his entire body that Andrew''s body was now covered by chains that formed a cocoon. Byron held the cocoon of chains and it disappeared right after. Everyone who saw this shivered. They were unable to understand how a man like him is able to exist. Helping people just to betray these people, who were consumed by hatred to make their hatred into extreme loathe. Then, force themto eat a seed that will make them into mindless puppets for this man to use. They were terrified by this man''s habits. Did this man posses no conscience at all. "What? are you all looking at? Don''t worry, I''m going to kill you all since you already know my habits." Byron smiled but for the people who were in the restaurant that smile was not a smile of a human but a smile of a true devil. He conjured black chains from the dark clouds that surrounded him. Just when he was about to launch them, he sensed three presences and changed the direction of his attack. "Stop right there!" Three shadows emerged and simultaneously attacked Byron but they were all blocked by Byron''s chains. "Hmph." Byron was able to easily deflect their attacks. "What?!" The three shadows were shocked when they saw how this man was easily able to block their attacks and immediately retreated to where Dylan was. "Sir Galagher, Sir Blood Wolf and Sir Elmer, thank you for making it in time." Dylan said his thanks. "We greet, sir Galagher, sir Blood Wolf and Sir Elmer." The employees greeted. They inwardly rejoiced because they felt that these three were their last day of hope because they saw the subsequent arrival of the army brought by the three giants. The army was 300 in number and each one of them were Awakened Spirit Realm Experts! "We greet, Master Blood Wolf, Master Galagher, and Master Elmer." The subordinates of the three giants greeted. "Okay, everyone there''s no need for ceremonies. We have a great crisis at hand." Galagher spoke. "Little brat, who is this punk?" Blood Wolf asked Dylan. Dylan explained everything that has happened and who Byron was. "So he''s a Malevolent Magnate, huh? Dylan, us, three giants, will take care of him. Ifwhat you said is true, then that means that he will also use his puppets to kill you so be careful." Sir Galagher said while the other two Giants nodded in agreement. "Okay, sir. We will be careful? and stay prepared for battle."Dylan nodded. "Alright." The three giants started to commence their attacks with Byron as they fully displayed their awe-inspiring aura and strength. Byron, on the other hand, released 5 shadows which were his puppets and sent it to where Dylan and his employees as well as the army of the three giants were. Byron received the attacks of the three giantswhile the three giants relentlessly attacked with all their and occasionally used their combination techniques. Outside the restaurant, everything was in shambles. The ground and fences were destroyed were destroyed because of the clash. It was 5 against 500 but the losing side was Dylan''s because the five puppets each released the strength of a Pinnacle 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert! "What the heck? So these are his puppets? They are all freakishly strong! How do we beat these puppets?!" Dylan gritted his teeth as he tried to push back even one of them but they were all so resilient and harder than steel. Dylan and the army was being pushed back to the restaurant. After just a minute, a large explosion could be seen from where the three giants and Byron. Everyone was shocked and focused their gazes at the site? of explosion. The fog cleared and they saw a scene that they would never forget, the three giants were beheaded! One thought appeared on their minds when they saw the heads of the three giants wrapped around by Byron''s chains and was separated from their bodies. It was "despair". 47 Chapter 47: Leilas Last Words Everyone felt true and utter despair. They were facing an enemy that was able to behead the three giants in a mere minute. He also possessed these puppets that were already at the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm. The most frightening factor is that it was unknown to Dylan and company the definite number of puppets that Byron possessed. "Don''t worry these five are only the weakest of my collection. There are still more puppets that are superior in strength, speed and dexterity in my collection." Byron smiled as he let his clouds consume the bodies of the three giants and several moments later, only the clothes were left, the bodies of the three giants were gone. Strangely, after Byron''s statement the puppets stopped attacking and became static. They did not attack nor defend against the army. The army tried attacking the puppets but they were still unable to put a scratch on them, lest, damage them at all. These puppets were already so tough yet Byron still claimed these are only the weakest? He also said that there are still puppets far stronger than these 5? How about Byron himself? How strong was he to be able to control so many powerful puppets. At the sight of there masters'' corpses being devoured and at the thought of the vast strength Byron possessed, some? knelt and was staring blankly at the corpses of the three giants. Some cried because of the death of their masters. Some fled from fright. Some became pale-faced and trembled as they could not accept their fates. Some became hysterical and frantic and started blaming Dylan. Being unable to do anything to an insurmountable behemoth like Byron, they focused their anger and hate to Dylan. A warrior could not contain his loathe towards Dylan as he charged at Dylan alone. "It''s all your fault!!" A warrior held Dylan''s collar which started to rip because it was already worn out and burned from his fight with Andrew. "Hey, stop that!" Jack tried to make the warrior release his grip on Dylan''s color. But since the warrior was an 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm practitioner, he easily released himself from the interference of Jack by hitting him with an elbow strike. Jack was blown away because of the tremendous strength of that elbow strike which did not know how to hold back. "What? are you doing?" Dylan held the hands of this warrior and swung it downwards to escape from his grasp which lead to the ripping of the collar of his shirt. He kicked the warrior by the chest to distance himself by a little bit. After escaping from that warriors grasp, he aided Jack to stand up. "It''s all because of you! If it weren''t for you, master Galagher would not die an unjustified and untimely death!" The warrior blamed him so loudly. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Dylan felt that this man was being irrational. "That''s right, if it weren''t because of your sudden appearance, then Master Blood Wolf would have been still alive!!" Another warrior blamed Dylan for the death of their masters. "It''s not like that. You don''t understand~." Dylan tried to rebut. "What do we not understand, huh? It''s you who don''t? understand us! Our masters are like our parents. They kept and nurtured as to who we are today! You won''t understand what it''s like to lose your parent who died right in front of you!!" Another warrior from the Mystical Herb Garden argued. These cries of agony woke up the other warriors and invited them to put the blame on Dylan. Soon, all the warriors that were affiliated with the three giants rebelled against Dylan and blamed him for everything. "Wait, everyone?, please calm down. It doesn''t have to be this way!" Frank said. "Calm down, everyone! This is just what our opponent wants to happen! He wants us to be consumed by hate so that he will be able to use us as his puppets!" Larry shouted with the intent of bringing light to the people and preventing them from falling to the enemies scheme. "Do you really think we''d be so dumb as to believe you?! Aren''t you just using us as well?!" Another warrior cried out. "That''s right! For the sake of the survival of your restaurant, you are using us!" A scholarly young man that came from the Thousand Treasures Pavilion agreed. "You, guys! Can''t you just listen to us?!" Roland shouted. "Stop it, everyone. It''s of no use. I can faintly sense ominous Magnate Strength wrapped around them. The warriors couldn''t notice it but they are already being manipulated." Dylan sensed his surroundings and he was able to sense faint threads of ominous and powerful Magnate Strength connected from the bodies of the warriors andByron. So he gestured his employees to retreat a few steps back. "What? When?" The employees were shocked to hear that news. "I''m not sure but from what I''ve deduced. It seems like Byron could easily invade our minds if we let our hate consume us, so you must all keep your mind calm and collected. Do not be hysterical and be overemotional or else, we are all doomed." Dylan enlightened his employees what to do. "Yes, sir." The employees nodded in response. "Good." Dylan replied. But, Dylan suddenly had this ominous feeling. He felt this feeling before, before he arrived into this world. The feeling of death approaching! "Sir Dylan, watch out!" Leila was the nearest to Dylan and she saw a 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm warrior who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and held a half-meter dagger that he was about? to thrust into Dylan''s back. She pushed back Dylan and took the strike for him. The dagger pierced through the center of her chest and was withdrawn quickly. "LEILA!!!" Dylan held the fragile body of this woman which was bleeding profusely. Leila''s face was as white as paper and his body was getting increasingly colder. Dylan was trembling when he saw that this woman was still smiling as she said. "I''m glad... that you''re... unhurt... sir Dylan." Leila smiled as she coughed some blood that made her already pale-face paler. This made Dylan''s heart hurt when he heard that this beauty was still worried about him despite her current condition. Seeing that his assassination failed, the warrior tried to leave as fast as possible. "Tsk, that meddling woman! I would have killed Dylan Ford if the weren''t for her!" The warrior said as he retreated. "Where do you think you''re going?! You think you could get away with what you''ve done!! Die, you bastard!!!!" Dylan bellowed. He stretched his hands and the Waning Moon Sword suddenly appeared! Dylan injected every ounce of energy left within him and executed another "Crescent Moon Slash"! "Oh, shit! Argh!!" Although the assassin was fast, but Dylan''s "Crescent Moon Slash" was faster! Despite the distance he covered, the assassin was still unable to evade the strike and was killed from the strike. The strike was even able to kill Andrew at the state where he was comparable to a Pinnacle stage 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert! Thus, it was able to easily kill the assassin who was only at the 13th level of Awakened Spirit Realm. But, this extremely weakened Dylan as exchange. His normal strength was only comparable to a 13th level of Awakened Spirit Realm but with the help of his weapons he would be able to hold his ground against a 14th level Awakened Spirit Realm practitioner or even an Initial 15th level practitioner. The only reason Dylan was able to deliver an attack like the "Crescent Moon Slash" was because he forcefully stacked two "Energy Slash" into one slash causing it to double in power and attack speed but in exchange it would drain a quarter of Dylan''s energy reserve. Dylan was extremely beat and exhausted after using that second "Crescent Moon Slash". He could? no longer stand but he still held Leila in his arms. Leila was content and happy to be held by Dylan like this. She was happy to be held in the arms of the man she loved like this. But, she knew that her time was about to come. Suddenly, she felt like she returned to the past when she was just a little girl. She watched herself grew up and learn different things. She saw her life back at the orphanage and how she made friends there. She looked happy and content. But, everytime she asked about her mother and father to the caretaker, the caretaker? would always smile and reply, " I''m sorry, sweetie. Your parents was forced to leave you here because they were unable support you. But, it''s fine, you have nanny here to take care of you." ''So this is what they meant when they said, "your life flashing through your eyes"...'' Leila thought. Leila watched herself grow up and became a teenager but because of the rules of the orphanage once a child arrived at the age of 16, she is considered an adult and must leave the orphanage. But being an orphan, she did not have anywhere to stay. So she was forced to find a job. Sh worked at a cafe and was able to meet new friends and people. She was happy that she was able to serve people and bring them happiness. Leila was popular in the cafe because of her beautiful and a lot of men would want her to be their waitress. Because of this, she was able to earn enough and buy her own apartment and save quite a lot of money. But, beauty was not a blessing always because it could sometimes be a curse. One day, she worked overtime and her manager, who had always fancied her, also worked overtime. But being unable to contain himself because of being alone together with Leila, he assaulted her. Leila was terrified when her manager pushed her down on the floor. Fortunately before anything happened, she was able to reach a leg of a chair and smash the entire chair to the head of the manager. The manager was knocked out and she ran away from the cafe. She filed a complaint against? her manager but it was not recognized by the enforcers. She later discovered that it was rejected due to the head being a relative of the manager. Leila felt abysmal since she was unable to gain the justice she deserved. She locked herself in her apartment for several weeks and not attending her work at all. The cafe she worked for was forced to close down because most of the customers were furious knowing that Leila quit because of maltreatment. So the manager was imprisoned as well as the head enforcer because of abuse of power. Leila rejoiced when she got the news so she tried to get a new job because her savings were depleted due to not working for weeks. She tried to find a job opening but sadly there was none because job offering season in the Soaring Cloud City was already done. But, Leila suddenly got wind of a new and popular restaurant so she went there ihoping to be accepted. She was nervous at first that she might not be able to get accepted but to her shock, all 30 applicants were accepted and according to the contract their base salary is already high and they could still gain a raise depending on their performance. Thus, some could not help but ask if there was a catch but the owner, Dylan Ford, clarified that there was none. While she worked at the Gardenford Restaurant, Leila discovered how amazing and god-like Dylan''s skills were. It was even more shocking when she was able to see it face to face when Dylan was able to handle the three arrogant brothers she was serving. She idolized Dylan after that incident. Leila met many people that became her close friends layer on and her skills in management improved at a fast pace. Later on, she and her colleagues discovered that Dylan was secretly sending food and provisions to their families. Leila was an orphan so she didn''t have a family but Dylan sent it to the orphanage where she used to live. This made her heart beat for Dylan because she never encountered a man as generous, kind, skilled, intelligent and most of all as handsome as Dylan. Leila began to love him after just a week of working for him. Everyday she would work hard hoping to catch Dylan''s attention. A smile from him would make Leila''s day complete and just talking with him was enough for her to experience sleepless nights. Leila smiled as she was browsing through her memories. Although it might seem like a long time for Leila, only a second has passed in the real world. Leila looked at Dylan and smilingly requested, " Sir Dylan, can you pat my head one more time?". Her voice became increasingly feeble but her smile became brighter than ever. "Okay... Thank you, Leila.." Dylan smiled as tears were starting filter his eyes. "Thank you, sir Dylan..." Leila smiled beautifully. She reminisced about how Dylan would pat her head everytime she had high ratings? in the customer service evaluation sheet. That simple pat was bliss for Leila. It was the best reward she could ever receive in a day. "But you didn''t have to take that stab for me... I''m sorry, Leila. I wasn''t strong enough to protect you!" Dylan''s eyes turned red as a tear flowed down. "It''s okay, sir Dylan. Thank you for crying for me. But my nanny would always tell me that when you love someone, you would do anything just to keep them away from harm. You would protect them with your life and that''s what I did for you, sir Dylan. I want you to be safe always and smile for every one. I protected you because.." Leila smiled beautifully as her eyes closed with tears flowing down and lips arched beautifully. "I love you... Sir Dylan..." Leila''s last words were the words of her confession to the man she loved but she would never know the reply as her soul has been lifted from her body. Despite this being the case, she left a beautiful smile in her cold body and left a message that no matter what the answer would? be happy regardless as long as her love would live happily. "LEILAAA!!!" "BIG SIS LEILAAA!!" Dylan, Scarlet, and his employees cried for the death of the kind-hearted and hardworking lady who was always there to offer help and smile for them. The girls held Leila''s hands and cried over her cold body that Dylan held. 48 Chapter 48: Consumed by Darkness Dylan and everyone else cried forLeila''s death. Their eyes were filled with anger and hate from the death of their beloved colleague, Leila Hemsworth. They were fuming with the desire to avenge their fallen comrade but they were already spent and exhausted. They also needed some time to recharge their energy reserves. So, they could only bitterly grit their teeth. "I know that you want to avenge Leila''s death but leave this to me first. If you are able to regain about 50% of your energy, you can come and help me." Dylan stood up and handed over Leila''s corpse to Allana. "But, sir, there are nearly 400 soldiers..." Frank was worried that Dylan might not be able to handle this task. Not only Frank, every employee thought of what Dylan tried to do and could not help but worry. They wanted to step forwards and volunteer but they wouldn''t be much of help without a certain amount of energy. "I know but we don''t have a choice. I am the only one here who is still capable of fighting them." Dylan spoke truthfully. "But you might die, big bro! Please don''t go!" Scarlet suddenly interjected and begged for her brother to stay as she cried. She was already experiencing so much pain from the death of Leila whom she always played with. She would not be able to take it if her elder brother were to die as well. "It''s okay. It''s fine. Big bro will be fine. I won''t be killed by these men. So just behave and hide at everyone''s back. If something bad happens, run and prioritize your life." Dylan knelt and gently stated. "Big brooo, nooo!" Scarlet was crying as she held her big brother''s hand unwilling to let go. "I''m sorry, Scarlet." Dylan hit Scarlet''s neck which made Scarlet faint. This was a little trick Dylan learned back when he was at Earth training Martial Arts. When Scarlet fainted, Dylan carried her and stood up. Although it pained him to do this, but it was the only thing she could do to protect his little sister. "I leave her to you, Frank. Please take care of her." Dylan gave little Scarlet for Frank to hold and he looked at Frank with sterness. "Yes, sir Dylan. I understand." Frank nodded and seemingly understood what Dylan implied. He took Scarlet and fled to safety. Frank felt guilty about doing this since he already pledged his life to Dylan. But, he knew how serious Dylan was when he saw his expression. So, Frank had no choice but to follow. "Thank you." Dylan turned around and walked towards the rebel army like a lone wolf preparing for battle. "You will pay for this, Byron!!!" Dylan roared as he went to his mindscape and grabbed 100 Primal Stones to crush! After crushing these stones, he was able to fully regain all of his lost power and fill his energy reserves! But these came with an exchange, Dylan was experiencing extreme pain dedue to the forced refill of his energy reserves. "Hahahaha, you, make me pay, how? You have yet to defeat your rebels and my puppets so how are you sure that you are able to make me pay? Hahahaha!" Byron ridiculed Dylan''s claim. Dylan knew what Byron said was true but he did not have any choice but face the enemy by himself. He had to buy time as much as possible in order for his employees to have enough strength to flee. Yes, to flee. He lied to his employees about this. He planned that after half an hour of bitter fighting. He would give his last orders and have his employees flee while he tries to flee as well. Dylan knew even if they were to fully recover, the battle would still be lost. That is why even if it meant risking his life, he couldn''t allow any one of his employees to die once more. Dylan did not reply but charged to the rebel army alone! Thus, a bitter fight against a man and an army began. Dylan knew he can''t keep every single one in the army occupied but he would still try to stop anyone from the army to advance from where he stood. Seeing Dylan risking his life, the employees could not help but feel utterly useless. They felt that they should not just be staying idle while Dylan was out there risking his life in order to buy them enough time to recuperate.Since Dylan was prepared to sacrifice his life for them, they felt like they needed to reciprocate this favor as well. "Should we just let sir Dylan fight alone?!" Jack rallied his colleagues to increase their morale. "No!" The employees replied back in unison. "That''s right! Even if it meant risking our lives, we will fight!" Ronald shouted too. "Aye!" The workers replied once more. "Are we going to fight with sir Dylan until death!?" Larry boosted the confidence of the workers even more. "We are!" The employees roared. Allana placed Leila''s? corpse on the bed at the back of the restaurant where Scarlet once slept and she joined them after leaving her lying their. "Charge!!!" All of them yelled as they journeyed to the enemy forces. Dylan was in the midst of battle. Knowing that these are all innocent men, he couldn''t find it in himself to be ruthless enough to kill these people. So he decided to knock them out by inflicting heavy injuries. The assassin was the only exception because he caused harm to Leila and Dylan was unable to contain his emotions and killed the assassin before he could flee. It was about fifteen minutes since he started fighting. In order to successfully defend until now, he had already used 18 ''Energy Slashes'' to stop thiose who tried to advance. He has already depleted his stock of Primal Stones by doing so. He was fast approaching his limit because his Spirit Veins System can no longer take this type of repetitive recovering and exhausting of energy. He felt tired and the fatigue from the nonstop engagement in combat. He was already covered in blood and sweat but he still persevered for the sake of his employees. He had just slashed a warrior''s chest when he hearda roar. "Charge!!!" Clamoring of armor and weapons was the next thing he heard. Battle Techniques were executed one after the other. Dylan found it strange so he decided to check out the field and he saw his employees fighting the rebel army while yelling, "To The Death!". Dylan was shocked and he dashed to his employees in a hurry. "Why did you all fight without getting proper rest?!" Dylan reprimanded his employees. "Sir Dylan, please forgive us. We didn''t want you to continue your lone wolf style of fighting because if you continued on doing so, you might have already died. Besides, even if we did recover some of our strength, it would still be the same result. So, we just rushed here to aid you in battle." Ronald replied quick-wittedly. "Since you already knew, why didn''t you run away?" Dylan could only bitterly ask. "Because we already pledged to never abandon you so we are here." Jack replied as he fought. "You, guys..." Dylan couldn''t help but feel warmth in his heart because of his employees'' intentions. "Then, let''s fight to the death!" Larry roared. "To the death!" Dylan yelled in unison with his employees. They fought the army of Spirit Veins Realm Cultivators and above. Though they were being pushed back, they did not falter, but instead, fought with everything they got. *Flick* A sound of a fingers flicking could be heard and eighty shadows went to the battlefield? and pinned down Dylan and his employees! *BANG* *CRASH* Dylan could not move any part of his body as he was being pinned down by a puppet human! When he scanned the area, Dylan saw that every single one of his employees were pinned down to the ground! Dylan was shocked when he saw that all of them were being pinned down by Byron''s puppet humans which were identical? to the first batch of puppets. The everyone in the rebel army had the expression of emptiness. The army split into half and made way for Byron who was walking towards Dylan. Byron slowly approached Dylan with his hands behind his back. "I commend you for lasting this long. I did not expect to meet an SS-grade Magna Magnate in this Middle Proximity City. To be able to prevent me, a Lord, from controlling the minds of these plebeians you call your employees, you surely are of that grade or even higher. So, I''ll offer you this because you have such a high class talent with you. Be my apprentice and join the Darkness Castle or become my puppet." Byron offered as he smiled evilly. "Become your apprentice? You must be dreaming!!" Dylan spat saliva on the shoe of Byron. "What a pity. I gave you the opportunity to be vastly powerful yet you did not grasp it. But either way, it''s okay. I''ll just have to harness great amounts of hate to make you a Devil Lord Puppet." Byron was disappointed that he wasn''t? able to make Dylan his apprentice but he could still settle for a high rank puppet. "What do you mean harness hatred?" Dylan had an ominous feeling due to what Byron said. "What I mean? It simply means that I will kill all of your employees... in front of you!" Byron smiled. "What the hell?! You bastard!!!" Dylan bellowed as hate started to show from his eyes but he did his best to control his emotions because he knew this was what Byron would want to happen. "That''s right hate me! But I''m not done just yet! Wait for the main show to arrive." Byron''s smile became denser. "Huh?... Frank... Scarlet? NOOOO!!!!" Dylan screamed when he saw a puppet was carrying Scarlet who was struggling in one arm and carried the bloody and unmoving body of Frank in the other. His mental fortitude began to crack when he saw her sister struggling at the hands of the Devil Puppet. "Uncle Frank!! Nooo!!" Mary and Marie sobbed as they saw the bloody carcass of their uncle. They wanted to go to him but they were being pinned down by the Devil Puppets to the ground. Feeling helpless, they could only cry. "What a pity, your uncle fought back when my puppet stopped them. That is why he''s? all dead now." Byron told the Aaron cousins what happened to their uncle and it resulted them glaring hatefully at him. "As for your sister, I''ll save the best for last. I''ll make you see a grand ending. I''ll torture your beautiful little sister and once I''m done with her, I''ll have her be violated again and again by these rebels! Then kill her afterwards! That would be quite an amusing show, wouldn''t it?" Byron stated in an amusing manner. "Byron, you monster, you animal, you devil!!!" Dylan growled as his eyes became increasingly bloodshot. Because of anger and hate, his reasoning was clouded. His soft spot was his little sister and now that Scarlet was in danger, he continued to roar in madness and despair. "Don''t worry. You''ll be free from being pinned down when I kill everyone you love." Byron continued to smile coldly. "But before I release you, I must first break all the bones of your limbs and chest." Byron stepped on Dylan''s arms? and legs one by one and thoroughly crashing his bones. After which, he had the puppet punch his chest dozens of times and thoroughly broke his ribs. "ARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!" Dylan roared in immense pain. He fainted a few times already but was already awoken by the pain he felt. "SIIIR DYLAAAAN!!" All of the employees cried in pain when they saw how Dylan was being tortured by Byron and his puppets. "BIIIIG BROOO!!! NOOOO, STOOOOPP HURTING HIM!!!" Scarlet screamed so loudly that it scared some birds. She cried so much when she saw how her brother? was being maltreated. She couldn''t stand the sight of her brother who always cared for others to be tortured like this. "Now, to destroy your Cultivation Base and seal your Magnate Strength." Byron punctured Dylan''s abdomen and broke his Cultivation Base. He then formed a seal and placed it on Dylan''s? forehead to seal his Magnate Strength. "There. Now I release you from being pressed down." Byron gestured his puppet and it slowly floated towards him. "Byron, you''re a monster!!!" "Byron, you''re a beast!!!" "You''re no human! You''re a true devil''s incarnate!" Everyone who cared for Dylan cursed Byron. They can''t do anything? but say curses. However, to Byron, who was already used to this, it was nothing but music to his ears. "Oho, you all are already legible to be low-rank Devil Puppets! This is quite the harvest." Byron felt proud of his achievements. "Now to kill all of you! Devil Puppets, ready yourselves!"Byron signalled the puppets.The puppets placed their hands on top of the head and on the chin to ready and dislocate the necks of Dylan''s? employees. "No...ooo..." Dylan was crying as he used his chin to drag his entire body. His chest, arms and legs were completely and totally destroyed. He couldn''t use his energy in Cultivation and Magnate Strength. He was no different to a cripple in this state. "Get, set!" Byron signalled. "Stop... it... please..." Dylan cried as he tried to hasten his movements. His chin was bleeding and scarred yet he still kept moving forward disregarding the pain he felt. "It has been a pleasure serving you, sir Dylan." Jack accepted his fate and said his farewell. "Goodbye, sir Dylan. I''ll see you in the Heavens and there, we could drink to our heart''s content!" Ronald said as he tried to control his tears "Don''t cry, sir Dylan. We''ll still see each other in the Heavens. Promise me to recreate the Gardenford Restaurant there. We promise to work twice as hard." Larry and Rick bid farewell while tears flowed down their eyes. "Sir Dylan..." "Sir Dylan..." "Sir Dylan..." "Thank you for everything!" They all bid their farewells to Dylan with smiles on their faces. "Go!" Byron signalled and the puppets followed as they twisted the heads of Dylan''s employees! "NOOOO!!!!!!!" Dylan and Scarlet howled in anguish and pain. "You... will.... DIE!!!!" Dylan''s wrath soared to the skies. He only had one desire! To kill Byron! Due to the nearing death of his employees and comrades, his hate became so dense and so strong that Dylan started to conjure pitch black gasses like Andrew and Byron. But Dylan''s dark clouds were more darker and concentrated than Andrew''s. It''s shade almost approached Byron''s Dark Clouds! "MANSION! PLEASE HELP ME!!! HELP ME SAVE MY EMPLOYEES BEFORE THEY DIE!! PLEASE GIVE ME POWER TO DO SO!!!" Dylan went to his mindscape to beg to the mansion to give him power because outside his employees our currently going to be executed by Byron''s puppets. But to no avail, no matter how much he begged, he was not given anything. "Shouldn''t gifts like you help transcenders like me in my TIME OF NEED?!?! Why can''t you do just that?!" Dylan continued to curse the mansion inside his mind. He couldn''t understand why. Almost all of the MC''s he has read would receive a power up in these times of life and death situations. He just couldn''t understand why wasn''t he granted the same?! ''What the hell?! He is able to conjure Hell Clouds? without the use of the Darkness Castle Sutra?! What''s more is that it''s already as nearly dark as mine?! Just what kind of talent is this kid that he is able to conjure Hell Clouds without external help?!'' Byron was totally shocked about this sudden discovery. "I guess I have to take you to the Darkness Castle with me to be trained by Castle Lord. I didn''t expect an X-grade Magna Magnate in this country. I''ll have to deal with you first before killing your employees." He created another set of seals. This time it was a dozen seal that he distributed to Dylan''s? body which caused the dark clouds to be slowly sealed. For the final seal, he had to place it at the heart so Byron formed finger sword and and strike Dylan''s chest. But before he could place it, he sensed an extremely bright and hot aura that appeared out of nowhere. When he turned his head, he was punched and sent flying hundreds of meters to the forest! Byron felt and extremely hot feeling in his face it was as though his face was burned! The punch burnt? the hood and revealed his face. The final seal was not put into place. The residual dark clouds that Dylan had conjured due to anger and hate seeped to his chest until they disappeared. "I can''t let you kill anyone who I love!" The one who spoke was none other than Scarlet. But she was completely different from before. Right now, she was surrounded by flames that formed nine flames. Her eyes was like stars that could burn anything and his hair danced like the flames. The flames that surrounded her was so strong that it was able to incinerate all the puppets pressing down on Jack and the others. But the most distinguishable feature that Scarlet currently had, was the"nine tails" that were portruding behind her petite body! Byron got up. He was stunned when he saw Scarlet''s current form and spoke the words. " Nine-tailed Sacred Flame Dawn Fox.." 49 Chapter 49: The Sacred Flame Fox Clan Scarlet floated in mid-air while flames she released where burning brightly as her beautiful eyes pierced through the night and shone the entire restaurant. Due to the blazing hot flames Scarlet produced, the enemy forces were forced to retreat several meters away unable to take the high temperatures that the flames offered. The employees were shocked that they were still alive and they could feel light, warm, and energizing feeling from the flames. They already resigned themselves to their fates and they thought it was a miracle that they were still alive. When they scanned the area, they were surrounded by flames but these flames did not cause them harm instead it gifted them strength and fast recovery. But what shocked them the most was their boss'' little sister was flying?! Not only that, she had nine tails portruding from her buttocks??! Just what the hell happened in the short period of time they closed their eyes to prepare for their deaths?! ''Scarlet has nine tails?!'' All of them thought in a shocked manner. They were really confused about what was currently happening. They felt it was strange that they were being sheltered by a giant ball of flames but they felt that they were quickly recovering from their injuries. Even those that were severely injured were witnessing visible recovery from their wounds which caught them dumbfounded. How was this possible? How could flames cure physical injury? Dylan was without a doubt the only one who was slightly better than the rest as he already had assumptions that Scarlet was in possession of mythical powers but he still was shocked despite knowing that her little sister was special. Although he anticipated it, never in Dylan''s wildest dreams would he ever thought that Scarlet was a Nine-tailed Fox! "Scarlet..." Dylan was teary-eyed seeing how Scarlet stood tall and rescue him and his employees from their dooms. Dylan felt the pain that was writhing from his wounds fade little by little. "Don''t worry, big bro. It''s Scarlet''s turn to protect you." Scarlet smiled as she said those words. She descended slowly and produced an ever brighter fire. It was fascinating how Scarlet did it but she was still able to produce flames within the dome of flames. She placed the bright flames on top of Dylan''s hands and feet one at a time. After each placing of the bright flames, Dylan''s dislocated limbs were all restored. "When did.. did you learn... all of this?" Dylan spoke weakly but it was apparent in his eyes how stunned he was when he saw Scarlet cure his injuries in a flash! "I don''t know.Memories on how to do things like healing and creating flames just started appearing in my mind. There were a lot more but they were too blurry for me to see." Scarlet replied honestly. Dylan recalled something like this from the novels he had read. Mythical Beasts had ancient bloodlines which enabled the ancestors to pass down their memories to their successors. This way, once the successors are able to unlock even a portion of these? memories, it would grant them unimaginable power that will allow them to rise above their peers. Suddenly, pitch black clouds filled the midnight sky as Byron was the center of all of it. His face was now revealed due to Scarlet''s burning fist which burn his hood completely without even leaving any? ash. "Hahahaha, what a marvelous harvest this is! An X-grade Magna Magnate whose future towards being a Lord is almost assured and a Nine-tailed Sacred Flame Dawn Fox, a beast only born once in a hundred thousand years?? The heavens is truly blessing me!!" Byron said as he stood in mid-air! "Hmph! You think you can take advantage of me? Dream on!" Scarlet stood up andballed her fist. When she extended her tiny fist, the large fire ball turned into a head of a giant flame fox which opened its mouth and released a fireball bigger than a hill! The giant fireball shot to Byron''s collection of dark clouds. The giant fireball was easily swallowed by the clouds when it arrived. "Hahaha, is that all you''ve got?" Byron laughed loudly. "Hmph." Scarlet coldly snorted as she ascended into higher grounds with the head of the giant flame fox forming it''s body with the flames Scarlet produced. The flames was so bright that it already seemed like dawn. The flame fox roared while it''s nine tails danced around in mid-air. Scarlet balled both of her fists and continuously punched and sent giant burning hot fireballs that lighted the midnight sky. Scarlet left another flame dome to Dylan and the others as a form of protection. She made sure it was strong enough to endure the residual impacts of the fight. The army were forced to retreat and scatter to flee for their lives due to the intensive rise of temperature. They weren''t able to endure the pressure that was being emitted by the giant body of the Nine-tailed fox. The employees on their other hand was flabbergasted because they never that such great strength could be contained in such a petite and fragile-looking body! "It seems like you are quite strong. Then let me use my avatar! Warden of Hell, come and bring despair to the world!"Byron summoned his avatar. The dark clouds surrounding him converged into a area that formed a human-like figure which became more corporeal as I the clouds concentrated on it. Finally, it revealed a giant half body of a muscular man which wore a warden uniform and had chains wrapped around all over his body. "Chains of Absolute Darkness!" Byron commanded the Warden of Hell to execute an attack. The Warden of Hell produced black chains from its body that were launched like arrows and collided with the numerous fireballs that Scarlet released. It was either the fireballs incinerates the black or the black chains consumes the fireballs. Shockwaves were being emitted one after the other. The residualeffects of the attacks like strong winds and shockwaves caused the Gardenford Restaurant to be damaged. From the beginning of the war up until the present, the restaurant has already sustained damage of more than 50% and it was only amatter of time before it was destroyed. Soaring Cloud City... The explosions were so loud and strong that it alerted the residence of the entire Soaring Cloud City. When the lookouts of the watchtower looked for any possible sources, they saw two large creatures battling with each other. They became terrified when they saw the degree of damage they were doing to the forest. Countless trees have fallen, hills are destroyed, and rivers and lakes are dried out. They reported this incident to the lord of the city. The city lord was shocked by the news and he knew he had to take action or else the city and its citizens might be affected as well. He went to the watchtower and looked at the battle of two large creatures happening. The mayor was shocked when he saw how devastating the claws of the Nine-tailed Fox and how strong the bindings of the chained giant. He was terrified by the power that these two calamities have. Loose black chains? created large holes and giant cracks on the walls of the city while some fireballs landed on the city walls and started burning the city walls. When the city lord saw this, he knew he must make a move to save the people as the city walls, the first line of defense of the city was proven vulnerable in the face of attacks of such magnitude. " D- Deity level beast?! Evacuate the citizens right now!! We must escape this catastrophe! Contact the city lord of Peaceful Clouds City! We must evacuate the citizens now!" The city lord commanded his officials. After issuing the command and announcing it to the citizens, the citizens were in the state of panic as they packed their things and hurriedly left the city. Despite the chaos and panic, the citizens were still able to leave the city after half an hour of evacuation. The nobles rode their mobile treasures while the citizens mostly rode large spirit beasts. Some of the people begged the city lord to save their children or relatives who worked in the Gardenford Restaurant and saved the customers who were there earlier. But, the city lord told them that it would be suicide to do so. Knowing the strength of the creatures fighting, it was highly possible that they were already dead. So to somewhat satisfy the families who had relatives who worked for the Gardenford Restaurant, he said that he would recognize them as city heroes along with Dylan Ford. Feeling helpless and depressed, the families could only mourn for the supposed deaths of their relatives and family. They mourned as they travelled to the Peaceful Clouds City where they would seek temporary shelter. Outside the Soaring Cloud City. Byron''s? Warden of Hell and Scarlet''s Nine-tailed Fox were still fighting. The destruction the two have made already caused the complete destruction of the Gardenford Restaurant and destruction of half of the entire city walls as well as devastation in the infrastructures? and households of the city. But, it could be seen that Scarlet''s Nine-tailed Fox was getting more transparent and less tangible for every minute that passed. "Hahahaha, just submit already little girl and become my pet. I promise to treat you well and give you everything you need. You''re already exhausted form using too much power. So just be a good girl and submit to this Lord. It would be pointless to drag this fight any longer. I think that you already know I still am not using my full power." Byron laughed triumphantly. "Old geezer, you''re right. It is pointless to fight like this any longer. That is why I purposely dragged it out and bought enough time. Although it was tiring, it was worth it." Scarlet smiled mischievously. "Bought time? For what?" Dylan''s laughter seized and he frowned as he heard Scarlet''s mischievous tone. "For reinforcements, of course. Misters, please hurry over!" Scarlet shouted elsewhere and smirked mischievously at Byron. "Reinforcements where? Hahaha you must be bluffi~ How is this possible?!" Byron was shocked as he saw the warping of space and the appearance of a wormhole. Two figures exited the wormhole and it closed down. The two figures were both males. One was a youth while the other was a man that looked like he was in his 50s. Both were astonishingly handsome and they both wore identical robes with a matching crest on the back and designed with flames at the end of the robes. The crest was circular and depicted two foxes which are chasing each other''s tales. The colors of the foxes were light red and dark red. " The color of those tails... Are they Eight-tailed Demon Flame Dusk Fox?!The young one is already at the Mortal Severing and the older is... a Saint?!" Byron trembled in fear when he detected the power level of the two. Both men stood aloof in the sky with eight tails also portruding from their buttocks as flames danced around them but their tails were darker compared to the tails that Scarlet had. The older one was calm and collected while the young lad exuded arrogance and proudness of a noble. "We have finally found you after 2 years of searching! Your humble servants greets you Princess Aurora." Both men descended and knelt to Scarlet. "Princess Aurora? What do you... Urrr... Why does my head hurt?... Nooo!" Scarlet was confused why these two called her by that name but when she heard it her vision started to become blur and her memories started to become clearer. Then, a memory was disclosed to her that caused her great pain and shock that made her faint. The beautiful doll fell as tears patted her eyes and her Nine-tailed Fox dissipated. But the older one seemingly teleported and caught the unconscious Scarlet in his arms and turned to the young man. "It seems like Princess Aurora had an amnesia and she has only remembers some parts of her memories. I''m guessing that Princess Aurora remembered what happened ''that'' day." The older one spoke in a grim expression. "We were careless back then if we only knew ''they'' would... Ugh, anyways we have successfully found the princess and must bring her back to the Ancestral Lands." The younger one gritted his teeth as he said. "That''s right. That man seemed to be the one the princess was talking about. I suppose you are more than enough to handle him." The older one became calm again as he gave orders to the young lad. " Hmph. Yes, elder." The young man spoke discontentedly "Hey, senile old fool, get ready to face the wrath of the Sacred Flame Fox Clan for hurting the princess. If it weren''t for the fact that the portal was broken, I''m guessing that more than half of the clan would come here and torture you for harming our princess. But you don''t need to worry I''ll give you a quick death." The young one arrogantly said. "How dare you act so arrogantly in the face of this lord!!" Byron was thoroughly incensed due to the arrogance that this young lad showed. "Hahaha, that''s because I, Gabriel, have the strength to back it up. Now get ready to be obliterated! Demonic Dusk Bomb!" Gabriel claimed. He extended his arms towards Byron and a giant fox head formed from flames followed. Dark flames were conjured and compressed to a giant fireball. The giant black fireball emitted fluctuations that slightly distorted the airflow. When it was released, it shuttled to Byron while acting like a black hole and devouring everything in its path. "This strength is beyond... Arghhhh, don''t belittle me! Magnate Soul, Devilwing! Soul Avatar, Hellwing Warden!" Byron finally went all out. He conjured another Avatar-like creature which was a horned devil that had blood red wings named Devilwing. Devilwing fused with Warden of Hell and formed an amalgam which possessed both features of the two creatures. But now it was full body devil about 10 meters tall which wore the warden uniform and possessed blood red wings. It blocked the attacks after losing both of its arms. "Ohhh, you''re quite strong. Hahaha!" Seeing Byron block his attack, Gabriel felt his battle spirit rise. "I will remember this! We will meet again, you arrogant punk!" Byron used his newly formed avatar and flew at extreme speeds. "You think I''ll let you go. Hahaha!" Gabriel laughed as his eyes burned with desire to fight. "Gabriel, leave him. Our mission is to bring back the princess and not kill some random old geezer." The older one halted Gabriel and ordered him to stay. The escort of Princess Aurora is of utmost importance for not only but also the entire clan. 50 Chapter 50: Separation "I understand, Elder. I was rash and let my desire to fight get the best of me. You are right. The escort of Princess Aurora is of utmost importance right now." Gabriel replied with compliance as he knew the gravity of the matter of his clan and they are in desperate need for Scarlet''s return to the Ancestral Lands. "En." The elder nodded. He looked at Scarlet and seemed like he was reminiscing something as he mumbled the words, "Your Majesties, the princess has been found, it''s just unfortunate that...". The elders'' expression turned gloomy as tears slowly crept through his eyes. On the grounds? of where Gardenford Restaurant once stood... Dylan and company saw how the two appeared in a wormhole, how both men kneeled and treated Scarlet as their princess, how Scarlet fainted due to their? appearance, and how they were able to easily cause Byron to retreat. Each one of these events caused them to feel how mysterious Scarlet is and how inferior they were in front of the overwhelming strength of these two When Dylan saw the appearance of the two, he was truly shocked because they appeared using Spatial Transportation. From what he has read, only elite and unfathomable behemoth-level powers or individuals so strong that they are able to puncture space and travel on it are able to create Spatial Transportation Portals. From the conversation of the two male foxes, it seemed like they were from the latter. Dylan also felt the vast distance between him and the two foxes above. He knew that the youth is only a bit weaker to Byron in terms of the boundlesssness of aura but the difference of the old man with Byron is like the distance of heaven and earth. The old man was so unfathomable that Dylan felt he could kill Byron with a single strike but because of his strength, the old man regarded Byron as nothing but an annoying fly. Dylan knew that Byron fled not because of the strike that Gabriel delivered but because of the superior strength of the old man. He also knew that the reason why the old one did not pursue Byron was because he was too preoccupied with his reunion with Scarlet. From the deep melancholy seen in his eyes, it seemed like a series of painful and tragic memories were being reminisced as he held Scarlet in his arms. Although Dylan could not truly identify the true Cultivation Realm of these three, he was still able to infer as much due to his sensitivity to energy. Although Dylan''s cultivation was destroyed and his Magnate Strength was sealed, his previous level of cultivation has significantly heightened his senses and physical capabilities. Thus, his sensitivity to energy is still functional to a certain extent. Dylan now felt how weak he was in the face of such overwhelming power. He was just a drop of water in the vast sea of cultivators. He cursed himself for his weakness because of his weakness, Frank and Leila died, his employees were all injured and harmed,and Scarlet was forced to awaken her Ancestral Bloodline which lead to the arrival of her two clan members. But when Dylan heard that the two strong men were going to take Scarlet and bring her back to their? so called Ancestral Lands, Dylan immediately ran towards them and shouted. "What do you mean take her away? Why are you going to take Scarlet away?!" Dylan was angered by the fact that Gabriel and the Elder were going to take Scarlet away. But deep inside, he was angered in his own self because he knew in his heart despite no matter what he did, these two men would disregard his plea. Why? Because he was weak. In the world of cultvation, only those who have the power and status are able to reason with the strong. The weak has simply no position tomake any type of appeal in this world. Like how Byron disregarded his victim''s pleas and kill them with no remorse. Strength prevails over everything. Thus, the belief the winner is the king and the loser is the thief. *And who are you supposed to be?" Gabriel asked and it was apparent in his face how he looked down on Dylan. "I am Dylan Ford, the older brother of Scarlet!" Dylan replied as he did not lose out in disposition and openly introduced himself. "Scarlet? Who is this Scarlet you are spouting on and on about?" Gabriel looked at Dylan with disdain. "Are you perhaps refering to the princess, Princess Aurora?" The Elder inquired as he woke up from his daze and caught sight of Dylan. "Regardless of her name, she will still be my sister!" Dylan protested. "How presumptuous of you! How dare you label yourself as the brother of her highness! Do you want to die? I''ll gladly help you do so!" Gabriel was furious when he saw how stubborn this pathetic human was.He released his strength and conjured the large head of his dark-flame fox. It was evident how Gabriel was ready to annihilate Dylan in a single move. "You are nothing more than a cripple now! Both your cultivation and magnate Strength is disabled! I admire your guts for claiming you are our princess''s elder brother! Even if you still had your cultivation and Magnate Strength, you are nothing but a waste in front of my talent!"Gabriel continued as he relentlessly insulted Dylan. "No matter what I am and have become, I''m still her big brother. I don''t care if she is the lost princess of your clan, the only thing I know is that she is my little sister and I am her big brother. We have been through to thick and thin and many hardships in life! Even if she had an amnesia and recovers from it, I''m sure she will still remember because the bond we made is not a bond that is easily broken!" Dylan defended adamantly. He stood loyal and true to his love and care for Scarlet because he knew that Scarlet would still remember the memories they shared. "Big bro?" Scarlet''s eyes slowly opened as she heard Dylan''s cries. In Scarlet''s mind, everything was dark and she was all alone. Occasionally, she would be able to see some fragments of her memories which would cause her great pain. Though she was uncertain why, those memories would make her cry and tighten her chest. But because of Dylan''s speech, Scarlet found the way to return to reality and wake up from that nightmare. The Elder who was holding Scarlet was surprised. He did not expect that Scarlet would wake up due to hearing Dylan''s voice. Usually when a Mythical Sacred Beast awakens his/her Ancestral Bloodline, the person would be given temporary yet overwhelming boost in strength but the user will be in a coma after being subjected to such power. Although Scarlet was unable to fully exhaust her Awakening, but she was just a hair away from doing so. Scarlet was also subjected to the torment brought by her horrible past which was the cause of her fainting and being unable to truly expend her Awakening. That was why the Elder originally thought that it would at least take Scarlet a month to awaken from her coma to fully alleviate the stress brought upon by her tragic past and Awakening. He now felt that what Dylan said was true. The bond that they formed this past two years was able to create a strong bond that was already comparable to blood siblings. "Who-who are you? Let me go. I want to go to Big bro!" Scarlet struggled to get away from the hands? of this man but she was helpless to do so. The Elder still remained calm despite the anomaly that happened. "It seems like what he said is true... I''m sorry, princess but I have to do this." The Elder apologized as he cliched her fingers and Scarlet immediately feel asleep. "What did you do to Scarlet?!" Dylan was incensed when he saw this. "How dare you talk to the Elder like that!" Gabriel appeared in front of Dylan and delivered a powerful fist that sent Dylan flying a few hundred meters. "Don''t worry. I just casted a sleep spell on princess so you don''t have to worry." The Elder replied calmly to Dylan''s question. "Elder, shall I kill this man already? His pointless blabbering is already irritating enough!." Gabriel asked the Elder with a smile. "I suggest that you should not touch that man any longer. Because if you do you might incur the wrath of our princess." The Elder advised the hot-blooded Gabriel. "But, sir~" Gabriel tried to rebut. " Stop it already. We will now leave." The Elder informed Gabriel. "You''re still going to take Scarlet?! Why? Did you ask for Scarlet''s opinion whether she wants to leave or not?!" Dylan roared as he stoo "Do you know why? Fine, I will answer your questions since you are the sacred princess'' "big brother". The princess needs to be able to recover from the exhaustion of Bloodline Awakening and all the materials needed for recovery is in the Ancestral Lands of the Sacred Fox. The princess also needs to learn various Battle Techniques that are suitable for her constitution and resources needed for her cultivation advancement could be all found in the Ancestral Lands of the Sacred Fox. The power to protect the princess and to train the princess to become a supreme being is just a small matter for our clan. With the talent and the Bloodline Strength comparable to 10Eight-tailed Demon Flame Dusk Fox, it could be said that our princess growth will just be a matter of time. I guess that you, Dylan Ford understands my point, right?" The Elder explained to Dylan. "I..." Dylan could not refute at all because it was evident that all the resources and protection that Scarlet needs could be found with the Sacred Flame Fox Clan. Dylan knew that the Elder was aiming at his lack of strength, lack of resources, and lack of background and if Scarlet were to stay with him, she would only suffer attacks from all the greedy hands of human powers. So at the end of the day, it all came down to his weakness. "It seems like you understand, right? So I think there''s no need for us to debate about whether to take into account princess''s opinion or not because the ultimatum of the matter, the Ancestral Lands is where the princess is supposed to be and the peak of the world is the stage where she will stand in the future... But, I will give you a chance, since the princess considers you as her brother, if you are able to reach the Saint Realm before the age of 40 and arrive at the Sacred Fox Country, I will allow you to see the princess and you are able to take my word for it as the First Elder of the Sacred Flame Fox Clan. But for now, we must take our leave." The Elder spoke with clarity and grace in his words as he led Gabriel to depart. The Elder extended his hands and opened a Spatial Transportation Portal, he and Gabriel along with the unconscious Scarlet entered the portal and disappeared. Leaving Dylan kneeling and cursing himself for his weakness. His employees tried to comfort him but the pain of being helpless and being powerless as your loved one was taken away right in front of you was excruciatingly heart-wrenching. His tears flowed as the dawn brought color to the world. The dawn only made Dylan remember Scarlet because Scarlet''s favorite thing to do was watching the breaking of dawn. Memories flowed one after the other that made Dylan''s heart cry in pain. For two years they did everything together and in just one night she was gone, he just couldn''t accept it. His employees accompanied him in his agony and comforted him. They felt the same as well because Scarlet was also a special kid for them because she would be the one to beautifully dance or sing when they are tired to make them laugh and happy. All of them felt really sad and heart-broken when they saw the two men brought Scarlet away. But they could just imagine the sadness and pain that Dylan was going through if they were already feeling like this for the few weeks they were together with Scarlet. That''s why they knew that this was the time that Dylan would need them the most. At the Space Warp... "Elder, you really are devious for giving that man false hope. Reaching Saint Realm at the age of 40? That is nigh impossible to most cultivating humans and spirit beasts, much less a cripple like him! Hahahaha!'' Gabriel could not help but laugh. "Let''s just wait and see what type of person is the human that Princess Aurora acknowledged as her big brother." The Elder said mysteriously. "What do you mean, Elder?" Gabriel asked but the Elder did not reply or comment as they shuttled through space and brought Scarlet to their Ancestral Lands. 51 Chapter 51: The Light After Darkness! Creating a Law: Primoridial Law of Business! It has been 12 hours since Gabriel, Scarlet and the Elder left. Dylan cried for an hour before passing out. Dylan awoke after 8 hours of sleep. Dylan instructed his employees that no matter who came and looked for him, regardless of status or strength,they must decline no matter the reason of their arrival. He also said that he will go to the forest by himself and find himself first. Meaning that he wanted to be alone in order to be able to find his true purpose in life. He left before dusk alone and said his farewell to his employees. "I''m sorry that I must trouble all of you. You can leave if you want. I have nothing to offer to you guys any longer. But if you stay, I thank you for doing so. I hope you understand me for doing this but I must really find what purpose do I have in life. And if someone comes, as per my instructions, you must all reject them. I do not know how long it will take but I will not force you all to stay. As I have said earlier, you are all free to leave." Dylan said with a faint smile but that smile did not have the confidence and calmness it usually had. " Don''t worry sir Dylan. We have all decided to stay." Jack spoke "Sir Dylan, if you are still wondering what your purpose is, I''m pretty sure it is to lead us." Larry spoke. "But the Gardenford Restaurant is now all gone..." Dylan spoke bitterly. "True, but didn''t you build the Gardenford Restaurant from scratch?" Mary smiled for Dylan. "What''s more is that you were able to make this newly established restaurant into the number 1 business in the Soaring Cloud City and dominated the entire city through business in just one month?" Marie added as she smiled to encourage to Dylan. "That''s right if it weren''t for some disruptions, I''m sure it would have towered the entire Mystic Red Cloud State in just half a year to one whole year and in the next year or two, the entire Mystic Clouds Country!" Roland ambitiously claimed with an encouraging smile. "That''s right, sir Dylan..." Beverly encouraged. "Sir Dylan, you truly were amazing. Even without any support from your? cultivation, you are still able to do everything of that!" Scott gestured a thumbs up with his right hand as he spoke. "You guys..." Dylan was teary-eyed when he saw how everyone encouraged him. Thanks to the encouragement of his colleagues, Dylan was finally able to smile and said. "Thank you for everything, everyone. When I return, I promise that I will lead all of you and establish together with all of you, a business and brand that all of you will be proud of!" Dylan said confidently as he showed that smile that gave confidence and calmness to everyone once more. He turned around and head to the forest. As Dylan was walking towards the forest, he thought of something call to say and do. He remembered what Naruto would always say to encourage everyone so he decided to quote and raised his right arm in a flexing manner with his hands enclosed and his thumb point back at him. "Believe it!" Dylan said confidently. But later on, he found what he did a bit cliche after personally doing it. Being somewhat embarrassed, Dylan hastened the pace of his footsteps. As he moved forward, Dylan submerged to the forest of trees. Dylan might have found it cliche after he actually did it but to Jack and the others, it was a ray of hope that their peerlessly skillful and charismatic employer would come back and not just any type of comeback but a grand comeback! After Dylan''s departure, the employees made a temporary house for them to be able to stay and live until Dylan comes back. The boys opened the underground storage room of the Gardenford Restaurant where half of its ingredients are stored but it was covered by rubble and debris. After the boys got the food, they gave it for the girls to cook. Around 8 in the evening, a carriage arrived at the broken walls of Soaring Cloud City. A figure came out of the carriage. The figure was a female that possessed devilishly attractive curves and a porcelain face. This woman was Amanda Cross. "What happened to the city? How could it have been reduced to this state? It has only been three days since I was gone. There is not even a single citizen of the city that was left here." Amanda was shocked beyond belief. She could not fathom what type of disaster had befallen to the city to devastate the city to such a state. "Amanda, what''s the matter?"A voice from the carriage called out. "Sir, there has been a problem. The Soaring Cloud City is now deserted and is no different to a dead city. I would like to ask sir Jake to scan the city because I fear to do error and embarassingly myself in front of sir Jake." Amanda apologized. "Okay... Unfortunately, it is what you have feared, the city has truly been deserted but 2.5 km north of the city I sense a house filled with 79 people that is in the middle of a destroyed infrastructure." Sir Jake stated. "A house? 2.5 kilometers? Coachman, take us there immediately!" Amanda went inside the carriage as the coachman nodded and drove the carriage.The steeds were called as Whirlwind Steeds that are able to travel as fast as 100 km/hour! So it only took the coachman to lead the Whirlwind Steeds to the direction that Sir Jake mentioned. When they arrived, Amanda saw the remains of a business establishment known as Gardenford Restaurant which was able to climb the top of the Business Industry of the Soaring Cloud City in just one month. She only saw a house that was built well at the center of the debris. She ordered the coachman to park the carriage beside the house. Once the carriage parked, Amanda got out of the carriage and approached the door to knock it. After she knocked, Jack opened the door and inquired who she was. "Who might you be?" Jack asked. "I''m Amanda Cross from the Mystical Magnate Tower to bring Sir Jake who was the one assigned to kill Andrew Vigor. I am also here to invite Dylan Ford to become a disciple of the Mystical Magnate Tower. May I know where the two of them are?" Amanda answered. " Oh you must be the ones? that sir Dylan refered to, right? The one who was going to invite him?" Jack asked for the sake of confirmation.. ''It seems like Dylan Ford was expecting us.'' Amanda thought briefly as she spoke, "Yes, we are." "Okay. That makes things easier. I would like to ask you all to leave now." Jack said with a straight face. "Thank you for the warm welcome. Wait, what did you just say?" Amanda was shocked when she heard that Jack was asking her to leave. "I told you to leave." Jack replied straightforwardly. "What audacity! How dare you disrespect me! Bring this Dylan Ford in front of me and make him beg for mercy for the audacity that you have shown! Does he not know who I am? I am Jake Rodstein, heir of the Rodstein Clan, a fifth tier Mystical Magnate of the Mystical Magnate Tower, and the disciple of Lord Randolf! I want him to beg and kowtowed to me this instant." Sir Jake went out of the carriage and spoke. He wore an aristocratic robe that was the same as Andrew but the only difference was that he had five stars on the crest of the Mystical Magnate Tower. Sir Jake is an aristocrat of the capital. He came from a noble clan and is considered a genius in Mystical Magnatism. Being praised and adored by many, this made him more proud and self-centered. "I''m sorry you must have misunderstood what I have said. Then let me elaborate. According to Sir Dylan, anyone who comes to invite him would be rejected regardless of his status. Now, I would kindly ask you all again to leave. Currently, Sir Dylan is not here so you won''t have the chance to get a look at him. You were the one sent to kill Andrew, right? Unfortunately, he has already been slain by my master. I don''t care of you believe me or not but my point is that you can just leave since Sir Dylan has already killed Andrew and he doesn''t? want to be a disciple of the Mystical Magnate Tower." Jack replied. "What?!" Sir Jake felt that his face was burning from the embarassment. He felt that numerous face slaps happened to him from what Jack said. "Fine! If he doesn''t want to, then it is his lost. Let''s just see what a country bumpkin like him could do! I bet he is nothing but a waste who would not be able to reach the level of Mystical Duke! Hahaha. Amanda, let us now leave!" Jake insulted Dylan in front of Jack. "What nonsense...*Bang*" Jack left a message as he closed the door. When Jake saw how Jack disregard him, he couldn''t help but be angered as he shouted to the coachman to leave immediately. "Dylan Ford, I will not forget this. Just pray that we never meet or else, I will torture you first before I kill you! You think you can become strong without the backing of the Mystical Magnate Tower and rely on your talent? You must be dreaming! If I ever see you, I vow to show you the gap between the two of us!" Jake vowed in his heart. Somewhere in the middle of the forest... A young man could be found sitting cross-legged at a small piece of land wide enough for two-three people to sit on which was situated at the middle of a large lake. His eyes closed and his expression was serene. This young man was none other than Dylan. Dylan being unable to use cultivation swam to the middle of the lake when he saw the small piece of land. Dylan thought that it would be a great idea to contemplate on this peaceful looking place so he decided to make this small islet as his cultivation spot. When he was sure that no beast lived in it, Dylan became even more sure to cultivate here. Time passed. Minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days. Dylan has been sitting in that small piece of land for two days already. He sat there unmoved despite birds and insects landed on his body. It just seemed like Dylan was detached from any sort of distractions and has truly become one with nature. In Dylan''s mindscape, he was similarly doing the same thing. He was unmoved by anything and silent. But, suddenly his eyes opened. His eyes were clear and felt like it received enlightenment. "I see.. " Dylan said. After he said those two words, he self-contemplated by himself. "What is my purpose in this life?" "What is my goal in this life..." "Am I supposed to become the strongest expert like what I have dreamed iwhen I was on earth..." "Or should I continue in the path of business and become the richest man and the most successful businessman in this world..." "What is the purpose of me gaining strength.." "Is it too prove that I can be the strongest.." "Is it to rule the entire world or even the cosmos.." "Is it to be able to protect my loved ones..." "Is it to vanquish all evil in this world..." "Just what should I be..." "Just what path should I follow..." "That''s what I thought earlier... but now it''s different." "Who says I cannot do it all at once?!" "Who says I cannot be the strongest expert and the most successful businessman at the same time?!" "My goal can be anything as long as I my heart and soul feels that it should be this way! Thus, I can be the strongest businessman!" "My purpose of gaining strength is everything that I have said because that is what my heart and soul dictates!" "But what does it mean to become the strongest businessman?" "To dig deeper, just what is business to me?" "It''s denotation is that it is the practice of making one''s living be engaged in commerce or trade." "To me, it is the same as well, it is to engage oneself to the trade of goods and earn from it." "But is business really limited to the exchange of such material goods?" "My employees, Leila and Frank, died for me. All of my other employees were injured for my sake. But why did they do this?" "They told me it was because of the way I took? care and treated them that they were able to arrive at the decision that they were ready to risk their lives for mine. I also risked my life for them because they are all good and kind-hearted people." "Every relationship and interaction has a cause and effect. But what if I rephrase it, what if I said that it is the exchange? of the cause and effect that caused the relationship or interaction to happen. Then, if I were to say that cause and effect are personas and conducted an exchange, it could be said that a relationship is a form of business between individuals." "If this is so, then the relationship between life and death is also a business. Because there is an exchange that happens in this cycle. Life could only end with death and death could only start with life. Therefore, I could also say that there is a relationship between the two which is also a form of business." "Reincarnation, Heavenly Bodies, Life and Death, Fate, Suffering, the world, even the whole universe has relationship with each other. If relationship is business and all of mentioned has relationship with each other, then this means that everything? within the universe is business!" "In conclusion, to become the strongest businessman, I must be able to gain control of the business that is known as the universe!" "Reincarnation? Planets? Galaxies? Life and Death? They are nothing but commodities and businesses for me to manage when I become the strongest!" "Now, I understand why master named himself as the Cosmic God because it was his ambition to rule the entire cosmos as well!" Dylan''s thoughts caused a great change in the surroundings. The birds and insects flew away from Dylan as something mysterious was happening with Dylan as of this moment! The sky gave birth to a torrent of light and shot it towards Dylan! Dylan felt a qualitative change happening in his body as he bathed in this light. The seal that Byron set in his Magnate Strength was destroyed! But, it did not stop there, Dylan''s Magnate Strength was being continuously nourished by the light and made it even stronger than it was before! But Dylan also felt that it was not only? strengthening his Magnate Strength, the light opened an additional route for his Magnate Strength in his eyes. His eyes felt like it was receiving vast amounts of energy that opened his Heavenly Eye! As Dylan was enjoying this type of reward, in the capital, a tower was so high that it''s peak could not be seen because it was being covered by the clouds and this tower was the superpower known as the Mystical Magnate Tower. On the peak of the tower, four individuals were conversing when they sensed thetorrent of light that Dylan was able to summon. "That light... It couldn''t be?! The light that comes from the cosmos?! This is the Birth of a Primoridial-level Law into our world!!!" The white haired man with a long beared stiffened from shock! 52 Chapter 52: Unlocking The First Volume! "Merlin, what-what did you just say?" A voluptuous black haired-woman who wore a robe that was similiar to the one she called Merlin spoke in absolute shock. "Are you saying that another Saint has been born?!" A gray-haired middle-aged man uttered in amazement. "I-I''mnot sure..." Merlin replied awkwardly. "What do you mean you''re not sure? You just said that the light we sensed just now was a light that came from the cosmos!" The gray-haired man was in a state of confusion. "That''s right. Among all of us here, your powers of divination is the most reliable since you have excelled in that ''Law'' as well. So how come you are contradicting yourself right now?"The black-haired woman spoke in displeasure. "Well, it''s because what happened is.. strange." Merlin said while he was seemingly pondering. "Why?" Both curiously asked. "You both all know that in order for a cultivator to become a Saint. He/She must comprehend a Primal Law, right?" Merlin spoke. "Yes, that''s how each of us here became a Saint." The woman nodded. "Yes, but what does it have to do with what happened? You even said that this man/woman comprehended a Primoridial-level Law that''s why he/she is able to incite the cosmic light. " The man asked. "It has everything to do with it. Because normally when a cultivator comprehends a Law, the Law emits the strength of the Cultivator. But, it wasn''t the case for this one. I could only sense the level of profoundness of the Law but not the level of the Cultivator!"Merlin revealed in cold sweat. "What? But how is that possible? But... It could happen... If the cultivator is someone who is stronger than you and reached ''that'' realm!" The woman shockingly said. "That''s right but there is also another possible reason..." Merlin added. "It was a Law Fragment!" The man continued. "Yes, if a treasure hunter or a tomb raider were to accidentally open a Saint-level or even stronger powerhouse Tomb or Manor, then the remaining law that is sealed in his body would release an energy that would reconnect it to the world." Merlin expounded. "I-if that''s true, then that Primoridial-level Law Fragment must be found immediately or else other powers from other states might also lust for this treasure." The woman was alarmed. "Let''s not jump into conclusions just yet, Minerva. We must investigate this thoroughly." The man analyzed." "Aiden is right. We must analyze this situation thoroughly and elaborate our approach to this matter." Merlin seconded Aiden''s? suggestion. "Oh my, three of the four Tower Lords of the Mystical Magnate Tower is panicking because of a strange light. The simple solution is that if it is a tomb, then we raid it. If it is a person, we invite him. If he doesn''t agree, we eliminate him and seize his ''Law'' for ourselves. " A man who wielded a sword by his waist walked in the room. He was a dashing young man with fair complexion. But his most distinguishable feature was his brows. His brows zigzagged at the end of it forming a small "z" for each brow. "Zorro, you finally decided to show up. The rules state that when a meeting starts, everyone must be here on or before the designated time!" Aiden raised his voice at the arrival of Zorro. "Hm. Rules are dead and we are the living. Besides, you already know that it''s not my style to follow things and I do what I want to do, whenever, wherever or whatever it may be. " Zorro smiled confidently. This young man is one of the most popular figures of not only in the Mystic Red Cloud State but in the entire Mystical Clouds Country, Sword Saint Zorro! Being the youngest person to become a Saint in the entire stateat the age of 35, he is renowned as Mystic Red Cloud State''s Number one talent! Besides being a Saint, he is also a Mystical Magnate who constructed his own school which is teaching cultivators who walk on the path of the sword. He has already manifested a school in each city of the Mystic Red Cloud State and even established his schools in other states with his connections. He had also recently become a Lord that gave him the qualifications to join the ranks of the Tower Lords at the age of 38! The Tower Lords are known as the individuals whom have attained Saint Realm and the title of Lord at the same time. They are the strongest experts of the Mystic? Red Cloud State! Not only that, they are also businessmen/ businesswoman who have established brands that have branches all over the Mystical Clouds Country! "You... Hmph!" Aiden snorted. "Hahaha." Zorro laughed in response?. "Stop quarrelling you two. We have more important matters at hand!" Merlin reprimanded the two. The two became silent and did not talk to each other since then. The meeting went on as Merlin discussed their possible course of actions they may take. But as the light attracted them, it also attracted the top powers of all the states of the Mystical Clouds Country was also intrigued by these phenomenon. At the Mystic Blue Cloud State... A palace stood majestically on a giant lake. The palace did not float yet it strangely stood on the lake waters as though it was land. The lake was surrounded by beautiful and fascinating waterfalls which filled the lake of its pure, clean, glistening water. The water was so clear that you are able to see right through it and you can see sea creatures that act like the guardians of the palace. Within the palace... "Your? Highness, we have detected a cosmic light that formed a law somewhere in the Mystic Red Cloud State. We are still uncertain whether it was from a newborn Saint or a Law Fragment of a former powerhouse but we are sure that it is a Primoridial-level Law!" A man dressed in noble sea-blue robe knelt and reported to the lady sitting at the throne. "A Primoridial-level Law? Hmm, investigate further. Find the precise location. Then, report back to me." The lady spoke calmly. She wore a veil which covered her face but the contours? of her face outlined her unparalleled beauty hidden in the veil. She wore a sea-blue dress that complimented her light-blue hair. "Yes, your Highness." The man in sea-blue robe bowed as he left immediately. As the man left, the lady spoke with wonder. "Interesting." The lady smiled with her thoughts unknown. At the Mystic Yellow Cloud State... The same thing happened to a giant church situated at the center of the state capital. "What? A Primoridial-level Law?Investigate this matter immediately! If we can get a hand on this law, then we might have the chance to save the Pope! This is the heavens'' will!" A priest wearing his clerical vest ,which had the mark of a sun covered by the bright yellow cloud, ordered the one who reported the phenomenon that happened on the Mystic Red Cloud State. In all of the states, similar incidents happened but for different purposes. Like in the Mystic Green Cloud State, the king of the top power, Jungle Hall, was shocked beyond belief that he fainted. When he awoke, he ordered his men to prepare for a full scale invasion because the Primordial-level law would be the key to his advancement to the realm above saints! "My king, isn''t it too rash to do so? It''s? just a law after all." The emissary that reported the appearance of the Primoridial-level Law/Law Fragment. "Imbecile! You don''t understand the value of such a treasure because you have yet to reach the Saint-level?! A Primoridial-level Law is a law that towers all law! It''s a type of law that only appears once in a ten-thousand year cycle! If I manage to integrate it to my law, then I will be invincible!" The king spoke in extreme hysteria. Then, he punched the emissary. "I''m sorry, sir. I was so wrong. I will do as you command." The emissary said hurriedly as he ran when a man stopped him on his tracks. "My king, I think it is best if you were to calm down first. I personally think that we should wait for the movements of the other powers before we make a move. Because it would be a waste of energy if we were to go there without ample preparations. So, I suggest that we send a small group of people to scout the Mystic Red Cloud State and investigate the matter. I''m guessing that this will also be the course of action of the other states since this is the safest route to investigate the matter without offending the Mystic Red Cloud State. Moreover, I think that the precise location of the Law is still unknown because according to the divination, the light only appeared for a split second then vanished at the next. The precise coordinates is unknown and I anticipate it will stay as it is because the duration of phenomenon was too short for us to infer where the law truly is and I also anticipate that the same will go for other states because not even Merlin can be that God-like to determine its precise location." The man suggested as he waved his fan with his right hand and held the emissary by his left. "Ugh, I guess you''re right. I was too rash. I''m glad I had you as my chancellor or else I would have done so many mistakes already. Hey, emissary, just inform the soldiers to train as twice as hard. That''s all. You''re dismissed." The King calmed himself down after hearing his chancellor''s advice. "Yes, sir." The emissary departed immediately after he was released. "So what will be your moves?" The Chancellor looked at the sky and wondered. In Mystic Red Cloud State... At the middle of the forest near the destroyed Soaring Cloud City, Dylan still sat cross-legged in the small piece of land in the middle of the lake. Not knowing what commotion, he just made he continued in his retreat. How would all those powers anticipate that the reason why they were unable to detect his strength was because Dylan was currently a cripple who had his Cultivation Base destroyed? If they knew, they would like out blood, for being too careful and meticulous about their plans. In his mindscape... Dylan was still bathed by the light that came from the cosmos. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked that everything felt different than it was before. Everything was more vivid and clearer. He did not know why. But, what truly shocked him the most was the thing in front of him right now. It was the Cosmic God Manual. But this time, he was able to finally read the text within. When he read the cover, it said this [Cosmic God''s Business of Galaxies - First Volume]! "First Volume? So it seems that the Cosmic God Manual has several more volumes to offer." Dylan inspected the book and he discovered that the first volume was only 40 pages. The table of contents were still the same but the text of the book is now readable to Dylan. "Finally, I am able to read it! So it seems like my assumptions was right that I have to be stronger either in cultivation or comprehension, in order to fully be able to read the text of the book." Dylan was happy as he was able to prove his theory on the mansion yet again. "Okay, now to read the first chapter. Chapter 1- The Legendary Core. The Legendary Core is a type of Spirit Core that is far more superior than a Spirit Core because it''s? energy reserves is nearly 5 times as much as that of a Spirit Core. It is also a type of Spirit Core that would refine the spirit energy that the user has absorbed into a uniform spirit energy without impurities and directly fortifying the cultivation base of its user. Cultivating this core will ensure that the user will never be subjected to the threat of Cultvation Deviation." Dylan was trembling as he read the description. This type of spirit core is truly defying the heavens . But what came next made Dylan''s? face turn absolutely white. "Procedure: To attain the Legendary Core, a Cultivator must undergo 10 cycles of destroying his/her own spirit core." That statement made Dylan''s heart waver. He already experienced the feeling of having one''s Spirit Core to be destroyed once and it was excruciatingly painful. Now he had to do it nine times more? The pain accumulated from the repeated destruction of his Spirit Core made Dylan feel how nearly impossible this task is. Just once was enough to madden any normal person. Ten times? Dylan felt shivers down his spine when he imagined it again. Feeling slightly terrified, he read the next chapter. "I hope that this chapter won''t be as terrifying as the other one. Chapter 2- Cultivating the Ancestral Veins. The Ancestral Veins are not Spirit Veins. Huh?" Dylan was dumbfounded when he read the first line. "This book must be kidding me, right?" Dylan bitterly thought. But he still decided to continue. "Dictated by the heavens, a cultivator is only given 125 spirit veins. Thus, creating the Spirit Veins System. But, this doesn''t? apply to the Ancestral Veins or the Ancestral Veins System. It allows the cultivator to cultivate double the number of veins than the Spirit Veins System. Since in the Ancestral Veins System a person can cultivate 250 veins which is double the Spirit Veins System number, it also allows the user to cultivate two Avatars at the same time." Dylan became more flabbergasted with the next chapter. Because if everything stated here are true, then it means while at 11th level Awakened Spirit Realm, he will be able to completely dominate the entire Spirit Gathering Realm! But, like the first chapter, the procedure of the chapter made him terrified even more. "Procedure: To obtain the Ancestral Veins System, one must be able to create 250 spirit veins. After creation, detonating one vein at a time would create a chain reaction that would make it evolve into an Ancestral Veins once restored." Dylan could do the first half because of the Centurial Stones but the other half made Dylan terrified. Detonating one vein at a time? That would almost assuringly lead to insanity. This made him stop reading the book any further. "Was my master really that masochistic?" He couldn''t help but curse his master for making such a nigh impossible Cultivation Manual that would lead most people insane from cultivating it. "No pain, no gain! Like all MCs that suffered greatly in order to achieve their OP Strength I must also do this! Although it is extreme, there is no shortcut to the way to the apex! I also have to gather the materials needed to cultivate the Legendary Core and the Ancestral Veins" Dylan strengthened his resolve as he encouraged himself. He used the method to restore the Spirit Core to be able to recover his Cultivation Base! After 6 hours of following the method, he was finally able to restore his former Strength! "Great! I have finally regained my strength! It''s time to exit this world!" Dylan rejoiced as his consciousness went back to his body and he was finally able to feel his Spirit Core and Spirit Veins again! He tried to meditate to recover some strength but he discovered that he can''t refine the natural energy around him again. "Just? what is wrong with my body? It is due to this that the previous Dylan was not able to cultivate pass Initial 2nd level Spirit Core. My body has been rejecting the natural energy of this world since I reached Initial 2nd level Spirit Core. Thank the Heavens, that I have the Cosmic God Mansion who awards me with Primal Stones for my business if not I would have been a waste." Dylan felt abysmal since he can''t cultivate like normal people. His Cultivation is reliant on the Primal Stones and Deca Stones that the Cosmic God Mansion awards him. "I must find out what is wrong with my body! In order to bring justice to my fallen counterpart!" Dylan pledged as he left the lake with a leap and headed straight to his employees. 53 Chapter 53: Starting Anew Dylan was able to quickly return to where the Gardenford Restaurant once were. He felt nostalgic for what happened in this area. This area was the place he was reincarnated at. It was the place where he met Scarlet and his employees, his comrades and interacted with the people who resided this city. It was this place where he first built his business that immediately flourished due to his amazing ability. This was the place of happiness and joy for Dylan. But, this place also became the place of despair and hopelessness for Dylan. This was where Dylan tasted the bitter truth and ugly reality of the Cultivation World. Dylan met all kinds of people in this place. Some were to strong for him to beat as he was. Some were the incarnation of true evil and some were those beasts who stood at the epitome of their world. But thanks to this, Dylan was able to identify all of his mistakes for the past month. First, he was too eager and excited that he made his establishment develop too fast that it made other businesses feel like he posed a threat to their business like what happened with Andrew and the Vigor Hotel. If he had adjusted the pace of his business''s development to a slower and steadier pace instead of an explosive growth, then most of the business establishments would have gradually accepted his superiority in business and little conflict would have been made between him and Andrew. Then Andrew wouldn''t have chosen to challenge him and join Byron and the Darkness Castle. Scarlet would not have activated her Ancestral Bloodline earlier than what it should have been. Gabriel and the Elder wouldn''t have sensed Scarlet and took her away. Leila and Frank wouldn''t have died in such a manner. But, Dylan knew it was already to late toregret his past decisions. The only thing to do now was to keep moving forward and develop his business and strength slowly yet surely. Second, he was too weak when he confronted others. He originally thought since he was a transcender, then his path to becoming stronger would have been esasy as pie or a walk in the park. But he was wrong to believe as so. Now, that he was thinking clearly, he was able to think more critically and he remembered that most of the popular novels he has read had setbacks to their MCs in order for them to get stronger. He was just the same as anyone in this world. He may have a few hacks that others don''t have but it always comes down to how hardworking and tenacious a person is. He must be able to become strong enough not only for himself but also for his loved ones Third, he was too soft. Maybe it was because he has never killed anyone before the battle that he was reluctant to kill the rebel army but now he learned that being soft to your enemy is bringing harm to your loved ones and allies. Because of what he experienced, he is prepared to massacre even a city of people who tried to hurt him and his comrades for the sake of saving his loved ones. He readjusted mindset. The evil are evil. No matter what excuse they may have, even if they have families, the way they killed other people who might have families to return to is downright evil. So by killing them, it would also serve as avenging the victims of the evildoers and also giving the justice that the families of those who were murderedare yearning for. Fourth, he let the enemy control his emotions and mind. This lead to the loss of clarity and clear-headedness that he usually had. He should have stayed calm despite how desperate the situation becomes. If he did that, he could have at least used his skills to negotiate with the enemy and made the enemy dance in his palms like what he does to his rivals in business back on Earth. But, Dylan was unable to because Scarlet was the one who was in danger. The anger and hate he was controlling burst open when he saw that Scarlet was held by the puppet. Thus, losing his reasoning and calm disposition. However, now that Scarlet was gone. Dylan had no more vulnerable weakness to be exploited by his opponents. Although his employees were important to him, Scarlet was in a completely different level of importance to him. He kept in mind and heart to not play by the mind games of his opponents ever again. Dylan was slowly walking while looking at the rubble with nostalgia when he suddenly heard a crashing sound. *CRASH!* Dylam immediately headed to where the sound originated and jumped over the scrap hills. After scaling those scrap hills, he was able to see a house surrounded by countless men who were bashing it from the outside. Ronald and most of the boys were trying their best to defend against the overwhelming numbers. Dylan recognized those uniforms, they were the remnents of the rebel army! Dylan''s expression became colder as he summoned the Waning Moon Sword. He dashed to the center while slicing off 10 heads of the remnant soldiers of the faction of the three giants as he headed to the center. Ronald and the others were shocked by the sudden arrival of Dylan. It has been 3 days ever since Dylan''s retreat and they were all inside the house waiting for Dylan to return home.But suddenly today, the remnannts of the rebels still had some lingering hate towards Dylan so decided ta take it out to Dylan'' employees. Almost half died due to the residual damage and after shocks that Scarlet and Byron created during their feirce battle. "Dont worry, I''m here already, we will be able to easily kill these remnant." Dylam smiled reassuringly as he tightened his grip to his sword and vertically slashed an Energy Slash which killed over a dozen soldiers. "What? He- He''s Dylan Ford!" A warrior said. "Wasn''t he crippled?" Another commented. "Whatever method you may have used to restore your cultivation! You will still die!" A 10th level Spirit Veins Realm Expert charged to Dylan. "Oh, really?" Dylan''s face got colder as he dashed towards the 10th level Spirit Veins Realm practitioner. When their blades were about to meet, Dylan redirected his body to the left side of the warrior using his [ Four Soft Steps-Perfection]. When he reached the left side of the warrior, the warrior was startled. Dylan did not give the warrior for any room to think as he sliced the throat of the warrior. After which, Dylan put something into his body and threw it to a crowd of rebels?. A loud explosion was heard the next moment as Dylan ravaged the rebels and massacred all of them. The initial number of warriors was around 200 all of which at the Spirit Veins Realm. But in just a few attacks, Dylan reduced them to ? of their original number! Seeing Dylan''s lead, his employees got fired up and started join Dylan''s slaughtering of the three giants'' dogs. Dylan was currently facing the three tanks alone. It was ironic how these three once served him but betrayed him amidst a great crisis. But Dylan expected it as the one they swore loyalty was the three giants. "Do the three of you have any last words?" Dylan asked with calm expression on his face. "Die, Dylan Ford!" The three tanks charged at him together. "Very well." Dylan closed his eyes and slowly shook his heads. When he opened it again, Dylan jumped in mid-air as he launched three consecutive Energy Slash. Each one meant to take the life of each of the three tanks. They fled in different directions to evade it when Dylan somersaulted in mid air until he reached the top of the three tanks head. Seeing that Dylan delivered himself to their doorstep, they struck out their strongest attack! "Triple Tiger Breaker!"The three tanks roared. Three tiger Avatars materialized behind their backs when the struck their fists out. Clearly, they were aiming to kill Dylan for causing their masters death. As the three tigers were launching an attack to Dylan, Dylan was calm because even though he was preoccupied with the three tanks, he was able to perfectly see the surrounding areas of battling between his employees and the rebel army. To Dylan, the three tanks attacks were slowly? moving which was in contrast with the perception of the surrounding warriors. Dylan was able to see every detail that the three were doing from the fusion of their avatars down to the trajectory of the attack. ''What happened to me, specifically, what happened to my eyes?'' Dylan pondered as he was in mid-air. Although Dylan found it strange how he was able to identify every detail during battle, he did not let it get to him and remained calm. He devised a plan in a split second and executed after the next moment. "Hmph." Dylan coldly snorted as the Shield of Dusk materialized and blocked more than half of the combined attack of the three. The shield burned the Tigers as Dylan came closer to them. He injected a large amounts of energy to theWaning Moon Sword. "Take this, Crescent Moon Slash!" Dylan sent a deadly attack to the straightly aligned three tanks as the blade strike passed through their bodies and killed the three tanks of the three giants! The entire battlefield stopped. Dylan had slain the three strongest opponents. The rebels started to scatter but Dylan did not let them flee as he chased down those who were at the Awakened Spirit Realm. After an hour of battle, Dylan and his employees finally annihilated the rebel army. Dylan was a bit shocked when he was able to easily take on 12th level Awakened Spirit Realm Expert in just ten moves. Clearly, he got stronger from the fight with Andrew and Byron. He also noticed that his Spirit Veins were much wider and robust than they were before. Dylan thought that it was because of his repeated refilling of energy during his battle with rebel army 3 days ago. Noticing this, Dylan was psyched knowing that he was steadily growing stronger. "Yeeeehaa, we won!" The employees rejoiced and leaped repeatedly in mid-air. "Okay, everyone gather all their bags or storage rings. We will collect our spoils of war!"Dylan anounced. "Aye, aye, sir Dylan!" The employees responded. After an hour, Dylan was able to calculate the overall spoils of war. They collected more than thirty thousand gold coins which is equal to 3 million silver coins. The treasures that they collected could also be pawned for another twenty thousand gold coins! But what was really the most valuable spoils of war was the 16 storage rings and 89 Spirit Stones! Storage rings are sold for 10 spirit stones. Having 16 means that they have a total of 249 Spirit Stones! They also found an ample amount of Battle Techniques, Movement techniques, and Secret Techniques! "Okay, we will now embark on a journey to go to the next city for us to establish another business." Dylan spoke loudly with confidence. "Yes, sir!" His employees replied. "Does any of you know which is the nearest city for us to go? How far is it from here?" Dylan asked. "Sir, the nearest city is the Middle Proximity City- Peaceful Clouds City which is 10, 000 kilometers west. But we will be having a problem to go their since somewhere along the way, we must tread one of the danger zones of the Mystic Red Cloud State, The Nightmare Clouds. A giant mass of dark-red clouds that is estimated to be 1,500 kilometers in diameter. One wrong step will make any warrior fall into an eternal sleep that is filled with nightmares." Jack informed Dylan. ''Not wonder, no city provided as assistance during our battle with Byron. The nearest city is about 10,000 kilometers away. Just how large is the entire Mystical Clouds Country if cities are even tens of thousands kilometers away from each other. It seems like this world is tens of times bigger than Earth, right?'' Dylan laughed bitterly. Scanning his surroundings, it seems like for the people who are residing in this world ever since they were born such distance is normal for them. So Dylan still decided to ask about something he got from the rebel army. "Ehh? I heard that the city lord evacuated the citizens to that city. How would they be able to pass through that?" Dylan inquired. "That''s because the City Lords of the two cities are sworn brothers. The City Lord of the Peaceful Clouds City sent a navigator for theCity Lord of Soaring Cloud City to rely on if they were to evacuate. Our City Lord has also sent a navigator for the City Lord of Peaceful Clouds City to rely on. These navigators are skilled adventurers that dared to roam the Nightmare Clouds." Ronald narrated. "Ohhh, so which city is the nearest aside from the one you mentioned which is safe to go to?" Since they can''t go to the nearer city, Dylan must settle for other choices. "The nearest and safest would be the Middle Proximity City- Clear Clouds City which is 14,000 kilometers east and the Inner Proximity City- Thunder Clouds City which is 14,000 kilometers south." Larry spoke. "Hmm, let''s head for the Inner Proximity City- Thunder Clouds City. Let''s take our business to an even bigger stage!" Dylan anounced. "Yes, sir!" His employees replied out loud. "Now, pack up. We will leave by dawn.'' Dylan smiled In the morning at the light of dawn, Dylan and company were all set to leave. "Is everyone set to go?" Dylan asked his employees whose eyes were bringing with excitement. "Yes, sir!" His employees roared with smiles plastered on their faces as new challenges would try to hinder them from fulfilling the goals! "Okay, let us embark to a bigger stage, the Inner Proximity City-Thunder Clouds City!" Dylan took the lead ass they headed out. After exiting the periphery of the city, Dylan smiling as he performed a head count. He noticed that there was one person missing. He approached Jack and asked. "Have you seen, Diane? I haven''t seen her for quite a while now." Dylan asked. "Diane? Sir Dylan, who is that?" Jack looked puzzled. "What do you mean? You don''t know who she is? You''re not joking, right?" Dylan felt that something was off. "I don''t really know who she is." Jack looked confused and it was evident that he was telling the truth. "Uh, nevermind?." Dylan asked everyone? with regards to Diane but to no avail, no one could even remember her name and who she was. Dylan found it strange and truly peculiar how his employees would forget the top-performing beauty among them. ''How come I''m the only one who remembers Diane? I remember she was still there at morning before the evening of the restaurant''s destruction but I am unsure if she was still there when I responded to the Spirit Beast horde. Just where did she go? Why did she leave?'' Dylan racked his head as he thought what could be the reason. 54 Chapter 54: The 14,000-kilometer Journey Unable to come up with a possible answer to his question, Dylan could only shake his head. ''I''ll just have to figure it out.'' Dylan thought to himself. Dylan dismissed this thought for now because the information and lead were to scarce. He turned his attention to the journey ahead. Dylan and company proceeded with their journey. Having no mounts with them, they were forced to travel by foot. They travelled by day and rested at night. Their belongings were all stored in the 16 storage rings that they got from the fight against the rebel army. The storage rings had the capacity of 20 cubic meters each. That is why they were able to store their clothing, food and beverages, money, weapons and manuals. They had no problems with supplies as they prepared enough food for everyone to eat for 2 whole months. They travelled an average of 150 kilometers a day which was already quite slow despite all of the being above Spirit Veins Realm.. They crossed hills and fields as well as forest in just a week. Dylan and hus employees did not slack off as they did their training at night during their night shifts. Dylan instructed each one of them to pick a pair of Movement techniques and Battle Techniques to learn during their travels. The collection of manuals they had were many. There 40 sets of Low Spirit Rank Techniques, 23 sets of Middle Spirit Rank Techniques and a set of High Spirit Rank Technique! Among the 40 Low Spirit Rank Techniques, there were 20 Battle Techniques and 11 Movement Techniques? as well as 9 Secret Techniques while among the 23 sets of Middle Spirit Rank Technique, there were 12 sets of Battle Techniques, 8 sets of Movement Techniques, and 3 Secret Techniques. The sole High Spirit Rank Technique was a High Spirit Rank Technique called the Triple Tiger Breaker that the three tanks practiced. Dylan presented that manuals to them but he excluded the Low Spirit Rank Techniques because they were all commonly used and would not really increase the strength of the employees that much. But Middle Spirit Rank Techniques could provide significant increase in strength even in the Initial Mastery of the technique and it could progress even further depending on the level of mastery that a cultivator trained a certain technique. Dylan also said that the first three to be able to reach the Expert Mastery of their respective techniques will be the one to cultivate the Triple Tiger Breaker. This further ignited the desires of the employees to grow stronger because they knew how helpless the powerless is in the face of overwhelming might. They wanted to be able to have the strength to fight for themselves and for the ones important to them. They don''t want to stay weak and abused like what happened during the fight at Gardenford Restaurant. Seeing the desire and intent of his employees, Dylan nodded approvingly. But he knew that the reason for them wanting to become stronger was because the powerlessness they felt with the fight against Byron. But, he knew that this scar in the past would give them the drive in order to become stronger and not let the same thing happen ever again. For the second week of travel, the group encountered 5 bandit attacks at a large grasslands already. Fortunately, all of them were only in the Spirit Veins Realm so nothing bad truly happened. These encounters even became the employees'' avenue to try out their newly learned techniques in battle. Dylan did not interfere with the the clash of his employees and the group of bandits for that reason. They were able to finish the bandits with? ease. Dylan was quite satisfied at the rate of the improvement that his employees were doing. At the end of the second week, Dylan used the excuse of everyone''s rapid Improvement in strength to distribute the 89 Spirit Stones that they gained from the corpses of the rebel army. He each gave them a Spirit Stone to use to quickly improve in strength. The employees felt touched with Dylan''s generosity to them. They had the urge to reject but could not due to the impending need to grow stronger. They all thanked Dylan individually and cultivated the Spirit Stones for that entire night. Dylan took the responsibility of watching over his employees as they cultivated. The Spirit Stones were useless to him to begin with so it would be better for him to gift it to his employees that will enable them to quickly grow in strength. After guarding his employees for a whole night, Dylan let out a sigh of relief as there was no trouble that came during his employees'' cultivation retreats. Dylan was also satisfied by the results of the training that Jack, Roland, Larry and the others had. Every single one of them has reached the 8th level of Spirit Veins Realm and above! Some even reached the 9th level of Spirit Veins! Although most was only able to reach the 8th level, all of them were already able to unlock 75 spirit veins which meant that they were already at the Pinnacle stage of the 8th level! Among the 81 employees, 21 were able to reach the 9th level. Within that number, 11 reached the Initial stage of the 9th level, 7 reached the Intermediate level and 3 reached the High 9th level Spirit Veins Realm The reason for their sudden leap in strength is because of the pure spirit energy that the Spirit Stones contain is much more superior than the natural energy they possess. By refining the Spirit Stones, they were able to fuse the spirit energy and the natural energy and created an influx of energy that supported their breakthroughs for two levels. Additionally, refining the Spirit Stones'' spirit energy will enable them to have an easier time to breakthrough to the Awakened Spirit Realm in the future. Such results went beyond Dylan''s expectations especially the three who reached the High 9th level Spirit Veins: Jack Hale, Arnold Palmer, and Tom Watson. He was especially shocked for the latter two because according to his memory, Arnold was only a Initial 7th level Spirit Veins cultivator while Tom was at the Intermediate stage of the same level. Although he was stunned, Dylan still smiled because their sudden growth in strength would only mean that their desire to become stronger is burning like flames. After working together to prepare the breakfast, Dylan decided to do a celebratory feast for the amazing progress that his employees had made. It was a truly joyous occasion and everyone ate happily and chat merrily with each other. After the festive occasion, Dylan gathered his employees because he wanted to talk about something. "Sir Dylan, what do you want to talk about?" Larry asked. "For the next bandit attack, let''s surrender." Dylan calmly smiled. "What?! Why do we have to surrender?" The employees were shocked and strangely answered together. "Don''t worry, I have a plan. So for today, we will camp in this area." Dylan smiled with confidence. Knowing their boss, he will surely have a plan especially with the that confident smile hanging on his face. Like what Dylan instructed, they camped there for the whole day. Several kilometers away, a scout was watching their every movements with the use of a telescope-like artifact from a bundle of grass. After watching for several hours, the scout carefully moved backwards and ran to a hill. On the hill, it could be observed that there is a large hole that that created a large cave. The scout entered the cave in the hill and inside was a bandit troupe that was about 200 in numbers. "Boss, I have sighted a camp of 81 people and all are within the Spirit Veins level about 3 kilometers away from my station. They seemed to be taking a rest after their travels. Should we send the troops and capture them?" The bandit reported to the one who was sitting one a throne made from bones which appeared to be the leader of the bandit troupe. He was a Pinnacle 12th level Awakened Spirit Realm practitioner! "Oho, are they rich?" The boss bandit said intriguingly with his raspy and hoarse voice. "From the looks of it, boss, they are. They just had a feast of spirit beast meat like it was nothing!" The scout reported and grinned. "Hahaha, it seems like this group is some sort of meat business! Another dumb group of travellers who travel without steeds! Hahahaha! It seems like we''re going to have meat for dinner, boys! Let''s raid them! Take half of the troupe in order to intimidate them! Bring all 100 Jagger Wolves as well! Make them surrender or kill them all!" The boss bandit ordered his men to raid Dylan and his employees while laughing. "Yes, sir. Hehehe." The scout chuckled while grinning. Half an hour later... "Boss, they surrendered so we brought them here. The manager was so scared when he saw us coming and started begging the moment we got to their camp. They are also quite wealthy, boss. We also have A-grade beauties with us here. Hahahahaha! We''ve truly strucked it rich this time, boss!" The Scout was laughing loudly the moment they returned. "Hahahaha, excellent! We''re going to feast on not only food but also beauties! Nice work, Dave!" The boss laughed in response also. "Hahahaha, thank you, boss! Of course, boss has the first pick to everything! Be it treasure or beauties,? Rodney the Executioner, will have it all!" Dave praised the boss which was named Rodney. "Very good! You will be the next to pick after me! Hahahaha!" Rodney laughed as he approached Dylan. " Hmm, oh I like the two beauties who seemed to be like twins. Hahaha, come and bring those beauties to me. Oh, you must be the spineless and cowardly Manager they have? You have an annoyingly handsome face with you. Fine, I''ll kill you, first!" Rodney pointed at Mary and Marie and had his subordinates fetch them. When he looked at Dylan''s outstanding looks, he was annoyed so he decided to kill him first. "No, please don''t kill me. I- I will do anything. Just don''t kill me. I beg of you!" Dylan pleaded as he was trembling. "Hahaha, that''s it beg! The more you beg, the more it would be to kill you! Now, die!" Rodney laughed even maniacally as his sword slashed down to Dylan''s neck. But what happened next was something the bandit troupe never would have imagined to happen. The "spineless" manager broke the constraints for a Spirit Veins Cultivator easily and leisurely evaded the attack that Rodney did as he retaliated by cutting of his left arm which held the sword. "Arrrrrghhhhhhh! What-what weren''t you supposed to be a spineless and weak manager? How come you''re? this strong?!" Rodney was ashened face and was trembling as he felt like the one in front of him is the Angel of Death. ''Was my acting that convincing? Maybe I could have won an Oscar as an actor back at Earth if I tried to act. Hahahaha.'' Dylan joked to himself. "Well, that''s what you call acting. I and my employees just acted to make your men lead us to your hideout. The truth is I was able to sense that young dude right there hours ago. Seeing that he was only at sixth Level Spirit Veins Realm, I estimated? the strength of the boss which would be you around the Awakened Spirit Realm at the very least. Of course, I wouldn''t have made that conclusion if it wasn''t for the previous attacks that we experienced. So, I decided to station ourselves to that area so that the scout would be able to scout us." Dylan explained. "You sensed from that far?" Dave was shocked as his face was already white because he kept on insulting this man on their way to this hideout. He and Rodney had the same thought in mind. ''I shouldn''t have offended this man.'' Dylan did not reply to Dave''s question because he himself was unsure why he was able to meticulously? scan his surroundings via observation. It all started to happen ever since he comprehended the Law of Business. His vision and senses has become more sharp to an extremely high level that he was able to see Dave who was hiding in the bundle of grass 3 kilometers away! Dylan released his employees from their contraints by simply slashing it. "Has anyone told you that the name Rodney isn''t very intimidating? Even if you add the title "the Executioner", it will just sound absurd" Ronald couldn''t help but speak out. The employees laughed out loud when they heard Ronald''s comment. "You fucking brat! Men, kill them all! Leave none alive!" Rodney hated his name being insulted the most! He was so enraged as he held his bleeding shoulder. "Kiiiillll!!!" The bandits attacked from all sides. "Shut up!" Dylan loudened his voice as he released a "Crescent Moon Slash" that killed 30 bandits at the 7-9 level Spirit Veins in an instant! This sudden strike caused a deterrent to the bandit troupe. A casual attack could kill 30 Spirit Veins cultivators?! They stopped on their tracks and did not attack any longer. They were too? shakened by the amount of strength that Dylan possessed. Although it may seem casual, it already depleted 20% of Dylan''s energy reserves but Dylan still needed to maintain his stand in order to maximize the effects of the deterrence. "Nice hideout, you''ve got here. But I''m much more interested in your mounts than your hideout. So, hand them over." Dylan spoke as he scanned the area. "So you won''t be killing us if we hand them over?" Dave asked. "Of course...all of you would still be killed." Dylan calmly spoke. "What? Why?!" Dave cried indignantly together with the entire bandit troupe. "I''m pretty sure this isn''t the first time you''ve started doing this type of thing. From the condition of you''re hideout, it seems that you''ve done for a couple of years now and I could only imagine the numver ofpeople you''ve killed and families you''ve caused suffering to. Even if I let you off, you will still regroup and continue to kill people somewhere else. That is why I will kill all of you or you could start repenting by comting suicide here and now!" Dylan stated with his expression calm but his voice as cold as ice. "I- we..." The bandits couldn''t rebut. Some regretted their wrongdoings and committed suicide but there were also some who tried to escape and executed by Dylan and his employees. After gathering their loot and the mount, they burned the cave and prayed for the victims of the bandit troupe to rest in peace. With their newly gained mounts, their speed of travel improved to 400 kilometers a day. One month passed... A group of people riding Jagger Wolves arrived at the walls of the Inner Proximity City-Thunder Clouds City. "Finally, we''ve arrived." Dylan smiled at the entrance of this city because he knew this is where their new stage will be! 55 Chapter 55: Do You Dare? Dylan and company was finally able to arrive at the Thunder Clouds City after 6 weeks of travel. They also met a lot of trouble along the way. On the first week of their travels with the Jagger Wolves, they had difficulty with controlling and appeasing them because all of these Jagger Wolves were at the 8th level of Spirit Veins Realm and we''re innately ferocious. This caused a great amount of harm everytime wildbeasts attacks or bandit attacks occurred. The reason that they obeyed the bandit troupe was because of the human flesh that they got to eat every time the troupe slaughtered a group of travellers which allowed them to grow stronger and also the strength that Rodney possessed. Although the Jagger Wolves submitted already due to Dylan''s heaven defying strength and agreed to follow him, it did not apply to his employees as they still showed signs of repulsiveness and reluctance due to being unable to devour human flesh any longer. Dylan and company did not engage on wanton slaughter as they vowed to only kill those who have committed heinous crimes. Thus, the Jagger Wolves felt dissatisfied and displeased due to this and occasionally caused trouble. Although Dylan''s employees were prepared to kill, some of them did not really want to kill the at first because they? initially thought that maybe? not everyone was as evil as Byron or Andrew. But the moment they set foot on the hideout of the bandit troupe, they saw corpses of humans turned into piles of bones that were made into a throne and the den of the wolves at the sides were chewing fresh human flesh. They became enraged in their hearts? and found these bandits sick peopleThat''s why they were able to kill them without battling an eye. Dylan knew that some of his employees were still hesitant to do so and he knew that this would enable them to strengthen their resolve to vanquish evil and deliver justice by killing these vile men. He then vowed to himself at that moment in time, "I will only kill those who have sinned and spare the innocent. I do not aspire to be a benevolent hero. I just want to live a life devoided of any type of heinous acts. I want to be able to live a life happily in the way I want it to be without being restraint by anything until I reach my dreams. If someone will not cause harm to me, my family or my friends, I will not do anything to them and maybe we could even be friends but if you do,you will pay tenfold, no even, a hundredfold even!" When Dylan noticed this, he immediately devised a plan to solve the problem. One night, Dylan placed the Jagger Wolves personally at a nearer distance to the tent. He, then, had his employees lit up the Moonlight Stone Lamp they got from the Bandit troupe brighter which made their shadows more apparent from the outside. His employees asked why he asked them to do this but he declined to answer and enigmatically said. "Just wait and see." Dylan smiled. Dylan had his employees got the heads of different spirit beast corpse that they have been storing at the storage ring with the excuse of teaching them butchering skills. Dylan found it amazing how the storage rings have this preservation effect to food stored on it. But after careful thought, Dylan thought that it was because it was a small compressed space that had the abscence of moisture, air, and temperature which were the primary contributors of spoilage. Hearing the laughing and the loud voices of their new owners, the Jagger Wolves could not sleep and was forced to wake up. They thought of causing some trouble again by howling to interrupt their fun when they saw how those humans were chopping and beheading different spirit beasts one by one while laughing. The wolves couldn''t help but shiver especially when they saw a similar wolf type beast being butchered. The wolves subconsciously imagined that it was them being butchered. For them, it was a scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives. The wolves couldn''t even sleep fearing that they might dream of what happened earlier. The next day, the employees were shocked to find that the Jagger Wolves were obedient and showed compliance to travelling with them. Dylan knew? that this would happen beforehand because he knew that Jagger Wolves are renowned to be smart animals that are able to understand human speech at the Spirit Veins Realm. If trained well, they could be great mounts. Since they are able understand human speech with their mental faculties, Dylan hypothesized that they would be also capable of emotions such as fear. From Dylan''s observation, he was able to prove that his hypothesis was right when he saw the repeated troublemaking these wolves did which exhibited their displeasure. That''s why Dylan devised this method to seep in fear to their bones and force them to submission. To maximize the effects, Dylan added sleeping drugs that would cause a Spirit Veins beast to sleep for half a day to their meals. Having a 12-hour nightmare scare, the wolves were successfully forced into submission. With the Jagger Wolves being obedient, their travels became easier and faster. Although the farther they went, the more beast attacks and bandit ambushes happened. On the second week, they? crossed a forest that was filled with beasts that came in packs. Thankfully, they only fought with a sleuth of Iron-Paw Bears which was only 30 in number and 8th level in strength. Still, they still amassed injuries and wounds from the battle. On the third week, Dylan and his employees traversed a dessert which had ten quicksands scattered all throughout. They encountered three of the ten massive quicksands and two of which nearly swallowed the whole group alive. The two that nearly swallowed them alive just became active the moment they entered it''s? zone so they were unable to anticipate it. Fortunately, the Jagger Wolves have sharp senses and were able to flee when the quicksand was just approaching it''s peak speed of devouring. On the fourth week of travelling, they could finally let out a sigh of relief as they travelled peacefully on a grass field until they were able to reach the Thunder Clouds City. In front of the walls of the Thunder Clouds City... Dylan and his employees were discussing about the happenings that happened over the past month as they rode their mounts. "Finally, we reached the city. Oh, man, how I missed civilization huhuhu.'' "No more bandit attacks!" "No more stupid beasts who will ambush us! Wooo!'' "Oh, my gosh, that dessert filled with quicksand still frightens me up until now." "Hahaha, I know right." "It was sure scary!" "The Iron-Paw Bears were really strong. I could still remember the intensity of their strikes." "You''re right. I got hit by one of their strikes and nearly got my lights out." Currently, each one of Dylan''s employees has reached the 9th level of Spirit Veins Realm! It was because of the loot that they got from the Bandit troupe and the bandit attacks that occurred. They were also able to master their Middle Spirit Rank Techniques to the Novice Mastery in more than a month of rigorous training. Dylan was impressed by the degree of hardwork and heart they were showing in their trainings. Be it girl or boy, they all showed promised. Part of the reason for their fast improvement was the method that Dylan used. Dylan divided his employees into groups depending on the techniques they chose so there would be different groups when training Battle, Movement and Secret Techniques. Every group is the group an employee will train on a specific technique. This way they would be able to quickly identify each others flaws and correcting it through combat. Everyone would also be given more chance to interact with each other therefore improving coordination and familiarity of the skills. It''s like killing two birds with one stone! "Okay everyone, let''s prepare to find a place to stay the moment we enter the city. That is our topmost priority, understood?" Dylan issued a command. "Yes, sir!" The employees replied. As they were just going to enter the city gates, they were blocked by the axes carried by the two armored guards. "What''s the meaning of this?" Dylan asked as he looked sideways to the guards which are blocking his way. "We are blocking you. What does it look like?" The large guard from the right who had brown wavy hair with a slightly pointed nose smirked. "What maybe your reason for obstructing our entry to the city?" Jack asked hurriedly. "We have three reasons. First, your entrance is unauthorized because you didn''t present a letter of entry. Second, you are entering with mounts without having a 4th grade noble emblem presented to us, the city guards. Third,you are attempting to enter the city with large groups while having mounts that are ferocious in nature. It is already suspicious that you want to enter the city in large groups, even more so, with mounts like Jagger Wolves." The large guard from the left who had brown-skin and black curly hair enumerated. "But we didn''t know that there was such rules." Scott replied as he frowned. Not only him, the entire group was frowning "It seems like you are from a Outer or Middle Proximity City. Country Bumpkins, sure are ignorant. The Inner Proximity City are a lot more different and more superior than what you think. That''s why laws are strict here! But, since you didn''t know, we''ll be giving you leeway for breaking the law by paying for just compensation. 50 gold coins per person. So all in all, it''s 40,000 gold coins!" The brown wavy haired guard exclaimed. "What? 40,000 gold coins?! That''s daylight robbery!" Allana screeched in discontent and came in front. "Huh? Robbery? We are just merely doing our job, bitch! So, shut up." The brown-skinned guard cursed and looked intimidatingly at Allana. "That''s enough, everyone. Stay behind me. I''ll handle this." Dylan made his employees take a step back. "But-" His employees tried to reply when Dylan said. "It''s fine. Leave it all to me." Dylan smiled pleasantly to his workers. "Okay, sir." The employees could only passively concede when they saw their boss'' reassuring smile. "Oh, so what do we have here? A hero wannabe? Hahaha." The brown wavy haired guard mocked Dylan. "Hahaha!" The brown-skinned guard laughed. "Hypocrites." Dylan commented on their absurd behavior. "What did you just say?!" Both guards ceased laughing and looked furiously at Dylan. "Unheard of. I have never heard men that would want to be called "Hypocrites". Since that is your wish, I will repeat what I have said. You two are hypocrites." Dylan calmly stated. "You... Don''t think I won''t dare to kill you!" The brown-skinned guard threatened. "Tsk! Are you insulting us, members of the Thundercloud Guard?! You must have a death wish! Let this people in line be our witness. I''ll? make things clear to you! Pay to Enter, Leave, or Die!" The brown wavy haired guard placed an ultimatum. The people''s interest were suddenly piqued by the sudden announcement of the guards. They saw that a handsome young man wearing a type of clothing commonly found in Middle Proximity Cities. They were amused and decided to watch how this gutsy country bumpkin would fare against the City Guards. "Are you threatening me? Fine, then, let the people in line bear witness. I did not do anything to you but you''re deliberately making things difficult for me and my comrades. I do not meddle with other people''s business but since you threatened me, I''ll do the same for you." Dylan spoke. "Hahaha, what senseless drivel!" The two guards mocked him. "Really? We''ll see who''s talking nonsense." Dylan calmly glanced at the guards. "First and foremost, you said that we should present the letter of entry? Indeed, we don''t have one. But as ignorant as I am, I am certain that a protocol must be followed and the conventional approach would be inquiring yet you did not do even this? This could be a sign that you guards are not following the working ethics of a proper guard." Dylan pointed out. "Ha, you''re just making assumptions." The brown-skinned guard claimed. "Second, you said that mounts are not permitted unless a person has a 4th grade noble emblem, right? But what about the group you gave permission to enter two groups prior to us? They rode five 2-meter tall shadow panther. The one which had 10 members, 7 male and 3 female? They did not present a badge or whatsoever. Nobles wear there emblem by their chest. If you want me to find an evidence, nobles? are everywhere within the city. You can just spot one every second that passes. Despite them not having a noble emblem, you still let them pass? Why? Because they are related to you?" Dylan disregarded the rebuttal of the guard. "Hahaha, is this all you''ve got? Making up stories?" The wavy haired guard mocked. "Am I? Then look 30 meters behind you and see what group is currently discussing." Dylan pointed behind the guards back. "Hahaha, what are you babbling on abou..." The wavy haired guard couldn''t continue what he was saying because what Dylan said was on point. The group he described was literally 30 meters away! "Oh my, it''s true!" "They have the five Shadow Panthers!" "They have 10 members, 7 male and 3 female!" "It''s true they don''t have an emblem on them!" The crowd was shocked when they saw a group of people like what Dylan described! Every single detail was true. They could see a person passing by wearing an emblem that had the insignia of the Thunder Clouds City! ''I thought that this group has already entered the center of the city. That''s why I was so confident. I''m? just unlucky today that''s all. I can still get out of this!'' The wavy haired guard thought. "Well, it''s just a coincidence that''s all. How are you sure that they were not able to give me a letter of entry, huh?" The city guard "If that''s true, then you should have at least a single letter of entry with you." Dylan faintly smiled. "Well, we do! This is a true and genuine letter of entry! Hahaha! You''re just humiliating yourself, little boy!" The brown-skinned guard showed a letter in the crowd which had the characters "Letter of Entry" to the crowd. "Then, let someone from our witness, read it." Dylan said as he maintained his smile. "Urrr?, The letter of entry is... confidential. That''s why it can''t be read!" The brown-skinned guard immediately came up with an excuse. "Is that so? Then let''s sign a Soul Lock Scroll if what you say is true." Dylan''s? smile was filled with calmness as a scroll appeared in his hands. It was from the collection of treasures that the Bandit troupe had. "You... you must be scheming!? What if you alter the contents of the Contract and force me to speak untruthfully??!" The brown-skinned guard accused. "Since everyone here has been made a witness, I''ll show all of you the contents of the Contract, I''ll write. I, Dylan Ford, will pay double the amount of the fee for breaking the law if you will assure meand everyone in this line that what you''re holding is a true and genuine letter of entry. If you were to ever lie, you must pay with your? life." Dylan wrote on the contract as he spoke out loud. "Why must I pay with my life? This is clearly unfair! How am I sure that you have the money you mentioned?!" The brown-skinned guard protested. "Why? Because you said that it is a true and genuine letter and nowadays, you can only trust a person you just met if he put his life on the line. If you''re telling the truth, then you should be able to sign and keep your life. You would also only be gaining from me. As for the money, I have 18 extra ownerless Jagger Wolves. Each one is a an 8th level Spirit Veins Realm. You could sell one for 5000 gold coins! So all in all, you will have 90,000 gold coins. I kept my end of the bargain. It''s a big win situation for you right? Are you still unwilling to sign the contract?" Dylan merely answered his questions. "Or are you lying that''s why you''re hesitating? You clearly saw what I have written on the contract right? So, Do you dare?" Dylan calmly spoke with his hands behind his back and still maintained his calm pleasant smile all throughout the debate. 56 Chapter 56: The Thunder Clan The brown-skinned guard was trembling and was shaking nonstop when he saw how Dylanwas confidently offering the contract in front of the large crowd. He did not expect that these bumpkin would be so hard to deal with. Although it may seem that Dylan''s offer was enticing and easy to win in the surface, it truly is not because in truth, it was a trap that Dylan set to prove that the guards were lying all this time. "You! This must be some kind of scam I say! How can we believe you!" The wavy haired guard protested. "Well, I just publicized the content of the Contract so there''s no reason for me to lie. For you to have some peace of mind, I''ll give the contract for you two to read. Here." Dylan approached the two guards and presented the contract itself. The two guards read the contract meticulously and examined errors that they could use against Dylan but they couldn''t find one because every word of the text was all said by Dylan to the crowd. They felt that they were defeated being unable to retort nor retaliate to this young man because they were the ones in the wrong. They never expected to find a difficult to handle bumpkin in the line of migrants. "I... lied. This is not the letter of entry for the prior group but it was from another group who came by earlier." The brown-skinned guard conceded as he admitted the truth to Dylan . The other guard could only concede as well and lower his head. There was no way they could risk their lives for the sake of money. "So you finally admit it. I knew from the very first reason you gave out that you con migrants. Why? It''s simple although it is relatively true that to enter a city a person or a group must have a letter of entry to present, but this is only applicable for those people specifically businessmen or other high ranked individuals because it will directly state that their purpose for coming here is for transaction. For us, ordinary cultivators, the reasonable mode of entry is paying an entrance fee about 10 gold per person or so." "Your second reason was also faulty because how can you expect migrants to travel by foot when every city is tens of thousands of kilometers apart? It is only practical for them to use mounts. The next is that we must present an emblem to be able to enter the city with our mounts? I believe that although it is true, it is only applicable to mounts which have the ability of flight because there are some powerful individuals who imposes restrictions on the use of flight due to it being the most common way of establishing strength which is disrespectful to the ruler of a city. Every cultivator needs a mount for their travels and adventures that is why it is only natural to have a spirit beast pet." "The third reason was about the speculation that we might do an attack or acts of the same nature? How can we, Spirit Gathering Realm practitioners fight against the the Thundercloud Guards with our meager strength? Much less our mounts who are even weaker than us. I suspect that we would be easily wiped out by the strength of the city guards. The truth of the matter is that you only accused us of doing so due to me and my companions appearance which are from the countrysides. This way extortion and deception could be easily done by taking advantage of the stereotypical fact that we are ignorant. Am I right?" Dylan bombarded them with his opinion which he based on logical facts that stemmed from his knowledge about the regulations of the territory of a cultivator in various types of novels. He smiled at the guards as he received applause? from thecrowds. The crowd was shocked when they heardthe confession of the brown skinned guard and was amazed by Dylan''s eloquence. They thought that Dylan was the dumb one as to offer 90,000 gold coins worth of spirit beast to this man just to admit the obvious truth to them but it turns out that the truththat they thought was genuine was nothing but a farce. "You guys are liars!" "Yeah!" "So you two are nothing but Con Artists!'' "When I reach the town, I''ll file a complaint against the both of you!" "Booo!" "Rotten Knights!" The two guard knights were being booed by the crowd after the crowd learned of the truth. They could only lower their heads as they received the curses of the crowd. It was understandable how the crowds felt because if it wasn''t for Dylan then most of them would be taken advantage of because they were ignorant and has no knowledge about the city rules. That is why they are somewhat thankful for Dylan''s stand against these two opportunistic guards who takes advantage of the lack of knowledge migrants have to gain money from them. "Make way the Young Master has arrived!" A voice called out from the back. Suddenly, people from the back started to make way for a large group and made its way to the front of the gates. The large group comprised of 50 members was lead by a golden haired 21-year old young man whose height was 1.8 meters tall which was about the same as Dylan. He had white and smooth skin that highlighted his bright yellow eyes and long eyelashes. His perfect face displayed coherence with his eyes and brows down to his pinkish lips which would tempt any girl to kiss it. This young man was handsome enough to be called an immortal prince. "So perfect and so dreamy." A teenage girl screamed in idolization. "Who is he? Oh my, he''s so handsome!" A woman couldn''t help but speak while blushing. "He''s like a prince that came from the immortal realm!" Another young lady commented as her eyes sparkled towards that young man. A lot of women agreed to her remark about this handsome young man. He wore a robe that had the insignia of the Thunder Clouds City but was slightly different than the noble emblem of the city because the insignia had torrents of thunders that came from the cloud while the emblem only had a few thunders. "That crest! It''s the insignia of the Grand Clan, Thunder Clan!" A man called out. "Ah! Now that you mentioned it, I heard the Thunder Clan hada peerless genius who reached the peak of the Origin Realm at the age of 20 called Victor Thunder! Could this man be him?" An old man spoke as he recollected an information from his head. "What? He''s from the Thunder Clan?" "The clan which founded and ruled Thunder Cloud City?!" "A peerless genius?" "Reaching the peak of the Origin Realm at 20?" The crowd had become frenzied when they heard the old man''s words. The more they discussed about it, the more it seemed to be true! In no time, everyone was informed of the speculated identity of the young man. "Make way for the Young Master!" The one beside the golden-haired youth said. Dylan and his group could only move to the side and make way like what the others did while the guards went forward and received the large group. "Oh, if it isn''t Young Master Victor! How was your expedition on the Thunderstorm Peak?" The two guards behaved like dogs in front of their master. "It went well. I was able to get what I wanted." Victorreplied in a calm manner. "As expected of the Young Master Victor, he truly is a peerless genius!" The brown-skinned guard praised. "Of course, Young Master Victor is a dragon amongst men. A trivial Thunderstorm Peak is not something that will hinder his path to greatness!" The wavy haired guard kept praising Victor while trying to curry his favor. "It''s true, he truly is Victor Thunder!" "No wonder, he''s so handsome!" "Get out of the way I must meet him face to face!" "I want to meet him as well!" The crown became even more frenzied because there speculation was true! They started pushing forward but was prevented by the men within Victor''s group. ''Hahaha, you country bumpkin, you''re dead neat now! With Young Master Victor helping us, you''ll die a horrible death! Hahaha!" Both guards thought while they sideglanced to Dylan''s direction and smiled. "Stop coaxing me. I don''t like to be praised by hopeless trashes like you." Victor spoke coldly to the two. "Huh? Young Master Victor, have we offended you?" The brown skinned guard trembled and tried to remember what they could have done to offend such a man. "There''s no need for you to say anything. I heard and saw everything that happened here earlier. So, there''s no point in explaining to trashes like you who takes advantage of people for their own selfish gains." Victor coldly stated. He was able to know everything that happened despite being far from the scene earlier because of the vastly superior senses granted by being a cultivator at the peak of the Origin Realm. "Young Master, we can explain. Please give us a chance!" The two of begged for mercy as they kowtowed to Thunder. "Truly hopless. Both of you deserve to die!" A yellow flash of lightning hit the ground and strikes the two guards. Not being able to emit even a sound, the two guards turned into ash. The crowd quivered at the sight of this ruthlessness. Victor killed the two guards who were at the 15th level of Awakened Spirit Realm in an instant without even moving a single finger! "Too powerful!" The crowd exclaimed the obvious in their shock. Dylan remained calm despite of this. He knew that these were common occurences that happened in the cultivation world. He was just relieved that Victor was not one of those silk pants type of Young Master because if he were then there would be a totally different result from what happened here today. "Tell the chief of the guards to replace them with guards who are more committed and trustworthy. For now, I''ll have you two guard the guard the gate. The rest go back to Thundercloud Guards HQ, I will be going to the clan to inform father of my arrival. Understood?" Victor takes one person to inform the chief of guards, he pointed randomly at two men to guard the gate temporarily, and instructed every one to go to the headquarters of the Thundercloud Guards. Victor glanced at Dylan and said before entering the city, "You''re quite intelligent but it''s too bad your strength is lacking. How about serving under me? I could tell that you have the potential to be a strategist with your critical way of thinking and such talent would be wasted if not used. Do you agree?" The crowd was shocked when Victor offered Dylan a job to serve him but they thought it was only natural since he showed great mental fortitude and ability despite being new to the Thunder Cloud City! It is common knowledge that a good army must be strong and large in manpower but a great army relies on the strategy of a great tactician. "I''m sorry, Young Master Victor, but I prefer my freedom and do not like to serve under anyone so I would have to decline." Dylan replied courteously with a calm smile. "Audacious! You don''t know the value of Young Master''s good will!" A man beside Victor furiously shouted. "It''s alright. It was just a casual question. It''s his choice to do so and I don''t want to impose my wants to him. I''m sorry but I don''t know your name yet." Victor asked. "My name is Dylan Ford." Dylan introduced himself with a slight bow. "Good name. My name is Victor Thunder. Something tells me we will be meeting again someday. I look forward to it. Maybe you will change your mind by then." Victor turned around and left. "I wonder." Dylan smiled as he looked? at the back of the leaving Victor. 57 Chapter 57: The Realms above Spirit Gathering After the incident at the city entrance, Dylan and his companions was able to successfully enter the city after paying 3620 gold coins because there is an entrance fee of 20 gold coins for all cultivators. Cultivators meaning to every entity that could cultivate so the Jagger Wolves were also included in the paying of the entrance fee. 81 human cultivators and 100 spirit beast is a total of 3620 gold coins worth of entrance fee. Before the crowd went there separate ways, they approached Dylan and thanked him for exposing those guards of their stinky behavior resulting them to be killed by Victor. By doing so, he prevented more people from falling to their evil plans and was able to successfully deliver justice to those who were already victims of their plans. His companions idolized Dylan even more because of the eloquence and quick-wittedness that Dylan displayed. Their eyes burned with anticipation and excitement for what was to come to them. On the streets of the entrance of the city, Dylan tasked his companions with different tasks. "Now that we''ve arrived, I need you all to split into groups of 4. The first group will handle the gathering of all useful information that can be asked or bought through gold coins. The second group will be responsible for finding a residence that will be able to accommodate all of us. The third group will be in charge of guarding the wolf pack while the last? group will sell all of the loots that we don''t have any use for. We''ll meet back here by 6 in the evening that means you have 8 hours to accomplish your tasks?. I''ll be joining the second group in finding a residence for us to stay." Dylan instructed. "Yes sir!" The employees responded positively with energy and enthusiasm! They split into four groups and then separated to their tasks. The second group, where Dylan was in, went to the real estate establishments in this city after asking some people around. They were able to buy a residence that was worth 50,000 gold coins and was able to accommodate 100 people but they learned something from the seller when Dylan discussed the price with him. "In the city, one must be able to achieve a rank of nobility in order to stay. Any cultivator without rank can only stay for 2 weeks in the city. That''s why if you desire to stay, you must be able to have a rank of at least 5." The real estate agent told Dylan. "How is one supposed to be able to attain that rank?" Dylan inquired calmly. "He must take the Nobility Test." The seller spoke with seriousness? "Nobility Test? What''s that?" Dylan asked. "A test that measures the strength, knowledge and comprehension of the person. The first two are clearly dependent on your physical and mental capabilities but the last is where it becomes really difficult. Strength and knowledge can be acquired but comprehension is not. If you wish to know why the last test is the hardest, you will know when you take it." The dealer explained. "Hmm. Thank you for the information. We''ll get going now. Here''s the money." Dylan was lost in his thoughts for a second. Then, he thanked the seller and gave the big sack of money. "Thank you for coming. Come again." The seller bowed as Dylan and his companions left. They? headed to the street they were one earlier and saw the others. After meeting up, Dylan and his companions went to the address of the house. The house was quite as it had three floors and was evidently built with sturdiness and dexterity. The house was made with simplicity but built well and had strong support. There was also a garden in both frontyard andbackyard that complimented with the simplicity of the house. "Woah, this is amazing. It''s big!" Ronald jumped as he said excitedly. The employees were also really excited when they saw this big house. The house was about 50 meters squared and was wide enough to accommodate all of them. The second and third floor each had 15 rooms that can accommodate 4 persons because of the two bunk beds found in each room. Each room had a restroom for the occupants to use. The first floor was all for dining, entertainment and relaxation because it was where the dining area, living room and kitchen was found. "It has everything that we need so everyone go upstairs and pick your rooms. Remember the second floor is for the boys while the third is for the girls." Dylan reminded. Dylan assigned the second floor for men and the third floor for women. After setting down to their rooms and changed clothes after shower, Dylan called them over to the living room with a very long table to ask the results of the tasks of the first and fourth group. "Sir Dylan, the fourth group was able to gain 30,500 gold coins after selling all the artifacts that we did not use. The reason for us being able to earn this much was because of the large amounts of Low and Mid Spirit Rank equipments we got from the bandit loot that numbered to 132 treasures." Larry reported because he was the leader of the first group. "Nice work, guys. Thank you." Dylan smiled in approval. The total amount of money they had in cash when they came here was about 80,000 gold coins but it was reduced to 20,000 gold coins after buying the house and paying the fee. Dylan also gave a couple of thousand gold coins to Jack who was the leader of the fourth group. He was really satisfied with the results of selling all the unused artifacts they gained. "Sir, we were also able to discover many things from cultivation, rules and regulations, trending business and more." Jack spoke. "Continue." Dylan said. "First, we were able to discover the realms? above Spirit Veins Realm are called: The Origin Palace Realm, The Mortal Severing Realm and the Immortal Saint Realm!" Jack enumerated. Dylan and the others listened attentively to Jack. They knew what Jack was about to say was vital for their development and future as a cultivator. They were also be able to measure the gap between them and Byron. Although noone really voiced it out, everyone knew that every single one of them had the desire to avenge Leila''s and Frank''s death. This desire was one of the reason that kept them having the tenacity and determination to become stronger than they ever were. Another reason was that they don''t want to experience the pain of losing someone and they do not want anyone else to die in battle ever again. Thus, resulting to their desire for strength to become even more stronger. "The Origin Palace Realm, as the name suggests this is the realm wherein the cultivator will be able to create a palace from an energy that is far superior than the spirit energy called Origin Energy. The Origin Palace grants the cultivator the ability to store nearly three times more energy than in the Spirit Gathering Realm. Not only that, it also enables the Avatar of a person to evolve! Cultivators at this realm could simply wipe out a dozen of experts at the Pinnacle of the Spirit Gathering Realm " Jack spoke while his eyes shone like flames. "What?!" The rest were shocked when they heard how powerful an Origin Palace Realm Expert is. Singlehandedly killing a dozen experts at the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm? That was quite a big gap. Now, they knew why Byron viewed them as insignificant ants because killing them would be as easy as lifting a finger. They knew how vast the gap was yet they did not feel too down because they even felt the excitement of growing stronger from it! "The Mortal Severing Realm is where a cultivator sheds his mortality to be reborn anew, breaks through the division between human and immortal, and truly establish a connection with the heavens and earth. This is the realm where a mortal truly becomes a immortal!" Scott continued. "The Immortal Saint Realm is the strongest and most powerful? experts known in the Mystical Clouds Country! They are able to live for as long as 10,000 years old! Their power is so vast and supreme that Mortal Severing Cultivators could only crumble in their path! They are able to connect with both heaven and earth and summon it''s awesome might! They are capable of destroying any state of a country alone!" Arnold narrated in awe. "So does that mean the Mystic Red Cloud State can unify the whole country if they had one? Why not just conquer the entire country if any state had one?" Allana curiously asked. "It''s not that simple, Allana. It''s because each state has their own Immortal Saint with them and engaging any war with any of them would not be beneficial to any of the states. Moreover, if they were to attack each other and fully dive into war, then other countries might take advantage of the war and conduct a full scale invasion." Jack explained. "That''s right, we''ve also learned that there is a ranking of every Saint alive and it''s called The Ten Immortal Saints! 6 of which comes from the 6 clans of True Kings and the other 4 are from different states. All of them are the pillars? of the entire Mystical Clouds Country! What''s more is that there are rumors of 4 more Saints within the country but there locations? is unknown and there isn''t? any concrete evidence of them even existing but those 10 are the real deal!" Scott interjected. "Going back, we were also able to gain information about the stages within each level aside from the Immortal Saint Realm. We were able to complete the information on the Origin Palace Realm but was unable to do the same for the Mortal Severing Realm." Jack said. "The Origin Palace Realm is divided into 4 sub-realms and has also 5 levels with 5 stages in each level: Origin Transmutation, Origin Foundation, Palace Formation and Palace Establishment. First, Origin Transmutation is the realm where a person needs to transmute his Spirit Energy to Origin Energy and to advance each level a person must be able to transmute 20% of their energy. Second, Origin Foundation is where a cultivator forms Origin Pillars and Origin Base to become the foundation of the Origin Palace. The third is the Palace Formation which is where the cultivator will try and build his very own Origin Palace. Lastly, the Palace Establishment this is where a cultivator is to fully integrated his Avatar to the Origin Palace. Therefore, resulting to the Avatars evolution as the Palace Avatar or Palace Guardian." Jack explained. "The Mortal Severing Realm is also divided into 4 sub-realms and with the same levels and stages.But this is where it gets really dangerous. In order to advance this realm, a person must withstand heavenly tribulations every time they enter a sub-realm. Since this is the turning point for every cultivator to become immortal, the heavens barred the path of the weak and only allowed the strong to persevere. These are called the Mortal Severing Tribulations!" Scott continued. "The first sub-realm is the Mortal Moulting where the cultivator must endure the first Mortal Severing Tribulations called Star Flames of Rebirth. In this realm, a person must be able to moult and cast away his mortal flesh and be reborned anew by the Star Flames of Rebirth but this flames are so strong that it could burn an entire mountain within seconds! But that is only the details we have gathered so far." Jack said disappointingly. "We''ve also managed to gather information about the Mystical Magnates Cultivation." Arnold suddenly remembered. "That''s right." Scott agreed. "So, what about it?" Dylan was suddenly even more intrigued. He was been meaning to know about it all this time. "The Mystical Magnates are the occupation that is known to be the strongest because of their Magnate Strength that grants them the ability to suppress their enemies powers. The weakest rank of a Mystical Magnate is a Magnate Apprentice that is able to synchronize two emotions at once and use Magnate Strength. This stage is like a pre-entry realm to the Mystical Magnate stage. In the Mystical Magnate stage, there is 9 tiers and to advance to each tier a person must be able to refine and strengthen their Magnate Strength." " The next stage is the Mystical Duke Rank where a Magnate is to create a Magnate Soul! A Magnate Soul is the condensed type of Magnate Strength similar to an Avatar but it is far more stronger than a Avatar because of the power of suppression that it possesses. The next is the Mystical Lord Rank. In this stage, a Magnate Soul is turned into a Soul Lord which is three times stronger than a Magnate Soul! The Soul Lord also have another ability called Soul Fusion! Soul Fusion is an ability that enables the Magnate to fuse his Avatar and Soul Lord to an even stronger entity which is more powerful than a Soul Lord." Arnold elaborated. ''So, this is the realm you are at, huh... Byron!'' Dylan thought while he sat and placed his elbows on the table in front of him with fingers intertwined below his clear black eyes.Dylan''s eyes flickered as pitch black clouds could be faintly seen within. 58 Chapter 58: Dylan Takes Advantage of the Mansion After listening to the cultivation realms above Spirit Gathering and Mystical Magnate, Jack and the rest of the first group spoke the rules and regulations that they were able to know during their tasks. Dylan and the rest were able to little by little got to know the nature, the characteristics and the lifestyle of the people living in the Thunder Clouds City. Then, Scott discussed about the current business trends of the city which are fashion, pill refinement, weapon-making, and trade/auction. He also enumerated the current business ranking of the all well-known business establishments within the city. Everyone listened attentively to what the first group reported and by the end of the discussion, they were able to gain a great amount of understanding about the city. In this city, they were nothing but small fries as almost everyone here has already reached the Awakened Spirit Realm and Origin Palace Realm practitioners can be seen almost anywhere! After learning a great deal of knowledge about the city, Dylan''s employees started to work and train harder than they used to be. Clearly, what they discovered this day became the thing that will drive them in order to strive to be stronger than they were! Dylan was thinking of what business to do while he was observing his employees. He began to organize his thoughts and formulated a step by step plan. ''My first priority is to create a business that will enable me to gain at least 1000 gold coins a day because I will need the money and the Primal Stones I am going to gain for the next step of my plans. The next is that I also need to buy books and learning materials for me to read before taking the examination. If my assumptions are right, then the intellectual part of the test is the knowledge of the person in the history and culture of the Thunder Cloud City as well as the nature of cultivation. The next is that for me to secure myself passing that Strength test I need to be able to advance to the Awakened Spirit Realm.'' Dylan carefully devised a plan. ''According to the real estate agent, I only have two weeks to prepare. I can use the first week to build up my business until it''s stable enough to earn 1000 gold coins and the last week to prepare myself for the Nobility Test. But I''m still not sure what type of business I should create. I have enough money to build a small business but I''m still not sure what particular business.'' Dylan felt that he encountered a predicament. He thought hard on what business he should do. Dylan accounted and considered many variables already. He can buy a small store but he does not have supplies to use as commodity. He knew that the people here have little interest in food because almost every human in the city is already at the Awakened Spirit Realm and once a cultivator reached the Awakened Spirit Realm, he can withstand passing meals for a week? by using spirit energy as his nourishment. Although there are some who still likes to eat for the sake of pleasure and enjoyment, that''s? only a small group of customers and it would not sustain his needs. Thus, he needed to find a supply of goods fast. ''Oh, right. I have yet to use the 18 Centurial Stones because! According to the manual, I need to be able to have a set of 250 spirit veins before cultivating the Ancestral Veins System but *sigh*, it''s such a pity that the spirit veins I gain from the Centurial Stones is useless unless I cultivate the Ancestral Veins System. I''ll worry about business after acquiring the veins.'' Dylan sighed in his heart as he entered his mindscape. Dylan approached the gates and saw the Centurial Stones and started cultivating them. After? 3 hours of cultivation, Dylan was able to successfully integrate his Centurial Stones in his body. Currently, he now has 33 additional spirit veins from his Spirit Veins System. Dylan began to inspect other types of rewards because Dylan wasn''t able to receive a reward for killing his first ever opponent, Andrew and after killing hundreds of bandits during their travels. Dylaninspected carefully but he was unable to sight anything. Although it was a bit disappointing, he was not really depressed because he knew that he should not be dependent on the mansion all the time. The one thing he did not receive in the mansion was Techniques. Thus, this became his weakness that was easily exploited by Andrew and if it weren''t for the Waning Moon Sword and the Shield of Dusk, he would be the one dead by now. He also thought it through that maybe the reason that his master did not award him with battle techniques or any type of techniques was for him to not be overly reliant on the Cosmic God Mansion. Dylan''s only weakness in the past was his Low Spirit Rank Techniques but now he was able to cultivate Mid level Spirit Rank Techniques which greatly increased his strength. He practiced theMid level Spirit Rank Battle Technique- "Tiger Slaying Fist" to the Minor Accomplishment Mastery already and for his Movement Technique, he practiced a technique similar to the Four Soft Steps in nature called Seven Crane Dances to the Minor Accomplishment Mastery as well. His Secret Technique called the [Tiger and Crane] was somewhat lagged as he only cultivated it to the Novice Mastery. This was only possible because of the training program he had with his employees and his own comprehension that his employees deemed as amazing. Most of his employees were still at the Novice Mastery and only a little was able to reach the peak of the Novice Mastery. Dylan began to look at the mansion. He thought back to the time he was begging the mansion to help him but it did not reply. It simply stood majestically despite it''s successor being pummeled and crippled to death without even giving any help. Dylan still held a bit of a grudge to the mansion for not helping him. Based on what Dylan read in novels, he thought that being a God-level treasure the mansion must already have gained sentience and have cultivated to an unimaginable level! It could have lended just a slight help because it? possessed tremendous strength that with just a slight help it could have turned the tables around but it did not. Dylan gritted his teeth and tightened his fist as he looked hatefully at the mansion. If only it helped, then Leila and Frank wouldn''t have died or Scarlet wouldn''t have been taken away. A moment later, Dylan calmed himself down and cleared his mind. He was then able to think properly that it is highly possible that the mansion did not helpto prevent it from being discovered because if it did the state or even worse the whole country might have learned of its existence. If that happened, the consequences would have been unimaginable. After that he sighed and accepted what just happened, Dylan just stood there and appreciated the view of the majestic and beautiful mansion of his master. It was truly a sight to marvel about. Suddenly, Dylan saw something that shocked him greatly. "It can''t be, can it?" Dylan was dumbfounded. He immediately got out of his mindscape and had Tom buy something. Tom was a bit shocked when Dylan suddenly called him just to buy something but he still obeyed. After half an hour, Tom arrived and gave the thing that Dylan asked him to buy. "I''m sorry for the inconvenience, Tom. You can continue training now." Dylan calmly said with a smile. "No problem, sir Dylan." Tom replied. After Dylan left, the employees were curious about what Tom bought and approached him to ask him what item Dylan asked him to buy so urgently. "Tom, what did sir Dylan ask you to buy?" Ronald asked. "Yeah, Tom, what was it?" Scott joined in the conversation. "Was it a weapon?" Allanas asked. "Was it a treasure or an artifact?" Beverly inquired as well. "Was it something like a Technique?" Arnold questioned. "Well, it was not anything like that." Tom scratched his head when he answered. "What was it then?" The employees were anticipating what type of item did their boss ask Tom to buy. Their eyes and ears were attentively focused to Tom''s answer. Tom felt slightly uncomfortable by being stared by by his friends. Since it came to this, he could only say the truth. "It was a... book about herbs." Tom spoke shyly. "What?!?!" The rest of the email were completely shocked. What was their boss'' planning to do with herbs? Inside Dylan''s mindscape... "I can''t believe this... Sky Spirit Grass, Blueheart Lotus, Silverdust Flowers, Dawnheart lotus... All of this are High Spirit Rank Herbs and Low Earth Rank spirit herbs... But they are just weeds in the Cosmic God Mansion!?" Dylan was in for a total shock. He was trembling in shock when he saw the diversity of High Spirit Rank Herbs and Low Earth Rank Herbs that were near the mansion gates. After several minutes of reading the herbal book that Tom bought, Dylan was able to successfully keep all the herbs enlisted in the book to his mind thanks to his nearly photographic memory. He was able to find almost everything? inside the book within the grounds near the mansion gates. "Heavenly 8-leafed Lotus! Solarburst Chrysanthemum! Goldeneye? fruit! Dragon Scaled Vines! These are High Earth Rank Herbs!! How can they just be weeds in this garden?" Dylan was still utterly dumbfounded because he knew the rarity and the amazing medicinal properties of this herbs. Many people would kill at the sight of a single one of them but Dylan saw that there were multiple herbs of each rank within this garden. If people knew what Dylan had in his possession, they would cut open his mind, take control of his body, or coerce him to surrender these herbs by torture. Dylan wasn''t able to realize it before because he was too focused on his cultivation and business and most of the herbs that he knows are all Low to Mid Spirit Rank Herbs because of his Herbal Shop back at the Soaring Cloud City but these herbs that he saw astounded him because the most lowest ranking herb in this garden is a High Spirit Rank Herbs! If it weren''t for Dylan spotting a High class Herbal Shop while walking, he wouldn''t have recognized these herbs and he wouldn''t have ordered Tom to buy a herbal book for him. When he moved passed that Herbal Shop, he was quite intrigued about the herbs on sale and he only skimmed through the herbs but he was able to remember their appearances. With the herbs'' appearances in mind, Dylan was able to recognize them and then asked Tom to buy the book for verification purposes. What''s more is that this herbs could be seen anywhere! If weeds are already this high ranked, what of the herbs that are being preserved and constantly nurtured by the mansion? "There''s got to be Sky Ranked Herbs or even Immortal Ranked Herbs in there?! That means if in the future, I am able to take control of the mansion. Then, does that mean it''s all mine? " Dylan could not help but feel excited about this. "But herbs are useless for me right now since I am unable to refine anything except the Cosmic God Stones. I really need to find out what''s wrong with my body. When I''m successful enough in either business or cultivation, I''ll invite doctors and alchemists to check my condition." Dylan felt down because of this. He really can''t cultivate like what other people do. "Although there useless to me, but for my customers they aren''t." Dylan smiled as he approached the gates and started plucking High Spirit Rank Herbs one at a time. "Master and Mansion, thank you for this help. Well, these herbs may be herbs to both of you but this is equal to profit for me. Hehehe." Dylan smirked as his pace of plucking the herbs started to become faster. After two hours of picking herbs, Dylan was able to collect hundreds? of herbs for the more than 50 kinds of herbs near the mansion gates. It was a good thing that the gates have enough space for a hand to pass through it. Dylan exited his mindscape and heartily laughed at the large pouch of Sky Spirit Grass in his right hand that he just materialized. "Hehehe, well, it''s time for business." Dylan smiled with satisfaction. 59 Chapter 59: Dylans Brand New Business After rechecking the number of herbs he got, Dylan went to the front yard where his employees were training. When the employees saw Dylan , they stopped training first before greeting him. "Goodmorning, sir Dylan!" The employees greeted. "Goodmorning to you guys as well. So I have an important announcement to make." Dylan smiled. "What is it, sir Dylan?" Ronald took the initiative and asked. "We''re going back to Business." Dylan smiled. "Really?!" Everyone was shocked but revealed an expression of extreme happiness after. "So what type of business is it gonna be sir Dylan?" Beverly asked. "It''s a herbal shop." Dylan smiled confidently. "But sir Dylan, although it can earn us a fair amount of money, but shouldn''t we do business that are the trends in the Thunder Clouds City so that we will be able to gain a lot more since they earn more in the present?" Larry inquiried. "You''re right that would be the typical approach to earn better money but we don''t have enough money and resources to sustain these types? of businesses? especially auction and pill refinement. For auctioning, it is a necessary that the auctioned goods are rare and scarce for it to be a hit that is why owners of auction houses require their men to venture to dungeons and tombs in order to find precious artifacts. Currently, we don''t have the manpower and resources to do so because we still lack in strength and we are ignorant to the whereabouts of dungeons and tombs. Forpill refinement, we don''t have an Alchemist or a group of Alchemists to support us and provide pills. Therefore, it is currently impractical to do so." Dylan elaborated. "You''re right, sir Dylan. I''m sorry." Larry apologized. "It''s alright. Currently, the business which is most applicable in our current condition is herb selling. I have already made a step by step plan which we''ll deliver effective and stable results. I know that in one to two months time, we will be able to make this business rise to the top 10 of the businesses within this city." Dylan reassured. "Two months? That''s quite a lot slower than your usual pace of doing things, sir Dylan." Jack joined in. "It''s because I learned from my mistakes of rushing the development of the business back in Soaring Cloud City." Dylan replied. "Mistakes? How?" Arnold spoke. "It was a mistake because I rushed the development of Gardenford Restaurant that it threatened the positions of the businesses back at the Soaring Cloud City. Although not many voiced out, I realized that there would definitely be some people, particularly businessmen, who will feel jealous and frustration. That was why Andrew Vigor challenged me to a business war. And if it weren''t for that, none of those terrible things would have happened." Dylan gritted his teeth as he remembered. "But now I will do things differently. I will never repeat the same mistake again! I have made this plan of mine to a method that will make the city accept our new business in less than two months. So please help me, everyone. Help me create this business that we are going to establish!'' Dylan raised his fist as he spoke those encouraging words. The employees now understood where Dylan was coming from. Dylan''s act of raising his fist have confidence and self-esteem to his employees that was paired with bright and meaningful smiles. As they replied, "Yes, sir!!!" "So, sir Dylan, what''s the name of the new business?" Maria asked. "Soaring Herbal Gardens." Dylan replied. "Nice name." Arnold smiled. "It''s like both a commemoration to the Gardenford Restaurant and the Soaring Cloud City which was both destroyed during that battle." Larry spoke approvingly. "It''s like it''s depicting us. Since we have already hit rock bottom, the only way we can go is up and soar to greater heights." Rick praised. "We''ll work hard on making this business the best there is!" The employees smiled. "Thank you for the heart and loyalty you''ve shown to me all this time. Just like I promised, we''ll create a business that will shake the whole country! So please bear with me every single step to rising to the top as the greatest business of all." Dylan strongly believed he can do everything he stated as he clenched his right fist and placed it on the left side of his chest which lifted the hearts of his employees. If anyone else were to say this, he?/she would sound like a braggart or a politician. But to the employees, they believed every word because the one who uttered them was their boss'', Dylan Ford. "So gather up and listen well, everyone.These are the things we must do beforehand." Dylan spoke with a gesture to compress everyone?. After the discussion, Dylan assigned everyone a specific task that they must do. They were divided into 4 groups. The first group was the group that Dylan assigned to buy an abandoned store which was cheap. The second group was the one assigned to buy materials that they still lacked for the renovation of the store. The third group was the one who was responsible for changing the designs of the uniforms. The fourth was delegated by Dylan to buy a lot of Mid Spirit Rank Herbs that we''ll be used as commodities. All of these tasks reduced the remaining 50,000 gold coins on them to 20 gold coins. After the first group finished their job, they regrouped with the second? group to guide them to the new workplace and help them in their reconstruction of the store. The store they bought? was 25 feet wide, 30 feet long and 2 storeys? high. It also had a small garden on its front yard. It was formerly a herbal store as well but since it didn''t get enough customers, the owner abandoned it and changed businesses ten years ago. Thus, it took quite some time to improve the structure of the building. It took 2 hours for the store to be fully cleaned and sanitized while it took another two hours for the store to be renovated into a brand new store according to the blueprints which Dylan conceptualized but drawn by the employees who were proffecient in architecture and design. The store had five glass display cases which had four sections for herbs to be placed and displayed which was common containers for selling herbs. The glass were cleaned? well so that transparency is clear and the concrete store floors were sturdy and flat to prevent any instance of floors being destroyed like what happened to Robert Bobman. The walls and ceilings were finely painted. The door was also renovated to branching flower like designs. After this, the store pate was all finished andwas setup above the entrance of the store. The third group also arrived to the store and distributed the newly made uniforms. The uniforms were no longer designed for waiters and waitresses rather they were now for salesman and saleswoman. It was a dignified outfits? like a white polo and black slacks for men and white blouses and black skirts for women. After dressing up, they all displayed the Mid Spirit Rank Herbs that Dylan assigned the fourth group to buy. There were 45 varieties of herbs with 20 herbs for each kind of herb. Forty-five herbs were placed in the display case to beshowcased to the customers that would come to the store. They also got another 15 variety of herbs from the bandit troupe with more than 10 herbs for each one. These were also stored together with the newly bought herbs. Dylan walked to a display caseand put something inside. "Sir Dylan, what are you putting? in the display case?" Rick asked. "Herbs, of course." Dylan replied. "Herbs? But what type of herbs?" Larry inquiried. "High Spirit Rank Herbs." Dylan calmly stated as he continued placing the herbs to the display case. "High Spirit Rank Herbs?!" Everyone was dumbfounded. Did the fourth group buy those? "What do you mean, sir Dylan? We did not buy any High Spirit Rank Herbs because they were too expensive." Ronald admitted. He did not remember any type of High Spirit Rank Herbs that they bought because that kind of herb is nearly 100 gold coins a piece! "What? You guys did not buy it? Then where did, sir Dylan get those herbs?" Allana asked. " I don''t know." Ronald replied with confusion written on his face. He was the leader of the fourth group and he triple checked the herbs they bought before arriving at the Soaring Herbal Gardens. "Maybe it was from the bandit troupe we destroyed." Tom interjected. "No, that could be it I was with sir Dylan when he made a logistics about the loot we gained and I am sure that there were no High Spirit Rank Herbs at all." Jack told Tom. "Calm down, everyone. These High Spirit Rank Herbs were things I found when I ventured to the jungle several weeks ago." Dylan came up with an excuse but still showed calmness and serenity in his expression and voice. "Really? Are you sure? Maybe you''re joking, aren''t you, sir Dylan?" Arnold was a bit doubtful to Dylan''s words. Although they had unwavering faith and loyalty to him, finding a bunch of high ranked herbs in a forest while being a cripple is kind of farfetched. Although Dylan was able to restore his cultivation after his retreat, it was still kind of hard to believe that he would find these high ranked herbs. "That''s right. Maybe you are just messing with us, sir Dylan." Allana pouted. "No, I''m not. You can see it for yourselves." Dylan spoke while scratching his head while moving aside to make way for his employees to see the herbs inside. The employees came running and was shocked by what they saw. It was true. There was 20 kinds of High Spirit Rank Herbs in the display case that Dylan just used. "No way!" "Is that a Gold-petaled Fruit?!" "A Silverdust Flower?!" " Dawnheart Lotus?!" "Flame Core Fruits?!" "Snowflake Pollens?!" "Sky Spirit Grass?!" "Wild Savage Vines??!" "..." The employees were able to identify one High Spirit Rank Herb after the other because they too read the book that Tom bought for Dylan. They were amazed of how these herbs were in front of them right now. Each and every single one of these herbs could help them become stronger and faster by just ingesting them. What Dylan said was true and none of them believed him. This made them? extremely bad and guilty about what they did. "Sir Dylan, we.." The employees felt ashamed for doubting Dylan. "It''s okay. I understand your doubt. Even I found it hard to believe that I found these." Dylan showed his understanding to Arnold and the others. He knew it would be quite a great shock to the employees and they will find hard to believe but he still chose to tell them because of the bond that Dylan and his employees shared. "But, sir, even though we got these high quality herbs, we still won''t be able to sell because we don''t have any clients and we are unpopular and unknown to the city folk." Larry raised a question. "Don''t worry. I already told you, didn''t I? I have a plan." Dylan merely smiled to Larry. 60 Chapter 60: Dylans Plan 1 The employees were still oblivious of what plan Dylan has in stored but they believed that this plan of his will deliver great results because that''s how their boss is. "Everyone, here is the schedule for work. Since our new business is a herbal shop, there is only a need for a group of 16 to be working in a day. There will be five shifts since there would be 5 groups. For the group of the first shift, today is your first shift which marks the opening of the restaurant your next day will be five days later. The same goes for the second, tomorrow is your shift and six days from now will be the next. Each shift has five day-intervals and during that five day interval, all non-working groups will train for three days except for the day before the shift of the group because it will be considered as that groups rest day. In summary, a shift is every five days and the rest day for each group is the fourth day of the five day interval. Was that clear?" Dylan questioned. "Yes, sir!" The employees replied with a nod. Dylan then divided the group into five different sub-groups. He used the "draw lots" method to determine the sequence of the shifts per group. "Another thing, your groups will be the same groups I will call for when I have different tasks that needs to be done from now on. Has everyone familiarized themselves with their new groups? If you have, the rest may return to the residence to guard it while the first group will stay here and start their shifts." Dylan clarified. "Yes, sir." The employees replied. "I''ll be leaving for a while and will come back after 1-2 hours. Jack, I leave this store in your care." Dylan waved goodbye. "Yes, sir." Jack replied as Dylan exited the store. "Where do you think is, sir Dylan, going?" Beverly asked. " I don''t know but I''m pretty sure. He''s going to do the plan he mentioned about." Jack smiled and said. "Well, duh. That''s what our boss will obviously do." Arnold spoke. "I know. Let''s just wait. I know when he comes back. He will come back with a surprise in his hands." Jack spoke. "Well, that''s sir Dylan, for ya!" Rick smiled while both of his palms were placed at the back of head as he was sitting. Dylan walked in the streets of Thunder Cloud City. He went to a store and reappearedwith a robe on his hands. He went down a dark alley and walked out of it wearing the dark blue robe which covered his entire body. It was now difficult to identify Dylan''s appearance and age, even his aura has changed when he walked out of that dark alley. He was a complete stranger now. Dylan crouched his back a bit to adjust his height. He put on skin fit dark gloves and wore completely different clothes. His aura became cold and haughty while his eyes revealed a bright glint. This was one of the abilities of a Mystical Magnate. The ability to control your air and turn it into a completely different aura that a person would usually have. Dylan has fully utilized this ability and totally transformed his self into a whole new person and create perfect disguise. Dylan headed to a large building called Premier Hall, the third most powerful Auction House in the Thunder Cloud City. It was a grand hall that was painted in white all over from ceiling down to the walls and everything inside were all high class such as the statues found left and right, the white granite tiles on the ground, the butlers and maids which guides the guest to the auction hall. Tonight, there would be an auction that will be held within the Auction Hall of the Premier Hall. Many local celebrities and cultivating big-shots were invited to this exclusive event. A lot of different personalities had to pay the entrance fee just to enter the auction hall. But, this was not the goal of Dylan. Instead of going to that hall, Dylan went to the counter and asked the counter lady. "May I ask where I should go to auction an item?" Dylan said in an unusually deep voice with the robe still covering his face. "Th-that would be on the second floor, sir. A-allow our men to guide you there." The counter lady was so psyched out that she was starting to stutter. This "old man" was so scary that she was trembling as he signalled a butler to come and guide this "old man". Well, she could not be blamed for mistaking Dylan as an old man. His aura and voice Anderson it seem like he was of the old age. But, this was what Dylan just wanted. Although it may be unnecessary to do so because he was still considered to be a commoner in this city and no one would know him, it is an essential part of his plan to create an alter ego far different from his usual self. "This way to the second floor, sir." The butler bowed with a smile and lead the way. His smile forze when he sensed the cold and lofty aura of this "old man" and his unwillingness to talk or even to glance at him. Not even saying his thanks, Dylan turned around and followed the lead of the butler leading the way. The butler guided him to the counter where auctioned items are presented and left Dylan there after he politely bid his farewell. "Gosh, that old guy was really scary." The butler hastened his pace and left immediately. Dylan, on the other hand, was being questioned by the counter lady who was a lot more calm and collected than the other one. She fixed the angle of her glasses? as she spoke. "Who might you be?" "No matter what my name may be is of little significance." Dylan spoke with his deep voice. "Hmph, acting arrogantly will get you nowhere. State your name so that I will be able to find your name in the list here. Or maybe you''re not stating your name because your name is not here and have not made a prior reservation toauction your item/s?" The strict counter lady rebutted. "If you think that auctioning your items will be as easy as showing it to be verified, you''re wrong! Our Premier Hall values treasures but it values rules more. Hence, each individual who wishes to auction an item has to abide by our rules because this is our way of ensuring high level security and to protect the sanctity of the rules set by the hall!" The strict counter lady continued with sterness. "Rules? What if I don''t wish to abide by your rules?" Dylan responded. "Then, you may take your leave." The strict counter lady did not back down as he asked Dylan to leave. "Hmph, it seems like I chose the wrong place. To think, I was going to choose this place as a venue for my Earth Ranked Herbs to be sold." Dylan faintly said as he turned around and walked towards the stairs. "Hmph, your bluffs won''t work on me. A mere 10th level Spirit Veins Realm dares to threaten and deceive me? Claiming that someone like you has Earth Ranked Herbs? How delusional of you!" The strict counter lady harrumphed as he mocked Dylan. But Dylan simply disregarded as he continued going to the stairs to descend the second floor. He did not look back, falter and even slowed down while he was walking. It seemed like what the counter lady said meant nothing to him. This made the counter lady feel a bit shakened as she asked herself, "Could it be.. that he wasn''t? bluffing at all?" The more Dylan got nearer to the stairs without slowing down, the more she believed that this line of thought was true. She was in a state of utter confusion because she has never met a client who was as difficult to handle such as this one. She could not identify whether he was bluffing or not and made her think twice that maybe she was wrong about this man but she was stubborn and would not admit defeat to anyone that easily. ''Forget it. He''s just one customer after all. It''s not like he would have High Earth Ranked Herbs or anything like that right?'' The counter lady replaced her previous line of thought and just let Dylan walk down the stairs like that. Suddenly, a voice sounded. "Oh, kind sir, please wait! Can we discuss this matter once more?" A chubby man dashed towards Dylan looking alarmed. "Why? It seems like I''m not welcome to this establishment as it tries to bind me with rules moments ago? Now, it''s trying to get me to compromise? How baffling this is." Dylan sarcastically said as he continued walking down the stairs. "Sir, please wait! I''m Sheldon Hogwarts, the chief coordinator of the auction house. Please give me face and discuss this matters with me." Sheldon Hogwarts pleaded. "Sir Sheldon, what are you doing?! The rules prohibit you from interfering with matters of this tier." The strict counter lady shouted. "Fool, can''t you see that a VIP level person has appeared and yet you treat him like this?" Sheldon retorted. "What do you mean?" The strict counter lady was baffled by Sheldon''s claim. "Can''t you sense his Magnate Strength?! It''s far more vibrant and more superior than most Magnate Strengths! He is clearly a Magna Magnate whose grade is at least at the S-Class level! I couldn''t sense his true strength as a Mystical Magnate, despite being a Tier 8 Mystical Duke! Also, I''m pretty sure that his 10th level of Spirit Veins Realm is just a facade to not catch too much attention! So tell me, Am I still prohibited from interfering in this matter, Emily?!" Sheldon spoke while trying to control himself from being angered by Emily''s remarks. If it weren''t for that slight fluctuations of energy that he felt while he was doing some paperwork, Sheldon wouldn''t have inspected what was happening outside of his office. Fortunately, he was able to feel it and was able to locate where this fluctuations originated from. That was why he was able to associate Dylan''s supposed strength with the outstanding quality of his Magnate Strength. He believed his line of thought even more when he witnessed how Dylan disregarded Emily without being angered and frustrated. "I.. I.." Emily was speechless. She did not take into account the strength that this person have hidden from the surface. She felt that she has wronged the Hall by attempting to make such a great person leave like that. She felt great remorse and regret for what she did. "I''m sorry for my incompetence and ignorance. Please forgive me, dear sir." Emily apologized to Dylan and bowed to his direction. "Please forgive her for her ignorance. It was also negligence on my part, sir. Please forgive us." Sheldon bowed to Dylan as well. The butlers? and maids were shocked by what happened here at the second floor today. They could not believe their eyes when they saw the uptight and strict Emily concede and bow her head to a customer and how the ussually joyful and carefree Sheldon get angered and similarly bow his head? to the very same man. "Do you think that apologizing is enough?" Dylan maintained his disposition as an unknown expert and calmly stated. "Of course not, sir. We''ll make it up to you. Just state your request." Sheldon spoke. "I will accept your? apology but I have to assess your establishment''s skills first. I''ll give you a single item and my challenge to you is to use it to gain 100 spirit stones. I will only accept it if you are able to gain that much through pure auction money alone." Dylan casually threw a herb pouch that Sheldon caught with care and challenged Sheldon into doing a task. "100 Spirit Stones?! That''s equivalent to a million gold coins! What if the item you gave us isn''t equal to that amount? How can we earn that amount of the quality of the good isn''t equal to it?" Emily protested. "Don''t worry. I''m pretty sure you will be able to do it with that herb." Dylan spoke as he ascended the flight of stairs and sat to a corner in the second floor. "Sir Sheldon, are you going to accept such a challenge? It''s unreasonable!" Emily was evidently irritated with Dylan''s calmness? but she did not receive any reply from Sheldon. "Sir Sheldon?" Emily looked at Sheldon and she was shocked to see that Sheldon was trembling. "This-this is a Solarburst Chrysanthemum!!" Sheldon jumped in happiness! He never expected that he will encounter a High Earth Ranked Herb today! "Although this is generally worth 75 spirit stones, but the quality of this Solarburst Chrysanthemum is high-class! I''m sure that even though it''s a bit of a stretch, it''s still possible! Dear sir, I will take this challenge! Not only that, instead of a fifty fifty deal, I''ll make it a 60-40 deal just for you, sir!" Sheldon spoke with great confidence. Although it may seem a bit disadvantageous to the profit of the hall to do that sort of deal, however, seeing how Dylan easily threw such a high-grade treasure, it means that he will have a whole lot more! That''s why Sheldon decided to make a 60-40 deal to rope in this peerless expert to their Premier Hall. "Solarburst Chrysanthemum? A High Earth Ranked Herb?!" Emily was in complete bafflement. She could have never expected that this "old man" would do throw something like that so casually! She found this man to be too unfathomable for her to comprehend. 61 Chapter 61: Dylans Plan 2 Emily? was still in a lost for words. She could never have expected the sudden turn of events that were currently happening. Sheldon, on the other hand, was leaping with joy with these new client he had encountered today. He was grinning so much that his smile reached his cheek. He also never expected that he would meet such a rich and powerful person today. Although he was wondering why did this powerhouse would place an auction here because he seemed to be an elite from a grand clan based on his aura and disposition, Sheldon? really did not mind at all as long as he would be able to make the Premier Hall earn bountiful profits. "Since elder has become silent, I will take this as a yes." Sheldon courteously spoke. Since the elder hasalready given him the herb, it is apparent that he does want to evaluate the abilities of the Premier Hall. Dylan calmly sat by the corner with his eyes closed while Sheldon was arranging his herb to be auctioned right after he received it. He was already thinking about the next steps of his plans. The first step of his plans to gain the approval of the Premier Hall was a success but Dylan did not really dwell on it too much because it was only the beginning. Everything that was happening was all according to his plans. Although he was a bit surprised that the Counter Lady was too uptight, he adjusted his approach slightly to his plan B to still get the same results. By simulating multiple routes in his mind, Dylan was able to set-up numerous back-up plans. Since he was being coerced to leave, Dylan released tiny bits of Magnate Strength to attract hidden experts like Sheldon to the show. He knew that because he has yet to reach the first level of the Mystical Magnate his cultivation is undefinable. This is because the baptism that he recieved from the Cosmic Light made his Magnate Strength Evolve even further. Byron mentioned that Dylan had already reached SS-grade Magna Magnate, or greater and this was before the baptism of the Cosmic Light. What more after recieving the baptism? Therefore, it could be said that Dylan''s power as a Mystical Magnate is yet to be defined. After doing so, Dylan calmly bid his farewell to Emily and intentionally mentioned his Earth Ranked Herbs in order to cause disarray in Emily''s mind. He was expecting that Emily would call him back but unfortunately, she did not. Fortunately, Dylan set up a back-up plan which worked. Sheldon stopped him before he could even proceed to the ground floor because if Sheldon did not, Dylan still had other choices in mind. But, it would mean that he would start from scratch once more. While Dylan was thinking, Sheldon has already made arrangements to put the Solarburst Chrysanthemum on Auction. On the Executive Office of the Premier Hall where the Hallmaster of the Premier Hall resides. Sheldon was called over by the Hallmaster regarding the incident involving Dylan. "Sheldon, what''s this sudden item you wish to be auctioned? Did you forget that the list of items auctioned in our Hall is preordained? How can you forget such a basic rule of the Hall despite being the chief coordinator of the auction? Our Premier Hall is known to be strictYou better have a very convincing explanation or else I will use this as grounds for your demotion!" The man who was sitting immediately stood up and smashed his hands to the table which barely held when Sheldon entered. He had a short beard which connected to his hair and had short white hair but he did not have any wrinkles on his face yet. He had a somewhat lanky build that was approximately 2 meters tall. He was the Hallmaster of the Premier Hall, Azelmek Premier. The first elder of the Grand Clan, Premier Clan, a clan known for outstanding skills in business especially when it comes to auctions. The Premier Hall is one of the most popular establishments within the Mystic Red Cloud State that Premier Clan has established. It is also known for being the origin of some important names in the Mystical Magnate Tower like the Noble Blade of the Premier Clan. "Sir. Please calm down. I know it maybe? impetuous but it was because I have met? a truly refined and powerful expert at the second floor today." Sheldon replied hurriedly while trying to calm down Azelmek. "Maybe? It''s beyond impetuous! What ''truly refined and powerful expert''? This better not be a lame excuse or else I will not hesitate to drop you 2 ranks below, Hogwarts!" Azelmek was infuriated by the violation that Sheldon made and what angered him even more was that Sheldon did not even inform him of his actions beforehand?. Doing something like that was equivalent to ignoring the prestige of the Hallmaster and an indirect slap to Azelmek''s face. If it weren''t for Sheldon''s talents as the chief coordinator, he would not hesitate to fire Sheldon right away. But, Azelmek knew that Sheldon will continue to render great contributions to the Premier Hall. That''s why he decided to settle for demotion. "Sir, I assure you that he is a true expert. Even with my strength as an 8th tier Mystical Duke. I was still unable to identify his cultivation as a Mystical Magnate. His Magnate Strength was so vibrant and abundant that it has a higher purity of energy which is at least an S-Class Magna Magnate! His attitude was also befitting for someone who is of powerful background, maybe even more powerful than ours. And, sir, the most shocking thing about this elder is that he casually threw a High Earth Ranked Herb like it was nothing but loose change to him! I bet that he has a whole lot more! That''s why I decided to break the rules for this client who I know will bring great fortune to our Premier Hall!" The fatty Sheldon Hogwarts spoke with so much craze that he was starting to speak faster every sentence he finished. Seeing Sheldon in such a crazed manner, Azelmek was shocked he never expected Sheldon to be so psyched with just one client. Also, the way he described the client it was clear that Sheldon held this man with such high regard. He had seen Sheldon act this way a couple of times before because it was like his signal that good fortune has arrived and every time he did, Sheldon always delivers astounding results. But never has Azelmek seen Sheldon this crazed about a certain client before. His intuition was telling him that if he relied with the past instances of Sheldon''s crazed manner of talking, it might give his Premier Hall another astounding result?. "It seems like you truly hold this elder in high regard, then it might really be true. But to confirm this, I want you to bring him to me." Although his intuition told him so, Azelmek still wanted to confirm it firsthand by personally meeting this client. "Yes, sir." Sheldon excitedly said as he exited the room. "Hehehe, it seems like Hallmaster is already interested in meeting the elder.'' Sheldon thought to himself while he hurriedly went to where Dylan was. ''Let''s see if this elder is what Sheldon claims him to be.'' Azelmek settled down in his recliner and waited for Sheldon''s arrival. Several minutes later... A knocking sound was heard. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "Who is it? State your business." Azelmek formally said. "Sir, uh, it''s me, Sheldon Hogwarts." Sheldon said in a somewhat low voice. "Oh, come in." Azelmek replied and thought, ''Where did his excitement from earlier go to? Why is he speaking like he''s conflicted?'' "Thank you, sir." Sheldon spoke in his low voice once more. When Sheldon came in, he looked really conflicted. It was like he had something to say but he would rather not say it. "So, where''s the client, Sheldon?" Azelmek asked. "He won''t be coming here, Hallmaster." Sheldon answered as he averted his eyes from Azelmek''s gaze. "What do you mean?" Azelmek''s expression darkened. "Well, it''s because... the elder said.." Sheldon was really too conflicted to say anything more than that. "Tell me, Hogwarts! Or else.." Azelmek''s? expression kept darkening. "He said... ''I shall not go to where he is since I am not asking to seek his audience. If he has something to say, then he should come to where I am personally and not command someone to do so.''" Sheldon spoke Dylan''s exact words to Azelmek. "What did he say?! Bring me to him, right now!" Azelmek was so furious that he released an aura that only came from a Mystical Lord! "Y-yes, sir." Sheldon stuttered as he ran quickly to guide Azelmek to where Dylan was. The employees of the Premier Hall laughed when they saw how their obese chief coordinator was running with his fats wobbling around and a panicked expression? but it all died when they felt the pressure that the Hallmaster was emitting as he passed by them. "I wonder what sir Sheldon did to make the Hallmaster be that mad." "Didn''t you know? Sir Sheldon made an abrupt change in the order of the auctioned items by changing the main item." "I heard that as well but at most the Hallmaster would just tell at sir Sheldon and not chase him with killing intent." "I agree. There''s got to be something more that we don''t know yet." The employees of the Premier Hall started to converse and make speculations about why and what the Hallmaster was so mad about. This went on as Sheldon and Azelmek proceeded to where Dylan was and eventually reaching where Dylan was. "Hallmaster Premier, the elder is the one who is sitting by the corner." Sheldon was trembling as he spoke. Azelmek did not delay as he approached Dylan with killing intent and stood in front of him while saying, "Who are you? How dare you speak arrogantly and break the rules within my Premier Hall." "My name is not important." Dylan raised his head as his opening eyes revealed that his pupils changed colors from black to blue and started to form x-shaped pupils. These was Dylan''s Heavenly Eyes. "These are... Heavenly Eyes?!" Azelmek was slightly taken aback as he moved one step backwards. 62 Chapter 62: Dylans Plan 3 Azelmek was so shocked when he saw the bright x-shaped pupils of the elder because those were the legendary Heavenly Eyes? Legend has it only those who have talents that far surpassed the Supreme Grade or S-Grade Magnate are gifted with such ability. There are only four grades known to be achieved in the whole Mystical Clouds Country. These are the Conqueror Grade (C-grade), Autocrat Grade (A-grade), Supreme Grade (S-Grade) and Superior? Supreme (SS-Grade). The C-grade Magna Magnates are twice as superior than normal Mystical Magnate easily conquering them. The A-grade have all fundamental abilities of a fourth tier Mystical Magnate has. These two grades focus more on leaping levels and crushing foes of higher cultivation realm. But the latter two are different, they don''t increase the strength of a Magnate Magnate but instead paves way to make their journey to the Mystical Duke or Mystical Lord to be smoother than average Magnates. When a Magna has an S-Grade talent, it means that his Magnate Strength is more purer and more abundant than an A-Grade Magna which makes the materialization of a Magnate Soul to be a lot more easier. For an SS-grade Magna, he/she is given the legendary Heavenly Eyes. These are eyes that allows a person to view everything twice as slow in reality when it is activated. It also enables the person to see energy of humans, beasts and animals. It is said that if these legendary eyes are trained properly to a certain extent, the Magnate will be able to influence his or her surroundings and make it obey his every will and command. Indirectly, it allows the body of its owner to heighten all 5 of his/her senses. Acquiring the Heavenly Eyes will grant easier evolution of the Soul Lord from the Magnate and the easier usage of Soul Fusion due to its user being able to view energy in its most fundamental state that it makes evolution and fusion to be easier because of the easier manipulation of energy. But these eyes'' abilities are limited without proper guidance and right training. Though even without proper training and guidance, the user''s five senses is significantly enhanced and is still able to see things 50% slower than normal people could. That''s the ability that many people wish to have but couldn''t attain, the Heavenly Eyes! Azelmek was so shocked by this client''s strength because as soon as he opened his eyes the spirit energy around them distorted. This meant that this man has already mastered the Heavenly Eyes! But what really bothered him was that he sensed this client''s energy was too vibrant and too alive for an expert with such strength. Normally, when a person gets older, his energy also matures with him but this wasn''t the case for this elder because his energy was overflowing with wildness and dominance, something that youths would commonly have. Although this elder was keeping his energy at bay , a Mystical Lord like Azelmek was able to tell these details because of his experience and knowledge that he gained through battles and business transactions. "Sheldon, are you sure this man is an elder?" Azelmek telepathized using Spiritual Transmission. "Why do you ask, Hallmaster?" Sheldon replied via Spiritual Transmission as well. "Because you may not have noticed but this man''s energy is too wild and overbearing which youths commonly have. Also, if he were a true expert, then there would be no need for hiding his face except if he is an enemy of the state and if he was truly powerful, then there would be no need for him to hide in a cultivation of 10th level Spirit Veins Realm. Why couldn''t it be any higher so he could earn more desirable respect that a true powerful expert deserve?" Azelmek shared his insights with the client that Sheldon just made. This caused a great shock to Sheldon, he never really expected what the Hallmaster''s perspective was but he knew that Azelmek would always base his opinion on logic and reason. It made him doubt the identity he acknowledged this man with. Azelmek''s opinions really caused his beliefs to sway. Suddenly, Dylan stood up and calmly said, "Since you are secretly talking about me in front of me, it appears that the Hallmaster does not want my presence in his Premier Hall. Thus, I shall now take my leave and sir Sheldon, if you''re wondering what to do about the herb, I''ll just give it to you as a gift. It would be too shameless of me to get the herb back from you after you went all the trouble of setting it up as the surprise item for this auction. Just treat as me giving a gift to the Premier Hall. Farewell." That sudden ice breaker brought disbelief to the eyes of Sheldon and Azelmek because wasn''t he just pretending to be an elder with great power? Did he tap on their communication without them knowing? But that could only be done by someone stronger than them. ''How did he know...'' The same thought passed through their minds as they looked at Dylan in bafflement This especially shocked Azelmek because he was the one who was accusing Dylan to be something similar to a con artist. From what this man said, it seemed like he knew what he transmitted to Sheldon. What was even more terrifying was that he did it without him knowing! This meant that this man was vastly stronger than him. How did Dylan know about setting his herb as the surprise auction item for tonight? Sheldon was sure he did not tell anyone to inform Dylan yet and he knew that only those of the higher ranks would only know of this matter. Although this man told him to auction it, he did not specifically state that it must be done on today''s auction. Sheldon also remembered? every word he said and was sure that he did not say that he would do it right away . So how did he know? Azelmek and Sheldon racked their brains but they couldn''t find a reason why. Dylan merely smiled under the cover of that hood as he saw the shocked expressions on both men''s faces. This was the reaction that Dylan was aiming for. "All according to plan." Dylan smirked as he turned around and left as he continues to exude the cold haughtiness of his disguise. Dylan did not really want to act arrogantly and make the Hallmaster of the Premier Hall to personally approach him because he never liked anyone who was too overbearing. This is because he knew all too well that being too overbearing makes a person think that he is more superior than the rest and look down on everyone by treating them like insects. But, Dylan had no choice but to do so because it was part of the persona he was using right now. He knew that the strong views the weak as insects as he has read. So, he spoke in this manner from the beginning until now that he was facing the shocked expressions of these two. But, the truth of the matter was that Dylan did not tap the Spiritual Transmission or even heard what Azelmek transmitted to Sheldon! Dylan just knew what attitude a strict businessman like Azelmek would have because of his rich experience of encountering and interacting as well as dealing with countless famous businessmen and celebrities. Due to this, he is able to make quick yet accurate judgements about a person''s? personality. Dylan knew that Azelmek was telling Sheldon something that he found amiss from Dylan''s disguise because he knew knew that someone as strict and uptight as Azelmek would be critical and meticulous down to every detail. He was also very sure that it was something pertaining about his lack of strength as a cultivator because it was one of the most apparent flaw in his disguise.So, he decided to play mind games on Azelmek by insinuating that he would leave because of Azelmek''s unwelcoming behavior towards him. Dylan knew this would cause a great disruption on their line of thoughts which would eventually lead to doubt and believe him or to be more precise the elder he was disguised as. The reason why Dylan was able to find out about Sheldon''s arrangements for the Solarburst Chrysanthemum was because he heard the gossips that the employees from the higher floor were talking about while he was waiting for Sheldon''s reply about the date of the auction. He estimated it to be somewhere in the range for the next three days but Sheldon made it easier for Dylan to sell his goods. But his true purpose was to gain the backing of the Premier Hall! Now, his plan has reached its checkpoint. Because this was the point where he would surely gain the backing of the Hall and it was made it into reality the moment he heard, Sheldon and Azelmek call him. "Sir, wait!" Azelmek tried to halt Dylan because he was afraid of the possibility of letting a potential huge investor of their Premier Hall! "Elder, please, wait!" Sheldon did the same as well as he dragged his fat body and approached Dylan. ''First Checkpoint, cleared!'' Dylan thought to himself proudly. 63 Chapter 63: The Fight for the Chrysanthemum 1 Azelmek thought of ways on how he would convince this Elder to stay. To please such an eccentric, it would surely be a hard task but he knew that if he pulled this off he will win over a huge investor and render a large contribution to the hall. "Sir, please forgive me for my insolent act of doubting someone who is as venerable as you. I plead sir to find it in his heart to forgive this humble one." Azelmek pleaded earnestly but Dylan disregarded his message as he continued to walk nearer to the stairs. Normally, pleading is an impossibility for someone who is as prideful as Azelmek but for the sake of the development of the Premier Hall, he put aside his pride and pleaded for this ''mighty Elder''s to stay and become a client to their Premier Hall. Sheldon, on the other hand, ran to the stairs and blocked? the passageway? as he started speaking, "Elder, please give our Hall another chance to prove to you that you have not come in vain and will definitely deliver to your demands!" "Hmph, I already gave to this Premier Hall a chance to deliver but instead it discriminates the appearances and strength of customers that wishes to make transactions especially those who appears to be lacking in both strength and background! If you are a business who stands by its rules, then you should also have rules that states ethical and equivocal behavior shown to any type of client regardless of appearance and strength. If you have made subdivisions in managing the different types of customers depending on their status in life and create systems of fees fit for their budget, then your sales would have already exploded due to having gained the masses approval and you would have created a large amount of profit that you can use in the development of your Hall . Now do you understand why the Premier Hall is at the third and not at the top." Dylan coldly replied. "But, sir.." Sheldon could not think of anything to retort. He was too shocked and amazed to reply because it was clear that the method provided to them right now by this man is entirely gobsmacking. This is because gaining the approval of the masses means that they would be able to gain great amounts of customers and clients. Different subdivisions for different statuses! System of management and fees fit for the budget of the customers! These two ideas may sound simple but they are truly ingenious! When Azelmek heard of this, he was trembling and wondering why didn''t he thought of something like that? The answer to rise was so simple yet he was too blind to see it. This man who just arrived and observed their manner of business in no less than an hour was able to cite it''s flaws and even formulate methods of improving it while he who stood as it''s Hallmaster for decades could not even cite it. To be able to do this, his ability for business management and administration must be absolutely terrifying. Azelmek and Sheldon had one thought in mind. ''This man is a formidable businessman!'' "Now, sir Sheldon, I still have some good impression of you due to your warm welcome to me earlier, so as a chance acquaintance, I advise you to move out of my way, if not, I shall do it myself." Dylan gave Sheldon a choice to make by domineeringly saying ''Move now or I do it for you?'' as he halted his steps right in front of Sheldon. Sheldon did now know what to do. He was helpless but he couldn''t just let this man go because if he did, it would be a huge loss for their Premier Hall. Azelmek stepped in when he felt that Dylan was about to make a move on Sheldon. "Sir, I fully understand what you''ve said. Please sir, I ask for your guidance to make the Premier Hall greater, to make it become the greatest business in the entire Thunder Cloud City!" Azelmek earnestly requested? for Dylan''s guidance and even bowed to him. Sheldon was shocked to see someone of Azelmek''s stature to be bowing but he understood because the one he was bowing to was none other than this elder who appears to be so formidable in both cultivation and business. So, he followed his Hallmaster''s lead and bowed to the Elder as well. "Please, guide our Premier Hall, sir!" Sheldon bowrd as well. "You... Ugh, since you''re so keen to have me guide you, then fine, I will guide your? business to be the best in this city." Dylan sighed in his husky deep voice and shook his head. "Really, sir?!" Both Azelmek''s? and Sheldon''s? eyes brightened. "But I have several conditions." Dylan continued. "Yes, sir!" Both replied. "First, you must not mention to anyone of my existence. Second, I am particularly strict when issuing commands so you must be able to deliver with high results! Third, I will not be involved in anything that has no relation with business if an enemy were to attack, I will not stand guard and protect the hall because my only role is to guide you in its development. I have two more but these three are enough for today. Is that clear?" Dylan enumerated. "Yes, sir!" Both replied accordingly. "Good." Dylan nodded. "Sir, may I ask what should we call you?" Azelmek asked. "Null, you may call me Null." Dylan thought of a random name. "Sir Null, do you wish to see the auction of your Solarburst? Chrysanthemum? It will be auctioned next." Sheldon received a message from the organizers so he informed Dylan of the news. "Okay, let''s go." Dylan agreed. Dylan followed Sheldon and Azelmek up to the third floor and to several corridors until they reached a curtain. Behind that curtain was a balcony that could hold 10 men but only had three chairs. From this balcony, Dylan was able to hear the roars of the bidders and the nimble mouth of the auctioneer as another bidder raises another bid. The auction room was very large. It was large enough to contain 1000 people inside. Dylan admired the details of the designs which could be traced from the balconies, walls, floors and even the chairs that beautified the entire room. It was truly a high class-auction house. "Our next item is a High Earth Ranked Artifact that was found in the tomb of a Peak level Mortal Severing Cultivator which practiced water arts. The "Sea Piercing Spear". It can easily cut through water falls and rivers without injecting any Spirit Energy or Origin Energy to it. It''s strength also substantially increased once it is jointly used with water based techniques and spear techniques to the extent that it nearly triples the power of its user! The starting bid is 110 spirit stones!" The auctioneer introduced the Sea Piercing Spear in detail. "110 spirit stones!" A man bidded with the number 113. "120 Spirit Stones!" Another bidded. "130!!" Another called out. "150! Do not compete with I, Darius Rucker on this spear because this is the spear that I have been looking for. If you don''t, suffer my wrath!" A burly man with a beast fur coat on the fifth row stood up while holding a girl on his arms. "He''s Darius the Hunter and the heir of the Rucker Clan! He is known to have killed a Mountain Rhinoceros who was at the 5th level Origin Transmutation Realm." Gossips from the crowds was starting to spread. "170! Darius, stop being arrogant. Your Rucker Clanisn''t the only powerful clan here." A gracefully beautiful black haired lady with refined air calmly said on Balcony 14 "Aliyah, so it''s you! Why do you reject my marriage proposals? The merger of your family and mine will be beneficial to both of our clans! Just accept the marriage and become mine, my beautiful Aliyah." Darius acted romantically as he shove of the girl he was holding by his arms and raised his arms to the balcony? where Aliyah was. "Aliyah? Aliyah of the Aquatia Clan? The Water Fairy?! The one who reached Expert Mastery of the High Earth Ranked Technique "Sea Immortal''s Dream"at the age of 20 and reached Origin Realm at the same age?!" The crowd was shocked by the appearance of another big shot. "Because you''re nothing but a laviscivious pig." The beautiful Aliyah coldly said paired by a condescending gaze. "Why you?!" Darius was fuming with rage when he heard Aliyah''s cold remarks. "Since you two are too preoccupied with each other, I''ll take the privelege of bidding on the spear. Hahaha! 200 Spirit Stones!" A good-looking brown haired young man wearing a yellow robe. "Damn you, little brat! You''re a lightning attribute, why are you trying to buy something that is water attribute?!" Darius became even more incensed. "It''s just for some fun. I''m just really bored right now. Hahaha" The one named Gil answered and laughed carelessly. "Little punk!" Darius became even more angered. He was humiliated by these two people in front of so many people. His pride as a genius couldn''t handle this as he roared. "210!!" "Its Gil Thunder! The Thunder Prince! The younger brother of Victor Thunder! A similar genius! It''s said that he''s already reached the Origin Realm at the age of 17!" The crowd is now in a craze! Three well-known individuals are fighting for the third to the last item! Above them, where the balcony Dylan was in and observing from.. "Not bad." Dylan commented. "Do you wish to have this spear, sir?" Sheldon kindly questioned. "Not really." Dylan was apparently disinterested in the spear. "Then what did you comment on, sir?" Azelmek inquired when he felt that Dylan was disinterested on the spear. "The auctioneer." Dylan answered. "Oh, why, sir? Do you think that he has something is lacking on? He is one of the best auctioneer in our Premier Hall." Sheldon proudly said. "Well, he is decent. But I have seen auctioneers who can do far better that from the introduction alone they could make the crowd go wild. What''s he lacking? It''s the proper usage of the dynamics of the voice, the use of body language and some flashy effects on the auction item. By properly controlling the dynamics of your voice, you are able to invite your audience? to your story and make it believable so even if you mix in inflammatory details, it will still sound convincing. The simple use of body language is something that subconsciously invites attention. A simple raise of cleched fist is able to invite the attention of your audience and increase anticipation of the buyers. Flashy effects like the dramatic use of lighting and sound effects can also be very inviting and increase the willfulness of audience to buy. If used all together properly, the auctioneer himself can double the expected amount of profit gained from the auctioned items." Dylan calmly spoke and observed the heated battle of bidders beneath. Both were speechless just from hearing what he just said. Although they were simple methods, but if backed up with the right reasoning, they do sound highly possible! Doubling the expected profit by using those three simple methods? ''Unheard of!'' Azelmek and Sheldon thought in awe. 64 Chapter 64: The Fight for the Chrysanthemum 2 Eventually, the Sea Piercing Spear landed on Darius Rucker''s hand at the bid of 250 spirit stones. "Hahaha, the spear is finally mine!" Darius gloated for his seeming win and looked at Gil Thunder''s and Aliyah Aquatia''sdirections, trying to see to a look of defeat from them but he was disappointed when he saw them not caring at all. "Can you not be so loud, you barbaric brat?" A black haired glasses-wearing young man spoke while sitting in balcony 7. "Who are you calling, brat?! N-no way.. What are you doing here?!" Shock was apparent in Dariuses face when he saw the glasses-wearing young man. "Hmph, why do I have to tell you? Just shut up and sit, you noisy buffoon!" The glasses-wearing young man insulted Darius openly without giving any face to Darius at all. "How dare you!" Darius''s veins were popping out of his temples from rage. The crowd expected him to Duke it out with the one who offended him but he couldn''t and could only endure the humiliation he just received. "No way! Is that the Ten Thousand Beast Slayer, Lancelot Pierce?! The famous captain of the Squadron 48 of the Thundercloud Guards who singlehandedly destroyed the Ten Thousand Origin Beast horde of the Evil Beast Tamer, Animo of the Northern Mountains! This feat awarded him the right to be placed on the nation''s Top 10 strongest youths, Mythical 10!" A random middle age man at the auction exclaimed which shocked the crowd. The feat of these young man is amazing! "Hahaha, sir Lancelot, calm down, a bit. I heard that the next item will be a surprise item that was personally set by the Chief Coordinator of the Premier Hall so I guess it''s going to be quite the fight that''s going to happen on it!" Another carefree green-haired young man spoke to Lancelot Pierce at the balcony 6. "So, even you heard of it, huh, Neyo? Well, if it interests me, I am going to get it for myself. And, I would like you to refrain from calling me, sir. It''s annoying knowing that you are someone stronger than me." Lancelot adjusted his glasses and looked at the green haired young man, Neyo. "Hahaha, well, okay, sir Lancelot~. Hahaha." Neyo laughed out loud. "Did sir Lancelot just say that the green haired young man''s name was Neyo? It seems like that confirms it. He is Neyo Hurricane also known as the Tornado Demon!" A young man was trembling as he spoke it to his colleague. "Tornado Demon? He doesn''t look like it. Why''s he called like that by the way? Wait, his surname is Hurricane? Is he from the Grand Clan of a True King, the Hurricane Clan?!" His colleague was shocked by his own sudden realization. "Yes, he is part of that clan. The reason why he''s known to be the Tornado Demon was because he was known to destroy the hidden gathering point of more than 30,000 bandits in the Ironwood Forest, the Thousand Bandit Underground City that was about 500 kilometers away from the city. He even slaughtered the Seven Bandit Lords who were at the Palace Formation Realm and killed the City Lord who was at the Palace Establishment Realm already! He was known to do this all within a single day! He appeared with a tornado and caused havoc to the entire city and killing every single bandit within the city. He may look harmless on the outside but when it came to fighting, he becomes a killing machine!" The young man spoke to his now-horrified friend. "So does that mean he''s also in the Mythical 10?" The friend asked with a terrfied expression. "Yes, and he''s ranked high too. The rank 4th!" The young man''s? statement greatly shocked his friend because the Mythical 10 are known to be the strongest of the younger generation in the Mystic Red Cloud State. On the topmost balcony... "It seems like we''ve got some really lively youngsters in this room. All of which have decent talents." Dylan nonchalantly stated. "Yes, sir. For tonight''s auction, we have the representative of the Rucker Clan, Darius the Hunter, the representative of the Aquatia Clan, Aliyah Aquatia the Water Fairy, the representative of the Thunder Clan, Gil Thunder the Thunder Prince and a member of a True King Grand Clan, Neyo Hurricane the Tornado Demon which is the 4th ranker of the Mythical 10. We''ve also got the famous captain of the Squadron 48 of the Thundercloud Guards, Lancelot Pierce who is placed 9th in the Mythical 10 and plenty more." Sheldon reported. "Mm. I have also spotted some noticeable presences of your generation here." Dylan sensed some of the older generation which are almost as or equally as powerful as Azelmek and Sheldon. "Ah, yes, sir. We do have some guests from our generation. For example, the head of the Pill Hall, Pill King Anderson Cauldron, the head of the Thousands? Treasure Pavilion of this city''s branch, Galahad Galick, the owner of the Enchanted Gardens, Anastasia Spring, and the Mistress of the Moonlight Paradise, Emilia Sparks. There are some minor powers but these four are the most notable people in our Auction Hall tonight." Azelmek spoke with a serious time as he scanned the area. "Ohhh, then it seems like the competition for my little chrysanthemum will be quite bloody." Dylan merely smiled as he looked at the crowd below them. . "Why do you say so, sir?" Sheldon could not help but inquire. "Simply because it''s on demand right now."Dylan smiled but his smile was filled with mystery to Azelmek and Sheldon. "What? The Solarburst Chrysanthemum is.." Azelmek was confused as he said. "... In demand?" Sheldon was shocked as he continued Azelmek''s broken sentence. "Oh, yeah, Hallmaster Azelmek, There''s something that I would want you to do." Dylan gestured that Azelmek come near him because he has something he wants to whisper. At the stage of the auction hall... A lady with ample breast and supple butt walked seductively while wearing her eye-catching and revealing clothes as she brought a box and handed it to the auctioneer and left. The eyes of men followed her every entrance and exit she made because she was truly a sight to behold. "Now, I will introduce this item. This is a surprise item that the Chief Coordinator, Sheldon Hogwarts, himself have personally arranged to be auctioned today. It''s origin is unknown but according to sir Sheldon, the client''s strength is far stronger than the Hallmaster himself! As everyone would know, our Premier Hall is a Hall that is refined and established by the rules that have been set by our forefathers. But for the sake of this one item, the Chief Coordinator took full responsibility of breaking the rules and the punishment that comes with it! You could just imagine the value of this item that the Chief Coordinator broke the rules for it!" Theauctioneer spoke in an alternation of softening and loudened his voice every end of a sentence. "Really?!" "Then it must be a truly valuable item! I must do my best to get it!" "In your dreams, I have been saving my money for this!" "Hurry, already! Show us the item!" "Yeah! So what''s the? name of the artifact?!" The introduction clearly brought spirit and enthusiasm to the crowd. The whole room was energized and started showing excitement for the next item. On Balcony 10, a haughty middle-aged man with a brown moustache was sitting calmly in spite of the commotion caused by the introduction of the item. He was the current head of the Pill Hall, Pill King Anderson Cauldron! He had three men with him which all wore Alchemist Robes of the Pill Hall. "The manner this auctioneer spoke has changed... He suddenly got better in inciting excitement to the crowd. Hmm.. how peculiar. Unfortunately, that''s not what I came for." Pill King Anderson Cauldron said with suspicion as he diverted his gaze towards the topmost balcony. On balcony 18, a beautiful and peaceful looking woman who exuded the air of seductive mature air was calmly stroking the fur of the white cat that was resting on her lap. She was surrounded with three outstanding beauties that could make any man go wild for. She was the current Mistress of the Moonlight Paradise, Emilia Sparks! "Hmm, it seems like it''s going to be quite a fight for that mysterious prize! Men are such animals after all." The devastatingly beautiful Emilia Sparks chuckled in amusement as she saw the sorry attitude of those men who were yelling at the Auctioneer below. "Ma''am, do you wish to acquire the next item?" One of the beauties asked her. "No, we''ll conserve our resources for the pill later." Emilia smiled in reply. On Balcony 3, a blue-eyed bald old man was looking at the stage where the item was going to be shown. He wore the same robe and uniform that Pavilion Head Galagher used to wear but the difference was that his level was not a Hundred Treasure Head but a 5 Thousand Treasure Head! Hewas the current head of the Thousand Treasure Pavilion of the Thunder Clouds City Branch, Galahad Galick! He had two 2-meter tall buff men as bodyguards wearing uniforms of the Thousand Treasure Pavilion. "Tsk, prepare the money for the last item! I''m sure that the next item will be without a doubt that pill! I must be the one to have it!" Galahad Galick solely focused on the last item of the auction which he discovered after painstakingly searching for information about it which he knew the other four has already managed to get a hold as well. On the balcony 1, a calm, and beautiful, mature woman was sitting and observing the crowd calmly. This woman may not be overly beautiful like Emilia but her demeanor would make any man be intoxicated with the feeling of wanting to protect her. She wore a light green dress that was themed for plants and nature and have one male and female as bodyguards. She is the owner of the Enchanted Gardens, Anastasia Spring. "The Dawnlight Heavenly? Connection Pill, a pill that allows a person to fully awaken his/her body and soul and enables the consumer to enter the state of epiphany which connects him to the Heaven and Earth through the use of the light of the dawn. It lessens the difficulty for any cultivator to establish a connection with the heavens. This type of pill will cause any Mortal Severing Realm Cultivators especially those at the Heavenly Connection Realm to go mad just to get this pill." Anastasia calmly read the report provided to her by her bodyguards. "The fight for the pill will be brutal. Is everything ready?" Anastasia Spring asked her bodyguards. "Yes, ma''am!" Both replied. On the topmost balcony... "So it''s the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill, huh?" Dylan was rather intrigued by this pill when Sheldon was continuing on his initiatives of talking with him but he won''t be able to maximize its use unless he''s at the Mortal Severing Realm. "Do you fancy the pill?" Azelmek asked. "No, it''s just that the pill and my herb is very complimentary with each other." Dylan commented as he calmly smiled. "Huh? Tha-that''s right!!" Azelmek and Sheldon looked at each other and had sudden realized that both items compliment each other very well! At the stage... "Without further ado, I present to you the High Earth Ranked Herb, Solarburst Chrysanthemum! The pattern by which the leaves of the flower portrude is like bursting sun flames and that''s how it got its name. This chrysanthemum is born on places in which the concentration''s of sunlight are in its utmost intensity!These places are mostly extremely high places or totally sun-exposed places like the peaks of towering mountains that stretches beyond clouds or scorched desserts and even boundless open fields. This herb is an extremely hard to find but it''s use our equivalently amazing!Due to it, being born in sun-exposed places, the sun energy it possess is even more intense than the sun at dawn and dusk. It blesses the body with clarity as though it was being bathed by the clear light of the sun! Though when consumed it causes great pain but it helps a person to be close to the heavenly bodies within the heavens. It is said it can even be used to forge an Avatar or to help it evolve it!" The Auctioneer proudly spoke as he rose his hands and let the crowd''s eyes feast upon the heavenly object! All of the youngsters and the 4 elders stood up from their sits as they were too shock from these sudden turn of events! Because if this herb was jointly used with the pill, then it would double, even triple, the effects of the pill!! 65 Chapter 65: The Fight for the Chrysanthemum 3 The whole crowd screamed in excitement as the Auctioneer finished his introduction of the Solarburst Chrysanthemum. "What a miraculous herb!!" "I have to get it!" " My path to Mortal Severing will be assured if I get this, I must get this herb at all costs!" ""This herb is mine!" The crowd goes wild for the herb. Some of them started asking their servants to withdraw more money from their banks and gather more money from their families and families. "This herb! I must get it at all costs!" Darius vowed to himself. Not only him, almost every youngster thought? of this as well. By getting such a valuable herb, they would be able to step up from their peers and even rise up to the ranks of the monsters of the Mythical 10. On the balcony where Captain Lancelot Pierce was at... "I never thought a Solarburst Chrysanthemum will appear here. This type of herb is both beneficial to both Origin Palace Realm practitioners and Mortal Severing Realm cultivators. This is such a surprise!" Lancelot was thinking out loud. "Hahaha, but it''s seems like this herb won''t go to any of the youths." Neyo Hurricane from the near balcony interjected all of a sudden. "Well, of course, if the Solarburst Chrysanthemum is used with the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill, the results for those who are at the Mortal Severing especially Heavenly Connection practitioners is too enticing as it will 100% guarantee their breakthrough to the next sub-realm." Captain Lancelot agreed with Neyo''s careless remarks. "I guess the question would be who among the four big shots will get both the herb and the pill? Hahahaha but that would be quite difficult to do." Neyo laughed without care as usual. What he said was a fact because the one to successfully acquire the Solarburst Chrysanthemum and the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill will be the biggest winner of this evening''s auction but getting away with both items will be difficult like what Neyo has said. This is because the one who will acquire the herb from this initial bout of bids between the four big shots will have to damage his collection of money by paying an astronomical amount as the other three won''t let him have the herb at a cheap price. Thus, it will be quite difficult to attain both items. On Balcony 3 "Hmm, I''ve decided. I will get this herb, no matter what the price." Galahad Galick resolutely decided. "But, sir, what about the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill?" His servants asked. "I''m estimating that the price for this herb will be around 500 to 800 spirit stones while the pill would most likely reach 1400-1800 spirit stones. I''ll settle for this herb. I''ll just have my friend high level Alchemist do me a favor and refine me a Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill as well. Although it will also cause me the similar estimated cost for the ingredients and the efficacy will not be as amazing as that Alchemist''s ability but with the superior quality of that Solarburst Chrysanthemum I''ll be able to have double the results no matter what quality my friend gives me. I won''t lose out in benefit." Galahad Galick resolutely said. "Then it would be as you''ve said my lord." The servants obediently said. "Now, it will all come down to you to? who among the three of you have more resolution when it comes down forthe pill." Galahad scanned the balconies of the other three and said. At the topmost balcony... "It seems like 100 spirit stones was too less of a baseline. Hmm, I wonder if it would have been better to increase it? It seems like you will easily pass the mark of 100 spirit stones, sir Sheldon. If I would have known that your last item would be that pill, then I would have changed my herb into something else first. Oh, well, I still get the 60% of the profit, right?" Dylan conversed with Sheldon. "There''s no need for anymore? formalities, Elder Null. You can just call me Sheldon if it is okay with you. You are also the teacher of the Hallmaster so I think that if you willed it, you may be able to take the entire profit for your auctioned items." Sheldon got flustered due to Dylan''s utterance of "sir" so it lead him saying senseless words. "Is that true, Hallmaster Azelmek?" Dylan asked with amusement. "Ah.. if you willed it to be sir." Azelmek was dumbfounded by Sheldon''s claim as he thought, ''I''m gonna teach that pig a lesson for not thinking right after sir Null leaves! But, in any case, we could use this as an opportunity to thoroughly gain sir Null''s trust!'' "Haha, then, I will shamelessly take your kind offer." Dylan slightly laughed as he unceremoniously accepted Azelmek''s offer. Azelmek had a stiff smile as watched Dylan say those words. At the auction stage... "Since everyone is already so eager to start, let me start the auction for the Solarburst Chrysanthemum at the price of 75 spirit stones!" The auctioneer spoke excitedly. "100 spirit stones!" Darius immediately stood up and shouted. Darius wanted to directly narrow down the competition by directly raising the price to three digits. "110!" A family head bidded. "150 spirit stones!" Darius does it again by adding 40 more spirit stones from the previous bid. This caused that family head''s face to twist from the sudden inflation of the price. "160!" That family head forced another bid by raising it by 10. He was gritting his teeth as he raised the price but he really needed the Solarburst Chrysanthemum in order to become stronger by breaking through to the Mortal Severing Realm, thereby, making their family rise and prosper. "170!" A Thundercloud Guard Captain bidded. He desired to get the Solarburst Chrysanthemum because he wanted to rise from his current rank in his squadron. He too wanted to risk his entire life savings to this herb. "200 spirit stones!" Darius was merciless and brutal as he relentlessly raised the price by another 30 stones. He wanted to prove to these people that they messed with the wrong man as he scanned them with a condescending gaze. "210!" Another cultivator joined in. "220!" The family head bidded his last bid. He was hoping that noone would bid more because this was his last money. This was what remained of him but he was broken-hearted when he heard another bid after his. "230!" This was also the last bid of the Thunder Cloud Captain. He really wanted to acquire the Chrysanthemum as he pleaded to the Heavens in his mind that noone would higher than he had. In the end, it was all for naught when Darius bidded. "You low lives! Stop competing with me! 250 spirit stones!" Darius started gritting his teeth. He only had a little over 250 spirit stones because he had prepared it for the last item but this herb was what he just needed to directly skip a sub-realm and further increase his strength! This time a lot of those who thought of voting withdrew because the price was beyond their budget. Darius felt that he won when he heard a faint voice from the balcony above him. "300 spirit stones!" The one who voted was the Pill King, Anderson Cauldron. Aside from the current known fact that this Solarburst Chrysanthemum could be used for breaking through to the Heavenly Connection Realm, he had other uses for it as he knew of its amazing qualities and wonders because of his diverse knowledge as a Alchemist. "310 spirit stones." A pleasant voice that came from Emilia Sparks sounded from the balcony she occupied. "320!" Pavilion Head Galahad Galick called out a bid. "350." Anastasia Spring raised the price effortlessly and calmly. 350 spirit stones. This totally made Darius dismal because he knew that he wouldn''t be able to get the herb anymore. Thinking of this, he roared and he smashed his fist to the chair he was sitting on. "What an idiotic? sore loser." Aliyah coldly glanced at Darius then shifted her attention after a split second. "Hahahaha!" Gil was laughing at the other side. Darius saw Aliyah Aquatia looking at him as though he was a dumb mule and when he looked at another side, he saw Gil Thunder laughing at him as though he saw a circus act. He never felt so humiliated as he stormed out of the auction hall as he was chased by their girl she held and his bodyguards?. After he left, the auction continued. It already went from 350 to 500 spirit stones! This astounded the crowd they wondered who were at the 4 balconies that were constantly fighting over the Solarburst Chrysanthemum. Several minutes later, the whole crowd came to know the identities of the four experts involved. No one wanted to bid any longer because bidding would be equivalent to challenging either one of these 4 powerhouses. "690" Anastasia Spring calmly said. "700!" Pill King bidded. "710!" Emilia Sparks chuckled as he raised the price. "750!" Pavilion Head Galahad Galick voted an astronomical price that was 10 times more than the standard auctioned price. "You, persistent old geezer, fine, you win." Pill King could only concede after witnessing the adamant attitude that Galahad Galick displayed. "It seems like Pavilion Head is the winner." Emilia Sparks merely smiled at Galahad Galick while Anastasia Spring did not speak any longer. "Thank you for letting me win." Galahad thanked them. On the topmost balcony... "It seems like I earned myself one hell of a profit. Hehe." Dylan smirked as he celebrated in his mind. 66 Chapter 66: Four Alchemy Saints of Mystical Clouds After winning the herb, Pavilion Head Galahad decided to settle down in his seat and merely obeserve the ongoing auction below. The other three big shots also knew that Galahad decided to go all-out in obtaining the Solarburst Chrysanthemum because he planned to give up on the Dawnlight? Heavenly Connection Pill. Individually, they prepared themselves for the upcoming battle for the High Earth Ranked Pill! On Balcony 1, Anastasia was calmly observing the vicinity while waiting for the Auctioneer to bring out the pill. "The pill will be mine." Anastasia confidently said. "Of course it will be yours, my lady." The male bodyguard she had replied with reverence. On Balcony 18, Emilia Sparks was merely playing with her pet as she amusedly smiled to it. She was already prepared for the expenses it will cause her to get this pill. "Conquering the Mortal Severing will only be a matter of time after getting that pill. By then, I will be able to prove to you that my decision was not a mistake!" A strange light appeared in Emilia''s enchanting eyes as she spoke. On Balcony 10, Pill King Anderson sat quietly as his fingers were tapping the edge of the armrest nonstop. He was showing signs of being tensed as it also showed his desire to snatch the pill from the hands of the other two. Below, on the stage, the curvaceous and beautiful lady that presented the item which was the Solarburst Chrysanthemum came in carrying a small vial of purple crystal. It could be seen that within the glass was a pill! "Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present to you the main item of tonight''s auction! The High Earth Ranked Pill, Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill!" The auctioneer presented the pill by opening it and letting some of its medicinal air to seep out of the bottle. "Another high class item! It seems like the Premier Hall has been gathering quite the amount of quality goods!" "Oh my, what strong potent medicinal strength, it has!" "I feel my cultivation base churning just from smelling the air it produces! What a high class pill!" "I wonder how the Premier Hall obtained such a miraculous pill and where it came from." People started to engage themselves with conversations? and started to anticipate the introduction of the Auctioneer has prepared for the pill. "I''m sure everyone is curious about the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill''s origin. So to satisfy your questions, let me provide you with the answers! This pill was retrieved from the ruins of an Alchemist Grandmaster a month ago from the monthly expeditions done by our Hall. We were able to discover that the name of this Alchemist Grandmaster was Alchemist Albert Gustavo but he is also known for another title, the Twilight Alchemy Saint!" The auctioneer narrated. The crowd was shocked as they remembered various information about the Twilight Alchemy Saint! "What?! The famed Twilight Alchemy Saint, known for his Alchemist Technique, "Twilight Silver Star Hands" that allowed him to produce pills that did not have any less than 70% of it''s medicinal effects!" "It was a shame that he was reported to have died 100 years ago due to encountering an illness that even he was not capable of concocting an antidote for but his pills really shook the entire Mystical Clouds Country. Being one of the 4 Alchemists? that are able to bring about pills of 70% efficacy, they were known as the Four Saints of? Alchemy in the Mystical Clouds!" "It is a true fortunate event that the Premier Hall has found the Tomb of such an amazing expert, enabling us to witness one of his creations!" People marvelled at the dumb luck that the Premier Hall possessed but every business have their lucky breaks every once in a while like how it was reported that the Thousands Treasure Pavilion of this city was able to excavate a Low Heaven Ranked Treasure at their expedition site. This Low Heaven Ranked Treasure caused a great uproar that the Thunder Clan was only able to get such a treasure after paying an exorbitant price of 5,000 spirit stones! "Hahaha, our Premier Hall was indeed lucky to retrieve such a treasure from the resting place of sir Twilight Alchemy Saint but we were only able to get it after countless hundreds of casualties! Going back to the pill, it is a legendary pill that has retained over 85% of its medicinal properties! The effects of the pill is equally amazing as it allows its consumer to fully awaken his physical and spiritual self that will allow the user to enter a state of epiphany which brings? him closer to the heavens and the earth through the majestic light of dawn! It easily creates an ideal state of mind that any user can use to breakthrough any bottleneck especially for cultivators who have reached the Heavenly Connection Realm which requires a person to create a connection between himself and the heavens and earth! Truly a pill that will cause even top-level powers to go crazy for!" The auctioneer spoke in utter reverence because to reach such a realm is just like a dream for a person without talent like him. After his introduction, the crowd went wild from the excitement they got from the effects of the pill! It was a true miracle pill that will make any person to genius from mundane! "Start the bidding already!" "Yeah!" "Don''t leave us hanging here!" "Right! Let''s get it on with the auction already!" The crowd of cultivators was rather impatient as they wanted to quickly obtain the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill as soon as possible! "It seems? like the audience is rather impatient but I fully understand where you are all coming from so to satisfy your desires, let us start the auction with the price of 200 spirit stones!" The auctioneer announced. The original majority of the crowd died down along with the end of the auctioneer sentence! 200 spirit stones right of the bat which is equal to two hundred thousand gold coins! Such a large amount was something that not everyone possessed but after careful analysis, some were able to accept after considering its background, retained medicinal properties and heaven defying effects! It should be known how rare a pill of the creation of the Four Saints of Alchemy which was currently known as the Three Alchemy Saints of the Mystical Clouds due to Twilight Alchemy Saint dying from an unfortunate illness. That alone raised the market value of the pill and if you add in the fact that it retained more than 80% of its medicinal effects and it''s pill effects, it''s opening price is already considered as reasonable. "210!" "220!" "230!" Although it may be quite of a stretch for some, this did not hinder them from bidding. Several minutes later, the bids have already reached 800 and this was without the three big shots intervening yet! On the topmost balcony, Dylan was intrigued by the subject of the Four Saints of Alchemy so he asked about it to Azelmek by indirectly questioning about the expedition of the tomb of the Twilight Alchemy Saint. "Hallmaster Azelmek, how were you able to find the tomb of that? Twilight Alchemy Saint? We''re you able to find other treasures? How about information regarding the other three Saints of Alchemy?" Dylan asked. "Just as expected, sir Null has decided to raise this topic. We have only managed to find it by chance underground when we were out doing an expedition in the mountains. We have found out that it was the tomb of the legendary Twilight Alchemist Saint after fully investigating the entrance. We have made countless operations in order to know what was inside of the tomb, all of which involved a large amount of casualties, and we were able to discover that it was divided? into 4 main rooms. We had no luck opening the four rooms whatsoever but thankfully we were able to find some cabinets and storages in the hall that contained some treasure that we then retrieved including the pill. Also, It seems like sir Null is particularly keen on other information about the Three Saints. Is this because you have some connections with them?" Azelmek smiled as he questioned Dylan as he narrated their findings regarding the cave. "Hahaha, it''s simply because I''m intrigued by what those Three Saints of Alchemy are in comparison to that old geezer Gustavo." Dylan purposefully called the Twilight Alchemy Saint intimately like so in order to insinuate that he had some past relationship with the old man. It was safe to say something like this because Alchemist Grandmaster Gustavo was already and dead men tell no tales. It is also safe to assume that Alchemist Grandmaster Gustavo had none or scant number of family member or else his resting place would not be in some underground cave. Even if he had relatives, it''s not like they would be able to know every encounter that Gustavo made. It was also for the reason of making Azelmek believe that he truly was an expert that once roamed unfettered in the whole country. "Sir Null, has some relations with the Twilight Alchemist Saint?!" This caused a great amount of shock to Azelmek which led him to believe that sir Null was truly someone who once travelled the entire country. "Well, yes. It''s unfortunate though that old geezer Gustavo died before we met once more." Dylan nodded and looked in a distance as he seemingly reminisced his ''times'' together with the Twilight Alchemist Saint. That simple nod made Sheldon and Azelmek psyched because they truly hit the jackpot! They were able to rope in such a great man! If word got out of this, the number 1 and 2 faction of the city would cry in jealousy. "It is truly unfortunate. But you don''t have to worry, sir Null. The other three are all comparable to Lord Gustavo in skill! They are also known to be able to create pills that have 70% medicinal properties and efficacy! For example is Lady Serenity Alchemy Saint who was rumored to be able to create pills without even looking at them and even while sleeping! Also, Lord Desolate Alchemy Saint who was rumored to be able to use the nature as his cauldron! The last is Lord Heavens Alchemy Saint who is rumored to easily make pills that invoke the heavenly pill tribulation and pass it like it was nothing!" Sheldon spoke with heartfelt reverence to those almighty figures in Alchemy. "Really, now? Hmm.. it seems like while we were chatting the auction has neared it''s closing." Dylan merely smiled in light of this. He was really excited to discover and learn more about his new world and it''s well-known legends! Azelmek and Sheldon immediately turned their attention downwards as they watched the auction reach its conclusion. They never expected what the end result would be. "2000 going once! 2000 going twice! and .. sold to the man at Balcony 2!" The auctioneer announced as the three big shots had expressions of defeat in their faces while the man at the Balcony 2 smiled indifferently. 67 Chapter 67: Thunder Clan Main Family The crowd was silenced by the sudden turn of events. They were unable to fathom how someone could beat the 3 big shots fighting for the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill in a bidding war. The crowd could not help but wonder about the identity of this man. The estimated maximum price of the pill was around 1500 spirit stones but this man took it to a quantitative leap of 500 spirit stones! On the Balcony where Gil Thunder was in, the young man stood up and greeted the man who just appeared. "Greetings, Royal Father." Gil Thunder bowed and greeted. "Oh, if it isn''t my son." The man smiled. "This unfilial son apolozes for not being able to greet father earlier. He was unable to sense father''s presence during the duration of the auction. This son ask for forgiveness." Gil Thunder spoke as he bowed. It was surprising how obedient this young heir was now compared to his complacent attitude towards Darius earlier. "It''s fine, son. Father intended it to hide himself from the very start. You may sit now." The man spoke softly like how a father cares for his son. "Thank you father." Gil Thunder replied. The entire crowd was in a daze as they heard Gil Thunder''s words. He was the his father?! The current head of the Thunder Grand Clan?! The current ruler of the Thunder Clouds City?!?! Was here in the auction hall of the Premier Hall?! He is the greatest expert of the Thunder Clouds City! It is rumored that he has long reached the peak of the Mortal Severing Realm and his current cultivation is unknown! His name was known by every citizen in the city and has spread all throughout the country. After knowing that this man was the strongest man in the Thunder Cloud City, they were able to calm their hearts and accept the fact that they weren''t able to sense him because if he were to hide himself from them, no one in the city would be able to find him. That was just how powerful the city lord of the Thunder Clouds City is. "Hahaha, I, Zachary Thunder, thank you all for helping me obtain this pill. I intend to use it on my son, Victor, and gift it to him on his 22nd birthday as he will breakthrough from the? Breaking Demarcation Realm and formally enter Heavenly Connection Realm soon!" The man who won the bidding just introduced himself and anounced his intentions as he stood up. The crowd was then able to see his face. A truly handsome man with a large build and the height of 1.9 meters and his gold hair shone as the lights hit it. His smiling face that contained the majesty of a ruler was then showcased to the crowd which made everyone feel like it was the arrival of a king. "WHAT?!?" The crowd became even more shock of Zachary''s announcement! It was already known how Victor Thunder reached the absolute peak of the Origin Realm nearly 2 years ago. It was an unprecedented growth of a cultivator never before seen in the whole country as Victor''s name continued to be known all throughout the 6 States. The reason for his name to be known throughout the 6 States was because of the battle he had with a Mortal Moulting stage criminal. In this battle, he displayed his astonishing talent of Pinnacle 20th Level Palace Establishment Realm and showed heaven defying strength as he trampled the Mortal Moulting expert in 10 moves! This news shocked the Mystical Clouds Country to its core!! A 20 year-old young reaching the peak of the Origin Realm and slaying a Mortal Moulting expert in 10 moves!! Such an unprecedented feat made the superpowers of the six states go crazy over him and tried everything to make him as their? disciple. It was unknown which power he chose to join but one thing was for sure, which ever he chose would receive the blessing of a lifetime. After the battle, he became the undisputed number one talent of the Mystic Red Cloud State and the leader of the Mythical 10. He was later known to be the Thunder Emperor! But using 2 years to traverse 10 levels, it was another jaw-dropping feat! It should be known that advancing every level in the Mortal Severing Realm is like trying to cross chasms and one could not forget the Mortal Severing Tribulations that comes with every realm. Such talent was unheard of! This caused the people''s present to have gazes of awe and envy for this man because he was truly blessed by the heavens to be able to be given a son like Victor Thunder. The crowd could only congratulate him in response. Endless fawning and praises rained down upon Zachary the following moment. "City lord Zachary is truly blessed by the heavens to have such a heaven-sent son! If this old one were to have a grandchild who have half the talent of Young Master Victor, then I can rest in peace." "It seems like the Thunder Clan could be the next Royal Clan of our state if Young Master Victor were to become a Saint!" "Hahaha, congratulations, Clan Head Zachary. Your? clan''s reputation is likely to soar once more!" "The Thunder Cloud City might be the next capital of the Mystic Red Cloud! Hahaha!" ... Zachary smiled blissfully as he received the numerous praises of the crowd. It was because he knewthat this prestige was brought by his son. He knew that his son would one day surpass him and bring greatness to their family. Zachary hid from everyone from the start of the auction because he wanted to have the limelight on him at the end of the auction.With?, his strength, no one would be able to detect his presence. He waited for the right moment to reveal himself by winning the last item which was the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill. After winning the pill, he would flaunt to everyone his son''s achievement! And, that was exactly what he did. Ever since he was young, he was always praised and recognized for his great talent. The prestige of being the one in the limelight made him feel bliss. He was so intoxicated with it that high prestige and invincible power became his goals for pursuing cultivation. When he reached his peak, he was able to achieve this. After becoming the city lord and the clan head of the Thunder Clan, he set his new goal to make his clan even greater than what it is. With the monstrous talent of his son Victor, he will be able to guide the Thunder Clan to heights that even his ancestors were unable to achieve. Not only does he have Victor, he also has his youngest son, Gil! Another monstrous talent that was gifted to him by the heavens! With the extraordinary sons he have, it may not be too much of a stretch that his Thunder Clan Main Family is the strongest ever since the founding of the Thunder Clan. "Hahaha, thank you for the praises everyone. I hope that you will all attend the birthday of my son one month from now! Hahaha." Zachary laughed loudly as he invited everyone? to come to his son''s birthday party. Then, something caught his eyes and smiled as he looked towards a certain direction. " Emilia, aren''t you going to greet your father?" ""Emilia? Lady Emilia Sparks?! Is the daughter of thecity lord?!" Another piece of news which shocked everyone! First, it was the appearance of the rare high class herb named Solarburst Chrysanthemum! Second, it was the Dawnlight Heavenly Connection Pill! Earlier, Zachary anounced that his son, Victor would enter the Heavenly Connection Realm! Now, Zachary claimed that Lady Emilia Sparks of the Moonlight Paradise was her daughter?! What was happening in this world?! "You. Are. Not. Worthy. To. Be!" Emilia Spark''s beautiful countenance turned grim as she turned around and left the balcony she was occupying with her guards. Zachary could only sigh and look dejected as he watched Emilia leave. The crowd was speechless not because of Emilia''s departure but because of her not denying Zachary''s claim of her being his daughter. She instead left by leaving the words, "You are not worthy to be.".Emilia did not bother to deny it but instead used this chance to berate Zachary which meant that Zachary Thunder was the father of Emilia Sparks! It can also be interested that their relationship is extremely grave. The crowd could infer that something unfortunate must have happened to make the relationship of father and daughter this terrible. But what they were truly wondering about was how did the daughter of the Thunder Clan Head become the Moonlight Paradise Mistress? What happened between them? There was no news about any of this prior from today. They also did not understand why Zachary decided to disclose this secret to them. Zachary has lived for 400 odd years and was known to have several wives and concubines as well as sons and daughters. But they never received any information about his relation with Emilia Sparks. There were no records? of there of Zachary having a daughter named Emilia. According to public knowledge, Emilia Sparks was just over 33 years old this year and she was able to inherit the position of the Mistress of the Moonlight Paradise 3 years ago when she reached the peak of the Mortal Moulting Realm because of her amazing aptitude in Moonlight Arts. Zachary''s recent wife was married to him 25 years ago which gave birth to Victor and Gil Thunder and his previous woman was married to him50 years ago but? he soon discovered that she was unable to give birth to a child. However. this woman was a bewitching beauty and Zachary was extremely fond of her. Ultimately, he still kept her as his wife despite not being able to give birth. The timeline of the two wives of Zachary was far from each other. Thus, it meant it was impossible to for either of them to give birth to the 33 year-old Emilia. Could it be that she was an offspring of an unofficial wife or concubine or was it something else? This matter made the heads of the crowd ache from overthinking but they moved this matter aside for now and focused in attempting to curry favor with Zachary. After some pleasantries, Zachary andGil has left the Premier Auction Hall and bade farewell to everyone. The crowd inwardly sighed as they dispersed because this auction actually had so many twists? and turns. The items and the sudden revelations of this auction was really gobsmacking. ______________ On the topmost balcony, Dylan watched the dispersal of the crowd. He was also informed by Sheldon and Azelmek about the matters of the Thunder Clan Main Family. Sheldon and Azelmek left just moments ago to manage the gains of tonight''s auction. Dylan remained as he said to himself. "Hm... What a peculiar family... But maybe I could use this as well." Dylan merely smiled as his eyes wondered and his thoughts unknown. 68 Chapter 68: Conditions for Partnership After the auction, Sheldon presented Dylan''s share of the profit gained from the Solarburst Chrysanthemum. Well, technically, it''s not a share because the entire profit went to Dylan due to Sheldon''s absentminded remarks which forced Azelmek to agree despite his unwillingness. But despite his unwillingness, Azelmek was not disheartened as he knew that this would also be a method to curry favor from Dylan. Dylan, on the other hand, was in absolute joy as he received the profit of 750 spirit stones. 750 spirit stones is equal to 750,000 gold coins and if further converted to it would be equivalent to 75,000,000 silver coins! It was the first huge haul of Dylan ever since he came to this world. Therefore, he really was extremely happy about his gains today. Although Dylan was bleaming with happiness, he could only keep it to himselfbecause he needed to maintain his cold and haughty disposition when facing Sheldon or Azelmek. When he received the storage ring which contained the spirit stones, he merely flicked his fingers and with a thought it disappeared and went to one of his storage rings. After giving Dylan''s gains, Sheldon could not help but ask, "Elder Null, pardon me but if I may askwhat were the other two conditions that you did not mentioned earlier?" Sheldon was naturally curious about this matter since Dylan mentioned that he still has a few more conditions that he wishes the Premier Hall to do before formally agreeing into a business partnership. Since Dylan was also an integral business partner for their Premier Hall and being one of Azelmek''s most trusted aids, he felt that it was his responsibility to ask about the conditions of the partnership between the hall and Dylan. "Oh, that''s right. My other condition would be for the Premier Hall to make a business partnership with a new establishment called Soaring Garden Herbal Store." Dylan spoke in his "Null" voice. "Why is that so, sir Null? Does this establishment have any connection to you?" Azelmek could not help but interject in this matter since it was the matter of their Premier Hall. He could not understand why sir Null would want the Premier Hall to help a newly established brand. "Yes, it does. In fact, the owner of that store was my benefactor." Dylan calmly stated. "What?!" Azelmek was shocked when he heard Dylan''s words. "Could it be that the owner of this store is also a peerless expert such as? yourself, sir Null?" Sheldon forced himself to inquire despite his shock. "No, he is actually very weak. Back then, he was only around 2nd level of Spirit Core Realm." Dylan calmly answered. "Ehh?!?" This statement made both Azelmek''s? and Sheldon''s? mouth open wide from shock. They could not comprehend how a weakling of the Spirit Core Realm help an expert who was at the very least beyond Mortal Severing and Mystical Lord? "It seems like you''re in shock." Dylan spoke in amused tone. The two businessmen could only smile wryly and nod in an embarrassed manner. "Well, it was five years ago. I was heavily injured by my foes after being ambushed and surrounded by them. I was forced to flee thousands of miles from the place of battle using a forbidden technique and hid in the forest of a Middle Proximity City called Soaring Cloud City. In the middle of the woods, I collapsed due to overfatigue, severe blood loss and heavy injuries. If any spirit beasts of the Awakened Spirit Realm were to find in that state, I would have long departed this world." "However, when I woke up, I was met with wooden ceiling and I forced myself to scan my surroundings and then was shock to find out that I was lying in a bed of a small room. From there, I knew that I was saved. A young maleadolescent then came in and tended my injuries. Although it was only first aid and application of basic medicine paste, if not for it, I would long have died. Accompanied by the ability of my body to recover, I was able to recover in a week." "Afraid that I may cause unnecessary disaster to my benefactor, I quickly left after recovering. I wasn''t able to leave anything behind because my foes might detect my aura from it and bring disaster to him. I felt so guilty of not being able to repay the favor that I have owed that young man and I thought I would never be able to see him again when I received the news of the destruction of the Soaring Cloud City." Slightly raising his head, despite his face being covered by his cloak, he seemed as though he was reminiscing his old memories. His unusually deep and hoarse voice contained a shade of melancholy and guilt. Such meticulousness in his delivery made Dylan''s acting impeccable. "So that''s how it was." The two businessmen then understood why "Sir Null" insisted in making a business partnership with the owner of the Soaring Garden Herbal Store. The both of them were unable to find the slightest fault during Dylan''s storytelling. They even felt that the gratitude and guilt that"Sir Null" had for this young boy was genuine. They would never have thought that Dylan only made up this story in order for the two to discard any future suspicions that he and Sir Null are one person. "Today, I visited this city in search for materials needed for my breakthrough. As I was scanning, I discovered a familiar aura that I have not encountered for several years now. He may look completely different now as he is already an adult but his soul''s aura would never change. When I detected him, I knew that this was the chance that the heavens have me to repay my debt. Seeing that he and his employees were still foreign to this place, I decided to offer him help by giving him some of my herbs and negotiating here with you to assist the growth of his business. Doing this little effort is nothing compared to what he has done for me by saving my life. That is why to repay him I must ensure a bright future for him to have!" Dylan continued with his story as he emphasized his "determination" to repay his debt. "Sir Null, is truly a virtuous man. He never forgets a debt and takes it as his responsibility to repay the favor that he received. What a great character you possess, sir!" Azelmek sincerely praised "Sir Null''s" character. "An amazing man, indeed." Sheldon nodded to express his approval. "Don''t worry. I will pay you handsomely for doing so. Here." Dylan threw storage ring to Azelmek. "What is this, sir Null?" Azelmek asked. "This is the payment that I promised." Dylan answered. "This-this..." Azelmek was totally dumbfounded as he checked the contents of the storage ring because it had 7 different High Earth Ranked Herbs!! "What is inside the storage ring, Hallmaster?" Sheldon immediately came over to check the insides of the storage ring and he was shocked to see the 7 different High Earth Ranked Herbs. "Mama mia~", he strangely uttered as he froze on the spot. "I entrust the future of my benefactor to you as I will be leaving this city after two weeks or so. I am expecting that you are competent enough to do this condition of mine. If not, don''t blame me for being ruthless." Dylan spoke in an extremely cold tone accompanied with a cold and piercing gaze aimed at the two persons in front of him. "Y-yes, sir!" Both of them subconsciously answered from fright. They were thinking that it was good thing that he didn''t use killing intent otherwise they wouldn''t have been able to breathe after that.The pressure from the Heavenly Eyes alone made their breathing heavy. The? current Dylan is still unable to muster killing intent that may threaten these hundred year-old monsters because he was only able to kill around 100 men as of now. This number wouldn''t even come close to the number of people these two killed for the sake of protecting the Premier Hall or for the sake of becoming stronger. Releasing such a measly killing intent would only result his identity being discovered as a fake. The density of killing intent of a person is mostly dependent on the number of people killed by a cultivator. The denser killing intent that a person? has, the more effective a deterrent it becomes. In battle, when the enemy falters due to the intimidation effect brought by one''s killing intent, it becomes an opening or a chance to attack the enemy with deadly moves. "Good." Dylan was seemingly satisfied with their answer. "What would be the last condition you have,Sir Null?" Sheldon asked. "That would be for you to gather all the ingredients that are listed in this paper within one week." Dylan showed a piece of paper that was as long as a short band paper. When Sheldon and Azelmek checked the ingredients needed, their faces suddenly turned deathly white. "Sir, we need to get all that are listed here?" Sheldon''s? voice suddenly turned weak as beads of sweat were starting to appear on his forehead. "Yes. Is there any problem with that?" Dylan asked. "I mean all the materials are only Low Earth Ranked ingredients and we would be able to find all of them within the city but the quantity is a bit..." Sheldon''s voice faltered as he remembered the amount needed for each item. "A bit too much?" Dylan tried to continue Sheldon''s sentence. "Yes.. It''s just that we don''t have the confidence of gathering it within a week or so.." Sheldon spoke hesitatingly. "But if we were given two weeks, we assure you that we would be able to gather all of them." Azelmek joined in as he tried to negotiate with the time that Dylan set for them. "Fine, two weeks. But not a day more that that. Are we clear? I don''t want to take the Noble Test just to stay for a bit longer." Dylan said demandingly. "Yes, sir. If you like, we can talk to the Chief of the Noble Test Center to get you a VIP access to the city since our Hall has pretty good relations with them." Azelmek hurriedly said. "Is that so? Then, I would have to trouble you then." Dylan said plainly but he was smiling because of how convenient Azelmek did things for him. "It''s no trouble, sir. As long as you agree to guide our Premier Hall to greatness, we''ll do what will please you." Azelmek said earnestly. "Of course. Just keep in mind the agreement and I will surely guide your Hall to success." Dylan confidently said. "Thank you, sir Null." Azelmek felt gratified with Dylan''s? reply. "I shall take my leave now. I will come back about the same time tomorrow." Dylan nodded and turned around and left the Premier Hall. As he left, he was greeted with the bows of the maids and butlers lined up until the giant door of the Premier Hall. After Dylan''s departure, Sheldon asked Azelmek something, "Sir, are you sure about gathering the materials in two weeks time?" "Yes but the price is... Ugh!" Azelmek gritted his teeth as he answered. He looked at the list of the Low Earth Rank Herbs enlisted. Each one could be found with the city but the number of herbs per variety were ridiculous. There were only 20 varieties enlisted but each one of them required more than 30 each! That would mean they needed to gather 600 herbs! Each herb was only worth about 1 spirit stones but the amount would make a total of 600 spirit stones! Azelmek could not help but wonder what type of pill he is going to make but if not for a pill what would it be for? They did not know that these herbs was for the creation of the strongest spirit core in history!!! 69 Chapter 69: Seniors Bullying the Newcomers After finishing his business in the Premier Hall, Dylan went straight to the Soaring Garden Herbal Store. By the time, Dylan exited the Premier Hall, it was already late at night. After confirming that he was in a distance that was far away from the Premier Hall, Dylan went to an alley and took off his disguise which he then placed on his storage ring. Dylan straightened his body and his aura went back to its former state. When Dylan passed through the alley, he was able to submerge within the crowd without causing too much attention. At least that was what he thought. Unbeknownst to him, the moment he came out of the alley, countless girls, be they young or old, was shocked at his sudden appearance that seemed like the entrance of a prince and could only pause to intently stare at his handsomeness. Recovering from the shock, they continued walking while occasionally trying to get a glimpse of him. Although Dylan sensed these gazes, he thought that they were merely gazes of shock and curiousity so he treated it as nothing as he continued walking. Dylan was walking in the street where his Soaring Garden Herbal Store was. He was only about 2 kilometer away when he saw twenty odd people in front of the store. Instantly using his Heavenly Eyes, he saw his 16 employees of the first shift, with Jack and Allana standing in front, was arguing with the man who was in front. The group of people was clearly trying to cause trouble to them. " Who are those people? Are they customers? It seems like they are arguing. What are they arguing about?" Though Dylan mumbled these words, he did not feel alarmed and did not hasten his steps because he thought that having this kinds of conflicts will also enhance his employees'' ability to solve problems and interact with different types of customers. Even though that was the case, he still kept a close eye on what was happening outside of the store. He also did not want to rush over just because of a certain conflict and because he also had other reasons for doing so. One, he did not want to rush over because it would be making a big mess out of a small conflict. Two, because rushing over would cause a scene and he might have to bump into someone or trip someone in the crowd by rushing over because he was moving against the flow of the leaving crowd who just finished shopping. Three, rushing over might give his employees the dependent mentality in which they would always depend for him to solve every problem at hand. And, he did not want that to occur since he is trying to mold the best employees that his employees could be. That is why they would need to be independent and competent enough to deal with every situation that may occur. Dylan wants them to grow and to be able to rise to the challenge as they spread their wings to bring his, rather, their business to the apex of the business in the Mystical Clouds Country and even the whole world. So, he only continued to watch the argument between his employees and the "customers" while calmly walking towards Lighting Buolevard. ..... Lightning Boulevard is the 10 kilometers squared commercial area of the Thunder Clouds City. Usually, people would come in abundance at late morning around 9-10 a.m and similarly leave in unison by late night 9-10 p.m. In this time of day, the amount of customers are significantly reduced to 5% of its original number. Outside the Soaring Garden Herbal Store, there were no customers left and only two groups of people could be seen arguing. From their clothes and the crest on their chests, the group of twenty were all nobles of the sixth rank. There were 12 men and 8 women. The men wore Noble robes while the women wore extravagant dresses, clearly to show off their status to other people. They all had furious and condescending gazes to Jack and the others. They were blaming them for the lack of customers that went to their area during the day and the absence of customers at night. "I told you all to leave! What Soaring Garden Herbal Store? Bah, it''s nothing but trash." A noble kicked one of the signs in front of the store entrance. The sign was destroyed by the force that the kick contained. Clearly, the male noble in front was provoking them. "Are you retarded? We bought this slot fair and square? Who are you to make us leave?!" Jack shouted in anger. "Heh, your second-rate store is ruining the face of our stores! As store owners, we must maintain a good image in our area but your store is ruining the prestige of the third street of the Lighting Boulevard! Our shopping area''s consumers have drop because of your unsightly store!" A female noble berated them and the Soaring Garden Herbal Store. "What kind of twisted reasoning is that? You''re clearly just making up reasons to evict us from this shopping area!" An employee named Peter spoke in defense as he raised his voice. "Hahaha, so what if we are? What are you going to do about it? We''re nobles and you''re just plebeians. We''re strong and you guys are weak! Oh, what are these signs? Hahah what garbage!!" Another male store owner continuously berated them as he destroyed all the signs in outside the store by similarly kicking all of them like the first speaker. But what he said was true. In terms of strength, they wouldn''t be able to hold a candle in front of their strengths of Awakened Spirit Realm! In terms of numbers, they were also lacking four members. In terms of status, they were still plebeians because Dylan has still yet to take the test now while they were nobles which were formal citizens in this city. "Bastards?! Christine and I spent all day doing those!" Allana could not hold it any longer as she shouted. Christine was a timid and shy girl but could always deliver what was expected from her sometimes it was even greater than what was asked of her. "A-allana. Y-you don''t have to g-get mad. We can always r-redo it." Christine was trembling as she spoke. The eyes of the noble were then focused to Christine the moment she spoke.She was not really comfortable with the concept of being the center of attention. She could only hid herself from the gazes of these people. "I never expect to see such fine ladies in this sorry establishment. Hahaha, how about ditching this waste of a store and come with me? Why not apply in my store? You surely would not just be a saleslady. Even better, my concubine! Plus, you will Hahaha. This store surely won''t flourish due to herb-selling not being an ideal business for large profits and income within the city. Hahaha." Another noble with a lewd expression laughed loudly. His obscene gaze could not be hidden as he wet his lips as he looked at the bodies of Allana and the other girls. "Tsk, despicable!" "Pervert!" "Shameless bastard!" The female employees outside the store could not help but curse when faced with such arrogance and lewdness. They felt chills just from the stares of this profane man as he scanned their bodies from head to toe. "Hahaha, excuse my brother for being too vulgar, if you come with me instead, I will make your lives beter than your current owner. Making beauties work in this type of second-rate business, he must truly be a useless man. If you follow me on the other hand, I will not treat you as poorly as this. You will also be able to accompany an overly handsome young lord such as myself." Another good-looking black-haired noble who was narcissistic spoke proudly with a wide smile. "Hmph, I bet your boss is not as handsome as our big bro Ritz. Bleh!" A female noble, that was enclosed in one of the narcissistic male nobles arms, showed her tongue and made a childish gesture. "Hahahaha, that is true." Laughing out loud, ''Big bro Ritz'' nodded approvingly. "You.. You''re not even as half, no, not even a tenth as handsome as our sir Dylan!" A female named Alisha screamed in anger. She was one of those females who had deep feelings for Dylan. She could not imagine a man who would be as handsome and as kind as Dylan. Thus, she could not help but feel furious when the narcissistic Ritz claimed that he was more handsome than Dylan. "You bitch! How dare you say that in front of my hand some face!" Ritz felt absolutely furious when he heard those words. He was very prideful when it came to his appearance because he was always chased and sought for by countless girls. He would love to compare himself with other men and look down on them for their ugliness but never the other way around. "Hahaha, you dumb girl. Now you''ve done it. Big bro Ritz is thoroughly angered now. Hahahahaha. Big bro Ritz, don''t kill her. I want to bed her tonight. Hahaha!" The lewd store owner said. He knew that Ritz despised being compared in appearance and being called ugly in comparison. "Fine. But I''ll have to slap her ten times in the face for insulting my handsome face." Despite being extremely angry, he never failed to maintain his narcissistic nature. "You, petty narcissistic spoiled bastard, becoming angry just because of being ugly in comparison toour boss! What a petty man, you are!" Allana also could not contain his rage as she relentlessly insulted Ritz which momentarily stunned him. She felt that she already held herself back too much. Now that she exploded, she did not care what happened next. She threw a slap to his face which dumbfounded everyone. The men could only sigh as they thought , ''Women are really scary creatures.'' However, it was stopped by Ritz which was accompanied by the twisting of his face. He was extremely enranged now because of the repeated insults of Allana and her attempt to slap him. He never met a woman who was this insolent in front of him. "Hahahaha, idiotic woman! You just made things worst! You clearly dug your own grave!" A woman wearing revealing clothes laughed and mocked Allana. "I will kill you! No, that would be letting you off easy. I''ll kill you by raping you and robbing you of your yin essence!" Ritz cruelly whispered as he tightened his grip on her slender arms. His cultivation of 13th level of Awakened Spirit Realm burst forth. "Argh, y-you devil! Let go of me, you perverted devil!" Allana was pale white as she protested "Tsk, I''ll have to slap you 20 times to shut off your fucking mouth which continuously sullied my face!" Ritz raised his hands and poured his entire strength to slap Allana. He did not show mercy even to a woman. "Stop, you bastard!" "Nooo! "Allana!" "Don''t hurt, Allana!" The employees shouted in Allana''s defense. Being unable to break free from the hands of Ritz, Allana, then, closed her eyes tightly as she braced herself for the moment of impact the corresponding pain. "Sir, I advise you to refrain from hurting my employee or else, the consequences will be dire." A figure suddenly appeared and easily stopped Ritz''s hand from slapping Allana while maintaining his usual faint smile in his face. Who else could this be, other than Dylan Ford. 70 Chapter 70: Synchronized Battle Skill Ritz was shocked that? a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and defended an attack which contained his entire strength! What''s more the man who stopped it was someone only at the Pinnacle of the Spirit Veins Realm. Allana, who was preparing for the occurrence of the slap, however, it did not happen and instead, she heard a very familiar voice that the moment she opened her eyes, the person she had in mind after hearing the voice was the same as the one she saw right before her eyes. ""S-sir Dylan..." Allana got misty eyed as she softly called out Dylan''s? name. "Who are you? How dare you interfere with this noble''s affairs!" Ritz angrily barked. " My name is Dylan Ford, the owner of the second-rate store you were referring to .Lower your voice. I''m not deaf. Also, kindly remove your hands from my employee, please. It is essentially inappropriate and could be considered as harassment." Dylan calmly answered. Though his words were courteous, his tone was calm and indifferent as though he was talking with someone without any nobility whatsoever. "Youu!" Ritz pointed at him while glaring at him with killing intent. "Can you kindly refrain from pointing figures at someone? It is an extremely disrespectful to do so. If someone did not know any better, they might start thinking? that you''re an uncultured swine. Do you not think so?" Dylan maintained his calm expression which held his trademark faint smile. "Argh!!" Ritz could only lower his hands. "Now, that''s a good noble. Unfortunately, sir Ritz and his company has already destroyed the properties of my Soaring Garden Herbal Store, harmed my employees, insulted my humble self and falsely accused us of matters that we did not have any relation with. Truthfully?, I have never seen anyone be this nefarious and evil. I wonder what would the Thundercloud Guards will say when they heard of such matters?" Dylan calmly asked with a smile. "Hahaha, do you really think that they would learn of this matter? I will silence you all before that happens and the very least that will happen to us is compensate the damage we have done. But if they do, so what? My Panther Family is one of the Top 5 families in the whole Thunder Cloud City! What could they do to touch me?! Hahahaha, nothing!" Ritz merely laughed? as he tightly held both arms of Allana in one of his arms. "Oh is that so? Then, does that mean you don''t take the Thundercloud Guards to your eyes and consider them as a strict and uptight organization of justice?" Dylan inquired once more as his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Allana''s pained expression. "Hahaha, what strict and upright organization of justice? Hahaha in the face of the might of my family, they are nothing!! Hahahahaha!" Ritz laughed hysterically once more. "Then, you, all have truly broadened my horizons. I never thought that there would be someone who is as conceited and evil as you all are! First, blaming my employees for the lack of employees that you had today? Then, why don''t you take a look at yourselves first?! If your presentation of goods and customer service were better, then your sales and number of customers would be maintained and would have even soared! But, instead of doing this, your manner of management in your business is substandard as you try to buy luxurious materials yet completely forgot improving presentation and service! This would only imply one thing and that is you all don''t have enough foresight to consider these things!! " Dylan righteously defended. "Next, you harm and insult other people for insulting you yet you insult other people without a sense of self-restraint? How absurd can you be?! You are merely labelling us below you because of your conceited and narcissistic nature! That is another reason why your daily consumers have dropped! Just from your attitude alone, I can say that you act high and mighty even when facing your own customers! This creates a dissociated? atmosphere between you and your customers as your self-centeredness makes your customers feel very uncomfortable and even have a negative view of you! In business, there must be mutual respect between parties because through respect you are able to form a bond and this bind will make your customers come back to your establishment!" "I''m very certain that this not only applies to you but to all of you to some extent. Thus, don''t blame others for your lack of skill because people of this kind are incomparably detestable!" Dylan ended his defense with a sneer as he could not contain his self any longer in front of this arrogant lot of nobles. Ritz was momentarily rendered speechless when he heard those things. ... This incident even shocked the crowd. The group of store owners were shocked by the fact that a 10th level Spirit Veins Realm practitioner was able to block Ritz who was at the 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm. But there was another fact which shocked the 8 ladies of this group was that this man was outstandingly handsome. The scene that happened before them was like a scene from a fairy tale stories they read when they were kids; a prince saving a damsel in distress. "Who is he?" "He said that girl is his employee, so does that mean.." ".. He''s the boss they were talking about..?" When they heard Dylan''s statements, they were all angry at first but after being backed up with persuasive arguments, they started doubting themselves in a second. "Were we really that arrogant and concurred?" ... On the other hand, Dylan''s employees were only momentarily shocked but it was then replaced by joy and excitement as they saw Dylan who was currently confronting the incomparably narcissistic Ritz. "Sir Dylan is here!" The employees rejoiced the moment they saw Dylan. ... "Stop, with your nonsense! Or else, I will kill this girl!!" Ritz roared violently! "Urrr, let me go!" Allana suddenly realized that she was being held more tightly by each passing second. Although her hands may be held by Ritz''s hand, she immediately used her feet and swung her right foot at full force and aimed at Ritz groin. Her actions caused everyone''s jaw to nearly drop to the ground! "What the fuck! Ugggggghhhh! @#$_!" Ritz felt an indescribable pain as he was forced to kneel down from the overwhelming pain that came from his third leg. He was trembling as he experienced a seizure and foam even started to bubble outside his mouth. Clearly, the violent force of a 9th level Spirit Veins Realm expert who aimed directly at the groin was devastating. But the true horror of the matter was that this showed the horrifying side of women. One kick could make any men tremble to their knees as even a 13th level of Awakened Spirit Realm was similarly powerless against Allana''s ''deadly attack''. Even Dylan felt chills from seeing that scene happen. He subconsciously covered his groin with his hands and could not help but momentarily shiver from the pain he imagined Ritz was going through right now. He spoke in his thoughts, ''I should never anger a woman. They truly are terrifying creatures.'' It was not only him but the male employees had similar thoughts when they saw Allana kicking Ritz''sgenitals. Even the male store owners subconsciously took a step back from fright. They even looked at the shocked women by their sides and moved a step away from them. "You bitch! How dare you hurt big bro Ritz!" The girl which Ritz held in his arm rushed to him and gave him medicinal pill. The medicine was apparently a high class recovery pill. It abruptly caused Ritz''s countenance to redden and recover it''s colors. Ritz stopped having a seizure and weakly brushed off the foam from the side of his face but the pain on the middle of his legs was stinging. His desire to kill Allana and Dylan soared even more as his eyes turned increasingly bloodshot! "I will have you all killed right away! Uncle Bardon, kill these two for me!!!" Ritz raored so loud as he summoned the presence of his ''Uncle Bardon''. "Yes, young master." A shadow leaped from a distance and immediately attacked Dylan and Allana. The old man with a black short beard wore a conventional butler''s clothes: a black vest paired with white long sleeves and dark blue slacks. His hair was a combination of black and white hairs. He used a sword to attack Dylan and launched a horizontal slash in an attempt to instantly kill Dylan and Allana. Dylan materialized his Shield of Dusk which was already restored and was without any type of damage due to the nourishing immortal energy of the Cosmic God Mansion. He was able to block the attack after receiving 30% of the attack. His eyes narrowed as he did his best against the attacks of this 1st level Origin Transmutation Realm expert. "The rest of you. Pin the rest of them down to the ground!" Ritz commanded the other 18 nobles to suppress the other 15 employees. All of them were 12th or 11th level of Awakened Spirit Realm so it would be an easy task for them to surpress a group of 9th level Spirit Veins Realm practitioners. "Uh... Are you sure? What if we get in trouble?" The first noble to destroy a sign outside hesitatingly said. This was what the other nobles feared as well. "What the hell are you hesitating for?! Our families are big shots in the city especially my Panther Family! So, stop fooling around and do as I say!" Ritz reprimanded his peers as the girl beside him served as his cushion. "O-okay." The nobles could only obey his command because his family is the most powerful family out of the 20 of them. They faced the employees to start pinning them down one by one as they launched mid-range attacks. But, they were shocked to see that the 15 employees, no they were 16 of them now, were already in front of them and directly attacked them in that moment of shock. The attacks of the nobkes deviated from their original trajectory due to the sudden attack of the opposing side. Some hit the store and some hit the road. "What?!" The nobles were shocked as they received the attack. "Take this, you arrogant nobles!" Tom and Jack said in unison as he led the employees and attacked in unison. It is true that they are 2-3 levels weaker compared to the nobles but their ability to coordinate and to act unitedly vastly surpasses the latter. They grouped themselves into four groups of four and attacked. Having trained for nearly two months together, they were able to get to know each other better from their personality down to their habits. Because of this, they were able to coordinate more better with each other compared to the past and be able to fully bring out the true strength of teamwork. Driven by the desire to become stronger in order to repay Dylan''s kindness, they thought of ways on how to agglomerate a strength that will help Dylan when it came to battles as battles are inevitable in the world of cultivation. One of the methods that they thought of was a joint attack comprised of four members that practiced the same Battle Techniques which they called Synchronized Battle Skill. After practicing for 8 hours every night for two weeks?, the employees were finally able to master this move after successfully executing the skill with the same amount of power, timing and trajectory. The Synchronized Battle Skill quadruples the attack power and the size of the original Battle Technique! The downside of this skill is that it depletes one-third of the energy reserves of the users so it could only be used thrice in a battle. Still, this type of skill amazed Dylan. He was shocked at his employees to be able to develop such a skill! This skill would enable them to fight 2 to 3 levels higher than them although they would only be able to use this skill for 3 times every battle. He praised them greatly for creating such a skill because he knew to be able to execute such a skill it requires the group to be one in both mind and heart to execute such a powerful skill. "[Synchronized Battle Skill-Wind Wolf Blade]" The first group roared. "[Synchronized Battle Skill- Scroching Salamander Breath]" The second group bellowed "[Synchronized Battle Skill- Golden Carp Water Blast]" The third group shouted " [Synchronized Battle Skill- Earth Boar Rock Spire]" The last group followed Each group shouted their Synchronized Battle Skill! The nobles were all knocked off balance and pushed back three meters away because there were unable to react in time and defend themselves. "Another!" Jack rallied as his group prepared for another attack. They were then pushed back once more by another Synchronized Battle Skill as they crashed few meters from where they stood earlier. They did not understand what just happened to them and was still trying to comprehend what happened but the employees did give them time to think as they made their moves against them once more. The brain for the sudden surprise attack executed by the employees was Dylan. When Dylan saw that the nobles were hesitating to attack, he ordered Allana to retreat and inform everyone to launch a surprise attack while the nobles were still hesitating. Fortunately, they were able to successfully launch their attacks while evading the attacks of the nobles. "How could these plebeians possess such power?!" The nobles were shocked as they tried their bests to defend. "Impossible!" Uncle Bardon was shocked when he saw that the nobles were at a disadvantage! The same goes for Ritz and the girl who was attending to his injuries. They could not understand how a group of travellers contain such a powerful skill. "Looking away at the middle of the battle will lead to your downfall! Crescent Moon Slash!!"Dylan, on the other hand, smiled as he took advantage and threw a Crescent Moon Slash two consecutive times at Uncle Bardon with his Waning Moon Sword. Uncle Bardon was still able to block the first attack but could only endure the second. He was still able to reduce the damage caused by the Crescent Moon Slash due to the superiority of his origin energy. "You, damn brat!" Uncle Bardon cursed and he launched another series of attacks which was being forcefully endured by the Shield of Dusk as it burned more than half of the attacks of Uncle Bardon. "Halt! Stop this fighting this instant!" A loud voice interrupted the battle as a battalion of men arrived. They wore valiant armors and held fierce weapons. The crest on their chest plates signified and represented one thing: The Thundercloud Guards has come! 71 Chapter 71: Turning Black to White Dylan and the others immediately stopped fighting when they saw the arrival of the Thundercloud Guards. They distanced themselves from each other and retracted their weapons. The Thundercloud Guards were 55 in numbers as soon as they arrived they formed 5 columns with 10 guards comprising each column. They remained at ease and waited for further instructions as five other guards could be conspicuously moving forward and formed an independent column. These five guards essentially wore a different type of armor compared to the Thundercloud Guards. They had red capes similar to a medieval knight''s cape and a war helmet designed fundamentally different to the guards. This was the uniform of a Captain-Rank Guard. Clearly, all five of them were all captains. "What is the reason for the brawl that is happening on this street at this hour?!" The captain in the middle interrogated. He had a stern gaze and a clear aura which implied his impartiality and uprightness in handling his matters. "Sir, it was due to these hoodlums!" Ritz pointed at Dylan with a tragic expression. It was as though he experienced being wronged and was a victim of injustice. Ritz crawled all the way to the feet of the captain. He looked especially pitiful while he was trembling. "Elaborate!" Another captain asked as he looked down. "Who are you calling hoodlums?! You''re the ones? who started the entire conflict!" Jack protested. "Silence?! I will ask you for your side later. For now, let Noble Ritz voice out his side." The second guard halted Jack''s movements with a simple gesture. Jack could only hope that the captains Thundercloud Guards are as impartial? as the rumors claim them to be. "Sir Venerable Captains, it was like this. We were just trying to welcome them as a new establishment and prepare a feast for them. We came to them in hopes of making acquaintance and develop camaraderie with them. We wanted to have a good and peaceful business area wherein everyone would be able to work together and help each other at each brand''s troubles in their businesses. Our only objective was to create a friendly bond with them but... but..." Ritz lifted his body by using his hands as support and appeared to struggle to kneel as he clenched his fist by the end of his statement while trembling. "Continue." The guards spike. "But who would have thought that they would repay our kind intentions with evil deeds as they arrogantly forced as away and repeatedly? insulted our faces. They thenruthlessly attacked us and as we were caught by surprise despite being 2-3 levels stronger than them, we were unable to defend against them as they used devil arts to hurt us. It may seem farfetched saying that they used devil arts but they were able to injure my comrades and I by using strange skills. I tried to make them compromise by taking that woman as hostage. I knew it was shameful to do so but seeing how my comrades and I were being overpowered by the devil arts of these people that allowed them to fight levels higher than their actual levels! But... it was the only thing I could do due to the current circumstances." "But I never thought that this woman would be so shameless as to kick my genitals mercilessly. The full force kick of a 9th level Spirit Veins Realm made me fall unconscious and I might have already died if it wasn''t for Little Sister Neah coming to my aid. Adding insult to injury they repeatedly mocked us with baseless accusations regarding our business and acted haughtily while saying derogatory words. After this, I was then forced to call upon my Uncle Bardon to defend me against this vile man. Fortunately, my uncle arrived just on time, otherwise, this young noble wouldn''t have been able to state what really happened." "Who would have thought that he would have a heaven defying treasures that would enable him to guard and? attack a Origin Transmutation Realm expert like my Uncle Bardon despite being a 10th level Spirit Veins Realm practitioner. If not for your arrival, oh great and righteous captains, then who knows what would have happened. Venerable Captains, I beseech that you carry over righteous judgement onto this villainous and devilish young man!" Ritz was weeping as he said those words. His tears was overflowing as he cleched his trembling hands and asked for the Thundercloud Guards to carry out the punishment befitting for what Dylan''s group has done to him and his comrades. "You are a noble yet you don''t know shame at all!" "You big fat liar! Those were all lies!!" "How despicable! Everything you said was the complete opposite of what truly happened!" "There was not one shred of truth on every word that you have said!" "You shameless bastard, you''re not only wicked but you are also immeasurably deceptive!" The employees of Dylan voiced out their anger and dissatisfaction regarding Ritz''s shameless act. Their anger towards him turned to wrath. They could not stand someone who was as shameless and as evil as Ritz. Dylan who? was usually calm had a slight shock written on his face. He never would have thought that Ritz skills in turning black to white was this believable. If he was not present during the fight, then he would have immediately doubted his employees. He knew that some of the soldiers were already siding with Ritz as soon as his pleading was done. If it was anybody else, they would have already been panicking and would excrete a bucket of cold sweat but Dylan appeared exceedingly calm while maintaining his faint smile. Ritz''s? acting was surprisingly believable. His tears and the breaking of his voice was almost on point everytime they were needed. One could say that his act had successfully convinced around half of the soldiers as some of the soldier were already angrily glared at Jack and his group. This also included two captains who appeared to readily execute the employees. The other half was still unsure as they were still waiting for the side of the opposite. They wanted to try to be as just as possible since it is their duty as the main force of security of the Thunder Clouds City. The other three captains were still neutral regarding this situation. "Is what they said true?" The captain in the middle seriously looked at Ritz. "Sir, there is no need for this! We will just have to apprehend this evil man and his employees and bring him back to headquarters to interrogate them. After doing so, we can publicly execute so as to prevent any future trouble from happening by instilling fear to the hearts of these scum criminals!" A tall and heroic looking captain stepped forward persuaded the man in the middle. "Jamal, stand down. I don''t recall you having been promoted to a rank that allows you to command me." The captain in the middle established his authority by just one glanve. His gaze was filled with dominance and strictness of a leader. From his actions, it could be seen that he was the leader of the group and also the captain with the highest rank. "Pardon my hot-headedness, sir Ran." The heroic and tall captain named Jamal could only step back? in the face of his superior. "..." Sir Ran merely redirected his gaze to Ritz as he asked the same question, "Is what they said true?" "Yes, sir! You can ask my brother Igor and Uncle Bardon regarding this matter." Ritz spoke with a pitiable expression and glanced at sir Ran.who first berated Dylan''s store. He gave him a meaningful glance because he knew that this man would immediately caught up in his act and would be a great help to persuading the guards to believe him. Ritz knew that his acting was flawless and very few would be able to see through or feel unaffected by the stunt he just did. He just needed an accomplice who will be able to support him in his act even if it was just one person. Because with a person supporting him, it will be viewed as sufficient evidence to support his ''confession''. He was already confident that his Uncle Bardon would agree to his matter as he has pledged allegiance to him and would fight for Ritz till his very last breath?. So when he glanced at Uncle Bardon, his Uncle Bardon nodded in compliance. Igor seemingly understood Ritz intentions? knew what he had to do in order to escape this ordeal. He knew that the wise choice would be to follow his lead and persuade the guards to believe them. Because if he didn''t?, then the consequences would be unbearable and he may even be exiled from his clan. Igor knew that by agreeing to what Ritz wanted would imply that he would bear full responsibilityto the words he was about to say. It was a good thing that Ritz act was really believable or else he would not have confidence to say the next the words he was about say. "Are you the Noble named Igor?" The Captain named Ran redirected his gaze to Igor. "Yes, sir." Igor weakly replied. "So, is what he said true?" Ran seriously asked. "Indeed, sir.What Big Brother Ritz said was the truth. As for what those villains have just said, they were simply denying the demonic skills they possess! Also, the Venerable Captain should know that the more a person denies a certain subject, the more it would imply that this matter would be true! The Venerable Captain should have also observed that aside from a few damages from the store, they are completely unscathe while we, however, individually received injuries. It is completely clear who was the dominant and who was oppressed!" Indignant, Igor spoke. "..."Sir Ran looked like he was in deep thought . When Sir Ran asked the nobles, they all answered similarly. They knew that if they denied it, this would cause doubt and would bring disaster to every single one of them. The same reply was given by Ritz''s butler. *You shitty liars! Shame on all of you!" "You guys are no nobles! You should be conferred as ignobles!" "Bah! How despicable and low can you group of nobles be!" The employees couldn''t? simply stand this hypocrisy as they simultaneously voiced out their displeasure against the group of nobles. They absolutely detested the shamelessness? of these nobles. One could say that there was already an irreconcilable grudge between them as their anger soared everytime they looked at the nobles faces. They knew that by now most of the guards have already picked the nobles''side. Although they did not want to admit, but based on appearance alone, it could be said that the one who underwent a thrashing was the nobles while the suspects were they. They were not confident enough to defend themselves because if what they said was unconvincing, then the guards would just take it as nothing but denial and it would only give them more reason to believe the nobles. They really felt that they were in a truly difficult predicament. But, just as they felt that all hope was lost, a man stepped forward with calmness. When they saw this man''s? back, they subconsciously felt that there was still hope and that hope rested on this man''s shoulders. They believed that with Dylan''s intelligence he could outwit the enemy. "Is sir Captain done with interrogating the criminals?" Dylan smiled with confidence. His words was a sudden thunderclap to the ears of the crowd as numerous gazes were focused on him. Done interrogating the side of the criminals? That meant he was confident that he could prove the nobles was the one who wronged them. This also meant that he was certain that his argument and reason would win over the defense of Ritz and his group. The guards did not believe he was able to do so as well as the captain. The nobles could only luagh in their hearts. They believed that the odds were against Dylan and his employees and there was absolutely no way for a reversal to happen no matter what reason he would come up with. "A fool seeking his own death!" Ritz sneered as he laughed violently in his heart because he knew he already won. "Yes. So are you the one who will defend your side?" Sir Ran still maintained a serious and impartial attitude up until this moment. "Yes." Dylan calmly answered. "Then, state your sides argument." Sir Ran stated. "What we did was simple self-defense." Dylan simply smiled. The crowd was a bit startled. Clearly, they did not expect him to start with that. "You, villain! How could you say it was just simple self-defense?! You clearly caused harm to me and my comrades! Sir Captain, he is clearly just buying time. Who knows maybe he is waiting for similarly evil back-up!" Ritz shouted righteously but in the truth he was laughing in his heart. ''Hahaha, at your wit''s end, Dylan Ford? Hahaha, now you know what happens when you mess with this devilishly handsome young lord!'' Ritz laughed evilly in his heart. "As a matter of fact, yes. But I''m am a hundred percent certain that me, my employees, and my backer aren''t evil devils that you claim us to be. Isn''t that right, Sir Allen?" Dylan merely smiled as a man descended from the skies and landed beside him. "Hahaha, indeed, young Dylan."An old man wearing loose white robes who was astonishingly 2m tall laughed with Dylan. "That''s Premier Hall''s Auction Co-coordinator, Allen Kindleheart. Wh-why is he here?!" A guard who knew the old man''s identify? said. Hearing this, they were flabbergasted as they asked themselves why was such an important personnel of the Premier Hall here. Not only that, he seemed to have a good relationship with this young man. This especially shocked the nobles. For Allen Kindleheart to personally come, it shows how much the Premier Hall values Dylan. The appearance of this old man gave the nobles especially Ritz a terrible foreboding feeling. "The evidence regarding this matter is in here." The old man presented a mirror the size of a book. When Ritz saw this mirror, he involuntarily shuddered as his face was robbed of all its? colors because he knew he was doomed. 72 Chapter 72: Recording Mirror When the mirror was revealed, it was not only Ritz, Igor and the other also, appeared as though they saw ghosts? which terrified them enough to make them lose all of their colors. They all knew that their doom was inevitable because the thing that Allen Kindleheart was holding was a Recording Mirror. "Oh, no! What will happen to use now?" "Whyy!?! Why did this happen." " I don''t want to go to jail!" The nobles were screaming in their minds as they thought of the things that might happen to them during imprisonment. A Recording Mirror was an artifact used to record in images and events by facing the back of the mirror to the desired picture or occurrence to record. The back of the mirror has a small round crystal which captures the images through the reflection of light and the usage of spirit energy of origin energy. The Recording Mirror is an artifact that is widely used in the business industry because of the versatility of the mirror. It commonly costs around 50 spirit stones but despite of such a price it is still being widely used by different types of businesses and Cultivation sects. The old butler, Uncle Bardon, could only shake his head as he knew that his young maste has already lost this fight. He could only sigh in the end as he waited for his young master''s decision. The employees on the other was oblivious about the origins and the functions of the Recording Mirror but seeing the reactions of the nobles'' group, they knew that this was an invaluable treasure. They rejoiced because they knew that their boss Dylan did not let them down. He was able to turn the tables around even when the odds were against him. "I knew it! Sir Dylan can do it!" "Of course he can!" "Sir Dylan is really amazing!!" Their sir Dylan did not even lose composure even with the arrival of the Thundercloud Guards. Even when Ritz gained the sympathy and support of most of the guards, he still remained as calm as the sea. They were exceedingly proud of the feats that their boss was able to do and they knew that their decision of following him was one of the biggest fortunes that they took in their lives. The guards knew what the appearance of a Recording Mirror meant and it was the fact that there was existing evidence regarding the truth of the matter. The captains concluded that their course of action will be reliant on what the mirror contained. _______ Seeing the mixed expressions on the crowd, Dylan smiled..The reason for the appearance of Auction Co-coordinator Allen Kindleheart and why he brought a Recording Mirror was all according to Dylan''s plot on exposing the true colors of the nobles'' which bullied his employees. A few minutes earlier, Dylan was dashing and was trying to get through the crowd. He immediately used the Spiritual Transmission Tablet which could enable a Spirit Veins cultivator to communicate even without Spiritual Transmission ability. that he gained from Sheldon which had the contact of Sheldon and Azelmek. He told them that Sir Null which was also himself, gave him their contacts and told him to contact this two people at times of need and crisis. After saying that Sir Noull trusted them to this matter without fail, they immediately followed Dylan''s request and brought a Recording Mirror. He also asked the contact of? Allen Kindleheart in order to monitor his status and whereabouts. Dylan wanted to fully repay the "favor" that Ritz and his group did to his new store and his employees. When someone respects him, he respects them back tenfold. If someone if kind and friendly to him, he would be even more so to that person. But when a person harms or even just attempt to harm him and his family, he will pay them back a hundredfold! That was what Dylan realized during his stay on this cultivation world that the strong and the ruthless will always be the one in the top. Softheartedness and pity has no room for those cultivators who aim to reach the apex! As such, while he was trying to dash to Allana''s rescue, he already constructed a plan on how to make Ritz and his friends pay dearly for the crimes they have committed. As Allen Kindleheart was flying towards? them, Dylan told him to record everything that happened the moment he arrived. The moment he arrived, he immediately heeded Dylan''s request and recorded everything. He, too, experienced shock when he saw a young man block a person who was 3 levels higher than him so casually and how a small group of youngsters were able to perform Synchro Skill! Originally, he thought that this kid, Dylan, was only lucky to be able to have fortunate encounter with Sir Null and save him. Only then was he able to gain Sir Null''s favor. Now, he felt that there was more to this kid that meets the eye. Not only was he shocked by his level-skipping prowess, he was also stunned about his repeated verbal strikes to Ritz''s and the other nobles'' prides regarding business. Although what he said was only logical but not every man would be able to meticulously? say these things without proper education and knowledge. His eloquence and clarity in his speech have Allen the feeling that he was listening to an advice from a veteran businessman''s advocacy. His employees were also extremely loyal to him and this implied how strong the bond between Dylan and his workers. Being a talent in both cultivation and in business meant that their Hall has scored a great talent in their camp. He had a gut feeling that with this kid''s talent he would be able to create a high level business and render great contributions to the hall which sheltered him.Allen''s eyes brightened as he envisioned these things to happen. .... The Captain named Ran stepped forward and respectfully asked with a bow, " Sir Allen, does this mean that you were observing this matter all along?" "Indeed." Allen Kindleheart answered with a smile. "May I ask what is Sir Allen''s reason for not interfering with the matters beforehand??" Ran asked once more as he faced Allen''s gaze. "Hahahaha, the reason is simple because as a senior, it is inappropriate for me to interfere with the matters? of these juniors." Allen laughed valiantly. "Then, may I ask how much of the event have Sir Allen recorded?" Captain Ran persisted in his interview. This question gave a strand of hope to Ritz he hoped that this old geezer did not arrive during his blabber with Dylan or else he would truly be doomed. He had spoken some unpleasant things and insults to the Thundercloud Guards if that was included in what the mirror recorded then it would be without a doubt his doom "From the moment that Young Dylan arrived." Allen replied honestly. This reply made Ritz''s soul flew away from his body. Because that was the moment, he said those horrible things because of his conceitedness. He never would have thought that he was already being recorded as he spoke those curses. If he knew, then he would without a doubt, redo everything from the very start. This statement also shocked Dylan because it only took him a minute to travel the distance of 2 kilometer while running but this old geezer was able to cover over 20 kilometers in the same amount of time!! Dylan''s? eyes glistened as his imagination ran wild while dreaming of such speed and the power of flight. Although he was a bit shocked, but such speed was already within his expectations. His determination to become stronger was fueled even more. "Captain Ran, you should know that the youth are hot-blooded and act at the moment on impulse but this matter was a level higher than this. This is a clip about the true faces of these nobles and how they truly looked down on others." Allen''s tone was light but the message it carried caused the nobles to tremble nonstop. "I presume that sir Allen will provide us with accurate evidence to support this claim." Captain Ran replied. "Hahaha, of course, now behold, their true colors." Allen presented the mirror as it replayed everything that happened? ever since his arrival. In the mirror, it could be seen how Dylan easily blocked Ritz''s full strength attack. The next scene was the verbal fight that Dylan did and the guards heard everything that followed. ____ ""S-sir Dylan..." "Who are you? How dare you interfere with this noble''s affairs!" " My name is Dylan Ford, the owner of the second-rate store you were referring to .Lower your voice. I''m not deaf. Also, kindly remove your hands from my employee, please. It is essentially inappropriate and could be considered as harassment." "Youu!" ... "Can you kindly refrain from pointing figures at someone? It is an extremely disrespectful to do so. If someone did not know any better, they might start thinking? that you''re an uncultured swine. Do you not think so?" "Argh!!" ... "Now, that''s a good noble. Unfortunately, sir Ritz and his company has already destroyed the properties of my Soaring Garden Herbal Store, harmed my employees, insulted my humble self and falsely accused us of matters that we did not have any relation with. Truthfully?, I have never seen anyone be this nefarious and evil. I wonder what would the Thundercloud Guards will say when they heard of such matters?" Dylan calmly asked with a smile. "Hahaha, do you really think that they would learn of this matter? I will silence you all before that happens and the very least that will happen to us is compensate the damage we have done. But if they do, so what? My Panther Family is one of the Top 5 families in the whole Thunder Cloud City! What could they do to touch me?! Hahahaha, nothing!" Ritz merely laughed? as he tightly held both arms of Allana in one of his arms. ... "Hahaha, what strict and upright organization of justice? Hahaha in the face of the might of my family, they are nothing!! Hahahahaha!" Ritz laughed hysterically once more. ___ The scenes kept flashing one by one as the crowd carefully watched the recording until the very last second of it. The words of Ritz incurred both the fury and the wrath of all the experts of the Thundercloud Guards present. They felt angry because most of them even believed his lies! They wanted to rip him to shreds and kill him on the spot but they restrained themselves because the decision will still be decided by the Battalion Captain Ran. Battalion Captain Ran had seemingly arrived at the decision yet before he announced his verdict. He wanted to ask one last thing to Auction Co-coordinator Allen. "Sir Allen, before I announce my verdict, may I ask one more thing?" "And, what would it it be?" Allen replied. "What was the reason for someone like you to come to a place like this? I''m pretty sure it wasn''t? some coincidence that sir Allen came here while coincidentally bringing a Recording Mirror." Ran asked. "The truth is it was because of Dylan Ford. He is valued by our Hallmaster and our Chief Coordinator. He asked for our help and also asked to bring a Recording Mirror to record regardless of what will happen their. I merely did what was asked of me." Allen replied smilingly. The Guards and the Capstone were suddenly caught off guard when they heard whatAllen said. Because if what he said was true, then wouldn''t that mean that the young man named Dylan was the one who schemes against a Young Master from the Panther Family. Not only that, to be able to perform such a trick that meant that he knew the Premier Hall enough that they would at least someone at the Origin Palace Realm to assist and would easily arrive outside the store in no time. ''What a clever and cunning brat he is'', this was the thoughts of the Thundercloud Guards! "The guilty in this matter is Ritz Panther. He committed heinous crimes accompanied with slanderous lies and vicious crimes! The nobles who followed him will be labeled as accomplices and will be apprehended immediately! Criminals, Surrender or face punishment!" Battalion Captain Ran announced. The employees rejoiced while the nobles'' countenance were all pale white. Ritz was feeling lost as he knew that he would lose everything he has now. He will expelled by his clan for the crimes that he committed. He was already a man who had nowhere to go. Dylan merely smiled as his scheme was able to be done without a hitch and left some words to the lost Ritz as walked passed him. "This is what you get for messing with my employees and my business." 73 Chapter 73: Evil Scheme Ritz felt exceeding guilt because he now knew that he had offended someone that they shouldn''t have. He could only kneel and face the ground as he was being apprehended by the Thundercloud Guards. He laughed at himself because he, who was the Young Master of a Grand Clan, would now be imprisoned for the crimes he committed. Although he did not want to think about it, but him being proven to commit these crimes, meant that his clan would most likely disown him to avoid it''s? reputation being tarnished and say excuses that they were unable to guide him well to the righteous path or any statement similar to it. His accomplices were all facing the same situations. They will be disowned by their families in order to preserve its prestige and let them rot in their cells. Some felt indignant about this matters as they yelled and pleaded for their freedom. "NOOOO!!!" "Please don''t imprisoned me! I''m still a child after all!! Waaah!" "I don''t want to go to jail!!! Nooo!!" "Mommy, Daddy, save me!!! I don''t want to be imprisoned!! MOOOMMMYY!!!" .... ''Have I lost.. everything? It was him! He was the one who took away my everything!!'' But instead of lamenting and admitting defeat, he blamed everything to Dylan! His regret was washed away by anger. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to compensate in his current state anyways so he thought that he might as well bear a grudge to Dylan! "You really think that everything would be alright after getting rid of me?! Hahaha, your plight has just begun, Dylan Ford! Hahaha!" Ritz maniacally laughed but was then silenced when the guards placed locks even on his mouth. Despite his mouth being locked, he still laughed and looked intently at Dylan but it sounded strange as it felt both restrained and sinister at the same time. Ritz, together with his accessories, were all dragged to the prison carriage of the Thundercloud Guards. Some were crying and some had lost expressions. If they were given the chance to repeat this day, they would have never joined with Ritz''s little prank. "I would gladly accept any challenge that comes in my way." Dylan et these words as his farewell to the crazed Ritz. Dylan knew that he had to put up a strong front and be domineering when he does things or else others would simply take him to be easily bullied and his employees would be also harmed as well due to their relation to him. "Sir Dylan!!!" Dylan was then met by a barrage of hugs by his employees and fell down from the sudden increase of wait as the momentum of those who hugged him caused him to fall on his butt. "Easy there, guys. Get off of me first. You''re all strangling me with your hands and suffocating me with your hugs." Dylan uttered with a bit of difficulty. "Hahaha, sorry sir, Dylan." "Sir Dylan was really amazing!" "That''s sir Dylan for you!" The employees praised him nonstop and looked at him with gazes of respect and admiration. "Okay, enough to with the praises. Go and clean up the mess they made and close the shop. We''ll be going? back home afterwards?." Dylan commanded with a smile. "Yes, sir!" The employees replied with respect as they answered in unison. The employees immediately went to the store and brought some cleaning tools for cleaning the outside of the store. ... Dylan watched the Thundercloud Guards leave after the captains bid their farewells to him and to be more precise, to Allen. He knew that he still was an ant to the eyes of those captain ranked officers but he also believed that it would only take him just a little bit more time to make everyone in this city acknowledge him and his business because he had confidence on the success? rate of his plans. Dylan then turned to Allen Kindleheart and thanked him for aiding him. Otherwise, Dylan would have taken the long route around by convincing them through verbal spar. "Thank you for lending us your assistance, sir Allen. I will see to it that I will repay this debt." Dylan spoke in a gratified tone. "It''s a small matter, Young Dylan. Since we are already business partners, then it should just be out duty to protect our brother sect." Allen smiled brightly as a reply. "This lowly one does not deserve this term of being termed as the brother sect of Premier Hall. But before we could independently soar on our own, we will trouble you for being an additional burden to protect. But, I do promise that I will repay this favor by contributing my best to the prestigious Premier Hall." Dylan courteously said. "Hahaha, you might think that you are unworthy but in this old man''s eyes, your talent for both business and cultivation are superb! Having invest on you will ensure us to have a great favored son of the heavens and be a giant in the business world!" Allen praised him as he laughed. "Sir Allen is praising me too much." Dylan similarly laughed "I shall be taking my leaving now, Young Dylan." Allen waved his hand and surprisingly flew! One has to know that in order to achieve the power of flight a person must at least be able a Mortal Severing Realm expert! Dylan marvelled at the sight of Allen flying and murmured softly, " One day, I''ll reach that level as well." ... After closing the shop, Dylan and his employees returned to their residence and got some well-deserved sleep. The next morning, the first shift employees told what happened yesterday to the other employees. The rest? of the employees were burning from rage when they heard what despicable deeds the group of nobles did to their store but it was soon replaced with awe when they heard how Dylan foiled Ritz''s foolish attempt of getting the sympathy of the crowds by contacting the Premier Hall and asking help from it. "But, how was sir Dylan able to make the Premier Hall send a high-ranked officer such as Allen Kindleheart? Did sir Dylan come in contact with the Premier Hall prior to the incident?" Arnold suddenly asked after hearing the story of the first shift. The employees subsequently rotated their heads and faced Dylan with eyes sparkling with curiousity. Evidently, they wished to know the answer to Arnold''s question. "You rascals, unfortunately, I can''t tell it to you for now since it''s? a crucial step in my plans for the rise of our Soaring Garden Herbal Store. I''ll eventually tell you in the? future. But for now, let''s? just say that the Premier Hall values me greatly." Dylan deliberately acted mysterious and smiled right after his words. "Yes, sir!" The employees replied with cheerful attitudes?. Although Dylan did not tell them right now, they had faith in Dylan''s words because they knew he was only doing this for the betterment of the store. They knew how much he trusted them because he even disclosed to them the matter of his origins and even risked his life just to buy them enough time to fellow during the battle at Gardenford. Thus, their fedility for Dylan was unshakeable because it was even able to withstand the weathering of the hardships that came to them yet it still stood strong. Dylan was beyond satisfied by the character and the attitude of his employees. He felt really blessed to have them as his aid. He tasked the others to do the house chores before training while the second shift would be coming with Dylan and go to the restaurant to open it. The second day went surprisingly well as the customers started coming to there restaurant. The number of the customers was approximately 100! This number mildly surprised Dylan since he was only expecting 80-90 customers to come to their store and he was already taking in account that the population of the Thunder Clouds City was about 5 times more than the Soaring Cloud City. But now, it seemed like he was still underestimating the number of customers within the city. They were able to earn 910 gold coins from the second day since the prices of the Mid Spirit Rank Herbs were about 1-5 gold coins while it was around 10-12 gold coins for the High Spirit Rank Herbs. Dylan was also able to gain 100 more primal stones, 10, Deca-Stones and 1 Centurial Stones. He was very satisfied with the income for the first day. By his estimation, it would take about 25 Deca-Stones to advance to the next realm so he still had to wait for two or three days of rewards before attempting to breakthrough! On the third day, they still had barely reached 90 people who entered the store who came but it couldn''t be blamed to them as Dylan''s brand was still a new and fresh face for the buyers of the Lighting Boulevard. .... Panther Grand? Clan Residence. Insids mess hall of one of the most extravagant clan residence in the city., a long table capable of accommodating 22 individuals that would be able to properly sit and eat in comfort with its size. The table and chair set were both made from the luxurious wood of the Mid Earth Ranked Verdant Steel Tree and we''re both adorned and designed intricately. The table was being occupied with countless of extravagant foods and beverages accompanied with treasure plates and eating utensils. There were 19 old men that were dining while showing elegance and proper manners. The 19 old men were seated at the sides of the table with 10 in the left and 9 in the right. These 19 old men were all the patriarchs and matriarchs of famous and powerful Great Clans within the city. They were conversing with the man who seemed to be the owner of the residence and calmly ate. He was the father of Ritz Panther, Gayolei Panther and the current head of the Grand Clan, Panther Clan. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for accepting my invitation and helped me to gather you all here? today." Gayolei Panther finished his meal and said. "Don''t worry, brother Gayolei. We are brothers after all, hahaha!" An old man with gray hair and strands of white hair, laughed. "That''s right. What are brothers for? Hahaha." Another stout man commented. "Hahaha, brother Snape and brother Jansen? are right. Since all of you are here, I would like to propose something! I''m pretty sure that? you, my brethren, have already guessed what it is. It is to crush an arrogantt insect named Dylan Ford who disregard the prestige of all of our families and made our dear sons and daughters suffer at his hands to the extent of causing their imprisonment! He has damaged the prestige of our clans and robbed our children of their ideal periods to cultivate! He must pay for this grudge ten times over!!" Gayolei''s words were filled with hate and rage especially when he mentioned the name of Dylan Ford. The clan heads faces wore dark expressions as they could only tolerate and do as what their Elder Councils have said that to let their sons and daughters be imprisoned because the sentence was only set for 10 years due to them only being accomplices while Ritz was sentenced 50 years of imprisonment?. Although their lifespans granted them longer longevity than mortals, they would be wasting their best years for cultivation since the prison would not provide them the same resources they would enjoy in their daily lives. "I know that all of you bear a similar grudge to that brat, Dylan Ford! That is why I want you all to help me use your business to pressure his newly started business to a state worse than being an old abandoned shop! After grinding his business to dust, we will shatter his heart by letting him feel what the feeling of being abandoned by his employees will be! Then, when he tries to commit suicide from depression, we will secretly capture him and cripple his cultivation while slowly torturing him! I''m sure that the Premier Hall will not invest to a cripple who can''t even make his business rise!" Gayolei spoke his grand scheme which incited grins and evil smile among the Great Clan Heads because that would be the greatest payback they could do for such an arrogant brat like him. 74 Chapter 74: Ancient Veins Realm At Soaring Garden Herbal Store It has been eight days since the incident with the nobles. Dylan and his employees were currently managing the store well while entertaining the interests of the customers then sending them off with a smile after having bought an item. "Thank you for coming. Please do come again!" The employees smiled in unison as they bid farewell to the leaving customers. The sun has long set and the curtain of the night enveloped the skies. Dylan and his third shift employeesstretched their bodies after doing laborious work all day long. They then closed the shop and secured the locks of the entrances and exits. After which, Dylan and his group marched until they reached their residence. The employees went to their assigned rooms and showered before finally falling asleep. Dylan, however, was sitting in his room and was constantly circulating his energy and fortified hi foundation as he meditated. If a person was in his room right now, they would be able to sense that his cultivation was still at the Pinnacle 10th Level Awakened Spirit. Although Dylan had long reached the amount of Deca-Stones he needed, he wasn''t so hasty and impulsive as to use it directly to be able to use it directly and breakthrough. He wanted to establish an even firmer foundation and stayed at his current level for various reasons. First, even if he had low chances of falling to cultivation deviation, he did not become too complacent due to his meticulous nature. Second, he wanted to build a foundation strong enough to withstand the constant destruction and creation cycle of his Spirit Core in order to attain the Legendary Core. Third, the primary reason why he chose to fortify his foundation and stay at his current cultivation was because of the hidden realm he read in the Cosmic God Manual that was in between Spirit Veins and the Awakened Spirit Realm, the Ancient Veins Realm. According to the norm of cultivation, every 25 veins unlocked would reveal a brand new level and let the cultivator advance in cultivation and with the limitations of the heavens, there would be only 5 levels due to having 125 spirit veins in the Spirit Veins System. However, as inscribed within the Cosmic God Manual, the Ancestral Veins System would gift an additional 125 spirit veins which would equate to 5 new levels! This 5 additional levels were labeled to be the Ancestral Veins Realm! In this realm, the cultivator''s cultivation in the surface would still be the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm but every advancement in strength in this realm would be equivalent to advancing one level higher. Thus, when a cultivator reached the peak of this realm, his strength would be equal to the strength of a warrior at the peak of the Awakened Spirit Realm! Dylan discovered another shocking discovery about this realm because after cultivating this realm a person would still need to cultivate the Awakened Spirit Realm! In other words, this hidden realm is also a buffer realm! But after a person crosses this stage, his Cultivation level would start at 16th level Awakened Spirit!! But to cross this stage, Dylan would need a crazy amount of Deca-Stones! He already calculated that to cross this stage he would need about 2125! Since every level would correspond 5 an increase of 5 stones and his current consumption rate was 25, then his total consumption would be 2125! This meant that he would have to serve 21,000 customers first to cross the Ancestral Veins Realm! Although this amount of customers greatly shocked him, he did not feel disheartened because according to his plans this number of customers would be possible after 5 weeks time. For the last 8 days, the total number of customers that have arrived to his restaurant was has reached approximately 1600 all in all. At first, there was only an average of 100 customers daily for the first three days but for the latter five, the number of customers started increase from 100to 250-300 due to the rumors that Premier Hall was supporting the Groth of a newly established brand. Today, the number of customers reached 320 and it seemed that the customer growth was still increasing. Though in the Thunder Buolevard vendors and sellers would have an average of 500 customers a day, being a newly established store, this was only slightly above average. This also made Dylan''s intention for being low-key be realizedso Dylan was really satisfied about the progression of the events. The Soaring Garden Herbal Store was able to earn an estimated sum of 4000 gold coins while Dylan got 1620 Primal Stones, 162 Deca-Stones and 16 Centurial Stones. After gaining the 16 Centurial Stones, he then used them in order to acquire the 16 additional veins. Currently, he now had 49 Ancestral Veins and meant that he only needs 76 more to go and with the rate that his customers keep coming he will be able to gather them within a week. His shop''s sales was doing relatively so-so. However, their stock of items were being constantly reduced as each day passed because the suppliers of herbs where they usually buy from was recently unable to give them the amount of herbs they need. As the days progressed, the supplies were eventually cut off and they tried to ask for other stores who specialize in supplying herbs and medicine but they were still unable to give them anything. This caused an immediate crisis to Dylan''s business which made his employees panic. Dylan has yet to prove his worth to the Premier Hall so he felt that it would be too shameless of him to ask for supplies without even contributing anything to them. He was also not the type of person who would engage in a communalismic or a parasitic relationship. He knew that he was being pressured by the family business of the clans he had offended because of the brawl eight days ago and they were afraid to blatantly offend the Premier Hall that is why they could only resort to doing such things. If any other business man was in his position right now, they could only wallow in despair but Dylan is not? just any other businessman, he was once the greatest businessman in earth. Dylan knew that if he wanted to prove his worth to the Premier Hall, he must prepare to do some amazing things that would intrigue and pique the interests of Hallmaster Azelmek. "I was planning on waiting for being low-key a little bit longer. However, those clans, have already made their move. I guess time to move forward some of plans that will kill two birds in one stone." Dylan merely smiled with his thoughts unknown. .... At the same time, at Premier Hall Executive Office... Sheldon was currently reporting some general reports of the business standing and then moved on to? the status of Dylan and his Soaring Garden Herbal Store. Being the valued benefactor of Sir Null, they needed to keep an eye on Dylan for him. Thus, Azelmek had Sheldon report Dylan''s and business'' status to him every time he ends his reports. "... That''s about everything, Hallmaster." Sheldon then finished his report. "So the young man that sir Null values has encountered some troubles against. Well, this would serve as a fitting test to asses his abilities in business." Azelmek thought out loud. "I agree, sir." Sheldon replied in approval. "Let''s see what this brat who earned Allen''s praise can do." Azelmek commented as he seemed like someone who was expecting a good show. .... The next day, at the Panther Clan Residence... A loud laughing can be heard in the main hall and echoed to the entire residence. The clan members merely thought of it as the patriarch laughing at some joke. "Hahahah, the little brat must already sinking in despair hahaha!" Gayolei laughed? out loud while being accompanied with his brothers, Snape, Kong and 5 others drinking some high-quality wine in the 22-person dining table. " Hahahaha, that''s right. By now, he must have already used? up all of his stock and is panicking to gather necessary herbs to be displayed for his consumers to buy from!" The lanky snake-eyed old man said with his hoarse voice. "Hahahah, his customers will then view his shop as incompetent and will refrain from coming back again. Hahaha, them he will be forced to close down his shop and lose hIs employees! Hahahaha." The 6''7 feet tall large and bulky man laughed heroically with both his hands on his waists. "Hahahah, you are right, brothers! His business would be subject to bankruptcy, his employees would resign one by one and he would lose everything! Hahahaha, revenge is at hand, my brothers!" Gayolei smiled and laughed in the same manner as before while they all drank one shot together. "Patriarch! Patriarch!!" Suddenly, a voice interrupted the laughters with his screams and ran to the clan heads dining table. When he ran, he looked extremely hurried as though he was being chased by dogs. When he reached Gayolei and the others. "There''s no need to run for just a report. You need to calm down and state it. Also, coming here means that you have disrespected the clan heads in my presence and made me thoroughly lose face! Quickly apologize before you report this seemingly urgent matter." Gayolei said being disatisfied with the attitude of his messenger of reports. "Im deeply sorry for the insolence I have displayed. But patriarch a pressing matter has been circulating in the city! And it is about the newly established business and the Premier Hall!" The messenger apologized before proceeding to his report. "Oh? Hahaha, have the Premier Hall publicly cut off ties with the Soaring Garden Herbal Store? Hahaha what a great outcome! Hahaha." Another patriarch who had a square face said. "No, sir! It is about the rumor about the Premier Hall supplying the Soaring Garden Herbal Store with Earth Ranked Herbs!! And, this herbs are already being sold at the said store with their customers reaching 400!!" The emissary disclosed. "What?!" "Now way!!" "That''s impossible!!" The clan heads present were beyond shocked as well! They never thought that the Premier Hall would support this newly established store. Overcome with shock, Gayolei Panther''s eye almost bulged out from shock and formed an "O" with his mouth with disbelief 75 Chapter 75: People Flocking For Herbs "How coukd that be?!" Gayolei screamed without care and echoed throughout the entire hall. Driven by rage, he slapped the emissary which helplessly blown away without any chance to retaliate. "I- I don''t know, sir. Please have mercy on this little one." The emissary could only prostate and beg for his life. He did not wish to die as he still had a family to sustain and take care of. "Useless trash, get out of my sight! Scram!" The emissary crawled his way out until he was able to stabilize himself and run. "Brother, please calm down." The other clan heads wanted to appease Gayolei but Gayolei was currently beyond reason as he continued to thrash a chair until it was embedded to the ground. "Arrrrrghhhhhhh!!! Dylan Ford, mark my words! This is not the end of it!!" Gayolei roared in hysteria as his hate for Dylan soared. .... Meanwhile, in Soaring Garden Herbal Store... "I want a 90-year old Snakegrass!" "I demand a Holy Riverstone Root!" "A Cloudrock seed!" "A Tiger Fierce Fruit" Dylan and his employees were very busy that he was forced to call the next two shifts to the store due to the overpopulation of customers inside his store. The fourth shift could not manage and entertain every one of the customers as they soared to 400 customers that came flying towards their store. The 2 lines? of customers went on outside of the store and even stretched 30 meters away from it. Dylan, then tasked his incoming employees, to create a temporary shed for the customers to rest. He ordered them to order chairs and tables for the customers from furniture stores. When the two shifts arrived, they were momentarily shocked by the sudden influx to the customer count of their store! Immediately after, they coordinated with each other and successfully accomplished Dylan''s task. Having set up 4 sheds to both sides of the store, the customers outside were then satisfied of the temporary shed and table sets that was exclusively set up for them. The two stores beside the Soaring Garden Herbal Store were closed as they were owned by the two nobles from Great Clans which were imprisoned. Taking advantage of this matter, Dylan set up the sheds in front of the closed stores. Inside the store,Dylan could handle 10 buyers simultaneously while the 48 employees needed to cover at least 4 consumers for every rotation of the customers. The mental stress and physical fatigue was already getting to them within one hour of serving such crazed customers?. They discovered that being a salesperson has some extremely difficult aspects especially when you''re product could incite a reaction such as what was currently happening. The customers continued to voice out their? dissatisfaction regarding the services of the store as they were unable to entertain all of them at the same time. Not all of his employees could keep up because not all of them were familiar with the ethics in a sales store. Thus, Dylan devised a method to appease the group of crazed buyers. He told his employees to divide into five groups and each one will be assigned to a newly formed lane. Due to the limitations of space, Dylan was only able to create five new lanes which significantly reduced the number of customers lining up on the outside but conversely increased the number of customers within the store. According to Dylan''s instructions, there was one person acting as the counter person while the others would individually pick a customer from their group to entertain. There were 48 employees, the first four groups consisted of 10 members while the other 8 was assigned to the lane where Dylan was. Using this method, Dylan and his group was able to reduce the customer count from 400 to 300 in just 12 minutes! Having 48 saleslady simultaneously attend to 48 customers while only using 6 minutes to interview the item of their choice and presenting them the herb of their choice which will be then be bought by the satisfied customer. Two transactions were done for? every six minutes that passed! The efficiency of such a method surprised the customers because it advocates a win-win result to both sides. The time they would spend in the store would be shorter while getting their desired itemsand make them have a good impression of the ability of the store owner to manage a store calmly and delagating tasks for his employees to do efficiently. Some could not help but praise the ability of such a young businessman to handle his business. In just an hour, the remaining 300 customers have all left satisfied with their items in hand. The method was terrifyingly efficient but it demands physical strength and mental fortitude to do. After doing such an arduous job, the employees were all out of breath and completely exhausted. "What a long day this is going to be." Rick commented. "Crazy people, they were complaining about us not being able to do our job well earlier! Did they seriously think that we''re omnipotent and would be able to attend to their needs at the same time?!" Ronald vented out his frustrations. "It was a good thing that Sir Dylan was able to come up with such a method or else some of the customers would have left earlier on." Larry felt gratified that they had such a eloquent and quick-witted boss. "Hahaha, what more can you expect from Sir Dylan? Hehehe, I bet Sir Dylan can even let some business geezers turn red from the methods he devises." Scott arrogantly said. "Little punk, don''t gloat by using my name." Dylan smacked Scott''s head and laughed. "Hehehe." Scott could only shamelessly laugh. "Sir, Dylan I have been meaning to ask you though. Why did you ask us to spread a rumor about the Premier Hall giving us herbs that are all the Low Earth Rank Herbs? Shouldn''t we have kept it to ourselves instead? Also, why did the Premier Hall suddenly gift us with over 500 Low Earth Rank Herbs?" Jack suddenly asked. "Since my plan has advanced to this stage, I guess it won''t hurt to let you in some details of my plan. The truth of the matter is that the herbs we sold were not from the Premier Hall but from my own items." Dylan scratched his head as he faced his employees. "What?!" The employees were dumbfounded by this reply. Just where did their Sir Dylan found those many Earth Rank Herbs?! "If you are all wondering where it came from, it was from the time where I went to the deepest parts of the Beast Forest of the Soaring Cloud City. Enough chit-chat. Customers will flood our store once more so be both mentally and physically prepared." Dylan ceased further discussion and delegated them to their respective stations assigned. "Yes, sir..." The employees could only reluctantly nod their heads due to Dylan''s answer. They were still? not satisfied with his answer because he already used the same reason twice to them. But seeing that Dylan was not willing to disclose the truth, they removed their residual thoughts from the conversation earlier and temporarily believed Dylan''s words. As Dylan saw them returning to their stations and eating the lunch he prepared for them, he smiled and could only laugh at himself because of how ridiculous his reason was that the herbs came from the forest. Although a person could be considered lucky as to pick a few Earth Ranked Herbs in the Beast Forest, but getting 500 or more herbs would be near impossible but if it were true, then that would mean that the luck of this person would be heaven defying! As a matter of fact, the herbs came from the Mansion! The mansion''s immortal energy was able to nourish the spots where Dylan got the myriads of herbs on the periphery of the mansion. It was capable of nurturing another batch of Earth Rank Herbs with the purity and density of the immortal energy that was enclosed within the mansion gates. He was even more surprised when he discovered that the rate of regrowth was only a day! As a bonafide businessman, how can he not accept such blessings given to him? Witnessing such an amazing scene, Dylan knew from then on that he would not lack supplies for his herbal business. He then harvested every batch of Earth Ranked Herbs for the past 8 days. All in all, he was able to collect more than 900 herbs from 60 different types of herbs. He originally thought that he would only use it after two weeks but being pressured by the nineteen Great Clans and the Panther Grand Clan, he was forced to adjust his plans and devised an alternative route that would be suitable for his current situation, a plan B. This Plan B was ordering his employees to spread a rumor that his business received a huge amount of "gifts?" from the Premier Hall because the number of factions capable of offending and waging war with the Premier Hall could only be counted in one hand. Dylan made use of his backing in a manner which would be both believable to the masses and those in power. Though the only flaw would be the question why did the Premier Hall gift such a prodigal present to a business that still has fresh milk on its lips? Due to this question, two rumors came to birth. One of which was that the Premier Hall valued the owner of the Soaring Garden Herbal Store, Dylan Ford because of his supreme talent in business which would eventually become a pillar to the Hall that will aid its rise to the apex of the business within the city. Another was that Dylan was speculated to be a bastard child of the Hallmaster that is why the Premier Hall held no expense to help the new business to rise. Other outrageous rumors soon came after the first two and Dylan could only smile wryly after hearing them. The Soaring Garden Herbal Store had a total of 503 customers. But Dylan knew that if he had displayed even more herbs, then the customers would be of the same number as to how many herbs he presented as well like how he had sold 503 herbs to the same number of customers. 76 Chapter 76: Noble Tes Executive Office, Premier Hall... "Hahahaha, what a cunning brat. He even used our Hall''s name to boost his sales!" Sheldon laughed in admiration towards Dylan''s actions. "So, he used the herbs that Sir Null gave him? A bit too rash if you ask me." Azelmek commented with seriousness. "True, but according to our intel, he is fairly competent when it comes to management in business. Maybe he still has some tricks up on his sleeves." Sheldon answered with a wide smile. "Hm, for now, let''s just wait and see." Azelmek said as he grabbed a document on his desk and reviewed it. "Dylan Ford. Age 18. Born in Soaring Cloud City. Rumored to be the bastard son of True King Derik Ford... Interesting." Azelmek mumbled to his self as he scanned through some documents he was holding in his hands. ... At Dylan''s Residence... Dylan was scanning through countless books he bought regarding the history of the Thunder Clouds City, its inhabitants, cultivation realms, the power structurres, and even the architectural composition of the city. He was already preparing for the Noble Test he will take tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the mark of their 12th day of stay in the city. Although it was quite taxing to manage his store in the day and spend several hours to review at night, Dylan had no choice but to endure. He needs to pass the test with flying colors in order for them to stay. He couldn''t bother his employees as they were sleeping like logs on their beds and review like him because he knew that they would be too tired to do so. Through the information his employees gathered, Dylan was able to discover a rumor that once a person obtain a perfect mark when taking the exam he/she would be able to directly be conferred as a 3rd Rank Noble regardless of the cultivation and background. Every rank would only allow a noble to have a corresponding number of servants. A 7th rank noble would be entitled to have upto 25 followers while a sixth rank noble would have 50. Each rank would grant double the amount of followers a noble previously had and it was strictly to be followed not a single one more. If a 6th rank noble would have 51 servants, then the additional servant would be immediately exiled from the city. Since Dylan had 80 employees and 100 mounts, he had to directly gain the rank of 3rd Rank Noble because he would have the privilege to hire or have 200 employees because mounts are also considered as follower. Truth be told, Dylan had already taken account that he could just sell the wolves but the sudden breakthrough of the pack of wolves shocked him. The employees have used the wolves to train themselves fighting fast opponents and develop their intuition and reaction time. They did not expect that they would breakthrough a level one by one! , Currently, all of the wolves have reached 10th level of Spirit Veins Realm and they were now all loyal to Dylan and his followers since they helped them breakthrough and treated them well by letting them eat three kilos of meat daily for the past 2 months. Seeing the growth of both his employees and the wolves, Dylan was ecstatic and he wanted for such development to continue! That is why Dylan aspired to be able to earn a perfect score in the Noble Test. However, the test was too hard because the passing of rate of the test was 3 passer for every 10 examinee and this was with the passing rate of 60%! Due to this, it also had another name the Banishment Exams since those who were not able to pass were to be banned from entering the city for a year before being able to take the test again. Citizens would consider anyone who got a mark over 70, a genius and be rewarded with a High Spirit Rank Technique or Treasure and become a 6th Rank noble! A mark of 80 indicates the rise of a prodigy who would be rewarded with a Low Earth Ranked Cultivation Manual or Technique and a 7th rank! A rare mark of 90 would give one endless prestige of a 4th Rank and be labelled as a dragon amongst men and receive the core technique of the Thunder Clouds City, the Extreme Thundercloud?, a High Earth Ranked Technique!! A Technique that anyone in the city yearned to have. But a perfect 100? It was rumored to be able to impossible to get. This is due to the forefathers of the city who made this standardized test who have given questions that would test an individual''s comprehension skills. The forefathers of the city were known to be the Thundercloud? Kings who helped the 10th Generation True King of the Mystical Clouds to conquer the country as his most trusted generals. The forefathers created this standardized test because they wanted their descendants to be aware of its origins and history and to be able to be intellectually competent. Thus, they ordained this test to be a tradition that must be passed down for generations to come. For outsiders, they only have 3 attempts to take the exam and if they were unable to pass after, they would be forever banished from the city., For members of noble clans, once they reached the age of 18, they were given 4 attempts but the difference is that they were not subjected to the 1 year banishment that outsiders will experience but some nobles had taken their test in a younger age. But, members of Noble Clans have an advantage compared to the outsiders since they gain access to the answers of their predecessors. Thus, it was common for nobles? to pass the 60% mark with ease. But despite of this advantage, they were unable to get a perfect mark. This is due to he forefathers of the city who left behind a treasure which initially had 10,000 different questions and create questionnaires? of a 100 items depending on the number of participants and were all different from each other to avoid cheating during the examinations. The forefathers alsoleft a mandate that for every 100 years that passed the administrators of the test would add an additional 100 questions about the current state of city within this periodon the treasure. There were some administrators who tried to manipulate the machine for the sake of getting their descendants a higher score in order to get the Extreme Thundercloud Technique. But, they only failed on doing so because the machine only allowed them to add questions for every century and not subtract or extract any of this questions. Now, due to the constant addition of questions the treasure had more than 60,000 questions to utilize! Although some clans tried to increase the number of their participants to increase the questions they would acquire and analyze,most still failed in this respect. But there were some clans who managed to ensure a passing score of 70% to their descendants like the Thunder Clan , Panther Clan,and 3 other powers. Among the 5, the Thunder Clan was able to successfully get the Extreme Thundercloud Technique and made it one of their three defining techniques several hundred years ago. Twelve years ago, Victor Thunder took the test and got the score of 95 which was only recorded to occur for a total of five times. Each of those five have already became one of the unparalleled genius of their generations. Thus, the citizens of the city already speculated that Victor would become a supreme genius of this generation. Others could only dream of such score but no one would have thought that there would still be someone who was aspiring to obtain the impossibility of perfect score! .... In front of the Gates of the Noble Test Center... Countless clans and sects have gathered, stationing themselves outside of the gates and awaiting the opening of the Noble Test Center. Carriages and mounts were constantly appearing as the citizens converged and started commencing their own discussions. "Isn''t that the Stone Edge Manor? That''s Stone Edge Saint Child! Rumor has it that he has already crossed the Spirit Gathering Realm despite being seventeen years of age!" The crowds commented on the arrival of a stout and handsome frizzy-haired young man with his entourage of elders from his clan. "Look there! That''s the golden daughter of the Hundred Hills? Grand Clan, Daniela Hills who similarly reached the Origin Realm at the age of 17 last year!" Another exclaimed as a blonde woman who carried a devastating body as she gracefully strolled to the gates of the Noble Test Center with her bodyguards! "The Wonder Child of the Fleeting Wood Residence, Isaac Fleetwood!" Another pointed to a scholar looking youth. "The Child Strategist of the Meadow Formation Sect, Ciara Meadows!" An old man announced as a brunette beauty passed by him. "Oh my, the last child of Clan Head Gayolei is here! An eighteen year old Palace Formation Realm Expert, Riki Panther! It seems like we will get to see the a rare 80 percent rank during this year''s Noble Test!" A small-time businessman recognized a youth who looked similar to Ritz Panther but the difference was that this man was cold and indifferent to others. " No way, is that... Alchemist Asiel of the Alchemy Academy?!" A young master gasped at the sight of a young alchemist who was accompanied by veteran alchemists. "The thirteen year old child prodigy who became a Master Alchemist in just one attempt??! I can''t believe he''s already going to take the exam! Such confidence could really shake you to your core!" A similar silkpants exclaimed. "Not only that he is also accompanied by Alchemy Grandmaster of the city''s Alchemy Academy! This just goes to show how he is valued in the academy! I bet his talent in alchhemy is the same as Victor in cultivation!" A middle aged man behind them assessed. "Does this mean we will also get to see a percent mark like with the thirteen year old Victor Thunder a decade ago?!" Both were shocked by this man''s assessment. "Its a great possibility." The man replied with a stern look on his face which left the two boys dumbfounded. "We need to get his favor while we still have the chance!" The two agreed. As the crowd was focused on scanning for a genius, Dylan inconspicuously arrived and headed towards the front of the gates as he commented, "I guess this test is going to be a bit more livelier than I originally thought." The crowd continued to comment on the various geniuses from different powers! After several hours, the gates have finally opened as a creepy? old man who seemed to be already holding onto his life appeared. His deep wrinkly eyes and withered face seemed as though it was from an undying zombie. If others were to describe him, he seemed like a dead man who crawled out of his grave. Not long after, a heroic and large bald adult man appeared and stood near the undying old man as he opened his mouth: " All participants step forward? to be counted." The participants followed as the Noble Test Center gifted with stones that have engraved numbers on them which floated to the palms of the participants. " With these stones, you are now granted permission to enter the Center. Once you enter you will be sent to a room for you to take an exam. All of this rooms are divided and separated from each other. Thus, anyone who has any thoughts of communication? or cheating shoulddismiss such thoughts since this rooms reject any type of communication from outside. Now, without further ado, let the Noble Test begin!" The heroic bald man explained and warned. After his speech, the participants immediately entered and was sent to different rooms that were isolated from the outside world. "I can do this. Others might not be able to do it but that doesn''t mean I can''t." Dylan encouraged himself as he walked to the gates of the Center. Before Dylan could step to the gates, he was stopped by a cold youth, Riki Panther. "You will pay for what you did to second brother. Mark my words, Dylan Ford." Riki Panther coldly threatened Dylan before he turned around and entered the gates to be transported to his testing room. After he shook his head, he stepped to the gates and disappeared from the sight of the crowd. "Haayst, I guess I should have already expected that he would hate me for imprisoning his brother but it''s not like I regret imprisoning a evil man like him. Well, this does happen when you offend people ." Dylan could only sigh as he was transported to an unfamiliar room with chair and table which had a 10 page thick questionnaire and a pen to write. " But I am not someone who is easily bullied .Just try and harm me or my friends. I''ll bring you all down!" A sharp and cold glint appeared on his eyes. "For now, I should focus with the task at hand. It''s time to take this test." Dylan spoke as he calmed himself to concentrate and sat on the chair to start answering the questions. 77 Chapter 77: The Difficult Tes The test did not have choices to choose from. It was entirely regarding the identification and explanations of the problems involved. The paper used were twice as long and wide as regular short bond paper back on earth. Each page contained 30-40 questions with blank spaces in between questions for a person to write his answer. This type of test paper dumbfounded the bumpkins. Even Dylan was momentarily shocked when he saw the size of each page. The questions found? in this test were not only asking to identify the answer, it also seems for explanations as a follow-up? question. Therefore, even if one were to identify what was asked but that does not necessarily he/she would be able to explain the follow-up questions. The takers of the test were all prepared? for this since the technicalities regarding the examination was known to the public. Due to this, they came mentally prepared and understood every information that they would read and encounter just to pass this test. Cultivators have a better memory and mental abilities compared to mortals so memorization and comprehension was not too much of a problem to them. But even cultivators are unable to fully memorize the context contained within different topics and aspects of the cultivation world. That is why to pass this test the cultivators must learn to be patient and understand what they learn clearly. This is exactly what the forefathers envisioned what the inhabitants of this city would be. They wanted to teach them to be patient and composed to enhance their understanding of things. This was to prepare the future generation to be able to take into heart the teachings that patience and calmness are necessary as they advance in cultivation. It also reminds the people to not do things rashly because only then would they be able to commit minimal errors in both cultivation and life. Due to such teachings, the Thunder Cloud City remained high and supreme as it was labeled to be one of the Strongest Cities due to the quality of cultivators they produce. ... Within the Noble Test Center... Two hours have only passed, the participants were answering the first page of the test with ease since it was about the mapping and the geography of the city. But as they went on the second page, the question in this page , unlike the first, were about the basics of business, herbs, alchemy, beastsand blacksmithing. "What are the 3 primary points of business according to Mystical Duke Huron? Discuss and contrast. Shit, I forgot about this!!" "A High Spirit Rank flower that is born in the depths of cold bodies of water and uses the dead body of the Frozen Venom Snake as a substitute for soil. Enumerate the three steps on how to properly harvest the herb? Dammit, I know it''s the Cold-blooded Snakefruit but I don''t know the three steps. Arghhhh!" "Enumerate the first three levels? of alchemist and explain the prerequisites? to attain them. Hahaha what an easy question!" "Lives in extremely hot places, part of the Grand Flame Salamnder Family, iron like scales, four claws on each limb. Once identified, give at least 2 of its innate abilities. Hahahah that''s the Iron claw Fire lizard. Easy question!" "State the 4 profound and fundamental procedures of creating a weapon according to Hundred Hammers Smithing Emperor. Hmmm, I guess it should be Heating, Smelting, Casting and Designing? Damn, I''m not sure!" Some were already struggling to answer this stage of the test . Dealing with five different topics was already difficult for about half of the participants since not everyone has reviewed these basic principles. As they advanced on the third page, the topics were now all regarding strategy in wars andbusiness management. All questions found in this section were all situational! These types of questions even made the heads of some to ache. "Shit! How do I manage the cavalry of the left flank to.manage the center flank without causing my left flank''s strength to decrease? Damn, though it was given that the left overpowered the enemy, the question is how do I use it to support the fallen center and the struggling right flank. Fuck, this is hard!" An alchemist incessantly cursed. "You gotta be kidding me! What type of question is this?! If the supplier? of the store could not cope with the rate of consumption of my customers and it is the only known supplier for my product within the city, how should I manage my stall if the supplies from the other city would arrive 15 days later? State your theorized course of actions to solve the problem." A warrior complained. Different types of reactions were met as people were encountering different types of questions. It was even more so when the participants went to the latter pages. The fourth up until the sixth page were all about the history of the city. However, these three pages differ in the specific topic they entail. The fourth page was about the history of the period of the Thundercloud Kings called the Glorious Foundation Period. The fifth was regarding the next ten thousand years of unstoppableness called the Rising Domination Period while the sixth page was about the supsequent period called the Falling Thunder Period where the city experienced no appearance of earth-shattering geniuses. This section became easy for the examinees especially the members of Noble Clans and Sects because the information of this era was openly distributed to the public. Some were finally rest assured that they would be able to pass the test while some were still trying to grind some more score to confidently reach the 60% mark. ... Outside the Noble Test Center... Although the test has lasted for two to three hours as of now, the crowd has yet to diminish as they were already accustomed to the lengthy period of the exam. The exam had a time limit of 10 hours so the crowd stationed themselves and made themselves comfortable as they waited for the results of the test. The crowd was discussing who among the prodigies who entered the center would be able to come out at the top. Some businessmen even used this opportunity to make betting booths which alleviated the boredom of the crowd and the atmosphere immediately became more livelier as dozens of hands swarmed the businessmen on their booths. With the large crowd of the city, the betting booths earnings skyrocketed. "Hahahaha, I''m pretty sure that the Child Strategist would be the one to dominate this year''s Noble Test!" "No way, the one who will dominate is the Alchemisy Prodigy of the Alchemy Academy!" "Hahaha, you are both wrong! The one who will acquire the first rank would be Sir Riki Panther!"" "What fallacy! I bet that the one who is going to place first is Wonder Child!" The crowd raised their voices as they defended the person they are rooting for. They would immediately bet the name of the geniuses that they thought would assure them victory. The bets for Alchemist Asiel was first as it reached the ratio of 1:1, followed by Riki with 1:2 bets.The next was Child Strategist with 1:5 and Wonder Child with 1:7. The bets from more than 10,000 people accumulated to such wealth that it brought unimaginable income to the businesmen who set up betting booths. "Hahaha, Alchemist Asiel is in the lead in the betting boards! Hahaha." An unbridled youth from the Alchemy Academy unrightfully bragged. "Urrr, don''t get too cocky kid! It''s just some betting game! Our Sir Riki will surely be the first and even obtain the Extreme Thundercloud Technique!" A supporter of Riki defended. "Hahaha, how pitiful! Our Alchemy Prodigy has talents no less than the number 1 in the Red Cloud State, Victor Thunder! It''s already a given that he would be the one to reign supreme in this generation! Hahaha!" Another supporter of Alchemist Asiel disdainfully said. "That''s sophistry!" A man accused. "That''s right! Being talented in Alchemy, doesn''t necessarily mean that he can overcome the gap between the experience of reading records and books! In my opinion, he''s just being overconfident that he thinks he can pass the exam with flying colors like how the young Thunder Emperor did. Sir Riki on the other hand prepared meticulously for this day in order to achieve the Extreme Thundercloud Technique!" A brave youth forcefully said. "Heh, it''s laughable how ignorant you are! Clearly, you don''t know that our Alchemy Prodigy has already reached the Awakened Spirit Realm! Not only that, he was also able to attain the Alchemy Sight!" An Alchemy Academy elder could not help but interject due to the youth''s clam. "What?!" The entire crowd was shocked when they heard the elder''s claim especially the youth. They all look aghast and dumbfounded while their mouths formed an "o" shape. It was one thing reaching the Awakened Spirit Realm at the age of 13-14. That itself was almost an impossibility. Now, an additional feat, even more terrifying than the first was revealed to them! Alchemist Asiel has attained the legendary Alchemy Sight! Alchemy Sight is an ability gained by being a heaven blessed talents and is unacannilly similar to the Heavenly Eyes of Mystical Magnates. If Mystical Magnatism have Magna Magnates, then Alchemy have Primal Alchemist! Alchemy Sight have similar effects. The only difference is that it is more focused on pill refinement and concoction. It enables the alchemist to see the subtle and minute transformation of the medicine being refined at slower speed and at a near-molecular level. Being blessed with such sight, begets success rate upto 30% better than an original alchemist! Instead of energy from spirit beasts, it can enable the user to see medicinal strength and compatibility. It has the similar effects of enhancing the five basic senses. But the most amazing ability gained from a mastered Alchemy Sight, is the manipulation of spirit energy that could act as a supplement to hasten the rate of growth of any herb and even cause transformations, evolutions, and even mutations! Every known Alchemist to have been granted by such a heaven defying ability have either become Alchemy Saints or Alchemy Emperor. There was another known benefit that it gives to its user and it is heightened mental faculties and processing functions. This would enable them to easily remember and save any book, ancient records or any type of documents into their minds they read as though they were moving flashdrives. That is why such revelation caused great shock to the crowd gathered outside of the Noble Test Center. "I guess the first place would undoubtedly go to Alchemist Asiel, huh?" The supporters of Riki Panther dejectedly said. As the crowd was shocked by such revelation, a group of 16 made their way to the betting booths. Due to their artival, the businessman awoke from shock and entertained his guests. "Oh, young lords and ladies, you must be here to bet. Who would you like to bet on?" The businessman called Old Weller sheepishly smiled while he rubbed his hands together. "Yup, we''ll bet 10 gold coins each for Dylan Ford placing first." The confident young man said. If Dylan was here, he would be able to recognize this young man he was. None other than Roland! This type of statement even though spoken in a casual manner, reverberated to the ears of the currently silent crowd andthis inadvertently caused countless eyes to fall upon the small gourp of people by the betting booth of Old Weller. 78 Chapter 78: Outside of the Test Center The gazes of 10,000 people fell upon Roland as he spoke those words. They wondered who this Dylan Ford was? How could someone bet on a nobody? The crowd started asking for information regarding the background of a nobody. "Hey, elder brother, do you know who this Dylan Ford is?" A girl wondered the identity of this Dylan Ford. Since someone had confidently bet on him, he would at least be a grand character at that. But she wondered how come she never heard of this youth named Dylan Ford before? "Not sure. How about you, Master? Do you know him?" Her fellow apprentice could not give her the answer that she desired and instead, he diverted the question to their master. "I am uncertain as well." The master was caught by surprise and could only give an unsure reply to his disciples. "Dylan Ford? I think he is the owner of that new herbal store, Soaring Garden." A near fatty had a sudden realization and voiced out his guess which grabbed the attention of the entire crowd. "A Herbal Store? A new establishment?" The majority were knitting their eyebrows when they heard the fatty''s statement. "Yeah, I remember he was the charmingly? calm, handsome young man who always treated his customers with a smile." An old woman weakly said with an amiable smile. Evidently, she had visited the store once or twice. "Right, he was also spontaneously devising ways to make the services of the store more convenient for their customer." Another elder spoke. "So... Basically, they are voting for a novice businessman? And a pretty boy at that? Hahahaha, hilarious!" No one knew who said those mocking words but once it was heard, the nobles gave hearty laughs at the small group. "I remember now! I saw them working in that store as well! They must be his employees." A naive girl spoke aloud. "Pfft, hahahaha! Now that''s shameless! His loyal dogs are betting for him to show support! Hahahaha, this is has got to be the best joke today!" An arrogant noble from a great clan looked at them with condescending gaze as he cruelly laughed at them. He and dozens of nobles approached the small group of Roland. He then continued making a mockery of Roland''s groups actions: "Hahaha, you even went to the extent of betting him to be first?! Hahaha what naivety and blind devotion for your dog master! Hahahaha." Due to his statements, the other nobles mocked Roland''s group who were standing near Old Weller''s booth. The hearty laughs reverberated to the entire square and contemptuous gazes of the nobles surrounded the group as their faces turned read from the blatant mockery. They could not help about those several times those arrogant and spoiled nobles caused trouble within their stores while speaking how impotent and degraded the herbs that they sold were. But, they were eventually driven out by Dylan as he calmly disproved their claims in front of his customers. From the embarassment of being publicly proved to be liars, they could only curse as they left with their tails between their legs while Dylan was met with recognition and applause. Unfortunately, Dylan was not hear to verbally spar with them and they were all alone in front of the antagonizing crowd. But, they did not falter and endured their anger as Ronald boldly spoke:" Then, let''s make it a bet then!" The nobles were suddenly attracted by Ronald''s sudden declaration. "What''s? this?! Hahaha where did a servant like get the courage to speak in front of us, nobles, huh?" A good dog should know where to aim his barks!" Another female noble met him with disdain. "A servant does not have the authority to negotiate with nobles! You should hide and go back to your mother''s tit and drink milk from it all day! Hahahaha!" One more pudgy noble supported as he made a joke of Roland''s attempt to negotiate with them. For nobles, servants like them have no place in their eyes and are no different than ants! Especially when they scanned their cultivation levels, they became even more unbridled knowing that the object of their mockery was only at the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm. After hearing those words, the nobles laughed sarcastically at these ant-like peasants. "Why, you bastards!!" A young man named Orion scowled as he prepared for battle but he was held back by Roland. Although Roland wanted to tear then to pieces, but when met with the current situation, he knew if their Sir Dylan were here, he would advise them to hold back their anger. So as the leader of this group, Roland had the responsibility of keeping everybody in check and away from harm. "It''s fine, Orion. Leave these jerks to me." "Okay. You better make them pay!" Orion emphasized. "Hahaha, of course! Being with Sir Dylan just infects you with his bravery and calmness! Don''t worry, I got this." Roland smiled. "Hahahahaha, what''s this? The dogs are trying to bite us? The same arrogant noble mocked them. "Really, now? Hahaha, it seems like you group of nobles are nothing but chickens who can''t even take a bet while spouting off nonsense." Roland calmly said. Those bold words shocked the nobles. They never thought that these plebeians would actually talk back to them. This type of defiance enraged them even more. "What bet?" The pudgy noble held his anger as he spoke. "Simple, if my boss Dylan becomes first, then you should all apologize and kneel directly to him. If not, I would do anything you want me to do!" Roland''s? conditions stunned the crowd were a bit extreme to exchange his freedom for the sake of the reputation of his master. It was truly a moving sight. Some businessmen could not help but feel envious with this kind of devoted follower. "Bah, I just told you that you don''t have any right to negotiate with us! If you knell and kiss my foot right now, I can consider forgiving you and your group!" The arrogant noble said. "That just proves what type of chicken you are! You aren''t even a rooster at most you''re a hen." Orion sneered. "Insolent dog! I want you to grovel under my feet and apologize! Otherwise, die!" The arrogant noble could no longer contain his anger and pounced at him but he was immobilized by a stationed Thundercloud Guard immediately. "Aarrrggghh!" The arrogant noble shouted. "Stand down!" The Thundercloud Guard completely suppressed the arrogant noble to the ground with his face pressed downwards to the ground. "How lawless. It seems like you forgot that you are within the Thunder Clouds City which is under the impartial security of the Thundercloud Guards." Roland sneered as he looked at the? suppressed noble. "How idiotic. You are a citizen of this city ever since you were born yet you don''t even know it''s most basic rules. Are all nobles this stupid?" A cold and arrogant voice coming from the back of the crowd said. When he arrived, he gave others the feeling that they were looking at a cold-blooded blade that is ready to vanquish all evil and crimes. He adjusted his glasses as he appeared as heroic and valiant as his stories were! The ninth of the Mythical 10, Lancelot Pierce! The crowd was then silenced at the arrival of this young man. They knew that the Thundercloud Guards were impartial but there was still little leniency when it comes to citizens. However, Lancelot Pierce, was not someone who was lenient to anyone! He even imprisoned his uncle due to murder within the city! He was then recognized to be theImpartial Spear of the city which represents the weapon that will purge all evil without any bias or reconsideration if proven to be guilty. The Imperial Spear proved his mettle countless of times and his most notable achievement which was felling Animo of the Northern Mountains and his Ten Thousand Origin Beast horde. Not only gave him the right to be placed at the Mythical 10 but it also awarded him the right to become the youngest Captain General in the history of the Mystic Red Cloud State. In the every city, a city guard organization is also found. There are five ranks within the city guards: Knight, Captain, General, Captain General, and Marshal Paladin. A Captain General can command 5,000 knights and have his own private squadron that are handpicked by him. For Lancelot, his private squadron was the well-known, Squadron 48! He, who was known, to be the youngest Army Captain of their city was received by the guard who was suppressing the noble which was then followed by his colleagues. "We greet Sir Lancelot''s arrival!" "We greet Sir Lancelot''s arrival!" "We greet Sir Lancelot''s arrival!" "We greet Sir Lancelot''s arrival!!!" The guard that were stationed near the four sides of the Noble Test Center greeted him with thunderous cheers one after another! Due to the large size of the Noble Test Center, the Guards in duty were stationed around the vicinity of its four sides for them to be able to maintain peace and order all throughout the duration of the test. As Lancelot went to the quarters of the guards, he left a warning to all, "To those who seek to cause trouble during my watch, be ready to be detained depending on the weight of your crime but if you resist, my spear will taste your blood. As for the Noble who attacked the commoner, he is charged with attempted murder and will be detained for 5 years!" His overbearing and cold demeanor left the group of nobles who antagonized Dylan''s employees shuddering from fright. The guard then knocked the arrogant noble senseless and carried his unconscious body to the headquarters of the Thundercloud Guards where he will be detained. After he left, the crowd was completely silent. His reputation as the Impartial Spear was truly befitting. He couldn''t care less if the criminal was a noble or not, he either detains them or slaughter without mercy. The crowd knew that this was because of his outstanding talent but more importantly his master, the unbeatable Marshal Paladin of the Thundercloud City! Roland''s group could not even fathom what type of monsters the other 9 who are equally strong or even stronger than this guy. "This is not? the end of this, you commoner scum!" A noble gritted his teeth knowing that they could not act wantonly with the Impartial Spear assigned to oversee this test. If it were any Captain General or General, their families would have been able to bribe them or negotiate with them to let these matters slide. But with the unruly and just Lancelot here accompanied with the backing of his master, they could only restrain themselves. "Hahaha, what are you going to do then, huh? You want to bite me? Come!" A plump employee of Dylan arrogantly said. This plump guy''s name was Ron. He became courageous knowing that the Thundercloud Guards were impartial and righteous at doing their jobs at this place. He was the type of guy who knew when to fight and have the ability to adapt regardless of the situation for survival. "Shameless pig! I can kill you with one slap!" A female noble angrily said. Her cultivation of the Initial 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm burst forth as she threatened to end the life of the fatty Ron. "Then, I dare you to kill me, hahaha! Oh right, before you could, you would be detained! Hehehe, you may call me shameless but I consider myself as smart! Only those who have the ability to use the swift changing tides to their favor will survive and for those who can''t, death and humiliation is what they will meet! As long as I report your words to the guard and act helplessly, I''m sure Sir Lancelot would imprison you for your? crimes, hehehe." The unrelenting eloquent mouth of Ron exhibited his shamelessness. His shameless speech made both the neutral nobles and numerous comoners to laugh and made them feel a sense of satisfaction while for the nobles who supported the arrogant noble''s group were all burning with anger wanting to tear this pig apart, limb from limb. "But, I am quite benevolent you know hehe. I see that you are quite pretty and sexy too. How about be my girlfriend~ Ouch!" Ron was eventually stopped by Ronald''s smack on his head. "I... I.. I''ll never forget this!!!" The girl was as red as tomato as she dashed and exit the square to escape that humiliation. "Hey, bro Roland, why did you hit me? What did I do?" Ron massaged his head and looked indignant as though he had done nothing wrong. "You!" Roland could only utter that one word and smile wryly. He knew the difficult attitude of this fatty. When he''s in trouble, he act like nothing has happened and hide on his sheep like a turtle but if luck is on his side, his eccentric dominating shamelessness comes into being. Although Dylan could keep him in check, but even Dylan found it slightly difficult to restrain this fatty when he backs it up with his shameless yet logical claims. The other employees were giving him a thumbs up. The sense of satisfaction they felt when Ron shamelessly flaunt the protection given by the Thundercloud Guards to them. They were fuming with rage when they heard the mocking words of the nobles but Ron''s speech was a fulfilling retort and comeback for them. Whenthe crowd saw this, they could not help but laugh out loud but when the arrogant noble''s group saw this, they almost vomitted blood from shock and anger. This level of shamelessness could be considered as heaven defying! 79 Chapter 79: The Mystery within the Tes After the conflict between the nobles, Roland and Hai group settled outside of a restaurant in front of the Noble Test Center. The crowd also focused on the Noble Test Center for update regarding the test. In each side of the center, there are enormous black retangular boards called Spirit Blackboards whose function is to provide the updates in the duration of the examination. Spirit blackboards have the names of the participants enlisted on them. After their names, another column could be seen. It shows? what page the participants are currently at. Aside from these?, they also display the number of the participants which were about 5,000 in number. It also indicates the test topics for every corresponding page of the exam: First Page: Geography of the City Second Page: Basics of the 5 Major Professions (Alchemist, Blacksmith, Businesmen/ Mystical Magnate, Beast Tamer, Herbal Doctor) Third Page: Strategic and Management Skills Fourth Page: Glorious Foundation Period Fifth Page: Rising Domination Period Sixth Page: Falling Thunder Period Seventh Page: History of the Mystical Clouds Eighth Page: History of the Red Cloud State Ninth Page: Cultivation Theories/Techniques Tenth Page: Cultivation Theories/Techniques In each Noble Test, there would only be 9 topics because the last two pages are pages which have questions that always center onCultivation Theories, Techniques and Manuals. Among the selection of over 60,000 questions, they can be categorized into 14 different topics excluding Cultivation. The other 8 topics of the test can be interchanged according to the random choices? of the treasure but the 9th topic would always be about cultivation. The blackboard then revealed. The current progress of the participants as they answered the test.The numerous clans and sects that have gathered on the square outside the test center were all scanning for their respective candidates. "Its only been three hours and yet our Young Master is already on the second page hahaha!" A elder of a small clan mused. "That''s our Young Master!" Another elder said. "Hahaha, Old Rahf, how about your clan''s young master? Is he doing fine?" The elder from earlier sarcastically said. "Tsk, Old Turner, don''t get cocky! Our Young Master has also reached the second page." "Hahaha, is that so? But I was pretty sure that he was only at the first page several minutes ago." The elder continued to sneer. "You! Just wait and see my Young Master will still score better than your spoiled descendant!" Old Rahf continued. "How dare you! Tsk, if it wasn''t for the young Impartial Spear personally guarding this test. I would have mopped the floor with you!" Old Turner rebutted. "Hmph, try it then!" Old Rahf countered. In the end, they couldn''t fight and could only stare with killing intent at each other. Other clans had similar conflicts like Old Rahf and Old Turner. Theses minor clans tried to compare with each other and even betted treasures and spirit stones on which representative will score higher than the other. "Mistress is performing outstandingly and she''s already on the 3rd page!" An elder from the Hundred Hills Grand Clan rejoiced "Old Malu, hahaha it seems like your Stone Edge Manor would be left behind by our Mistress!" Another elder spoke with disdain at the Stone Edge Manor''s camp. This caused the crowd to gasp in astonishment. To quickly answer those 40-60 questions despite it being an essay? Just how frightening would the golden daughter be? "Hahaha, you''re too overconfident! Our Young Master has reached the third page five minutes earlier than your mistress!" An old butler from the manor confidently said. The crowd gasped once more. There was another person who could answer as fast as the golden daughter? The crowd couldn''t help but admit in their hearts how genius these two are. "Our Wonder Child is even better than you lot it has already been half an hour since he arrived at the third page! Hahaha!" An arrogant butler said with confidence. The crowd''s hearts jumped. The Wonder Child was even more frightening than the others?! "These noble powers really do love up to their reputation. They could all nurture such frightening kids. Haaaayst." An old veteran could only sigh as he thought of the dazzling genius that those three have shown to the crowd today. "Lo-look, the Child Strategist has just reached the fourth page!!" An inconspicuous commoner spoke out from fright. "WHAT?!" The crowd''s hearts stopped when they heard that remark. The Child Strategist was even more terrifying than the previous three! She already crossed the page where the other three genius were still answering! "Hahahah what do you expect from Lady Ciara''s wisdom as the crowned Top Strategist of the whole city!" A suitor from another clan said while his eyes emitted burning determination to conquer the Child Strategist. This remark helped the crowd fee l that the Child Strategist''s crossing of the fourth page was quite sensible since the third page was about the strategic and management skills of the participant in both business and war. It could be said that Child Strategist was a fish on the water when she arrived at the 3rd page''s topic. That''s why she was able to easily finish the page. "Of course, my sister''s? prowess in strategizing could even be superior than mine so it wouldn''t? be hard for her to answer all those questions in just three hours or so." A 1.9 meter tall scholarly young man who was of 28 years of age generally stated. It seemed like his words were from virtuous scrolls from his elegant manner of speaking. "It''s Charlton Meadows! The Head Strategist of the Thundercloud Guards!" A female screamed in admiration. "No way. The youngest Head Strategist in the history of the Thundercloud Guards had even admitted that he is inferior to Lady Ciara''s!!" Another suitor was evidently shocked and it was not only him, the entire crowd had the same reaction as well. It should be known that he was also a dazzling strategist since he was able to lead the different battalions? and armies of the Thundercloud Guards to efficiently battle with their foes. His most dazzling achievement was a mission against a Mortal Moulting Realm with 100 Origin Realm experts with varying strengths yet he was able to create a scheme to destroy them with the similar number of experts and only 10 casualties! He was a very talented strategist yet he claimed to be inferior to his decade younger sister? Now, this was just unfathomable. "But, the Child Strategist still can''t compare to those two when it comes to genius." The crowd lamented as they focused on the two names of the most dazzling geniuses in the city. This was because Alchemist Asiel and Riki Panther have long reached the 4th page! Unlike the Child Strategist who just arrived at the 4th page, the crowd has already seen that Asiel and Riki have almost simultaneously reached the 4th page. The crowd was totally shakened when they saw how fast they were both answering the test. The first to finish the first page was Riki Panther while Alchemist Asiel somewhat lagged behind a bit for one minute. It only took them slightly more than 15 minutes to finish the entire page! On the second page, however, Riki Panther got overtaken by Alchemist Asiel as he finished the second page first but Riki did not lag behind as he quickly followed and finished the page. What''s more was that it only took them 30 minutes to arrive at the third page! When they reached the third page, they shook the crowd once more.when they only finished it in one hour at the same time and is now more than an hour in the fourth page! The crowd could not understand how they were able to clear the third page that fast and at the same time at that. They all knew how hard the test was since they were mandated to take this examination. That''s why when they saw how these two were able to clear the stages one by one. They just couldn''t help but admit their inferiority towards them. "What monstrous geniuses..." The crowd could only sigh as any one of them.would pale in comparison to these two geniuses. "It seems like it''s going to be Sir Asiel and Sir Riki who is going to be fighting for the first place in thise year''s test." A noble said awestruck. "I wonder what the Test Center''s rewards for the Top 3 are for this year?" A burly tall man who stood out in the crowd wondered. "You''re right. Last year, the third place got a Peak of the Low Earth Rank Battle Technique while the second got a Mid Earth Rank Cultivation Manual! The first place then received a pair of Earth Ranked Movement Techniques and Battle Techniques that are inherently compatible with each other. What a lucky bunch they were!" A thin man recollected. " That''s right. But, it was not only last year''s batch of the top three competitors of the examinees, every year''s batch get something good always!" Another commented. Roland and the others were merrily discussing about various things and were occasionally laughing from Ron''s silly jokes when the group of nobles approached them and disturbed their conversation. "Hahahah, have you checked the Spirit Blackboard yet? Hahaha, that''s the disparity of commoners from nobles! Hahaha, you even claimed that your wastrel of a master can compete against our noble lineages?! Laughable!" A dark-brown haired young lad spoke with sarcasm and disdain. "Your master isn''t even worth carrying the shoes of our Sir Riki and Sir Asiel!!" A dark-skinned noble added. "Psh, are you guys fucking retards? You can''t even see right, huh? How about opening your eyes and see what page our boss Dylan is at!! You think you are all great, huh?! Think again, Sir Dylan is already at the 4th page!!" Ronsaid with incomparable ferociousness. The crowd was shocked by this statement. Another person was also at the fourth page other than Alchemist Asiel and Riki Panther as well as Child Strategist?! But this was too unbelievable so when the crowd heard Ron, they could not help but laugh out loud since they could not believe that there was such another genius and this genius was a commoner?! "Ahahhahahahahahahaha." The crowd laughed when they heard Ron''s claim. "What a bluff~"Before another arrogant noble could interject another person shouted from the crowd. "No way! It''s true!!" The person shouted pale-faced as though he had seen a ghost. ""WHAT?!" The crowd could not believe it. Therefore, they tried their? best trying to scan for the name of Dylan Ford and there it was. [FORD, Dylan, Age:18, Test Status: Page 4-In progress- Execellent] The treasure also indicates initial hints with regards to the ratio of correct and incorrect answer of the examinee. There are only four grades used to indicate this are. Failing, Good, Very Good and Execellent. Failing? is gained when the participants has less than 40%. Good is acquired when the taker has 40%-55% correct. Very good is for 56-70% while Excellent is for 70% or greater. Half of the participants had a Good grade while a third was in the failing grade. Then, 16% of which had a Very Good mark while the remaining .7% was doing Excellent in their tests. Thus, to have an Excellent mark meant that you were a genius among geniuses? already! "Hmph, do youbelieve me now?!" Ron arrogantly said. The crowd was silenced when they saw those words. Every single one of them were flabbergasted to the point that their hearts almost jumped out of their hearts. A commoner was that kind of abnormal genius? Unbelievable. Inside the Noble Test Center... While those were happening outside, the participants were trying their hardest in order to be able to answer all the questions. It has been 8 hours already. The participants? where nearing the end of the test. By now, all of the participants are either on the latter 2 pages? or reviewing their answers despite being done. Some of the participants were despairing by the fact that they lacked confidence in passing the exam. Others were rechecking their answers in hopes to get a better score than 60. While others, we''re thinking of such. Dylan was critically analyzing his papers to review them. This was because Dylan had long finish the exams an hour ago!After reviewing twice, he was sure that all of his answers were right! Yes, he was absolutely certain because of his trained and developed photographic memory! However, when he reached the last question of the ninth page and the tenth page, he didn''t completely answer them to keep a little bit of a low key. This is because when you don''t fully answer every question for at least a 5-sentence Paragraph it would be declared as incomplete by the machine and would still consider you as unable to move on to the next page and would still display your prior page despite answering the next page already There was also other reasons? for Dylan''s incomplete answers and one of those who are already finished are all forced to leave the Test Center. Another reason was that he was able to discover something peculiar about the test. When he was reviewing his answers a second time, he realized there was an unusual pattern among the test it was as if it was not standardized but systematized. It seemed like the whole test was a Cultivation Art!! 80 Chapter 80: Thundercloud? Kings Inheritance Dylan found it increasingly peculiar as he was rereading the whole test once more?. He wondered to himself why was it that Cultivation Theories always were the last topic for the last two pages. What was the reason? He pondered also what was the prize of getting the perfect marks? The rumored legendary Inheritance of the 4 Thundercloud Kings? In the history of the Thundercloud City, a once in ten thousand years? genius appeared and took the test. He was able to achieve the highest possible record within the Noble Test, a 99% score. He filed a complaint on the Thundercloud Guards against the Noble Test Center claiming that he was 100% certain that all of his answers were correct and demanded a reasonable and acceptable reason for the scam he experienced. He demanded for the test center to apologize to him and gift him the rightful inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings! There was a legend in the city that once a person achieves the impossible perfect score in the Noble Test. Then, he/she will receive the Thundercloud Kings Inheritance which is called Thundercloud? MonarchArts! A legendary skill that allowed the four kings to dominate their enemies from eight directions and pulverize everything on their path. It is considered as one of the ten strongest skills ever to be created by man. Due to this legend, countless geniuses tried to achieve? that score but it was an impossible score to achieve. The once in ten thousand years? genius was the one who was closest to achieve such score. The test center did not apologize instead, they showed him the results of his test. It was then proven that all of his answers were right but the treasure still deemed it to be 99 percent. The elders also said that the inheritance was only a myth and was not proven to be true or not. The genius was at a loss. He could not? accept the fact that he was unable to gain the inheritance and he felt that the elders of the center was lying to him because they feel that he was unworthy of such grace . Being an impulsive young man with a narrow view, he left the city and vowed to return and make the Noble Test Center pay for what they did and forcefully take the inheritance. Surprisingly, he held this grudge for so long and he came back as a Saint and rampaged the entire city. The Thundercloud Guards and the Noble clans worked together in order to subdue the genius. He, then killed his way to the test center which resulted to great casualties . However, he was eventually decapitated by the slumbering father of the current City Lord who awoke from his death meditation in order to stop the genius. This incident caused the Falling Thunder Period due to the unfortunate deaths of numerous experts at the Mortal Severing Realm who attempted to stop the Saint. The repercussions of that incident left a deep scar in Thunder Clouds City military force. They were unable to restore its strength until 500 years later. Due to this incident, the legend was recognized to be impossible since even the unfortunate yet dazzling genius who got all the answers to the questions right was still not granted the inheritance. The geniuses could only stop ever dreaming of acquiring the perfect score of 100 and the peerless inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings. Dylan also knew this incident since he read all records regarding the history of the entire Thunder Cloud City. "So why was the genius not able to get the perfect score despite having the right answers? Why did the elder''s claim that the legend of acquiring the inheritance by having a perfect score was not necessarily true? Why did the Thundercloud Kings even make this standardized test?" Dylan asked to himself. "So if I were to say that the Test Center''s? elders'' claim was true, then would that mean that the Inheritance is not with them? If it is not with them, then would I be wrong to consider that test could be the Inheritance itself?! From my knowledge of various light novels, peerless experts have eccentric disposition and would not let their inheritance to be easily found. So the test could be one of the possible candidates of the inheritance!" Dylan deducedwhile using the wisdom he gained from reading uncountable number of light novels and the facts provided by the history of the Thunder Clouds City. Having thought of this, Dylan grabbed an extra sheet of the large paper provided and used it to list down and derive the various concepts of the test and decode the entire test. As time passed by, Dylan unknowingly entered into a state of complete concentration while trying to formulate a Cultivation Technique! Using the experience he gained from creating the Primordial Law of Business from his worldly experiencces, he was confident enough to derive a Cultivation Technique from the questions and concepts of the noble test. He was also using the format and structure of the various techniques and manuals he read. He then used these formats? of common thunder and lightning techniques as the foundation diagram while implementing the different theories found within the test that was derived from the Glorious Foundation Period. He primarily used the Cultivation Theories of this period because this was the period where the four Thundercloud Kings dominated the entire region. In forty minutes of continuous failure , Dylan was successfully able to formulate a Cultivation Technique. If Technique appraisers were here, they would be shocked that an 18 year old was able to create a Low Earth Ranked Battle Technique! "It''s wrong! I don''t get it. It should have been right but why is the strength of this technique only at, no, barely at the Low Earth Ranked? Being a technique created by four Saints, it should at least be a Low Heaven Rank Technique! Where did I go wrong?" Dylan was feeling frustrated. He was unable to derive the skill despite using all of the experiences he got. Dylan paused for a second and calmed himself down. He then lamented, "What if I not only use the theories of the Glorious Foundation Period but also from the other two periods? What if I also add the concepts of war and business? Or even the geography of the city as the foundation?" Dylan tried once more. For the foundation and the structure of the technique, he sketched the geographical structure of the city from a bird''s eye view and incorporated it with the diagrams that he used from the various common lighting and thunder techniques. He also reused his implementations of the theories earlier and used the theories from the Rising Domination Period and Falling Thunder Period in order to correct the deficiencies it previously had. He also used the concepts of war and business found in the test to supplement the flow of the technique. One hour has already passed, Dylan was still unable to perfect the technique but he was currently too absorbed to mind the hundreds of failed attempts he had. He was constantly improving and improvising in order to derive the Inheritance of Thundercloud? Kings. Dylan himself did not know that he was formulating his own Cultivation Technique that was derived from the Technique that the Thundercloud Kings! Outside the test center... The participants all had exited the Noble Test Center and we''re currently being received by their families and sects. The nobles were rejoicing of the outstanding results of the geniuses from noble lineages but there were also some who were depressed and disappointed as there were only 55% of the participants who passed the test. Some could only leave the square dejected and dismal. "It''s fine, son. We can still do better next time." A middle-aged noble comforted his son as they left. "Yes, father." The boy could only follow behind his father, unable to even lift his head and look straight at his father. "Damn, it I failed again!" A middle-aged? man miserably punched the ground. "I''ll do better next year..." A youth faintly uttered like a lost soul. .... "You have done well, my student. You truly have not let me down!" A short yet muscular bearded man said jubilantly to his student. "I''m glad that I was able to make you proud, master!" The student merrily replied. "Good, good, good. Hahaha, you better not slack off or else I would have to discipline you!" The master jokingly said and left. "Yes, master!" The student steadily bowed before following his master. .... "Hahaha, amazing, the Golden Daughter and the Stone Edge Saint Child bother got 82 percent!!" A noble elder proudly said as the two geniuses joined their sects. " I would expect nothing less from the prodigies of the Hundred Hills Grand Clan and Stone Edge Manor. Truly befitting of their positions as one of the top ten powers of the Thunder Cloud City." Another elder from a great clan praised. "Hahaha, thank you brothers! It truly is a blessing for my family to have a daughter like Daniela. She will surely become the family''s clan master in the future." The current clan head of the Hundred Hills Grand Clan said smilingly and looked lovingly to his aloof daughter. "Likewise. The Saint Child is the likely candidate to succeed the position of Manor Master." The head elder of the Stone Edge Manor smiled in the same manner as the clan head while Stone Edge Saint Child was standing behind. "What a joyous occasion it would be for the two of them to marry each other! I''m sure it would enable both powers to rise up together while jointly assisting each other." A wise old sage spoke with impeccable logic. This statement? abruptly caused a fluctuation on the faces of the said geniuses. "Hahaha, true." Another noble agreed to this proposition which was followed by several similar answers. "Unfortunately, we are unable to decide for ourselves? the destiny of our kids but if fate wills it to be and ties the red string to my daughter and Saint Child, then I would have no qualms regarding the union." The clan head explained neutrally which was then complimented with the nods of other nobles. "The Wonder Child was even more amazing. He scored 85!!" A youth said while he pointed at the scores of Wonder Child. This remark immediately piqued the attention of the crowd and was stunned to see such amazing score. When the youth spoke out, the Wonder Child and the representatives of the Fleeting Wood Residence have already embarked their departure and left the Noble Test Center. The crowd could only sigh as this power was also known for its aloofness and detachment from the affairs of the city but since their ancestors owe an unrepayable debt to the Thundercloud Kings, they promised to stay within the city and guard it. Suddenly, two blinding pillars of lightning from the Noble Test Center that soared through the sky.These two lightning were wide enough to devour a regular human and obliterate a hill or a forest.This mysterious phenomenon then attracted the eyes of every citizen and every power in the city. "That''s two Rising Lightnings?! Does this mean there are two people who achieved a score of 90?!" "Who could they be? Could it be?! Alchemist Asiel and Sir Riki have achieved such a score?!" "No way?! If that''s true, then those two are equally heaven defying!!" "Guys, look at the Spirit Blackboard! The-their scores are..." "Sir Riki scored 92!!" "Damn, the Young Master is a true monster!!" "You''re right about that, brother!" "But, Asiel scored 94?!!!?!?!!" The entire city was dumbfounded. These type of scores? were nearly as good as Victor Thunder''s 95! Does this mean there would be three dazzling geniuses that would come from their city?! "Look! There''s another Rising Lightning!!" A commoner pointed at another lightning that rose like a flying mythical dragon. "The Child Strategist has scored 91!!!" A female noble shouted from shock. "No way! So there are 4 grand geniuses that will come from our city?!" "How domineering is this line-up?!?" "Hahaha, it seems like our city will enter another glorious period with these geniuses around!!" "Hahaha, don''t forget about Imperial Spear and the other two from the Four Kings of Thundercloud!" "That''s right! With Victor Thunder as the leader of the Four Kings and the three new talents, they would surely lead our Thunder Clouds City and Mystic Red Cloud State to unparalleled heights!! "That''s true! Hahaha, maybe we would get to name this period as the Thunder Emperor''s Period!" "I agree! Hahahahaha!" The whole city celebrated from inexplicable joy due to the emergence of these geniuses!! Thunderous cheers were heard after the three geniuses exited the test center. To the eyes of the masses, these three were like the most dazzling stars of the nightsky. "Hahaha, the advent of the new age is here!" Gayolei laughed heartily and was evidently proud of his son. "I agree, Brother Gayolei." The First Elder of the Alchemy Academy smilingly approved. "I knew that my sister would not let me down." Charlton Meadows calmly stated with a proud smile. However, another unforeseen phenomenon happened. A Rising Lighting unlike the three earlier emerged. It was at least five times larger than the first three and was enough to obliterate a mountain. This scene silenced the celebrating crowd and it seemed that the three geniuses were no longer as dazzling as they were earlier while a thought wondered through their minds. " What type of genius could incite this type of Rising Lighting?" 81 Chapter 81: Thundercloud Monarch Ar As the gigantic Rising Lighting was soaring, the Noble Test Center was also resonating with the Rising Lightning as it emitted soundwaves which echoed throughout the city. When the Rising Lightning reached the sky, Thundercloud formed and spiralled into a giant vortex directly parallel to the Noble Test Center! "The Grand Rising Lightning!! A legendary? Rising Lightning that could only be produced by someone who has achieved a score of higher than 95!" Gayolei said in utter astonishment "This soundwaves are Spirit Resonances! But Spirit Resonances could only come from Heaven Rank Treasures and Artifacts! Could it be the extremely valuable treasure that was left behind by the Thundercloud Kings were not the Noble Test Maker but the entire Noble Test Center?!" The First Elder of the Alchemy Academy was becoming increasingly shocked as his deduced such thoughts. "The thunderclouds and lightning vortex in the sky resembles the records regarding the ancient art of the Thundercloud Kings! The Mid Heaven Rank Technique, the Thundercloud Monarch Art!" Charlton Meadows said with a dumbfounded expression. He had vast knowledge regarding the history of the city due to the amazing resources of his clan that allowed him to gain access to ancient records about the Thundercloud Kings. Suddenly, near the vortex, the thunder and lightning resonated and concentrated to four points, coalescing into four identical humanoid figures. After the formation of the four figures, more lightning, clouds and thunders started to agglomerate towards the four humanoids. Not long after, armors and weapons started to surface from the bodies of the four figures. The four figures started to have distinctions from one another and appeared more corporeal than before. They wore different armors and used different weapons. The figure in the north had a falcon-based armor and a saber that was shaped like wings of a falcon. The figure in the south wore a cheetah-looking armor with claws as his weapons. In the east, the figure had an armor and a lance with the scales and designs of a sailfishwhile in the west, the figure had an armor than was seemingly made from tiger beetles with its horns as his weapons. They stood below the vortex majestically and raised their weapons as though they were celebrating a reunion and greeting each other. The four figures then looked down at the test center like lightning sovereigns of the high heavens. "What''s happening?!" "What are those? Are those figures even humans?" "No, it''s the four Thundercloud Kings! Look at the north, that''s Lightning Falcon King, the strongest of the four! At the east, that''s Electric Sailfish King while at the West, that''s Tigerspark Beetle King! Lastly, the fastest among them, Thunderbolt Cheetah King!" A wise old man clarified. "Those are the Four Thundercloud Kings?! How could they still emerge if they were known to be dead 5,000 years ago?!" A commoner said. "I don''t know either." The one closest to him was trembling as he uttered those words. The crowd was trembling from fright due to the shocking mysterious phenomenon that was currently unfolding right before their eyes but it did not only end there. Another mysterious phenomenon was also unfolding in junction with the appearance of the four figures in the sky. The natural energy and spirit energy that were quietly flowing within and around the vicinity of the city were being absorbed into the Noble Test Center! It started to move in a spiralling fashion after moving twords the square outside the Noble Test Center. The natural and spirit energy''s movement were similar to a vast whirlpool! The concentration reached the extent where it could be seen in the naked eye! ... The commoners were panicking and acting hysterically due to being oblivious of what was currently happening in the city. Having no knowledge of this mysterious phenomenon, these resulted to different speculations that only worsened the situation of the commoners. "Does the heaven want to end us already?" An old man slowly said with a terrified face. He could not fathom what was currently happening in the city. "A...a.... Is it the end of the world?" A child cried out in despair. "Don''t worry, my boy. Someone will save us. .... At the Thunder Grand Clan Residence... Inside the dazzlingly extravagant and humungous manor, within the main hall, Zachary Thunder was seating on the Patriarch Seat of the Clan. He was wearing a royal robe adorned with dancing lightning serpents that accentuated the Thunder Clan crest. He was sitting calmly when the two phenomena occurred! "Ha... How is this possible?! Grand Rising Lightning?! Heavenly? Blessing?! Does this mean someone is currently creating a Heaven Rank Technique and also achieved a perfect score?!" The Thunder Clan Patriarch Zachary widened his eyes that were focused to the Noble Test Center. "What the heck is happening in the Noble Test Center?!" Zachary suspiciously thought. "Servants, attend to me! I want you to prepare a carriage right now! I want to go to the Noble Test Center!" Zachary commanded with a wave of his sleeves. "Yes, my lord." The attendants was then able to easily bring a carriage and left with Zachary Thunder. .... At the Premier Hall... "What the hell is happening?! The emergence of a Grand Rising Lightning and the occurrence of a Heavenly Blessing?! Even incarnations of the Thundercloud Kings?! What type of monstrosity of a genius is appearing in this city?!" Hallmaster Azelmek could not contain his shock and curse the heavens for granting a genius a talent that would be able to cause a world-shaking commotion! "Yes, sir! It''s coming from the Noble Test Center. Do you want to go sir? We have already prepared a ride just in case you want to go." Sheldon reported elaborately. "Of course! Ready the vehicle! We''re going now!" Azelmek hurriedly commanded. "Yes, sir!!" Sheldon replied in compliance. .... Similar scenes played out from different powers like the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, Alchemy Academy, Moonlight Paradise, Pill Hall, Enchanted Gardens, and many more. All of the head-level figures of every single one of these powers converged to the Noble Test Center. Even the departedpowers like the Fleeting Wood Residence could not help but leave behind a high-level individual like the Head Butler of the residence. In less than minutes, the countless powers moved in and arrived at the Noble Test Center. The moment they arrived was the moment where the four Thundercloud Kings pointed down their weapons to a central point and the lightning and thunder vortex ejected an extremely devastating lightning that slithered like a dragon. The moment where the lighting dragon intersected with the central point of the weapons was also the moment where it transformed into a large circular diagram that was essentially made up of lightning and thunder! It was also at this very moment that the whirlpool of energy below disappeared, no, rather it was absorbed into a single point where it invited a similar diagram of lightning and thunder. The two diagrams where strangely the same, however, there was a fundamental difference on how it was perceived and formulated than the diagram below the incarnations of the four Thundercloud Kings! .... "What?! Are they the same technique?!" A wise sage tried to analyze the two diagrams because there was an uncanny resemblance between the two. "No, they may be similar but they are essentially different. Although if we were to compare, the diagram below the kings is more stronger but the diagram slightly above the Noble Test Center is slightly more profound and broader." Another expert appraised with high evaluation. "That couldn''t be right? Why do I get the feeling that the diagram slightly above the test center is derived and formulated from the diagram below the kings?!" An eccentric could not help but think out loud. "What?!" The crowd of experts was even more shocked because the more they observed and scanned the diagrams, the more they felt that the eccentric''s proposition was correct! .... Also at the same time, both diagrams were absorbed into the Test Center which also caused calming of the sky and the city! "Both got absorbed into the test center?!" The crowd could only wait for further results because everything that was happening today was really beyond bizzare. .... Inside the test center, several minutes earlier... Dylan was the only participant remaining. On the desk, in front of him, was the finished derivation of the technique of the Thundercloud Kings. It gained recognition of the heavens and was blessed to be categorized as a Heaven Rank Technique. He named? this technique the Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art. It was his own interpretation of the strongest technique of the city. "Hahaha, I finally succeeded! I expect nothing less from the Thundercloud? Kings!A Low Heaven Rank Technique!" Dylan heartily laughed in his accomplishments as he held a bundle of paper. This bundle of paper was from the six extra sheet that were provided in the test. He cut them into four sections which bisected them into the size of a regular bond paper. Dylan was proud of himself being able to accomplish something that no one had one in the past. He looked at his finished product and casually skimmed through the text he wrote himself. They were all systematically organized into chapters and all had detailed descriptions for each chapter. "Oh right! I have yet to finish the test." Dylan immediately picked up and finished writing his answer. Then, placed it to the small table opposite to his table and faced the wall. The large sheets of test paper was sucked to the wall and disappeared. After his test papers disappeared, the bundle of papers he left on the table were floating in mid-air and was absorbing immeasurable amount of energy! The energy condensed a cover and it had the technique''s name inscribed onto it, "Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art". Suddenly, it shot out the foundation diagram which he formulated and permeated to the ceiling. "What the heck?!" Dylan was dumbfounded when he saw the scene that was unfolding right before his eyes. Subsequently, two similar diagrams entered the room Dylan was at. This caused Dylan to feel even more stunned! He was still able to recognize his Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art but he was unable to recognize the other art. "Could it be that this other one is the Inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings? Wait, so the inheritance was not deriving a technique? This is too confusing." Dylan mentally deliberated. As Dylan was thinking like this, the two diagrams above him suddenly shot towards his forehead. All the information regarding the two were imprinted to his mind. The other technique was called Thundercloud Monarch Art and was a Mid Heaven Rank Technique. This technique had four skills all were derived from the favorite spirit beasts of the four Thundercloud Kings. The most outstanding thing about this technique was that it could be stacked together and executed in unison. If the user achieves Grand Perfection mastery of this skill, he would be able to stack all four techniques and release an attack capable of overpowering a High Heaven Rank Technique and could even be comparable to a Peak Heaven Rank Technique! The Thundercloud Monarch Art did not only contain a whole set of skills, it also contained some of the memories of the Thundercloud Kings. Dylan learned from these memory fragments that the inheritance ceremony is performed through creating one''s own version of the Thundercloud Kings. The level of this technique must be at least at the High Earth Rank Technique! The difficulty of such a test was clear since it was really difficult to create a technique and not many experts are lucky enough to create a technique that would be their trademark even after their death. "So that''s how it was..." Dylan contemplated himself because the stringency of such a test was beyond difficult but Saints are really aloof and eccentric existences; they would not allow? any junior with insufficient talent to cultivate their techniques. Dylan decided to investigate the memories even further. .... When he opened the last fragment, he saw five figures suspended in mid-air that was facing two other individuals who was similarly floating. There were two armies that were fighting below and it was carnage and chaos down there. Blood was spilled constantly and weapons fiercely clashed with each other continuously. "A war?" Dylan was stunned when he saw this scene. In the sky, a battle had clearly happened between the two opposing sides but the side who seemed to be at a disadvantage was the side of the five figures as they were apparently severely injured. In this side, there was a heroic young looking man who stood in front of the other four as he was holding a halberd. Dylan inferred that the four injured figures at the back was the Thundercloud Kings but he was not certain who was the heroic young man. ''Who is that youth holding a halberd?", he thought. Suddenly, one of the four kings said, "Young King, you must not do this!" "Don''t worry, brother Falcon. I don''t have much time with me anyways. If I were to die, I would like to die in battle while protecting the country I rule." The ''Young King'' smiled with brilliance. His injuries could not his the innate majesty he has. He lunged forward and thrust his halberd. The force contained within seemed like it can rule the entire world!! "Hahaha, you are foolish, after all! You should have just surrendered, True King Ramiel" The man spoke while he and his partner charged to kill the king! Pitch black clouds appeared out of their hands and feet as they performed a joint attack! The pitch black clouds formed a giant cloud monster that emitted death energy and seemingly brought disaster to the sky as it desired to devour anything even light itself! "A True King?! Pitch black clouds... Darkness Castle?!" Dylan would recognize that technique anywhere! That was the same technique that Byron used to destroy the Gardenford Restaurant and used to capture Scarlet. Hatred started to appear in his eyes when he saw these two performing the same technique as Byron. "Immortal Slaying Lightning Thrust!" True King Ramiel shouted with overbearing dominance! Shining lightning and roaring thunders gathered and formed a lightning dragon that was at least 10 times bigger than a Grand Rising Lightning! True King Ramiel emitted the truly brilliance of a king as he heroically charged forwards. "Young King! Noooooo!!" The four kings roared and tried to move but the injuries they received rendered them unable to even support themselves and stand properly *BOOOOOM!!* .... After the deafening explosion, Dylan returned. He was still dazed and could still not detach himself from the memory fragment he was just in. 82 Chapter 82: Worries Dylan''s eyes turned serious as soon as he came back. He was thinking about the memory fragment that was left behind by the four kings. The involvement of the Darkness Castle in the death of a True King was truly a ground shaking matter. Dylan did not anticipate that the roots of the Darkness Castle would be so archaic that it even reached the extent that it could singlehandedly declare war against a True King 5000 years ago. Due to the new knowledge he gathered from the city, Dylan was able to learn more about the significant matters of a True King. A True King has the strength that could slaughter an Initial level Saint with one hand! Initial level Saints are known to be able to dominate a state on their own. So, just imagine these type of terrifying existences be killed with just a flick of a hand! Such a sight would be truly frightening. For the Darkness Castle to challenge a True King, it meant that their forces far exceed that of Initial level Saints and possess even stronger manpower. The forces that they deployed was enough to force a True King to use a life-ending attack just to kill the other two Saint-level experts. But, Dylan was wondering if the Darkness Castle had this type of manpower, then shouldn''t they have already taken over the entire Mystical Clouds right now? With strength capable of rivaling a True King, taking over the country would be a great possibility. Although there was still the newly established Mystical Clouds Alliance and the Royal Clan of the recent True King, without the True King, they could have easily overthrown the current Alliance Head but they chose not to. Instead, they chose to linger in the shadows. ''But for what reason? To garner strength? Or something else?'' Dylan thought to himself. Dylan felt that this was too suspicious. Being able to force the death of one of the 7 True Kings who could kill Saints like killing chickens was a really frightening achievement. He could only think of one possible answer for this and it was that the Darkness Castle had suffered? beyond considerable losses during the war 5 millennia ago. However, judging the strength of Byron and his manner of blatantly exposing himself, Dylan was speculating that the Darkness Castle has already recovered from the damage and is currently gathering more forces to attempt to conquer the country once more. The news of the battle between a Nine-tailed flame fox and the chain-covered humanoid which caused the destruction of the Soaring Cloud City and the evacuation of the citizens to the Peaceful Clouds City has already reached the Thunder Clouds City. This caused speculations of the Beast World''s elites trying to infiltrate the continent of humans. Due to this,all the six states sent representatives to investigate the matter. Dylan was confident that there would not be witnesses to report the news regarding his involvement with the battle since his employees were the only witnesses left due to them killing the remnants of the rebel army. His only worry was that he was unsure what type of method the six states have in their disposal since he was still new to this world. From his knowledge of reading different light novels, some might be able to use a treasure to detect remnant energies that will lead them to here. Therefore, he really wished that the 6 states won''t use too much extraordinary measures because it might cause implications to him and his employees. Dylan suddenly snapped out of his lamentation when he was transported outside of the Noble Test Center. When he came to his senses, he realized that he got sidetracked with his worries. "I should let this matters aside first as I still have to deal with more urgent matters at hand." Dylan mumbled to himself as he faced the shocked crowd. Dylan knew that the inheritance would have at least invited some kind of supernatural event which may have attracted the eyes of the countless experts living within the Thunder Clouds City. Thus, he prepared himself and composed himself to be able to deal with the countless heads of different type of powers. The shocked crowd glued their eyes to the handsome youth who suddenly appeared. They had expressions of disbelief because according to what was currently happening, this young man who was the last to exit was the source of all the ruckus that happened within the city earlier. "He''s the one who... who caused all those phenomena?'' "He gained the inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings?" "It''s boss!" A plump young man shouted in joy without any care of what was currently happening. He neared himself to Dylan with happiness written all over his face. "Hi, Ron." Dylan was smiling stiffly at the sight of this fatty. He felt that this fatty had no sense of appropriation and did not have the ability to read the atmosphere at all. "Come back here, Ron!" Roland urged as he pushed his way to the front. The audience was met with an awkward atmosphere as they were faced with this scene. The fatty could be said to have cultivated the denseness of the mind to its epitome because he was clearly unaffected of what just happened within the city. "Hahaha, nice going there Boss Dylan! We just scored 90,000 gold coins from the betting booths because of you getting the first place! You should''ve told us that you were going to perfect the test so that we could have made an even greater profit." The fatty patted the shoulders of his boss for three times before showing an expression of regret as though he lost an opportunity to make a profit. The audience woke up from Ron''s statements and scanned the Spirit Blackboard for a man named Dylan. When they saw his score, all of the onlookers had their eyes almost bulging out of there eyes and jaws which seemed to want to hit the ground. The result status of his test was displayed for the people to see: [FORD, Dylan/ Age:18/ Ranking: 1st/ Score: 100- Perfect] "He... got the perfect... score?!" "But I thought it wasn''t possible..." "How could this be..." The crowd could not still believe their eyes when they saw his test results. He was able to achieve the greatest and impossible feat that could be achieved during a Noble Test. Suddenly, marching and galloping sounds? could be heard. *March**March**Gallop**Gallop* "Stop fooling around! Come back here." Roland urged once more as he felt the tremors of the ground and the silhouettes of noble carriages behind the crowd. "You fat rascal! Get back to the others, right now!" Dylan commanded with seriousness in his brows and eyes. Dylan saw what Roland saw as well. He knew that this was a serious matter which could not be dealt with shameless logic which Ron uses in his arguments. When Ron saw this, he immediately knew that it meant "do not fool around and just follow my orders". "Ah, yes boss..." Fatty Ron ran back to his colleagues as fast as he could because he knew that the amiable and calm Dylan rarely had a stern gaze and serious expression with him. He knew that it would be seeking his own death if he continued clowning with Dylan serious. Seeing Ron getting further from the center of the crowd, Dylan let out a sigh of relief and abruptly calmed himself to prepare for the upcoming storm. Countless leaders or representatives of sects and clans gathered a few meters away from Dylan. The Thunder Clan, Panther Clan, Alchemy Academy, Fleeting Wood Residence, Stone Edge Manor, and other powers all converged and focused their attention to Dylan. The audience felt the suffocating pressure from the top figures of the powers who have arrived at the Noble Test Center. It was understandable since every single one of these characters were all at the peak of the Mortal Severing Realm or have set half a step into the Immortal Saint Realm. However, they found it strange that the young man in front of these giants, calmly stood unfazed. His charming eyes exuded calmness that only a sea before a storm could possess and his smile was pleasant and pure without any mixture of nervousness. Everyone present found these traits peculiar as they were found to be in the disposal of this handsome youth. "Young Dylan Ford, is it true that you have gained the inheritance of the four kings?" Zachary broke the silenced as he stepped forward. The head of the Thunder Clan had certainly asked the question which the onlookers wanted an answer for the most. The crowd readied their ears and eyes not daring to miss a single? moment and word during this confrontation. "Yes, it is indeed as you have said. I have gained the Inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings! Their prized technique, Thundercloud Monarch Art!" Dylan directly answered the question unfazed. Everyone was stunned as they did not anticipate that he would be so straightforward as to directly admit the deed. Many believed that he would at least put on an act and deny that he has gained the inheritance of their forefathers. They did not expect that he would just confess it without care as though it was nothing significant. "Then, you should know what is good for you, brat! Hand the technique over or face the consequences!" Gayolei took this chance to attack Dylan verbally. He was already anticipating that Dylan would do his best and defend the inheritance because of reasons that he has rightfully received it due to his hardwork. He was already devising retorts that would make Dylan''s situation even more worse. However, Dylan''s reply was out of his expectations as the young man simply smiled and spoke calmly at these powerful experts from different mighty lineages, "I understand Sir Panther''s concern for the heritage of the four kings. That''s why I am willing to do as you say and simply hand it over." Dumbfounded, the countless leaders and citizens were unable to understand why this man would simply give the inheritance that easily without even defending himself. They felt that they were unable to see through this young man who was smiling at them. 83 Chapter 83: Three Reminders None could see through this young man''s smile, they were wondering where his calmness was coming from. It was as though he was quite used in situations like this. Indeed, Dylan has been in these kind of situation for county of hundred times back when he was still managing his company. Thus, he knew the perfect way to deal with this situation at hand. "Really?!" The crowd gasped from this response. "Of course. However, I have three reminders before I give the technique." Dylan raised his hand with three fingers pointing upwards which indicated the three reminders he spoke of. Gayolei, on the other hand, could not think of any ways on how to retort. He was furiously searching his mind for details that he could use against Dylan. Finally after some mental deliberation, Gayolei have found the appropriate issue? that he thought would force Dylan into a predicament. "Good decision. Aside from the appearance of the four incarnations of the four kings, another phenomenon happened and this was the Heavenly Blessing! The occurrence of a Heavenly Blessing implies that a Heaven Rank Technique has been born. This occured in the Noble Test Center and since you were the only one who was within the infrastructure during the Heavenly Blessings, you should be the only one responsible for creating the technique! I suggest that you also hand the technique over with the inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings." Gayolei emphasized with a grin. He interjected before Dylan could even state the three reminder he spoke about. "That''s right! If you don''t hand over the two techniques, there would be unfortunate consequences involved." A clan head of a great clan which had some friendly relations with the Panther Clan threatened. "I agree, junior. You should hand over the two Heaven Rank Techniques and you shall be considered to have rendered a great service to the city and the four ancestors." A sect master concurred as well. "Gifting the city with two techniques of the Heaven Rank, I feel that this is the will of the four kings! As faithful descendants, the ancestors have heard our prayers for another meteoric rise and reciprocated our faith with these techniques!" Another elder used the pretext that all of this was in accordance to the will of the four kings. "Hahaha, the four kings has truly not forsaken our city even in death! They have righteously created a back up plan for another rise of the city!" Another old leader of a power used this opportunity to strengthen the pretext of the will of the ancestors. "The Thunder Clouds City will enter another glorious period!" The elder cheered. "The city will rise again!" "The city will rise again!" "The city will rise again!" Their subjects followed their leads and cheered as well. The onlookers were immediately reminded of another matter aside from the inheritance! It was the creation of a Heaven Rank Technique! Different glints flashed through the eyes of these people as greed was slowly showing itself. Gayolei and the others were laughing viciously in their hearts and looked at Dylan as though he was a fish on a cutting board. The greed in their eyes were apparent because they thought that with what was currently unfolding, the two techniques are good as theirs. Even Zachary Thunder had an unusual glint in his eyes when he heard the involvement of two Heaven Rank Techniques! ''Your doom has come Dylan Ford!'' Gayolei as he contemptuously gazed at Dylan like he was already a dead man. Dylan knew all too well what type of fallacy was being committed here. He was far too familiar with this kind of play and drama. So, he knew all too well the use of righteous cause "So an 18 year old kid was responsible for creating such a high grade technique? Is such a thing believable?" Dylan merely smiled at the face of such accusations and answered with questions. He did not mind that Gayolei rudely interrupted him and the support of the other heads. The crowd had confused expressions because they could not understand why did Dylan ask such a rhetorical question. However, he did not deny Gayolei''s accusations which lead the crowd to think that he was really the one responsible for causing the Heavenly Blessing. Some sneered when they interpreted it as a futile struggle while others felt pity for him being caught in this predicament. "Urrr... Of course! Though commonly, wise sages and powerful experts needs to enter a state of epiphany in order to create such a technique. A rare one in a million genius could do such an heaven defying feat!" Gayolei stuttered first before he could come up with a barely believable exposition. "Right, it''s just as you have said. Since I am the one responsible for creating a Heaven Rank Technique with my age, it means that you are admitting that I am the rare one in a million genius that you were talking about earlier, am I wrong?" Dylan smiled pleasantly at the clan heads and sect masters. "As a genius, I would be quite an asset to the city and be a potential pillar in the future. Since a rare genius would only be useful alive and as a future pillar of the city, I believe that you would not kill me at the very least. Even more so because I have gained the inheritance of the four kings. Being faithful descendants of the four kings tantamounts that you must value the will of your ancestors." Dylan used Gayolei''s statements to support his claim as he has already anticipated him speaking those words. This was the reason for him asking such rhetorical questions earlier. "Since I am recognized by the kings as its'' rightful inheritor, it should also mean that you would value me in the same sense as well. Killing or even harming someone who was recognized by your ancestor is nothing but blaspheming their wills. Similarly, coercing him is akin to bending the will of your ancestors. So, I must apologize, your threats are of no value to me at all." Dylan continued with a faint smile to the person who threatened him and those who supported him. Those who just spoke just now had faces steaming with anger. This young man was using their words against themselves. He was insinuating that their claim of their deeds being the will of their ancestors was hypocrisy. His continuous retorts and answers caused shock to the audience. It felt like all of his answers were already prepared beforehand because he was able to deliver them with utmost composure and clarity that they felt like he prepared for this debate beforehand. He did not exude an air of arrogance and overconfidence but he emitted the aura of a vast and unfathomably calmness which gave them a feeling that his collectedness could dominate his foes in a leisurely manner. They felt that such a terrifyingly calm disposition was not something that should be possessed by this 18 year old youngster. "You junior had the gall of talking back to us! How preposterous!" A patriarch retorted angrily. "I am deeply sorry if I have caused you displeasure but I could not see how could I have made my point otherwise." Dylan stated calmly sounding a bit more deeper and colder than earlier. "You!!" The patriarch could not retort any longer and it seemed that the others could only grit their teeth as well. "So, let me continue where I left off earlier. There are three reminders that I would like to leave you with. I repeat they are reminders and not conditions." Dylan scanned his eyes towards the elders. "I am not trying to swindle anyone and I assure you that my words are a hundred percent true. If I may lie, may the heavens punish me." Dylan calmly made an oath to assure everyone that his words are facts and not fabricated lies. The crowd could only commend this young man with the level of decisiveness he has. With the oath, any worries that they previously had was dispelled. "First, to cultivate the technique one must be able to gain the recognition of the four kings. This can be done by taking the Noble Test and getting a perfect score. Everyone knows that there was a legend regarding a genius having answered all the questions correctly but only got a mark of 99. This lead to the belief that achieving a perfect score is impossible. To clarify this fallacy, I will tell you the inheritance method that was left behind by the Thundercloud Kings. The exam was the inheritance itself." Dylan stated. "How? is that possible?!" The First Elder of the Alchemy Academy, Alchemist Kale, inquired with? a shocked expression. The crowd had the same reaction when they h eard Dylan''s words. But, after some thinking, they were finally able to realize that it could be a possibility. The four kings did not leave behind any type of treasure or technique for them. The only thing they left to them was the treasure in the Noble Test Center. Powerful expert have eccentric tendencies so using the test as a form of inheritance would be feasible if thought in this view. "But if the test was the inheritance, how come aside from the Extreme Thundercloud Technique and some other high class treasures, there hasn''t been any appearance of the Thundercloud Monarch Art? How come you were the only who was able to receive the inheritance? Shouldn''t the genius from the legends also have gained the inheritance if it was just to get a perfect score?" The Head Butler of the Fleeting Wood Residence, John Paul, critically inquired. "That''s because the last mystery of the test needs to be solved in order to be achieve the perfect score." Dylan replied. "What mystery could it be?" The head of the Hundred Hills Grand Clan asked. "That the test is the technique itself." Dylan answered "The test is the technique itself?!" Shock was the only expression apparent in the faces of the people around the test center. "Unfortunately, that is the furthest I can disclose according to the 4 kings'' will because the mystery is left for the examinees to interprete it for themselves to understand. Moving on, the second reminder I would like to impart you of is that the technique created should only be done in the duration of the examination. Meaning that the candidate only has 10 hours to answer the questions perfectly and create the technique at the same time." "The third reminder is that the technique created should be at least at the Mid Earth Rank to be able to gain the inheritance from the Test Maker. In summary, you must gain the recognition of the four kings in order to cultivate the technique and to gain the ancestral recognition, you must get a perfect score and create a derivation of the technique that is at least at the Mid Earth Rank." Dylan finished his speech with a smile. Silence was the only thing that could be heard after Dylan concluded his speech. Now that they knew the methods that their ancestors have left them was of this difficulty and has strict need for heaven defying talent, they gave up on any thought of getting such a powerful inheritance. Perfecting the exam within 10 hours was hard enough already. But now to acquire the inheritance, they also needed to create a derivation of the technique which is at the Mid Heaven Rank while the exam is ongoing? They felt like doing such crazy tasks were an impossibility but with this young man standing in front of them who managed to successfully acquire the inheritance with flying colors, they could only unwillingly accept the bitter truth. "How can I even have the courage to call myself a genius in front of this monster?" Some young masters and mistresses could only sarcastically laugh at themselves as they tried to compare themselves with the horrific genius in front of them. The various leaders had it even worse since the exam could not be taken again after a citizen took it and passed after. This meant that it was already impossible for them to get the inheritance. 84 Chapter 84: You Should Have Listened "I do not believe such sophistry!" An elder with a high status from a great? power stepped out and neared himself to Dylan. He was a 60 year old man with a head with a bundle of white hair and wore the the elder robe of the Three Clouds City. "Give me the technique right now or you will experience a life worse than death!" The elder continued as he pointed his sword to Dylan''s neck. Dylan remained unflustered and stood there calmly with a smile as he asked, "I can give you the technique but I must warn you those who are unworthy will meet an unfortunate end." "Hahahaha, what do you mean unworthy? What wills of the ancestors? Hahaha they are all nothing but shit! Those old fools are dead while I am living! How could I be unworthy when I myself am alive and well?" The elder said disdainly with wave of his sleeves. He exuded the strength of a 4th level Breaking Demarcation Realm when he slowly floated to the sky! This elder did not believe in the afterlife. He was an existencialist and believed that the living and the dead would never intersect. That''s why he was filled with confidence when he besmirched the name of the four kings. "Second Elder Migurs! Restrain your arrogance!" A female commanded. She did not find it pleasing that Migurs unfetteredly spoke and soiled the great name of their ancestors. When the crowd shifted their attention to this female, they immediately identified who she was. She was the current schoolmaster of the Three Clouds School, Adrianna Nick. She was a great beauty with a face of a fairy and the figure of an hourglass. She was the type of beauty which was definitely pleasing to the eyes. "Schoolmaster, you don''t have to be afraid of this man''s sophistry. How can we believe the words of a youth?! How are we not sure that he is trying to trick us in order to hog the astounding techniques for himself?!" Migurs asked Schoolmaster Adrianna ferociously. A portion of the crowd was starting to realize that he maybe right. Though there have been legends and myths about deceased experts who could still linger in the realm of the living be leaving behind strands of consciousness or wills, they have never seen incarnations have their own sense of free will that they would be capable of speech and action. The incarnations of the four Thundercloud Kings earlier was more of a projection since it only enacted the duties that were left behind to them by their real selves. From its actions, the onlookers speculated that they were without sentinence. "Hahaha, how humiliating! To let a kid slap your faces in front of the public?! Hahaha, you were even scared because of the taunts of this kid?! Since you are all too chicken to make a move, I''ll gladly take this opportunity and take the technique for my using. Hahaha!" Second Elder Migurs laughingly continued his arrogance. He was preparing to attack when Dylan started to touch the storage ring. The objects? that Dylan got from his storage ring were two books! He held them on his two hands. One was in a perfectly good condition like it was newly written while the other was a tattered old book with scratches on it. "Since you won''t heed my warnings, I won''t stop you from doing what you want. Here are the two books. To prove that they are authentic, this foundation diagram should be enough, no?" Dylan nonchalantly presented the first page of the two books as each one was held up by each of his hands to be presented to the audience. The crowd immediately recognized the two diagrams! They were the diagrams that appeared above the test center and was also sucked into it. The two books seemed as though they were resonating with the surrounding energy and influencing it to flow peculiarly.Watching this happen, the crowd was confident that those two books were authentic and of true origin. Dylan who was holding the two books reminisced the time where he was being transported outside of the test center. A flash of light suddenly shot to his storage ring and by the time he got out, he checked out what it was only to find out that it was a complete copy of the Thundercloud Monarch Art. "Now that''s more like it! Hahaha, now! Now, present it to this Noble!" Migurs brazenly laughed. Seeing the book, Elder Migurs'' eyes were suddenly lighting up as greed shrouded his mind as he slowly landed on the ground. He knew the great power that those two books held. He was just going to get his hands on the books when more than a dozen shadows moved without notice and attacked him. "Hahaha, Migurs, Do you really think that you would be the one to get the techniques?! You must be dreaming! The only one who is fit to cultivate such battle techniques is me!" A voluptuous woman talked with disdain to Second Elder Migurs. This woman wore luxurious clothing and makeup which made her appear like an extravagant mistress of a family. "Ryssa, you vixen! Stop meddling and just sit back and watch like what a good bitch would do!" Migurs got enraged when he was intervened by this woman. Ryssa Banks was from the family of Mystical Magnates which owns the Patron Banks which has spread all throughout the country, the Banks Family. However, she was only the clan head of the branch family within the city. "How dare you call me a vixen and a bitch, you senile old fool! You should be thankful that my boys and I are more interested in getting the books than dealing with you." Ryssaharrumphed at Migurs. *Swoosh* *Ting**Kiting**Ting* *Crash**Boom* Sounds of blades clashing and spirit energy exploding were heard after the argument of the two. The men that Ryssa had with her was also fighting with some other from three different powers. "Ienuseus! Karis! Sorin! What do you think you''re doing maneuvering your men against mine!" Ryssa Banks screeched with fury at the two women and one man who was leading the group opposing his men. "Hahaha, Ryssa, we''ll take the inheritance now. Thank you very much. Hahahah!" A beautiful black-haired woman sarcastically laughed as she and the other two ran towards Dylan who was holding the two books. "Karin, you witch! You think I''ll let you!" Ryssa rushed towards Dylan as well. "Fuck it!" Migurs also dashed at full throttle to Dylan. As for the other powers except the powers who were at the Top 10 of the city, a large majority of them rushed towards Dylan while the few that was left gave up due to the strong competition. Some attacked others while others defended themselves from the ambushes. Some even disregarded the fighting and charged to where Dylan was or put up a blockade and stop the forces of the various powers. "Guards, assemble! Restrain and suppress the offenders!" Lancelot who lead an entire army of cultivators shouted with a command as the guards charged and tried to suppress the chaos which was currently happening. From Ryssa''s intervention until the mayhem that was currently happening, it had only been a minute, only one single minute. The commoners and the members of the weaker powers were all shocked as they saw the chaos unfold right before their eyes. The Top 10 powers on the other hand was doing their best to restrain the elders and disciples with spiritual transmission because as the strongest few they still had to maintain their superior image towards the public. ... "Sir, why aren''t we making a move for the technique, my lord?" A middle-aged man wearing a butler''s uniform inquired to his master. "That''s because I and the 9 others have sensed something that doesn''t feel right." The old man who had luscious black hair said to the butler. "What makes feel as so, my lord?" The butler inquired once more. "The nonchalance of that young man named Dylan Ford." The old man sternly looked at Dylan as though he was trying to see through him. "..." The butler looked at Dylan as well but his expression was of confusion. It was as if he was unable to completely see through this young man. ... Within a minute, the entire square was in disorder. Dylan was still as nonchalant as before as he placed the two books on the ground with the Thundercloud Monarch Art at the top and the Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art below it. He took five steps back from where he used to stand. He turned around and slowly walked to a peculiar direction. Seconds after he left it on the ground, the short distance of 10 or so meters was instantly covered by the countless experts fighting for the books. However, only one person was able to get the Heaven Rank Techniques and it was the Second Elder Migurs who used a forbidden technique in order to increase his speed by 3 times it''s normal limit. "Hahahaha, finally the techniques are mine!!!" Migurs laughed with his greed overflowing from his expression? while he jerked his feet and continually used the forbidden technique to escape and flee from the city. "Kill him!!!!" The countless sects, families and schools were all rushing towards Migurs. They wanted to kill him in order to have the two techniques for themselves but the distance between them and him was increasing with every passing second. "You''ll never catch me!! HAHAHAHA!!" Migurs hysterically laughed as he exited the Noble Test Center northbound while he killed numerous experts who barred his way. Suddenly, four torrents of lightning from four different origins rained down upon Migurs. The size of the four lightnings was even slightly bigger than the Grand Rising Lightning! "WHAT?!?! NOOOO!!!!" Migurs and those around him were killed viciously by the four lightnings which sealed any path of retreat. He and the others was completely grinded into nothingness. There was not even ash to commemorate him. There was only stillness and quietness as a young man calmly walked to the resultant 1 meter deep crater from the devastating lightning. When he reached the center, he crouched down and picked up two books which was shockingly not even destroyed despite being inside the range of calamity of the four lightnings! He cleaned off the dust from the books as he softly said, "You should have listened to me. Those unworthy will meet an unfortunate end." 85 Chapter 85: Upgrade to Legendary Core! 1 Dylan scaled the crater with a jump. He elegantly landed on the road, then faced the dumbfounded crowd with his signature faint smile. The reason why he was nonchalant and calm all throughout was that he knew that aside from those who gained the recognition of the four kings, all are unworthy to hold the Thundercloud Monarch Art Manual. If they were to try and acquire the method regardless of the methods, as long as they were within the city, they would be obliterate by the four statues of the Thundercloud Kings which are positioned at the four principal directions. Yes, the protection provided by the four Thundercloud Kings is only in effect within the city. If the inheritor were to leave the city,the defense given by the kings would be nonexistent. Dylan did not disclose this matter regarding the limited range of protection because he still has many use of the deterrence provided by the kings. Thanks to this deterrence and how the events have resulted to one of his most ideal outcomes that he envisioned, Dylan was certain that the inhabitants of the city and the members of different powers would think twice before offending him. He also intentionally mentioned that harming and coercion would also result to the same result earlier to eliminate any possibility of any of the powers making a move on him. After acquiring the memory fragments, Dylan immediately forged a plan in relation to the information he got. Right from the start, he knew that not everyone would agree with him and disregard his reminders to try and steal the two techniques from him. With his experience with dealing people, greed was truly an unscrupulous thing which could cause anyone to act outrageously. Thus, he knew he could use? the greed of humans to his advantage. When he left the books, Dylan walked to the direction which had the weakest concentration of experts which was northbound. He knew that if the one who will acquire the inheritance were to escape, then the escape route of the thief would be northbound. Thus, he walked towards the? north to be the first one to get the two manuals. He also had another reason for including the technique he made, the Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art. It was because the technique derived would not receive the same protection as the Thundercloud Monarch Art. In order to create a fallacy that his technique was also protected, he presented the two techniques as a pair. Thus, creating an illusion that the two techniques had the protection provided by the statues of the kings. In conclusion, he fully utilized this opportunity in order to? eradicate any source of problem for his business in thefuture. "Now does everyone believe my reminders earlier now?" Dylan spoke to the crowd while he maneuvered his fingers for his storage ring to store the two techniques. "..." No one dared to say no due to what had happened. This man may seem harmless but he was truly ruthless in reality. They suddenly realized that everything that happened up until now was some sort of plan but this thought made them shiver from fright. ''What a terrifying young man...'' The crowd had one thought in their minds?. If this young man could be so crafty and intelligent to make such an elaborate scheme at such a tender age, how terrifying would? he be when he becomes older? It seemed that they had to reevaluate Dylan since he not only possess heaven defying comprehension but also is eloquent and ingenious in both speech and methods. The crowd felt that he would be exceedingly successful in the future but he only had one flaw, his low cultivation. They felt that it was rather strange that he had low "Hahaha, Young Master Dylan is truly a genius among dragons!" A tall old man laughed merrily. This man was someone Dylan was very familiar with, Premier Hall''s Auction Co-coordinator Allen Kindleheart. "If it isn''t, sir Allen. This humble one greets you." Dylan respectfully cupped his hands at Allen. "Hahaha, there is no need for such formalities since Sir Dylan is a prized business partner of our Premier Hall." Allen Kindleheart said with a hearty laugh. The crowd gasped from this statement. Although it was already speculated by many that Dylan had some connection with the Premier Hall, they did not expect it to be as business partners! Though it was still a mystery to them why the Premier Hall decided to agree to such a partnership, it was inferred that if they cultivate Dylan wholeheartedly, then they would be able to produce an expert that the Thunder Clouds City has never seen before! After Allen''s appearance, a team of experts which all wore robes with the insignia of the Premier Hall descended from the sky like immortals. The ones who lead the group was the Hallmaster Azelmek and Coordinator Sheldon. The group landed beside Dylan and Allen. This was the Premier Hall evidently showing off their strong relationship with Dylan Ford. "Hallmaster, Sir Sheldon and elders. This humble one greets you all." Dylan pleasantly spoke with a respectful bow. "Virtuous nephew Dylan, arise. There is no need for these respectful gestures every time you meet us. You may just call this old man as Uncle Azelmek." Hallmaster Azelmek intimately spoke with a smile. "And I as Uncle Sheldon." Sheldon added with a formal smile while he patted Dylan''s? back as though he was his true nephew. "Yes, Uncle Azelmek and Uncle Sheldon." Dylan respectfully replied. "Today, we formally announce the partnership of the Premier Hall and the Soaring Garden Herbal Store!" Azelmek and Sheldon proudly announced to the public. At first, Azelmek and Sheldon was only doing this transaction due to the involvement of Sir Null in this matter. But now, that they witnessed firsthand the amazing talent and the eloquent disposition Dylan possessed, they were more than willing to publicize their partnership. "It seems like the partnership between Dylan and the Premier Hall is a rather intimate one. I congratulate the Premier Hall for finding such an outstanding genius! This is a reason for a grand celebration! Hahahaha!" Zachary congratulated them with a round of applause. "Hahaha, congratulations, Brother Azelmek!" A man whose height was over 2 meters and had a muscular physique said. He was the head of the Battlebeast School which was the fifth of the Top 10 powers and was known to be the Wild Tiger of the Thundercloud City, Garu Hayber! "Congratulations, Brother Sheldon." This was the Captain-General Sandy Maroon. He was a close childhood friend of Sheldon. He was the current commanding officer of the Thundercloud Guards who was overlooking the event. "Congratulations, Brother Azelmek..." Gayolei weakly stated. He never thought that Dylan was actually affiliated with the Top 3 power and it was no ordinary connection but a business partnership!! His Panther Clan was only the eighth of the Top 10. It absolutely could not contend against the Top 3 behemoths of the city. He could only give up trying to make a move on Dylan at all. ''I will still make you pay for what you have done to my son, Dylan Ford!'' "Congratulations, Brother Azelmek!" "Congratulations, Sir Azelmek!" "Congratulations, Brother Sheldon!" "Congratulations, Coordinator Sheldon!" "Congratulations to the Premier Hall!!" The leaders and representatives of the sects present all congratulated Hallmaster Azelmek and Coordinator Sheldon for their relationship with Dylan. "Thank you everyone! For the celebration of the partnership, we will be having a banquet a week from now! Everyone will be invited and is free to come!" Sheldon loudened his voice for all to hear. "What a joyous occasion! Hahaha!" Garu Hayber laughed heartily. "A joyous occasion, indeed!" The First Elder of the Fleeting Wood Residence, Herbert Fleetwood greeted as well. "Then, Brother Azelmek, we''ll be expecting a grand feast a week from now! Hahaha. Then let this old man be the first to take his leave." The old man who spoke was the old man was chatting with his butler earlier. His name was Ymir Ekans. He is the ancestor of the fourth ranking power in the Top 10, Cloud Serpent Sect. He took the initiative and left the crowd. "Hahaha, we will see you then, Brother Azelmek!" Zachary bid farewell to the crowd with his camp. One by one, all the powers bid farewell to the Premier Hall and Dylan. The onlookers followed their lead and gradually dispersed leaving not one person in the vicinity of the entire test center. " I guess we must take a leave as well." Allen Kindleheart spoke after a moment of silence. He kindly smiled at Dylan who nodded in response. "Mn, thank you for coming and publicizing our partnership." Dylan thanked Azelmek and the other for their help. Otherwise, it would have been a little hard to let everyone go. "Ah, yes. Dylan, I almost forgot. The ingredients that your master have ordered is now complete. I wonder when he will be coming to get them?" Sheldon suddenly recollected. "Oh, sir Null would be delighted once he hears the news. I will inform him later and he will surely be visiting the Premier Hall tonight!" Dylan happily exclaimed. He was inwardly happy now because the time now has come for him to make a breakthrough! "Hahaha, is that so? Then we will absolutely give him a warm welcome when he comes tonight." Azelmek laughed in delight. "He will certainly be pleased." Dylan smiled. "We shall now take our leave. Just contact us if you need something." Sheldon reminded as he bid farewell. "Goodbye, Uncle Azelmek and Sheldon." Dylan send them off as they rode the carriage and left like a bolt of lightning. After they left, Dylan and his employees were the only ones in the square of the Noble Test Center. "Sir Dylan, what should we do now?" Roland led his group and went to where Dylan was. "We''ll be going back to the residence." Dylan told his employees. "Yes,sir." The employees nodded. ... Within the Thunder Clan Mansion... Zachary was currently going down on a staircase leading to an underground room. When he entered the room, there was a peerlessly handsome young man who was surrounded by lightning. However, these lightnings are no ordinary lightnings? as he was being surrounded by lightnings of three different colors! "Son, it seems like you were not the only one capable of deciphering the mystery of the test." Zachary told his son who was currently meditating. "Oh, is that so? Who was the one who was able to comprehend the inheritance other than me? It certainly would not be Wonder Child or the Child Strategist and even worse for the Golden Daughter and the Saint Child. Could it be Riki Panther or Asiel?" Victor slowly opened his eyes. Shockingly, he faintly released the energy of the Breaking Demarcation Realm! "Neither, it''s the eloquent person who you told me about. Dylan Ford. He did not only comprehend the inheritance, he was also able to get a perfect score and successfully acquire the Thundercloud Monarch Art." Zachary plainly stated. "..." Victor Thunder did not respond. "Are you shocked?" Zachary asked. "Yes, I did not expect him to have the same level of comprehension like me. Unfortunately, I was too immersed with creating my technique that I forgot to answer the last 5 questions when I took the test." Victor regretted. "That''s fine, son. Though you may not have acquired the actual inheritance, you were able to comprehend a Mid Heaven Rank Technique! It just goes to show how heaven defying your talent is." Zachary comforted his son. "I''m leaving. My Master will be coming to get me soon and prepare me for the tournament four months from now." Victor closed his eyes and meditated once more. Seeing his son like this, Zachary knew that his comfort was not needed. He left his son to cultivate and await for his son''s master''s arrival. ... At Dylan''s Residence... Dylan just came home from the Premier Hall. He disguised as Null and recieved the ingredients he ordered for advancing his Spirit Core to the Legendary Core. In exchange, he gave the hall the course of action that they should take for their business. The method he prescribed would at least increase their sales by 30% if they followed it for 2 weeks! Keep in mind that being a power of the three top powers, the amount of they earn is astronomical! Being able to increase even a tenth of its sale is already a big sum for most sects! But with Dylan''s intelligence, he was able to devise a plan that enabled the Premier Hall to gain 30% more income. Azelmek and Sheldon were both in shock and happy when he gave them his method. They happily gave Dylan the ingredients and send him off when he left. The truth is, Dylan knew a method which could increase their? income with 100% and even 200% with a business their size in just a 3 week''s time! However, he left it for later dates because he still has uses for the Premier Hall. Dylan asked for a Stealth Cloak since it piqued his interest. He said that he wanted to give it to Dylan for protection from attention since the achievements that he had would definitely attract a lot of attention from the public. Sheldon immediately offered him a High Earth Class Stealth Cloak which could even hide the aura of its wearer from an Mortal Moulting Realm expert. Wearing the Stealth Cloak and bringing the herbs he needed, Dylan slipped through the city and went to the Great Pine Forest to cultivate. This was because the Cosmic God Manual creates too much of a disturbance and attracts too much attention so he decided to cultivate in this forest. After an hour of running westwards from the city, he reached the forest and plunged to its depths. He immediately took out his Waning Moon Sword and Shield of Dusk and killed the Spirit Veins Monster which attacked him. Several minutes later, he found a large cave and entered it. The cave was strangely long as he estimated that he had already walked about 500 meters now. Dylan used his energy on his eyes to see the darkness. When he reached it''s end, he saw a 3 meter large Earth Puma who was sleeping and at the High 15th level of Awakened Spirit Realm. Dylan used the advantage?of his Stealth Cloak and assassinated the Earth Puma with a slash of the Crescent Moon Slash! Dylan stored the carcass of the beast and occupied the cave. He sat down and got all of the ingredients to the ground. He had 11 batches of every single herb he needed for the Legendary Core advancement when he only needed 8 batches because he only needed two batches every time he destroys his Spirit Core. "It''s time to start." Dylan said to himself. He inscribed a diagrammatic? circle within the Legendary Core Chapter on the ground and placed the first two batches? of the herbs. When he placed the herbs, the circle started to shine brightly. Seeing that everything was happening according to the manual, he sat at the center and started the procedure. "ARRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!!!" When he started, a heart-wrenching roar of anguish was heard from the cave as though a powerful beast was raging inside. Bursts of fluctuating energy could be felt from within the cave. The spirit beasts within the vicinity were scared instinctively when they felt that uncontrolled fluctuations of energy. 86 Chapter 86: Upgrade to Legendary Core! 2 The diagram circle around Dylan was constantly supplying medicinal essence for him to quickly recover from the immense physical pain and mental stress caused by the breakage of his Spirit Core. It is called the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation which Cosmic God acquired from a quest when he just started cultivating. ... The Cosmic God had the Breaking Evolution theory when he was young. This theory was inspired when he saw how an eccentric God-level Blacksmith destroying the core of an Immortal-level treasure and using the Greater Heavenly Smithing Formation, to restore the core. He saw how the core was undergoing an evolution after the first cycle and the same happened for the latter cycles. He believed that if the core of a treasure could evolve through the use of this breaking-restoring cycle, then the same principle could be used to the spirit core of a cultivator! He searched for a Formation Master and request a formation to create a version of the Greater Heavenly Smithing Formation that would be appropriate for energy refinement. The Formation Master requested a quest in exchange. If he could complete it, then he would create the formation he wanted. Fortunately, he was able to finish the quest and was gifted the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation which was easy to set up even for cultivator without any knowledge of formations. When he inscribed this method on the Legendary Core Chapter, he also left a warning to beware of the unimaginable pain the user would experience. ... Luckily, this was already his second time experiencing such torture. But despite knowing the intensity of the pain, Dylan could barely hold together his consciousness. This type of pain was not the type of pain which was only abrupt and lasts for a single moment. This type of pain sends wave after wave on the brain down to the nerves as it cyclically flows around the body indefinitely. It lasted for only two minutes but those two minutes were like going to hell to experience it''s punishment. It may have seem short for others but it felt like eternity to Dylan. "Fuck this! It fucking hurts!" Dylan cursed when the pain diminished. He was heavily panting and sweating profusely by the time the pain died down. He had coughed? blood 5 times within 2 minutes. He unintentionally remembered the torture that Byron did to him. The pain back then was just as horrendous as the pain he was currently experiencing. He could only grit his teeth and constantly telling? himself that all of this is for the power he was seeking. To relieve his body from the pain, he was madly absorbing the medicinal essence from the circle and redirecting it to his destroyed Spirit Core. Dylan was redoing the method mentioned in the Legendary Core Chapter. Back when he was at the lake, he used the power of the Cosmic light in order to rebuild his broken foundation. Thanks to that, he was able to easily restore his cultivation. Now, he needed the herbs to alleviate the pain and restore his foundation but as for his cultivation, that would be a different story. Dylan would need to start back from square 1 since he doesn''t have the Cosmic energy to restore his cultivation anymore. Despite knowing its downsides, Dylan still chose to persevere and continue down this path. He will rebuild his cultivation from scratch and create the godly spirit core and spirit veins of the Cosmic God. "Now, it''s time to reform my spirit core." Dylan weakly said. His foundation was then reformed into an even wider and tougher foundation base. Dylan could estimate that his current Spirit Core which was broken twice is capable of containing twice the amount of energy he could previously absorb. He tried absorbing energy from a spirit stones and noticed that the rate of refinement was at least twice his previous speed. "Amazing! It truly is worthy of being called legendary!" Dylan was delighted as he discovered the upgraded version of his Spirit Core. He suddenly felt that the pain he experienced was all worth it. His eyes burned with resolve as he prepared another two batches of the herbs and placed in on the diagram below him. "Again!" Dylan gritted his teeth as he prepared for another wave of excruciating pain that was delivered by the breaking of his upgraded spirit core. Helpless as he was, another roar of anguish resounded. "ARRRRRGHHHHHHH!! GRAAAAAAAWR!!!" His body was developing an instinctive fear against the pain but Dylan did not let his mind break from the pain as he held on to no matter how little of his consciousness he could. Breaking the upgraded version was harder than breaking it previously and the same went for the amount of pain he felt since it was more sturdier and faster than it once was. "The pain... *pant*... just freaking... *pant* *pant*... increased... *pant*... Blurgh.." Dylan coughed blood a dozen times this time around. After two minutes of hellish torture, Dylan was breathing with his shoulders and was deathly pale. He did not expect that the pain would actually increase. Due to shock from the damage he received, he almost lost his consciousness. Dylan could not lose consciousness while his spirit core is destroyed because if he did, it would be no different than dying. With the spirit core destroyed, the spirit veins would not have any container despite absorbing energy involuntarily. Inconspicuously, the blood he coughed was being slowly absorbed into the diagram. Dylan was too focused on recovering that he did not see this detail. He greedily absorbed the medicinal essence from the diagram and eliminated the pain physically and mentally. After recovering, Dylan used the essence to restore his spirit core and reinforced it with the essence. He was only able to successfully do it after two hours which was twice the amount of time he used to restore his spirit core earlier. When the reinforcement was done, Dylan discovered that the spirit core has been upgraded yet again in terms of capacity and toughness. However, he was not as happy as he was the last time because the pain he felt almost killed him. Thanks to this, he readjusted his mindset and prepared for even more pain to come. He did not let himself be swallowed by the fear caused by the pain as he resolutely tried to break his spirit core once more. For his fourth time, the process of breaking the core became even more difficult as the pain he felt was lasting about five minutes now. "AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!" "GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!" Dylan was letting out different roars one after the other. He has coughed? two dozen times during this five minutes of torture. Despite his strong willpower, he nearly fainted during the fourth breaking of the core. After some moments of catching his breath, Dylan proceeded in the reconstruction of his Spirit Core which took an even more lengthy time of 4 hours. When he tried breaking his 4th time reconstructed spirit core, Dylan was subconsciously shivering with his body. His body could no longer handle the pain of breaking and restoring his spirit core. It has developed a fear from the pain and wants Dylan to stop this arduously torturous training. Dylan looked on his shivering palm. He was not moving it but it was involuntarily doing this. Dylan bit his tongue and balled his fist as he increased the intensity of his grip. "I have already come this far! I''m just one refinement away! Just this pain won''t stop me!! I''ll definitely become stronger!!!" Dylan resolutely said while he relaxed his bleeding fist which was bleeding due to his nails digging deep until blood came out. Dylan closed his eyes and broke his spirit core once more! This time it took him a whole 10 minutes to fully destroy. During this period, sweat dripped down from him like rain and he shouted on the top of his lungs no longer sounding the a human. Tears were subconsciously flowing down his tightly closed eyes. "Got... to... HOLD ONN!!!!!" There had been more than five times where his consciousness nearly faded but he bit his tongue the same number of times as so. Blood started dripping from his mouth at the second time time and his clothes was then drenched with blood on the fifth one. He couldn''t count how much blood he coughed on the floor, he only tried to hold on as much as could. Those 10 minutes were as long as 10 years for Dylan but eventually his tenacity paid off when the pain subsided! It was at this moment that his spirit core was undergoing a breathtaking transformation!! As Dylan was guiding the medicinal essence to his spirit core, the spirit core was evolving to a gold-colored spirit core! Unlike the first three reconstructions he had done, this transformation was near instantaneous!! His skin had a golden hue to it while his hair became similar to golden silk! Dylan was emanating golden lights while his spirit core evolved to the Legendary Core!! ... Outside the cave... Spirit beasts were either hiding in their habitats or running/flying away from the cave. The cave was releasing gold lights which brightened the night sky. A group of hunters were roaming around trying to find beasts to slaughter and bring to the city. They too noticed the blinding gold light that was being emitted from the cave. "Boss, what''s that?!" A grunt asked in fear. From all the years that they have roamed this forest,something like this has never happened before. "I don''t know." The burly and hairy man who only wore pants and exposed his hairy upper body. His orange hair covered his back and his beard covered his jaw and neck. His chest hair was covering not only his pecs but also his belly. He looked like a savage lumberjack while he carried an axe on his right hand. "But it has got to be a high level spirit beast to cause such a phenomenon to happen! Hahaha it seems like we have hit the jackpot boys! Come on! Let''s head to where the light is coming from!" The burly man raised his axe and lead the group to the origin of the light. "Aye!" The more than a dozen hunter cheered as they followed. ... "Hahaha!! I have finally done it! I have achieved the Legendary Core!!" Dylan celebrated happily. His body was also experiencing a substantial change! He felt that his body was as light as a feather and his arms had the strength of 20 men! This was without the use of spirit energy! "I feel incredible! This feeling made all those pain worth it! Wahahaha!" Dylan jumped joyfully as though he did not experience the torturous training he did during this 8-hour period. "Hm...?!" Dylan was just about to get a Primal Stone from the mansion when he saw the diagram below him shining in the color of blood! It was far different than the white glow it had earlier. "What the heck is happening here?!" Dylan was stunned when he saw the bizzare occurrence that was happening. This event was not stated within the manual so Dylan was wondering what on earth was happening right now? The diagram was intensely shining and was absorbing the natural energy around it as though it wanted to devour something?. Dylan found this strange as a strange idea popped into his mind. "Blood? Could it be...?" Dylan questioned himself. He felt that he suddenly understand what was currently happening. "It''s not like I''ll lose anything. Here goes nothing!" Dylan gambled as he retrieved the other two batches of medicine on his hand and placed it to their places. Strangely, the moment Dylan placed the first batch of the herbs, the diagram immediately devours the energy from it! "What?!" Dylan was definitely shocked when he saw this happened. But he still chose to continue and supplied the other batch to the diagram. However, the diagram devoured the herb as well but in a slower rate. It seemed like it can still eat more. "Should I also give it the last batch I have?" Dylan contemplated. After some thought, Dylan also supplied the last batch he had. It was slowly absorbed and the diagram shimmered in bloody light intensely! "The Minor Heavenly Refining Formation is said to be capable of doing 5 refinements before resulting to disablement. That''s why the Cosmic God used this to support his theory of the Legendary Core which is to break and restore the spirit core for evolution and succeeded. My blood has also done something strange to the diagram. Maybe it''s due to me being a descendant of a True King?" Dylan speculated. "A True King is blessed by the power of the Harmonic Convergence or the Six Cloud Convergence which is a natural phenomenon birthed by the heavens. Thus, it would not? necessarily wrong to say that it is of heavenly blood. Heavenly blood affecting a Heaven Rank formation is feasible in this sense." Using this logic, Dylan felt his deduction was right. "Since I have only done the refinement four times means that I can still conduct another refinement!" Dylan seriously said. He strengthened his resolve! If what he was thinking was right, then he would have a spirit core that is even stronger than the Cosmic God himself! His situation was different from the Cosmic God because before he could use the 5 refinements of the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation, he received the blessing of the Cosmic Light which meant that if he uses the rest of the diagram, he would have 6 refinements of the spirit core! This would create a never before seen upgraded version of the Legendary Core!! 87 Chapter 87: Discovered Dylan was just about to sit down and break his spirit core when he heard the sounds of feet running towards the cave. He quickly stood up and prepared for battle. Using his Heavenly Eyes, he saw 15 men moving towards the cave in high speeds! The man who lead the group was at the Pinnacle 15th level of the Awakened Spirit Realm while his lackeys were all at the 11th or 12th Awakened Spirit Realm!! He estimated that they would arrive in just two minutes time!! "Shit, I have been discovered!" Dylan cursed as he crushed the Primal Stones he got from his mindscape. ... During the twelve days, Dylan had 300 customers daily and earned approximately 15,000 gold coins a day. Dylan. Dylan now had a total of 3600 Primal Stones and 360 decastones with 36 Centurion Stones?! Dylan was initially shock by the number of customers that came to their restaurant but after learning that the gigantic Thundercloud City contained more than 100,000 citizens with 90% of the population being cultivators, he felt that 300 customers were far too little. Even more so, when he discovered that the Premier Hall had an average of 17,000 customers daily! ... Dylan''s? cultivation continued to soar as he crushed the Primal Stones! Dylan did not need to refine the energy from the stones because his Legendary Core could insta-refine any type of energy that the user absorbs! Back when he still had his original spirit core, Dylan needed to refine the pure energy he got from the Primal Stone because it was still not considered his own despite being stored within his spirit core. Now, he could just carelessly crush the Primal Stones while the Legendary Core immediately converts to his own the moment it enters it. Initial 1st level Spirit Core! Pinnacle 1st level Spirit Core! Initial 2nd level Spirit Core! High 2nd level Spirit Core! Pinnacle 2nd level Spirit Core! Initial 3rd level Spirit Core! Intermediate 3rd level Spirit Core! High 3rd level Spirit Core! ... Dylan only used one Primal Stone to jump from the Initial stage of the 1st level to the Pinnacle while he usedthree Primal Stones to get through the 2nd level. When he arrived at the third level, Dylan expended about 10 stones to get through it! Dylan then found out that his consumption was far greater than it originally was! But being stuck in this situation where he might be found out, Dylan disregarded it as he continued to use 30 stones to get past level 4 and 70 stones to break through the Initial 5th level to the Pinnacle 5th level! To advance from the Spirit Core to the Spirit Veins, he used a total of 30 stones!! ... Initial 6th level Spirit Veins! Intermediate 6th level Spirit Veins! High 6th level Spirit Veins! Peak 6th level Spirit Veins! Pinnacle 6th level of the Spirit Veins!! Initial 7th level of Spirit Veins!! ... Dylan used a total of 300 stones just to get over from the 6th to the 7th level! Disregarding everything, he used all of his Primal Stones to quickly raise his strength!! 800 Primal Stones- 7th to 8th level! 2000 Primal Stones- 8th to 9th level!! ... Anyone who would have witnessed such a drastic increase in strength would die from shock! Crossing 9 levels in just 2 minutes was downright monstrous! He still had about 300 more Primal Stones so he used it to advance from the Initial Ninth Level Spirit Veins Realm to Intermediate stage! He did not use the Deca-Stones because he wanted to use it after his 6th refinement. He wanted to conserve as much Deca-Stones possible. Dylan believed that with his current cultivation would still unable him to fight the boss and the 14 others. Although he now had the Legendary Core which had 5 times the capacity of a spirit core and had the ability to instantly refine energy, it did not have any particular features for the augmentation of strength.That''s why he used the Stealth Cloak and hid close by as he awaited for them to come to where he currently was. Activating the Stealth Cloak, it was like he completely blended with the rock walls of this cave. ... The 15 hunters has just entered the cave and cautiously scanned their surroundings for any type of ambush. They formed a double-edge blade like pattern with the leader at the front. His lackeys were in two rows as theyfaced? the walls left and right while the last pair was facing south . The purpose of this formation was to ensure that their would be no ambush that would occur by facing all four directions. This showed their experience when it comes to hunting. After cautiously proceeding, they eventually reached the end of the cave where they found a formation diagram which exuded blood red lights! It faintly exuded a very concentrated amount of medicinal essence and energy. "What the heck is this? I thought that there would be a monster on this cave. What a letdown." A lanky grunt complained. "Boss, do you know what this is?" A thick grunt asked the hairy man. "..." The boss did not respond but it was clear from his expression that he did not know what it was. "This is... an energy refining formation!!" A slightly knowledge black-haired lackey exclaimed to his boss. "A energy refining formation?! Are you sure?!" The boss was shocked when he heard those words. He immediately grab a hold the lackey who just spoke and asked. "I-I''m not entirely sure but based on the records I have read,the concentrated refined energy and the complex runes, it matches the description uncannily. What''s more is that it is a very high class formation! I don''t know why a great expert would leave behind such a powerful formation but this ?ould be said to be a heaven sent opportunity, boss. You could use this formation to breakthrough to the Origin Realm!" The lackey immediately answered and invited his boss to use it for himself. "I see..." The boss contemplated for a bit before he laughed at the top of his lungs. "Hahahaha, you have done a very meritorious service. I will promote you as my right-hand man! Hahaha, the heavens do love me! My fate would not be stuck to a mere Awakened Spirit Realm cultivator!" "Really boss?" The lackey''s eyes brightened. Being his right hand man meant that the he would have a status only second to the boss. "Hahaha, of course! I never go back on my word! Now, guard me all of you! I will be trying to break through to the Origin Realm! Once I have, we will be able to stand as a high-class hunting group!" The hairy boss walked to the center of the formation. ''Marvelous!'' The orange haired boss gasped inwardly. He felt the purity of the energy of this formation was out of this world! It was then that he knew with this energy, he would certainly enter the Origin Realm! When he reached the center, he swiftly sat down and entered a meditative state. "It is time for I, Timber? Smith, to become an Origin Realm expert!" He proudly murmured to himself as he closed his eyes. When he was just about to absorb the energy from the foundation, a voice from his back softly entered his ears. "Unfortunately, you will never get the chance too anymore." After the voice faded, a Crescent Moon Slash was what followed after! *Swish**Boom* "What the-" Before Timber Smith could react, he was hit by a full-powered Crescent Moon Slash on his neck. Without knowing the source of his death, he was immediately decapitated with his head obliterated from the strike and his body blown off to the group of hunters. "What!?! BOSS?!!" The group of hunters was flabbergasted by what happened! Just a moment ago, their bosses was alive and doing well, he was even laughing. But now, he was decapitated in an instant. They did not even know what happened to their bosses or who killed him. They were one hundred percent sure that there was no one in this cave aside from them. When the dust subsided, they saw a cloak wearing handsome young man who was holding a sword. He was none other than Dylan. Dylan hid himself until the moment Timber went to the center of the diagram before attacking because he wanted to immediately eliminate the strongest one of the group. Dylan timed his attack the moment Timber enters a meditative state because this was the state where a practitioner is most vulnerable at. That''s why he moved in for the kill when he saw Timber meditating and used his strongest move. "Who''s there?!" The grunts readied themselves for battle and took out their weapons. "This cave will be your burial ground." Dylan coldly said. "Hmph, you only? killed boss due to your petty tricks! If you were not an assassin, Boss would only kill you with a slap!" A hunter immediately disdained when he saw that Dylan''s strength was only at the 9th level! He thought that he was only able to kill Timber due to him being well-versed in the art of assassination. "That''s right! Guys, your petty tricks won''t work anymore since you have already been found out!" Another hunter added. "You''re only a 9th level Spirit Veins cultivator! Any one of us could easily kill you!" The lanky hunter ridiculed. "Then, come at me." Dylan calmly spoke. "Hahaha, you''re courting death, pretty boy! Bros, let me handle him! It''ll be done in a jiffy." The lanky youth mocked as he retrieved his saber from his storage ring and attacked Dylan. He was at the High 12th Awakened Spirit Realm. "Psh, what an idiot." Seeing that he did not use his avatar, Dylan also lunged forward and took the chance while he raised his right hand which was holding the Waning Moon Sword and slashed forth an Energy Slash! "Hahaha, struggle like a cornered animal, brat!" The lanky youth used a Mid Spirit Battle Technique and tried to overpower the Energy Slash. However, his expression changed when he discovered that dispelling the Energy Slash was much harder than he originally thought. It was as if he was already fighting someone at the same level as him. "I don''t believe that a 9th level brat can beat me!!" The lanky youth shouted angrily. He eventually overpowered the attack with much effort and laughed cockily, "Is that all you got, pretty boy?! Hahahah!" When he dispelled the Energy Slash, he did not see Dylan in front of him. A foreboding feeling arose in his hear when he heard Dylan''s voice. "You talk too much." Dylan calmly mused when he appeared in his left side and slashed through his neck with an Energy Slash. Without even the chance to scream or ask for help, his head met the ground before his body could even do so. When his body fell, a blood pool came after. The hunters had their jaws opened widely. They did not expect that the lanky youth would die in a matter of seconds when he fought the young man in front of them. 88 Chapter 88: Strength of the Legendary Core Dylan stood calmly in front of the group of hunters. The Waning Moon Sword had blood dripping down from it and coldly said, "You all still want to have a go?" The hunters were daunted by Dylan. His swiftness and decisiveness to kill lead them doubting themselves if they could fight with him or not. He did not bat an eye as he killed his enemies. It was quite hard to believe for someone who seemed to be less than 20 years of age to be this decisive. "Don''t be afraid! He was only able to kill Arjun because he was careless and did not use his Avatar!" A large hunter jeered. His fellow hunters were suddenly awoken and they immediately released their Avatars after. "That''s right! We won''t repeat the same mistake as Arjun! We''ll attack altogether!" A dwarf like hunter raised his weapon and attacked? Dylan. "Avatar: Three Eyed Wolf!" "Avatar: Blood Stained Scimitar!" "Avatar: Venomous Flytrap!" "Avatar: Spike Mace!" "Avatar: Earth Leopard!" ... In just a matter of seconds, a horde of avatars were all summoned forth and was used against Dylan. "Move in groups of 2s and 3s and attack from different directions. We''ll enclose him like an animal trapped in a cage of blades!" The black haired youth suggested. Seeing this, Dylan put away his Stealth Cloak because it has zero use now since it has been revealed. The cloak is only effective when it is activated when no one is around. Of course, there are exceptions like the people you trust and your loved ones. Continuing to wear the cloak would only hinder himself from agilely moving and decisively attacking. He also summoned forth his Shield of Dusk to get ready for the long battle ahead of him. "Get ready to be killed! Thunderbolt Mace Shoot!" The first to attack was a bald man who had the Spike Mace as his Avatar. The attack was as fast as lightning and it seemed that if a person were to get hit by that lightning-fast mace he would be brutally puncture due to the spikes it has with it. Dylan rolled over to the left in order to dodge the upcoming attack. He used the shield to block of anotherattack from the left which was from the man who had a scar of the figure which encompassed his face and the point of intersection was the nose. "Die! Bloody Scar!" The man with the X Scar roared with a Battle Technique using his Avatar the Blood Stained Scimitar. When Dylan used his shield to block his second attack, Dylan used the force of the attack to maneuver himself away from the redirected Spike Mace. Dylan leaned to his right in order to change the trajectory of his body and was shot away from the clash. When he stabilized himself, three other hunters were already expecting his arrival and launched a three pronged attack at him. "Time to die, pretty boy!" The three hunters called out. "Rat Fang!" "Leaf Knives Barrage!" "Poison Blade!" "Energy Slash!" Dylan injected energy to his Waning Moon Sword and released three consecutive Energy Slash to block the three attacks of the attacking hunters. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM* Three explosion of energy happened. The 3 Energy Slashes cancelled out the three techniques. Fog spreaded within the cave due to the explosion but it was immediately fended off by a hunter who executed a wind based element. Dylan was gritting his teeth when he saw two trio''s of hunters heading to where he was. He was just two or three steps away from the formation. He could not afford to fight the hunters within the formation because it might disrupt the formation and cause the formation to leak energy. Dylan did not want that to happen since he still wanted to attempt to level up his Legendary Core once more. He gripped the Waning Moon Sword tighter than before and charged to the two trio''s coming at him. He launched two Crescent Moon Slash and went all out! Dylan could no longer easily defeat any 12th Awakened Spirit Realm Expert like he used to since he was one level and three stages lower than he used to be. But he could still aim and instantly kill the low staged 11th Awakened Spirit Realm hunters. "Iron defense!" "Hardened Snail Shell!" "Rock Wall!" ... The trio''s tried to defend the Crescent Moon Slash with defensive techniques. They were only ableto reduce the power of the Crescent Moon Slash to a considerable extent before it completely destroyed all of the defensive measures they have set up. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* The two groups of trees were blown with off with some injuriesfrom the weakened Crescent Moon Slash. Dylan used this opportunity and used the Seven Crane Dances! Dylan was well accomplished in his Movement Technique and managed to break through to Expert Mastery recently since he diligently practiced it everyday for the past two months along with his high intellectual prowess. His experience with his Four Soft Steps also helped his comprehension with this technique even faster since they all stemmed from the concept of harnessing speed through the use of minimal and flexible movement of the body. Incorporating what he has previously done and his own insights?, he was able to speedily master a Mid Spirit Rank Technique to the third stage, Expert Mastery! If others were to know of his speed of comprehension, then they would be slacked-jawed for his speed was truly that of a genius! "Die!" Dylan dashed to the group with two 11th Awakened Spirit Realm and a High 12th Awakened Spirit hunter. He then used another Crescent Moon Slash before they could even recover which simultaneously killed the three hunters with their bodies severed in half! "Nooo..." A hunter among the three unwillingly screamed. Dylan used the momentum he built up and executed the fourth dance of the Seven Crane Dances, Crane Somersault. He somersaults in mid air cleanly and landed on the second trio who was just finished steadying and planting their footings and quickly killed them with another Crescent Moon Slash aimed at their necks. Decapitated heads with shocked expression hit the grounds while blood squirted like a fountain from the headless bodies as they fell. If it was in the past, Dylan could no longer have handled doing what he has done this night. Being able to use 5 Crescent Moon Slash and 5 Energy Slash was beyond what the past Dylan could handle. Even if he could have handled it, Dylan would use his moves conservatively and selectively while searching for the right moments to strike?. But now, thanks to the Legendary Core, he has tremendous energy reserves in his disposal which could allow him to create the opportunities himself instead of waiting for it. Now, he could execute a total of 25 Crescent Moon Slash or 50 Energy Slash before completely depleting his stock of energy. This evidently showcases the true strength of the Legendary Core! Dylan was inwardly happy while he indulged himself in the excitement of battle. He just killed 8 of the 15 hunters who came for him and were all stronger than him cultivation wise.. The power he gained from his newly acquired Legendary Core was beyond rewarding. Suddenly, a large plant appeared behind Dylan. A venomous flytrap that was about 7 feet tall with giant roots portruding out of the ground! It was from the Initial 13th level Awakened Spirit one-eyed hunter who was several meters away from him. It opened its mouth and tried to swallow Dylan awhole. "What?!" Dylan was stunned when he saw the sudden appearance of the plant monster and distanced himself from it with a sidejump. "Take this-... Vines?!" He was just about to send another Crescent Moon Slash to finish off the Avatar of the one-eyed hunter when a school of vines shot out from the ground and started constricting his movements! "Get ready to be eaten alive! Hahahaha!" The hunters celebrated. "Your dead meat now, boy! My Venomous flytrap will slowly give you death as it will digest your strength through its acidic and poisonous fluids on its insides! Hahahaha! The one-eyed hunter laughed victoriously because he knew that they have finally managed to kill the young man and take the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation for themselves and breakthrough to the Origin Realm! Dylan struggled and tried to get out of the vines but the restrictions only strengthened as he struggled! He could not hold on to his weapons and could only let the vines disarm him. The plant monster took this moment and lunged forward to him. "Hahahaha, struggle all you want my vines will only tighten as you attempt to escape!" The controller of the vines laughed as well who was also at the 13th level Awakened Spirit. Dylan''s struggle intensified but it was futile because the plant monster already opened its mouth and took the meal prepared for him. Witnessing the giant Venomous flytrap devour Dylan, the hunters rejoiced. However, the celebration was cut short as one certain topic. Who will gain the refining formation? "Since it was my venomous flytrap who finished him, the formation should be rightfully mine!" The one-eyed hunter declared. "No, it should be me. If it weren''t for my vines trapping him, he would have easily destroyed your attack with that slash of his!" The vine controller argued strongly. "No, it should be mine! If it were not for my strategy, he would have easily destroyed us!" The black-haired youth said otherwise. "Bah! If it weren''t for me waking you guys up to use your Avatars, you guys would have been slaughtered from the fear!" The large hunter spoke in disdain. "Psh, what bullshit! We would have killed him without you saying that!" The one-eyed hunter rebutted. "Hey guys, there''s something strange happening to the plant-" The guy who noticed the sudden increase in size of the Venomous flytrap said but was disregarded and even interrupted halfway by the large hunter. "Then, I guess we can only settle this with a fight!" The large size ferociously uttered. "Wait-" He tried again but failed. "I guess it all comes down to who is the strongest! Now, all of you, die!" The vine controller shouted while he send out vines to attack the four others. "Someone just listen-" With another attempt, this time increasing his voice because he saw the abnormal growth of the plant monster and tried to alert his brother in urgency. "You guys are the ones who will die!" The one-eyed hunter roared. "Fine..." With everyone ignoring him and being overwhelmed by the temptation brought upon by the diagram at the end of the cave.He could only shut up and go back to the sidelines. A fight broke out immediately after. Avatars were summoned and techniques were executed. In a short amount of time the hunters who worked together was now engaging in a battle for the possession of the energy refining formation. *BOOOOOM!!* But shortly after it started, a large explosion and an aftermath of thunder roaring and lightning squirming! The hunters were shock and speechless when they heard the explosion. When they came to their senses, they saw the plant monster was no more and lightning could be seen coming out from where the 7 foot monstrosity where a cloud of thunder floated. "What is that?" Someone uttered among the hunters. This was also the thing the others were wondering what was that cloud? "Look, someone''s under the cloud!" Another hunter pointed out. Indeed, there was truly a guy who was standing below the cloud and who else could he be other than Dylan Ford? He stood there with lightning and thunderclouds continuing to docilely dance around him like he was their lightning monarch! and smiled, "Ready for Round 2?" "Wait, isn''t that... the guy we just killed?! Why... why does he seem even stronger?!" Another told his fellow hunters with fear written all over on his face. "What?! Why didn''t anyone tell us about anything strange happening on Paju''s Avatar?!" The black-haired youth complained angrily. "=_=" The guy who was ignored had that expression and ranted: "I told you but no. No one would listen to lil old Barry. Now all of us are going to die at the hands of this lightning kid!" 89 Chapter 89: Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Ar "You think we are afraid of you? We trapped you once and we can trap you again!!" The one-eyed hunter declared. "You think so?" Dylan replied plainly. "Hell yeah! We just need to go all out!" The large hunter said. "That''s right, we have yet to go all out!" The dwarf like hunter agreed. The hunters were just about to attack when a different opinion was made by Barry. He was absolutely angry by the fact that he was completely ignored earlier by trying to warn his brothers and just recently they were angrily complained that they were not warned when Dylan broke out of the restrictions they gave him. "Tsk, can''t you see that he is much stronger compared before? He was clearly holding back when we fought him earlier!" What Barry was saying was logical becauseDylan was holding back earlier and did not use the two Heaven Rank Techniques he has in his disposal. ''So not all of them were dumb and conceited.'' Dylan wanted to adapt to the changes brought upon by the Legendary Core. After fighting with the hunters, Dylan was now able to familiarize himself with the fundamentals as well as the control of the Legendary Core. Now that he was done with adapting his newly acquired strength, Dylan decided to use his two Heaven Rank Techniques for a dry run. " If you want to die that much, then don''t drag me into it. Feel free to die, you nutheads!" Barry cursed and turned around to leave. "You coward!" The black haired hunter scowled. "That''s right. I am a coward but this coward knows how to use his brains and retreat in the face of imminent doom! In this sense, being a coward is the wiser than brave people like you who foolishly want to take on their deaths for some energy refining formation. What''s the use of being brave if you know that it would almost assuringly only cause death?" Barry did not back down when he turned around and argued. Since he was already abandoning the pack, he figured that it would be better to do it through and through. '' A Heavenly Formation and a Heaven Rank Technique... I escaped during the war of the clan with the founding sacred scroll. I''m definitely not going to waste my life fighting a monster like him.'' Barry thought to himself. Barry had a bad gut feeling when he felt the energy that Dylan exuded from the Thundercloud Monarch Art. He always trusted his guts because it was due to his trust to it that he was able to survive up until now.Now, that he has reacted once again, he did not even think twice and retreat even if he might be wrong. It was even more so when he identified the technique Dylan possessed. After saying those words, he turned around and continued his departure. "You think that those reasons would make you appear a better person? No, it won''t! You''ll still be a traitor!" The vine controller screamed with fury. "Pah! Go, walk away! Be the scaredy cat that your are! We''ll show you whose wrong! We''ll definitely win against him and take the formation for ourselves!!" A black-skinned hunter shouted as well. "How pitiful. Can''t you see that he''s messing with you? While you were talking nonsense, he could''ve killed you all like how he easily killed boss. However, he didn''t that just goes to show how easy it is for him to kill you all. Everyone of you would just be whetstone for him to become even stronger. Goodbye. I hope you could all die with a corpse at least." Barry left as he said those words with his back fading to the darkness as he went straight to the cave''s exit. Barry''s words suddenly hit the 6 remaining hunters like lightning because what he said was right. He could easily have killed one or two of them while the 7 of them were quarrelling. They looked at Dylan who was still being surrounded by the lightnings and the thunderclouds. "Are you done arguing? So should we begin?" Dylan smiled as he said. Dylan did not attack because he was overconfident but because he did not want to waste such wonderful guinea pigs to try the techniques of his Thundercloud Monarch Art and Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds. If the hunters knew that they would only be guinea pigs for a test run on Dylan''s techniques, they would have vomitted blood from anger. "Don''t underestimate us!" The hunters summoned their Avatars and attacked in duos. The black haired hunter sent telepathic messages to them that they should divide themselves into group of twos. One would act as the defending team, another would act as the primary attack which would be covered as a diversion while the last would act as the secondary attack in the surface but is the true? attack in reality. Although they were arguing earlier, they would still acknowledge the black haired hunter''s plan because he was still considered to be the brain of their hunting group and his plans were all effective when executed properly. They could easily put aside their differences once in battle because they trained themselves to be able to immediately switch to combat the moment they sense danger. ''So thats how it is...'' It was just unfortunate that their plan was immediately seen through by Dylan and then created a counter measure for an attack. Dylan still decided to play with their plan and attack the defending duo in front? of them. "Tigerbeetle Monarch: Piercing Thunder!" Dylan released a thunder at the size of an infant which had the shape of a tigerbeetle. This was the skill created by the Tigerbeetle Monarch which possesses unparalleled piercing strength when mastered to Grand Perfection! Even in Novice Mastery, the user could use this skill to penetrate even a mountain wall easily! The defending duo has already created their defenses once Dylan attacked. The duo used a Defensive technique called Ironsilk Web. It was a skill that enables the user to produce a spiderweb that wouldn''t be easily broken of any attack from a 11th level Awakened Spirit! But the Ironsilk Web could only delay the Piercing Thunder for a short lapse of seconds before snapping. "Impossible..." The defending duo could not believe what happened in front of their eyes as the two horns of the lightning tigerbeetle pierced through each of them! The attack destroyed half of their torso as their bodies were mutilated by the residual thunder! Dylan''s attention shifted to the ground as he prepared for another attack. "The same trick won''t work on me!" Dylan swiftly used the Tiger Slayer Skill on the ground to break it. The ground broke as the huge venomous flytrap and a school of vines appeared. Dylan immediately shifted his techniques and roared as he threw another punch: "Tyrant''s Thunder Break!" ... Tyrant''s Thunder Break was one of the five skills? Dylan created in his Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art! This skill was an area effect skill which Dylan envisioned?. He theorized that when he mastered it to Grand Perfection, the area affected would be 1 or even 2 kilometers in diameter! A skill he designed for a massacre! Dylan designed the Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art to be overbearing in might! He wanted to use this technique to be the first mark of him becoming stronger and try to cover his past mistakes with unbeatable might! The technique embodies his desire to never become weak once more and have the power greater than a monarch, the tyrannical strength of a heavenly tyrant! ... The two Avatars tried to fight back but it was futile as they were helplessly disintegrated by the immense force the skill contained. Everything within 3 meters of Dylan was in rubbles! That was the terrifying strength of the Tyrant''s Thunder Break! "Nooo...!!" The two owners of the attack could only cough up tragic amounts of blood with their faces losing color. "No way..." The last duo was shocked but they could not afford to be distracted in this critical juncture as they were already less than five meters away from Dylan, ready to deliver the finishing blow. "Die!!" The two jointly attack with their blades accompanied with the use of a Low Earth Ranked Battle Technique which they both mastered to Expert Mastery! They poured out every single once of spirit energy they have and used their two blade avatars at the maximum! "Now, I get it." Dylan contemplatedly said as though he was able to encounter enlightenment. He even disregarded? the attack nearing him when he reached the conclusion of his thought! Dylan materialized the two skills he just used earlier! The strange thing was he placed the Piercing Thunder which was on his left hand on top of the Thunder Break which was on his right fist that was already on the ground! Shockingly, a joint skill was created which contained the two characteristics of the two skills stacked together! The piercing ability of the Piercing Thunder and the destructive range of the Thunder Break! *BOOM* *BANG* "Piercing Thunder Break!" Dylan excitedly called out as the lightnings from his two hands ravaged the entire cave! The four remaining hunters were killed miserably by the sword-like lightnings? which were uncontrolled as it danced around the cave! They were not even left with a corpse after the skill died down. "Ooops, got a little carried away there." Dylan scratched his head and scanned the dilapidated cave walls and the ground. Dylan was able to create the Piercing Thunder Break because the Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds Art was able to retain the stacking ability of the Thundercloud Monarch Art since it was derived from it. The degree of similarity in both structure and fundamentals of both skill were nearly uncanny. That''s why their degree of compatibility is also of the same degree. Dylan was able to figure out the right manipulation of magnitude of both skill and experimented to try it. Fortunately, he succeeded because if he failed, he wouldalso be severely injured due to the backlash of the joint skill. Despite knowing this, Dylan continued on and gambled. He had already taken into account even if he failed, the failure of the combination would kill his foes as well. The possibility he feared most was that the cave would be unable to hold on an and collapse. If that were to happen, Dylan would be forced to abandon the formation which he would not want to happen. Thankfully, it did? not happen or else, Dylan would have greatly regretted it since the formation can only be formed once by any person who was not a God-level Formation Master like its creator. "With the nuisances gone, it''s time for my Legendary Core to evolve." He mused. "Ah, that Barry almost slipped my mind." Dylan remembered. He then started? to sprint towards the exit of the cave to catch up with Barry. He needed to silence every witness so he could cultivate in the cave safely. 90 Chapter 90: The Survivor Executing the first dance of the Seven Crane Dances, Wind Gliding, Dylan''s? speed soared until it reached 70 kilometers per hour! After a minute of sprinting, he finally reached the entrance of the cave and saw a silhouette of a man walking into the forest?. Dylan did not stop and continued as he went by the man. "Who the heck...?" Barry murmured with a surprised expression. A shadow went by him and stopped a few steps in front of him. When Barry saw his face, he immediately knew who he was. "So it''s you..." Dylan stood there calmly and could now see Barry''s appearance. Barry was a normal-looking 25-26 year-old young adult with the strength of Initial 11th level Awakened Spirit. He did not have any redeeming features aside from his dark green hair. He also did not have the ferociousness that the hunters have but he had a hidden shrewdness in his eyes that made him seem like a survivor rather than a hunter. Now, that Dylan had a clearer examination of the man, his impression of him was changing. "Are you here to kill me?" Barry was strangely calm when he asked this. "Oh, you are not afraid?" Dylan was slightly surprised by this response. "Of course I am. But I know you are here to silence me so that no one would know about the Heavenly Formation you possess or the Heaven Rank Technique you have." Barry exhaled deeply. "How did you know...?" Dylan''s? voice abruptly became colder. He did not expect that Barry could identify that the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation would be a Heavenly Formation and the Thundercloud Monarch Art would be a Heaven Rank Technique. It seemed that he needed to silence him as soon as possible. "Because, like you, I have my secrets." Barry confessed plainly. "So if you knew, why didn''t you run for your life?" Dylan decided not to pry any longer because he knew everyone had their own secrets. "Because I thought you would at least take 18-20 minutes to kill all of them despite you possessing a Heaven Rank Technique due to the large difference in strength. By then, I would have long reached the depths of the forest. But, I never would have thought that you would kill them within 7 minutes. Normally speaking, a Spirit Veins cultivator would not be able to support the usage of a Heaven Rank Technique due to high expenditure. I thought that you would at least use one or two Low Earth Rank Herbs? to recuperate during the battle. But seeing that you were able to kill all of them swiftly, I could speculate that you did not recuperate but instead have a terrifying amount of energy reserves that could rival an Origin Realm Expert." Barry told his calculations to Dylan. This caused Dylan''s eyes to become colder because Barry knew way too much. He was right because Dylan was quite shocked when he discovered that one Heaven Rank skill''s energy expenditure was equal to him expending 5 Crescent Moon Slash! His expenditure on the joint skill was even more shocking because it reached an equivalent of using 8 Crescent Moon Slashes! Meaning that Dylan could not have performed the skills he used earlier back when he still had a Spirit Core! His deduction on his energy reserves was on point because the energy reserves of a peak Spirit Veins cultivator was only one-fifth the reserves of a Origin Realm Expert. It was fortunate that he was able to catch up to this man because if Barry chose to spread information regarding this matter, then he would be finished because a batallion of greed-driven cultivators would flock to where he was and dissect every single secret that he contains! Dylan decided that he would need to kill Barry in order for his secret to be buried alongside with him. He summoned the Waning Moon Sword and prepared to use one more Crescent Moon Slash. However, Dylan suddenly thought of something even more beneficial to him rather than killing Barry. "Very well said. It seems that you are very knowledgeable about various fields." Dylan commented while a gentle smile replaced his cold expression. He even clapped softly in recognition. "..." Barry had a foreboding feeling when he saw Dylan''s sudden shift in attitude towards. He was beyond speechless when he noticed an undeniable crafty glint he saw on Dylan''s eyes. "Because of the diverse knowledge you have, I want to recruit you as my butler." Dylan brought up a shocking proposal. Barry was dumbfounded when he heard Dylan''s proposal because it was absolutely eccentric! Why would a person want his enemy to be his butler?! "Are you serious?" Barry questioned Dylan''s odd behavior towards him right now. If he didn''t personally knew that he ruthlessly massacred? the entire hunting crew, he would have mistakenly taken? Dylan as a retard. "Of course, I am. You just need to sign this Soul Lock Scroll and you would immediately be my butler." Dylan smilingly offered the scroll. "Of course, you plan to use the contract to force out the knowledge that I have and even want to learn the secrets I hide." With the appearance of the scroll, Barry started to understand the situation better. Dylan wants to ruthlessly make him admit all of his secrets forcefully. "Well, that''s not my only reason." Dylan smiled coolly. "You do know that you wouldn''t have need to go through the trouble to do all of that if you just use a Soul Search Technique." Barry suggested but he immediately felt that what he said was wrong since it would be bringing? a disaster to himself. He could just hope that Dylan did not possess one. "Fortunately, I don''t have one or else you would feel the pain of your brain being sucked out of your body." Dylan said calmly. Dylan having? knowledge about a Soul Search Technique and about the cultivation world was due to his ample time of reading light novelswhile he was still in earth. "You are right..." Barry sighed in relief that he would not have to suffer the horrifying pain but he was inwardly stunned when Dylan knew the effects of Soul Search Technique despite not having one in his possession. "But what if I say no?" Barry calmly continued. "Then, I kill you." Dylan said with a smile. "I see. Using death as a consequence, not bad. Though it would not be easy to kill me, if I go all out." Barry praised but his eyes had a cold glint when he reached the end of his sentence. "It would be quite easy for me to agree depending the conditions but you need to be a Mystical Magnate to be activate the... No way!" Barry''s? sentence was cut off midway when he saw Dylan present his Magnate Strength freely out of his arms. "Don''t worry. I can." Dylan confidently said. "You''re already a Rank 5 Magnate... Wait, no... you''re not using a Mystical Technique... that means... You''re a Magna Magnate?!" Barry was even more shocked when he discovered that Dylan was not projecting his Magnate Strength using a Mystical Technique. He was even more shocked that the unrefined Magnate Strength he possessed would be as strong as a Rank 5 Magnate Strength."An... S-GRADE?!" " How.. how did you find me?! Are you here to take the scroll from me?! Who sent you here?! From what True King Clan are you from?! Are you from the Hurricanes''? The Ford''s? The Aster''s?!" Barry immediately became hostile. He mistook Dylan for a genius from the True King Clan''s because of his outrageous talent! Such a type of talent was not something anywhere could produce. A cultivator with level-skipping strength and an SS-GRADE Magna Magnate at the same time. Only the True King Clan''s are able to produce such a peerless talent with their unparalleled bloodlines, inexhaustible resources and arsenal of mighty experts! "You know what a Mystical Technique is? You even know what grade of Magna Magnate I am? You are from a True King Clans? What makes you say that I am from a True King Clan?" Dylan was lost for a moment. He did not expect that Barry''s knowledge would be vaster than he originally thought. Even his background seemed to be even more shocking. By the way he''s acting, it seemed that his secrets are beyond Dylan''s current scope of knowledge. Now, it seemed that his judgement was not off and was even worth it. "Don''t play dumb with me! You clearly want to kill me so that you could retrieve the sacred scroll for your clan! You beasts have been eyeing my clan''s sacred scroll for years now! I''d rather die than to let you sully our sacred scroll!" Barry roared with hostility. He was ready to self-destruct along with the sacred scroll. His life mission was to protect the scroll and prevent it from falling to the hands of the greed-driven cultivators of the True King Clan''s! Dylan recovered first before calmly saying: "Calm down before you start falsely accusing people. Think about it. If I had a grievance with you and knew you, I would have killed you first and take the scroll away back at the cave. I am absolutely not sent by the True King Clans you spoke of. I do not even know who you are, much less this sacred scroll you spoke of." "You are right... I''m sorry..." Barry realized that he let his emotions get the best of him. It has been years ever since he fled away from his clan and never to return to again. Since then, he went in to hiding, not daring to appear again. He was never been found and he definitely would not be found on a forest. He got too flustered that he let his cover be blown off due to hysteria. "But that doesn''t mean that I''m not from the True King Clan." Dylan continued. "But you just told me earlier that..." Barry became confused. "I told you I wasn''t? sent by the True King Clan but that does that doesn''t mean I am not related to one." Dylan revealed. "What do you mean...?" Barry asked. "I am the bastard son of True King Derik Ford and Magma Phoenix, Melissa Magma, Dylan Ford." Dylan revealed his identity. "What?! You are the rumored bastard child 18 years ago?! " Barry was beyond shocked when he knew who Dylan was. "Why are you telling me all of this?" He could not understand why Dylan revealed his identity to Barry. "Because of two reasons: First, I hold your life at the palm of my hands. Meaning I can kill you in order to not let you spread my identity to anyone. Second, I can feel that you and I are similar to each other. I feel that we can sympathize with each other. Thus, to show my cordiality, I revealed my name so that you can feel free to tell me your name as well. That''s all.?" Dylan explained with a clear voice. "Is that so...? I guess there''s no reason to hide it any longer. I will trust you. Since you have introduced yourself, I shall reveal who I am. I am Barton Vernon, the sole survivor of the fallen True King Clan, Vernon Clan." Barry revealed his name. "The Vernon... Clan." Dylan was shocked. He did not expect that Barry was part of such a famous clan! Dylan recognized that clan immediately when he heard it. It was the clan of True King Charles Vernon! He was extremely popular, every single citizen within the Mystical Clouds Country knows who he is and was even renowned as the True King of Nature due to the gift given to him by the Harmonic Convergence which isheavenly affinity? to all plants! But the reason for his popularity was because he was the king who was plotted against and slayed by the six kings of the Mystic Cloud States 500 years ago! 91 Chapter 91: The Vernon Clan "That would explain your knowledge regarding a lot of things..." Dylan commented. Indeed, hailing from a clan of a higher stature, he would be exposed to things that would not be known to the public domain. Dylan also speculated that Barry''s former status in his clan was quite high since he would be entrusted the sacred scroll of the Vernon Clan! "But if that''s? true, then how are you still alive when the destruction of your clan and the fall of your patriarch was 500 years ago? Are you hiding your true strength?" Dylan inquired. Typically, an Awakened Spirit Realm expert would only typically live for 150 years at most and if he were at the peak of this realm, he would utmost have a lifespan of 200 years. Even if he were to use Earth Rank longevity medicines, he would only be able to push himself to 250 years. It was strange for an Awakened Spirit Realm expert to have lived the length of 5 centuries! "No, I am not. My strength is just how it appears. I am a bonafide 11th Awakened Spirit Realm Expert. Something happened when I was still a youth that halted my progress that''s why I still am this weak. The reason for me being able to live this long is another inherent characteristic of our clan . Aside from innate affinity with nature, we also have an abundant life force 10 times that of a normal person. Thus, making our lifespans longer than ordinary cultivators of the same realm. The truth is, I''m actually 517 years old now." Barry disclosed openly. "What?! So why are you still so young looking? Is this some kind of facial changing technique?!" Dylan could not believe that there was such a wonderous thing! Others would be envious to have such lengthy lives and only dream of such a blessing from the heavens but this clan actually possesses it! Even Dylan himself was envious of having such bountiful longevity. "I am the third son of Brandon Vernon who was the current head of the clan that time and Joanna Vernon, the daughter of True King Vernon. The main bloodline enjoys the one with the greatest benefit within the clan because it possess twice the amount of life force that the other clan members have. For normal members of the clan, having this type of age would be equal to them being 50 years old but for us in the main bloodline, this would only be equal to us being 25 years of age. You could also say that our bloodline ages 20 times slower than a human being." Barry shared. {Vernon means full of life} "This..." Dylan was doing his best to maintain his calm disposition but after hearing Barry''s astounding family background and inherited abilities, he could barely maintain his balance. Even though he had read countless of novels and prepared himself for the mystical, clans like this are too death defying. That''s why he had the urge to shout out:"This is a cheat!" It would not just be him because if other''s were to hear of Barry''s strange abilities, they would act hysterically and would not be able to maintain their composure and kill Barry on the spot! "But the heavens is not so lenient that it would leave us without weakness. By giving my clan heavenly affinity towards all plants, it also has stripped us any type of opportunity of cultivating any other element. It also gaveour clan an extreme weakness towards any type of fire-type energy. No matter what type of cultivation technique we practice, the energy we cultivate would always have an innate disadvantage to flames and get incinerated at the moment of impact regardless of the strength of the flames. It was a great secret within our clan and must never be known to others." Barry sighed when he received this to Dylan. "Luckily, we were able to hide this weakness due to my grandfather''s invincibility and genius. He gathered powerful generals who cultivates water and earth energies in order to confront experts who cultivates flame type techniques because aside from flame users, he is would trample anyone on his path." Barry retold the tales of his grandfather with reverence evident in his eyes. Because True King Vernon had an innate advantage on the weakness of fire experts which? are water and earth experts, he used this to his advantage and purposefully defeated experts who cultivates these two elements, then recruiting him to join his royal legion. The king was known to be the meticulous type and always thinks before he would act. He would investigate the enemy and formulate a plan before performing a direct assault. He would assign his generals to ambush the fire experts and other enemy generals, thereby sweeping his other enemies with his unparalleled might. "So, if your? clan was able to isolate the weakness from ever being known, why did it still fall? How was True King Vernon still killed What happened to your clan?" Dylan wanted to know the truth behind the murder of True King Vernon. He admired his ingenuity that he was able to create a counter plan for his great weakness. "It has been a full 50 years ever since grandfather became the True King. The clan has prospered so much that it produced 4 Saints in this period. The six kings of that period felt that grandfather''s reign would only end either by acension or natural death. They want to get away from this cycle of becoming subjects thus they searched for a way to end my grandfather. However, they were unable to find such records.Because of this, the six kings kidnapped my second brother while he was still on a mission on Mystic Violet State and was killed by Soul Search!" Barry''s voice became icy cold when he reached that point. "How did you know that he was killed via Soul Search?" Dylan inquired earnestly. " Our clan has an underground Life Crystal Vault where we store the Life Crystals of our kin. The Life Crystal is a special mineral which can be used to monitor the status of a person when he leaves behind his life imprint and stored to the vault. After the owner''s death, it will send his location and a 10-second vision of what happened before the owner died. Similarly, when my brother was killed, it sent the vision of how the experts before him used the ruthless and inhumane method of Soul Search. We could see blood marks and vicious scars on his body when he looked at his body, signs of torture and abuse!" He still remembered the last vision that his second brother showed them when his Life Crystal broke. It was not just him, his parents, grandparents and also his eldest brother had livid expressions as they watched? the vision his Life Crystal sent. "Driven by rage, grandfather furiously went to the Mystic Violet State without a moment''s delay after the video ended. Little did he know that this would be the cause of his death. When he reached the location of my brother, he was trapped by a Saint-level? Formation which was created and sustained by 11 Saint-level Formation Masters. The formation was not only meant for trapping grandfather, it was also meant to drain his energy by absorbing his Saint energy. My father and his royal legion tried to get there as soon as they can but Mystic Green State and Mystic Violet State was too far apart." " Grandfather was already at the pinnacle? of Immortal Saint Realm that time so he was able? to travel such a distance in just an hour''s time. Despite having this strength, he was still unable to break out of the formation. The Formation Master let in 7 Saint-level fire-type beasts which?h were nurtured and trained by 7 Saint-level Beast Tamers. He was unable to hold on when he faced the seven beasts because the formation constantly drained his energy to the point of emptying his reserves and his great weakness against the flames of the beasts." "With no other choice, he used his immense life force in order to use a Forbidden Battle Technique, the Heavenly Tree Sacrifice! A Technique where the user sacrifices his life to become the seed of a Heavenly Tree and use any surrounding organism as a supplement for growth. It comcluded with everything in a radius of 10 kilometers to become fertilizer for the growth of the Heavenly Tree. By the time, my father and the royal legion arrived, all hope was already lost because they? were too late. It did not end there because the six kings sent there forces to massacre our clan..." Barry''s voice became even colder. It did not even seem that he was talking with Dylan anymore. He knew that it was all planned right from the start! An evil plan that continued to haunt Barry until this very day! " With the main force gone, your clan was easily massacred... When your father and the legion came back immediately after being notified, but they were too late as well... Despite knowing everything was lost, they still wanted to get revenge for their loved ones but ultimately, died because they were outnumbered and their energy reserves was nearly depleted from the round trip..." Dylan could predict what happened next. It was truly a sad tale that made Dylan hate the six kings of that era even more. "..." Barry could only remain silent because Dylan was absolutely on point and it happened exactly as he speculated it to have. "How were you able to survive the massacre? Judging from the year it happened and your current age, it would be 503 years already and hat would mean you were only a 14 year old when the war happened. Is the complication from your youth related to the war? Something must have happened on the war that caused your cultivation to halt right? " Dylan inquired again. "Yes, it is due to the poison that Poison Masters set off during their assault. I discovered it was called Tri-fire Corrosive Poison Fog, an odorless red-violet fog capable of burning the body in an instant when inhaled totally. Just a whiff from it could infect the body and burn it from the inside. My mother and first brother risked their lives just to teleport me away with the clan''s emergency Spatial Gate. During? the transport, it was also the time the poison was set off. I inhaled a significant amount of the poison and experienced unbelievable pain inside my body as I was being transported. By the time I came to, my bloodline was suppressing the poison but the poison had already invaded my Spirit Veins. Thus, causing me to be stuck with the 11th level regardless of how hard I cultivate." "After that, the True King Clans and the Royal Clans tried to search for our founding scroll of our clan but it was with me, making their efforts futile. I hid myself and tried to find various ways to heal my affliction while surviving the cruelty of the world. I wanted to avenge my whole clan by slaughtering those old scums! But, I couldn''t find a way to cultivate? no matter how hard I tried!" Barton punched the ground because he felt how weak he weak he was. He was supposed to be the hope of his clan but he couldn''t cultivate. He cursed his fate of being weak with a helpless thought, ''If only I was stronger...'' "..." An awkward silence followed after. The two did not know what to say to each other at first but Dylan saw Barry''s actions, he saw a reflection of himself and his desire to become stronger! "They died an honorable death, Barton. The six kings were scum for plotting against your clan for the sake of freedom. Your clan was a righteous clan till it''s death." Dylan comforted. "Thank you, Dylan Ford..." Barry had tears on his face when he heard what Dylan said. Those were the words he wanted to hear for his clan. "I will help you kill those old bastards and heal you so that you can cultivate and kill them yourself. However, you need to swear a heavenly oath with me to be my sworn brother!" Dylan offered with a confident smile. He felt that Barry was someone he could trust because they were similar to each other. Both their parents have died but Dylan was someone condemned buy the entire country and disowned by his father''s clan while Barry was someone who the world thought was dead and whose clan has been killed. But most of all, it was because he saw himself in him. "But that''s... impossible! I have tried every means possible already! The Tri-fire Corrosive Poison Fog are poisons concocted by Poison Tyrants! Only Alchemy Saints can remove the poison and cure me. But if I go to one of the three Alchemy Saints, my bloodline would be recognized and the scroll would be lost! I cannot let that happen!" Barry could not understand how Dylan was so confident. No matter what method he tried, he was still unable to find a way to cure himself unless he goes to one of the three Alchemy Saints. "You don''t have to necessarily go to one of the Alchemy Saints. I have a method but it''s more theoretical. However, if it works, you can become someone who has the potential to surpass your grandfather, True King Vernon, himself!" Dylan smiled. "?!" Barton had his eyes bulging from shock! A method that will allow him to heal himself and make him even stronger?! He never thought that it could exist even if it was theoretical! 92 Chapter 92: Sworn Brothers "How? What should I do to remove the poison? I can be your butler or servant! Just help me resolve my problem in my cultivation so that I can avenge my clan!" Barry was impatient he truly wanted to know right away what type of method Dylan had in mind. "Don''t worry. I will definitely help you but like I have said earlier, my method to do so is theoretical. Are you ready to risk your cultivation and even your life?" Dylan questioned seriously. "I know. In the world of cultivation, danger is always part of any cultivator''s life which is a life defying the heavens. Without risks, strength cannot be attained! For avenging my clan, I will do anything even if it meant risking my life! I want to crush every single one of the six old scums!" Barry''s? eyes shimmered with the determination and resolve he had. He won''t back down from anything. If putting his life on the line to achieve greater power and potential was necessary, he would do it without a hitch. "... But if I really die, I will not blame you for it. All I will ask from you as my dying will, is to avenge my clan for me..." Barry continued as he gripped Dylan''s right shoulder intensely. This was like passing an important mission from one person to another. "Good. It seems like I did not judge wrongly. You are truly worthy of being my sworn brother. I will guarantee you that you would be the one to take the heads of those bastards yourself and rebuild your clan." Dylan could feel the weight that Barry was entrusting him so patted Barry''s right shoulder, implying that he should be the one to avenge his own clan. "Thank you... brother." Barry told those words while he sobbed. He could not express the amount of gratitude he has for this young man who gave him hope. "Will you accept me as your brother, now?" Dylan offered once more. He withdrew a dagger with a knife on his storage ring and scarred his left palm swiftly. Blood covered his entire hand yet he offered it for a handshake to Barry. After he used the dagger, he gave it to Barry as a sign of his willingness to become brothers. "I do, brother." Barry unhesitatingly wounded his left palm which bled in the same manner that Dylan''s hand did. Despite the pain, he shook Dylan''s bleeding hand. "With this blood pact, we form an oath to the heavens that we, Dylan Ford..." Dylan initiated the oath of brotherhood. "... and Barton Vernon..." Barton answered. "Would be sworn brothers, never to betray each other and fight side by side to our very last breath!" With the acceptance of both parties, the bond was made. Both of them formed a Heavenly Oath by blood which was being acknowledged by the heavens at this moment! *Zummm* The spirit energy around them sang a hymn and gathered on their bleeding hands. The mixed blood of the brothers created a tiny "x" mark on their palm which replaced the wounds they incurred to themselves. "The heavens have acknowledged our oath..." Barry slowly said. "From today, henceforth, we are sworn brothers!" Dylan continued. They clasped their left hands to the level of their bosoms as they celebrated their newfound brotherhood with a heroic hug. "So, how do I remove the poison? What do I need to do? What do I need to find?" Barry quickly asked after a moment of silence. "First and foremost, we won''t be removing the poison." Dylan replied with ease. "What?! Then how am I going to heal myself if I don''t remove the poison?" Barry found it ridiculous that he was going to heal himself without expelling the poison from his body?! "We''ll heal yourself by fusing the suppressed Tri-fire Corrosive Poison Fog with your heavenly plant bloodline!" Dylan daringly declared. "How is that possible?!" Barry was dumbfounded by Dylan''s daring declaration. Fusing the natural enemy of his bloodline would only create chaos within his body and it would eventually end with Cultivation Deviation. He could not understand why Dylan recommended such a method. "Have you ever heard the Contrast Polymerization Theory?" Dylan replied with a question instead of answering the questions. "No, Why? Is this the theoretical aspect we are going to refer to?" Barry was confused as he asked. "You are right. The theory was suggested by the famous Cultivation Theorist Daniel Tenet and this was the theory that led his reputation to plummet as it was never proven ." Dylan replied readily. "So this is the risk you were referring to..." Barry was momentarily lost in thought as he heard Dylan''s words. Daniel Tenet was a Cultivation Theorist who had created many theories that were acknowledged by the public because it was was all proven to be true. However, due to the Contrast Polymerization Theory, his prestigious name lost all of it''s credibility since it was never proven to be true and was labeled as hypocrisy. "The Contrast Polymerization Theory suggests that a cultivator can fuse two contrasting energies to create a power without weakness. However, almost every attempt to prove this ended with the user becoming deviated. I read it once when I studied for? the Noble Test in the Thundercloud City" Dylan explained. "You said almost. So does this mean that there were successful attempts for the theory?" Barry was sharp enough to find a clue from Dylan''s explanation. "You''re as sharp as I expect you to be. I remember a certain anecdote of an expert that he was able to perform this fusion with two elements that were not entirely contrasting like earth and fire. Earth can extinguish fire while fire can burn the earth which makes them opposites. However, if both are used together instead of opposites, it can produce an extremely strong elements but not entirely invincible." Dylan explained the idea he had in mine through the anecdote he had read once. "So you are saying that I am able to fuse the fire poison with my bloodline since they aren''t entire opposites..." Barry contemplated what Dylan implied. "Poison is something that can be produced by plants so if I fuse them in order to create a heavenly plant capable of producing a fire poison as my Avatar, then I can have a partial if not, a completely resistant Avatar to fire users!" Barry continued his line of thought. " But to create an Avatar which is completely resistant to flames, I need to change the composition of the fire poison and make the flames exceed the chemical essence of the poison, thereby creating a 60/40 ratio instead of a 40/60 ratio and transmuting the fire poison to a poison flame! Although this slight alteration in the composition will harden the fusion, it will cancel out the restrictions of my bloodline and... " Barry was suddenly enlightened as he applied his diverse knowledge about plants and herbs that he acquired from years of experience and the knowledge of the sacred scroll! "Dylan, it might just work! You are truly a lifesaver, brother!" Barry rejoiced when he realized that with the removal of the weakness of his bloodline that would mean that he would be without weakness! He was really grateful with the insight that his brother shared with him. "I never expected that you would be a genius Herbal Specialist. Incorporating herbal knowledge to cultivation, I must say that you are an amazing genius in cultivation, brother!" Dylan praised his brother wholeheartedly because he was shock by the level of knowledge that Barry possessed and depth of his comprehension. From what he heard, Dylan could infer that Barry was a Herbal Specialist with a vast knowledge of herbs and medicines. "You are flattering me too much, brother. My knowledge pertaining herbs and medicines were something passed down to us because our clan was also known as a clans of Herbal Specialists. But, compared to you, I''m quite lacking." Barry laughed and gave an honest evaluation to Dylan. A talent of Dylan''s caliberwas something that would only be seen in a hundred thousand years?! Both just laughed it out like blood brothers who have known each other from both. After some time, Barry broke off the laughter with his worries. "However, I would need to find some High Earth Rank Herbs for the transmutation and the fusion to be possible..." Before Barry could finish his worries, Dylan interjected. "Just leave it to me, brother. I will get the herbs for you. I have a business and I am certain that I can get the herbs in just a month or two. But, there''s something I also have to ask of you." Dylan smiled "Oh what is it?" Barry asked. "Can you help me by making a Herbal Garden for supply for my Herbal Store?" Discovering that Barry was a Herbal Specialist, he suddenly had the idea of expanding the amount of herbs he would sell to boost his customer numbers. With this thought, he also made a plan to hire one to three herbal specialist that will support Barry sustaining the herbal garden he made. "Oh, I can help you with that but the difficulty of making the Herbal Garden will be dependent on what grade it is going to be. So what grade are you planning for me to build?" Barry asked. The grade of a Herbal Garden is directly related with the type of herbs planted within. It corresponds the levels of the herbs which are Spirit Grade, Earth Grade and Heaven Grade. Studying for the Noble Test, Dylan had the fundamental knowledge regarding the different professions in this world. Thus, Dylan knew what to answer, " An Earth Grade Herbal Garden." "An Earth Grade?! Are you sure you can afford it?Do you have the Earth Rank herbs that I can use for me to pollinate and germinate with? Do you even know the materials needed for it''s construction? It will cost you at least 2000 spirit stones." Barry worriedly said because he was afraid that Dylan did not know how expensive making a herbal garden is. "It costs that much?!" Dylan did not anticipate that at all. 93 Chapter 93: A Dream 1 "Yes, even a Spirit Grade costs 400 spirit stones. A Heaven Rank is even greater because it cost as much as 100,000 spirit stones." Barry shared his knowledge with regards to Herbal Gardens. "..." Dylan was silent for a long time because he was calculating the expenses he needed? for the expansion of his business. 2000 spirit stones were equivalent to 2 000 000 gold coins. Since Dylan''s current income was 15,000 gold a day, he needs approximately 4 ? months in order to earnsuch an astronomical sum if he relied to the supply of the herbs grown by the Cosmic God Mansion. But, he would have to use 40% of the amount for the income of his employees and another 40% for the renovations and rental payment of the workplace he had already planned. So the remaining amount of 400,000 gold coins would be left for his business stocks. Therefore, even his quarter-annual income would? be insufficient to fund the creation of the Earth Grade Herbal Garden. Dylan knew that with his current income, he needed about 1? years to earn the said amount. But if he wants to increase his income and expand his business, he would need to find a way to get the necessary money for the Herbal Garden''s construction. ''I guess I have to loan some money from the Premier Hall now.'' Dylan thought to himself before speaking to Barry. "I''ll be able to gather the amount, brother." "Are you sure you can manage?" Barry asked. "It''s fine. I have my ways to get the money needed. I''ll just tell you along the way to Thundercloud City. Now, I have to ask you to guard me while I cultivate inside the cave." Dylan requested. "Oh, are you trying to break through to the Awakened Spirit Realm?" Barry was curious what Dylan used the Heavenly Formation for. "Nope, I''m trying to reform my spirit core." Dylan smirked mysteriously as he walked towards the cave. "Eh?!" Barry was in utter shock because he never expected that Dylan would say such an impossible thing to do. ... At the end of the cave... "Brother, isn''t what you are doing impossible?" Barry still could not believe what Dylan was trying to do. What Barry said was only logical because like the spirit veins, spirit core is also something that is given by the heavens. Being the first aspect of cultivation to master, every human has the same spirit core with each other but of course, there could be exceptions. There are humans that are fewer than few which are blessed with a variation of a spirit core, the same goes with spirit veins. One of the rare constitutions ever reported in the Mystical Clouds Country was the Sky Core, a rare variation of the spirit core which permits the user to absorb the very unique Sky Energy and even be capable of preemptive flight. "It is for others. But having gained the inheritance of an ancient cultivator, I received a heaven defying manual that allows me to reform my spirit core." Dylan revealed this secret because he trusted Barry and the oath that they have formed. "Oh, I guess it is something similar to our clan''s sacred scroll which allows us to easily communicate and manipulate all the plans in our vicinity." Barry shared as well to reciprocate Dylan''s willingness of revealing his secrets. "Mn." Dylan nodded. He went to the center of the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation which was emitting blood-colored lights. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to prepare his mindset for he knew that to make his Legendary Core evolve he would need to endure pain far more mind-breaking than his previous attempts. The brutally painful sensation he felt was as clear as day in his mind and body because how could could he forget the torture he needed to overcome in order to gain an even greater power than anyone else. After adjusting his state of mind, Dylan opened his eyes with immovable calmness. It was as if no matter what storm he encounters, he would be unfazed and remained composed at all times. "Brother, I''m going to start now." Dylan reminded. "I may not be supremely strong but I can assure you that no one would be able to hinder you from reforming your spirit core. As assurance, I scattered the pollen of the Concealing Mimosa Flower which could hide our presences? for about an hour. Sit back and remove unwanted worries for I, your brother is here to protect you." Barry smiled with reassurance. He wanted Dylan to be able to cultivate without worries in order to yield the best results possible. "Brother Barry, sure is an adept in spirit botany. The pollen must have been of great price. I can''t express my gratitude enough, brother. I will surely repay you in the future." Dylan was touch by Barry''s act of assurance. "Hahaha, don''t mind it. I mean what are brothers for? We are brothers for life. You and I will be relying on each other to overcome countless trials so just think of this as an early payment for you healing me one month from now." Barry laughed nonchalantly while he waived his hand. "Thank you, brother." Dylan smiled emotionally. He can''t help but remember his brother Dale who he had wronged big time and might never see ever again. So, he could not help but feel guilty. He was stuck in his deep thoughts?: ''I will do my best to be the best brother I can be for Barry. This will also be a form of repentance that I will never keep any secret to my brothers ever again.'' "No need to be so emotional, bro. Go on, you need to cultivate now or else the formation''s energy might dissipate. Hahaha." Barry joked with a merry laugh. "I will?." Dylan took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and began his cultivation. He pulverized a couple dozen of the remaining Primal Stones he still had to fully recover his strength ... After absorbing and recovering his energy reserves to its peak state, he was circulating his energy according to the Cosmic God Manual and began breaking his Legendary Core! Dylan''s? heart sank as he quickly discovered that the difficulty of breaking the Legendary Core has increased by 5 compared to breaking an Upgraded Spirit Core! He immediately prepared his mind and body for pain far more gruesome than the earlier reformations! He intensely guided his energy and started to break the Legendary Core once more! He created 5 clusters of energy within his Legendary Core which had the objective of breaking it through five barrages in five different directions! ''GO!'' Dylan inwardly signalled and the 5 clusters of energy that he created shot out into five different paths. Each single one of these balls of energy was capable of destroying Dylan''s previous Upgraded Spirit Core. Dylan decided to go all out in order to only feel the pain in just an instant! *Crack* *BOOM!!!* The moment the barrage hit, cracks immediately appeared and an explosion was its subsequent event! The sudden destruction of Dylan''s Legendary Corecaused Dylan''s body to convulse. Blood flowed out of Dylan''s mouth and nose unceasingly. Dylan wanted to shout to relieve some of the pain but the horror of it was that he could not even emit a sound despite opening his mouth due to the intensity of the hurt Dylan was feeling. ... "Oh no, something went wrong! Dylan!!" Barry immediately felt something wrong happened when he heard an explosion from Dylan. He even thought that he had misheard but what happened after caused him to suspect that something bad has occurred because blood was unceasingly gushed out from Dylan mouth and nose! Barry wanted to get near him but the moment he reached the formation, he was repelled backwards by a powerful force! He fell on his rear and was a few meters far from the formation. It was as though there was a powerful force field preventing anyone to go near Dylan. "What the hell is happening?" Barry was lost he could not understand what just happened. He was worried for his newfound brother. He did not want to lose one ever again. "Dylan, you can overcome this. Heavens, I will beg of you just this once. Don''t let my brother die! " Barry prayed on his knees because it was the only thing he could? think to do. ... ''Why is it getting so dark?'' Dylan scanned his surroundings and could only see boundless darkness. Dylan was losing his consciousness very fast and his body was starting to crack which became wounds that bled severely. His life force was also quickly fading! ''Am I going to die here...?'' Dylan unwillingly asked himself. His mind was telling him that if he lose his consciousness he might, no, rather he will die! However, his body was betraying him as he felt it became suddenly heavier and a bit colder. It was like sending a message to him that it was okay to sleep and rest. ''Suddenly... death doesn''t seem too bad after all...'' He closed his eyes after that thought. When he was just about to lose himself, he heard faint voices amidst the darkness. "Dylan..." "Dylan..." "Dylan..." "Who''s there...?" Dylan weakly said as he lazily opened his eyes. Suddenly, a ray of light appeared out of nowhere and landed on Dylan. "What''s this?" Dylan was blinded by the lights and raised his arms in an attempt to block the light but to no avail, the light could not be be blocked. After some time, Dylan found that his body was no longer in extreme pain and state of weakness. However, he did not rejoiced because he suddenly found out that he was in a completely different place. It was a celebrity class luxury suite with a king sized bed and a 100 inch TV. The room was filled with high class furnitures and had a special meal for two with sumptuous and salivating gourmet which was exquisitely presented and prepared. He was extremely shocked not because he was unfamiliar with the place he was in, rather because he was far too familiar with this place as though it was from... A distant memory. "Love..." A sweet and beautiful voice that was like very pleasant to the ears like slow music called his name. "Could it be..." Dylan turned around immediately because he knew that voice all too well. He knew whose voice it was because it''s owner was the lady he had vowed to only love for as long as he will live. When Dylan saw the lady whose beauty was without equal, he could only softly whisper as he enjoyed the pure smile of this peerless beauty. "Rose..." 94 Chapter 94: A Dream 2 ''This was on our 6th monthsary...'' Dylan was still baffled about what was currently happening to him. He could not understand why he was here all of the sudden. His mind was blank and he could not think of any reason why he was suddenly here? Is this a dream? Just seconds? ago, he was suffering life-endageringtorture in the cave but now, he was on his own suite. Dylan knew that this was definitely an illusion or a dream. However, it seemed so vivid and so real. Every detail was impeccable, without the slightest bit of fault. It was just as he remembered it to be. It was as though he went back in time. "Love, is something wrong? Why are you staring me like that?" Rose gently asked as she lowered her head and shyly played with her hair. Her natural rosy white cheeks had faint redness to it. Her heart fluttered when she saw Dylan staring intently at her. She was wearing an expensive yet mesmerizing white sleeveless dress that Dylan bought for her even at the expense of 25000$. It was Dylan''s gift to her on their 6th monthsary because? he knew that white was her favorite color. The dress hugged her body and exhibited its unparalleled charm when it was paired with her fair complexion and ample breasts. "Is there something on my face... Wait a second... But aside from lipstick, I didn''t? put on any make up... *gasp*" Rose thought out loud but as soon she realized what she just said,she turned around and subconsciously covered her face in embarassment. When Dylan saw Rose''s cute reaction, his heart warmed and an arc soon formed on his mouth as his face had that gentle and loving expression on it. He could no longer contain himself and hugged Rose from the back. Dylan put his arms around Rose''s narrow and slender waist. Even though he knew that this was a dream, the warmth and sensation of touch he felt was too realistic. "..." Rose blushed cutely because she was caught off guard. She did not expect Dylan to hug him from the back so suddenly. "Rose... I miss you so much ... so so much." Dylan''s voice broke as he burried his head on Rose''s fragrant silky smooth black hair. Tears flowed uncontrollably, Dylan was like a child as he slowly tightened his embrace. ''If this was a dream, I wish it would last forever.'' Dylan wished. He missed her so much, much more than anything else. He missed her eyes, nose, lips and just about everything about her. Seeing Rose again was one of the wishes he hoped to be granted but he never expected it to happen because they were barred by the incalculable distance of the two worlds. "Love, are you okay?" Rose worriedly asked because Dylan suddenly cried on her shoulders. Hearing his cries, her expression saddened which implied that she doesn''t want Dylan to shed his tears. "Can we stay like this for a little while?" Dylan requested. He wanted to savor every single moment that he could with her in this dream. He was afraid that this dream would end immediately and he could no longer spend his time with Rose. "Okay." Rose obediently complied as she put her hands on top of Dylan''s arm and leaned on Dylan''s head. ... The hug lasted for a while before Dylan finally let go. Dylan felt better after hugging Rose. It was as like a heavy burden was lifted off his chest. He finally fulfilled one of his deepest wishes which was to hold Rose one last time. After being released from his embrace, Rose turned around and anxiously asked with loving affection, "Do you feel better now? Why did you suddenly hug me, love? Why did you cry, love? Why did you suddenly say you miss me when I just took a bath and changed my clothes? Is there something wrong?" " I do feel better now. I hug you because I was afraid that all of this is nothing but a dream.I cried because I felt so happy to see you, to hold you and most of all, to have you. I said that because I can''t bear to part with you. Lastly, no, there is nothing wrong because I now have you with me. With you here, everything will be alright." Dylan caressed Rose''s face slowly with his right hand and brought her closer to him by wrapping his left hand around her waist. He patiently answered Rose''s questions of worry one by one. Each answer was straight from the heart because he could never lie to her. ''I vow to go back to Earth one day and make you my wife when I am strong enough to withstand interstellar travel!'' Dylan vowed as he looked straight to the eyes of his beloved. "You bully." Rose was overwhelmed by Dylan''s heartfelt speech that her whole face was flushed red. She was helpless and could only weakly pound Dylan as she burried her pretty face on Dylan''s stout chest. "You are my one and only. I love you more than anything else, my love." Dylan gently said. He put his right hand under Rose''s chin and tilted it upwards as he maneuvered his head downwards for a kiss. "I love you with all my heart and soul, Dylan." Rose replied and closed her eyes to prepare for the kiss. A sweet feeling of pleasure was soon felt by the two as their lips met one another. A jolt of electricity filled their body as they treasured the kiss that they were doing right now. However, as Dylan was passionately kissing Rose, he suddenly felt that something happening around him. He could no longer feel Rose''s lips and immediately decided to open his eyes. "Where am l?" When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to discover that he no longer within his suite with Rose but in a bridge with a river underneath. He was currently holding the handles of side of the bridge and faced the river which reflected the luminous radiance of the moonlight. ''Isn''t this that time when the past Dylan met Princess Elizabeth?'' Dylan silently mused. It was at that moment that a supremely beautiful young lady who wore a white dress was walking on the entrance of the bridge, left to Dylan. Every movement she did was of utter gracefulness like she was walking on a royal carpet. Her face and body seemed as if they were sculpted without? any intention of flaws. Bathed by the moonlight, she appeared like a moon fairy as the shine of the moon glittered her light blue hair. "Why do you look so gloomy?" The light blue haired young lady asked with a mellow voice. Dylan could recognize this scene? from the past Dylan''s memories. That mellow voice was something that stirred Dylan''s heart. ''Why am I feeling like this?'' Dylan found it weird that he was feeling like this but after some contemplation, he suspected that the past Dylan''s gratitude felt for Princess Elizabeth must have unknowingly turned into love. It was understandable because she was the reason why the past Dylan was able to persevere despite his inability to cultivate. Sharing his memories and his body, Dylan had also shared the feelings the past Dylan had for Princess? Elizabeth. ''But Rose is the only one I love and will ever love!'' Dylan quickly denied this feeling? that he was feeling. He was unwilling to betray the love he felt for Rose because he had already vowed back on Earth that she would be the only girl he will love for the rest of his life. He strongly stood by his belief of monogamy and fidelity to his beloved. Despite his denial, his heart kept racing at the sight of this beautiful figure. No matter how much his rationalitydenied those feelings, he was helpless to stop it as Princess Elizabeth neared. He did not feel this way when he just remembered it but truly experiencing it was far different from recollecting the memories. "Is something the matter?" The beauty asked. She felt curious with how this young man, whom she has never met before, was staring at him intently. Was it infatuation or lust? But she could not see those in his clear eyes, there was only conflict and a feeling of defeat. "Nothing..." Dylan looked away after he realized how long he had focused his attention to Princess Elizabeth. There was even a faint trace of blushing in Dylan''s cheeks from the embarassment. "You''re quite funny, mister." The white dressed beauty giggled in amusement. Dylan sideglanced and saw how cute the lady giggled which made his heart skip a bit. ''Argh, what the hell is happening to me?!'' He was angry because he was unable to stay composed all of a sudden. He felt that this was so unlike him. Dylan may be the greatest businessman in earth and equipped with a large arsenal of skills as a leader and a worker. However, he was still a newbie when it came to love as he was still unable to comprehend the intricacies of love. Rose was his first love and first ever girlfriend at that. He had not even reached the point where he could engage in intercourse with Rose because they both decided to do it on their honeymoon to make it even more special and memorable. He could easily compose himself regardless of the situation and the person or group he was interacting with. However, being a reincarnator who has shared the memories and feelings of the past host of this body, coupled with the fact that he was practically a novice when it came to love, he did not know what to do when your heart beats for two different women. Although he had read a bunch of harem stories, he was unwilling to be that type of young master who had multiple wives. He was unwilling to fall into such temptation and will stand strongly to his beliefs! "I''m sorry I need to go somewhere, lady fairy." Dylan calmly said despite his heart racing as she looked at her but he was able to compose himself enough to say those words. "Wait~" Princess Elizabeth was dumbfounded by Dylan calmly saying his farewell. Thus, he turned around and slowly walked away from the stunned beauty. But as he walked away, he noticed that the scene was changing everything seemed to have disappeared. "It''s happening again." Dylan''s expression turned serious because this might be another scene from the memories of his past two lives. While walking in the vast emptiness, he suddenly tripped over and fell on his knees. He saw a grass field that spanned for just about 6 meters in diameter and aside from that, he could no longer see anything other than darkness.. There was only darkness as he rotated his head left and right to scan the vicinity around them. "Sir Dylan." A familiar voice suddenly sounded which caught Dylan off guard. "This voice, it can''t be!" He stopped scanning his surroundings and could not believe what his eyes saw on his hands was Leila! 95 Chapter 95: Evolution! The employee which loved him so much that she died for him. The plain and simple beauty that layed weakly on his arms bleeding from a wound that penetrated her sternum and spine and even grazed her heart. She smiled sweetly at him as she said the words that always broke Dylan''s heart everytime he remembered, "Are you unhurt, Sir Dylan?" She spoke those words without care for her grievous wound and looked at the one she loved one with a smile. "I am..." Dylan tried his best to hold back his tears and say something but he couldn''t. He only cried and did not say anything else other than those two words but to be more accurate, he couldn''t. He had more than thousands of words of apology for Leila but suddenly he could not say even a word of it. "Sir Dylan, could you pat me on the head one more time?" Leila requested but her voice was weaker than before yet her eye shone excitedly. "Of course..." Dylan obeyed her and patted Leila''s head gently which was followed by a very weak "thank you". "I love you... Dylan." Leila confessed with a voice that did not seem to be hers. Maybe it was because she was already on her deathbed and she was out of breath but she closed her eyes with a smile on her face after. *Whoosh* A gentle wind was heard out of nowhere and Leila''s body was scattering like sand being lifted by the wind. "Noooooo!" Dylan unwillingly screamed and felt the uselessness he felt on the day that Leila died in his arms. Everything suddenly turned into a blur. Dylan was trapped in borderless darkness once more. He floated there alone and lost. He still could not get over what just happened to him. He met Rose, Elizabeth and Leila, all of which were significant to him in different ways in all his lives,in the dream-like reality. Each one felt so real that Dylan almost had this suspicion that he might have travelled back in time which was impossible. What was the reason he met those three girls in that near to reality dream? Maybe he might never know. ... After several minutes of drifting aimlessly, Dylan started to feel pain and it grew stronger as moments passed. He could sense that he was sitting all of a sudden and feel his limbs and entire body. "Gwaargh!" Dylan opened his eyes with a roar and fell flatly on the ground after vomiting mouthfuls of blood. When he exited his meditation, Dylan felt that his body was beyond sore and he could barely move a finger. He was breathing with his entire chest trying to grasp some air to recover. Dylan could feel the large breaks in his skin that were still bleeding, the cracks in almost all of his bones? in his torso, the severing of various muscles and even the failing organs of his body! Dylan was truly close from dying in his current situation. Thankfully, he was able to get out because 5 minutes more, his body would be destroyed and he would die in such an unsightly manner. ... "I knew my brother would not die that easily!" Barry was outside jumped in joy when he saw Dylan move. His heart sank when he saw Dylan''s body continuously bleeding from his mouth and nose, even with his eyes! But no matter how much blood Dylan has lost and how his skin started to break and bleed, he never lost hope because as long as there was that strand of life within Dylan, he would never assume that he was dead. ... "There''s no way I would die here!" Dylan roared like an animal! He used his willpower to sit cross-legged to activate the formation. Despite dearly struggling to get into position, he gritted his teeth and finally moved into position but by forcefully doing so, his body was cracking with every move he made and blood even squirted out of this cracks! Because of the dream, he finally found and figure out the reasons to not die and never give up! One, he needed to become stronger so that he can go back to Earth and meet Rose again! Two, he will not let the effort of his past owner go to waste and he will prove that he was not the trash that everyone saw him to be! Three, he can''t die for he owed this life to Leila and Frank who willingly gave up their lives for his sake and Scarlet''s!Four, he will become a Saint before the age of 40 and reunite with Scarlet! Lastly, he needs to avenge his master, who has given him the chance to cultivate and to grow stronger, by killing the mastermind of his murder! With this reasons giving him the will to fight and to never back down from any type of adversity, he will never have any reason to give up any more! "Activate!!"He used the energy from the formation which was now emitting crimson blood light to reform his Legendary Core! The energy had the same aura as Dylan have and it could even be said that it was perfectly compatible with Dylan''s body! Due to Dylan''s blood mixing with the combination of the medicinal essence of the 3 batches of low ranked herbs he put in the formation, it made a hybrid energy that was solely compatible to Dylan! One should keep in mind that Dylan''s blood was from two royal lineages: half from a true king clan''s bloodline, the Ford Clan and the other half from the strongest talent of the Magma Royal Family! Being accidentally absorbed and refined by the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation, it somewhat extracted a portion of the hidden potential hiding in Dylan''s hybrid bloodline and fused it with the medicinal essence and crafted a miraculous hybrid energy! Extremely concentrated and pure hybrid energy flowed through every single cell within Dylan''s dilapidated body. It brought an epic change from within Dylan''s body as his body started to heal rapidly and emanate crimson light! Dylan guided most of the energy through the use of his Magnate Strength to his broken Legendary Core.. Even if Dylan did not have a teacher yet, Dylan still practiced using his Magnate Strength on his own. He would suck at first but with diligence, he was able to slowly develop control over it for the past two months. As the Legendary Core was being mended, it experienced a never before seen transformation amongst eons! The Legendary Core now had twice the depth it previously had which meant that it''s energy reserves is comparable to 10 spirit cores now! Instead of a golden yellow hue, it now had a mixture of crimson with it. A Crimson-Gold Legendary Core!! This evolution not only affected Dylan''s spirit core, it also affected his whole body! Every single bone, muscle, organ, and down to all the cells? in the body experienced a groundbreaking transformation! His body was now being refined by the energy of the refining formation! It is being tempered by the energy it is absorbing to a whole new level! ... "Incredible!" Barry who was watching this miraculous transformation has his jaws dropped. Just a minute ago, Dylan was having a near death experience and his body was completely in shambles. But, now, his entire body was recovering at a visible rate to the point where all of wounds were clotting and shedding themselves automatically. It was like he was witnessing the wonderous rebirth. "Wait, is this what is called Constitution Evolution?! Didn''t he say this was only reformation?!" Barry realized what was happening after he remembered an ancient record regarding a theory of human constitution. Barry did not believe it but he could sense a qualitative change happening inside Dylan''s body and his body was not only abruptly healing itself, it was also tempering Dylan''s body with the hybrid energy of the formation! Constitution Evolution was described as myth even in the record but if it were to occur, the author wrote that it will occur a heavenly tribulation for it is a direct opposition to heaven''s will! "You must overcome this brother! If you do, this will be your first step to become a supreme expert!" Barry cheered for Dylan as loud as he can. He wanted to help him when the Heavenly Tribulation comes but if he did, it would only increase its strength and try to grind both of them to dust! .... Above the cave, the starry night sky was covered by a cluster dark grey clouds with lightning and thunder rumbling from the inside. It was 30 meters wide already at this moment. However, it is still continuing to grow by devouring other clouds and producing streaks of lightning! In just a matter of seconds it was 10 times its'' previous size! This was the Heavenly Tribulation! ... After the evolution was done, Dylan opened his dark eyes. His skin was faintly exuding a crimson-gold light, even his hair faintly exuded that light! He was even half a head taller compared before and his clothes was no longer white, instead it was completely red due to the blood stains. Overall, he looked a completely different person than before. Under him was the Minor Heavenly Refining Formation which was weakly emanating energy due to being used as a supplement for Dylan to successfully make his Legendary Core evolve. The minute energy left was also quickly dispersing which also made the forcefield weaker by the minute. "What a wonderful feeling this is! So this is the evolved form of the Legendary Core, huh? It has a crimson-gold light and was twice deeper than the former. I''ll call you Supreme Core!" Dylan rejoiced and named his evolved Legendary Core as the Supreme Core! He felt that it was only appropriate to name it as so because to be greater than a legend, one must reign as a supreme to be immortalized into the annals of history! "Let''s see what other uses it has!" Dylan excitedly closed his eyes and planned to use all the 360 Deca-Stones he had. He quickly crushed the Deca-Stones and absorbed the energy within. It possessed the same insta-refinement that the Legendary Core also had which made it easy for Dylan to transform the energy to his own! His cultivation quickly leaped! Initial 1st level Spirit Core! Pinnacle 2nd level Spirit Core! Peak 3rd level Spirit Core! High 4th level Spirit Core! Intermediate 5th level Spirit Core! Initial 6th level Spirit Veins!! He unhesitatingly used 90 Deca-Stones to cross? the entire Spirit Core Realm! His consumption rate has greatly increased once more because of the greater storage he has. However, this did not dishearten him, as it was a sign that he got vastly stronger than before! It just proved that all the hardships he has been through was worth it! Pinnacle 7th level Spirit Veins! Initial 8th level Spirit Veins! High 8th level Spirit Veins! Pinnacle 8th level Spirit Veins! Dylan continued with his mad way of cultivation! He used the remaining 270 stones to breakthrough! He then, ultimately reached the level of Pinnacle 8th Level Spirit Veins Realm! He knew that if he had this amount of 270 stones instead of 180 stones back then when he was at the High 6th Realm, he would have long reached the Awakened Spirit Realm. But, with his Supreme Core, it was only enough for him to reach the pinnacle of the 8th level Spirit Veins Realm. But, he did not let it get to him because he had already calculated that it was going to happen. After breaking through, Dylan stood up and stretched his body. He now felt that it was truly fulfilling to be stronger. "Brother, you did it!" Barry celebrated for Dylan has succeeded in evolving his constitution. When he saw that the forcefield weakened, he took the opportunity and destroyed it. "Mn." He heard Barry''s cheers? and gave him a nod with a thumbs up sign to indicate he was okay. "Thank goodness, you''re okay." Barry was glad when he saw Dylan stand up and he felt relieved nothing happened to him. He quickly approached Dylan and saw that he was perfectly? fine. All that was left was the Heavenly Tribulation so he looked up as well with a serious expression. "I''ll face you head on!" Dylan felt the disturbance from above and knew that he incurred the wrath of the heaven''s but he did not falter. It was strange because he felt that his body was far different from before! It was like a new power hidden in him was unlocked and he felt overwhelmingly good due to this. He even felt that he might stand a chance against the tribulation! 96 Chapter 96: Voice Inside My Mind "Yeah, right!" An unfamiliar voice chuckled without giving notice. It oddly sounded like a voice of an infant trying to sound like an old man. "Who''s there?" Dylan immediately became vigilant when he heard this voice and looked around him. It was definitely not Barry because it seemed like the voice of a child. "What''s the matter, brother?" Barry asked confusedly. He did not know why Dylan would suddenly duck and scan the cave. "You did not hear it?" Dylan doubtedly ask. "Hear what?" Barry was even more confused. Dylan was acting weird right now, he was suddenly hearing things. This made Barry worry needlessly if something wrong happened to him: ''Maybe the evolution did something to his head...'' But, he could not find anyone other than Barry inside the cave. He wanted to think that it was just his imagination but he heard it so vividly and he was sure that there was someone else. "Idiot, hahaha. I''m on your head, dumbass!" The voice laughingly mocked him. "My head? Are you joking with me? I''m not a three year old that I would fall for that type of trick. Who are you?" Dylan asked but he did not get mad with the insults of the voice. He was rather curious where did the voice come from. "Brother, are you okay?" Barry was worrying even more when Dylan started to talk to himself. He was acting very peculiar. Though he had not known Dylan for a long time, he saw Dylan as a clever and charismatic person. Because of his experience of travelling to different locations this past several hundred years, it could be said that he was already a good judge of what personality a person has just by observing their actions. But, he was unable to do the same to Dylan because he was acting stranger than what he perceived him to be. "You don''t believe me?! This king has never lied before!" The voice sounded again and this time, it angrily ranted like a child. "I am. It''s just that there''s a person hiding in the shadows who is talking to me telepathically claiming to be in my mind." Dylan clarified when he saw how confused his brother was. Although it might have sounded absurd, but it was the truth. "A person hiding in the shadows? Talking telepathically? Claiming to be in your mind?!" With Barry''s age, he had seen and heard many things. If he did not know Dylan, he might have taken him to be someone with a few loose screws in the head. Dylan shook his head help?lessly seeing Barry''s unbelieving reaction because he himself knew that it was a hard to believe as well. "You dare ignore this king!" It was easily angered by this type of inattentive treatment Dylan was doing! "A king? I will believe you if you show yourself to me, ''your highness'' " Dylan sarcastically taunted. Judging by the owner of the voice''s temperament, he seemed like a prideful young kid. So, Dylan used this blatant way of mocking him to get him to reveal himself. "You dare mock this king?! Behold, my almighty self!" The voice overbearingly said. It could no longer endure this type of mockery and wanted to show them who''s boss. Suddenly, a ball of light shot out of Dylan''s forehead which shocked Dylan greatly. It seemed like the voice was not lying at all. "I...I..." It was not only him Barry was also beyond speechless and his jaw almost reached the ground. Dylan was really not lying at all. There was really a voice in his mind who was talking to him. What''s more it was in the form of a ball of light! Barry really could not believe what he was seeing but reality was cruel as it was forcing him to do as such! "Hmph, do you believe me now! Tremble in fear and kneel before me!" The ball of light shone brightly and gathered the spirit energy around. A small tornado formed around the ball of light and revealed the appearance of the figure. Dylan and Barry was intently staring at the ball of light trying to depict the appearance of the owner of the squeaky voice. They even felt apprehension because the owner might be an overbearing expert which could kill them easily! They were baffled at first when the light completely dissapated, they finally saw the appearance of the owner of the overbearing squeaky voice. Their first reaction was to... laugh: "Pfft, HAHAHAHAHA?!" The two brothers couldn''t control themselves and laughed at the top of their lungs because the owner of the voice that they even felt apprehended to was an incomparably cute, black-furred puppy! The black-furred puppy had big watery eyes that would make any one want to feed him. It''s soft luscious fur that would tempt anyone to cuddle him. Thinking about how such an overbearing attitude came from a cute little dog, they found it really hilarious especially when he said the words "tremble in fear and kneel before me" as though he was some intimidating monster. "Why the hell are you two laughing? Ah, I get it. You both last your marbles at the sight of me so you are laughing at yourselves for provoking a supreme being like me! Hahaha, don''t worry, I am quite benevolent, if you kneel and kowtow before me, I will spare your lives." The little puppy smugly declared. "..." The two looked at the cute dog and paused laughing for a second but they immediately laughed afterwards like they just heard the funniest joke ever?, "HAHAHAHA!" "Are you two mocking me?!" The black puppy angrily said. One could see that the puppy was trying to make a ferocious face but it made it look even cuter. "I''m sorry for laughing and being rude. It was just we did not anticipate you would look like this with the personality you have." Dylan finally calmed himself down he haven''t had a good laugh for a while now. "That''s right. I thought you were some kind of mythical beast that can instantly obliterate us so when I realized you were just a cute little puppy with a big personality, I could not help but laugh." Barry was still teary-eyed and his stomach was still hurting from his laugh. "I can grind you both to dust right now if I wanted to!" The canine angrily scowled. " I believe you." However, he decided to take him seriously because he knew that spirit beasts that were capable of speech were fewer than few and only those mythical beasts with an extremely strong and ancient bloodline could be capable of doing so. This was especially so for the black puppy because it seemed to still be an infant. Take Scarlet for example, her ancient bloodline was so pure and strong that she was able to assume her humanoid form despite being so young. Dylan decided to put this black puppy as a creature whose bloodline was just slightly weaker than Scarlet''s. "You do?!" The black puppy was immediately elated like how a child would be when someone takes his/her side. "Yes, I believe that you possess an extreme strong bloodline that is why you are capable of understanding and using human speech." Dylan answered with an honest response. "Hahaha, that''s right. How about you? Do you believe me as well?" The puppy proudly asked. "I do." Barry was calm now so he knew what Dylan was referring to as well. It was truly a surprise to encounter such a spirit beast with a monstrous bloodline. "Hahaha, now kneel and ask for forgiveness!" The puppy imperuously commanded. "I''m sorry, no can do. Even though, I acknowledge your bloodline that doesn''t mean that I will submit to you." Dylan flatly said. "What?! That''s not fair! But you just admitted that I am strong!" The puppy grumpily complained with his juvenile logic. "We did but it doesn''t mean that we will do as you please." Barry commented as well. "Then, I''ll beat some sense into both of you and make you two my servants!" The little dog overbearingly spoke. He was releasing the strength of his tyrranical bloodline as his blood energy created something similar to an Avatar. From it, an aura of mass slaughter, blood lust and carnage was soon felt before two, no, six eyes was seen! This scene made Dylan''s? and Barry''s? hearts quiver in fear. It was as though those eyes could destroy them with a wink! Cold sweat quickly started to build up on their faces and their entire bodies were frozen in place. However, this feeling did not last long as it became increasingly unstable and swiftly faded with the puppy weakly falling down to the ground. "Damn it!" It tried to stand up but it couldn''t. It was far too weak, it''s aura was unstable and his blood energy was a mess. It could not maintain his blood energy because it appeared as if it was already expended from an earlier usage. ''Terrifying'' It was the only thought that was left in the minds of the two brothers. The terrifying they felt was still as clear as day to them. It was something that will be engraved to their memories forever. They seemed like ants in front of such an existence. "Are you okay?" Dylan immediately snapped out of his daze and went to aid the little puppy. "I''m fine. I''m just a little tired because I tried to get out of that mansion in your mind. I forcefully opened its gates and it made me used almost all of my strength trying to get out." The puppy weakly explained. He was gradually recovering by absorbing the natural energy around them. "You what?!" Dylan was dumbfounded when he heard what the puppy just did. He forcefully opened the gates of the mansion?! Dylan could not even make it bulge even if he used his strongest attack on it right now but the dog could! Though it was unbelievable, Dylan believed him without a shred of doubt because he was able to release that monster which seemed capable of destroying an entire continent! The canine''s bloodline power was beyond Dylan''s current scope of power but being able to forcefully open the gates of the Cosmic God Mansion as an infant, it meant that the puppy''s? future was limitless! "Just what are you..?" Dylan could not help but ask this question. "How should I know? You tell me, I was just born today. All I remember was that I broke out of a rock-like shell after eating something good and when I got out, I was in that mansion. So why did you trap me in that mansion, huh?!" The little dog unhappily said. "Y-you are from that rock?!" Dylan could not believe it. The mysterious rock from the sky that fell of his head and appeared inside the mansion, gave him a monstrously strong puppy?! 97 Chapter 97: A Puppy as a Partner Dylan couldn''t understand what was currently happening at first. So he calmed down and analyzed what the puppy just said. ''The puppy said he was broke out from the rock after eating something good. By context, the puppy was from the rock-like egg and it has already developed into a half-conscious state today while it was still in the egg. This meant he must have unknowingly ingested something while lead it to break out. But it couldn''t? really eat anything since it was still in the egg.'' Dylan started considering various things. ''However, that doesn''t? necessarily mean that he can''t absorb energy. Why would it stay in the Cosmic God Mansion? It must have desired to incubate using the immortal energy within. The only thing that has happened to me was transforming my spirit core to the Supreme Core and I needed to use the hybrid energy from my bloodline? and the medicinal essence of the herbs I used. So, the egg must have unknowingly devoured some of the hybrid energy which lead it to accelerate the puppy''s growth!'' Dylan swiftly enlightened himself after considering countless things. "First, I did not trap you inside it. You must have instinctively searched for a suitable place abundant with high class energy to incubate yourself which lead you bro the mansion. Second, you must have awakened due to devouring the mixed energy of my blood energy and herb''s essence." Dylan quickly responded after his quick deliberation. "Really? How is that possible?" The little guy could not under everything that Dylan said but he was able to get a gist of what happened to him. "So, what do I do now?" The puppy impatiently asked. "You can accompany me for awhile before we could figure out what you truly are." Dylan suggested. "Okay. I guess I would be force to take you in as my servant, huh?" The puppy tried to cross its two front legs and seemingly had an expression of frustration. "You narcissistic rascal, if anything, you would be the one under me since you have ate my blood which means? that you have to be my pet from now on." Dylan teased the dog. "What?! If I ate someone''s blood, I will be their underling?!" The naive puppy was shocked by this new knowledge he learned. "Hahaha, that''s right." Barry laughed in agreement and joined teasing the young pupoy. He was in a state of petrification for quite a while, unable to shake off the tiny feeling he had in the face of that thing the puppy showed them and was only able to come to just a moment ago. When Barry came to, he heard Dylan speaking something about the young canine eating his blood energy in order to awaken and teased him that by doing so he would be his master. He decided not to pry right now because he could just ask Dylan later. "Err... then, you must eat my blood as well!" The little puppy roared! He quickly jumped to Dylan''s? face in an attempt to make Dylan eat his blood. "Wha~" Before Dylan could even react, the puppy was already on his face and being unprepared to this sneak attack, he fell backwards due to the force of the jump. "Get off of me, you crazy dog!" The dog maybe small and cute but it''s physical strength was something else! It''s constitution was of great potential and without even needing to train, he overpowered Dylan with just his natural physical strength! "Hahaha, eat this!" The dog furiously bit his paws and shove his bleeding paw to Dylan''s mouth. Soon, drops of blood flowed down Dylan''s tongue and slid down his throat. "Get off him!" Barry aided Dylan by pulling the puppy out of Dylan''s face. The puppy was really ferocious and unpredictable. It took their teasing too seriously! He distanced himself from Dylan to avoid the little dog to run rampant again. "Hahaha, now we''re even! You ate my blood too! Now you''re my servant as well! Hahaha!" The little rascal triumphantly laughed even if he was being held by Barry. "Pweh!" Dylan spit out all the blood he could. Despite his unwillingness, some of the dogs blood was already ingested by him. Unexpectedly, a bizzare milky strand of light was formed which was latched on Dylan and the puppy. It was like a chain that connected them with each other as companions for life! "This is a Master-Servant Beast Contract. No, it is quite different since the beast has given its blood willingly?, instead of the person forcefully making the beast submit! Not only that, there is a life link between them... This is a Beast Companionship Contract! But the way they did it was rather peculiar." Barry''s extensive knowledge has come into play again as he recognized? the phenomenon that just happened. A Master-Servant Beast Contact is done by, more often than not, forcing the beast into submission and coercing it to recognize the cultivator as its master. It is done by leaving a blood mark on the beast''s body so that the user couldSeldom would a spirit beasts willingly agree to this contract but it depends if they were to recognize the cultivator as worthy due to his strength or potential. This is the type of method that most cultivators and Beast Tamers do to make a beast submit. A Beast Companionship Contract was different. The two parties must mutually recognize each other as companions by offering their blood to each other and forming an identical mark in their bodies which will be linked by the life force of both man and beast. This type of contract was seldom achieved as both humans? and beasts are prideful creatures and will not accept the others as equals so easily. However, this type of contract will bring endless benefits because it will enable the two to be connected with one another and could even borrow a portion of their companion''s strength temporarily by energy transfer through the life link that they have. Such a boost in strength during a battle could very well be the deciding factor of who will slay who. The reason why Barry described the contract as peculiar was because they did not have created the mark but ingested each other''s blood instead. Despite not being the prescribed method, the two has now been bounded by fate. "You mean I''m in a contract with the puppy? We''re bonded by fate now?"Dylan was baffled. He knew what these beast contracts meant and by the way Barry described it to be, it was the type of mutual bond. "Yes." Barry awkwardly answered. Even he found it a bit absurd that they were able to form a life link through ingesting each other''s blood. "Glad, you know your? place. Now, greet your master." The bratty puppy domineeringly commanded. He escaped Barry''s grasp easily and stood in front of Dylan. He misinterpreted what Barry just said. "Don''t get too ahead of yourself. It''s a mutual contract which means that we are now companions." Dylan clarified as he got up. "Whaaat?" The puppy felt like he lost something. He stood there feeling quite dumbfounded. Clearly, this was not the outcome he anticipated it to be. "So do you have a name?" Dylan asked the puppy. Since he was already bonded with the little tyrant, he just accepted it as is. It was not necessarily? a bad thing that he now had? it as his companion. Putting asidede the puppy''s imperious attitude, he also had that ridiculously frightening bloodline and he was only an infant. How strong would he get if he were to grow up and unlock the unlimited potential of his bloodline! "Of course! I am King!" The puppy snapped out of his lostness and revealed quite proudly. "Is that really? your name or did you just award it to yourself?" Dylan interrogated. He was not convinced by what the dog said. "It is! I am King!" The puppy insisted. "You don''t look like a King yet though." Dylan said otherwise. "You!" The puppy was angered when he heard Dylan. "I''ll call you Rian. It means little king. Quite a fitting name for a little tyrant like you." Dylan named the puppy. "Rian, little tyrant... Hahaha, I like it!" Rian accepted his name. "I am Dylan. Nice to meet you, partner." Dylan formally greeted. "Hehehe, right back at you, partner!" Rian chuckled back. He smiled as he thought of the? word, ''Partner...'' A strange flash shone in his eyes as he was lost in his line of the. *BANG* *Crumble* *BANG* *Crumble* Suddenly, rumbling sounds could be heard above them. Something was continuously bashing the outside of the cave! Tiny crevices started to form on the cave ceiling and rock debris were also falling from above. The top of the cave was starting to fall apart. "What''s happening?!" The puppy jumped from shock! "Oh no, the tribulation has started! Brother, get down!" Dylan knew what those sounds signified, they were the lightning boltscrashing atop the cave. *BANG* *Crumble* *BANG* *Crumble* *BANG* *Crumble* *BANG* Before they could even react, the loud banging sound intensified abruptly. The cracks converged into larger cracks and eventually fell apart. The falling debris fell upon them. Dylan was worrying about Barry but a very large rock fell to him at this moment. It could even kill a rhinoceros if it landed on one! So, he had to react by defending himself. "Falcon Monarch: Sweeping Thunder!" Dylan roared and raised his right hand as he used the skill of the Lightning Falcon King. A giant falcon with wingspan of 5 meters shot out of his right hand and destroyed the large rock as well as the debris that followed it. It even fended off a lightning as it soared. Sweeping Thunder is a skill which is known for its power to sweep through everything? that it passes through! Once it reaches Grand Perfection, one could materialise four giant lightning falcons that will sweep through all four directions! Once the falling rocks were cleared, Dylan could not see Barry and Rian anywhere. The was only a wall made by the fallen broken rocks around him. He immediately called out, "Brother, Rian, where? are you?" "I''m here!" Rian snuck out from a rubble of rock and went to where Dylan. He appeared perfectly fine without the slightest hint of injury. "You''re not hurt?" Dylan surprisingly asked. He was glad to know that Rian was fine. "Of course not! How could I be hurt by rocks?" Rian laughed proudly. "Good!" Dylan smiled at Rian''s attitude. "I''m here behind? the wall of rocks! I''m fine! Don''t worry about me! Just focus in the tribulation! I know you can overcome it! I will go find some additional herbs that will help you recover after your tribulation is done! So, you have to live, brother." Barry''s voice answered after a while. His voice was getting somewhat distant as he said his words which implied that he was already distancing himself. "I will!" Without the cave ceiling, Dylan was looking directly to the night sky and he could clearly see vast cluster of dark-grey clouds with slithering lightning serpents within and deafening roars of thunder. *Whoooosh!*The clouds seemed as though it detected Dylan as well. It started to rotate like a vortex directly on top of Dylan. The lightning gathered at the center ferociously and the thunder resounded more defeaning than ever! It was like the heaven''s was trying to exhibit it''s? supremacy and deliberately made Dylan feel it''s wrath! "Let''s begin!" Dylan readily said and summoned his trusty Waning Moon Sword and Shield of Dusk. 98 Chapter 98: Facing the Heavenly Tribulation 1 Dylan had his game face on and he was definitely ready to take the tribulation head on. Though he was not sure what was going to happen next, he would still do everything he came and try to pass the tribulation. Strangely, Dylan did not feel any type of fear. There was only calmness in his heart. Maybe it was because it was the confidence given to him by his new Supreme Core. The assurance it gave him was more self-esteem ever since Dylan noticed it''s additional function which was to insta-convert natural energy to his very own spirit energy! Yes, it was spirit energy. An energy which was exclusive to those at the Awakened Spirit Realm! The Supreme Core was not only 10 times vaster and deeper than an ordinary spirit core, it could also insta-convert! Instant refinement was different from instant conversion because instant refinement would only make the absorbed energy into one''s very own energy. Instant conversion or insta-conversion was different because any energy that enters Dylan''s Supreme Core is instantly converted into spirit energy! With spirit energy, Dylan would be able to maximize the use of his Waning Moon Sword! The Waning Moon Sword does not only have the special skill, Energy Slash, it also has another skill which is called Superimposition! Injecting large amounts of refined natural energy? to the sword will enable the user to convert it into spirit energy by the amplification rendered by the sword and create a Spiritual Manifestation attack called Energy Slash. But, if the user were to have spirit energy in his disposal, he would no longer need the amplification of the Waning Moon Sword since spirit energy is capable of spiritual manifestation attacks. However, that does not mean that the amplifying ability of the sword would no longer have any use. If the same amount of spirit energy were to be injected to the sword and released as an attack like the Energy Slash, the sword would create another layer of amplified energy layer on top of the original attack. This means that there would be an inner and outer attack! This is the the other skill of Waning Moon Sword, Superimposition! It grants the user the user the ability to create a superimposed layer of attack which is even stronger than the original attack as the foremost attack with the original attack becoming the inner layer and act as the hidden attack! It would become the perfect surprise attack! Even in successive use, it will still be effective because it will have twice the strength of the original attack.It''s like yielding twice the results with just half the effort! ''I can do this!'' Dylan pumped himself up and abruptly tightened the grip of his sword and shield. He concentrated himself because the lightning vortex was preparing to send its'' tribulation now. However, a voice suddenly disturbed his concentration without giving notice. "Hahaha, that''s right! Begin already! I and my partner will face your? petty tribulation together!" Rian interjected in his usual overbearing manner. He dashed away from Dylan and went to the top of the rubble before saying those words. The dog was really fast that he was able to quickly cover the distance of 20 meters in a matter of seconds! The dark grey-cloud vortex paused firing it''s heavenly? thunder in that moment. It instead began spinning twice its former speed! The lightning and thunder seemingly enraged were furiously dancing and resonating swiftly with each other! It was as if the heaven''s was insulted by Rian''s taunting. *Crackle* *Thunder roars* *Crackle* *Boom!* *Riiiiiiiiip* "What the hell?!" Dylan saw the most ludicrous thing happening to his life to date! When the sky-ripping sound was heard, the giant lightning and thunder vortex was split into two smaller swirling vortex of destruction! The two smaller vortex quickly grew as it furiously absorbed the dark-grey clouds around them! At first they were only about 5-10 meters in diameter, now they were even bigger than its original form which was currently 25 meters in diameter each! One vortex was above Dylan while the other vortex was situated to where Rian was! The two vortex seemed to be even stronger than the first! The two vortex even seemed to be fighting for space like trying to get a clearer shot of their own targets! ... Somewhere in Great Pine Forest, Barry was finding herbs for Dylan when he heard the sky-ripping sound which made him look at the sky with shock. "The-the Heavenly Tribulation split?!" Barry was unable to believe what was happening. A Heavenly Tribulation splitting?! That was a matter unheard of! "I need to do this faster! I have to check how Dylan is doing!" Barry hastened his pace of picking the herbs. Despite rushing things, he was able to do harvest without damaging the roots. .... It was not only Barry, towns and villages nearby Great Pine Forest where shakened when they heard the loud ripping sound. All inhabitants who were sleeping were forced to awaken due to the deafening sound. "What happened?!" A village head was alarmed and got out of his abode because his citizens were already panicking due to not knowing what happened. "Above the Great Pine Forest, dark-grey clouds which harboured countless lightning serpents and repeated thunderclaps emerged!" The men of the watchtower of the village shouted?. "Dark-grey clouds of thunder and lightning?! It must be a Heavenly Tribulation?! Is this an Origin Beast trying to break through to the Mortal Severing?!" The village head shuddered with this thought. ... Back at the destroyed cave.. "What did you do?!" Dylan who was usually unperturbed became furious at the moment. He shouted at Rian who was standing at the top of the pile of rocks. "I just want to create momentum, that''s all." Rian embarassingly said. How could he have known that his ''slight'' taunt would greatly anger the heavens? "It even split and became even stronger. Wait, split? Why would it split?" Dylan felt like he was truly unlucky that the little tyrant would be so fearless as to taunt the heavens itself. However, he found it was rather strange that it split into two separate vortex. In the novels that he has read, the tribulation will only grow exponentially stronger depending the amount of people who will interfere with it or the talent of a cultivator. The lightnings it will release will only be vastly stronger than a normal tribulation. He never read any tribulation splitting due to the interference of someone. "Unless the splitting was not caused by Rian''s interference... The vortex broke into two as if it was trying to create... two separate tribulations!" "Then, that meeans.. " Dylan shuddered due to this. He subconsciously looked at Rian who was currently walking towards him. Seeing this, he also looked at the sky and saw that the other vortex above Rian was trying to push the vortex above Dylan. What frightened Dylan even more was that when Rian was only 10 meters away from him, the two vortex which was colliding with each other, started to fuse!! "Rian, stop!" Dylan hurriedly said. "Why?" Rian was a bit stunned. "Quickly, go back to the top of the rubble!" Dylan insisted hurriedly because the fusion of the two vortex was starting to hasten! "Why are you commanding me?!" Rian was clueless to what was happening. So when he heard Dylan commanding him, his expression darkened. "Trust me on this one, please!" Dylan insisted sternly once more. If Rian did not comply, both of them will surely? die with the combined strength of two heavenly tribulation! Seeing the look on Dylan''s eyes, Rian did not understand why he was acting so hysterical but he still chose to believe Dylan, "Fine." The puppy quickly returned to where he was. "Don''t come near me! If you do, the both of us will definitely die!" Dylan sighed in relief when he saw the two vortex cancelling their fusion and separating from one another. It was somewhat calmer than before but it was beginning to gather strength to prepare to strike! "What makes you say that?" Rian was a bit shakened by Dylan''s? claim. "Because the nearer you are to me, the faster the fusion between the two vortex will happen! By the time, the fused vortex will be several times stronger and it will release the tribulation far more powerful than before. It will grind both of us to dust!" Dylan explained quickly. "What should we do, then?" Rian did not know what to do in this kinds of situations. He was just born today after all. "We separate. The tribulation will follow you anywhere We have to pass our tribulations individually!" Dylan suggested. "I need to face one myself?! But I thought you would be the only who will take the tribulation." Rian was quite shocked by this sudden turn of events. Dylan himself did not know the particular reason but being faced with the tribulation, the heavens does not wish the two of them to continue to live, "I don''t know what happens but the heaven''s does not wish to see you live like how it wishes to crush me with it''s lightning so~ Shit!" *Tzzzzk* The tribulation waits for no one when it was ready to strike, it struck a thunderbolt heartlessly to Dylan! It did not even let Dylan finish his sentence and attacked while he was completely unprepared. *BANG!* "Dylan!!" Rian shouted in worry! "I''m fine." Dylan defended? against the thunderbolt because he kneeled to create more distance and raised his Shield of Dusk just in time to block the incoming attack. Dylan just injected some of his spirit energy which burned the half of the thunderbolt''s strength. During the reduction of power, Dylan tilted his shield upwards which caused the remaining strength of the thunderbolt to be fended off to the some rubble. *Sigh* Rian was glad that Dylan was still okay. "It''s good that you are alive or else it would be embarassing that my partner died with just one thunderbolt of the tribulation." "Psh, stop acting. You worriedly shouted my name just now." Dylan teased. "Y-you!" The puppy was embarrassed. It just looked as if he was caught doing a crime red handed but tried to deny it. "Don''t worry about me, worry about yourself first. You can''t use your bloodline so I''m quite worried if you can pass the tribulation~ Rian, look out!" Dylan was just going to remind Rian to be cautious because Rian did expend most of his bloodline strength to get out of the mansion, but who would have thought the vortex above Rian would also send a lightning! "Don''t underestimate me!" Rian felt belittled when Dylan told him about his worries. He looked at the incoming lightning and opened his cute little mouth. Shockingly, the dog ate the lightning! "Delicious!" The dog licked his mouth as though he just ate a sumptuous meal. "No way!" Dylan could not believe his eyes. The dog just ate the heavenly lightning just like that. ''It seemed like I worried for nothing. This dog is a true monster.'' Indeed, Rian did not only possess an overwhelmingly strong bloodline, he also had an extremely jaw-dropping constitution that allowed him to devour heavenly lightning! 99 Chapter 99: The Heavenly Tribulation 2 "Hmph, I''m stronger than you think, Dylan. Like you said, we need to pass it each. So, I''ll distance myself. We''ll meet after our tribulations. Don''t you dare die!" Rian harrumphed. He sprinted away and went to another secluded location within the Great Pine Forest while the tribulation clouds followed him. "You are quite fascinating, indeed." Dylan smirked but his expression suddenly turned serious when he sensed another incoming lightning. It had not even passed several breaths but it has already sent another one! *Tzzzzk* *Tzzzzk* Dylan decided not to get careless as he used his Heavenly Eyes. Being an extension of him, he only needed a thought to activate it on his whim. Under the Heavenly Eyes, he was able to see that there was another follow-up lightning from behind the first one! "You trying to sneak up an attack on me? Hmph, take this, Energy Slash!" Dylan raised his Waning Moon Sword and injected his spirit energy into it. The sword did its magic and created an amplified layer on the Energy Slash as it was released! It even seemed more like a Crescent Moon Slash than an Energy Slash. *Zooom* *Boom!* The slash soared? to the skies and met the lightning! However, the lightning was stronger than Dylan imagined. It broke through the amplified layer in just one breath but it was not as successful when it met the true Energy Slash within. The other thunder eventually met the energy slash and easily overpowered it but still, at the cost of losing some of it''s strength. The lightning still maintained its speed and dives down to Dylan. But, Dylan was already prepared for it as he raised his Shield of Dusk to guard against the weakened lightning. At the moment of impact, Dylan directly used the energy reduction ability of the shield which burned? about half ofits strength and guarded the attack. Despite its weakened state, it was still able to push Dylan''s? feet to the ground by half an inch! "I guess I somewhat underestimated it''s strength." Dylan recalculated when he saw that he miscalculated the strength of the second wave. He based his calculations on the strength of the first wave which was comparable to an attack of an Pinnacle 8th level Spirit Veins which was already equal to his strength. He thought that it would at least increase by one stage or maybe two at most. He never expected that it would directly jump four stages and step into Peak 9th level Spirit Veins, already stronger than Dylan''s current strength and it was only the second wave. In spite of this, Dylan did not feel down because he was at least able to get a point of reference by degree of which the strength of the lightnings that the vortex will send. "The third wave is here." Dylan looked at the sky as the dark grey clouds vortex released three visible lightning serpents which aimed to destroy Dylan. Each one had the strength of Pinnacle 10th level Spirit Veins! However, the hidden lightning behind the middle one did not escape his Heavenly Eyes as he was using it to detect even the slightest bits of fluctuations of energy. *Trzzzk* *Trzzzzk* *Trzzzzk* In this third wave, he was able to confirm his speculations that this world''s trend of Heavenly Tribulation was increasing strength and number of lightnings that would be sent down by the multiplicative of two. Dylan still did not know as to how many waves his going to receive so he needed to conserve his strength for each wave. But with this knowledge he gained from his observations, he would be able to utilize his strength in an efficient and appropriate manner for the waves to come. Dylan used a Crescent Moon Slash which was sent to deal with the middle lightning and the hidden lightning and used two energy slashes to deal with the other two lightning. *Boom* *Boom* Two explosions was heard right after. The two Energy Slash and the two lightnings were just par with each other which resulted to an explosion. The Crescent Moon Slash, however, easily destroyed the two lightnings with its inner layer still surviving after the clash! Keep in mind that the Crescent Moon Slash is a special skill that Dylan made either by stacking two Energy Slashes or inputting energy equivalent to Energy slashes. Thus, when it receives the power of Superimposition, it''s end result would be something equivalent to 4 energy slashes! ''It seems like I can overcome the next two waves easily.'' Dylan thought to himself. But despite being confident with his calculations, he was still on guard. After 20 seconds, the vortex sent the next wave! This time there were no hidden lightnings because the 8 lightning serpents were all visible and directly dived down. It was due to this that Dylan''s eyes turned more serious because the strength increase was unlike the past two amplifications, it was now five stages, an entire level! Each singles of those lightning serpents had the strength of a Intermediate 12th level Awakened Spirit! Dylan did not become careless as he decisively gripped the Waning Moon Sword and shouted, " Half Moon Slash!" When it was released by Dylan, it truly resembles the bright half-moons in the sky, a celestial body ascending in the starry night! A Half Moon Slash was a skill that Dylan made with inspiration of the Crescent Moon Slash. He thought that if he could infuse 2 Energy Slashes? into one Crescent Moon Slash, why not fuse two Crescent Moon Slash into one slash! Thus, the theory of the Half Moon Slash! But, the process of realizing a theory was not easy. During their journey to the Thundercloud, he experimented on the skill in order to perfect it but he was still unable to find the right amount of energy to equalize the output of energy. After several failed attempts, Dylan finally pinpointed that the problem was due to the low quality of his energy. He suspected that he would first need to transmute his refined natural energy into spirit energy before becoming qualified to execute the skill. Thus, he only left this thought untouched and thought he would only continue after he reached the Awakened Spirit Realm. However, due to the, Instant conversion ability of the Supreme Core, Dylan was finally able to successfully execute it. The Half Moon Slash was far different than the Crescent Moon Slash due to the amount of energy exerted to create it. The Half Moon Slash was a wide slash of about 12 meters long!With its superimposed layer, it extended to 14 meters long! When the eight lightnings clashed with the long Half Moon Slash, an attack which was equivalent to 8 compressed Energy Slashes?, a grand explosion was heard which reverberated to the entire forest! *KABOOOM* "A success! I never thought I would successfully execute it during a Heavenly Tribulation.?'''' Dylan smiled with a hint of pride. He was impressed by how strong the Half Moon Slash was! It could withstand the power of heavenly lightnings! "Damn!" Dylan noticed 2 fluctuations of energy which descended in a very swift speed. It seemed like the Half Moon Slash was only capable of cancelling out 6 lightnings. Despite being caught by surprise, Dylan was still able to raise his shield to guard. But the combined strength of the two was still comparable to an Intermediate 11th level Awakened Spirit ! Dylan was burning half of its energy away but he was still being pushed down to the ground. His feet was thoroughly planted on the ground and burried about half a foot deep. It was fortunate that he was able to react quickly or else he might have been seriously injured. "I really could not afford to be complacent in even for a second in moments like this." Dylan engraved this lesson to his mind. The vortex above was still swirling and harnessing strength. After 10 seconds, it immediately materialized the fifth wave which was comprised of 16 lightning dragons that emitted the strength of Pinnacle 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm each! It has not only increased by one whole level, it increased the strength by 6 stages!! ''Don''t tell me the next one would reach an increase of 7 stages and the one after that 8!'' Dylan was gritting his teeth in this development. If this trend continues, the next wave would have 32 lightning which are comparable to the High 15th level of Awakened Spirit and the next wave at that would be comparable to an Origin Realm attack! By the rate by which each wave increases, Dylan felt that he would only last till the next two waves. If there was another wave after those two, he would be obliterated! He was really praying that this would end in this wave or the next wave or the one after that or else he would be completely destroyed without a corpse. "Raaaaa!" He roared ferociously as he unleashed his next move. Right now, he could not do anything but fight for his life. He could not turn back time and even if he could, he would still have done the same thing in order to obtain strength he needed to achieve his goals! " Tyrant''s Thundercloud Wave!" Dylan shouted imposingly. He raised both his hands which was currently conjuring greyish clouds that released electric sparks! It was not only his hands, his feet also conjured the similar cloud. The clouds were quickly being produced that it filled Dylan''s surrounding in just ten seconds! The strange thing was this clouds seemed to be bouncing when it hits a surface just like balloons. The clouds was being lifted by an unknown force and ascended spirallingly and created a giant massof thunderclouds. This was another skill of Dylan''s Tyrannical Thunderbolt Clouds. The Thundercloud Wave is a type of skill which can be used both for attack and defense. This skill requires large amounts of energy in order to do because it requires the user to conjure a large amount of solid thunderclouds. An expenditure which was comparable to using 6 Crescent Moon Slash. If trapped within, one will be trapped in an neverending strikes of lightning! The reason it can be both used for attack and defense because it the thunderclouds are solid enough that they could be akin to rocks! Due to it being created in large amounts, this creates hundreds of layers within that whittling down the power of the attack that comes through! This attack can be also used for entrapment and concealment since the clouds are solid enough to prevent seeing with the naked eye or hearing with the bare ears. However, this could only be achieved during Grand Perfection because the clouds conjured are as many as thousands and the clouds could even be comparable to steel! But, even during Novice Mastery, it can still create tens of layers and be as solid as a rock. *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *BOOM!!* The 16 lightning dragons also came down at this moment and crossed paths with the giant thunderclouds?. A series of explosions followed after as the 16 lightning dragons drilled down to the tens of layers that Dylan created! Alas, it was still unable to drill through it entirely with its strength of Pinnacle 13th level Awakened Spirit Realm. "I managed to stop it but I''m starting to notice that the time the waves respawn is irregular and each interval is becoming shorter and shorter after each wave." Dylan let out a sigh of relief seeing that he was successful in guarding the attack. But, he had noticed a very alarming matter that the intervals between each wave is getting shorter every after a wave is released. *Crackle* *Thunder roars* *Crackle* Just as Dylan was starting to recuperate, the inevitable lightning dragons started to materialize with more haste compared to its previous waves. "Damn it, it has only been ten breaths and it''s already materializing !" Dylan looked frustrated when he saw the materialization of the dragons nearing completion. In just two more breaths, the 32 lightning dragons were complete and gave off the pressure of a High 15th level Awakened Spirit Realm. It quickly descended right after materialization! "Sailfish Monarch: Shrouding Thunder!" Dylan opened his arms wide and he swiftly conjured? a sailfish that was shrouded with lightning. The sailfish swam in mid-air and headed forwards to the lightning vortex. After gaining some speed, a lightning sea appeared behind the sialfish and when it reached a certain height, the sail fish stopped and the lightning sea shrouded half of the Great Pine Forest, creating a large dome made of lightning above Dylan! Unlike the Thundercloud Wave, the Shrouding Thunder was a skill tailor made for defense! At Grand Perfection, it could protect the entire sky of the giant Thundercloud City from an attack of an Immortal Saint, much less a Great Pine Forest which was only a hundred kilometers big. *Kaboom!* When the lightning dragons crashed against the humungous lightning dome, another defeaning explosion occurred! *Tzzzzk* *Tzzzzk* Despite the sturdiness of the Shrouding Thunder skill, it was still unable to completely block the 32 lightning dragons and let 8 lightnings dragons pass through it. The 8 lightning dragons came descending like True Dragons aiming to destroy the earth! Dylan knew that he would not be able to completely the 32 lightning dragons because the skills Heaven Rank Techniques can only give him a maximum boost of strength of 6 levels given his current mastery of Novice. Thus, some of the lightning dragons could still pierce through the Shrouding Thunder skill since it was 3 stages stronger. However, it did not break complete?ly since it was a defensive skill that could still block a peak of Awakened Spirit Realm expert as is. *Zzzzhhhhh* " Burning Dusk!" A 3 meter radius diagram appeared above Dylan as he shouted the name of the skill and disintegrated the 8 flames that came down in just a matter of seconds! Thewas an ability of the Shield of Dusk which creates diagram that has two peaks with a sunset in the middle with inscribed ancient characters. It is a skill that Dylan discovered within the shield while he and his employees were travelling. This skill could block any attacks that are at the Origin Realm despite being a High Spirit Rank Treasure. However, it could only be utilized three times and after that the shield would crumble. With his life on the line, Dylan could use one of three. "It seems like there''s one more wave." Dylan had a solemn expression on his face as he looked the terrifying strength contained within the swirling vortex. 100 Chapter 100: The Final Wave Outside of the dilapidated cave... Barry just arrived after picking up 30 different herbs that could be used to heal a severely injured person. It varied from Mid Spirit, High Spirit and even Low Earth Rank Herbs. "A 7th level..." He was shocked by the lightning tribulation that Dylan was currently facing. It was already a 7th Level Tribulation! A 7th level tribulation is something that is already more than one sub-realm higher than the one who was facing it. Although the Heavenly Tribulation''s main intention is to obliterate it''s defiants, it can also be a direct measure to how heaven defying a talent truly is! When he saw Dylan persistently resisting the tribulation lightnings, Dylan showcased his hidden might and talent which could overshadow geniuses! "Amazing... So, this is my brother." Barry looked at astonishment. "He gave me hope to cultivate and to do my life mission! I will not let him down! I will definitely create high level herbs for him!" When he calmed himself down, he sat down and he immediately started concocting? medicinal pastes from the herbs he gathered. Barry could qualify as a grandmaster in herbs and medicines already, not only because of his vast knowledge and rich experience on this field but also due to his innate talent being a clan from prestigious Herbal Specialists. ... Somewhere within the forest of Great Pine, Rian was currently challenging his own Heavenly Tribulation. Around him, burnt trees, dried lakes, and scorched earth could be seen. Rian himself was breathing heavily with a few scorched wounds. "You freaking heaven, that was the eleventh time already! I just ate the first five and did not say anything bad to you! This is unfair!" Rian barked with a livid expression. If anyone were here and heard what Rian said, they would be vomiting blood! He just claimed to eat the first five waves of a heavenly tribulation?! Besides that, he also claimed to withstand 11 levels? of the heavenly tribulation?!! This was an unbelievable thing for anyone to hear because according to the ancient records of the inhabitants of this world the maximum wave that the heavenly tribulation could send was 9! However, this little puppy claimed that he experienced 11!! *Boom!* *Crackle* *Crackle* *Boom* *Boom!* *Crackle* *Crackle* *Boom* Two rounds of thunderclaps were heard. The vortex was swirling violently! The initially 25-diameter vortex suddenly shrunk and condensed into 4 humongous black thunder dragon that seems to have the strength to destroy the entire Great Mystic World! "Damn it! You''re even sending a 12th one?! Fine! I''ll destroy that like how I destroy the others!" Rian domineeringly said as Rian used his bloodline strength. Due to eating the first five waves, Rian quickly regained and was able to utilize the awesome strength of his terrifying bloodline once more as his blood energy created something similar to an Avatar. From it, that aura of mass slaughter, blood lust and carnage that paralyzed Dylan and Barry appeared with the appearance of the six sinister eyes! "Come on! I''ll destroy you!" Rian overbearingly taunted .... "Shrouding Thundercloud Wave!!" Dylan did not delay as he went all out as laid out all of his defensive might! He knew that it would only take about five seconds of time to materialize and another two breaths to descend. So he went all out and utilitized the greatest defensive measure in his disposal! ''Please, I hope that there won''t be a next wave!'' Dylan prayed earnestly. Two giant sailfish appeared on Dylan''s two hands, one was shrouded by lightning and one shrouded by clouds. Upon emergence, the two sailfish swam together and produced a mass of thunderclouds and a lightning sea as they reached the sky. *Whoosh* *Whoosh* In just four seconds,? the two fish reached the height of 20 meters above ground and fused into a dazzling dome of lightning and thunderclouds! It was a double layered dome which almost covered the entirety of the forest. It was not only that the mass of thunderclouds were still retained under that dome. This was quite a bizzare sight because it appeared like a giant mushroom cloud. *Boom!* *Crackle* *Crackle* *Boom* It was also at that moment that the 64 lightning dragons was just starting to materialize and was absolutely at the Origin Realm! The strange thing was that this thing did not follow the norm of the prior waves of being yellow in color, instead it was purple in color! Not only that, the 64 lightnings were also twice as big as the other lightning dragons! It was as though it has somehow evolved! *Whoosh* *Whoosh* "Since you are taking your time to evolve, I will take advantage and create another defensive layer!" Dylan took this opportunity to create another layer because he was still not satisfied with his line of defense that''s why he also added another Shrouding Thundercloud? Wave at the height of10 meters. Being extra cautious, he also utilized one of his Burning Dusk as his last line of defense! He still could not fathom how powerful an origin realm attack is but he was sure of one thing that this was already at the Intermediate 17th levelOrigin Transmutation! So, he could not afford to be complacent when the gap was as big as one whole realm! Being able to freely use skills of the Heaven Rank at his whim while still at the Spirit Gathering Realm, it seemed like in the entire state, no even, in the entire Great Mystic World, Dylan was the only cultivator who could have done so. Dylan just used 3 Energy Slashes, 1 Crescent Moon Slashes?, 1 Half-moon Slash, 3 Heaven Rank skills, and two Heaven Rank skill combination! This is all equivalent to 88 Energy Slashes which was 87% of Dylan''s? current energy tank! That means he still has lots of energy to spare! {.: 3ES. (Energy Slash/ES) 2ES.(Crescent Moon Slash/CMS) 8ES.(Halfmoon Slash) 10ES(Sweeping Thunder-5CMS-10ES) 12ES(Thundercloud Wave-6CMS-12ES) 12Es(Shrouding Thunder-6CMS-12ES) +40ES(Shrouding Thundercloud Wave-10CMS-20ES) ______ =87ES} "I''m ready! Come!" Dylan roared to the skies while discarded his Waning Moon Sword and used both of his hands to grip on his Shield of Dusk which he filled up with a boundless amount of energy! The vortex did not release its already fully formed? 64 purple lightning dragons all at once. Unprecedentedly, it seemed as if this lightning dragons have gained sentience that prompted half of them to descend. "What?!" With his heavenly eyes, Dylan could not believe his eyes when he saw the movement of half of the dragons! It seemed like they had a mind of their own and used half of its manpower to? gauge the level of durability of the domes! *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*... 32 consecutive strikes happened on the dome and this broke the entire dome into pieces! However, not all of the lightnings were able? to pass through as some of them was drained of its strength on the collision. Only 8 were capable of passing through the dome and another half passed through the whittling of the thunderclouds. By the time the 4 remaining thunders reached the dome, they could only leave several dents on it. Although it might have seemed a successful block but the 32 purple lightnings were still able to create a pathway for the next wave to attack! Dylan was still able to control the thunderclouds beneath the first dome so he manipulated it to turn in a spiral manner which caused the pathways drilled to be submerged within the multitudes of solid clouds. Dylan did not dare to be stingy with his spirit energy and constantly produced the solid clouds of the Thundercloud Wave skill which pushed the second dome to a height of 15 meters. The vortex then sent the 16 of the remaining lightnings down. As it descended, it appeared like they were moving in groups of four and within the groups, the four lightnings got increasingly close with each other. When they reached the height of 25 meters which was? the highest point of the first mass of thunderclouds , the 4 lightning dragons within each group suddenly fused into an even bigger? lightning dragon with a deeper purple color! The four lightning dragons'' strength was augmented due to this sudden fusion! *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*... The four lightning dragons raged within the thunderclouds and easily passed though the cloud mass! "What the hell?! Intermediate 19th level?! Is this the eighth wave?!" Dylan felt that this had become a life-threatening affair! Just any single one of those could kill him without leaving a corpse! *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* When the four disasters reached the dome, four sky shattering noise was heard! In the face of such power, the dome was starting to break rapidly at that moment of impact. The four tried to burst the entire dome open instantly but it sturdily held on. However, five seconds later, it shattered the dome completely and continued to descend! The 15 meter high mass of clouds was effective in withering the effects of the 4 because by the time Dylan received the attack, it''s? might was degraded to the level of 16th Origin Transmutation! *THUNDERCLAP* Then, something world-shaking happened! The 16 lightnings fused into one gigantic lightning dragon! It was no longer purple and had now changed into red! It''s strength has power multiplied exponentially! It seemed like a true lightning dragon that have the power to destroy the entire forest and everything within a hundred miles! This final wave emitted the power of a High 21st level Origin Foundation! "O- Origin Foundation... The heavens really is trying to kill me..." Dylan''s face lost it''s colors. He just received the 4 purple lightnings and now a red lightning was diving down towards him with unstoppable momentum?! Dylan did not know that 5 seconds has already passed because time seemed to have slowed with the pressure given off by the Heavenly Tribulation. There was a thought in his mind whispering to him that it was all over and he was doomed. The four still did not dissipate but it seemed like this red dragon did not care and simply dived down. It traversed? the entire distance between him and Dylan in just a blink of an eye. "Like hell would I die here?!!!" Dylan did not entertain this thought as he materialized the remaining 20 Primal Stones and 2 Deca-Stones in his mind and crushed it with his mouth! This made him recover about 20% of his energy reserves which was already a frightening amount!He ferociously injected all of his remaining spirit energy into the Shield of Dusk which strengthened the Burning Dusk above it crazily as it has never received this scary amount of energy since it was created! *Fzzzzzhhh* All of this made the Burning Dusk so resplendent that the diagram spewed out Dusk Flames! These flames disintegrated the 4 purple lightning dragons in a breath! *Tzzzzzzk* *Kabooom!* "Raaaaaaaa!!!" Dylan then, recieved the dazzling red lightning of devastion! Dylan''s feet were firmly planted on the ground but the ground was failing was breaking due to the immense strength that the lightning dragon contained! "I will survive!!" Dylan shouted with his hands burnt from the extreme heat created by the friction of the 4 purple lightnings and this red lightning! He was also being electrocuted by the lightning that was being conducted by the red lightning. Dylan''s legs were digging deep to the groundwhich was being crushedbut he couldn''t care less with this pain he felt. He even subconsciously used his life force as a supplement to the diagram when he ran out of spirit energy!! The lightning dragon and the diagram were trying to disintegrate each other! Though it was a stalemate at first, the diagram was eventually getting the upper hand and weakened the red lightning dragon! "Just disappear already!" Dylan exerted his vitality even more. Strands of Dylan''s hair was starting to turn white due to this recklessness. However, due to his tenacity and unwillingness to die, he was able to disperse the red lightning and successfully guarded against it! At the same time, the Burning Dusk diagram dimmed and eventually faded. "I did it..." Dylan fell backwards without a tinge of energy left in him. His consciousness fleeted as he closed his eyes and rested with a smile of accomplishment left. Although he barely kept his life on the process, he has surpassed the overwhelming 9 levels? Heavenly Tribulation! The vortex above faded nonconsensually, not being able to accomplish what it has come here for. The night sky returned to it''s quiet state as it welcomed the arrival of the morning sun. The light of dawn filled the world and illuminated the skies. It shone upon the face of a young man who conquered one of the greatest trials of his life. Author''s note: To those who are curious: This are the levels of the heavenly tribulation of my novel: 1st Wave=Equal Strength to the defiant- 1 Yellow lightning 2nd Wave= 4 stages stronger than before- 2 Yellow lightnings? 3rd Wave= 5 stages stronger than before- 4 yellow lightnings 4th Wave= 6 stages stronger than before- 8 yellow lightnings 5th wave= 7 stages stronger than before- 16 yellow lightnings 6th wave= 8 stages stronger than before- 32 yellow lightning 7th wave= 9 stages stronger than before- 32 purple lightnings 8th wave= 10 stages stronger than before- 4 deep purple lightnings 9th wave= 11 stages stronger than before- 1 red lightning 10th wave= 12 stages stronger than before- 4 red lightnings 11th wave= 13 stages stronger than before- 1 black lightning 12th wave= 14 stages stronger than before- 4 black lightnings 101 Chapter 101: A Great Brother Barry carried Dylan out of the crater and found another cave for shelter. He inspected Dylan''s body and was horrified? by his condition. It was truly severe. His arms experienced 2nd degree burns despite having indirect contact with the lightning. His feet had suffered compound fractures with bones portruding his legs. His body was still convulsing and suffering from a high fever from the electrocution of the heavenly? lightnings. The worst of which was his life force was dispersing due to forced usage. But despite all of those, Dylan had a pleasant smile on his face as he slept. "He can still survive even in this situation?! He''s barely alive!" Barry was shocked to see his brother with such drastic injuries. "I need to act fast!" Barry gently put Dylan''s body to the 2 meter wooden tub he took out from his storage ring and he also put the healing solutions he concocted to the tub for Dylan to be soaked with. This was the Six Herbs Calming Solution he learned during his travels. Like it''s name, it''s mainly to calm the body from any sort of ailment. This prevented Dylan''s body from convulsing any longer and calmed it down while supporting the body''s homeostasis. Being a Herbal Specialists and a person who has lived for 5 centuries, he also gained expertise in nursing and healing others. He straightened Dylan''s body with care and performed first aid. He applied the medicinal pastes to the 4 bandages he took out and binded Dylan''s burnt arms with it. He also carefully? and skillfully put acupuncture to Dylan''s legs to prevent him from waking up from the pain of straightening his fractured legs. *Crack* *Crack* Barry aligned Dylan''s legs to it''s former position without waking him up. He used four planks with the size of Dylan''s feet, as a brace for Dylan''s legs and wrapped 2 bandages? around each foot. After doing first aid to his hands and feet, Barry also mixed in a healing solution called Body Cleansing Solution which could help the body recuperation faster. Dylan''s condition stabilised after Barry''s careful treatment. "Finally, he''s stabilised." Barry wiped his forehead for the accumulated sweat on it. Thankfully, he was able to stabilize Dylan''s condition. "Did he really just pass that?" Barry stared at the dawn sky, feeling a bit lost from what has happened. A 9-levels Heavenly Tribulation was something that was more than two sub-realms stronger than it''s user. It was a miracle how Dylan has survived. Barry knew that it was beyond difficult what Dylan experienced this day. He fought for his life and came out with his life intact. As his sworn brother, Barry felt pride in having such a dazzling talent as his brother. Although as a man, he was envious of such talent but like what Dylan said as long as he could perfectly integrate the Tri-fire Corrosive Poison Fog into an Avatar, he could use that Avatar as a catalyst for his bloodline''s evolution which will have no longer the cursed weakness the heaven''s has given it. He would be someone who would gain talents even greater than his father! But, being successful with the bloodline evolution, he would anger the heavens thereby inciting a Heavenly Tribulation for himself. But, instead of being afraid, he even anticipated it while his eyes shined in excitement, "I wonder how many waves I could resist." Barry mumbled to himself. "Oh no!" Barry detected a change in Dylan''s condition. Dylan''s hair has turned completely white and wrinkles started to appear. It was as though Dylan had aged 50 years in just a minute. His condition was deteriorating to a very alarming extent. "He used more than half of his vitality?!" Barry''s? expression turn aghast. With his bloodline, he could feel the status of life around him. He could feel that Dylan no longer had half of the life force he previously had and the remaining was being wasted. Due to this, Dylan was experiencing aging faster than normal. To use his vitality, Dylan unconsciously punctured a hole between the boundary of spirit energy and the longevity, to get additional strength from it. If Dylan only used a tenth or even a quarter of his life force, with Barry''s initial treatment would have still worked and stabilised his condition. However, due to the immense strength of the last wave, Dylan had to use approximately half of his vitality in order to stop the lightning dragon. Due to the hole, his body became imbalanced and could no longer stop his vitality from leaking. "I can''t let another brother die again! I will not let you die, brother!" Barry formed had seals one after the other. The natural energy around them and the energy of plants was being summoned by Barry! It formed a spherical globe above his hands. "Sacred Vernon: 100-year Vitality Transfer!" The globe was injected to his bosom and was then released after several minutes. It now had a milky white energy within because it extracted a portion of Barry''s life force and pushed it into Dylan''s chest! "Arrrrgggghhh!" Barry felt as though his soul was being ripped apart from the pain but he disregarded it and put his brother first. Most would be apprehensive in giving away their vitality but Barry did not. He did not wish to see another brother die even more so if it was in front of him. Therefore, he did not hesitate to give him his? life to save him. Boundless vitality flowed within Dylan''s body and nourished it. His face and body reverted back to their original youthly forms. His hair returned to being black in color. The hole between the boundaries was also mended through it''s energy. The milky white energy encompassed Dylan''s body and it directly absorbed the solutions within the wooden tub. Making his injuries recover at a heaven defying speed! "What... where am I?" Dylan opened his eyes and looked around him. He wondered why he was in a tub inside a cave and he was startled to see Barry lying on the ground ashened face. "Brother! What happened? Are you okay?" Dylan immediately stood up and he carefully lifted Barry''s head with his arms. Strangely, he felt an amazing feeling if vitality within his body. ''What is this feeling?'' " *cough* I''m glad you are finally awake, brother. *cough* I''m glad the transfer worked perfectly and healed you." Barry weakly uttered with a smile. "Transfer? Healed? What do you mean?" Dylan was first lost in thought before he finally recalled the Heavenly Tribulation. He remembered how painful his body felt and how his body was wasting away. Dylan now realized what Barry was referring to when he said healed and transfer. "Don''t tell me you transferred some of your vitality to me?!" "Sharp as ever, brother.*cough*" Barry coughed. "Why do you do it?! Look at you, you have paid dearly just for my sake! You wouldn''t have suffered if you did not do it!" Dylan said with anxiety. "But, if I didn''t, you would have died from the leakage of your life force ." Barry briefly explained himself. "..." Dylan suddenly become silent. He would not have thought that his situation was as severe as life force dispersal. He even felt guilty for implicating Barry with his problems. He knew that if Barry was not here, he would have died that''s? why he was really grateful for what Barry did. "Don''t be like that. *Cough* I am still fine. It was only 100 years of vitality from mine and is only about 5 % of my life force so don''t blame yourself. It was my choice to save you. *Cough* You can count on me at times? of need because I will be relying on you in order to make the evolution of my bloodline successful. *cough* Remember, we are brothers." Barry fainted on his brother''s arms after saying those words. "Thank you so much, brother. I will repay you for every debt I have. I will keep my promise of successfully making your? bloodline evolve!" Dylan had a tear which fell from his right eye. He temporarily stored the wooden tub into his storage ring and carried Barry at his back. "Rian?" He was walking to the exit of the cave when he saw a black dog in front of them which was limping as he walked. "Hehehe?, I finally found you." Rian spoke those as he weakly fell to his side. "Rian, what happened to you?" Dylan rushed to Rian and kneeled. He was shocked to see burnt wounds on the little dog''s body. "The darn heavens gave me 12 rounds of punishment. Each one was stronger than before! How ridiculous was that?! It''s like it hated me or something! All I did was eat the first five to restore my bloodline''s power! It sent it those lightning to kill me so what was wrong with me eating them?! Enough about me, how about you?" Rian complained loudly as he stood up and stabilised himself. He thought that he really did not anything bad that he should deserve to be punished. "12?! You even ate five rounds of it?!?" Dylan almost vomited blood and felt like he had seen a monster when he heard Rian''s complaint. This cute dog could endure 12 levels of Heavenly Tribulation and still lived to tell the story! What shocked him the most was that he ate the Heavenly Tribulation''s lightning and even complained that he did not do anything wrong! Eating the lightnings like a snack was a provocation to Heaven! "Yup! Hmph, it can''t kill this king! So back to my question, how many times did it send lightning to you?" Rian impatiently asked. "9" Dylan directly answered. "Only 9?" Rian looked quite smug knowing that he had experienced even more waves than Dylan. "There''s no need to act so smug just because you were able to endure more lightning strikes than I have , you rascal." Dylan knew right away what Rian was thinking when he saw that self-satisfied grin on his cute puppy face. "H-how did you know what I was thinking?! Did you just read my mind?! You jerk, why didn''t you tell me you have mind-reading powers?!" Rian naively cursed while acting all flustered. He was still a baby after all so he still had lots to learn about life. "Don''t be so quick to jump to conclusions. I knew what you were thinking because it was written all over your face." Dylan admitted calmly. He knew that if he were to tease this little guy, it would act irrationally and do some crazy things like how he forcefully made Dylan drink his blood. With Rian''s strength being superior to his, Dylan knew that it was unwise to provoke such a little tyrant. "Grrr!" Rian growled cutely in embarrassment and lowered his head when he realized how naive he was. "Enough of that. Grab onto me, we''ll go to Thunderclouds City. We have to take brother to my residence so he could rest better. Plus, we are not safe here. The commotion we have caused half an hour ago will attract many powers to investigate the matter." Dylan said solemnly. He knew that Rian was exhausted and could barely stand so he asked him to grab onto him. "Okay." Rian responded in an unwilling tone but he knew the gravity of what Dylan said so he still chose to follow his instructions. He jumped and landed on top of Dylan''s head and nestled his face on Dylan''s hair like it was his nest. Dylan did not mind it and he started dashing out of the cave and into the forest. Although he was carrying Barry and had Rian on top of his head, he was still able to move at his top speed by using his Seven Crane Dances. "By the way, what happened to Barry?" Rian asked. "He transferred some of his life force to me when my vitality was wasting away." Dylan suddenly felt guilty for implicating Barry with his problems. "He did that for you? Barry really is a great brother." Rian was touched by how Barry was so decisive and do such a thing. Because of his bloodline, he had some knowledge with many things even his ability to speak came from his ancestral memories. Thus, he knew what Barry had to experience. "He is." Dylan smiled hearing this because he truly felt Barry really is one. 102 Chapter 102: The Tomb Dylan and company was able to exit the forest in ten minutes. After one hour of constant running, Dylan finally reached the gates of Thunder Clouds. Before entering,Dylan caught a Mile Horse at the Spirit Core around the gates vicinity to let it carry Barry and Rian and used a rope from his storage ring as its leash. After doing so, he dressed up as Sir Null and wore the VIP crest he got from Azelmek. Then, entered the city without any problem because the moment the guards on duty saw that crest, they immediately made way for Dylan. "A very good day, sir." The guards greeted perfectly with a 90 degree bow. These guards knew that those who are conferred with such a crest are extremely powerful and influential people and are friends of the top powers. They did not even doubt him for a second because the VIP crest will not be forged so easily because they are made with a special metal only found under the Thunder Clouds? City. Knowing those things, they immediately made way. Dylan merely passed through them without saying a reply to maintain the haughty nature of a prestigious person. The date of the issuance of the 3rd Rank Noble Crest that Dylan is entitled with is three days after the exam which means he still needs to wait 2 days more. That''s why he entered with the VIP crest that Azelmek gave him. After entering, he guided the Mile Horse who was carrying Rian and Barry to the direction of his Residence. ... One hour later after Dylan exited the forest,a group of individuals arrived at the forest. They all wore the same robe which had the design of a moon hidden amidst purple clouds . This was the robe of the Mystic Purple Cloud States'' strongest sect, Purple Moon Sect! They were currently in the broken cave where Dylan challenged the heavenly tribulation. "Master, we have found the rightings of a Heavenly? Refining Formation. We have also confirmed that this was a tribulation site and inferred that the challenger was a human." A handsome youth reported to a orange-haired adult man "How peculiar. Half a kilometer away, a newly burnt land which was another tribulation site also occured but the offender was a ferocious beast with an ancient bloodline." The purple-haired adult rubbed his beard. "We have also discovered that both sites have almost occured at the same time. This site is the one which was the earliest while the other one encountered the strongest." A short young man said. "In our opinion, this site had at least a sixth-level tribulation according to the damage dealt from its cave while the burnt land was at least an eighth level!" a petite girl shared to her master. "You are right about the time of the event. However, you are wrong with the level of strength of the heavenly tribulation you have said. The cultivator who took on the tribulation here have surpassed at least a 9th level Tribulation while the the beast endured 12 rounds of heavenly lightning!" The master corrected. The group was taken aback from what the leader of the group said. "12th level?! But I thought the maximum is 9! How come the beast could pass through something like that!?" An old man said in fright. "If that is true, according to the level each level augments, it should have been stronger? by a whole realm!" The speaker was an intelligent man with bear-like waist and tiger-like back. " It seems that we were beaten by the yellow state to the place where the energy of the Law Fragment appeared. We should not have taken this detour! Come, we shall make haste to the Soaring Clouds City!" The orange-haired man narrowed his eyes and summoned a floating boat that resembled a luxurious yacht. "Big brother, that''s a Sky Traversing Boat! If we use it, our movements would be detected by the Magnate Tower!" A man who resembled the leader of the group said. "By now, the forces of the other 4 states have already arrived at that place! We have already lagged behind due to our state having the greatest? distance to the red state! The red state has already started an intensive search within the forest for three weeks already! It doesn''t matter if we are discovered, we may not be able to discover the treasure for our Grand Sect Master!" The leader strongly stood by his decision which left the others silent! In the end, all members of the group rode the Sky Traversing Boat and sailed on the skies at the direction of the Soaring Clouds City! ... Meanwhile... Outside of the destroyed Soaring Clouds City where the former Gardenford Restaurant once served its customers, one could? see a group of individuals gathering there. They all were matching priestly robes and clerical vests. This was the uniform of the greatest sect of the Mystic Yellow Cloud State, Golden Saint Church! "How is the search?" An old priest asked his subordinates with his low and ancient voice. His entire face was already wrinkly and aged but there was a certain calmness in his face that brings serenity to those who converse with him. "Archbishop, ever since our arrival last week, the priests have scattered all throughout the Beast Forest and the small mountain range around it. It will only be a matter of time before? a news comes up." The handsome young priest informed. "Do not be so optimistic, young one. Even the red state are still unable to find a single clue where the fragment is despite being the longest to investigate the matter. You should tell the others to stay composed so that they would have the clarity of mind that will guide them to find the fragment for our pope." The old priest wisely imparted. "This junior has been ignorant. I will keep those words into heart and inform my fellow brothers of your teachings." The young priest replied respectfully. "Mn." The old priest nodded in approval. "Sir, the Jungle Hall has attacked our forces again during our search within the mountains!" An adult priest ran to the two and hurriedly said. "What?! They have been at it for four days now!" The young priest was furious when heard this news. Even the amiable old priest frowned from this news. "Thankfully, the Concealing Sun Sect of the orange state has helped our troops just in time or else they would have been wiped out." The adult priest continued. Hearing this, the two felt relieved. "Has the Ethereal Sea Palace arrive already?" The young priest suddenly asked. "Ah, yes, my lord. The Ford Clan''s Twins lead their forces have arrived a couple of hours ago." The adult priest replied. "I see." The young man had a different glow in his eyes after hearing those words. "It means Miss Cassandra is here too..." He mumbled to himself. *Vwooommm* Suddenly, a pillar of light appeared and stretched to the azure blue sky. The attention of every single one of these powers were already fixated to that pillar of light! A giant Tomb appeared on top of the small mountain range and shone with ever-changing hues like a gem bathed in light! All the powers here had one thought that filled their minds? when they saw it. "An Immortal Tomb." ... Meanwhile, at Thunder Clouds City, Dylan did not know what was currently going on outside of the Soaring Clouds City. He was just finished attending to Barry''s needs in his residence. Upon arrival, he directly went to his room. He made sure that Barry was resting well in his bed before going downstairs. Rian immediately went to the backyard, where the Jagger Wolves were, upon and said something about beating every single one of those Wolves to become the king. He discovered that half of his employees were gone and the remaining half remained inside the house and just finished doing all the chores. He saw Allana and the others who were wearing their training clothes and just about to go outside to train with the Jagger Wolves. "Sir Dylan, you''re back! Thank goodness, we were all so worried about you!" Allana became joyful when she saw Dylan. "I''m fine. But, where are the others? Why is there only half of the group here?" Dylan asked. "Oh, they all went to the Herbal Shop. This morning, Scott came back all flustered and said that there was more than 700 customers in the store already. So, the next shift went and helped today''s shift." Bridgette Monet, a short yet sexy brunette beauty, replied. "700?" Dylan was stunned hearing this customer count. "Yes, sir. Apparently, because of your achievement of attaining the perfect score and becoming the successor of the 4 thundercloud kings, our store''s popularity skyrocketed overnight. However, they are only there to see you and not to buy goods. If they were to buy, we would have gained a lot of profit already." Arnold sighed. "I guess I should get going to the store now. Oh, if my brother wakes up, attend to his needs. He''s in my room and he''s ill so please take care of him. I also have a new companion and he''s a puppy. You''ll know him if you see him because he talks and brags about himself. So, don''t compliment him or else his head will get big." Dylan said those reminders before leaving. He immediately executed his movement technique and headed to the Soaring Herbal Garden. As he was sprinting, he thought, "I guess I should be starting the ''Second Phase'' tomorrow." Back at Dylan''s Residence... The girls and the boys who heard this were left in shock. Their boss had a brother? He also had a new companion and it''s a dog?! A talking dog?!?! "Just where did sir Dylan go last night?" The employees were left with this thought. 103 Chapter 103: Expansion Dylan arrived outside the Soaring Herbal Garden after 10 minutes of running. He saw a long line of people who were waiting in line. It was just as Bridgette said that there was 700 people who came just to see him. "It''s Dylan Ford!" A person who was looking at the passing crowd saw Dylan arriving. "The perfect scorer!" A participant of yesterday''s Noble Test pointed. "It really is the inheritor!" An elder from a sect exclaimed. "He is just as handsome as my sister described him to be." A lady murmured while she blushed after stealing some glances. "Let''s go meet him!" A youth shouted. The crowd who were waiting in line mobbed over Dylan. He was surrounded by about hundreds of people and was incessantly being questioned by them "Sir, how old are you?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "Can you take me in as a disciple?" "Do you need herbs for supply, Young Noble?" "What type of girl do you like?" "How strong are you, big brother?" "Can I take you in as the model of our shop?" "Could we form a business partnership with you?" ... A barrage of random questions was thrown towards Dylan one after the other. They all came here with different purposes. Some came to negotiate and talk business with him. Some came to recruit him to their business. Some came asking for his type of girl. Some came to serve under him. Some even came to betrothe? their beautiful daughters to Dylan. Dylan himself was getting hurt due to all the pushing and touching of the crowd. So, Dylan had no choice but to use Soul Harmonization in order to calm down the crowd. "Everyone, there is no need to this. This will only lead to needless effort and hurting. If you desire to inquire something about me, we can do this in a civilized manner." Dylan calmly smiled. He used a soothing, friendly and pleasant voice to get the attention of the crowd without causing the slightest displeasure. With every articulation of words, Dylan? was finally able to get the people to calm down. "He''s right. It is wrong to be so assertive especially when you mob over a person." An old man commented. "We are not animals to swarm over a person. It is like the Young Noble said, there is a civilized way of settling these matters." A scholar wisely spoke. "We are sorry for our rash and rude behavior, Young Noble." A sect elder apologized. "We apologize for our unbecoming attitude." Another person apologized. "It is fine. I understand that you must have been really keen on seeing me that was why when you saw me, you acted like so." Dylan kindly met their apologize with pardon. "Sir Dylan is truly magnanimous and kind-hearted." A woman looked amazed when she saw Dylan''s disposition. "Larry, Rick, Tom, Roland and Scott, come outside and prepare tables for the crowd who are waiting. Beverly, Marie, Mary,Sam, Elena, prepare our dear customers, our signature tea so that they would feel refreshed." Dylan called out some of his employees. "Yes, sir!" An answer from within the store was heard right after. Immediately, the five men Dylan called out exited the store. All 5 had a storage ring with them so they only needed a thought for the 21 sets of tables and chairs to appear. These tables? and chairs? were the same from the sets they used on the Gardenford Restaurant They organized the chairs quickly and use the space of the two closed shops on their sides. "Wow." The customers were surprised by the coordination of these men because they were performing with little waste in effort. After several minutes, most of the customers standing were given a seat. "Sorry for the wait. Here is our store''s signature herbal tea, the Gardenford Tea." The ladies arrived and presented the Gardenford Tea which was Dylan''s own herbal tea that had a well-balanced taste and a revitalizing feeling to the body. They gave the seated customers a cup of tea and the tea had a fragrant soothing scent that indulged the entire crowd. "Do not hesitate, fellow brothers and sisters. This is on the house. Your mouths must have been parched dry by the heat of the sun so please accept this small gift as my store''s compensation." Dylan calmly said without a hitch. "Hahaha, Brother Dylan is too polite. If you insist, then I must take a sip of this Gardenford Tea of yours." A burly man took initiative and drank. "Ahhh, what a refreshing tea!" The first to drink exclaimed from the the first sip to the tea. "It''s a herbal tea that combines sweetness, bitterness and sourness of all it''s ingredients!" An appraiser placed the tea in high evaluation. "A true high class tea if I must say so myself." A noble clan master praised the tea. The customers indulged themselves into the good tea. However, the small minority felt rather dissatisfied with this treatment but before they could voice out their opinions Dylan''s voice resounded. "Jack and Ron, open the other two." Dylan commanded again. "Yes, sir." Two men came out of the Soaring Herbal Garden. One was a stalwart and handsome youth while the other was a plump and tall man. They both held a key and approached the two closed establishment. The Soaring Herbal Garden is between these two stores so Jack went left while Ron arrived at the right one. *Clack* *Clack* The locks were opened and the chains barring the door was removed. One could see two neat and organized stores which had the similar design with the Soaring Herbal Garden. The one at the left was more of a diner and a waiting area while the one at the right was an extension of the Soaring Herbal Garden. The former had the sign above "Soaring Diner" while the other had the same sign with the main store. "An expansion?" A tycoon from another shop was slightly surprised. "When did that business start?" Another shop owner asked his employee. "I guess two weeks ago?" The employee replied with uncertainty. "Two weeks? That''s a bit slow but the expansion is quite great." The tycoon spoke from his experience. This type of expansion was normal within the city as many businesses thrive and rise but at the same time some also decline and go bankrupt. Hence, it was normal for expansions such as this to occur. Dylan has already planned this ever since Ritz and his crew were imprisoned. He was maintaining a subtle rate of improvement that he matched with other businesses within the city. In reality, it was slightly slower than a normal shop''s expansion because for tycoons, ten days are enough to accumulate about 30,000 gold coins, just enough to buy a piece of land where you can build a business. Dylan used ? of the store earnings for the past 12 days in order to buy the two stores and the materials he needed for redesigning and restructuring of the two. The real estate agent agreed after some deliberation because the two owners were currently imprisoned and have already lost their rights of ownership on the two slots of lands. Dylan had Jack finalize the papers needed for the procurement of the two stores yesterday. After the purchase, Larry and all the boys helped in the demolition of the wall dividing the main store and the extension. On Dylan''s instructions, they made a sliding door as a form of entrance to the extension stoor from the main store and vice versa. Dylan felt that the training he gave his employees for restaurant management would be a great waste if it was not used, so he designed the other one as a diner so that it will serve as the reception area of the store while keeping the customers at bay. "We welcome you all for today''s grand opening of the Soaring Diner and the extension of the main store. Today, we are going to have a 20% discount one every purchase. Additionally, we will also provide free food and beverages for those who will buy in our store." Dylan announced with his signature smile. The food were the preserved food Dylan had in his storage ring. Due to the absence of any decaying agent within the storage ring, the food Dylan brought were still in excellent condition. So, he decided to use them as a form of promotion. He knew that the Thunder Clouds City was a city were majority of its population are cultivators. Cultivators just need to refine natural energy or spirit energy in order to feel reinvigorated. So, he knew that a restaurant would no longer be as effective here compared to when Dylan and his employees were still in the Soaring Clouds City. Being a veteran in business, Dylan knew how to match his business with the current needs of the people surrounding his establishment. He also knew how to use different methods effectively depending on the situation at hand. That''s why he appropriately utilized the great food as a means to attract the crowd. "A discount?!" "Free food and beverages?!" The crowd was caught by surprise when they heard this promo. A grand opening promo? This was a new thing to them. With this type of advertisement, many were interested in buying and tasting the free food of the store. The crowd was rather curious about the real taste of the food and tea when they saw that satisfied expressions of the first to drink them. Though food was no longer a necessity but eating us a form of pleasure that cultivators craved from time to time. "I will buy a Wild Savage Vine!" "I will buy 100 grams of Snowflake Pollen!" " A patch of Cloudrock grass!" ... The ones with money immediately bought some herbs that they need and enjoyed the free food given to them. "Excellent food!" The first customers said after he took a bite from the meal he ordered. This comment immediately tempted the others to buy herbs in order to satiate the curiosity and hunger they were feeling as they saw those exquisitely made food being served one after the other. 104 Chapter 104: Negotiation 1 Dylan was able to invite every single one of the more than 700 people that came to get a glimpse of him. He was able to maximize the benefits the expansion received given the current situation. Due to the expansion, the customer capacity of the Soaring Herbal Garden has now doubled! It could now entertain 450 customers within? the stores at the same time! "Sir, here is your order." "Here is the batch of herbs you ordered?, ma''am." "This is the Cloudrock grass you wanted, dear customer." ... Dylan felt nostalgic when he saw how busy his employees was. It was as if he returned back in time and was in the Gardenford Restaurant again. The customers were happily eating the free food they got from the promo. Aside from the swift and productive services of the store, they were also enjoying the excellent gourmet food of the Soaring Diner. "This is such a wonderful tea! The way it was brewed had to be done with a meticulous and profound method! It may be comparable to the Clearwater Leaf Tea served by the Riverine Gardens." A plain looking customer commented on the Gardenford Tea. "Don''t make such careless comments or else you might cause a conflict between the two business!" His wife reprimanded. "Well, what he said is true. It is already in that standard! Not only that, their way of cooking meat and vegetables is otherworldly! I have never heard or tasted such a manner of cooking!" A bearded man said otherwise. "I know. I could recognize that the meat they serve are only from beasts of the spirit veins but the juiciness and succulent taste of the meat is already comparable to an Awakened Spirit beast meat that I have tasted before!" A short but round man concurred. "We are in the same page here. It could very well be comparable to the meat served by the Spirit Meat Diner!" Another lady agreed. Indeed, it was as they said. The technique that Dylan utilized and taught to his employees for the creation of the tea was otherworldly because it was a method centuries ahead of the brewing method of this age. Dylan''s? method of brewing tea would have tasted even more delicious if it was done with a machine. However due to the limitation of the human''s technology that was only comparable to the 18th century back on Earth. An hour later... Most of the customers were done eating and were getting ready to depart. Before they left, some experts went to Dylan to greet him once more. "I am in awe for such excellent service and sumptuous meals provided, Sir Dylan." A patriarch of a great clan commended. "You flatter me too much, sir." Dylan modestly replied. "Hahaha, with such an attitude, you will most likely rise to the ranks of business in no time." A sect master of medium-sized sect praised. "I agree. By the way, Young Noble, are you interested in forming a business partnership with my Firebull School?" A schoolmaster Asked. "Hahaha, that''s right, Young Noble. I would also like to propose you a partnership with my Quadra Fang Sect?" Another tall old man proposed. "I would also humbly request such a proposal to you and form a partnership with my Charon Clan, Young Noble." The clanmaster also took this opportunity and requested. "My Steelheart Sect also offers a partnership with your? Soaring Herbal Garden." The other sect master offered. He could let the other 3 take the spotlight so he spoke out loud to also gain ground in this partnership. ''Interesting. These old foxes are quite the cunning ones.'' Dylan merely smiled at this because he immediately knew what their intention was. ... "What?!" The customers who were just about to leave stopped due to this turn of events! "Those 4 are willing to form a partnership with the Soaring Garden?!" A man was shocked when he saw this scene. "Why? Is something amazing about them?" A ignorant junior curiously asked. "You don''t know? Those 4 are from the powers which are all part of the top 200 Sects in the whole Thundercloud!" A old man astonishingly said. "Only top 200? Is that an amazing achievement?" A young disciple from another power obliviously said. "With the size of Thunder Cloud, one must know that there are over 2000 registered sects within the city so being part of the Top 300 is definitely noteworthy!" His master clarified with shock also evident in his face. "Whoa!" The disciples were shocked when they heard? such a number! "If that is true, why are they trying to form a business partnership with the Soaring Herbal Garden?" A lady disciple asked. "Yeah, master. If they are part of the top 200, why do they need to fawn over the owner of this newly established business?" The young disciple asked once more. "That is because of its backing, the Premier Hall which is the 3rd strongest sect within the Thunder Cloud!" An elder from that power grimly revealed. "The Premier Hall?!" The disciples were startled when the name Premier Hall was uttered! It was like a wake up call to them and started to understand the truths behind these proposal. It should be known that the Premier Hall was not only known to be one of the strongest sect around but also the one of the most successful in business! It is rumored that they could earn a total of 5000 spirit stones in just a single auction which occurs 3 times a week! They were also known for the remarkable artifacts weapons, techniques and manuals that they have all retrieved from the excavation of different tombs! Having them as a patron would mean immeasurablebenefits and a sure rise to power! Many were wondering why the Hall offered Dylan such a partnership and even publicize it. Aside from his talents in comprehension and recognition as the kings'' successor, Dylan had not shown the same level talent with regards to business. So many started to question why would they make a business partnership when they could just recruit him? It was one of the hottest topics of the city with another topic of what was Dylan''s origin and background. Some speculations were made due to the creative minds of the people. The most discussed one was that Dylan must have been the son of the current Hallmaster! This speculations had many supports because it could be the answer to the mystery why the Premier Hall was so keen about disseminating the matter to the public. Alas, they were only speculations. ... "Judging from what is happening, wouldn''t this mean that those four are just taking advantage of the store owner?" A cold-looking lady? observed and stopped from as they were passing by the store. She was with a handsome and scholarly looking young man. They looked really compatible with each other. However, the cold expression of the lady implied that it was otherwise. "I am afraid so. They must have proposed this in front ofso many people in order to cause more pressure to Dylan Ford. The crowd would subconsciously make him conscious of his decision because if he said no, he might appear to be arrogant and not caring about lower ranking sects due to the backing of the Hall which will be a bad image for his business. But if he said yes, the crowd will see it as something worthy of felicitations because it will be similar to strengthening his foothold in business. But in reality, the four has cunningly rode the coattails of his success." The scholarly young man explained intelligently because he was able to grasp the situation after seeing what was happening. "So, their using psychological attack on the young one? How shrewd of them." The lady disdainfully sneered. "Hahaha but that just goes to show their rich experience in business." The young man laughed. "Hmph, nothing but willy old foxes." The lady harrumphed at this comment. "But, it seems like the new businessman is not so simple as well." The man smiled at her reaction and focused his attention on the five. "You''re right. He is still able to maintain that nonchalant smile of his in this situation. It seems that he is rather composed and confident." The lady noticed the faint calm smile on Dylan''s face that exuded his self-esteem. ... Dylan was merely smiling from all of this. How could he not know what these four sly foxes were thinking? ''You think I am a fat sheep ignorantly waiting for you wolves to reap the rewards of my hardwork? Unfortunately, you have met me.'' Dylan smirked as he thought "So, what say you, Young Noble?" The head of the Charon Clan said. "You may still think it thoroughly if you want." The sect master of the Steelheart Sect inquired with a smile. "It''s fine, sect master. I already have." Dylan replied while maintaining his faint smile. "Oh... Young Noble has such decisiveness despite his young age. He will surely rise to become the top tycoon of the city one day." The schoolmaster of the Firebull school stuttered a bit before saying. These calm? reply from Dylan was a bit unexpected since they were expecting him to at least feel slightly pressured. "No need for flattery, schoolmaster. My decision is entirely dependent in yours after all." Dylan mysteriously said. "What do you mean, Young Noble?" The Quadra Fang Sect Master asked confusedly. "It depends on the benefits that you have prepared for me." Dylan replied. "What?!" This caught both the crowd and the four heads were shocked by this reply. " I said it depends on the benefits you four have prepared. You don''t expect me to agree with partnerships so easily. As a businessman, I also have to take into account the benefit that I will receive from this transaction." Dylan repeated for clarification. "Ahem, of course, the benefits we would give is the constant trade of goods between our establishments. This would increase the variety of products that we can display on our stores which would benefit all sides. We could also create a joint establishment with participants of the partnership. The profit would of course be split equally for fairness." The cunning patriarch quick-wittedly replied which gained the approval of the three others. "I can agree to this terms." The Steelheart Sect Master nodded in agreement. "I as well." The sect master of the Quadra Fang Sect agreed also. "I also second this proposition." The Firebull Schoolmaster seconded. The crowd thought that it was the logical trade for all parties but what they heard from Dylan dumbfounded them the most. "I am afraid I would have to decline the partnership if those are the terms." Dylan faintly smiled. 105 Chapter 105: Negotiation 2 "He declined?!" The crowd was dumbfounded. He just declined a perfectly fair offer. "Why would he decline?" A disciple from a power could not comprehend Dylan''s line of thought at all. "I- I''m not even sure myself..." The person beside him was confused as well. "Having a variety of products is definitely beneficial to a business! Even more so to have a joint establishment with these 4 powers is like giving wings to a tiger! Why didn''t he choose to accept the deal?" A noble clan sect master felt that it was impractical to waste such? an opportunity. "Right. If it was me, I would have accepted the offer without hesitation." Another sect master said. "If you ask me, he seems just to be an arrogant and miserly tycoon!" A burly man commented severely. "He must think that gaining the partnership of the Premier Hall will help his business boom just like that! What arrogance!" An old fox analyzed. ... "Waves of displeasure from the audience came with Dylan''s reply but the man was unperturbed from this." The scholarly handsome youth smiled at this scene. He was rather surprised that Dylan replied like that. "Do you have any ideas why he did not accept the deal?" The cold beauty beside him asked. "Unfortunately, I don''t. It seems that this Dylan Ford is unfathomable. Maybe even more unfathomable than me." The young man mysteriously smiled as a response. "Hmph, don''t try and decieve me, Conor! He''s unfathomable? Don''t make me laugh! You are the most unfathomable person I know in the entire Mystical Clouds. You wouldn''t have been labeled as this country''s greatest mind if it weren''t for your achievement back at the borders of Magma Rock. You were even labeled as the Puppeteer of Death by the enemy troops! Compared to you, he''s just an ordinary man." The beauty reprimanded him. She was very cautious though because she told him this through the Spiritual Transmission. "Hahaha, I know, princess. You don''t have to make me sound so sinister though. But, I was not joking when I said he was unfathomable. My intuition is telling me that he is... special." The man transmitted through Spiritual Transmission as well. "What makes you say that?" The girl frowned. Conor''s intuition had saved their troops and overturned the tides of each skirmish with his strategies that has happened in the past. "You''ll see." The man smiled and this time he replied with his voice. He continued to observe the little show in front of them and seemed to have no intention of discussing any longer. "..." The cold beauty''s curiosity was piqued because of Conor''s remark. So, she also focused her attention to Dylan and the four head-level figures of four different sects. ... "What is the reason for your rejection, Young Noble?" The head of Charon Family had a gloomy face when ha spoke these words. "I apologize if you were offended by my declination. However, I feel that it would be an unwise decision for me to accept such terms." Dylan nonchalantly apologized in a calm manner. "Unwise?!" The sect master of the Steelheart Sect gritted his teeth to suppress the anger he was feeling. The 18 year old businessman just told them that teaming up with them would be disadvantageous to his brand. They were one of the powers that towered above all so this was a direct assault to their pride. Others would feel gratified to be offered such privilege of cooperating with all of them but this young man just flatly and decisively rejected their fair offer right in front of their faces. He felt that Dylan was being too arrogant if he wants to obtain a better profit than these four. "I can see that you are quite angry because of what I have said. But I stand firm in my decisions if the terms are remained unchanged. You might think that I am arrogant but I have perfectly sane reasons that compel me from rejecting your offers." Dylan explained himself. "This is because?" The master of the Quadra Fang Sect questioned him with a shade of anger on his countenance. Dylan''s attitude has clearly angered. He was suppressing his anger because it would be unsightly if he were to lose his temper in front of a crowd. "Are you sure you want me to say it out loud?" Dylan smile was still the same and his expression did not change all throughout the verbal exchange. "Hmph, there is no need for you to act so mysteriously. If you have something, then say it. Or else you will incur public unrest and the credibility of your store will drown in the waves of criticism by the citizens of the city!" The Firebull Schoolmaster was very straightforward when he spoke. "Is that so? Then, I will do as you wish. The reason you want to partner up with my business is mainly because of the Premier Hall backing me up and not because of my skills, is it not?" Dylan calmly said with his hands behind his back. "This~" Such a blunt way of exposing their obvious intention made both the four heads and the bystanders take a step back. This young man was too daring! "Just from your reaction, I can now confirm this speculation is correct. This means that you want to use me to gain the attention and even gain the favor of the business monolith, Premier Hall, am I right?" Dylan only waited for them to create a reaction so that he can use it as a form of retort. He did not pause a second later and ruthlessly asked! "That is not entirely true. Yes, we had the intention of gaining the favor of the Premier Hall but we also came because of your talents." The old man of the Quadra Fang Sect was able to come up with a rebuttal. "Don''t treat me like a child, sir Carlos. I know fully well of the abilities I have shown ever since my arrival to the city. The only noteworthy talent I possess is the comprehension and intelligence I have to pass the. Noble Test and gain the inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings. I may have also performed above average compared to the other new seeds of the business society within the city. So, if you were to weigh the value of my talents in both fields, I assume that no one would complain if I were to say I have a better talent in cultivation than in business management." Dylan paused before continuing any further. He wanted to observe the reactions of the four first. The crowd nodded from Dylan''s narrative because his intelligence and comprehension were the only thing noteworthy? about him right now. Even the four heads could only agree after Dylan''s statements. ... "Clever." Conor smilingly praised Dylan. "That Dylan Ford? Why?" The princess asked. "Judging from his actions, I could say that he purposefully said that he knew fully well of the abilities he had shown so far in this city instead of saying that he knew fully well his capabilities he has. He must have planned something but sadly the four did not notice." Conor answered through Spiritual Transmission. "Is there any particular difference from the original and the paraphrased version you said?" The beauty asked with the transmission. "It''s not a paraphrased version because they don have the same meaning The latter means that he has already shown his full capabilities while the other means that he is still hiding his talents from the public. You can infer these conclusions from the hint he said ''I knew fully well of the abilities I have shown so far''. Do you understand now? " Conor replied. "So you are implying that... he is still hiding his talents? But in what field?" The girl asked. "You will know very soon." Conor smiled. ... ''It seems like the four are still too stunned that they did not notice the loophole in my statement. I guess I will just have to continue with the other route.'' Dylan thought. "So, if you were to say that you came for my talents, why did you offer a partnership instead of trying to recruit me into your sects?" Dylan asked the four. This question woke up the crowd! Indeed, why didn''t they? It was just as Dylan said earlier he was the successor of the king''s that means his talent in cultivation is terrifyingly high. The appropriate approach for this was to rope him in while he was still in his budding stage. "It''s true that your? talent in cultivation is devilish but that doesn''t mean that we could neglect your? talent in business is also great. It is as you have said that your talent in business is above average among the new brands in the city. Having talent in both of these fields is quite rare especially when they are already high despite being in your budding stage. Therefore, it would be very beneficial for us to create a partnership with a talent like you." The old man of the Steelheart Sect was able to come up with an explanation also. His intellect has guided his sect to where it is standing right now. "If that were true, then why didn''t you go to Riki Panther, Stone Edge Saint Child, or Wonder Child and form a partnership with either one of them? In terms of cultivation, they are vastly stronger than me. In terms of business, they are also quite successful to have reached the Top 500 of the city despite their young age especially Riki Panther who have recently reached the 300th rank. Based on what you have said regarding talents in both fields, they are a better candidate than I am. Yes, I might have gained the inheritance of the king''s but what if I suddenly encounter a bottleneck which would prevent from advancing? We all know that even the geniuses will encounter such bottlenecks so it could very well happen to me as well. If such a bottleneck were to happen to one of the forementioned, they would still be Origin Realm experts while I on the otherhand might never reach such a realm? So why take a risk of creating a partnership with me when you could approach those geniuses instead?" Dylan slowly debated without much hurry as if he was just casually conversing with acquaintances. "Be-because..." The Steelheart Sect Master''s? mind was blank. He could not think of a single retort to say. Dylan''s argument was something of an unexpected perspective that he did not anticipate. He was trying to think of something to prevent himself from losing face. ''Think. Think!'' But it was due to this thought that he could not think straight and come up with a response. The other three were unresponsive because did not expect Dylan to use such a perspective. They could not think of a single excuse because there was only one answer to his? question?. They felt that they were being cornered by a cunning wolf. "It seems that you don''t want to answer the question. That''s fine. I''ll just say it then. It was because of my humble background. You came to me because you thought of me as a bumpkin and an inexperienced businessman. That''s why you thought that you could manipulate me and make me send a good word to the Hallmaster or the Coordinator so that they could recognize you. By latching onto me, you plan to reap everything that the Premier Hall will provide meand increase your standing in the city as I grow stronger. When you four become strong enough, you plan to use me as a tool that will help you create a joint partnership with the Premier Hall. Isn''t what I have said right?" Dylan revelead the plans of the four. " A monster..." The four heads felt like they were naked in front of Dylan. He revealed their plans against him like the back of his hand. They even suspected that he was there when they organized this plan. "That''s why I said that it would be unwise for me to agree to such a partnership." Dylan maintained his smile from the start to finish. It was as though everything went according to his plans. 106 Chapter 106: Negotiation 3 The crowd was shocked by what Dylan had said. But as the more they thought, the more it made sense. The four heads indeed seemed to have conspired against Dylan. They never expected that the tides would be so quick to change. Just a minute ago, they were scorning Dylan for being arrogant and miserly but now it seemed that Dylan was just a visionary so he was able to easily predict and deduce the contention behind the actions of the four heads "It was as the adage goes, the young will surpass the old." An old man admiringly said. He did not expect Dylan to have the level of insight that he has. "Amazing!" The men surrounding the store gaped. Dylan''s explanation has clearly made a fan out of them. "He''s so charming." The women stared with fervent gazes on Dylan''s strikingly handsome face. ... It was just as Dylan had said. Due to? his humble background, they thought it would be easier to manipulate Dylan. Although he was outstandingly smart that he was able to perfect the Noble Test, they thought that maybe it was just because he diligently studied. They thought that regardless of how smart he was, his wisdom would not be as such. Their line of thought was not wrong. However, they didn''t know the fact that Dylan was a transmigrator and had the experience of two lives coupled with being an experienced veteran in business. Not to mention, that business in Earth was even more severe and heartless due to the presence of social media, Dylan had an unpspeakable edge in management compared to them. " How could this be?" Okemos Charon, the head of the Charon clan, tremblingly said. "How were you able to see through it?" Arman Heinze?, the Sect Master of the Quadra Fang Sect, asked hoarsely. "Simply because I am Dylan Ford." Dylan smiled dashingly as he showed his dainty white teeth with his deep black eyes shining with confidence. He appeared to be a daringly handsome commercial model who just said a catch phrase which made countless girls around the store to feel arrows piercing through their hearts. "Ahhh!" Some girls fainted in front of this sudden attack. Some had completely red faces which they attempted to cover with their two hands. Some didn''t even notice themselves opening their mouths. "So handsome." Even the female employees who accompanied Dylan for a long time and was able to adapt to seeing his beautiful face every day, felt their faces burning. They rarely see him smile so confidently like that. "..."He said it as though it was just a matter of fact that him knowing it was not something out of the ordinary which left the four heads speechless. He said it in a neither overbearing nor nonchalant manner but with confident majesty! Dylan was able to cause such as reaction in front of the crowd. because after making his spirit core evolve to the Supreme Core. His aura has also evolved with him. This aura contained the majestic air of a Supreme being that came from the cosmos! Dylan himself did not know this. Seeing their bewildered reactions, he only joyfully thought to himself, ''Nailed it.'' The line he said just now was something he mimicked from a popular light novel back on Earth. He felt really great that he was able to deliver it so confidently. "But I would not mind helping you get closer with the Premier Hall. However, you have to agree with just one condition." Dylan suddenly said. "Really?!" Steven Bulwark, the Firebull Schoolmaster, had his jaw drop from this statement. "Ehhh?!" It was not just him but the entire crowd was dumbfounded. They clearly did not expect that Dylan could still agree despite the disadvantages of the deal. "What could that condition be, Young Noble?" Yander Cooper, the master of the Steelheart Sect inquired respectfully. "To become my subordinates. In other words, I want your? businesses to become subsidiaries while my business would be the conglomerate."Dylan calmly stated. "Subordinates?! Subsidiary?! Over my dead body! Don''t get too cocky just because you have the backing of the Premier Hall, you brat!" The speaker was Steven Bulwark who was known for his unreasonable attitude once triggered. "Schoolmaster, restrain yourself!'' Okemos Charon, the oldest of the four, scolded Schoolmaster Steven''s foul speech. "Can Young Noble change the conditions of the deal?" Yander grimly said. "As you wish. Give me 50% of the shares of each business." Dylan flatly said. "Young Noble, don''t take this too far! Giving you 50% of the shares is the same as being your subordinates!" Yander also became furious at Dylan''s conditions. "Young Noble, can you please be more considerate? You could add more but it has to be within? our business bottomline." Sect master Arman spoke in a respectful tone while suppressing the anger he had. "Fine. Give me 10% of shares from each power. I also want 55 Low Earth Rank Techniques: 15 battle techniques, 15 movement techniques, 15 defensive techniques, 10 secret? techniques. I also want to have the core cultivation manuals of each power. I want the Firebull Schoolmaster to supply me with 60 patches of Scorching Bullgrass every month. I also want the Steelheart Sect to forge me 83 High Spirit Rank weapons and whole body gear. Next, I want the Quadra Fang Sect to give me 100 drops of origin foundation beast. Lastly, I want the Charon Clan to provide me with 80 pills for energy recuperation, 80 pills for healing wounds and 80 pills for dispelling ailments such as poisoning, paralysis and etc. I want this all in seven weeks time." Dylan frugally demanded. "You!! Don''t ask for a mile when we''re only giving you an inch!!" Arman roared in anger. "I believe that Sir Arman doesn''t quite get the situation here. Aren''t you going to use me as a tool for you to get closer to the Premier Hall? So what''s wrong with me demanding all of this? I am merely stating conditions. Remember it is you who needs me not the other way around. So you don''t have the qualifications to demand anything from me. I''m already being kind enough that? I have changed my conditions twice now. So I advice you to not test my patience." Dylan still maintained the faint smile on his face but one could notice that his voice has gotten increasingly colder. "..." The four was silent. They suddenly realized that he was right. It was them who needed him not the other way around. Why did they come here? It was to create a partnership so that their business whose growth has become stagnant all these years would be allowed to develop once more. ... The crowd shuddered when they heard Dylan''s demands. They first felt that Dylan was being generous when he mentioned that he was only demanding 10% of the shares. However, as he continued with his demands even the crowd''s expression turned aghast. This was because he appropriated it with the rate of production of the products of each sect. All of his demands were at least 50% of the production of each power within 2 months but he demanded it within 7 weeks that would mean that he was demanding approximately 60% of their production within 7 weeks! Not only that, the number of Low Earth Rank each power had was only around 25 which meant that there were 100 manuals all in all. However, Dylan demanded for 55 of these techniques which was evidently more than half of the total number! He even demanded for the core cultivation manuals? which were all at the Mid Earth Rank! This was not a deal! It was outright extortion!! Only someone with sufficient knowledge and had thoroughly researched about those four powers would be able to make such demands. It made the crowd think that Dylan prepared for their arrival with the conditions already in his mind. "Maybe he knew that they would specifically come?" Someone asked. "But there was over 2000 businesses in the entire city!" Another argued with that thought. "That''s right! How was he able to ascertain that these four specific power would come to him and negotiate?!" A man beside the person who just argued agreed with him. "That would be impossible." An elderly person shook his head. "What if he didn''t knew that they would come?" A kid thought out loud. "What are you mumbling on about, kid?" A noble reprimanded the kid. "What if he just knew all of the businesses?" The kid ignored the noble and continued to speculate. "Stop day dreaming, kid. That''s impossible." A lady sneered at the child. "That''s true. This is not a place for you to openly talk, kid." A suitor of the lady kissed up to her by saying. "How are you sure? We thought that getting a perfect score in the Noble Test was impossible but he did it. So how are you all sure that it''s impossible?" The child curiously asked. "That~" They tried to retort but what the kid did make sense. They knew that Dylan only stayed here for less than two weeks and he couldn''t have studied the history, geography and lifestyle of the city elsewhere since it would only be bought within Inner Proximity Cities or the Capital City. From what the rumors, Dylan came from a Middle Proximity City and he was even ignorant to what the Noble Test was. If they estimated the time frame that he used? to study... Thinking about this, they were all shaken. The crowd felt like they were looking at a monster as they thought of how he only used less than 2 weeks time to study for the exam and even got a perfect score. Maybe? he really knew every single business within the city... ... Even the princess was shocked by this sudden turn of events, she really thought that Dylan was the one being cornered but now, it appeared that Dylan was the one hunting them instead. She didn''t expect this level of intellect and cunning to come from a man who wasn''t even 2 decades old. Although she had seen many youthful prodigies who were undoubtedly ingenious, never had she thought it would be on someone as young as Dylan. Of course, she knew another exception, a true monster when it came to shrewdness and genius. She subconsciously looked at the man besides her. The Puppeteer of Death, Conor Keynes. His achievements in the art of war could only be described as terrifying. "You knew?" The girl asked. Conor merely smiled instead of answering. After a moment of silence, he spoke with a smile. " Shouldn''t we be going to the Soaring Cloud City now?" "Fine." The girl unwillingly agreed. She turned around and left without garnering much attention. "Dylan Ford, what an interesting guy." Conor offered a side glance. He smiled as he shockingly disappeared as though he rode with the wind. 107 Chapter 107: Negotiation 4 "It seems like you aren''t interested with my offer." Dylan spoke and broke the silence. His eyes scanned the indecisive expressions of the four businessmen in front of him. "We..." The four heads was still undecided as to accept the deal or not. It was a deal that was clearly disadvantageous to them as it''s effects would be felt immediately but it would be beneficial to them in the long run. With this line of thought, they finally arrived at a conclusion and was about to give an answer when Dylan suddenly said, " Thank you for coming to our store. We hope to see you all again." After Dylan said those words, he turned around and calmly walked towards the store without even looking back. With his hands behind his back, his nonchalance implied that it was as if the negotiation did not happen at all. But no one noticed him mumbling something as he slowly walked. " 5.... 4...." Seeing his actions, the crowd was flabbergasted. Wasn''t he trying to negotiate with the four earlier?! Why was he suddenly turning their back on them?! The four were immediately flustered when they saw Dylan who was holding the handle of the entrance of the Soaring Herbal Garden. They arbitrarily let out a scream, "Wait!" Dylan who was standing facing the door smirked at this as he said to himself, "1. Just in time." Hearing this, Dylan turned around with an amiable smile. "Yes? Is there anything I can help you gentlemen with?" That response left the onlookers shocked. Weren''t they arguing about the deal earlier? Why did it seem that Dylan was able to dismiss it immediately as if it was something trivial and act like nothing happened? He even greeted them with the amiable smile he had used to greet the incoming customers. "We accept the conditions." Okemos replied with a hint of defeat on his voice. "Hm? Conditions? May I ask what Clan Head Okemos is referring to?" Dylan replied smilingly. "Young Noble, please don''t make it any harder for us already. We have already decided to accept your conditions that you just stated." Arman spoke apathetically. "Can you please elaborate what are those?" Dylan innocently asked. "Are you playing with us?!" Steven Bulwark scowled angrily. His patience was now at it''s limits. "Of course not. Why would I?" Dylan still had that pleasant smile he had plastered on his face. "Brother Bulwark, restrain yourself." Yander who was also fuming with rage, chose to restrain himself and tried to seal this deal. "Young Noble, the conditions you have set for us were to give you 10% of shares from each power, 55 Low Earth Rank Techniques of different varieties, the core cultivation manuals of our sects. "You also wanted the Firebull Schoolmaster to supply 60 patches of Scorching Bullgrass every month, the Steelheart Sect to forge me 83 High Spirit Rank weapons and whole body gear, 100 drops of origin foundation beast from the Quadra Fang and the Charon Clan to provide 80 pills for energy recuperation, 80 pills for healing wounds and 80 pills for dispelling ailments such as poisoning, paralysis and etc." Yander patiently enumerated. "But those conditions were only valid until a minute ago. I''m deeply sorry but you are no longer able to avail it." Dylan kindly reminded. "What do you mean by this?" Okemos asked as he frowned. "I have changed my conditions." Dylan replied quickly. "What are the changes you have made?" Yander questioned with seriousness as this would be integral for their sects'' growth. "Give me 12% of shares from each power. I also want 60 Low Earth Rank Techniques: 15 battle techniques, 15 movement techniques, 15 defensive techniques, 15 secret? techniques. I also want to have the core cultivation manuals of each power. I want the Firebull Schoolmaster to supply me with 65 patches of Scorching Bullgrass every month. I also want the Steelheart Sect to forge me 88 High Spirit Rank weapons and whole body gear. Next, I want the Quadra Fang Sect to give me 105 drops of origin foundation beast. Lastly, I want the Charon Clan to provide me with 85 pills for energy recuperation, 85 pills for healing wounds and 85 pills for dispelling ailments such as poisoning, paralysis and etc. I want all of this within 7 weeks and 3 days." Dylan straightforwardly placed the offer without even stuttering. It was as though he prepared for this. "What did you just say?!" Bulwark who was restraining himself suddenly bursted into fury and grabbed Dylan by the collar. He released the strength of a Palace Formation Realm and glared at Dylan''s eyes murderously. "Steven!" The three tried to stop him but they were too late. He was much nearer to Dylan than any of them. They still tried to stop him because it was unbecoming of any of their staus to act so impulsively? in front of the public. However, they would not expect what happened next when Dylan calm aura suddenly changed. "Unhand me!" Dylan ordered indifferently. In that instant, his Heavenly Eyes were activated and his dark round pupils formed into x-shape pupils! His aura changed from his original calm and formal aura to a supreme tyrant of the cosmos! It was as if the entire world have to prostate in his presence. His superior Magnate Strength also reacted to his will and gave a suppressive effect on the atmosphere. His words were rules that needed to be followed. "Holy." The crowd was affected by this arbitrary that they had the impulse to kneel. It was not just them even the three heads also had the impulse to do so. Even more so, with Steven Bulwark who was nearest to Dylan. Hearing his words, he immediately followed as he loosened his grip and released Dylan. He was taken aback and almost fell with his butt flatly on the ground of it weren''t for Yander supporting him. He could still not fathom what just happened. He looked at his trembling arms and he felt a familiar feeling within his body. Fear! Steven looked with a terrified expression at Dylan. He did not expect that he would feel fear from a young adult! Especially those pupils, those pupils which seemed to contain galaxies within! Dylan blinked and he deactivated Heavenly Eyes immediately. He was sure that he only did it within a mere second so that nobody would see the Heavenly Eyes aside from Steven. Since it was only an instant, he was sure that Steven would just see it as nothing but a hallucination. The pressure he released just now was a deterrent he wished to use to instill fear to Steven who had a fiery behavior because he felt that it would be troublesome to negotiate with a brute like him around. So, he felt that it would be better to make the man fear him. "I advise sir Steven to not be so impulsive. You wouldn''t want the Thundercloud Guards to arrest you for bullying the weak or the Thundercloud King Statues to pulverize you with their lightning due to inflicting harm on me, right?" Dylan smiled while saying such threats. It even sounded like a reminder more than a threat because of the way Dylan said it. But, the crowd knew that his intention was to threaten Steven who has an extremely volatile personality. "Krrr..." Steven could only lower his head with this threat. The fear he felt for this man was only increasing with every articulation of words that left his mouth. "Anyways, where were we? Oh right, we were in the middle of a discourse, weren''t we? So, do you agree my terms or not?" Dylan calmly asked. "Sir Dylan, can we please implore you to just set the terms with the prior conditions that you have stated?" Okemos respectfully requested. One could notice the sudden change of the way he addressed Dylan which he formerly called Young Noble but has now spoke with him using a respectful "Sir". "Sir Okemos, I must remind you that it is not I who needs you but you needing me. I am merely stating my terms and not negotiating. It is up to you to accept it or not." Dylan reminded. "..." Okemos was left silent with this reminder. "Gentlemen, I can''t waste my time like this as I still have to receive a lot of customers. Please give me your answer so that we won''t be consuming each other''s time needlessly?." Dylan became frank while speaking this statement. "..." The four were still stuck in deep thought. "5... 4...." Dylan started counting which implied the limited time he has left to offer. "..." Still unresponsive. "3..." Dylan continued. "..." "2..." "1~" When Dylan eventually reached 1, the four finally gave in. "We agree with your terms..." The four unwillingly said. It may not be beneficial at first but the protection and advertisement of the Premier Hall will undoubtedly help them soar! Thus, they eventually agreed with Dylan''s proposition. "Glad to do business with you." Dylan smiled victoriously as a response. He was definitely happy with this new addition in his business. 108 Chapter 108: Checkpoints "Then, let''s make it formal." Dylan reached out his hand for it to be shook by the four heads. A handshake is the most common way of concluding a business deal. To offer your hand means that you are in an agreement with the business partner you gained. It also implies that the two parties have mutual trust with each other. "Mhm." Okemos took the initiative and was the first to shake Dylan''s hands. After him, Dylan shook the other entrepreneurs'' hands next in the order of Arman, Steven, and Yander. When the formalities were done, Dylan looked at the four and smiled, " We can discuss the other details of the partnership inside the store. It may be inappropriate to continue our negotiation with bystanders divulging such valuable information to others." "Mhm." All four nodded with the arrangements. They knew that Dylan not only did this for his sake but also for them. If they were to openly state the details of their negotiation, their competitors in business might take advantage of it. Dylan''s actions gained the approval of the four entrepreneurs. Even Steven Bulwark who had a little bit of conflict with Dylan felt that he was no longer as annoying as before. They were beginning to have this hunch that maybe they did not lose out in this deal after? all. "Can I also invite you four gentlemen for a drink inside?" Dylan offered with an amicable smile. He walked to the door and opened the door for these four tycoons. "Hahaha, then we must taste Young Noble''s collection of wine." Okemos laughed heartily as they walked inside. "I must say that I am quite fickle when it comes to wine. Hahaha!" Yander smiled as well when he followed Okemos and entered the store. Naturally, Steven and Arman also entered. ... "He.. he really did it!" "Amazing!" "Damn, I wish I could be as calm and awesome as him!" The crowd was shocked by this business deal. Dylan Ford had successfully made Charon Clanmaster Okemos , Schoolmaster Steven Bulwark, Sectmaster Yander, and Sectmaster Arman concede in a business deal! These four were known to be business experts but in the end, they were forced into a deal by a newbie! This was an inconceivable matter! Subconsciously, the crowd gradually accepted Dylan as a formidable businessman. ... To the crowd what just happened maybe unfathomable, but for Dylan it was just a usual business deal. Truthfully, Dylan was a bit disappointed because if the four stayed stubborn and proud, Dylan would have been able to extract a whole lot more profit from them. ''But, this is fine as well. I was able to profit in this deal without giving any monetary exchange or barter of products.'' Dylan thought inwardly while the smile in his face turned even more radiant as he walked inside the main Soaring Herbal Garden. Indeed, Dylan''s promise with the four was only to make the Premier Hall agree to be their backing while they would supply him with their high quality goods. Dylan, of course, had confidence in making Azelmek and Sheldon agree by giving them the method to boost their by half in just three weeks! With the endorsement and protection of the Premier Hall, the Okemos Clan, Firebull School, Steelheart Sect, and Quadra Fang Sect would have a much better foothold than before and have increased profits with there business! In this arrangement, Dylan would gain the favor of both the Premier Hall and the four sects while gaining the supplies of both parties without giving away his herbal goods! The shocking thing was that all of this was still within the first phase of Dylan''s Plan! "I have reached the second checkpoint of the plan. After the meeting, the third checkpoint will be finished and I can finally proceed to the second phase." Dylan smirked as he scaled the stairs. ... On the second floor of the Soaring Garden Herbal Store, Dylan and the four sat on a round table and were drinking wine joyously. "Young Noble, where have you acquired such an exotic wine?" Arman could not help but ask after one shot of the wine. He looked at the bright-purple wine in his glass with awe. It was the first time he drank such a good wine. "Yes, the wine has a strong yet fragrant aroma! As it passed through my throat, a burning sensation of pleasure came with it! Even among the wines I have tasted in 2 centuries, this has to be one of the best!" Yander''s explication was filled with fervor and passion! "Young Noble, aside from where it is from, can you tell me what is it''s name?" Steven Bulwark was an alcoholic so he was deeply interested about the background of Dylan''s wine. "I wish to know this as well. A wine of this quality could be sold with the price of 1000 gold coins or 1 spirit stone each!" Okemos highly appraised and was also curious as to how Dylan got his hands on it. "The name of the wine is Radiant Due. The wine is something that I have crafted." Dylan responded calmly. This was a wine that he made back on Earth. "Really?!" The four stood up in shock. This young man knew how to brew such a delicacy?! Every field of practice requires sufficient talent, knowledge and experience in order to create a high quality craft! But this young man also knew how to create High-quality wine! Just how talented, knowledgeable and experienced? could a 18-19 year old man be?! "I guarantee it." Dylan smiled at their reactions. The wine he made was a product of the winemaking method of the 21st century. How could 18th century winemaking compare to the 21st century winemaking? In those 3 centuries of difference, the distilling method of winemaking companies have improved by several tiers! This was even more so when humanity was able to successfully create artificial intelligence which became the transition point of the Digital Age to the Advanced Digital Age in the year 2035! Because of this, almost every branch of science and different fields? of practice were able to improve in an groundbreaking pace as the years passed! Winemaking in Earth have undergone immense evolution in the year 2040! The chemists and chemical engineers were able to create a distilling method that hastens the fermentation of wine due to the advancement the modern technology! During that year, the speed of fermentation could be increased by 1.3 times! This marked a revolutionary period for winemakers all around the world. In the beginning of the year 2050, the process was simplified (1.3 times faster) just by brewing the optimal combination of the modern herbal ingredients of that time and with the use of technology the method could increase the process by 3.9 times! Naturally, Dylan also invested in creating a winemaking subsidiary company of the Omega Trading Corporation in the year 2040 because he predicted that due to this discovery, winemaking would be another opportunity for him to profit. 10 years later, it became a popular brand worldwide. "How were you able to make such a wine? Do you have awinemaking master as your teacher?" The four was keen to discover how Dylan had the ability to create the wonderful wine. "I''m afraid that the method is secret so you must forgive me. However, I did have a great teacher who taught how to make this fine wine." Dylan answered. The wine was something that Dylan had consistently tryied to make ever since he reached this world because cultivators who love food might be sparse but those who love wine are innumerable! He knew the simplified method of modern distilling which was to create optimum combinations of herbs. However, the herbs in the Great Mystic World varies from the herbs of earth. That''s why it took him a total of two months before being able to find the right substitutes in order to create the Radiant Due wine. "Oh." The four nodded. They knew that the method was a company secret so they decided not to pry any longer "Do you have any more of the wine, Young Noble?" Okemos inquired. "Yes, I do. I was able to brew wine for two times Unfortunately, I am only able to make 3 bottles per creation due to the lack of equipment. So, I only have about 5 bottles left." Dylan sighed. It was truly difficult to create wine in this era. For the past 13 days, Dylan made the wine using large pots and manually did all the labor. "I see." Okemos was a bit disappointed but he knew that making wine is difficult without proper equipments. "But, if you are all willing to help me, creating 60 bottles a month would be possible and create a joint establishment. This could be said to be our second agreement." Dylan suddenly smiled. "?!" The four heads were speechless with baffled expressions. They never would have thought that Dylan would propose another deal after proposing one just several minutes ago. But the offer was incomparably tempting! 60 bottles would be equal to 60,000 gold coins a month! "What are the terms?" Okemos quickly recovered asked directly. "We''ll obviously split it five ways. The terms would be even and we would get 20% of the profit each." Dylan raised his right hand with all five fingers raised, followed by raising two fingers with his left hand. "..." The four were silent again. They felt that it was peculiar for Dylan to suddenly offer a deal with an even profit. It felt like the Dylan who was negotiating with them outside of the store has vanished. "Of course, as the provider of the winemaking method, I have conditions. Don''t worry, I only have two this time." Dylan calmly said. ''Here it comes.'' The four thought of this and prepared themselves for Dylan''s conditions. "What are these two, Young Noble?" Arman inquired with a low voice. "My first condition is that the establishment we''ll carry the brand of my business. My second condition is that you provide the equipment and the place while I provide the manpower." Dylan put down his conditions with a leisurely smile. 109 Chapter 109: Discussion "That''s all?" Steven and the others were shocked by Dylan''s conditions. They confusedly? looked at each other. They thought he was going to ask for outrageous demands but who would have thought he would only ask for the name of the joint establishment. "Yes." Dylan said while he drank a glass of wine. He smiled at their reactions. Only he knew that the deal appeared fair in the surface but in reality it was not. The true amount of the bottles? that Dylan could make in one sitting is 4! With the support of these four, Dylan could create 80 bottles a month and he would only need to give 60 that would mean he would have a stock of 20 bottles every month! Storing these 20 bottles of Radiant Due per month would make the wine''s quality increase over time. Dylan planned to store them for a minimum of 1 year before displaying half of it. The other half would be stored for further maturity! He would continue this cycle every month and every year until he would reach a collection of wine of different shelf life! Dylan also researched how wine has increased or decreased price over the years within the Thunder Clouds City. He discovered that a wine with a fairly good reputation could rise in price 50% per year for the next five to ten years provided that it is publicly recognized as delectable. One must know that wine would taste better over time. With the catalyst of the optimum combination of spirit herbs, the speed of fermentation will raise? the speed by 30%. If for example he stored a bottle of wine for 10 years, then it would mean would have a 13 year old wine which would be 6.5x the original price!! Imagine in just one year, Dylan would have a stock of 240 bottles with varying storage length! In 10 years, he would have 2400 mouthwatering wine of 13 years old! If he managed to sell just one of them, his profit with just one wine would of course increase not only by twofold or threefold but almost sevenfold!! Dylan had long crafted a long-term plan for the business of winemaking. He also had organized an approach on what to do for each year in this business. The next reason why Dylan only asked for the name because he desired for his brand to have exposure! With the exposure of his business and support of the four sects, his business would gain more attention! ''Making a joint establishment with this four is the same as them acknowledging me and with their acknowledgement, I will asking be introduced to the regular customers of their businesses. With that in mind, the Soaring Herbal Garden''s popularity will rise tremendously.'' Dylan smiled thinking of the benefits of his plans. With his brand''s name in the surface, people will tend to remember his business more instead of the four sects. Of course, Dylan knew that the four heads knew what it meant. However, he knew that despite of them knowing his intent, they would overlook it if the deal was equally beneficial for all parties. That''s why Dylan immediately spoke after this thought without? waiting for any of the businessmen to reply. "With regards to the allocation and budgeting, allow me to impart with all of you what I had in mind." Dylan momentarily stopped and scanned the gazes of the four. After ensuring their attention was with him, he continued, "The first on my agenda is that we will only allocate 40 bottles of wine to be sold every month and leave the other 20 unexposed so that they would still have the time to age. This would also increase the rarity of the product." "Mhm." All four nodded with Dylan''s arrangement. "The second is that the 20 bottles will be equally divided into 4 every month as something similar to shares." Dylan stated the next after receiving a response. "For the ingredients, I would need 60 fruit-bearing spirit herbs such as Bubble Grapes, Tipsy Berries, Sweet Blood Due,..." "For the equipment, I would need 10 large pots which are especially for winemaking that are about 1 meter in length, 15 fruit crusher hammers, 10 1.2 meter?-long steel laddles,..." "For the location, the most ideal one is Lot#34 at the crossroad Road #12 and #3 of the Lightning Boulevard which is 40 meters wide, 30 meters long and 2.5 meters high because we are going to need a lot of space for the production of the wine. The second ideal lot is..." "In total, the four of you would have to spend 102,000 gold coins. Each, you would have to spend upto 23 gold coins each. We could earn a total of 40,000 a month. In addition, we could also bring out 5 of the month-old wine within the first and the next batch''s 5 for the next month. This 5 one month old wine every month would have a price raise of 3.33% which is 1003 gold coins. The following month, the half of the two-month old wine would also be displayed which has 6.67% increase in its price with the one month old wines of the second month. If we follow this trend, the profit we would have would be 3% more in the first month, 10% more in the thrid month, 23.34% in the sixth, 50% in the first year and finally 100.02% more in the second year! One year later, our sales would automatically increase by half fold." Dylan finished the statements he had in mind. Okemos and company were trembling in excitement as they heard of this. Although this amount would be small compared to their current income, however the potential that this winemaking business shows is awesome! Within just one year, they could already square off their capital! Imagine within a decade, they could already gain sevenfold of their capital! "And, this is only based on the current production rate." Dylan''s? statement woke them up to reality. "That''s right!" They suddenly felt enlightened. "Let''s say for example, we raise production rate by half every month, what do you think would happen?" Dylan asked them " Then that would mean within just a year we would gain... sevenfold for every bottle!" Okemos'' calculations almost made his colleagues nearly fall of their seats! "However, increasing it every month would be difficult." Arman rechecked by using logic. Finding the right personnel and teaching them the method would take time and training. This training would at least take 2-3 months for them to perfectly execute the technique. Thus, it would be really difficult for them to increase it every month. "I know. That''s why we''ll only start after one year of opening. During that year, we improve productivity by half for every 3 months. In the third year, we can start doing it in every month." Dylan suggested. "So you mean to say that the one year, would be for the training of the workers of the business?" Yander inquired. "Yes." Dylan answered. "May I ask whether Young Noble only has one wine that he knows?" Steven raised the most important question in the discussion. "Of course, I know of five and among them, Radiant Due is only the fourth of the most delicious but the last one is not far off from the flavor of the Radiant Due." Dylan responded with preparation. His reply stunned and excited the four heads. They never expected that Dylan would posses four more wine recipes wherein 3 of which are more superior in taste than Radiant Due with 1 that is slightly inferior. "Unfortunately, right now, I still can''t make them due to lack of materials. However I can assure you that the third is 2 times more valuable than the Radiant Due. Similarly, from third to second or second to first." Dylan reassured. Although he was unable to make the others at the moment, he assured them that their values are either equal or greater than the Radiant Due. "Hahahaha, marvelous! Marvelous!" Okemos applauded from joy and excitement. "It seems that this partnership is definitely worth the bargain!" Arman laughed joyfully. Hearing Dylan''s word''s made all of them beyond happy. Never would they have thought that they would discover such a fine deal within the city! It was akin to finding a hidden cave filled with gold! "If that is all, then, I, Yander Cooper, would wholeheartedly accept in the name of my Steel heart Sect." Yander was all smiles as he picked up his glass and raised the glass of Radiant Due. "My Quadra Fang Sect will accept this as well." Arman Heinze lifted his wine glass. "My Firebull School will naturally agree to such a partnership!" Steven raised his as well. "My Charon Clan would do the same as well." Okemos slowly did the same. "Hahaha, thank you for the trust, gentlemen. I won''t let you down." Dylan heartily laughed as he raised his glass. "Cheers!" All 5 uttered at the same time as they moved their glasses to the center of the table. *Ting* The sound of glasses ringing was soon heard which marked the start of a successful business partnership. They discussed some more details as well as the date of the construction and opening of the store. Finally, they decided that it would be three weeks later in order to fulfill the necessary preparations. After the meeting adjourned, Dylan bid farewell to the four heads who all left with smiles placated on their faces. "Time to work." Dylan turned around and helped his employees serve the customers. It was only an hour past noon but they were already able to serve all of the 700 customers with more customers still arriving. By the time they closed the stores?, it was already 10 in the evening. The moon shined brightly that night and shone on the bodies of the weary workers of the Soaring Herbal Gardens. It was no surprise that they were extremely tired as they were able to serve 1012 customers today! 110 Chapter 110: Clearing Things Up In Dylan''s Residence... "Sir Dylan, where have you been last night? We were shocked to discover that you were not within your room when we came to check earlier." Jack asked after they have arrived at the residence. "Jack''s right. You did not tell us anything about you leaving." Beverly said with a worried look. "We were so worried. We thought that something might have happened to you." Larry had a dejected look on his face. "Ah..." Dylan suddenly realized that he forgot to say that he was going to leave last night. This unknowingly lead to his employees worrying of his whereabouts. As he scanned the looks on their face, he knew that he had wronged them so he decided to tell the truth as an apology. "I left the city and cultivated at the Great Pine Forest. I''m really sorry for forgetting to tell you and making you worry needlessly. " Dylan admitted. "Why do you have to leave the city just to cultivate?" Ronald asked. "Because my cultivation technique causes too much of a disturbance as I breakthrough. If I stayed in the city to cultivate, the higher ups of the city would then notice. You all know how controversial my identity is. Thus, I have to keep low profile and leave the city to cultivate." Dylan explained. "Oh." Hearing his explanation, the employees understood. It was really difficult for Dylan to train in the city if his cultivation technique attracts unwarranted attention. "Then how strong are you now? Have you already entered the Awakening Spirit Realm?" Arnold inquired. "Eh? Can''t you detect my current level?" Dylan was slightly shocked to hear this question. Normally, cultivators could sense the cultivation level of another if the gap isn''t more than 2 sub-realms. Thus, it was with reason that Dylan was shocked with Arnold''s question. "No, we can''t." Arnold shook his head. "Yeah, boss. What''s with that? I can feel that you are far stronger than before but I''m not quite sure by how much." Ron nodded on Arnold''s reply and asked Dylan. "..." This question made Dylan think and silent. Why couldn''t his employees see his current power level? ''Why can''t they determine my strength? I just cultivated the Legendary Co... That''s right! I cultivate the first chapter of the Cosmic God Manual which is a God-tier cultivation technique! In some light novels, those who cultivate a vastly superior grade of cultivation technique or those who possess extreme levels of energy purity could block outsiders from figuring out their cultivation level!'' Dylan suddenly realized this after searching his memories for plausible answers. ''The Cosmic God Manual has both of these features which almost secures that others wouldn''t be able to ascertain my true power. Of course, this only applies if the person is slightly stronger or weaker than me or even equally powerful as I am. However, if that person is a realm stronger than I am, then they would be able detect it.'' Dylan concluded. "Sir Dylan? Are you okay?" Rick''s voice was suddenly heard. "Huh? Oh, I''m fine. Just lost in my thoughts for a moment there. I''m not entirely sure whether my answer is right but I think it is due to my cultivation manual being levels higher than yours which prevents you from seeing my true strength." Dylan woke up and quickly shared his thoughts. "Oh, I heard of this before. Cultivators who cultivate higher grades of techniques? than those around him would give him immunity from energy ascertaining."A voice from upstairs was heard after Dylan''s sentence. "Is that true?" Tom asked. "Wait, who said that?" Scott curiously said. They traced the origin of the voice from upstairs. They heard footsteps from the stairs. Several moments after, the owner was revealed. He was Barry who was asleep all this time. "Hi." Barry greeted with a simple smile. It could be seen that he was lacking in energy? as he was using a wooden cane to support his body. "Bro! Are you? okay? Why are you up already? You could barely stand! You''re still pretty weak from last night! Go back to your room and rest." Dylan quickly? went to Barry''s side and aided him. "I''m fine. I''m fine. I''m tougher than you think." Barry put up a thumbs up, implying that he was truly fine. " Hehehe, Dylan, you didn''t tell me that you had such a big family with you. It seems that there are some pretty girls here. Mind if you could matchmake your poor single brother?" Barry teasingly said while showing a sad expression. "I don''t know about that." Dylan laughed. .... As the two brothers were talking, the employees were in a state of baffledness before recovering slowly. "Bro...? Wait... Bro?!" Jack and the others were shocked when they heard this. How come they never heard of Sir Dylan having a brother?! Wasn''t he the son of True King Derik and Magma Phoenix, Melissa?! Could it be that they were twins?! That can''t be, they looked too different from each other!! Sir Dylan was just gone for a night and he suddenly brings home a man who could barely stand?!What''s more was that they looked really close with each other?! Sir Dylan looked worried and said that he was still weak from last night..? Feeling weak? Last night? Could it be that...? "No way." The boys stood there feeling lost. They never thought that Sir Dylan was... On the other hand, the girl''s reactions were far more worse as they could not accept such a thought and screamed, "Noooo!!!" .... "Noooo!!!" "What the-?" Barry and Dylan who was just done talking heard the girl''s scream. Dylan turned around and looked at the ferocious faces of the girls. He almost jumped from fright due to this. The girls quickly approached them and distanced Dylan from Barry by dragging him. Dylan was forced to sit onto a chair. "What''s~?" Before Dylan could say anything, he saw the girls suddenly tearing up. "Sir Dylan, we never thought that you were like this..." Marie''s sobbing could be heard. "What do you mean?" Dylan blankly asked. He clearly did not understand why they were being like this. "We never expected that you were..." Mary just couldn''t bear to continue. "I am what?" Dylan felt really confused. He did not understand what was happening. "It''s your fault for seducing our prince!!" Audrey Nile, a blonde and yellow skinned beauty, suddenly screamed and pointed Barry. Tears were streaming all over her face. "Wait, seduce what prince? The hell?!" Barry blinked for a few times. He didn''t understand what any of this girls were saying. ''Se... duce?!'' Dylan was dumbfounded by this remark. "Right! It was you!" Hearing this, the girls focused their attention to Barry and released their anger. "Girls, formation!" Allana commanded. "Allana, what are you doing?" Jack woke up from the shock and tried to stop her. "Yes!" The girls readily followed and formed into groups of 5! This were their positions for the Synchronized Battle Skill!! "Ready!" Allana? shoutrd. "What the heck?! Mister, run for your life!" Jack? cried out. He tried to run but he knew he was too far. "Run for my life?!" Barry did not expect this to happen at all! "Synchronized Battle-" Before the girls could do anything, Dylan''s voice resounded like thunder. "Enough!" Dylan reprimanded loudly which made the girls stop from what they were just doing. "What do you think you are doing to our guest?! Is this how I trained you all? It seems like I had been far too lenient lately! " Dylan coldly questioned. "We..." The girls suddenly realized how rude they were. They looked at the calm expression that Dylan had and shivered as they heard his cold strict voice. "I don''t need a reason! Hurry up and apologize!" Dylan coldly uttered. "Yes, sir." They obediently turned around and shyly faced Barry. They bowed their heads and apologize, " We apologize for our unsightly behavior. May sir Barry forgive us for our wrongdoing." "Uh... It''s fine, it''s fine. I''m all right. No one got hurt. It was just a misunderstanding. Dylan, you better clear things up or else it would be embarrassing to face your employees, hahaha!" Barry who was still in a daze, quickly recovered. Being an intelligent and wise man, he knew that there a misunderstanding happened. He was not so petty as to get angry to such trivial things. "I guess it is my fault for not making things clear earlier. It seems like you misunderstood that Barry and I as something like lovers, huh? So let me clear thing''s up, Barry was the person who saved my life back in Great Pine Forest. If it weren''t for him, then I would have already died. We swore to the heavens and was acknowledged as sworn brothers who will stand side by side no matter what. I hope this clears up everything. So are we clear?" Dylan clarified the whole thing. "Crystal!" Everyone answered. The employees and Dylan apologized to Barry for that misunderstanding. Barry was a virtuous man so he let it slide without thinking much. "So does anyone? have any more questions? Raise your hand if you have one." Dylan asked once more. "I do, sir." Allana raised hers. "Yes?" Dylan said. "Sir, how about the dog outside? Where did he come from? How did you meet him?" Allana asked about Rian and pointed the little dog who was currently taking to the Jagger Wolves who were shockingly prostrating in front of him! "Oh, that''s Rian. He became my companion by accident. As for where he came, I''m not really sure because he just magically appeared in front of me and Barry." Dylan answered with some awkwardness. He really did not know where Rian came from. All he knew that when Rian was still in his egg, he entered his mind to incubate. The employees looked at Barry waiting for an answer. "Well, I could attest to that. It was really weird how Rian suddenly appeared back then." Barry gave his reassurance. "Oh." The employees nodded. "Hahaha, Dylan! You''re finally back! I just conquered the pack of wolves and became their supreme leader! Hahahaha!" Rian suddenly jumped out of nowhere and landed on Dylan''s shoulder. "A... A talking dog?!" The employees almost had their eyes bulging out of their sockets when they heard Rian speak! "Oh, I thought you were still busy with them. It seemed like you were enjoying yourself earlier." Dylan said. "Hahaha, it took quite a bit of time to make them completely submit. They were a relentless bunch not bowing their heads from just one beating so I decided to give them 5 beatings each! Eventually, they acknowledged me as their leader." Rian nagged on and on about his deeds today. ''The little dog made the Jagger Wolves submit?! Just how powerful is this dog?!'' The employees thought. "So that''s why you took this long." Barry smilingly said. "Right,I just finished telling them my heroic stories. Hahahaha!" Rian smugly said "What heroic stories? You were just born yesterday." Dylan sneered and then laughed. "Hahahahaha!" Barry laughed at this. "Errr. Damn you, Dylan! Take this!" Rian opened his mouth and bit Dylan''s shoulder ferociously. "Ouch!! That fucking hurts! Ah, it''s bleeding! Get off me, you little punk!" Dylan cursed from the immense pain on his shoulders. "Nebvwer! (Never!)" Rian said while biting Dylan''s shoulder. "Hahahaha!" The residence was filled with happiness and laughter afterwards. Though the employees did not completely understand what was happening. They could not help but smile and laugh seeing their Sir Dylan being so happy and recovering from the loss of her sister. 111 Chapter 111: Remnants The employees got along with Barry and Rian quite well. Barry was the sociable and reliable big brother type of guy while Rian was the cheeky and naive brat making them easy to get along with. They decided to take the discussion to the dining room to enjoy food while talking. They discussed different things like a happy family who just reunited with each other. ''This is my family.'' Dylan''s heart warmed as he saw this scene. He felt blessed that he was given with such a welcoming family. Though they may not be blood related, but their bonds are comparable to one. Happiness, laughter and acceptance could be felt and seen in this scenario. This group conversation made Jack and the others quickly accept Barry and Rian into their new family. "That''s enough for today. Everyone needs to sleep to recover from the stress and fatigue for today." Unbeknownst, it was already nigh midnight. Hence, Dylan told everyone that it was time to recuperate from the tiredness of their services. "Okay." Everyone felt unwilling to sleep after all of that but what Dylan said was true, they needed to rest. All of Dylan''s employees went upstairs while Barry went to the guest room in the ground floor, leaving him alone in the dining area?. Within the group of the girls?, Dylan saw Rian who was in between Allana''s ample breasts! Not only was he in between, he also had a blissful look while he buried himself within that deep valley! "Rian, where do you think you''re going?" Dylan said aloud. The girls stopped climbing the stairs the moment they heard Dylan speak while the boys continued to their rooms. Rian who was enjoying himself, suddenly snapped from his daydreams and had a ''I got caught'' look. The cute black-furred puppy wryly said, "Hehe, I was just... you know... going to Big Sis Allana''s room and talk with them." "Is that really all you wish to do?" Dylan gave a questioning look to his beast companion. "O-of course." Rian struggled to answer back. "You don''t plan to sleep beside any one of them?" Dylan had a teasing look. "Wha-what are you talking about?!" Rian was easily flustered due to Dylan''s teasing. "Unfortunately, I have already prepared a room for you to settle in." Dylan smirked. "Nooo!" Rian cried out and unreasonably countered. "Y-you shameless thug, I just want to be happy! You just want to hog all these beauties for yourself, don''t you!" "This..." The girls blushed after they heard Rian''s vulgar and naive words! Some lowered their heads while some gave side glance to Dylan. A small portion of them couldn''t take such embarrassment averted their gazes and continued to their rooms quickly. "If I wanted to, what can you do to stop me?" Dylan jokingly said. "You!! Grrr, I won''t accept this!!" Rian jumped out of Allana''s breasts and attacked Dylan. He looked like a black shooting star as he homes for Dylan "Hehe." Dylan who was prepared for his assault, retrieved a sleeping power within his storage ring and threw it directly to Rian''s nose! "What the-?" Being a beast with a God-tier bloodline, all of his senses and physical abilities are terrifyingly intrepid compared to other beingsand this includes hissense of smell. That''s why the moment the powder entered his nose, Rian immediately felt it''s effects and fell asleep. *Crash* Rian crashed to one of the chairs and broke it. However, he was still fast asleep like a wee baby. "Haaays, what am I going to do with you?" Dylan carried Rian''s? sleeping body and put the broken chair to his storage ring. "Sorry about that. This little punk might have naively done something to you guys while you are all fast asleep so I decided to taunt him to leave you." Dylan scratched his head and apologized. "En." Strangely, the remaining girls only nodded and continued to climb the stairs silently "Hm? That was a bit weird." Dylan commented softly. He thought that maybe it was just because of their fatigue so he quickly dismissed that thought. "As for you, you will stay within my room." Dylan looked at the sleeping puppy in his arms. He climbed the stairs and entered his room. ... Within one of the girls rooms, Bridgette, Allana, Mary and Marie tuck themselves within their respective beds but were still wide awake. They still can''t get over what Dylan said earlier. Their faces were red, their minds were in a mess and their hearts racing like crazy. It was not just them but also theother girls in the other rooms were also feeling the same. "If I wanted to, who could stop me?" Those words continued to echo in their minds. Though it sounded arrogant, a feeling of sweetness could be felt within them. Random thoughts filled the hearts of these girls as they questioned themselves. ''Does that mean that there''s a possibility of Sir Dylan liking me?'' A silly thought filled their minds that brought smiles to their faces. "Hihihi." They giggled at these thoughts and continued thinking of Dylan. One must know that most of the girls who applied for the Gardenford Restaurant, did so because they were lovestruck with Dylan. Even the others who just joined due to some circumstances, were already smitten by Dylan''s charm. It was truly hard to not fall for Dylan because not only is he overly handsome, he is also kind and gentle though he can be quite strict at times and be strong and dependable though he could still show weakness. All of this just adds to his charms. What''s more was that they already accompanied him for over two months now. Seeing him everyday, only adds to his charms which makes them fall for him even more. However, despite travelling with them, Dylan had showed no interest towards? love and did not wish to share his experiences regarding such. This forced them to hide their feelings but they still did not give up in trying to get his attention. It is said that once a girl truly loves, they are willing to endure and give everything for the one they love. The same applies to these innocent young ladies who were only 16-24 years old and had little experience with the word love. ''Someday, Sir Dylan would definitely notice me.'' They encouraged themselves before going to sleep. ... Dylan who was in his room sat cross-legged and was currently cultivating. Of course, he had prepared a small bed exclusively for Rian to sleep on. Dylan did not dare slack off with his training. He knew that in order to catch up with the others? in this world, he needed to work 10 times or 100 times harder than anyone? else! Others may be currently sleeping right now but Dylan chose to cultivate instead! This just goes to show how much he wants to attain power and become stronger than anyone else to protect his family and friends! As he was cultivating, he immediately discovered something he did not expect to be within his Supreme Core. He opened his eyes and exclaimed, "These are... remnant energy from the lightning tribulation!!" Indeed, there were residues? of tribulation lightning that are within Dylan''s Supreme Core. Ever since the sixth wave, Dylan couldn''t completely block the lightning that came crushing on his shield. Some of the lightning sneakily conducted itself through? the Shield Dusk which resulted to Dylan''s body being invaded with remnant lightning energy. "Can I refine them?" Dylan asked himself. The most abundant lightning remnant was the purple lightning, next is the red lightnings, and lastly, a little of the black lightning. Dylan was shocked to discover this just now. Well, how could he notice when his attention were being constantly warranted. "With my Supreme Core, it just might work!" Dylan weighed the advantages he currently has and he was able to conclude that refining them was definitely possible! ''The pureness of the energy within the Primal Stones is definitely inferior but the Deca-Stones are almost comparable to the pureness of the lightning remnants! My Supreme? Core could even insta-convert them much less refine so theoretically, it is possible!'' Dylan jubilantly thought. Dylan did not need to worry with cultivation deviation because he cultivates the Cosmic God Manualwhich allows him to refine natural energy and spirit energy instantly. ''Hahaha, let''s see what level you are going to take me!'' Dylan laughed inwardly. Dylan closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation as soon as he entered his mindscape. By circulating the Cosmic God Manual and with the insta-conversion ability of the Supreme Core, the purple remnant lightning was quickly subdued and were being refined within the Supreme Core. *Zwooosh* A vortex was formed within the core and the remnant lightning was being absorbed within and was being refined into energy. After it''s refinement, it was instantly being converted. Dylan suddenly felt a wave of transformation within his body! He knew that he had successfully entered the ninth level of the Spirit Veins Realm! ''Amazing! The purple lightning alone made me increase my strength! Let''s now try the red lightning energy!'' Dylan excitedly thought. How could he not be excited? To advance to another level now would require about 100 Deca-Stones already but with the purple lightning he was able to do it. Dylan once again circulated the Cosmic God Manual and refined the red lightning. He was slightly stunned that it was slightly harder to refine and convert the red lightning energy so he was unable to quickly refine like what he did with the purple lightning. However, as soon as the red lightning combined with the energy vortex within Dylan''s Supreme Core. Dylan broke through once more! "Hahaha, High 9th level?! The red lightning is comparable to 500 Deca-Stones! I have struck rich this time!" Dylan happily laughed. "Now, for the black lightning!!" Dylan was anticipating how much his strength would be amplified the moment he refine it. "The Supreme Core can''t insta-convert it?!" He was shocked to see that the black lightning remnants were struggling! However, after one minute of constant refinement, Dylan was finally able to turn the black lightning to his own energy and quickly converted it to his own spirit energy. Dylan felt a blast of energy within! He knew that his strength had risen once more! Currently, he was already in the Pinnacle 9th level Spirit Veins!! "This is awesome! The black lightning is equal to 800 deca stones!!" Dylan celebrated within his mindscape and jumped as high as he could. "Hahaha, finally done." Dylan was really happy. He really gained big yields in this session. "Oh, right. I could also use the 100 more Deca-Stones to cultivate and try to push towards the 10th level. The black lightning gave me so much energy that I was only lacking a bit to be able to break through to the tenth." Dylan thought. As he was walking towards the pile of Primal Stones, Deca-Stones, and Centurion Stones outside of the gates of the mansion. He noticed a stone that was fundamentally different from the others! "Could it be... a Millenial Stone?!" Dylan was trembling in excitement as he said this words because this stone represents yet another function of the Cosmic God Mansion! 112 Chapter 112: Millenial Stones "But, first, I''ll break through to the 10th level." Dylan quickly collected the 100 or so Deca-Stones that were piled up and simultaneously crushed them. *Zwooosh* The pure energy from the Deca-Stones were immediately absorbed by the energy vortex within Dylan''s Supreme Core and was transmuted into his own spirit energy! The moment he fully absorbed it, the vortex swelled as it entered a tipping point and increased in size by two times its'' original size. *Zwooosh* Following that, the energy vortex within his body send out spirit energy to every ounce of his body! As soon as it entered his Spirit Veins, it immediately opened five more! *Clank* *Clank* *Clank* Clank* *Clank* With the newly opened spirit veins, Dylan had a total of 100 spirit veins unlocked within him! With that, Dylan had successfully entered the initial stage of the 10th level of the Spirit Veins Realm! "Hahaha! Finally back at the 10th level! I never expected that some of the tribulation lightning to invade my body! It was a good thing though!" Dylan joyously said. He initially thought that it would take him a month more to successfully return to his original state but who would have thought that the Heavenly Tribulation was also a blessing in disguise that gave him enough energy to break through! After celebrating for a brief moment, Dylan opened his eyes and grabbed the silver stone which emitted starlight! "It''s time to absorb this Millenial Stone! I wonder what function it would give me!" Dylan quickly crushed the Millenial Stone in order to discover it''s function! "Amazing!" Dylan stared in awe when he saw the stone turn into tangible threads of pure energy! "It''s an energy stone like the Primal Stone and the Deca-Stone but neither of which was able to create such a scene!" Dylan dumbfoundedly thought! Normally, when a Primal Stone and Deca-Stone, the energy within will enter the hand where it was crushed and permeate into the body. However, the Millenial Stone differs for it contained an energy so pure that it was virtually tangible! "Each thread... is equal to 10 Deca-Stones?!" The threads multiplied from being 10 to 100 and continued to reproduce until it reached number of a shocking 1000. The threads overlapped with one another and covered Dylan''s entire body! It wrapped Dylan''s entire body like a cocoon! Dylan could not believe his eyes as he witnessed such a miraculous thing! If he were to convert 1 Millenial Stone then it would be worth 10000 Deca-Stones!!! Little did he know, that the threads also has covered his entire body! His real self and mental persona were now wrapped within a cocoon of energy threads! After a few minutes, the cocoon-like object which surrounded Dylan slowly disappeared and showed a handsome young man. The energy threads seemed as though they were being absorbed by the skin of the young man. This strange phenomenon occurred in both the real world and Dylan''s mindscape! Within Dylan''s Supreme Core, a massive vortex of pure energy that was at least 1000 times bigger than before was intensely rotating and was being? constantly converted by the Supreme Core! Subsequently, Dylan''s cultivation skyrocketed!! From Initial 10th level straight to Pinnacle 10th level!! If Dylan were to calculate how much Deca-Stones, he would need to cross the Initial to Intermediate, it would be 1000! To Intermediate to high would be one thousand six hundred stones! Two thousand five hundred stones to reach the peak! Lastly, 4900 Deca-Stones to reach Pinnacle from the Peak stage!! A total of 10,000 Deca-Stones!!! "This-this... Hahahaha, amazing!! If I am able to get just 30 of these stones, I would be able to fly across the entire Ancestral Veins Realm!!" Dylan calculated with madness!! His eyes shone while envisioned a route for him to be able to quickly gain the 30 Millenial Stones. But, amidst his calculations, he realized an essential factor to get the amount of Millenial Stones he needed. Customers! To acquire such an amount of Millenial Stones, he would need to serve at least 1,000 customers a day! By his current means of serving customers and planning, it would still take three whole weeks to attain such a number. After 3 weeks, would he only be able to serve 1000 customers a day! To get the necessary amount, he would need about 30 days or an entire month! If he wanted to gain more customers in day to day basis, he would need to change his plans. But before this notion took over, Dylan stopped himself by pausing his mind for a second and practiced deep-breathing techniques to calm himself down. "I can''t let greed get the best of me. I need to calm down I need to stick to my plan or else, the outcome of everything will be the same as replaying what happened in Soaring Cloud City!" Dylan reminded himself to not repeat the same mistakes he did in the past. After a short breather, Dylan collected his thoughts and calmed his heart. "So, with my plan, it would still take me two months, huh? Just like what I had predicted earlier. To cross the Awakened Spirit Realm and enter the Origin Realm, I would need 50 Millenial Stones which would take me another month because by our third month of service, my store would be able to entertain about 1,500- 1,700 customers per day." "Three months to reach Origin Realm from Pinnacle of Spirit Veins? Hehehe, even the geniuses in the Mystical Clouds Country can''t hope to compare with this speed." Dylan confidently said. If anyone were to here Dylan''s words right now, they would agree without hesitation because it was virtually impossible! Usually, once a person reaches the pinnacle of the Spirit Veins Realm, he/she would be able to absorb spirit energy directly. Once a person reaches the Awakened Spirit Realm, one would need to daily absorb spirit energy the convert it into your own power. The accumulated power would then be compressed in order to advance in strength. This refined energy is also used to strengthen and develop one''s Avatar. It was much more when one crosses the Origin Realm. A person needs to refine his spirit energy tens of times before converting it to Origin Energy. To reach the Origin Realm, a person needs to convert his energy to at least 2% to reach Initial 16th level Origin Transmutation Realm! This type of routine would typically need 200-250 years for a normal cultivator with sufficient talent can do. A once in a hundred year genius would only take 50 years to do so. A thousand year genius would take about 10 years. However, an extremely rare ten thousand year genius would only take 1 year to do so! But Dylan''s? speed only requires him a quarter of the rare ten thousand years genius! Dylan''s talent would fall to an even more terrifying category of talent which was the hundred thousand years genius! "Putting that aside, the Millenial Stone is an extremely miraculous stone! Hehehe, this only makes me anticipate the next function of the mansion even more!" Dylan''s eyes sparkled with excitement as he thought of this. Suddenly, he heard a knocking sound. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "Sir Dylan!" "Sir Dylan!" ... "Did something happen?" Dylan heard different voices outside while they were continuously knocking on the door. The voices contained urgency and worry which prompted Dylan to exit his mindscape quickly. He opened his eyes and stood up. He moved to the door and opened it. "What''s the matter? Did something happen?" "Ahhh!" The moment he opened the door, the girls that were suspended near the door feel forwards and screamed. "Ehh?" Dylan was shocked but he was unable to react fast enough to dodge the girls who were falling towards him. He also fell backwards with his back laid flat on the ground *Thud* "Ouch!" Dylan let out a moan as waves of girls fell on top of each other. "It hurts like hell!" Dylan suffered the full brunt ofthe combined weight of the girls but amidst that pain, Dylan could also feel heaven-like softness from his right arm, chest and left arm. ''Is this?!'' Dylan suddenly realized what type of scenario he was in. ''A typical shoujo scenario where the girl falls on top of the MC?!'' At that moment, Dylan''s otaku side emulated the entire scenario which made him completely picture what was currently happening to him! ''No, I mustn''t.'' Dylan controlled himself from his otaku desires as he shook his head and calmed himself down. "Waaah!" Veronica, a black-haired 17 year old white-skinned beauty cried. "Sir Dylan, we were so worried about you just now! Waaah!" Mary''s tears flooded Dylan''s sleeves. "We thought something bad might have happened to you!" Beverly sobbed after saying those words. The other girls on top of Dylan and the ones standing started crying abruptly! "Why are you all crying? " Dylan found it baffling that they cried without even saying any reason. "It''s because we felt successive explosions of energy within your room! We thought someone might have launched an attack and tried to assassinate you! That''s why we rushed to your room to check on you, sir." Larry explained briefly. "Oh." Dylan then realized that he had unknowingly caused too much of a disturbance. Due to his excitement, he forgot that when breaking through his cultivation technique would affect his surroundings. So, the moment he advanced his level, he made his employees worry again. "There, there. Stop crying, girls. Can''t you see that I''m alright? I am so sorry to alarm you again. I unknowingly brokethrough and as I have told you, my technique attracts too much attention. That''s why those explosion of energy occurred." Dylan really felt guilty. When he found out about the tribulation lightning remnants and the Millenial Stone, he completely forgot about the conspicuousness of the Cosmic God Manual. "You''re really not hurt?" Marie, who was one of the girls who was standing, asked timidly. "Really." Dylan smiled. 113 Chapter 113: Body Strengthening "Thank goodness." All the employees let out a sigh of relief. "One more thing." Dylan said as his face turned paler by the second. "What is it, sir Dylan?" Rick asked. "Errr, can you girls stand up now? It''s getting a little bit... suffocating with your combined weight and all." Dylan spoke with difficulty due to lack of air. The girl''s stood up immediately and lowered their heads after realizing how embarrassing they did. Because of their worry for Dylan, they couldn''t calm themselves down and let their emotions get the best of them. "Oh, we''re so sorry sir." The girl''s shyly said. "It''s okay. Don''t worry." Dylan smiled. After being alleviated from the pain, Dylan stood up and stretched his body. "Sir Dylan, could you, uhmm, put some shirt on first?" Mary shyly glanced at his face before landing on his bare upper body. She retracted her gaze and blushed like tomato. The girls who have lowered their head, stole a glance and saw Dylan''s perfectly engineered body. Subconsciously, they swallowed a mouthful of saliva as they felt their throats drying as they stared into his body. Realizing their actions, they lowered their heads and covered their red faces. "What do you mean?" Dylan asked and looked at himself. Only then was he able to remember that he was half-naked. "Oh!" Well, it became Dylan''s habit to take off his shirt before training because everytime he cultivates and trains a large amounts of sweat would then follow. Dylan''s routine was to refine his energy and circulate theCosmic God Manual for 25 revolutions. After inner training, Dylan would proceed to his calisthenics and body strengthening regime. Finally, to his battle techniques, movement techniques, defensive techniques, and secret techniques. After doing all of that, Dylan would be soaked with sweat so he decided to not train with any shirt on any longer because he would be only inconveniencing his employees with large bundle of laundry. "I''m sorry. I forgot." Dylan grabbed the white shirt on the table near him and quickly wore it. "Mhm." The girl''s obediently nodded. "Hehehe, boss, your body just made the girl''s blush! Tell me what''s your secret! If I had a body like yours, girls would be flocking from all directions just to warm my bed!" Ron shamelessly inquired. "Idiot!" "Pervert!" "Jerk!" The girl''s left one by one but before they left they made sure to stomp their foot on either the right or left foot of Ron. "Ouch!!!" Ron burst into tears and felt down on his but as he held his feet which has just been stomped stomped by more than 30 times! "Hahahaha!" The boy''s laughed at him. "That''s what you get for being too shameless." Ronald laughed. "Have a balanced diet and exercise daily." Dylan smirked. He knew that this fatty would not be able to do such a thing as he liked to eat as much as he works which cancels out the fat and calories his burnt with his intake. "What?! Then, it would be impossible for me to do so." Ron felt even more dismal as he heard this. "Dylan, what happened to you?" Barry just arrived and asked while catching some air. He was on the ground floor and was still a bit weak so he struggled to climb the stairs. "Barry, I told you to not push yourself?! I''m fine. Don''t worry. I just happened to breakthrough that''s all. Go back to your own bed and rest." Dylan reprimanded his brother. "I was just worried, you know. After the sudden energy influxes?, I heard loud banging? sounds so I immediately got out of the room and climbed upstairs." Barry said. "Haaayst, nothing happened, okay? The loud banging sounds? were probably when the girls fell on top of me." Dylan explained after he sighed. "You broke through? The girls fell on top of you? You did Dual Cultivation?!" Barry shockingly deducted. "What the heck is up with you, guys? The girls fell on me because they were too many of them behind the door! So the moment I opened it, they fell on me." Dylan frustratingly recounted. "Oh, hahaha. Why didn''t you tell me sooner?" Barry''s? laugh made Dylan feel frustrated even more. Dylan controlled himself and took a deep breath before saying. "Okay. Go back and rest. You still need to recover. Andrew, Scott, help my brother go to his bedroom." "Yes, sir." Andrew and Scott answered. "Hey, you don''t need to do that. I''m a grown man. I don''t need other people nursing me around." Barry stubbornly said and walked by himself. However, after his third step, his body wobbled sidewards and he placed his right arm on the wall to his right to stabilize himself. "Bro, look at you. You can''t even walk right. Listen to me!" Dylan shouted. "Fine." Barry unwillingly said. Andrew grabbed his left arm and wrapped it around his back while Scott did the same with his right. The two then, assisted him downwards and to his room. "The rest of you, go back to your rooms and rest." Dylan looked at the boys who remained and ordered. "Goodnight, sir. Rest well." Jack and the other turned around and went back to their respective bedrooms. "Goodnight." Dylan smiled and waited for them to enter their rooms before entering his room. ... "Those guys are such worrywarts." Dylan scratched his head but a smile soon emerged in his face. He finally felt the warmth of having a family. Although he and his co-workers all treated him well and genuinely, there was still that gap it had from having a family. "So this is what it feels to have a big family huh?" Dylan sighed as he stared at the night sky which was being lit up by three moons. His mind wondered off and reminisced the hardships he went through for his brother. "Dale..." Being an orphan, he never had anyone to take care of him. He, on the other hand, was the one who constantly look after his younger brother. He needed to be strong and independent for his brother. That''s why he worked day in and day out. When what he collected and sold was not enough to buy food for him and Dale. Dylan would resort to stealing bread and food just so that they would be able to fill their growling stomachs. By the time Dylan was living in the streets, books were becoming more and more obselete for others as technology continued to advance. Whenever there were books that were being thrown away, Dylan would pick them up and read them. To others, it may be obselete but for Dylan, they were his opportunities to learn. He read countless books and learned by himself. He taught himself how to read and write. After studying the books he had read, he would teach his little brother every little bit of knowledge he has. After learning about business and management tricks, he was able to make his business develop from literally nothing at all to a one of the most prominent business in his time. "Hahaha, got a little sidetracked there. But remembering these memories made me realize that my journey to the top is closely tied with learning, persevering to improve myself and providing for my own family." Dylan had an epiphany as he thought of this. "I need to focus and continue to strive to improve myself. Now that I''m done with the inner training, its time for my body strengthening training!" Dylan closed his eyes for a brief moment and removed all unnecessary thoughts. When he opened his eyes, there was only steady calmness and concentration. Then, he began his training! When Dylan was studying for the Noble Test, Dylan discovered that the Origin Transmutation Realm was also known as the Body Strengthening Realm.The mortal body cannot endure and contain the primal-level energy of Origin Realm Cultivators called Origin Energy. Thus, during this sub-realm, strengthening the body is as vital as the conversion of spirit energy to Origin Energy. For certain percentages? of Origin Energy conversion, there exists a corresponding body-strengthened level that needs to be attained. To be capable of enduring the first 20%, one must reach the Warrior Stage. To endure the 50%, one must reach the General Stage. To endure 100%, he/she must reach the King Stage. In the Warrior stage, a cultivator is expected to have the strength comparable to a hundred mortals. In the General Stage, a cultivator would have the physical abilities of 200 mortals. While in the King Stage, a person is expected to have the physical strength of 500 mortals. Some cultivation theorists even said that there are body-strengthened stages above the King level. There are 3 known theoretical stages above it. First, the Emperor Level?, where one would have the strength of 1000 men strong. Second, the Saint level, where one would have the strength of 3000 men strong! Lastly, the War God Level, where one has the strength comparable to a ten thousand men army! Of course, they are only theories which have yet to be proven possible by either training or using magical treasures that allows the body to evolve! Dylan does not have any of the High-grade Strengthening Manual that heirs and princes have. Hence, he could only compensate for hardwork and determination to become stronger! "I need to improve my physical strength as early as now so that I won''t be worrying about improving my physique later! My edge with other people is that I don''t need to worry about constant refinement of energy due to my Supreme Core''s Insta-conversion ability. Enabling me to focus my training time with strengthening my body and for comprehension of my techniques!" Dylan said as he was doing who knows how many push-ups already. The training manual that Dylan was training on was called the 48 Basic Exercises. It has three levels. The beginner level is to do all exercises with 100 repitition each in just 12 hours! The intermediate level is by doing it 1000 times in 18 hours while the last level, the mastered level, was doing this exercises 10000 times in just one day! It is said at the first level one would have reached the Warrior stage. At the second stage, one would reach the General Stage. At the last stage, the King Stage! This is a proven method and could be done within all cultivation realms and even mortals! However, due to its stringent requirements and primitive nature of execution, most wouldn''t practice it at all because the amount of time and effort that was given to it''s practice would delay the cultivation of the practitioner. This was exactly the reason why Dylan decided to train in this technique because it is a guaranteed way to reach the King Stage while still at Spirit Veins and the Supreme Core which excuses him from tireless refinement! When he first practiced the 48 Basic Exercises, Dylan did not rush by immediately doing 100 repitions. He first ensured that he would be creating his foundations by doing 20 repititions each on his first week and increase it by 20 more each week that follows. Currently, he was doing 40 repititions for each exercise! ''From my speed, I would be able to reach Warrior Stage two or three weeks? from now.'' Dylan thought. After reaching the Warrior Stage, Dylan planned to increase the repititions added by 100 for every week. So, he would reach the General Stage in 2 ? months time. Around that time, he would also have officially reached the realm of Origin Transmutation! "When I reach Origin Transmutation, I would have to add 1000 repititions each week so that in less than three months, I would be able to reach the King Stage and breakthrough to the 20th level Origin Transmutation... Oh, how could I forget? I would be level 25 by the time I reach the peak of that realm, hehe." Dylan smiled evilly. With his advantage of undergoing Ancestral Veins Realm, he would be able to dominate the next sub-realm despite being one sub-realm lower! 114 Chapter 114: The Second Phase 1 Hours passed, Dylan finished his training routine and sat cross-legged on the floor. He seemed to be circulating his spirit energy in order to alleviate stress and fatigue from training. As he opened his eyes, he stood up as his gaze coincidentally fell on the window and saw that the sun was already starting to radiate sunlight to the sky as half of its body was already seen on the horizon. "It''s already morning. Hm... I''m quite in a good mood after breaking through to Pinnacle 10th level. I guess I can make breakfast for everyone for a change." Dylan mumbled to himself. After going out of his room, Dylan went downstairs and to the kitchen. It was about 5:30 in the morning and his employees were still fast asleep so there was noone to greet him. Dylan washed his hands first beforestarting to cook. He gathered the ingredients and cooking utensils he needed to cook the food. "Now that I think about it, it''s been a month since I lasr cooked for them. Hope I didn''t get rusty, though." Dylan smiled as he picked up the ingredients and started to slice them. *Krssshh* The sound of the oil frying the eggs of the Morning Fowl that Dylan cracked and the bacon he sliced from a Hill Swine. He also cooked a couple more meat and fish dishes for for breakfast because he knew how much some of his employees eat. Dylan was also preparing? a salad made from freshly cut fruits and healthy vegetables. He also made coffee for his employees by using the Kofi Beans and milk from the Ground Cows. His cooking produced fragrant smell that even his stomach was uncontrollably growling, yearning to eat already. Half an hour later, Dylan set the eating utensils on the table by himself and placed the food in the middle of long tables they have at the dining room. "Finally done! I guess it''s about 6 now. They should be waking out by now." Dylan stretched his body and smiled. After several minutes, Dylan heard a sound of a door opening upstairs and heard the groggy voice of the speaker. "Hm? Something smells good. Whoa!" It was Ron. When he went down, he saw Dylan standing there while preparing the table. "Sir Dylan, did you prepare all of this?!" Ron loudly gaped when he saw all those mouthwatering food that Dylan prepared! He stood there dumbfounded at the lowest step of the staircase. "I did." Dylan simply answered. ... "What? Sir Dylan made our breakfast?!" Larry, who went down with Ron, was a bit startled. They have long scheduled who was going to cook from now on and they made sure to exempt Dylan from the list so that he could focus on matters of the Soaring Herbal Garden. "Really?" The others at the second floor who just woke up and still had some drowsiness found in their eyes, all of this dispersed and was replaced? with excitement! "Sir Dylan made the food for today?! Hurray!" The boy''s were fast and immediately went down the stairs as soon as they heard Ron''s shout. The boy''s knew how good Dylan cooks so they were delighted to get to eat the meals Dylan cooked. "Sir Dylan already cooked breakfast?" The Aaron cousins looked blankly at each other. They were supposedly the ones to cook the food for today. But, they did not feel bad about not being able to cook. Instead, they anticipated Dylan''s cooking even more. "Hehehe, excuse me. I''ll have the first bite on Sir Dylan''s cooking!" Audrey used her movement skill and swiftly moved past the girls within the corridor. "No fair!" Beverly complained as she moved as quick as she could. "Hey, wait for us!" The others did not want to lose and also proceeded to the ground floor. "What''s happening? Why are they all running? Whoa! Something smells delicious!" Rian who just woke up, jumped in joy and headed downstairs. ... Everyone ate happily and savored the taste of Dylan''s excellent cooking skills. Barry also joined them after hearing the commotion caused by Dylan''s cooking. "Boss, your cooking knows no match! Everything was simply delicious!" Ron shamelessly gobbled a lot of meat and rice! "Less sucking up and finish your food. Today''s your shift you know." Dylan reminded with a smile. "Hehehe, I know. I know." Ron sheepishly said. After saying those words, he immediately went back to eating. "Dish ish ameyzhing fwod! ( This is amazing food!)" Rian said as he chewed a large amount of meat. "I didn''t know you were an amazing cook!" Barry shot a glance at Dylan. He gave him athumbs up and laughed with Roland and the others. "There''s a lot of things you still don''t know about? me." Dylan spoke while a smirk emerged on his face. "Is that so?" Barry had a questioning look as he looked at Dylan. "That''s not all! Sir Dylan also sings really good! Hahaha." Roland revealed with a good laugh. "Oh! How did you know of this?" Barry exclaimed. "It was more than a month ago when we were still on our way here. We all played a kiddy game like Truth or Dare. He was unwilling at first but we were finally able to convince him to join. Eventually, it was Sir Dylan''s turn and he picked the Dare . It was Mary who suggested that he sung. Despite being embarassed about it, we were able to persuade to do it. Everyone was shocked how good Sir Dylan sung. We all wanted an encore but unfortunately we were attacked by spirit beasts, so we needed? to kill them all first. We tried to get him to join but he didn''t want to no matter what we did." Roland narrated the past events. "You rascal." Dylan looked angrily at Roland who suddenly realized what he did. "Oho. Now, I''m intrigued! Bro, you have got to sing then! Not just for me, for your employees as well. Hehehe." Barry was interested in this topic when he heard it. He used a teasing look to get Dylan to do it. "It''s a shame. Your teasing and gaze won''t work on me." Dylan indifferently said. "Then, you would be disappointing the anticipating looks of your dear family." Barry said with a frown. "Then, I am afraid that I might have to disappoint you for this time." But to his surprise, Dylan maintained his indifference and talked with Jack about some things on business. "This guy..." Barry felt defeated by the attitude of his brother. It seemed impossible to make him do things that he doesn''t agree to. "It''s okay, sir Barry. That''s just how Sir Dylan is when he doesn''t want to do something." Scott comforted him. "He''s too composed and indifferent at times but within those calm facade is kind and caring heart for his loved ones.. He would be smiling and laughing most of the time but that''swhat make him so charismatic ." Barry said with a smile. "Right." Rick agreed. "Hahaha, throw your unnecessary thoughts aside and enjoy this amazing meal!" Ron said while shoving another batch of meat into his mouth. But after eating it,he choked because he did not chew the meat thoroughly. "Kaaackkk... He.. elp me..." Ron asked for help while he pounded his fist to his chest several times. Tears started to flow down his face as he begged, " Can''t... breath... don''t... wa... na... die..." "Hahahahahaha." Everyone laughed at Ron who was struggling? but Dylan immediately performed the Heinrich Manuever before Ron lost consciousness. "Haaayst, you''re truly a lifesaver, boss. I almost died there." Ron smiled and gave Dylan a thumbs up. "Didn''t I tell you to chew first before swallowing?" Dylan reminded with a serious look. "Hehehe." Ron wryly smiled. ... After breakfast, the whole crew prepared themselves. The ones with the shifts today went up and took a bath and changed their clothes while those who were supposed to stay within the residence did their chores. "I''ll be going now. I''ll drop by in the afternoon after my endeavor. Barry, rest when you need to if you get bored, you can read some books. Rian, behave yourself? okay?" Dylan told the crew that he won''t be going to the store this morning because he has some important business to attend to. "Yes, sir." The employees said and waved. "I will. Good bye." Barry waved. "Sheesh, I am perfectly well-behaved you know." Rian shrugged. "Bye." Dylan waved back to them before leaving. ... Within the Premier Hall, Executive Office... A man wearing a black long cloak which covered the entire body entered the room and saw the usually serious Azelmek, the Hallmaster of the Premier Hall. "Sir Null, what a wonderful surprise! You came to visit once more. Please have a seat!" Azelmek stood up the moment he saw the black figure and respectfully greeted. Azelmek went forward and offered Dylan a seat in front of his table. "Mn." Dylan slightly nodded and sat on the comfortable chair. "Master Null, the method you made was just astonishing! We would be able to yield profits 30% more than our usual weekly profits for the last 20 years ! What''s more this type of profit increase was not the type where it would die down the next week! Currently, we are earning half of the amount the method promised!" Azelmek joyfully reported and gave the financial and status reports to Master Null.. He was extremely grateful to Master Null for giving them such a valuable advice. Dylan was reading the financial reports before saying in his Null voice, " Azelmek." "What is it, sir?" Azelmek? suddenly became nervous as he heard Dylan''s tone. "You are doing the method I prescribed incorrectly. The matter by which it was implemented and the level of output in both goods and worker performance!" Dylan stated coldly "What do you mean by this, sir?" Azelmek shuddered when he heard this. " The flow of weapon exchange and marketing within the city is mostly controlled by Premier Hall! You should be able to reach out 3 and not just 2 of 5 of the most profitable business districts for selling weapons within the city each week with? varying propositions of trade that I mentioned in the method! Not only that, according to my method, you could also conduct a total of two trades per week not just 3 per 2 weeks! Clearly, your workers'' efforts are substandard according to these reports! Only 200 spirit stones after selling 7 Mid Earth Rank Weapons?! Your delegation of the assigned men for this steps should be those that you truly know could deliver and is capable! Otherwise, you are wasting the method I gave you because if you keep this up you will barely able to gain 15% profit increase!" Dylan reprimanded ruthlessly as he pointed out the mistakes done with the implementation of his method. "I... I..." Azelmek stood there staring blankly and as he remembered Master Null''s words, the greener his complexion became from regret! Dylan was right! The method''s potential was being wasted with the way it is being executed. "I humbly apologize. Disciple''s view of things are far too narrow compared to the vast perspective that Master has shared with me. Thank you for enlightening your disciple master." Azelmek humbly bowed and gratefully apologized.Because without his words, he wouldn''t have realized the problem sooner. "Good." Dylan approvingly said. "Master, may I ask what is the reason that you have decided to visit me?" Azelmek asked respectfully. "The reason for me coming here is because I wish you to train Dylan Ford and take him in as your disciple." Dylan coldly uttered. "Why? Can''t Master just take him in as his own disciple?" Azelmek asked. "That is my wish. However, the boy still needs some polishing in order to become a true gem. I will make you guide him and refine him into a gem while I will wait after the end of his refinement, only then will he be worthy of my guidance and make him transform into a incandescent diamond!" Dylan haughtily answered. 115 Chapter 115: The Second Phase 2 "Ohhh, I see. But I thought you weren''t? interested in teaching him. What made you change your mind? Is it due to his achievement in the Noble Test the day before yesterday?" Azelmek calmly inquired. "Partly yes but that is not all. I watched him from afar yesterday and saw his competence with regards to business by making a deal with four powers who are at the top 200 of the city''s Sect Rankings." Dylan answered unperturbed. He felt a little bit embarrassed inside that he had to praise himself like that. "Oh, that business deal truly surprised me. I would never had thought that he would make use of our Premier Hall''s prestigious name to have some benefits. I must commend him though because he was able to make that deal without giving anything in exchange. He is humble and courteous but his cunning and wit is something you wouldn''t normally see within a 18 year old boy. Hahaha!" Azelmek laughed while praising Dylan''s performance yesterday. The information network of the Premier Hall is so formidable that he was able to receive the news of Dylan''s public negotiation using the Premier Hall. "I agree. But that isn''t? all." Dylan responded. "What redeeming quality does he have aside from his comprehension ability and competency in business?" Azelmek was slightly surprised. He did not know how this country bumpkin got the attention of such an overwhelmingly strong expert who has an unfathomablecultivation prowess and magnate strength. "His potential as a Mystical Magnate!" Dylan uttered with a low voice. "What do you mean by his potential? I can''t seem to recall him having showed any potential within the city." The stern-looking old man asked. "All I can say that the density of his Magnate Strength is almost comparable to a 4th tier Magnate without any training." Dylan spoke. "Impossible! Such a genuis is even rare within the capital much less some bumbkin who came from a Middle Proximity City!" Azelmek was left astounded by Dylan''s answer. He never expected that the brat would have such a talent. Having the density of a 4th tier without any proper guidance?! This can only mean that his talent was already at the A-Grade! He just couldn''t believe it. "Are you implying that my senses have gone wrong? I maybe old but I can surely crush you without even liftingmy finger!" Dylan activated his Heavenly Eyes and emitted the supreme aura of a true tyrant! "O-of course not, master! I would not even dare!" Azelmek screamed in panic. ''Wa..what is this?!'' Azelmek could not believe his eyes. When he saw those radiant x-shaped pupils under the sahde of that black cloak, he felt that Dylan became 10 times as big as he was and the pressure he was feeling took away his ability to breathe. ''This pressure?! Could it be?! Has he completely mastered the Heavenly Eyes?! Just how terrifying is this man?!'' Azelmek felt his body was carrying an entire mountain! He couldn''t even move his fingers and could only grit his teeth while staring blankly at Dylan. Heavenly Eyes were myths for most people so it was only understandable that Azelmek did not know how those eyes could be used. When he witnessed it being activated, he immediately thought that Dylan had already mastered it. However, the truth of the matter is that Dylan was just recklessly using it''s power by giving out such a suffocating pressure. Thankfully, Dylan''s face was covered by the hood of the cloak or else Azelmek would have seen how much sweat was being excreted on his face. "I''ll spare you for now. Do it again or the consequences will be even more severe." Dylan coldly said as he closed his eyes to deactivate the Heavenly Eyes. ''Dammit, using the pressure of the Heavenly Eyes and the Supreme Core is too much for me to even maintain for 5 seconds!'' Although Dylan may have appeared calm, he was really feeling the toll of using the Supreme Core and Heavenly Eyes so recklessly at the same time. Dylan had to release a large amount of pressure in a burst in order to intimidate someone as experienced as Azelmek. So, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to breathe normally like what he did was only natural. "Thank you so much, sir."Azelmek stood up and bowed with a perfect 90 degree angle! "Hmph, so will you accept this request of mine or not?" Dylan harrumphed coldly. "It is my honor to do so." Azelmek was not foolish and he knew that he could not take any chances of being careless and let this opportunity slip away. So he did not hesitate and continued, "But could I presumptuously request something in exchange?" "Trying to make a bargain for yourself, eh. Fine, what is your request?" Dylan quickly commented. "After taking him as a disciple, can I ask Master Null to help me with my cultivation?" Azelmek straightforwardly requested while maintaining the bow. "Hm, it depends on how well you will nurture the child. If you succeed, then I will teach you some pointers but if you could not even do something as simple as such, then I would not even bother." Dylan frankly spoke. "Yes, sir." Azelmek understood the deal and gladly accepted. ''Second Phase, complete.'' Dylan smiled under the shade of the hood. He knew that if he trained, with his talent, it would only take him half a year if fast and one year if slow to reach the peak of 9th tier of the Magna Magnate. By that time his strength would soar as he could use his Magnate Strength to supress his opponents from using their full strength. After that, Dlan and Azelmek talked about business for a while. After 20 minutes, Sheldon walked in and respectfully greeted Dylan. Azelmek filled him in with the details which made the fatty jump from joy. After an hour of discussion about? Business, Dylan was finally able to settle his end of the deal on the partnership with the four. He was also able to secure a food and herb supply from the Premier Hall because of his revisions and pointers on the implementation of the profit increasing method he gave to Azelmek. "That is all for today. Now that we have settled the deals. It''s time for me to leave the city." Dylan said in his low deep voice. "Master, is leaving?! For how long?!" Sheldon was shocked as he heard of this matter. " For six months." Dylan answered directly. "But, where are you going?" Sheldon asked once more. Azelmek who was sipping his wine suddenly said, "Master, Are you going for the Immortal Saint Tomb found at the mountain range near Soaring Cloud City?" "What Immortal Saint Tomb?" Sheldon curiously interrupted. He had not heard of such a news recently. "The famous tomb that was rumoured to have a white mist that covered 1 km away from the tomb itself. It is rumored that anyone who enters go to attempt and reach the tomb will die the moment he comes into contact with the white mist!" Azelmek informed Sheldon. "..." Dylan naturally heard all of this because he was within the room. He might have remained silent but in reality, he was shaken to his core. ''An immortal tomb near the Soaring Cloud City?!'' Dylan could not believe what he heard. Being a former citizen of the city for 15 years, it would not be a shock that Dylan almost knew every single one of the tales of how the city came to be and this includes it''s myths but never had he heard that there was a hidden tomb somewhere near the city. "How come I haven''t heard of it? The news of such a tomb would be a top secret information so I would have known right away." Sheldon asked with shock apparent in his face.He knew what an Immortal Tomb meant! It meant that Immortal Saint level treasures and techniques would be found within! "This is because the news itself was only reported to me this morning and I was planning to also tell you this after I arrived at the office. The discovery of the tomb was only known yesterday." Azelmek explained. "Then, what are we still waiting for, Hallmaster? Shouldn''t we gather an elite force to infiltrate the Immortal Saint Tomb immediately? Surely, other competitions would have already started gathering theirs because of the price of such a tomb! We have to act fast!" Sheldon knew exactly what to do in this kinds of discoveries so he naturally told Azelmek what he had in mind. "That was my first reaction as well but it is said that all of the leading forces and sects of each state has arrived and ready to take care of the rage. As early as now, we can already say that the treasures within the tomb is already as good as theirs." Azelmek told another piece of important information. "No way?! Every super sect has gathered?! Then, there truly is no hope left for us... Wait a second... If they already found the tomb before us, how come they were not able to get a hold of the tomb yet? Is it because of the killing mist around it? How come we even recieved the information? With their strength, they could easily have easily shut the information out?" Sheldon said with a questioning look. "Yes, it is because of the mysterious mist that completely surronds the tomb. Apparently, they are still unable to find anything that could penetrate the mist. Thus, they are inviting different types of top 10 powers from the Inner Cities all over the Mystic Red State. They are very eager to get into the tomb that they were able to disseminate information about it." Azelmek revealed. "..." Sheldon fondled his moustache and said nothing. "Anyways, is the Immortal Saint Tomb the place you would be going to, Master?" Azelmek turned to Dylan and calmly questioned. Dylan simply shook his head to reply, implying that he has no plans in going there. "So, that''s what it was. So are we going or not?" Sheldon was left silent for a moment before saying what was on his mind. "We will since there are 2000 slots per power. We can gather some of our elite trrops and have the move out in three days which will be the same date that the other powers from our city would be departing." Azelmek decided impromptu and quickly nade arrangements. "Okay. I will make the preparations who knows we may even get some of the treasures on the entrances of the tomb." Sheldon grinned happily as he said. "I suggest that you don''t go." Dylan who has been silent for all this time, suddenly uttered something. "Why so, Master?" Sheldon and Azelmek spoke at the same time. "Because I think the super sects are only using the top powers of the Red State. Based on what you have said, they were gathering a 20,000 elites from each city, right? As far from what I know there are a total of 56 Inner Proximity Cities in the whole Red state. If it is a given that all the Top 10 powers will send 2000 disciples, that would amount to more than one million people, right?" Dylan asked them. "Assuming that all 56 cities would do so. Yes, everything that you said is right." Azelmek nodded along with Sheldon. "Being all elites from the top 10 powers, every single one of them would be at least at the Palace Foundation Realm. Think about it gathering a million people just for them to try out their own methods? That would be absurd! Wouldn''t that mean that they are simply admitting that their methods are inferior to the Top 10 Powers of every city? I doubt it since those arrogant fools would think otherwise." Dylan continued with his line of thought. "Uh..." Sheldon and Azelmek looked at each other with shock. Dylan''s words suddenly woke them up. He was right. He was completely right! Now, everything about the news seemed questionable! Cold sweat dripped down their faces as they felt that they almost fell to a trap if it were not for Dylan saying anything. "From your expressions, I guess you have realized it by now. The super sects or the Big 6 is using the allure of the tomb to gather a large amount of strong people! They are using the greed of human nature to get what they desire. I suspect that they already have thought of a method or methods that could potentially make the tomb open. I can think of two methods that they could use based on how many people they are trying to consolidate. Blood Sacrifice and Life Extraction!" Dylan coldly stated. 116 Chapter 116: Reality "That can''t be..." The two sat on their chairs with their complexions as white as a a sheet of paper. "What makes you so sure?" Dylan calmly asked. "Are they not afraid that they will cause a great public unrest due to their heinous ways? Are they not afraid that they will incur the wrath of the heavens?" Azelmek stood and slammed his palms to his desk in anger. "Cause public unrest? There will be no public unrest if they are able to hide the truth from the public. They could simply say that the elites have died due to the mystical abilities of the mysterious mist. No one will know not even the elotes that the different cities will deploy." Dylan replied flatly. "How can you be so sure about that, Master Null?" Sheldon panicked when he saw that Dylan was still proceeding with his nonchalant behavior. "Why? Because if I have not told you about this, you would have foolishly followed the request of the Big 6. If I were not here to tell you this, about half of your sects elites would be dead in less than a week and you would not even know the reason why or how they even died. You would have simplemindedly believe the words of the Big 6 as they were the only ones present when the ''incident'' occur." Dylan was very straightforward in his speech as he made it clear that the Premier Hall would suffer a deep blow in its military force. "..." The duo became silent as they listened. They figured that Dylan was completely right. If he wasn''t here, they would have foolishly followed the request of the Big 6 and they would be clueless on what truly happened. "Why are you only telling this to us? Shouldn''t we also tell this to others?" Sheldonquestioned. "I didn''t expect that you would be this naive, Sheldon. I only told you this hypothesis of mine because of my relations to your guild as Azelmek''s master. Why should I inform others? I don''t seem to recall that I was this close to the Thunder Clouds City." Dylan ruthlessly spoke. "But by not telling them, you would be putting innocent people in harm''s way and towards death''s dorrstep! How can your conscience stomach such behavior!" Sheldon tried his best to appeal to Dylan. "Sheldon, that''s enough!" Azelmek reprimanded Sheldon. "But Hallmaster!" Sheldon was still unrelenting in this matter and refused to back down. "Enough is enough!" Azelmek simply stared coldly at Sheldon. "Innocent people? What makes you so sure that all of the our innocent? How are you sure that they have not done any heinous acts like stealing and killing? How about you? Can you honestly say that you are without sin? How certain are you that my hypothesis is right? Although I may have supported it with logical explanation, nothing is truly certain in this world and I may even be the one in the wrong. If you go around and tell them one by one and by chance I was wrong, will you take resposibility for the mistake you have caused by turning the other 9 as the Premier Hall''s enemies?" Dylan retorted with a set of retorical questions. "I..." Sheldon could no longer retort. Everything that Dylan said was true. He could not deny it as he had a fair share of killing others and plundering for the sake of survival back when he was in his youth. "We are cultivators! Our lives are bounded by sin and danger. Without danger, we will never be able to realize the fullest of our potential! Though we maybe bounded by sin, it is up to your principles to decide whether you would be a righteous saint or a devil!" "It is entirely in their hands whether they will go or not. They are humans which means that they can think for themselves. It is every man for himself! I am not so magnanimous that I would desire to save the every single person in this world! I may be powerful to some but I am still not the strong enough to ensure safety for those I care about against every adverstiy. In this world, with sufficient power, right and wrong can be overturned and with sufficient strength, you can protect your loved ones from harm!" Dylan knew firsthand what it meant being powerless in all 3 of his lifetimes. Being powerless means that you will get abused and taken advantage of. That is why his desire to become stronger became even more resolute than before. That is also the reason why he could impart such wise words to Sheldon and Azelmek. The duo remained silent for a while before Sheldon had the courage to say something, "So, we are just simply letting them whittle down their strength? Some of them are still partners when it comes to business so with their strength, it may also affect the benefit we get from it." "Like I said, I won''t be troubling myself by babysitting others. Besides, with them expending such a great amount of their forces and those for forces ''accidentally'' dying, would it not be better for your Premier Hall? You would be able to quickly rise as top 1 in the city''s Sect Rankings. Don''t you agree?" Dylan spoke as tjough he was trying to tempt the two. " It is true but I prefer to win using our skill and not because of the misfortune of others!" Azelmek had a very straightforward and noble personality. Although he may be strict and cold to his disciples, he always upholds justice and righteousness to his deeds. "That''s right! Without the misfortune that will befell them if they go to the tomb, I still believe that we can eventually gain the standing of the Top 1 power with our skills in business!" Sheldon seconded this notion. "It seems I have not judged you both incorrectly. You two are exactly what I thought you were. Some would have succumbed to the blessing of such opportunity and become conceited but you remained true to your principles despite the temptation. Since this is your answer, I will give your city''s Top 10 a chance." Dylan was very satisfiedwith their responses that is why he decided to give them an oppurtunity to save the others. "Is what you are saying true, Master Null?" The two simultaneously asked. "Yes." Dylan gave his assurance with a slight nod. "So, what is the ''chance'' you mentioned just now, Master?" Azelmek impatiently asked. "Before I reveal the method, I have to warn you that this method will not assure that they would not waste their forces. It would utmost divide their forces but I am not sure as to how many would be reduced. Understood?" Dylan warned them. "Yes, Master! That is more than enough!" Azelmek said. "Thank you so much, Master!" Sheldon bowed gratefully to Dylan. "The method I have thought of involves these three." Dylan showed three types pf roots to Azelmek and Sheldon and placed it on the table. Each one were stored in a tranparent glass container that is fit for their size. Two roots were identical in size and length while there was one that was 2 times larger than the two. The two identical roots had one difference their color. One was black and the other was white while the larger one had stripes of black and white that spiralled from the top to them bottom of the root. "Hm, these are... Wait... No way!" Sheldon moved closer and tried to examine the herbs but disbelief emerged in his face as soon as he identified the herbs. "How is this possible?!" The same went for Azelmek. He could not believe what was right before him. Each one of these three are rare but having all of them was even more miraculous! If the chances of getting one is like counting the number of hairs in a head, then getting all three would be the same as counting the number of hair in your entire body! "From your expressions alone, it seems like you know the rarity and the functions of these roots. These are the Pure Yang Root, Pure Yin Root and the Yin-Yang Main Root!" Dylan revealed the name of the roots. "Is this really the rare Yin-Yang Root Set that is comparable to a Heaven Rank Herb?! Although our Hall got some Pure Yang roots and a little Pure Yin roots, we were still unable to find a Yin-Yang Main Root!" Azelmek could still not believe his eyes. He pinched himself to check whether he was dreaming or not. After several tries, he still had disbelief written all over his face. "The Pure Yang Root is extremely beneficial for men at the Origin Realm because it can greatly strengthen their physique and create a Pure Yang attribute Origin Energy while the Pure Yin Root can do the same for women. But, with the Yin-Yang Main Root that is able to create the Yin-Yang attribute Origin Energy for any sex, the effects of these three used together would be 10 times greater than using just one and create a Yin-Yang attribute Origin Palace!" Sheldon was struggling to sit right on his chair as he said this. "Good, it seems like you two really recognize these two." Dylan said calmly. The two were tempted to acquire this set so so much that they wanted to steal it! But they knew they could not due to the overwheleming strength of Master Null. But if they had this set, they would be able to create a super genius that could be comparable to Victor Thunder in the furture! "How were you able to acquire this, Master? Is it really okay to use this set?" Azelmek worriedly asked. "That''s a secret. I have already decided to use it so I will naturally have no apprehensions using this because only an item of this grade would attract the attention of the Top 10 sects of the city." Dylan was very decisive to Azelmek and Sheldon. But, they did not know that the set could be harvested by Dylan after waiting for a mere week! "Master is so magnanimous!" Sheldon praised him. "Master is truly a model expert that we should follow. Selflessly doing something like this for the betterment of the city." Azelmek felt extremely proud to be a disciple of such a benevolent expert. "Don''t get too ahead of yourselves. I only decided to do this because of your commendable behavior. Besides, you won''t be so happy after you hear the next part." Dylan continued as he smiled under the shade of the cloak. "Why is that so, Master?" Sheldon curiously inquired. "Because the plan involves for this set to be hidden within the lair of the Three Headed Dragon Snake 38 kilometer southwest of the city. Since the beast is at the peak of the Mortal Moulting Realm, I would need the two of you to sneak into its habitat and hide the roots on its nest because with the strength of the snake I doubt that even Allen Kindleheart would have a hard time hiding the herbs from the snake. You also need to do this task by the day after tomorow since the information will be dissminated tomorow. Remember you must hide it thoroughly or else it mighy be eaten by the snake!" Dylan informed them of the steps pf the plan. "What...?" The duo''s complexion immediately turned white. 117 Chapter 117: Competition "Master Null, you are not serious right?" Sheldon trembled as he asked. "Not at all. Unless you want your ancestors to do the work for you." Dylan teasingly said. " Some of them are guarding the sect and are most likely at your sect''s sacred grounds. Am I right?" Dylan sounded like he knew about it and pointed downwards. But, in truth, he was probing Sheldon and Azelmek. From his knowledge of reading novels, each prestigious power would have at least one old undying guarding the sect from sect destroying disasters. These ancestors ussually stay at the sacred ground of the sect which are preferrably an independent space. "You know about our ancestors and the sacred grounds?!" Sheldon was absolutely shocked when he heard of this. The ancestors of the hall are beings which have lived for more than two thousand years and are at the late stages of the Immortal Saint Realm, and there are very few who know of their existences within the sacred hall. Some have decided to wander the world and get stronger while some decided to stay within the grounds of the Premier Hall and defend it in times of crisis. "?!" Azelmek was also fairly shocked. The thing that shocked him the most was when Dylan pointed one finger downwards. but after a subtle deep breath, he was able to calm himself down. ''That can''t be. He must be bluffing. The sacred ground has a special forcefield that prevemts Spiritual Awareness from entering!'' "Calm down. I won''t do anything that would harm your sect despite kmowing where they are. It was just a mere joke." Dylan bluffed and glanced at Azelmek with a meaningful look. ''Has he really discovered about the sacred grounds under our Hall?! How much does he know?'' Azelmek felt the cold perspiration in his back as he seemingly understood the meaning of that stare. He instantly decided to shrug it off with a somewhat awkward laugh, "Hahaha, that''s right. It was just a mere joke." "That made me slightly nervous for second." Sheldon sighed in relief but he saw the glance that Dylan made and he somewhat had the gist of what was happening. "Anyways, where were we?" Azelmek tried to change the subject. He may have sounded a bit desperate but he needed to or else he might have fallen victim to Dylan''s mind game. Dylan immediately took note of this as he smiled inwardly and thought, ''So, the entrance is within here, huh? How unfortunate. I was hoping to get more info though.'' Knowing Azelmek''s desperate actions, Dylan simply followed, "We were talking about the plan involving you sneaking into the snake''s lair." "Oh, that''s right. About that, we can make it work if we..." Sheldon took the initiative and started the next agenda of this meeting. After two hours of discussion, the three eventually finished and Dylan bid farewell to the duo who respectfully guided him out. "May the heavens bless you in your travels, Master." Azelmek said his farewell as he saw Dylan become submerge to the dense crowd ahead. ... Inside the Azelmek''s office, Azelmek and Sheldon sat there silently. "Hallmaster, it seems that Master Null is even stronger than we originally thought!" Sheldon seriously said. "Indeed, he was able to identify where the sacred ground is and even found out about the ancestors below us." Azelmek agreed with similar seriousness in this matter. "The most important thing is that our ancestors did not even sense any Holy Sense! That means he is at least one sub realm stronger than our ancestors!" Sheldon shuddered in this thought! The strongest of their ancestors has already reached the 3rd Sub-Realm of the Immortal Saint Realm! Being stronger than that means that they have reached the peak of the Immortal Saint Realm! "Has he truly reached the Immortal Law Realm or is he even stronger than that?! But beyond Immortal Saint?! That realm is a myth!" Azelmek''s hands were trembling as he tried to sip the tea in his hands. ... Meanwhile, at the Soaring Garden Herbal Store, Dylan just arrived and discovered that their customer count is lower than what he anticipated it to be.There were only 150-160 customers who came to his stores in three hours! If this keeps up, there would only be around 600 people that would come to his store. At this rate, his speed of cultivation will be adveresely affected due to the lack of Millenial Stone. "What''s the matter? Why has the customer count reduced this much?" Dylan asked a tall brown skinned youth with wavy dark-brown hair named Gilbert. "I''m not really sure, sir. But Scott told me that its most likely the new competition that we have three blocks north." Gilbert replied with an uncertain answer. "New competition?" Dylan was a bit shocked by the sudden appearance of a new competition. "Is it a new business or an popular one?" "Apparently, its a popular brand here in the city, "Gear Up!", a blacksmithing/weapon trading shop. Its Sect Ranking is 198 with about three throusand employes and eleven branches all around the city including the one near to our store." Scott who was at the side, shared the basic information regarding the new shop to Dylan. "An extension branch? Then why would our customer count decrease that much if there is only one popular new store? There should be at least two other stores, right?" Dylan asked again. "It''s not only two but there are another three new extensions here in our street that replaced declining stores. One is 100 meters north and the next one is 76 meters south while the last one is 9 blocks south. All 3 our popular brand that are within the top 250 and possess at least 8 branches each!" Peter, a slightly muscular youth with a kind face, informed Dylan. "Interesting. Business is as dynamic as ever. Four new businesses, huh? Seems like I still got a long way to go." Dylan smiled when he discovered about this. He felt like he was suddenly back in Earth. Consistently devising plans and methods that would enable his business to triumph against the other. "So what are we going to do, now, sir?" Beverly asked. "We will beat our competition, of course." Dylan answered with confidence. "That''s our Sir Dylan!" Ron said with a smile. "Yeah!" The customers followed with a cheer " It seems like we would need a little bit more time to reach the point where we could secure 1000 customers a day. Don''t get too anxious, I will create a plan." Dylan was thinking of their current circumstances. "First off, we need to know who we are dealing with. That''s the most essential thing when it comes to a war. If you know your enemy well, you can create a counterplan and be unbeatable!" Dylan spoke as if he was a teacher. "Yes, sir." The employees replied in unison. "Sir, as mentioned before, there are 4 new business each our extensions of popular business chains which have at least 7 branches each. The closest one is Gear Up! which is 3 blocks north of our store. Next, is the business 9 blocks south from here which is called "Pill Clinic", like the name suggests, it is a business which specializes in selling pills with a side business of selling herbs. It has a total of 9 separate branches around the city. It''s Sect Ranking is 227." A long brown haired simple beauty named Angeli imparted. "The one which is 76 meters south is called the "Excellent Tailors". A business which is governed by Magical Tailors, a proffesion which is under the category of blacksmiths, however, it mostly deals with the use of magical garments that are used to sew robes, pants and other clothings. It is a popular business because it''s efficiency is almost the same as heavy armor with the same cost and durability but lighter! It has a total of 11 branches all over the coty with rank of 201!" A fierce looking yet handsome youth called Joe added. "Lastly, the farthest one which is 100 meters north is called the "Beast Farm"! A popular brand known for producing excellent mounts that are sold depending on the level! The domesticated Spirit Gathering spirit beasts within these farms are easy to control. Although it produces quite a few Origin Realm Beasts, it has registered about 4 to 5 dozen of Origin Transmutation Beasts, 20 at the Origin Foundation, and 7 Palace Formation Realm Beasts! It has 8 branches all over the city with an overall Sect Ranking of 241!" "Very good! Looks like everyone has researched about the general information of the enemy camps." Dylan smiled as he praised his employees. He found joy that they were able to have the initiative to do such things. "Oh, so all of our competition are quite formidable, huh?" Dylan fell silent as he contemplated for this predicament they were in. With such competition, it will be beyond difficult to raise their rankings. The rankings of the Soaring Garden herbal stor is only at the 1600s which is ways behind from their competition! "For now, we will do our best to maintain the average customers of 600-650. We will stay low-key for one week. In this one week, we will do recon and probation. We will monitor the method of management of each business! To do this, we will have four employees who will station themselves 10 meters away from the 4 targetted businesses for three hours while giving out flyers for advertisement! The flyers are only cover up but they can also be an additional way for our store tp have more exposure. Even if the people passing by throw it away, as long as they are able to hear and see the name of our store that will be enough!" Dylan immedeately devised a plan for them to recognize the enemy! "Won''t the enemy be suspicious of us if we were to closely monitor their stores for several hours?" Arnold asked with seriousness on his brows. "Of course not because if they noticed, they would most likely ignore such actions. Being high and mighty, they would of course be nonchalant of our seemingly futile effort. But, we cannot also exclude the fact that there might be careful individuals within their group so we would have to most likely prepare. To flawlessly execute this plan, the four guys who will monitor for a few hours will utilize the crowd as a coat that would render him/her less noticeable to the businesses! Not only that, I aslo plan for a few members to do detailed research in order to find reliable information and statistics of the busineses!"Dylan spoke calmly as he patiently calculated all possible scenarios during the recon. "What about the following steps of the plan, Sir Dylan?" Scott asked while processing Dylan''s plans. " The next step of the plan is completely dependent to the first because it is the creation and deliberation of possible methods to be used against the 4 new business along the street!" Dylan smirked as he spoke. 118 Chapter 118: Accepting a Master "Yes, sir!" The employees said in unison. "For today, we will just have to resume our work. We''ll start the recom operation tomorrow We will work hard and maintain the average of 600 customers." Dylan encouraged his employees once more. "We will!" The employees were pumped up and were eager to do well in their respective works. Hours passed and it was already past 1 in the afternoon. The number of customers that came to their store reached 330. Dylan knew that it was already a good number considering the increased number of popular competition that could be found within the street. With less customers to serve, some of the employees that already finished their tasks decided to cultivate. Dylan''s hardworking attitude infected all of his employees ever since they left Soaring Clouds City. During the journey, Dylan would always utilize all of his free time for cultivation. Inspired by his behavior, the other also copied him and cultivate for the entire duration of the journey to the point that it became their habits to cultivate whenever they have free time. When the hour clockhand struck 2, two unfamilliar guests entered the store. They all wore the robes that could be only worn by the disciples of the Premier Hall. Boundless strength could be felt from the, and it was clear that these two did not have any intention of retracting their imposing auras. Their arrival stirred the attention of all the customers that were currently eating or buying herbs within the store. "Aren''t they from the Premier Hall?" One customer gossiped with his friend. "Why are they here for? Acting all high and mighty by releasing their auras like that." Another harrumphed from displeasure. "Keep quiet, you dumbass! They might hear you. Don''t drag the sect dowm with your stupidity. They just formally anounced their partnership with this store the other day so they must be here for Dylan Ford." The one beside to the speaker earlier smacked his head and whispered. ..... "May I ask who among you is Dylan Ford?" A scary looking adult said while his eyes scanned his surroundings. "I am Dylan Ford. May I ask for what reason would brothers from the Premier Hall is here for?" Dylan stepped down from the second floor and greeted the newly arrived guests with a warm smile. Though he may have said that, he naturally knew that the reason they came here was for him to start his training as a Mystical Magnate. "We were sent here by the Hallmaster to escort you to the Premier Hall." The plain yet absurdly tall guy at the back of the scary looking man replied. "Oh, is that so? Give me a minute to prepare. Then we''ll leave." Dylan replied with a faint smile. "En." The two nodded respectfully. ..... After leaving some instructions to Scott and Ron, Dylan left with the two disciples from the Premier Hall. When they arrived at the Premier Hall, he was guided by the butlers of the hall to the office of Azelmek. This was also the same treatment he had when he came here as "Null" but the only difference was that he had fewer escorts now compared to when he was Null. The three escorts bowed before they left Dylan after they successfully ushered Dylan to the Hallmaster''s Office. Dylan gently knowcked a few times before he heard a reply from inside saying, "Come in." Dylan twisted the knob and opened the door. He saw Azelmek and Sheldon sotting comfortably on their chairs and looked at Dylan with great expectation. "Good Afternoon, Uncle Azelmek and Uncle Sheldon." Dylan bowed before entering the room. "Hahaha, it has only been a day but it feels like nephew has changed significantly." Azelmek laughed but behind this laugh was shock and curiousity. Although he could determine that Dylan is still at the Spirit Gathering, he could no longer sense what specific level he is at. ''Come to think of it, Master Null also felt like this when we met this morning. Was it only this morning or was he also like that after our first meeting? I could hardly remember how his aura felt now.'' Azelmek though it was quite peculiar that these two would have the same characteristics.Due to the sudden change in aura, he was unable to grasp the prior aura that Dylan had. "Indeed. Nephew, why does your cultivation level seem so vague all of the sudden?" Sheldon directly asked for an answer. Azelmek was also very curious to know of the reason. "Oh, this. It was actually an additional effect of the cultivation technique that Sir Null taught me a week after he recovered from his injuries." Dylan answered rather quickly which was in contrast to what Azelmek thought that he might be slightly apprehensive on telling them this matter. "Cultivation technique?" The two were rather shocked when they heard of this. There were only one possibility for a technique to achieve this effect! This technique has already reached the treshold of a Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique! "Yes. He also said that this cultivation technique was also specifically created just for my constitution. So, even if I wanted to, I cannot share it with other people." Dylan explained. Before coming here, Dylan already predicted that Azelmek and Sheldon would ask him about his cultivation. So, he invented a story and pushed all the glorious feats to Null so that he would have an even deeper influence and impression towards this two making them easier to manipulate. "A technique based on your constitution? That is comparable to a Heaven Rank Technique?!" The two looked at Dylan in shock. The already unfathomable Master Null suddenly became even more unfathomable! From Dylan''s words, they could infer that he was able to create a Heaven Rank technique solely for Dylan in less than a week?!What does this mean? Master Null has already reached the mastery of laws! "Heaven Rank? Sir Null is really amazing!" Dylan showed a face filled with worship and excitement! He even looked down on his hands and tremblingly gripped his fists so that he could show the reverence a junior was supposed to have to a super expert! However in his mind, Dylan was smiling, " Seems like pushing it towards Null was the most appropriate choice I did." The two saw Dylan''s actions. This made them feel depressed and felt what a huge waste it was that they were not able to request for a technique that is solely suitable for them! If they only had a technique like that, they would be like tiger with wings! But they suddenly remembered that their master''s journey would only take a year at most before he could come back. At that time, they could also request for a suitable vutltivation technique! But before they could do that, they would have to train Dylan wholeheartedly and let him soar to unimaginable heaights before Master Null could come back. "Sir Null, truly is beyond remarkable! To think he could even do create Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique in a matter of days! Unmatchable!" Sheldon endlessly praised his master who was currently in absence. "I sincerely concur. Enough about our Master. Let us first get down to the reason why we called him here. Dylan, do you know the reason why you are here?" Azelmek asked with a serious gaze. "This... I am not completely sure to what it really is... but I suppose it is related to Sir Null." Dylan hesitated a number of times. Little did Azelmek and Sheldon know that all of Dylan''s actions and words were measured and calculated. "Yes, it is related to Master. He said that he would be going on in an a journey that would at least last for several months to a year. He also tasked us to train you well so that by the time that he comes back, he will assess whether to take you in as a disciple or not!" Azelmek informed Dylan of what Null told them. "Really? I can become the apprentice of Sir Null?!" Dylan revealed a face of shock and anticipation! "That''s right! If you successfully become Master''s Apprentice, you would be able to soar like a dragon and carry your business as well as the Premier Hall with you to the apex!" Sheldon encouraged Dylan by equally showing an extremely passionate gaze! "That''s right. So, Dylan, are you willing to become my disciple?" Azelmek questioned with a powerful voice! "Disciple greets Master!" Dylan unhesitatingly bowed. He kowtowed three times to formally recognize Azelmek as his Master. "Good child. I, Azelmek Premier, accepts Dylan Ford as his disciple! May the heavens witness this!" Azelmek smiled as he looked at this promising youth who knelt with his forehead pasted on the floor. He never would have thought that this decision of his would change his life forever! Dylan thought to himself, ''Second Phase, first checkpoint, complete!'' He was thoroughly happy in his heart that he was finally able to recognize a master in this world! Now, with proper guidance from a native of this world, he will surely be able to improve at an even faster pace than before! " You may now stand up, disciple. First, we must measure your Magnate Strength. Sheldon, bring out the Soul Measuring Tablet." Azelmek ordered. "Yes, Hallmaster." Sheldon immediately obeyed and exited the room. He went to the Treasury had some of the elders help him carry the Tablet to the office. "Sir Azelmek, the tablet is now here." Sheldon entered the room along with three other elders. They were carrying a rectangular tablet that was about 1.5 meters long and 1 meter wide. The tablet was made from a mysterious type of black rock that seemed to be even harder than steel. The table had two large orb, one white and the other black, at both ends and had 25 smaller orbs situated on the center. The smaller orbs were arranged in five columns and five rows about two inches apart. "Master, is this stone tablet the one you called Soul Measuring Tablet?" Dylan inquired. "Yes, the Soul Measuring Tablet is a measuring device used to ascertain the Soul Depth and the growth potential of Magnate Strength a person has. These two things are needed to determine a cultivator''s talent in Mystical Magnatism. With this device, I would be able to determine where I am going to start when I train you." Azelmek was patient as he answered Dylan''s question. "Is that so? Then, what should I do now?" Dylan asked. "You are just going to place one of your hands on top of the white Soul Orb over there. Then, depending on your talent, the smaller orbs will light up and we can determine the growth of your Magnate Strength depending on the standard used. The first row containing the five orbs are for Magnate Apprentice, the next row is for Mystical Magnates and so on. For Soul Depth, you will do tye same but this time on the black Soul orb. The same standards are applied." Sheldon was the one who replied Dylan''s question this time. "Oh, okay." Dylan stepped up and moved closer to the Soul Measuring Tablet. He calmly placed his right armon the Soul Orb in front of him. "Now, you just have to inject your Magnate Strength into the Orb." Azelmek said. "Mhm." Dylan closed his eyes and injected his Magnate Strangth into the Soul Orb. When Dylan did this, the soul orb under his right arm radiated an incandescent white light! In the same moment, the smaller orbs started to brighten one after another! "This... this...!" Azelmek, Sheldon and the three elders could not believe their eyes when they saw the number of orbs that lit up! "Is it all done?" Dylan slowly opened his eyes and asked. When he saw the number of orbs that lit up, he was more than surprised. "I lit up all 25?!" Dylan gasped as he saw 5 rows and 25 small orbs all lit up with bright gold light! 119 Chapter 119: X-Grade Magna Magnate "This is inconcievable!" One of the elders could not help but say. "The estimated growth of his Magnate Strength is beyond the realm of Mystical Lords?!" Another one of the elders felt that his knees were growing weak. "Is he an SS-Grade Magna Magna Magnate?!" The last of the three was trembling. He could not control his body from shaking due to the shock they recieved just now. "No... he''s even more rarer than that.... His talent has reached the legendary X-Grade!" Sheldon was clearly more valuable than these three so he knew the mythical existence of such a talent. But, even he could not believe it! He has only read an ancient record saying something about a talent far rarer than an SS-Grade! "What is the X-Grade?" The three could not fathom what type of monster could even be greater than an SS-Grade that posses the Heavenly Eyes! "I don''t know. The ancient record only mentioned about its existence and could not further explain its characteristics since it was a realm that was purely based on theory." Sheldon was rather anxious because he truly wanted to know what type of existence an X-Grade Magna Magnate was. "What should I do now?" Dylan asked. The five were still gobsmacked due to the number of small prbs he was able to lit up. "Try your Soul Depth next." Azelmek anxiously urged. Seeing his expression, Dylan followed his commands and placed his right hand on the black large orb which he then injected with his Magnate Strength. The same phenomenon happened again and the large orb was filled with white light! This time there were only 21 orbs that lit up but they were all still impressed. His talent would assure him to arrive at the Mystical Lord Realm smoothly if he did not die prematurely. The three elders felt that their hearts were on the verge of collapse. They were all Mystical Dukes but this miraculous event caused massive upheavals within that it was almost impossible to contain. "How can we still live after witnessing this?" His Magnate Strength Potential was level 25 and his Soul Depth at level 21?! Then wouldn''t that mean that his Mental Stength is even greater than level 25?! This three elders felt both extreme shock and disappointment at the same time which was absolutely unhealthy for their ages! Witnessing this was the same as destroying their confidence within themselves. "This is absolutely great! Hahahahahaha!" Azelmek could not hold his happiness any longer. He laughed so loud that it could be heard by the entire hall! ... On the ground floor of the Premier Hall... "Who is laughing?" A receptionist suddenly heard a strange laughter. "Wait, isn''t this voice similar to the Hallmaster''s?" A maid who had a fairly good memory suggested. "What are you saying? The Hallmaster is always serious and he even rarely smiles. In the 5 years I have worked for the Premier Hall, I only saw him smile when he greets high class VIPs personally. How could a person like that laugh this hard?" A middle aged butler spoke from experience. "But, I saw him laugh when he went to the Noble Test Center and announced the Hall''s partnership with this year''s topnotcher, Dylan Ford." Another maid said. "If he laughed, it must be due to the formalities that were needed to accept the felicitations of the top-level figures. The laugh we just heard is a laugh from extreme bliss. It can''t be him." A young butler disagreed and stated his argument. "But, it''s coming from the top floor." The maid defended. "What are you all fussing about? Get back to your works!" A manager passed by and saw a group of employees gossiping. Thus, he decided to reprimand them all. "Yes, sir!" The employees replied readily. How could these employees even know that the source of the blissful laugh of the Hallmaster was the birth of an unprecedented genius that will shake the entire world! ... At the Executive Office in the top floor... "Dylan, you are truly a hidden gem! No wonder you can come out as the topnotcher of this batch! The other brats simply did not have the chance to get the number 1 spot since you were there!" Azelmek''s smile was difficult to hide. It even seemed that the Hallmaster aged a few years younger. "What do you mean by this, Master?" Dylan could not helped but be puzzled. The other three also could not understand what Azelmek was currently implying. It was as if as long as Dylan was there, no one else would be able to take the first spot! "It''s alright if you don''t understand. Let Master explain. I presume that you understand what the source of Mental Strength and Soul Depth are right?" Azelmek said with a gentle smile. "I do, Master." Dylan answered truthfully. Of course, he knew this since he studied the basic concepts of Mystical Magnatism. "Great. So I won''t have to explain it with detail and just do a quick recap. The Mental Strength is power that is gained from the mind thus it can also be called associated with Willpower while the Soul Depth is energy that is gained from the soul and the nature of the person. If you simulataneously utilize this two power, you create an overbearing type of energy that is suppressive by nature called the Magnate Strength. The two energy must reach a certain height and achieve an equilibrium in order to be formed. It is also due to this requirement that not all people are able to become Mystical Magnates." Azelmek explained. Dylan nodded. He knew that if a person has high Mental Strength but low Soul Depth or vice versa, one could never achieve and cultivate Magnate Strength. "Each of these two can be improved through the catalyst of mental conditioning techniques and life experiences. So, do you know what would happen if a person with high levels of Mental Strength and Soul Depth undergo a traumatic experience such as near death experiences, torture, betrayal or loss of family?" Azelmek asked Dylan a question. "Such experiences would birth extreme emotions and sensations such as anger, depression, hate, regret, bliss, love and pain would trigger fluctuations within their mind and soul and incite evolution." Dylan was starting to catch on to what Azelmek was referring to. He suddenly remembered all the past events that has happened to him. His brother''s betrayal, his unfulfilled promise with Rose, his death, his reincarnation, his other self''s tragic past, the destruction of Gardenford, the death of Leila and Frank, the torture he underwent from Baron, and his separation with Scarlet. All of these events made his already high level of Mental Strength and Soul Depth to mutate and evolve even further!! "Exactly, it is due to this that special talents called Magna Magnates. You should know by now that there are different grades of Magna Magnates. The A and C grades are caused by the mutation of the Mental Strength that enhances the intensity of the Magnate Strength. On the other hand, S and SS grades are from both. From there, each grade will have an additional blessing! The S grades paves way for the future while the SS grade gives birth to Heavenly Eyes. Do you know what blessing an X Grade recieves? Its a skill that anyone would want to have! With their absurd levels of Mental Strength and Soul Depth, they were blessed with Instant Learning Abilities!" Azelmek excitedly said. "Instant..." "Learning..." "Abilities?!" The three elders had their mouths wide open from awe and shock. He would have never expected that there was such a miraculous ability. They could not take this type of shocking revelations with their old age so they all fainted from the shock. Even Dylan felt that he might have heard of it wrongly! Thankfully, he and Sheldon had better mental fortitude compared to the three elders. "From what I know, there are three levels of such. First is Photographic Memory which enables a person to instantly store into their minds any text regardless of the amount in just one glance! Second, Mimic, capable of copying the movements, voice, and even the aura of any living organism in an instant. Third, Perfect Copy, the highest stage that enables a person to copy the strength, speed, defense and even comprehension of any skill and ability from any living organism with a glance! In this level, the person basically turns into the existence which he copied!" Azelmek was fuming with excitement as his pace of speaking hastened! "How are you able to know this things, Master?" Dylan really wanted to know how Azelmek got a hold of this information. "This was something I learned from my son, Azel Premier or popularly known as the Noble Blade, who is currently one of the elite talents of the Magnate Tower. He gave me an ancient scroll from an Imperial Kingdom that he accidentally axquired from a mission to slay a Malevolent Magnate. He temporarily gave it to me since he did not have the strength he now had back then." Azelmek imparted this piece of confidential information to Dylan. This just goes to show how much he values Dylan. "Does that mean that Dylan can achieve that also?!" Sheldon could not believe what he just. The final level enables Dylan to copy any organism from its essence! This was absolutely heaven defying! "Yes!" Azelmek enthusaistically answered. However, it soon turned into sadnes as he continued his words, " However, these are all in theory. Acquiring such heaven defying power would be too unfair. That''s why cultivating it is even harder than climbing the heavens. The second level could still be achieved since it could be done if the X-grade Magna Magnate persists training his sole for 1000-2000 years. However, the last level was something that not only needed tens of thousands of years of training but also epiphany." "That long?!" Sheldon was utterly flabbergasted when he heard such an insane length of time to put for the advancement of a blessing. "..." Dylan was rather silent. He was a bit disappointented when he learned that it was absolutely difficult to train the Perfect Copy ability. If he had that power, then he would no longer have to worry about lack of strength because if he could copy the strongest person in this world, then his power would also be at that level. But, he did not let it get to him. It''s not like power can be gained that easily. Hardships and backbreaking efforts were a must in order to become a truly strong and formidable warrior! "According to the Imperial Kingdom, among the 16 X-grade Magna Magnates that they were able to record throughout the million years of lineage, they were able to record down 11 that were able to break through to the 2nd level and only 1 for the 3rd level. So you should not get discouraged Dylan, its already more than amazing that you possess photographic memory and the Heavenly Eyes! Getting to the 2nd level or 3rd level, would just be an additional bonus." Azelmek did not want his disciple to feel disheartened so he immediately comforted him. "Thank you, master." Dylan felt very warm when he heard Azelmek comforting him. "Let me teach you some techniques to properly cultivate your magnate Strength and become a formal Mystical Magnate. However, I will not be lenient as I am now and will be as strict as possible expecially with the level of your talent, I will expect great things from you so my standards will be higher as well!" Azelmek seemingly reverted back to his usual cold and serious face. "Yes, master!" Dylan replied with a bright smile on his face.He was filled with anticipation for the strength that he would gain from the teachings of his new found teacher! 120 Chapter 120: Mystical Techniques Azelmek quickly taught Dylan a Mystical Magnate Cultivation Technique to Dylan which Dylan immediately memorized after a glance. The technique was called ''Just by reading it, it allowed me to get a clear glimpse of the energy flow within me!'' Dylan''s eyes glistened as he discovered that he could now clearly sense the flow of the Magnate Strength within his body which was a direct contrast to the vague feeling he had when he tried to cultivate by himself. This was the difference of having a master to guide you and training by one''s self. A moment later, Azelmek had him recite the cultivation technique he just told Dylan. Although it was already in his expectations, Azelmek still found it incredible how wonderous the talent of an X-grade is! But he did not make Dylan cultivate as soon as learned it because he wanted to take Dylan to the library first. In one of the corridors of the Premier Hall... Dylan and Azelmek was currently walking to the Premier Hall''s Library to get suitable mystical techniques for Dylan. ''I did not expect to find an X-grade Magna Magnate and a Nine-Tailed Sacred Flame Fox in a Middle Proximity City such as this.'' Strange enough, Dylan suddenly remembered Baron''s words while they were walking. This lead him to remember the scene where he laid flatly on the ground, bleeding and powerless to do anything, while his employees were held hostage by Byron''s puppets but was saved by Scarlet later on. ''How did he know that I was an X-grade when I was only at the 1st level of Instant Learning Abilities?'' Dylan''s eyes narrowed as he thought of this. What Dylan did not know was the fact that he was able to conjure the Hell Clouds that was an exclusive feature of the Darkness Castle''s Hell Sutra. Byron unknowingly thought that Dylan had a talent that almost reached the Perfect Copy Stage due to this unusual occurrence. ''Tsk, thinking back only affects my mood. Next time, I shall never be powerless and useless! Byron, just wait till I reach your level because I will make you pay back everything that you have done in the same gruesome way but a hundred times worse!'' Dylan''s eyes flashed with killing intent and coldness! Being close to him, Azelmek, his new master naturally felt the cold killing intent that Dylan subconciously released. Showing concern for his new disciple, he asked him, "Dylan, is something the matter?" "Ah." Azelmek''s words snapped Dylan back to reality so he respectfully replied but his words contained vivid coldness and hate, " I just happen to remember a very unpleasant memory of a detestable person. However, I would rather not talk about it now." ''It seems like he has experienced a very traumatic event in his life which allowed his Magnate Strength to magnify and advance to the mythical X-grade.'' With his almost 500 years of existence, Azelmek knew how to instantly read the emotions of other people based on their words and expressions. Thus, he arrived at such a conclusion. "Your behavior is understandable. However, you must always remember to maintain a calm and steadfast heart regardless of the trials that you may face because once you lose your composure, you will succumb to temptation and evil." Azelmek wisely imparted. "Thank you for this guidance, master!" Dylan gratefully bowed his head. "Mhm." Azelmek nodded with a smile as he looked forward and his feet came to a stop while his hands reached out the handles by the door and pushed it. "This is the Premier Hall''s Library." A library of gigantic proportions could be seen. Among the countless bookshelves that were neatly organized by subject and name, a plethora of books filled with rich knowledge could be found! The library had three levels and it was clear from just one glance that as you ascend the fewer books it contains compared to the one below. These three corresponds to the three known levels of an official Mystical Magnate. Namely, Mystical Magnate, Mystical Duke, and Mystical Lord. Despite the the decreasing trend, the manuals and techniques of the Mystical Lord Realm was still plentiful as it could still number to a few thousands! This just goes to show the terrifying foundation that the Premier Hall has. Some powers would even kill for just one of those manuals! The shelves on the Magnate level were divided into 26 rows that were named A-Z. The 26 rows also formed 18 columns which are differentiated by numbers placed after the letter (i.e. A1-A18, B1-B18, and so on...). Each shelve had four sections which could store upto 100! One could just imagine the immense number of books that were stored in this library. Each row was a place where one disciple or field of knowledge could searched. The rows represents the branches or related literature to the subject a person desires. "Amazing..." Dylan was in awe as he saw how intricate and organized the entire library was! But he was able to quickly get a hold of himself and calmed himself down. This type of organizational skills were comparable to the librarians which maintained the orderliness of a national library! "Hahaha, amazed, are you? As my disciple, you will gain access to all of the books within the Magnate level."Azelmek laughed mildly as he saw the eager look that Dylan had a while ago. He smiled with a thought, ''I was expecting for him to at least open his mouth from shock before calming himself but the only thing he did was have that eager gaze. His state of mind is a lot more mature than expected.'' "This privellege is too overwhelming. Disciple thanks Master from the bottom of his heart." Dylan felt slightly overwhelmed by this privellege but he knew that with such benefits, expectations also come greater. "Good, you are able to stay composed in spite of the benefit you have recieved. This only shows that you have the proper restraint and propriety. Regardless, I must remind you that you must not bite more than you can chew. Only pick those techniques which are suitable for yourself." Azelmek warned him. "Yes, master. I will remember Master''s kind words." Dylan faintly smiled as he felt the warmth brought by Azelmek''s concern for his future. "Today, I will help you pick a Magnate grade Mental Attack, Beguilement and Suppression techniques. After which, I will assess to what type of technique you are most suitable for. Normally, I would judge my disciples aptitude from the three skill based on his personality and the nature of his Magnate Strength but the same cannot be applied to you since you are an X-grade Magna Magnate. So, I must witness which of the three you are most compatible at." Azelmek strictly said. "Mhm." Dylan nodded with his eyes brimming with excitement! A Mystical Magnate''s Mystical Technique are divided into three categories: the Mental Attack, Beguilement and Suppression. Mental Attack is a type of technique which mainly uses the Mental Strength portion of the Magnate Strength in order to create sudden confusion and thought distortion that may cause faint and brain death! On the other hand, Beguilement is a skill which mainly relies on the Soul Depth of the Magnate Strength in order to attract, coerce and even create illusions that could trap a person forever if his will power is weak or if the caster voluntarily dispels the technique. Lastly, Suppression is the ability that Mystical Magnates are known for. This ability which solely utilizes in Magnate Strength of the user, allows them to suppress their opponents of the equal level, making them unable to use their full strength which allows Mystical Magnates to achieve domination all throughout the battle! This was also the technique that Dylan wanted to learn most! The master and disciple roam around the Mystical Techniques row and searched for the three types of techniques. After half an hour of searching, the duo finally decided upon three techniques. All of this techniques had something in similar which was their appropriately high requirements yet are designed for new Magnates. Thus, making it fit for an evaluation! The first technique that was picked was called "Mind Cutter Blade" which was a Mental Attack technique. As the name suggest, the user will have to condense his/her Magnate Strength with the shape of a blade that will silently cut through the air and cut down the mind of the user''s foe. The second technique chosen was named "Breath of Appeal" which falles under the category of the Beguilement Techniques. Once mastered to certain extent, the technique will allow a person to subtlely attract others who are weaker than him/her by exuding a breath that fits the desire of one''s foe. It is said that if it can be fully mastered, the user could even beguile foes with equal strength! The last one is a Suppression technique which was named "King of the Land Vol. I". An overbearing technique that requires a person to have the strength of a 4th tier Magnate! It blatantly spreads out the user''s Magnate Strength within a distance of 8 meters in order to slightly influence gravity to put pressure on his/her foes! Each one of these techniques made Dylan''s eyes luster with an excited light. Implying his eagerness to learn such amazing techniques! After deciding the three techniques, Azelmek and Dylan quickly left and Azelmek guided him to the sect''s training grounds which was at the first level of the underground compartment of the sect to train and to be evaluated. Sheldon also joined them on the training grounds as soon as he finished doing his daily work Dylan practiced the three techniques for an hour before he meditated. He did not recieve any guidance while he practiced because one of the goals of the assessment os to determine Dylan''s comprehension speed. Azelmek and Sheldon also quietly waited while their faces were decorated with bright smiles of expectations. 121 Chapter 121: Shocking Talen "Hallmaster, I am at a loss seeing how fast this kid can comprehend the three Mystical Techniques. In less than an hour, though they were just Magnate grade, he has almost reached Novice Mastery in all three techniques!" Sheldon could not help but gasp as he watched how amazing Dylan''s Talent was. "This is only to be expected from such a talent. Maybe if it was a battle technique at the Spirit Rank, I would estimate that it would at least take him a week because of his memory but for him to train a mystical technique? It''s like a fish in water or a bird on the sky! He''s within his element so his heaven defying speed is understandable. But, despite being mentally prepared, the results still continues to defy it. I originally thought that he could at least reach halfway to Novice Mastery but he is now only a step away from reaching it!" Azelmek''s eyes was sparkling as his expectations were discretely being shattered from Dylan''s results. "Not only is his comprehension speed incomprehensible, his Magnate Strength Manipulation is also shocking! Despite not having any manuals to train with or someone to give him any guidance in the past, he was still able to control his Magnate Strength in the same manner a Tier 2 Mystical Magnate could! What more now that he has a proper manual to cultivate with and a Mystical Lord to teach him...?" Sheldon also noticed another shocking characteristic that Dylan possesses.His last sentence made his heart shudder. He could only conclude that Dylan''s raw talent was too demonic! "Yes, comprehension speed and energy manipulation talent are all awestrucking but I believe that his most redeeming quality would be his composure and mental maturity that far exceeds his actual age! His ability to stay calm and adapt to any unpredictable situation is almost unbelievable! He is also innately eloquent that he could quickly support all arguments that he articulates! He is the most precious gem that I have ever known in my entire life! Becoming his teacher is a privelege that is beyond compare. I am glad that I was able to aceept this little monster as my disciple." Saying such praises, Azelmek could not help but become teary-eyed. The blessing he just recieved made him overly flustered and emotional to the point of almost crying. "Right. We are witnessing the birth of a monstrous genius that could only be seen once in a million years!" Sheldon tightened his grip as he expectantly watched for results. One hour later... "Hahaha, I finally became a Mystical Magnate!" Dylan finally opened his eyes and rejoiced. It was all thanks to the "Mystique Under The Clouds". This technique creates a stable foundation for it could manufacture Magnate Strength that are stablely fused and prevents unwanted fluctuations of the compostion of Magnate Strength that are fused. With the help of the mystic cultivation manual, Dylan was able to successfully create his Mystical Pond. A Mystical Pond is akin to a Spirit Core since this is where all the raw Magnate Strength are stored. In order to grow stronger, a person needs to supplement the pond with layers that will help it expand and upgrade the quality of Mystical Strength. With the addition of these layers, the Mystical Pond can transform into a Mystical Lake and the Mystical Lake to a Mystical Sea. ''Why does my Mystical Pond feel completely differeny than the ones described in the manual?'' Dylan felt overwhelmed as he could clearly feel the entirety of his Magnate Strength. He felt that it was like a large lake rather than a small pond that was describe within the "Mystique Under The Clouds". A normal Tier 1 Mystical Magnate will have a Mystical Pond that was 10-20 meters in diameter. As he/she advance to the 5th tier, it will form a Mystical Lake at least 100 meters in area and on the 9th, the Mystical Lake will transform to a Mystical Sea which was at least 10 kilometers vast. A typical Magna Magnate which is at the C-grade will have a Mystical Pond 40-60 meters in circumference, a 400-600 meter squared Mystical Lake, and a 30 kilometer Mystical Sea! However, Dylan''s Mystical Pond was approximate at the 800 meters already!Due to its large size, it mightnas well be called a lake than a pond. But Dylan knew that in order to properly advance, he must first undergo the Mystical Pond stage like everbody else. ''Could this be because of my X-grade Talent?'' Dylan silently contemplated. Though this was the most feasible assumption, he was not certain on how to approach this matter since he was only a novice in Mystical Magnatism. ''The smartest decision would be too ask master about this. He would be able to clarify this peculiar Mystical Pind of mine.'' Dylan decisively deliberated after a brief moment. Arriving at this decision, Dylan stood up and approached Azelmek and Sheldon who were standing perpendicular to him when he was in meditation. Him standing up was also seen by the two so they thought that he was now ready for the assessment. Thingking like this, Sheldon asked Dylan with an affabke smile, " Are you done meditating and ready for the test?" "I am but I have something to consult Master first before we start the test." Dylan replied with a smile of the same warmness. "Oh, what is it, Dylan?" Azelmek inquired. What could his disciple ask consultation with? ''It seems that this is rather important for him. At least more important than the test.'' He thought. "To begin my path as a Mystical Magnate, I know that I need to create a Mystical Pond and after cultivating for an hour, I was finally able to create it. The thing that I am most concerned is that my Mystical Pond is significantly larger than even the Mystical Lake of a C-grade Magna Magnate? Even though I have speculated that this is because of my talent as an X-grade Magnate. I could not ascertain the reason. Can Master please explain to me why there is such a large contrast with my Pond compared to others?" Dylan curiously asked. "What did you just say?! You... you... condensed a Mystical Pond within an hour?!" Oddly, the duo spoke almost at the same time. They looked at each with stupefied expressions. Creating a Mystical Pond within an hour would have been a fool''s stand if it were in the past. But these two could not sense any hint of dishonesty in Dylan''s words. Strangely, this made them believe that Dylan has actually achieved a previously impossible feat due to his overwhelming talent. Still, they could not believe their ears as they heard it because the fastest record of creating a Mystical Pond in history was 3 days! Now, they heard that it was created within an hour?! Comparing these two records, the former was light years away from even being comparable to the latter. "Master? Uncle Sheldon? Is something wrong?" Dylan did not understand why they looked so shocked. Though Dylan could already be considered knowledgeable due to the crazy amount of studying he did for a total of 12 days, he was still ignorant to most of the information written within this world. It was only natural for him not to know the record. "Huh?" The next moment, Azelmek was able to quickly get a hold of himself and asked a very relevant and important question, " Before I answer your question, can you please reveal the approximate area of your Mystical Pond for us to know?" "Approximately 800 squared meters." Dylan obediently replied. Azelmek and Sheldon who just recovered was stupefied yet again! It should be known that an A-grade'' Mystical Pond was recorded to reach 100-120 meters, an S-grade at 215 meters or so and an SS-grade recorded with an area with the average 400 meters! But an X-grade was actually twice as big as an SS-grade?! It was also created within an hour?! "I-In.. credi... ble!" The two almost fainted from the overwheleming shock that they just recieved. The two were grinning ear to ear as soon as they realized the jaw-breaking talent Dylan had in Mystical Magnatism! "Is something wrong with me master?" Dylan asked once more but this time a hint of anxiousness and nervoursness could be detected. "No! Absolutely nothing is wrong with you, child. Rather, you are truly blessed by the heavens! No matter what types of traumatic event you may have experienced in the past, these actually molded your talent as it is now! Due to this events, your Magnate Strength continuously evolved and thus became more denser and pure as each of those events happened to you. Once you decided to create you Mystical pond, it had subtlely increase by leaps and bounds creating a never before seen 800-diameter Mystical Pond! You may have suffered from the weathering of life''s trials but fret no more, my disciple for this had helped you gain metamorphosis!" Azelmek excitedly said. His excitement and bliss got to his head that he actually turned red! "I underwent metanorphosis?" Dylan was taken aback from his master''s words. Just how terrifying has his talent become? "Yes! Did you know that you just broke the fastest record of creating a Mystical Pond which was 3 days?! Did you know that your Mystical Pond is twice bigger than a SS-grade''s recorded average area?! All of this were done by you! You are a miracle on itself, my boy!" Sheldon fervently shared Dylan all off his feats within 7 seconds! "So that''s why the both of you were so shocked..." Dylan rubbed his chin while a wide smile was shown as he thought of this amazing achievements that he has did. ''It seems that all of the unpleasant events in my life actually helped me evolve? I may have to properly ''thank'' Byron once I see him again.'' "Yes! You are the only source of our shock today!" Sheldon affirmed. "You have truly made my day, my dear disciple! Hahaha, surprise me more! Now, let us asses the most suitable mystical technique for you!" Azelmek interjected with a loud laugh. He was eager to see how far Dylan would be able to use those three techniques because he knew that the movements that they saw were only meant for familiarization. Once Dylan truly desired to release it, the outcome would be explosive! He felt incomparably proud as he thought of his terrifyingly talented disciple. "Hurry, Uncle Sheldon is quite eager as well!"Sheldon seconded Azelmek''s words without a moment of hesistation. "I will try my very best, Master and Uncel Sheldon." Dylan bowed as he took four steps back and closed his eyes to concentrate himslef and recondition himself to the most optimal state he could currently enter. The moment his eyes opened, his face showed fierceness. It was as though he was a sword that has parted his scabbard prepared to display his sharpness and might! Azelmek shouted, "Begin!" It was at this moment that a dozen of Spirit Veins Beast was released from an inconspicuous gate of the Training Grounds. They all swarmed directly to Dylan''s direction! "Breath of Appeal!" Dylan''s aura felt somewhat ethereal and illusory but in turn, the beasts became even more crazed and barbaric than before. They ran towards Dylan at an even greater speed than before! "King of the Land!" Dylan''s Magnate Strength spread out the moment they entered the range of 10 meters. When the beasts was only 7 meters away from Dylan, they were ruthlessly smashed on the ground. Because of their crazed momentum,they crashed to the ground for two more meters leaving a 2 meter trail of blood. "Mind Cutter Blade!" When the spirit beasts tried to stand up, Dylan''s eyes focused at a certain spot in order to create an invinsible blade that he launched at the spirit beats. The invisible blade was fast and cut through the minds of the spirit beasts as it moved passed their heads. In just a short span of 10 seconds, the dozen spirit beasts died mercilessly! "Outstanding..." was the only word that came out of the mouths of the two after Dylan''s slaughter. 122 Chapter 122: Assessmen "Did he... just do a "combo" with the moves he just learnt?" Sheldon was astounded beyond any considerable doubt. He just witnessed what it means to be in the presence of a true monster! Creating combos are only done by people with extreme familiarity with the usage of his technique. This would also need a great amount of practice to pull off since the timing and the energy output needed differs which greatly affects the effectiveness of a combo. The difficulty of using a combo lies on the number of moves that you wish to execute it with. Creating a combo from two techniques is easier than creating one with three techniques. Remarkably, Dylan did it with three techniques that he just learnt in an hour or so! "Did you teach this to him, Hallmaster?!" Sheldon suddenly asked in hysteria since reality proved to be far cruel! Dylan just absolutely defied all of their expectations. "O-of course not! Like I said, this is a test of his comprehension ability!" Azelmek who was normally composed was momentarily dumbstruck and even stuttered as he spoke. "Does that mean he already knew the techniques before coming to the library? That would explain why he would be able to perform a combo, right?" Sheldon thought of another possibility. "That''s impossible! The three techniques were all picked in a completely random order and I saw myself the fascination he had when he was reading a lot of books. He did not even know what to choose so all the books are my choice. How could he predict that? There are over tens of thousands of techniques at the Mystical technique section! How would he be able to predict that those three are the techniques I chose?" Azelmek quickly denied the possibility of Dylan knowing the technique beforehand. Sheldon was momentarily taken a back before forcing out another question from his mouth. "Then, how was he able to do it? Did the three techniques you pick coincidentally be connected with each other?" "That... should not be the case. We looked around and only looked for those books that are best for assessing a persons comprehension. I can assure you that they are all different. The authors and even the revisors are all different people so how could they be connected." Azelmek was certain pf what he said since he checked the 3 techniques credibility by checking the names of their authors or creators. "But he just..." Sheldon tried to speak again but he was interrupted by an angry Azelmek. "Stop asking me about it! If you want to know, then ask Dylan yourself. That way you can know how he did it first hand." Azelmek retorted angrily. It was at this moment that Dylan arrived near them. When Dylan was closing in, he heard an angry shout from Azelmek which astonished him. He found it odd when he heard the words "ask Dylan yourself." ''What just happened? What did I do? Did they discover that I''m Null? Hmm, no, my acting and my alibis are all impeccable that would be unlikely. Maybe it is related with the assessment. Was there something odd or wrong on how I did the technique? Hmmm, that must be it.'' Dylan''s brows creased from Azelmek''s words so he dared to ask, "What is it that you wish to ask me about, Uncle Sheldon?" "Waaah! Dylan, it''s you... The thing is..." Sheldon''s heart almost leaped out of gis body when he heard Dylan''s question. He was still preoccupied with the thought of Dylan doing a combo from three techniques that he just learned. He hesitated at first but his curiousity got the best of him so he breathe heavily before asking, "Dylan, how were you able to use a combo of three techniques that you just learned like that? With your intellect, I know that you know what and how is a combo done. You should know how amazing it is to execute one. Yet, you were able to do it." ''It''s about the techniques after all. I was right.'' Dylan maintained a faint smile and answered, "So, it''s about that. It was all due to the calculations and the knowledge I had. Also, mainly because I was able to reach the Novice Mastery on all 3 techniques in no time." "Calculations and knowledge?" The two clearly did not expect that sort of answer. "Wait... Novice Mastery?!" The two was once again dumbstruck by Dylan''sresponse. ''Reaching Novice Mastery on all 3 techniques? How mostrous could he be?'' They could only say this to themselves inwardly as they stood pertified. "Indeed. After reaching Novice Mastery, I was able to familiarize myself with the current capabilities and the weaknesses of the three techniques due to the meditation I had via visual training. That''s why.." Dylan was suddenly interrupted by Azelmek. "What do you mean? Visual training? Did you not use that one hour earlier in order to create your Mystical Pond?" Azelmek found what Dylan said incoherent to the prior statements that he told them. "That''s because I used the first 10 minutes of that one hour for visual training to reflect before I proceed creating my Mystical Pond." Dylan cleared up the confusion with ease. "*cough* So, you only used 50 minutes to create that 800 diameter Mystical Pond of yours?" Azelmek coughed as though he heard wrongly. "I did, Master." Dylan nodded. ''A monster...'' A single thought resounded the minds of the duo in front of Dylan. "Where was I? Oh, right. As I was saying, it was due to the visual training I did that helped me familiarize myself with it. The next factor was because of my knowledge of the beast pack that you made me fight. They were all relatives of the Blood Hounds, the Bloodlust Coyotes. They are all innately vicious and the blood of three-horned rabbits is their favorite delicacy. So I merely used the "Breath of Appeal" because it works better at organisms with lower intelligences like the Bloodlust Coyotes. However, at the Novice Mastery, I am only able to change my scent and not my aura to the things that I have encountered. Thankfully, I encountered three-hirned rabbits already if not, the battle would have been even harder. So, I manipulated the Breath of Appeal and turned my scent into the scent of a bleeding three-horned rabbit." " The reason I used the skill was because of limited time and range offered by the skill "King of Land". King of the Land''s range was only 8 meters and I could only maintain it for a total of five seconds. After using the Breath of Appeal, their speed increased due to greedwhich I exploited by using the suppresive power of the "King of the Land" that made them heavily crash to the ground, injuring and immobilizing all of them as a result." "The reason I immobilized them in a close range, was because of the weakness of my "Mind Cutter Blade". I can only conjure one blade and can only properly manipulate it within 10 meters and as the rang escalates, the harder it is for me to control it. With them only 5 meters away from me, I could easily control the blade I made and kill their minds." Dylan explained the reasons why he was able to do the combo so skillfully and the reason why he used the techniques at that specific order. "..." Azelmek and Sheldon remained silent. They were at an awe by how he was able to instantly craft a plan that made use of his wits to cover up the other weaknesses of the techiques and how he used the strengths of each techniques to cover up the weakness of the other! *Clap**clap**clap* "Hahaha, that was absolutely brilliant, Young Master Dylan!" Allen Kindleheart clapped by Dylan''s excellent performance and strategy. "Sir Allen, how have you been?" Dylan greeted cordially. "I am doing fine. Hallmaster, Coordinator, it seems like we have truly found a genius! This calls for a celebration!" Allen laughed merrily. He could not help but be happy to see a future pillar of the Hall emerge right before his eyes, ''I can see it. The future of the Hall is riding at the shoulders of this young man!'' "Indeed, this calls for a celebration! What do you say, Hallmaster?" Sheldon recovered his wits and approved of Allen''s proposal. "Hmm, I guess we should do it after we successfully diverted the attention of our fellow citizens from their impending doom." Hallmaster agreed with a smile. "Master, Uncle, Sir Allen, about this, can we not do the celebration? Can you keep this a secret for a while?" Dylan objected with this idea since it would disrupt his plan of making the city steadily accept him and his company. "Why?" The three found it strange for Dylan to object it since it would be best for his exposure. "Because it would only affect the image of my company if I use too much of the Hall''s prestige. I want to climb the Sect Rankings with my skills and the effort of my employees!" Dylan was very determined as he said those words. The celebration will only make the people believe that his business only rides at the coattails of the Hall which would be bad for his company''s image due to the label of incompetence and unjust. Though the first part of his plan is to use the power of the Hall, he was not powerless without it. The latter stages of his plans would only showcase the compentence and ability of his brand. "Hahaha, I like your personality kid! Now, that''s a true man! We could still keep this a secret for now." Allen was very proud of the choice that Dylan made. It made his opinion of him even better. "Then, we will do as you say." Azelmek smiled with clear approval of Dylan''s actions. "En." Sheldon nodded happily seeing that Dylan made a mature decision. ''His peers would certainly go for glory and fame as quickly as possible but he chose to earn it the hard way so that he could also gain others approval. A very remarkable young man he is.'' "From now on, you are to practice here from 8-11 in the morning and 1-5 in the afternoon with the schedule of MWF(Monday, Wednesday and Friday). I will guide you in your cultivation of the Martial Way and the Mystical Magnatism! You are not too be late or the consequences shall be dire! Understood?" Azelmek strictly said. "Disciple understands!" Dylan straightforwardly responded with resolve! "Good! You may now consult me about anything." Azelmek retained his stern expression. "Master, may I ask what was the result of the assessment?" Dylan asked respectfully. "Oh, right, the assessment..." Azelmek nearly forgot about the assessment due to the numerous astonishments Dylan gave them. He racked his brains to come up with a proper evaluation. "What to do? He has equally high affinity to all types.... That''s right!... With his talent... Maybe he can become like "that"!'' "Uhmm, Master?" Dylan called out once more. "*cough* Ahem, I have decided to let you train in all three types!" Azelmek stated after a cough. "What?!" The three were shocked by what Azelmek suddenly said. "Why, master? Is it not better to focus on just one instead offocusing on three? That way I can find what type of specialized Magnate I am going to be." Dylan was confused by his masters decision. "Like I said before, your circumstances are different from each other. Yes, ideally, a person needs to focus on one are to become a specialized. But, with your talent, I believe that you can train in all three of them! You have equally high affinity to all 3! Imagine having all the characteristics pf an Illusionist, Mentalist, and Suppressor at the same time! Dylan, you will become the Ultimate Magnate!" Azelmek persuaded with aspiration and ambition! To help Dylan become the strongest Mystical Magnate ever! 123 Chapter 123: Unknown Choice "Ultimate Magnate..." Dylan was overwhelmed by Azelmek''s claim. He never jeard of such an existence from all the books he has read. This was the first time that he ever heard of this variation of the specialized Mystical Magnate. An entity capable of doing all three techniques?! He could become something that awesome?! He heard that when a Mentalist reaches Mystic Lord, he could easily materialize a weapon of his choice out of his Magnate Strength! On the other hand, an Illusionist could perform mass casting to ten thousand targets with a strength of Mystical Lord while a suppressor can dominate someone who is 5 levels or one subrealm higher than him! Since Dylan could become an Ultimate Magnate, would''nt that mean that by the time Dylan reach the Mystical Lord Realm, he would be practically unbeatable in a whole realm?! "Wow..." Allen was stupefied by what he just heard. He himself knew what types of existences specialized Mystical Magnates as he was one as well, a Suppressor! Being a suppressor gives him numerous benefits in combat. He also knew what it was like fighting a Mentalist and an Illusionist! He could only tremble to imagine what type of monster a Mystical Magnate who can possess all 3! "Excellent! It seems like Dylan is a dragon amongst dragons!" Sheldon on the other hand, was shaking in excitement when he heard the ambition that Azelmek wished Dylan to become! "Can I really become something like that, Master?" Dylan asked with a rare look of excitement. How could he not be happy when an opportunity like this is presented to him? "Of course! You will become undefeatable under the heavens if you manage to become the Ultimate Magnate!" Azelmek smiled brightly. He never thought that he could have the opportunity to become the teacher of the legendary Ultimate Magnate that was mentioned to be a far away dream within the Ancient Scroll! This was an unexpected surprise that he never thought was possible! Dylan gripped him hands with intensity while his entire body shook. This was the chance he desired! A chance to become overpoweringly intrepid! ''If I could achieve such strength, I would never have to bow down to my cruel fate and I will be able to protect everyone who I love!'' "But, I must tell you that the path you are going to take is hundreds, no, even a thousand times harder than just following the normal path!This path will be filled with hardships and suffering! You must need to stay patient and steadfast! Do you dare take this path that is the same as veturing uncharted waters?!" Azelmek questioned Dylan fiercely! "To achieve the strength to protect my loved ones, to control my own destiny, and to do what my heart desires! I dare to take this path!" Dylan fiercely replied without the slightest intention of looking away! "..." Azelmek looked into Dylan''s eyes and he saw a youth filled with intense desire to become stronger. Inwardly, he felt emotional because he had only met a few persons who had such promise and virtue. ''It seems like the heavens has truly blessed me with such an excellent disciple...'' "Good. Even though you are a X-grade Magna Magnate, you must never become arrogant! Remember that you are trying to simultaneously venture all 3 paths of Mystical Magnatism! You must not only rely on your talent but also in effort! Thus, depending on your efforts, will the fruits yield desirable results!" Azelmek spoke as strictly as he could. "Yes, master!" Dylan unhesitantly replied . "Let us begin. I noticed that when you were cultivating the "Mystique Under The Clouds", you were..." Azelmek gave all his attention to the precious disciple that was currently in front of him. He pointed out all the incorrect things that Dylan had done during the demonstration. Dylan similarly did the same. He was like a student who was overly curious and attentively listened to every word that his master said. Whenever Azelmek asked him to do a demonstration for him, he would quickly perform it. This was also the time that Azelmek displayed the strictness that he was known for but he was especially strick with Dylan because he did not want to fail Dylan as a Teacher. It seemed as though they gained an independent space that they were unable to sense anyone around them. Completely immersing themselves with the company of one another. Sheldom and Allen watched the duo for a while before they decided to leave. They did not want to disturb the quality time that the two were spending with each other. ... In the Training Grounds, Premier Hall... Time passed, it was already 7 in the evening. Dylan was still in the middle, however, he was knocked unconcious with his clothes torn and ragged by the dignified old man in front of him which was his teacher, Azelmek. Dylan underwent 10 hours of rigorous training under the guidance of Azelmek. His rate of improvement was by leaps and bounds. He had gotten a little bit more familliar with the usage of his 3 mystical techniques and his cultivation tachnique. He even wanted to spar with Azelmek to test his strength but naturally, he was defeated. "Sir, it seemed like you had a great time teaching your new disciple. You might have overdid a bit." Allen appeared from the entrance and smiled wryly. "Don''t mock me, Allen... Well, in second thought, you may be right after all. It''s just I have never seen someone who is as talented as this kid. Hahaha, he really is remarkable. Normally, a person would need to reach the 5th tier before being able to completely release the power of the technique but with his energy density already comparable to one he would no longer need to. He was able to advance all three techniques to the Minor Achievement Mastery. Not only that, he was also able to quickly rise up to the peak of the first tier and it was all done in 10 hours only! This talent is just absolutely monstrous hahahaha!" Azelmek laughed in delight as he gazed at his beat-up disciple lying on the ground. "Hahaha." Allen accompanied Azelmek with his laugh. Seeing Dylan''s condition, he assumed something, "Are you going to have him stay here since tomorrow is Wednesday?" "No, he said if he were to ever be knocked out during a battle, he wants to wake up at his home." Azelmek reminded himself of Dylan''s words while they were training. "Then, I will arrange some of our men to deliver him to his residence." Allen quicklt thought of a suggestion to say. "That''s good. Let him have a good rest." Azelmek said as looked at Dylan with fatherly love. He turned around and walked towards the exit. "Yes, I will, sir." Allen respectfully replied with a bow. By the time he straightened his body, inversely, he saw Azelmek''s body sway and knelt on one knee."Hm, sir! What happened? Are you all right?" "This is nothing. Something I gained from a quick spar with Dylan. The little brat is even more devious and sly than a fox. But, that''s what makes him really interesting." Azelmek smiled as he remembered that move that Dylan did to him earlier. "What exactly happened?" Allen was shakened when he heard that a new Mystic Magnate was able to hurt a Mystical Lord. "When he proposed to have quick spar, I knew he wanted to test his strength and wits against me. Never would I have thought he was that cunning. In the first ten seconds of the battle, he used his Mind Cutter Blade as the opening act followed by a continuous use of Breath of Appeal and King of The Land. I was going to end it in the eleventh second but he prepared a surprise pincer attack of two more mind blades from above and under me.He overused the Breath of Appeal and King of Land so that I would pay attention to them. Using the fog and the ground, he hid the two blades. I was still able to break it however, I would have never thought that he could now create 5 blades! Their were 2 other blades that came right after I attacked. Because of my battle instincts acting up, I unknowingly threw a mental attack on him which could put him as sleep for at least 2 days. But... Hahahahaha, he truly as an amzing kid!" Azelmek praised his disciple once more. He never had this much joy even when his first disciple became very strong and all his other disciple. However, all of them were of noble upbringing which made them have complete their . But, Dylan was different! He was an outacast and started from literally nothing but scratch! He was someone the same as him yet still possess such terrifying talent! Now, all he wants is to train Dylan wholeheartedly and mold an Ultimate Magnate out of him! "Hallmaster has really enjoyed himself." Azelmek laughed. ''Sir Azelmek, is definitly happy to react like this. This is all thanks to Dylan.'' Allen quietly thought. ''Of course I am. If it were not for sir Null, I woulf have never encountered such genius. That is why! Tonight, we will do the plan without error!" Azelmek felt indebted to Null so much so he decided. "Call Sheldon, the three of us are going to the Lair of the Three-headed Dragon Snake."Azelmek continued with that idea and ordered Allen. "Yes, sir!" Allen responded immediately. .... A while after Dylan woke up, he wanted to go home by himself but Allen and his Master insisted otherwise. Eventually, he agreed but fell unconcious again due to the depletion of his Magnate Strength. When Dylan reached his residence unconcious, his employees took him from those who escorted him to his residence and thanked them after saying that Dylan was now a direct disciple of Azelmek Premier, the Hallmaster of the Premier Hall which made his employees understand the situation and even somewhat ecstatic but they still prioritised his health and had him rest. Azelmek sent a letter about what to do for the next 2 or so days that Dylan will be. The letter also came with medicines for Dylan and the supplies for the Soaring Herbal Garden''s business. Barry was also made into the temporary command so he ordered the group according to the instructions Dylan gave to him before he fell into a coma. .... Two days later, the news of the Yin-Yang herbal set energy reached the city even with a Tier 3 alchemist who passed by the lair to attest. This news unexpectedly has shook the entire city! Countless powers were having second thoughts in whether to send their armies to the Immortal Tomb at the vicinity of the Soaring Clouds City. It was their choice whether to go for more Earth Ranked weapons for their forces or to get the herbal set to create a dazzling genius! But, little did they know that the latter was an excuse to live while the former that leads to inevitable doom. 124 Chapter 124: Res At Dylan''s Residence... Dylan woke up after two days of unconciousness. Out of habit, he circulated his spirit energy and cultivated. After half an hour, he also cultivated his Mystic Pond by circulating his Magnate Strength. He noticed that his Spirit Energy and Magnate Strength was calmer and purer than before. He also noticed that his muscle and bones have become more sturdy and flexible. He has now entered the first stage of Body Strengthening! ''Being unconcious for two days, have subconciously relaxed my mind and body and relieved both from stress resulting to this refreshing feeling to my entire being.'' Dylan thought merrily now that he had entered the Warrior Stage. The built up stress in his body made a thin wall preventing Dylan from advancing one more step but thanks to this rest, that wall dissappeared and his breakthrough followed. Testing his newly broken through body, he did the Basic of 48 Exercises. After doing it for an hour, he realised that he was able to do 10 repititions to all exercises! If he were to do 10 repitions in one hour, then that means he could do 100 repitions in 10 hours! Based on the manual, a person needs to do 100 repitions in 12 hours. Meaning Dylan has succesfully entered the Warrior Stage of Body Strengthening. "It seems like I am rather lucky, hehe. I thought I would still have to do this for a month like what the manual said but I can''t believe that I did it in 15 days. Breaking through my limits really feels good." Dylan streched his arms and went to the bathroom after some breathing exercises. Even after cultivating for an hour, he felt refreshed and without fatigue as he entered to the shower and took a bath. He was greeted by his employees with a enthusiastic "Good Morning" when he came down to eat breakfast. "Good morning to you too, guys." Dylan naturally greeted them as well. "How do you feel? Are you all recovered now?" Barry was the first to ask out of everybody else. "Yup, never been better." Dylan cheerfully answered. "It''s a good thing to rest for a change. You have always been about work. You deserve that rest." Barry said. "Mhm." Dylan nodded. He was right. All he thought was ceaselessly trying to grow stronger each day that he had forgotten to give himself a proper rest. This two days of inaction did just that. "That''s good! Because you made me thought that you were not going to wake up at all." Rian, the little black pup, harrumphed. "Hahaha, don''t believe him. In truth, he was the most restless one of all. He checked on you every hour since you arrived at the house. Hahahah." Barry gave Rian a teasing look. "You! I''ll bite your head off, you treacherous bastard!" Rian cursed but before he could do anything a hand stopped him. "I understand. Thank you." Dylan knelt down to pat Rian''s cute head and gave Rian a warm smile of gratitude. "Er... Che! Since you are feeling well now, it''s time for me to check on my pack." Being unable to handle Dylan''s sudden warmth, Rian ran outside of the house and went to the backyard. "It seems like Rian was too shy so he ran away. " Barry smiled cheerfully. "Hahahaha." The others laughed. Dylan saw the happy faces of his employees and said: "It must have been hard on you for the past 2 days without me." The first thing that Dylan did was apologize because he left them without guidance. "It''s okay, sir Dylan. We heard that you were recieving training from Azelmek Premier one of the strongest Mystical Lords within the Thunder Clouds City. He even sent a letter to us saying that it was his fault for defending too hard when you sparred. So, we understand." Jack consoled. "Hahaha, you don''t have too worry. We did fine while you were resting, sir Dylan. Though there was only a minor increase in customer, at least we managed to get the customers to increase to about 680 two days ago. Hehehe." Roland chuckled. "Impressive." Dylan complimented his crew when they managed to accomodate even more customers than he anticipated. Considering the competition and the emergence of four other famous businesses in their street, a 30 customer increase was rather impressive. "That''s right! With my leadership, we were able to get 700 yesterday." Ron shamelessly said. "Hmph, it was not you who lead us, it was Arnold! Don''t mix things up, Ron!" Beverly reprimanded Ron. "Since you are so shameless, then I will be shameless enough to tell sir Dylan that you were hitting on the girl customers when he was gone! Should I continue and tell sir Dylan how many you tried to hit on?" Arnold teased Ron as he revealed. "Hehehe, I was just joking. Arnold, we are brothers. You shouldn''t do this to your brother." Ron pleaded sheepishsly. "Oh, you were flirting under my nose. Is that right, Ron?" Dylan suddenly asked and looked at Ron straight to his eyes. Although he was still smiling, it looked unusually cold. "Uh... no, boss... I was just... intimately interacting with our customers so that they would wish to come back again. Hehehe, that''s the real reason." Ron was terrified when he saw the cold smile on Dylan''s face. So, he immediately thought of a reason to justify his actions. "Really now?" Dylan''s eyes narrowed and looked interrogatively at Ron''s eyes. "Yes, yes, it''s the truth!" Ron nodded his head repeatedly. "Don''t believe him, sir! There was even a customer who felt so harassed that she stormed out of the diner!" Liam, a beefy and tall young man, protested. "Bro Liam, you..." Ron took a step back. He knew that this conversation has reached a dead end. "Causing a customer to walk out during service? Unthinkable. It seems like I have to deduct your monthly pay by 20 gold coins from now on!" Dylan strictly said. "What?! That''s like a third of my pay! Nooo! Boss, I''m sorry! I did not mean it to happen that way! It''s just I am already twenty years old yet I have never had a girlfriend! I mean I am a man, after all! All I want is a person to satisfy the needs of my body! Waaah!" Ron started unreasonabky crying and spewing out vulgar nonsense. He even held one of Dylan''s foot as he cried. "Stop shouting our neighbors might hear you and mistake you for a pervert! Also, stop crying on my foot! You''re drenching my pants with your snot and tears! Fine, I will only deduct 10 gold coins! Stop messing around already!" Dylan gave in a little bit seeing how pitiful Ron looked. But, he still needed to be strict so a penalty must be given. "I will, boss. Thank you, you really are the best! Hehehe." Ron immediately stopped crying and smiled foolishly at Dylan even when his face looked like a mess. "Hahahahaha!" The other laughed when they saw this scene. The others teased Ron and Ron got so angry that he wanted to start a fight but was stopped by Larry. Dylan smiled at the warmth that was present in this household. He was really happy on how all of this is turning out to be. He joined them for breakfast and ate very happily. .... After breakfast, Dylan waited for everyone do their respective chores before gathering them up for a meeting. "Okay, now that I''m concious again, I will tell you the things we need to do for the time being...." Dylan said. He discussed what things he had in mind and also asked for the status of the new stores that they were trying to keep in check. "Gear Up has a rather high population density which reached 1400 a day! It has excellent services and produces quality equipments for cultivators to use! What''s more is that the store is managed by a Tier 2 Mastersmith which boosts the credibility and prestige of the store! It also..." Bridgette was the person assigned to discuss the status of Gear Up. "Pill Clinic is managed by Tier Four Alchemy Master and a Tier 3 Herbal Specialist! It has many customers coming in daily and averaged about 1600! The products they sell are cultivation pills and healing pills but the thing that attracts people most is their high quality cosmetic pills which is the reason why more than half of their customers are women..." Tom was the one who was tasked to summarize the details which they gathered for the past three days "Excellent Tailors has the highest population of customers which goes upto 1900. They have 4 Magical Tailors at the third tier to manage this store. Their magical robes are used by warriors while their dresses are bought by many ladies. Their magical clothes are really the talk of the town this days as they are really convenient..." Marie was assigned to report "Beast Farm is the one with lowest population of all with only 1200 but they are the ones who gain the greatest among the four! This is because the beasts are all of excellent quality, loyal and strong. Although they are domesticated, their fangs were never lost rather they were sharpened. With great quality comes greater prices but the cultivators were willing to spend so much money because of the great quality if the beasts..." Scott reported everything they gathered about the farm. Dylan was satisfied with the amount of information that his emploees were able to gather while he was gone. He continued giving down tasks to do before adjourning the meeting. "That''s all for this meeting. Thank you for your unceasing hardwork. Keep this up and in a week''s time, we''ll have our customers back." "Yeah!" The employees shouted in reply. After the meeting, the shift responsible for this day went out with Dylan to the Soaring Herbal Garden to open it. After setting up and opening the store, the four selected to monitor the activities of the four new stores went out. The employees were even more diligent now that Dylan has finally come back which made their performances even more efficient. As customers entered their store, you can hear their energetic voices greeting the customers with an amiable smile: "Welcome to Soaring Garden!" ... Within the third floor of the Excellent Tailors building, a man so beautiful that it would even make some women jealous of his white skin and beautiful eyes was sitting calmly on his recliner while watching a person from the outside. A pretty woman with glasses which gave off a typical serious sercretary air with her said. "Sir Steph, another person has stationed herself at the same spot at the same time for the past 3 days already. Your suspicions may prove to be true after all that we are currently being watched by another business." The pretty woman said. "I know. That''s why find out what business dares to challenge us." The man named Steph ordered while he continued to watch Maria dirtributing flyers. "Yes, my lord." The glasses-weaipring lady bowed before turning around and " A rather subtle way of monitoring my business but also trying to give his business a bit more exposure through propaganda. Most businesses would heavily rely on their backing''s reputation to get more customers. They would not think of such a tiresome and menial work... Effective yet simple... Interesting."Steph smiledwhile he thought of this. 125 Chapter 125: Challenge from All Sides Dylan was on the second floor of the Soaring Garden. He was currently making budget plans and financial records as documents. For his supplies, he need not worry about it since the herbs comes from the weeds of the mansion with insane respawning time. He found out that the plans he first harvested was already starting to evolve to the High Earth Rank. Currently, the only "weeds" that Dylan could harvest are those which are within his reach from the spaces between the gates. So he could harvest any herb that are 1 meter away from the gate. Even from his unceasing harvest for over 15 days, Dylan had only harvested on the left side of the mansion from the gate. Despite already covering 15 kilometers length of land, He was still unable to catch a glimpse of the end of the gates. It still seemed as never-ending as before. Now, he currently have over 2000 herbs from 178 differrent herbs! With this type of supply, he would no longer need a supplier to worry about. Even though it was convenient, Dylan was the only one who could harvest those herbs which was really strenuous. That is why he still tried to communicate with the suppliers that they once made deals with. But, the Panther Clan is still keeping tabs on them and warning them about providing Soaring Garden with supplies. With the situation like this, Dylan only gave up on this matter. Even the suppliers they just made a deal with for the supplies of the Soaring Diner withdraw their contracts because of some reasons. But Dylan knew better that it stemmed from the pressure given to them by the Panther Clan and its accomplices. Though they are afraid of direct confrontations with the Premier Hall and the punishment of the Thundercloud Kings, when it came down to business it becomes a different story, they could still pressure him indirectly through pressuring those under them who came in contact with Dylan''s business. Azelmek, being a highly intelligent man, naturally knew of this matter but he told Dylan that he would not help him unless his business undergoes crisis and treated the pressure that the Panther Clan and other clans as a means to train Dylan''s talent in business. So, he would not make a move against the Panther Clan and it''s colleagues. "But, that Gayolei is very intelligent to take advantage of this fact." Dylan whispered through the wind. The Panther Clan and company naturally took this oppurtunity to get revenge on Dylan by cutting all of the possible suppliers he could find. Fortunately, he had the backing of the Premier Hall and asked his master to let the Hall be his business supplier until they could find one who could be their permanent supplier which Azelmek agreed on after careful consideration. "I can now only put my hopes up on Barry. Hopefully, he would be able to create a Herbal Garden for me. But the Earth Level actually costs 2100 spirit stones! I still haven''t gathered enough money for that!" Dylan was feeling dismal as he thought of this. A herbal garden is detrimental for the store because they could get another source and with Barry managing it, Dylan could afford to spend less effort in harvesting the plants. "Barry even said that he could cross breed different spirit herbs. Cross bred spirit herbs are really rare in the market of the city today so if I could get my hands on it, I would surely earn big time!" Dylan sighed and rested his back on his chair. "I guess I should settle for less for now. Based on the canvassing that Bill and Rich did, a Spirit Rank would cost about 490 spirit stones that would be equal to four hundred ninety thousand gold coins. Earning that amount would still take me a week or two." Dylan calculated the income and expenses of his store and created another budget plan. "I forgot how it stressful it felt doing all of this budget planning. It''s even tempting me to loan some spirit stones from the Premier Hall. But it is still as fun as I remember it to be." Indeed, Dylan had naturally forgot how stressful it was because by the time his company became recognized in Europe. He shifted his attention to dealing with fellow CEO''s for contract signing and left financial matters to the budgeting department. Recently, Dylan has been introducing the corporate system of Earth to his employees and started explaining how it works. If he could successfully implement the system of his old work environment to his current business here, he can work and lead much more efficient than he could right now. But, introducing a foreign knowledge, is not something that is adapted overnight. So, Dylan wanted to take his time and discuss every detail step by step of the way. "Wait... Spirit stones... Premier Hall... That''s right! The money I earned from the Solarburst Chrysanthemum!" Dylan suddenly remmebered the earnings he gained when he went to the Premier Hall for the first time. "I can use 490 of the 750 spirit stones I earned to create a herbal garden!" Dylan excitedly said. He almost forgot about the earnings he had that day. He even forgot to include it on the budget. So, by using this amount, he can create a spirit rank herbal garden and have extra money for improvement of store facilites. With this line of thought, he created ways to use the remaining 260 spirit stones to it''s fullest and used that momentum to accomplish a variety of task. When his hands got numb and his head feels sluggish from wrting and calculating, Dylan would descend to the ground floor and serve the customers and guide his employees when they make a mistake. Today was saturday so Dylan did not have to go to Premier Hall forlesson but he still chose to cultivate the techniques he had learned after he finished doing all of those plans and reports. Azelmek wanted to give Dylan more rest to ensure that their won''t be any hidden injuries so he sent letter to Dylan saying that he forbids him to come to the Premier Hall to train in Monday. ''So, this what it''s lime to have a father-like figure.'' Dylan thought when he read the letter. The day progressed normally and they were still able to serve a total of 700 customer before closing at 8. They all went to their residence feeling satisfied and rested well. Of course, Dylan, who was an undisputed workaholic, was still praticing his techniques, meditating and doing his body strengthening regiment. After cultivating for 8 hours, he meditated till morning and removed all the fatigue from his body. The next day... It was already 9 in the morning and the sun was shining brightly. Dylan and his employees have been serving customers for two hours now. Everything has been proceeding as normal as usual. Until Tom went to the second floor where Dylan was... "Sir Dylan, Excellent Tailors have started a special event to attract consumers! They are willing to make a custom made magic clothes for the first 150 customers who buy 100 gold coins worth of purchase each day fpr this entire week! Now, many aristocrats and nobles are coming to their store and their business are booming as we know it!" Tom was the who was assigned to station at the Excellent Tailors. He was extremely shocked whem he saw how the flow of the crowd which was distributed suddenly changed into a one big flow towards the Excellent Tailors! "What?!" Dylan did not expect that they would dare to do suc a move in the fourth day of their business! His eyes narrowed as he thought of another way to solve such an unexpected variable. ''The manager of that store is even more capable than I thought!'' "What are we going to do now, sir?" Tom asked worriedly "We''ll do our works as usual. Good job in getting the information. We can still manage them. We''ll strike in three days. Go back to your station for now and continue distributing the flyers you still have." Dylan spoke in a low voice and ended it with a command. ''Tsk, this gimmick of the Excellent Tailors is a smart decision. They could substantially gain a lot of money and monopolize the cusromer flow of the street to their store.'' Dylan contemplated on what their next move should be. Just like Dylan predicted, about 40% of the customers who went to this srtreet went to the Excellent Tailors. This made the sales of the Soaring garden drop by 15% after losing a 100 customers! However, these turn of events had only just began... The next day... "Sir Dylan, the Gear Up has promised to proved free maintainance to all equipement of all customers who will visit their store within this week for every 3 items of purchase! Now, majority of the customers of the Lightning Boulevard are lining up not only on the Excellent Tailors but also the Gear Up as well!" Ricky was the one who reported this time. Maintenance to all equipments for just 3 items? Of course, many would want to go to Gear Up! This also left a huge blow to the Soaring Garden deducting another 70 customers from their services. This made the 600 customers they had served yesterday to drop to 530 customer only. The next day after that... "Sir Dylan, Pill Clinic is giving a High Spirit Rank Pill of the customer choice if they are willing to undergo a check up! They also said that they will give out a Low Earth Rank Pill to 50 selected customers that will buy 100 gold coins worth of purchase!" This time, it was Bridgette''s turn to be stationed to the Pill Clinic station and immediately came bac, after noticing the advertisement that it''s employees did. It struck another blow of 60 customers to the customer count of Soaring Garden. Making it decrease to only 475 customers. The next day after that..... "Sir Dylan, the Beast Farm are willing to give out 60 Beast Eggs from different spirit beasts that can mature to the peak of the Origin Foundation Realm from 60 customers who has bought 200 an item or items worth 100 gold coins!" Larry was the one who gave information to this incident this time. With the factor of unpredicatability and luck, many chose to try their luck and bought some spirit beats and beast foods they could in order to meet the quota. The moment 8 persons recieved the first 8 eggs for the first day. A lot more people wanted to test their luck for tomorrow. This last blow left the entire Soaring Garden enterprise in shock as it took away another 75 of their precious customers which cutted their customers to only 400! A devastating comparison compared to the 1000 customers they had 6 days ago! The successive creation of promos of the four new stores acted like leeches which constantly absorbed their earnings like it was their blood! It was a clear competition from all four popular branches. Other stores seemed insignificant when compared to these four businesses. But, they did not lose heart because they still believed that their Sir Dylan could still turn this around! The seventh day had finally arrived. Now, it was time for the Soaring Garden to strike! 126 Chapter 126: Slander In the Soaring Garden Herbal Store... It was only 7 o''clock in the morning and Dylan and his crew are already inside the store. Dylan and company were already finalizing the preparations that they have prepared for their comeback. They were all busy doing their respective jobs which Dylan specifically gave them. "Jack, how are the preparations in your side going?" Dylan asked when he and Jack bumped into each other. "We''re almost finish, sir. Half an hour more and it will all be prepared." Jack replied. "Scott, have you finished preparing the goods already?" Dylan inquired for further updates in Scott''s side. "We have already finished arranging them and double checked all of them. Regarding their status, they are all still in excellent condition." Scott answered. "Allana, how is your staff doing? Are they all dressed up and ready?" Dylan questioned. "We are all ready, sir. We already memorized how the everything will proceed." Allana smiled as she responded. "Good work, everyone! It''s time for payback for what those bastards did to Loraine and Kent!" Dylan''s eyes became cold as he started to remember what happened 2 days ago. "Yeah!" Everyone replied with the same look of coldness in their eyes. 2 days ago, outside the Excellent Tailor.... As usual, Dylan still had someone monitor the movements of the Excellent Tailors every three hours. It was around 3 in the afternoon. During this time of the day, the one who was giving out flyers to everbody near the popular tailor shop was Loraine. She was a short black haired beauty with a kind personality. The number of customer in this hour is significantly fewer than usual because of the concentrated heat from the sun but Loraine was still doing her best to give out the flyers that were to be distributed by her. However, as she was giving out flyers, a group of people who wore luxurious and glamorous clothing that were of the current trend in the city, approached her. From their robes, one could see that they are affiliated with the Excellent Tailors. The blond-haired man who was leading the group said, "Hey, you, stop giving out flyers in front of our store! You are ruining the image of our store! Scram before I do anything to you!" "I..." Loraine was frightened by this hostile group but she did not want to return to Soaring Garden without even accomplishing her shift. She just needed to hold out a little bit longer before she returns to the store and report what happened here to Dylan. Deciding this, she decided to be passive and spoke, "But, sir, I have not done anything wrong but give out flyers for my store for the exposure of our store. I cannot abandon my post that easily but if you want to, I can move a couple of meters back to avoid inconveniencing you." "Giving out flyers for the exposure of your store? Hahahaha, as expected, you mist be one of those stores whose owners are "fake nobles", right? That''s why you are trying your best to give your store just a little bit more popularity through menial work?! Hahahaha, how primitive!" Another man said. "What a splendid word to describe them, brother! They are truly primitive! This is where our status differs, little girl! Unlike you who desperately needs the attention of the consumers, we, the true nobles, have the reputation and skills that allows us to attract customers to come to our store in their own volition without needing to do any of this menial work!" A long haired man who had feminine tendencies laughed mockingly. "Of course, this is not your fault,beauty but it is your boss''s incompetemce and lack of charisma. So, I advise you to come with me instead. I can give you a life of wealth... and pleasure!" A fat young master who was in the side lecherously stared on the supple and delicate body of Loraine. "Sirs, I can endure it if you berate me but no one has the right to berate my boss and the business that we built from unceasing hardwork and dedication! How can you call yourselves nobles if every single one of you acted with arrogance and lust! It would be more appropraite to call you "ignobles" than nobles!" Loraine was fuming with rage when she heard the constant insults that these group of nobles spoke. The nobles who were in front of Lorainelooked around them with pale faces. They could feel the judgemental gazes of the crowd. Unable to jandle this humiliation, the blond haired man moved closer to Loraine and slapped her usung all of his strength. His strength was already in the peak of the Origin Transmutation Realm while Loraine was still only at the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm. Her body was sent flying to the air and crashed on the ground. How could Loraine even retaliate with such an overwhelming gap? *Crash* "Argh..." Loraine groaned. She tried to stand but her body failed her.Feeling that her strength was fading, she lost conciousness. Though the customers at this hour is very few, when they gather, they still formed a crowd as soon as the crashing sound happened.The crowd''s attention was even more piqued when they heard the scream that Loraine made. Whispers started to occur as gossips are given birth one after the other. "You dare slander me and my brothers?! How impudent! Guards, cease her!" The blond haired man commanded in madness. "Raaargh!" The guards of the Excellent Tailors immediateky reacted to the man''s commands and charged. A tall brown-skinned lad with blue eyes immediately went forward and defended thegirl. He was Kent whose shift was after Loraine''s. He carried Loraine on his and evaded the two guards swiftly by using the same movement technique that Dylan used, the Seven Crane Dance. The guards were unable to react in time because of the shock that someone from the crowd helped Loraine. He charged through and punched the face of the blond-haired noble who was off guard with the Tree-crushing Bear Fist! After landing the punch, he jumped several meters back to distance himself. "You peasant dared to punch my face!" Although the punch landed cleanly, the blond haired noble was still able to use his Origin Energy to guard most of the attack and only staggered backwards. A slight trace of blood came out from the side of his mouth "Of course I dare! You dare punch my comrades! What''s wrong with you?! Ordering your men to make a move on a defenseless woman who is unconcious is purely shameless!" Kent argued. "She was the one who dared to slander me and my brothers in front of the public! A slap is even considered a complacent punishment for the crime that she committed!" The feminine noble man defended. "What the hell?! For just a couple of words, you guys dare to raise your hand to hurt a weaker person and against a woman at that! Do you even have the slightest shred of pride and dignity as men left?!" Kent roared with hostility. "Hehehe, how about telling that to the supervising captain of this boulevard?" The lecherous fatty cunningly said as he pointed to the direction of a man wearing the armomor of the Thundercloud Guards walking towards them. "Good day, my lords. How have you all been?" He approached Kent and the other with some of his subordinates behind him. He stopped walking when he was just a few meters away from them. His posture was that of a proper soldier and his face had a confident smile that showed his honor as a captain. "We have all been doing well. How about you, Captain Pedro?" The blond haired noble greeted the captain with the same question. "I am doing well also." Pedro amiably smiled. "Sir, please arrest these nobles for injuring my friend!" Kent righteously requested.But he was feeling uneasy about this captain since he acted so close to the nobles that were at fault. However, through Lancelot''s inspirational example at the Noble Test Center, he felt that the guards were trustworthy and are true to their justice. But to his surprise, the captain replied oppositely, "She slandered the group of nobles in public first. A slap of this level could only be considered as retaliation. What''s more you puched them as well right? This can also be considered as a case of public violence which means I can also arrest you." "What the fuck are you even saying right now?!All she did was talk back to them and that was already considered a crime?! A slap is just retaliation from her words?! Then, the my punch would also be a form of retaliation. Also, if my punch is considered as punlic violence, then the same thing also applies to the slap!" Kent logically argued while trying his best to keep his anger in check. "What''s even more baffling is the very fact that you consider slander and public violence as something heavier than severe physical injury! What kind of Thundercloud Guard goes against the code of conduct the guards?!" Kent added furiously. He added after glancing at the noble''s group and the Pedro''s group, "I get it! You must have been bought by these nobles! Doing something as dishonorable as that and you still call yourself asa Thundercloud Guard?! You are nothing but a crook!" "You are quite sharp tongued for a brat of your age. But, I cannot refute the things you just said. I only arrived so I cannot say for sure what truly transpired. Very well, then, let us settle this matter with a different method. Do you have any concrete evidence to support your claim?" Pedro was quite calm as he faced Kent''s arguments. "What?" Kent was taken aback by this question. "I''m asking you whether you have concrete evidence. If you have evidence, then I would order my men to arrest them and I would would even turn myself in. But if you don''t, both of you would be charged with slander and would be arrested." Pedro stated the conditions of his arrival. "The unacceptable behavior and treatment that my friend endured is the evidence! You can ask anyone among the crowd to be the witness of that crime!" Kent said. "Can anyone of you attest what he just said? Just come forward so that this conflict can be quickly settled." Pedro looked around him before asking the crowd. "..." However, the crowd was silent. No one even tried to look the captain straight in the eyes. They all looked at each other waiting for someone to step forward. Several moments later, someone stepped forward and said. "What he said is not true..." The one who stepped forward was someone who wore very plain clothes. He was very thin and unclean. "It can''t be..." Kent was shocked. He remembered that this man was one of the people who were at the front of the crowd. He could not believe what he just heard. He did not expect that the method that he proposed would lead to his own downfall. "Is that so? How is it true? Can you describe what truly happened?" Pedro interrogated the plain looking man. "The girl tried to slap Young Master Fred so he only retaliated after. Due to the difference of power, the girl was blown away and was severely injured. He ordered his men to only capture the girl and surrender her to Captain Pedro later on. But, this man appeared and took the girl. He even injured the Young Master while doing so." The man nervously stated. "That''s not what happened! You''re lying!"Kent protested hysterically. "A witness has spoken. Is there no one here to contradict what this man just said?" Pedro asked again. "..." But the crowd still had no reply. "Someone please speak up for us! I beg you." Kent pleaded but the only thing he recieved were eyes that were filled with pity. "This concludes this matter. The two of you will be charged. Since the first offendant is injured, she would be taken to the Thunder Clouds Hospital and would be subjected to house arrest. You, however,will be sent directly to prison." Pedro gave the verdict. "I cannot accept this. Why would you lie!" Kent dahsed to the witness. "Don''t even think about touching the witness!" However, one of the guards acted fast and used his spear to ward off Kent. The spear pierced through Kent''s right shoulder and blasted him away to the spot where Loraine laid. "I''m sorry, Loraine. I failed you." Kent was still at a lost because of what happened. He still could not understand why all of this happened. He could not even feel the pain of his wound. " Young Master Fred, unfortunately, according to the statements, I also need you to come with me to the station." Pedro continued. "I guess it can''t be helped." Fred had a self-satisfied smile on his face while he said those words. Then, a slow applause was heard from the crowd. A sarcastic voice soon followed: "That was quite the performance you just did. I even found myself believing it. I recommend that you become theatrical actors instead of a tailors or police." "Who said that?" Fred''s brows creased and asked. "Me." Dylan descended from the air like a hero who was there to save the day. 127 Chapter 127: Like Madmen Dylan''s sudden appearance incited discussions within the crowd but Dylan disregarded them and continued to move. "What did you just say about us?!" The feminine young man screeched. "I said that it was all just an act. You threatened everyone to not say anything. It must have been an even worse threat for the witness who swallowed his pride and abandone his conscience to say such heartless things to people he did not even know." Dylan slowly walked forward until he arrived at Kent and Loraine''s side. The crowd shivered because they knew that everything that Dylan said was on point but they were still unable to figure how he was able to figure out all of those. "How audacious! Do you have proof?" The fat lecher sneered. But Dylan ignored them and asked about Loraine''s condition first, " How is she?" "Hey, wait, are you ignoring me?! The nerve!" The fat lecher cursed. "Ah... she is still out cold. There''s bleeding in her mouth due to the slap. No matter how much I try to wake her up, she won''t. She might even have a concussion..." Kent was terrified because he did not know what condition Loraine was in. "How about you?" Dylan saw the bleeding on Kent''s right shoulder so also asked. "It''s just a shallow wound I recieved from the guard who protected the witness." Kent said. "Who is the man who did this to her?" Dylan asked coldly. "Sir..." Kent was shocked. This was the second time Dylan felt so terrifying. The first time he saw him like this when they were all held hostage by Byron. Now, this feeling appeared once more because Loraine was ruthlessly hurt by Fred! " It was the blonde haired man named Fred." Kent replied. "I see." Dylan nodded and stood up. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Now, there was only tranquility in Dylan''s eyes. "Sir Dylan, why are you here? Are''nt you supposed to be in the store helping Scott and the others..." Kent was depressed seeing how he was implicating Dylan with the trouble he just caused. "Don''t worry. Larry is doing well leading them. I''m just here coincidentally because I was trying to find him." Dylan replied with a smile. "Sir Dylan..." Kent felt guilty for having made Dylan come all the way here because they were in trouble. "I will do fine. I will make those who hurt the two of you pay." Dylan promised. "And who are you supposed to be?" Fred asked sharply. "I am Dylan Ford, the owner of the Soaring Garden enterprise." Dylan introduced himself in a very casual manner. "So? What are you interfering with my establishment''s matters?" Fred disdainfully said. ''Tsk, another troublesome prick. Heh. What Soaring Garden? Must be a low class business along the boulevard. But... why does his name sound oddly familliar?" Fred thought. "Because they are my employees." Dylan directly answered. "How equally insolent. No wonder they say the birds of the same feather flock together. It just goes to show how irresponsible you are that you were unable to properly discipline your subordinates." Fred mocked. "Is that so? How would you define discipline then? Enlighten me." Dylan replied. "As expected, you don''t even know what discipline means." Fred retorted with a laugh. "Sorry. I perfectly know the meaning of discipline. What I meant to say was what does discipline mean for you? It seems like you were unable to get what my simple words meant." Dylan said amusingly. "What did you say?! Are you trying to imply I am an idiot?!" Fred became even more furious. "What do you mean? I was simply saying that you were unable to unerstand my statement earlier and had no hidden meaning intended. It is Young Master Fred that assigned meaning to my words. I wonder why though?" Dylan slyly said. "Where are you getting at?" Fred furiously said. "Nothing in particular, really." Dylan smiled at Fred whose face was already twisted with anger. "You..." The veins on fred''s face was becoming more apparent as he heard "Is that you, Dylan?" Another voice from the crowd was heard. A figure emerged from the crowd and a handsome male adult could be seen. He was Barry Vernon, Dylan''s sworn brother. "Who is he?" The crowd was shocked by the sudden appearrance of Barry. "Haha, it really is you. I thought I was lost for a second there." Barry laughed as he approached Dylan and the others. When he glanced Kent and Loraine and the opposing party, he immediately got a gist of what happened. "Who the heck are you?" The fatty awkardly asked Barry but Barry just went pass him like he did not even see him. "The hell!" "Are you a friend of his? Please do not interfere in this matter. Our establishment will surely pay you handsomely." Fred asked and generously offered. But like the fatty, Barry ignored him also. "Oh, Barry. What a coincidence to meet you here. Where were you? I could not find you at all. " Dylan looked ecstatic when he saw Barry. It seemed as though he forgot about Fred and his group. "Are they ignoring me!?!?" Fred''s expression darkened when he saw that he was nonchallantly ignored. "I just roamed around and took a look at the businesses along the street. It has been quite some time since I was able to roam around so freely so I decided to windowshop a bit." Barry shared joyously. He also knew what was happening so he decided to put on a blind eye. "It seem like you had a lot of fun." Dylan smiled. " That reminds me. There was this one store I went to earlier. It had a book that said that people who are of guilty conscience are overly sensitive and usually associate themselves with words that are related to the matter which they are guilty about. It was truly a fascinating book." Barry said. "A fascinating book, indeed. I have met several people who are like that. The author must have been a genius." Dylan glanced at Fred and company when he said those words. "You think so too?" Barry smirked while glancing at the three. "You sharp tongued bastards! Your sly tongues will be the death of you!" Fred and company could no longer keep it in and cursed out! "The both of you are deliberately humilliating me! You will pay the consequence! Sir Pedro, please observe justice and have your guards cease them!" Fred angrily said. "Guards, arrest them!" Pedro said. "Yes, sir!" The guards behind Pedro charged forward. "Hold on. Why are we getting arrested? What crime did we comit?" Barry questioned the guards which came to a halt. "Are you going to say slander again?" Dylan asked. "Indeed. Not only that, what you''re doing right now is obstruction of justice and insubordination! This is already enough reason for us to arrest you two!" One of the guards said. " We-" Dylan was just about to say something when Barry glanced at him and said. "Let me handle this." "Alright." Dylan trusted his brother so he naturally agreed. "Is that so? How did we obstruct this so called justice of yours?" Barry interjected. "You prevented us from arresting those two criminals behind you." Another guard asked. "Really? We will willingly surrender in one condition." Barry lifted his hands to the chest level with his knuckles facing downwards. It was as though he was asking to be arrested. "Why should we listen to criminals like you?!" A guard objected the idea. "Yeah, who do you think you two are?!" Another guard concurred. "Let''s just arrest them." A third guard suggested. "So, these are Thundercloud Guards? I expected you to be more civilized. How disappointing." Barry said. "What did you just say?" The guards who agreed naturally found Barry''s comment very unpleasant. "I thought there would at least someone here who I could talk normally with but I guess I was expecting too much." Barry shook his head. "You!" The guards were enraged by Barry''s comments. "What condition?" The first guard who spoke asked. "Now, we''re talking. My condition is simple. Prove to me that this justice is true by writing a Soul Contract in a Soul Lock Scroll. If you do, we would wholeheartedly follow you to the Thudercloud Guards Headquarters without resistance." Barry smirked when he saw someone take the bait. "That''s..." The guards faltered because they knew that all of this was orchestrated! If they were to write something like that in a Soul Lock Scroll, there was great possibility that they might become mentally retarded for lying! "Why have you faltered now? Earlier, you were all about delivering justice and whatnot. Where did it all go? Could it be that everything you have said up until now was false?!" Barry is kind to his friends but ruthless to his enemies. He would never fight a battle that he would never win especially when it came to verbal sparring, few could only beat his witty tongue. "That..." The guards could no longer think of any retort. "What''s wrong? Is that not enough? I can agree to a life sentence of 100, no, 150 years if you could prove it to me." Barry added more fuel to the fire. "Madman!" The only word that the crowd could describe him. The crowd was amazed by the amount of confidence Barry had. He was even willing to put his life on the line for this bet. But, how could they know that Barry was a monster from the main bloodline of the vernon clan who has the life force of over 2500 years?! Spending 150 years in prison would only be a cinch for him. Dylan was the only one who knew how terrifying Barry was. He knew that even if Barry were to lose this gamble, it would be no problem for him but it was impossible since Dylan was sure that this was really a ploy by the nobles of the Excellent Tailors. "You." Dylan faced the fat noble and gazed straight into his eyes. "What?" The fatty weakly said. "You asked me whether I have proof earlier, right? Of course, I do. My proof are your strengths!" Dylan said. "How could that be considered as proof? What a fool." The feminine man sneered. "I cannot take this anymore! You lot have slandered us time and time again! Have you no shame!" The fatty scowled with fury. "I guess you lot are really confident, huh? You are confident because the supervising captain and the crowd are on your side, right?" Dylan said. "That''s right! That is why you four should surrender now!" The feminine man spoke. "I hate to it break it to you but I have no intention of doing so. As I have said earlier, the proof is your stength. Your strength are all at the Origin Transmutation Realm and reaching this realm also means that you have already developed Spiritual Awareness that allows you to telepathically send messages to other people in a limited range! The entire crowd is in a circular donut with a 10 meter diameter. If my memory serves me right, 10 meters is the average of someone who just reached the Awakened Spirit Realm. Thus, telepethically communicating to 89 bystanders would be fairly easy for 3 Origin Transmutation Realm experts in a minute." Dylan said. "That- that! How can you be so sure that we did all of that! This is public defamation!" The fatty almost fell down. This guy''s deductions were on point! "Really? Then, if you are really of clear conscience, then sign a Soul Lock Scroll with me to prove me wrong! If I''m wrong, then I would even accept a life sentence!" Dylan said confidently. "Madman... They are both madmen!" Everyone was shocked by the level of determination that these two men possessed. They were willing to do anything to prove that their companions did not do anything wrong. 128 Chapter 128: Gamble "We..." The Thundercloud guards and the group of nobles could not say anything. "Will you do it or not?" Dylan and Barry questioned at the same time. "How can we be sure that we won''t be decieved?" Fred gritted his teeth and asked. "We will show it everyone present." Barry answered. "That way, the public shall be our witness. We''ll make "Honesty" as our main principle for this contract. If either side will lie, they won''t only recieve mental retardation but also public condemnation." Dylan added. "Sounds fair, no?" Barry said. "..." Pedro, Fred and his group could not think of any more retorts. They have been pushed back to a corner. If they were to flee, they would be labeled as cowards and liars but if they were to take the risk, then they would be nincumpoops for the rest of their lives! Both choices would lead to a path of certain death and humilliation. Suddenly, horse gallops could be heard from the back of the crowd. A white colored carriage that showed grandiose and nobility with matching handsome white steeds in front. This garnered attention from the bystanders. The door of the carriage opened and a man as beautiful as a woman emerged. He had striking eyes and a beautiful pale white skin. His cold demeanor only added to his charm. His clothes showed that he was rather fashion forward. He was publicly known as the Fashion Prince, Steph Raider, the owner of the Excellent Tailors franchise. "Make way." A cool and deep voice that contained great charisma resounded from Steph Raider''s mouth. The crowd automatically created a pathway for him. As he was passing by, some of the girls could be seen trying to snatch a glance from him. "Kyaaaah! It''s the Fashion Prince!" The girls in the crowd could not help but scream out. "He is just as dreamy as the rumors say!" The ladies commented in adoration once more. "L...lo... Lord Steph! This humble servant is in awe of your presence."The fatty was the first to step out and knelt on one knee. "Your humble servant greets Lord Steph." The feminine young man and Fred also reacted and did the same thing. Their servants also followed their example and knelt. "Greetings, Sir Steph." Pedro and his guards respectfully bowed. When they straightened their backs, they saw a figure that frightened them. It was Captain General Virtuouso! "Pedro, you are now dismissed. I will handle this matter myself." Captain General who was loyally following Steph ordered. "Yes, sir!"Since it was a direct command from a Captain General, a captain like himself could not disobey. Thus, with his guard, they quickly left the scene. As these three were bowing their heads, they were sweating bullets and were pale-faced. They thought that Steph was out on a business trip outside the city and would still need one more day to arrive. They never thought that he would arrive today! Since he was already here, his intel group must have already informed him of what happened. With him here, these three felt a foreboding feeling on what''s going to happen next. "So you are the boss. I believe you already know what has transpired during your absence. Since your underlings did not answer my question earlier, I will ask you instead. Will you sign or not?" Dylan stepped out and negotiated. "That would be not necessarry." Steph said. "Why is that?" Barry asked. "Because these three are dispensable. I have many tailors in my command that are far more capable than these three fools who stains the reputation of my business. I could simply fire them and take the noble ranks I bestowed to them this instant." Steph nonchallantly said. The three knew the gravity of Steph''s words. They trembled where they stand because they knew how merciless he was to those who did not conform to his ideals. "My lord, please forgive us. We mean no harm for the brand. We just wanted to chase off these slanderers to prove that the dignity of the Excellent Tailors are not to be taken lightly." Fred kowtowed in front of Steph without hesitation to appease his anger. "Please forgive us." The other two also kowtowed without hesitation. "I have no use for arrogant trash who could not deliver in work and does not even have the slightest dignity. You three should get out of my sight this instant." Steph looked at these three with a condescending gaze. To him, they were nothing but trash that were waiting to be disposed of. The three felt horror. They knew that they would be scum without their status and their job. If Steph were to really do as he say, they were dead meat. "But, I won''t fire you..." Suprisingly, Steph said those words. "Really?! Does that mean, sir? Has already forgiven us?" The three stood up wanting to come near Steph. However, a beautiful woman wearing glasses abruptly appeared in front of them and held a bow with three arrows ready to shoot down the three if they were to come nearer. A terrifyingly dense amount of killing intent followed the cold gaze of the beautiful woman. "None shall came near Lord Steph without his permission. Take one more step or you shall all die." "Caira Dowell..." The three were frozen in place. They knew who she was the famous Black Arrow, Caira Dowell, one of the top five beauties of Thunder Cloud City. She is not only known for her beauty but also for her attainments in cultivation and in archery! It is said that only few would survive her attacks within the same generation. ''Caira Dowell, what a fierce woman.'' Dylan thought. "You caused such a ruckus here which damaged the name of my business and now, you did not even let me finish what I was going to say. Tsk, your value in my eyes has decreased even more."Steph contemptuously said to the three. He continued after a slight pause, "What I intended to say was ''I won''t fire you yet because I still have one more use for you''." "One more?" Dylan frowned because he felt there was something off about this guy. "As long as we could be of service, no matter what it is, we are willing to do it!" The three pledged while kneeling on one knee and their right hand touching their left chest as they bowed their heads. "I have a proposal for you and it is written on this scroll." Steph stepped forward and gave Dylan a paper. "Let me." Barry was about to get the paper when Dylan told him. "It''s fine. I can deal with him." Dylan said. Seeing that determined look in Dylan''s eyes. Barry backed off with a nod and distanced himself. "Okay. Let me see it." Dylan opened the scroll. But to his surprise, the first thing written on it was "It is better to keep our conversation to ourselves. I will form a mental link with you. If you wish to hear me out, allow the mental link to be formed. If not, reject it." ''A mental link, huh? That makes things easier for me.'' Dylan felt a foreign strand of Mental Strength outside his forehead. The moment he gave it permission to enter, the link was established. Dylan was still at the Pinnacle of the Level 10 Spirit Vein and could still not use Spiritual Transmission but Steph created a mental link between them that allowed them to transmute their thoughts freely. As long as someone has basic control with his Mental Strength,by simply directing their thoughts to the link, both sides can communicate. A mental link could only be formed if both parties agrees. Dylan knew that rejeceting would be showing weakness and a mental link would also be convemient for him so he agreed to form it. Steph only created a mental link so that no one else would intercept their thoughts unless someone was 2 subrealms above them. Similar to Azelmek and Sheldon, he was unable to see what Dylan''s cultivation realm is but like them, he could ascertain that he was in the Spirit Gathering Realm. He only hypothesized that he should at least be at the peak of the Awakened Spirit Realm considering the strength of his subordinates. Never would he have thought that he was only at the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm. "I am going to use them as bargaining chips in our deal. I know that you have the desire to kill them right now in this very place but you are controlling yourself since killing them implies that you will be imprisoned and will directly implicate your business. That is why I''m presenting you an opportunity to kill them with your own hands. If you agree, that is. What do you say?" Steph used the mental link to communicate with Dylan also. "Why are you telling me this?" Dylan found it strange why Steph was doing all of this so he decided to find out the reason. "Because I am interested in you." Steph revealed. "I''m sorry but I am only interested in women." Dylan did not expect that answer so he flatly said what was on his mind. "It seems my prior statement has caused quite the misunderstanding. I did not mean it that way. I am also only interested in women. Allow me to rephrase my sentence. Let''s just say that it is because you have caught my interest." Steph replied mysteriously. "How so?" Dylan asked. " You are this year''s Noble Test topnotcher who unprecedentedly aced it, the successor of the Thundercloud Kings, and gained the backing of the third strongest sect within the Thunder Cloud City, the Premier Hall. Any one of this achievements will cause many to envy you. I wanted to know what kind of man you really are." Steph explained. "I guess everyone has their own reasons. I''ll cut straight to the point then. What is this deal about?" Dylan did not want to do anymore needless chatter and went straight to the point. "The deal is simple. If you are able to beat this branch, in terms of weekly sales, I will surrender these three buffoons you and you are allowed to do any of them. However, if my store beats your store''s weekly income next week, you will give me the inheritance willingly!" Steph proposed. He wished for the inheritance so badly. It was the set of techniques that his ancestors made whose value is comparable to a Heaven Rank! If he could acquire it, he would be able to sweep through his peers and become the number one expert of his generation. With this oppurtunity presented to him, how could he not afford to take advantage of it? "Hm, a nice proposal. But it is unfair. It should be fairer. If you allow me, I can think of something more interesting that would make things fairer for both sides." Dylan suggested. "Ho ho. Then, let me hear what would be your suggestion for this?" Steph was intrigued hearing this. Naturally, he wanted to know what the deal was. "The conditions to win are still the same but the week where will compare our businesses weekly income would be this week''s. On the other hand, the stakes would be even more extreme! The one who loses will become the personal slave of the winner through Soul Lock Contract!" Dylan daringly said. "If you are my slave, then I can get both the inheritance and your self created technique for myself! Not only that, I can also form a business partnership with the Premier Hall through your intercession! With the help of the Premier Hall, I can rise to the top 10 within 6 months! However, if I were to become the slave, you would be able to freely command me to hand over those three. Not only that, you would also be able to gain control of the all nine braches under me. This will allow your business to expand exponentially..." Steph contemplated the pros and cons of the deal. The more he thought about it, the fairer it seemed. "What do you think? Fair, right? This deal would heavily rely on one''s skill in business. A true test of one''s skills." Dylan communicated hurriedly. "..." Steph was still unresponsive. "Why have you become so silent all of a sudden? Did you get cold feet?" Dylan taunted. "Hahahaha, brilliant! What a marvelous suggestion! It''s been a long time since I have gambled with my life on the line. The thrill of gambling one''s life has always been this exciting!" Steph bursted with joy and telepathized. "But there are only four days till the end of these week. From the rate of your sales, it would be impossible for you to catch up with us unless you could somehow get an average of 1300 persons for the next 4 days. Are you sure to use this week''s income for comparison?" Steph inquired. "Oh, are you worried about me now?" Dylan sarcatically asked. "Laughable. I just don''t want you to say that we did not fight fairly." Steph coldly replied. "Don''t worry. That is my problem to worry about not yours. Don''t underestimate me too much or you might regret it later." Dylan calmly spoke. "Really now? Hahaha since you are inviting disaster upon yourself, I will not show the slightest bit of mercy. I will win by a landslide and make you my slave. Once you are, you will face great humilliation in the future." Steph spoke as though he has already won. "Ha ha ha, funny. I was thinking of the same thing when I overwhelm you with my win." Dylan did not back down and similarly trash-talked. "Now, that''s settled. Let''s formally acknowledge this deal with a handshake." Dylan smiled. At the same time, Steph cut off the mental link. The both returned to their senses. Both reached out for the hand of the other and shook them as they clasped each other. "It''s a deal." Both parties agreed. 129 Chapter 129: Organizing a Auction House The crowd was confused. They wondered what was written in that scroll that made this madman accept it? But from their actions, everyone knew that this matter have already been settled in a very peaceful manner. With the matter reaching it''s end, the crowd dispersed one by one. ... After shaking their hands, Steph was the one who took the initiative to take out a Soul Lock Scroll. The scroll was floating as Dylan and Steph wrote the terms of their agreement. Due to their collaboration, the contract was soon finished and they also left their soul imprints through signing their signatures. "I''m looking forward to the time when you lose." Steph smiled. "I wonder about that because when it came to business, I have never lost in a gamble." Dylan calmly replied with a faint smile. "As some would say, there is a first time for everything." Steph rebutted. "Indeed." Dylan smiled. Then, Dylan went close to the three that still maintained their kneeling position behind Steph. He whispered to the three: "After this week, you will all die by my hands." "You damn brat!" The feminine young man cursed Dylan but Dylan ignored him. After saying those words, he turned around and walked straight to Barry, Kent and Loraine. "Let''s go. The matter is already finished." The three nodded and followed Dylan from behind and left the scene. "My lord, the plebeian just threatened us to death! You must uphold justice! Don''t let them escape!" Fred beseeched while kneeling. "Fred, did I hear incorrectly? Did you just try and command me?" Steph coldly uttered. "Audacious!" Caira stretched the bowstring of her bow ready to release the the three arrows any moment. "I would never... It''s just that... them leaving without Lord Steph allowing them is disrespecting you." Fred tried to fan the flames between the two. He wished that Steph would just send one of his experts and assassinate Dylan. "Are you mistaking me for an idiot? I know what you are trying to do. I advise you to stop it unless you want die. Can you not see that the matter has already been settled? Even the crowd earlier, noticed it and dispersed. But I guess that would be expecting much from an idiot like yourself since you did not even recognize who he was." Steph berated Fred ruthlessly. "What do you mean, my lord? He could not have been an important figure with the level of strength of his at his age." Fred was confused. He never considered that Dylan had a status that was higher than him. "What a fool. No wonder you offended him so freely. His status is something you could never hope to achieve in your lifetime. Because he is Dylan Ford, the successor of the Thundercloud Kings! In terms of status, no one in this city would be able to compare to him except for the members of the Mythical 10 and the 10 Fairies that are residing in this city." Steph revealed with a tone of mockery. "S-successor?!" The three were flabbergasted. Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that they have offended the successor of their ancestors. By now, news about him has already spread all over the city. They naturally knew that he gained the inheritance of the Thundercloud Kings by perfecting the exam and creating a technique derived from the inheritance itself, thereby, attaining a 3rd Tier noble status! They also knew that after the examination, the Premier Hall has successfully roped in the genius by forming a business partnership with him! "No wonder, he was able to say those words." The fat noble trembled as his complexion became even paler than before. "Then, why did he not simply reveal his status?" The feminine male weakly asked. "That''s right. If he did that, we would not have caused so much trouble." Fred was also curious why. Surprisingly, it was Caira who answered their questions. "Because, unlike you, he did not let his status eat him. He remained true to himself and protected his men using his own means without relying on his status." The three felt truly defeated. They were all finished once Dylan uses his status to eliminate them. "For the time being, you will be under house arrest and be locked into the dungeon as punishment for besmirching the name of the Excellent Tailors." Steph passed on his verdict. "Noooo!" The three stood up and tried to escape. With a flick of Steph''s fingers, his guards at the Origin Foundation captured the three effortlessly and entered the building of the Excellent Tailors. "But I must thank It was all due to you that I would be able to have an exciting week ahead of me!" Steph licked his lips and smiled like a madman as he also entered the building with Caira closely following him from behind. ... Back to the present day... Outside of Soaring Garden, a small wooden platform that was elevated 1 meter from the ground with the length of 2 meters and the width of 1.5 meters. He could not make the platform any bigger than that since it would hinder people from passing by. But despite that, the streets were still very spacious because the standard street width of the city was 6 meters. This wooden platform would be used for the auction that was written on the flyers that they constantly gave out for 7 days. The flyers were not only meant for advertise the store but also to publicize the auction that they were going to conduct! Yesterday, Dylan used 63 spirit stones to buy the building in front of their store that also had the same dimensions as theirs. The owner of the store was also pressured to bankruptcy due to the pressure of the 4 new branches of 4 popular businesses a few days ago. The real estate agent had the owner leave since there were other interested in buying the building because it was 40 meters wide, 40 meters long and 4 stories high. If this was back on Earth, a building of this size could already be considered as a small hotel but in this city, this building was only among the average size. When Dylan bought the store, he also recruited the owner and the staff of that store which was 26 people. Now, Dylan had a total of 107 employees under him. Dylan did not want any slip-ups to happen so he had this 26 people to sign a soul contract of loyalty that only stated the terms of never betraying Dylan directly or indirectly. Due to this, Dylan now owned an entire block of the boulevard because according to the one of the articles of the business property law of the city, 2 meters from the building bought is still considered property of the buyer but if the person buys two buildings which are opposite to each other, he would gain property of the road in between the two stores. Though this would also increase his tax by two, he still decided to buy it and go to the city hall to finalize the documents. No one would normally read the constitution of laws in the city unless he is a politician, a lawyer, or a Thundercloud guard because it had too many articles accompanied by many sections of many laws created throughout the span of 500 years. But, Dylan, who meticulously prepared for the Noble Test, read and memorized the entire constitution! Of course, the case of businessman owning a block of the street is not new since it was already done hundreds of times already over the course of the years. Even Steph owns 5 separate blocks within the city. From the top 100 and below, it was normal for sects to own streets and boulevards of the city. The top 10 sect even owns an entire district of the city! But for business newbies, it was still something foreign for them. This was what Dylan exploited and prepared for just for this day. Since he owned this block of the street, he also naturally created a toll of 1 silver coin for those who passed by. The toll must not exceed 1 silver coin, it was something that was passed since the olden days of the city. Although it was 1 silver coin. for citizen of the Thundercloud City it was mere cents to them or loose change. But with the amount of people passing normally reaching tens of thousands, he could naturally gain the same amount! It was a common thing to do within the city. An additional source of income or a side benefit as many would call it. Though a bit shameless, but it is one of the right of owning an entire block. .... The building had 4 floors. To avoid wasting money in paying construction workers, he and 65 male employees renovated the building themselves since 12 in the noon yesterday up until 5 in the morning. It costed about ten thousand gold coins or 15 spirit stones all in all but the result was well worth the price. The renovations made the building looked like the seats of a theater. It had no walls on the side facing the Soaring Garden Herbal Store because it would only hinder the customers. The ceilings of each floor was extended an extra meter to act as a shed from the sunlight. The structure of the building was new and refreshing. Thus, it garnered a lot of attention from the crowds who were passing by. Each floor had different number of rows with different number of chairs and for convenience, each row were significantly elevated from the front row being the lowest elevation until the last row with the highest elevation so that each row would be able to see what item was on display without needing to stand up. On the ground floor, there were over ten rows with 30 different seats because it extends 2 meters from the building. The second floor had eight rows with 25 seats in every row. The the third floor had six rows with 20 high quality seats as well with matching tables for each chair. On the fourth floor, there were only four rows but 15 seats for each row with comfortable and exquisite furniture. As one ascends, the quality of the accommodation also increases. This entire building could house a total of 580 individuals. To participate to the auction, entering the accommodation house was not necessary. A person could just simply pay the entrance fee of a gold coin, but he/she would not have any seat to sit on. In preparation for the amount of people, Dylan had his employees were skilled in architecture design this building like so for precaution if by chance the amount of people exceeds his expected estimate of 500 customers. The rate of each floor also differs. To enter the ground floor, one must pay 10 gold coins. To access the second floor, one must pay 100 gold coins. To gain entry to the third floor, one must pay 1000 gold coins or 1 spirit stones. To be allowed to enter the fourth floor, 10 spirit stones must be paid beforehand. Currently, Dylan was checking the condition of the males. It was apparent that they were tired from all those manual labor so Dylan had them rest. He had the girls sleep well since they would be the ones who will take the stage for today. But, Dylan was not unfair with the distribution of the workload. Last night, he had the girls create their own dresses and also had them create 1000 panels that were going to be used by the customers to raise their bids. He also had the made sign of the building which was "Soaring Garden Auction House" It was 9 o''clock in the morning currently. It was also at this time when customers are most concentrated in. As a mark of ownership of the block, Dylan had it fenced out and there was a path way of three meters wide in the middle so that people who paid the toll may pass by. Because of this, a crowd was formed from both sides of the Soaring Garden. ... Among the people on the left side of the fence... "Is this where the Soaring Garden Auction going to be held at?" A lady who just arrived asked someone at the back of the crowd. "Yeah, I think so." The person the newly arrived lady asked was an old woman who frequently visits this street. "The owner must be a truly capable person to gather this much people." The husband of the old woman smiled as he scanned the area. "Of course, he is, grandfather. He is only 18 but he is the most intelligent I have ever seen. He is the only first placer who aced the Noble Test in the history of Thunder Clouds! He even gained the recognition of the 4 great ancestors and became their successor! He is also very charismatic that he was able to form a business partnership with "the" Premier Hall! And above all that, he is very handsome and cool! " A pretty 16 year old girl described Dylan with admiration. "Oho, it seems like my beautiful granddaughter has taken a liking to this young man." The old man teased. "No, I''m not." The pretty girl pouted. On another side of the fence... "There is a weird looking building which had the sign "Soaring Garden Auction House" here. So I guess it must be here." A male teenager, who was holding the flyer that Dylan and his employees distributed, pointed at the Soaring Garden Auction House. "Woah, you also got that?" A friend of the teenager said. "Yeah, I got it three times from three pretty chicks. I came here hoping to see them!" The teenager said. "Young man, you too? I came here to see Allana, Marie, and Bridgette. They were the three girls I received the flyers from when I came here." A middle aged man interjected. "You know Marie too? The one who gave me a flyer was a beautiful girl named Maria. I heard they were cousins but look extremely alike as though they were twins. The fourth time though, it was a tall young man who gave me. I think he said his name was Scott." A buff bearded man joined the discussion. "Did you just say Scott? So you received one from him too! Gosh, he was so tall and dreamy! But Jack is the one who really stole my heart with that smile of his." A black haired girl who overheard Scott could not help but comment. "Eh?" The buff bearded man was shocked when he saw the girl "You got a one from Jack too?! He''s mine though!" A brown skinned voluptuous lady complained. "I wonder if I would get to see my prince Larry here." A similar looking brown skinned girl who seemed to be her little sister thought. A bunch of people was already mobbing the vicinity of the Soaring Garden. The curiousity of people came from the flyers that were handed to them countless times. According to the concensus, a person living in the city would at least come to the Lightning Boulevard 3 times a week. Due to the diligent distribution of Dylan and his employees during their one week of inactivity, most of the customers who passes by their street would at least receive their flyers thrice while some even received it four times. Often, people tend to throw away a flyer after getting one glance while some would even throw it away without even sparing a look. But the second time around, those people who have gotten a look at it would curiously scan the flyer while those who did not even give a damn but accept the same flyer on the same spot, would at least see it once. The third time around, this two people will either know what would happen entirely or just have a gist of what is going to occur. Because of the repeated exposure to the material, people will become more familiar with it and eventually accept it. Without diligence and faith in their work, this effect would never be achieved but Ron and the others had faith in no matter what Dylan did which made it possible. That is the things Dylan used in order to get the attention of the customers who passed by their shop. ... The setting was ready. The ladies were ready. The crowd was there. All the preparations were done. "It''s time to get started." Dylan smiled expectantly. 130 Chapter 130: Before the Auction Three figures descended from the skies and leisurely landed on the platform where Dylan was standing. "Isn''t that Hallmaster Azelmek Premier! Coordinator Sheldon and Vice-coordinator Allen! The top three figure of the Premier Hall is here in the flesh!?" A man shouted when he saw those those three. "No way!" One person could not believe it at first. "They really are!" An old lady exclamied in shock! ... "Hahaha, what a lively crowd you''ve got here, disciple." The man who just spoke Azelmek who came in flying with Sheldon and Allen. "Disciple greets master. Uncle Sheldon, Uncle Allen, good day to you." Dylan greeted with a respectful bow. "It seems that Dylan is much more capable than we thought. There is at least 700 people that are gathering outside of your fences." Sheldon laughed. "Wait... 700?! Are you sure about this, uncle?" Dylan clearly did not expect that number as it exceeded his normal estimate by almost a half! "Did you not expect this much to come?" Allen fondled his beard. "Indeed, my business is still considered to be low class and as far as I know, auctions conducted by low class establishment normally has the population count of over two hundred and fifty. I have already taken into account the statuses I have as the successor of the Thundercloud Kings and the business partner of the Premier Hall which should increase it to five hundred or five hundred fifty people. Based on this calculations, I made the arrangement of the Auction house. So I am finding it a little bit odd that it increased to such an extent." Dylan said. He did not expect that there would be this much people who wants to attend the auction. The three were impressed by the level of proactiveness and foresight that Dylan had. This made them anticipate even more how Dylan would grow as a businessman in the future. "Maybe you forgot the likeability and attractiveness of your own workers." Azelmek raised a possibility. "Likeability and attractiveness of my workers? You''re right! If I also took that and the number of people they have given the flyers to into account individually for 3 hours, then the number of customer would increase by 200-260." Dylan quickly calculated as quickly as he could. According to his survey on his employees, there would be at least 2/5 people who will talk to them and 1/2 of which would compliment them after giving out a flyer.The number of fliers that each person were to give out was 100 and there are also 81 employees all in all. Since everyone was able to accomplish there task except for Kent who was injured before he could distribute the flyers he had, there would be 8000 flyers that have been distributed. That would mean that the number people who were interested with Dylan''s were 800. If you also take into account the fact that there is a tendency for a person to pass by this street 3-4 times a week, then there would be at least 260-200 people who would come for the sake seeing the one they admire. "Quite a quick thinker you are. But if it as you have said, then you should be expecting, at least 60 more people. How do you plan on accomodating all of them? If the auction house you prepared could only hold 580 people, then there would still be at least 280 more people you need to accomodate." Sheldon questioned. "..." Dylan was silent fo a while. Like what Sheldon said, there was problems with the accomodation of the people. He was looking for ways to solve this problem using less resources possible.He was also pressed with the time because he could not postpone the event or else, it would affect his reputation with the customers. Although the question may sound to be of concern, the truth was Dylan''s problem-solving skills and situational flexibility were being tested. Azelmek and Allen also knew Sheldon''s intention for doing so. They nodded in approval when Sheldon asked that question. If Dylan was unable to think of a solution due to the pressure of expectation and time, it could only be considered a rookie mistake. However if Dylan were to somehow successfully push through, it would just prove how talented Dylan is when it comes to business. Of course, if Dylan could not think of anything, the three already decided to help immediately to prevent his reputation from ever being damaged. "Got it!" Dylan clasped his hands and smiled. ''Has he already thought of a way to solve this situation?!'' The three thought the same thing when they heard Dylan say that. "Have you thought of any method to solve this problem efficiently?" Allen was the one who asked this time. "I have." Dylan confidently smiled. "Is that true?" Azelmek asked in shock. It had only been a few seconds since Sheldon has asked that question but he has already thought of a plan to solve it. "Yes, master." Dylan replied quickly. "Then, how are you planning to solve this?" Sheldon awkwardly asked. "I can think of three ways but the most efficient and quickest way involves you master and uncles to help me with the preparation. Will you help me, master, uncle Sheldon and Uncle Allen?" Dylan asked whether he could gain their assistance to make things easier. "Of course, we would be willing to help out as much as he can." Azelmek swore. "Fine by me. It is nice to be needed by my nephew once in a while." Sheldon even joked. "I will do what I can, Young Master Dylan." Allen smiled kindly. "Thank you so much." Dylan thanked the three of them with a bow. "What should we do then?" Sheldon inquired. "Simple. We just move that wooden platform near the herbal store to the center of the road. It would only be a piece of cake for you guys. Then..." Dylan was going to discuss his plan when Sheldon interrupted him "Wait, but wouldn''t that mean you will be obstructing a public highway? It is a direct violation of the Public Road Access Act. This could already be considered as a crime that may prompt the Thundercloud Guards to intervene." Sheldon interjected immediately when he heard the first step. He was worried that the Thundercloud Guards might come and arrest him for violating the law. "That''s right. It might not be appropriate to take this course of action, Dylan." Allen also agreed out of concern. "I am aware of that but you should have let me finish first before voicing out your opinions because the next part of the plan I thought of may potentially solve that problem of mine." Dylan responded patiently. "He is right, Sheldon. You should have at least let him finish. Though the time I have spent with Dylan is short, I believe that he would not be the type of person to think of a reckless plan without realizing it''s faults." Azelmek lightly scolded Sheldon. "I''m sorry for interrupting you. I was a little too impatient. What is it that you had in mind?"Sheldon said. "The next part I mentioned a while ago is rerouting the road. So, instead of it being a straight way, we will create two paths that go around the platform which is now placed on the center that way there would be two entrance and exits! According to the law, obstructing the citizens to pass would be a violation but now that I will make two alternative routes, it should not be the case, right?I assume this would resolve the solution." Dylan suggested. "Definitely." The three were surprised by Dylan''s arrangements. "I could also have my employees slightly renovate the herbal store and the diner so that it would be fit to accomodate more people. The space of those two combine could accomodate 400 people at a time. With that, even if some unexpected people were to arrive, they can still be entertained. That sums about everything." Dylan concluded. What Dylan proposed would indeed be plausible. The transfer of the wooden platform may take up space in the middle but the original placement of the platform would also be vacated which would create one passageway. The space between the middle and the Auction house would also provide another way. As long as proper crowd control was observed, no counterflow will occur and both passages will allow citizens to pass by the block from left to right or right to left. "Outstanding! You exceeded my expectations there. This disciple of mine is exceptional!" Azelmek laughed proudly. "He truly is." Sheldon and Allen was amazed by Dylan''s quickwittedness and intellect. He has surpassed their expectations yet again. "Let''s get started then." Azelmek smiled. "Yes, sir!" Sheldon and Allen replied. "Wait, let me just tell my employ-" Dylan was going to inform his employees forst but to his surprise, the Azelmek trio did all of it in a flash. "Done." The trio spoke without even breaking a sweat. Sheldon used materialized Origin Energy and formed it into a giant hand. Next, he placed it at the spot that Dylan reffered to. Allen and Azelmek used their Origin Energy as well to unsheathe the buried fences on the ground. When they were withdrawn, they appeared like white blades waiting to impale those beneath them. Then, they replanted and reorganized them according to the placement that Dylan described earlier. The herbal store and diner were opened simultaneously. The tables and the chairs were quickly in its original and neat manner! It all happened in mere seconds. By Dylan''s estimate, it not had even been 5 seconds since they said they were going to do it but they already finished it in a flash. It was not only him, the crowd also saw that scene which left them speechless. They were in awe by the power that the three displayed. "So powerful..." The crowd softly uttered. "Thank you very much, master and uncles. I did not expect you to accomplish the task in a blink of an eye. You have done so much for me. I will be sure to repay you in due time. For now, please enjoy the treatment on the fourth floor of the Auction House." Dylan thanked the three sincerely. "It is only natural for me to asist my student whenever he needs it." Azelmek smirked and patted Dylan''s shoulder. "It was only a small thing for us to do. Don''t put too much thought into it." Sheldon smiled. "You are most welcome. If you wish, you can rely on me at times of need." Allen adressed with courtesy. "I really can''t thank you all enough. For now, I have to start the auction already. So, just sit back and watch. If my master and uncles, have anything that would pique their interests. You may just approach me and I will do my best to give you the product." Dylan promised. "Hahaha, then we will be expecting greatly from such your auction." Sheldon chuckled. " We''ll get going now, Dylan." Azelmek rose to the air and entered the floor as though he had just taken a private elevator. After greeting the trio, Dylan went to the middle of the platform. This action of his abrupty caught the attention of the crowd. Dylan gathered his voice and loudly said. "Welcome, everyone! I am Dylan Ford! I sincerely thank all of you today for coming. I wish to convey my gratitude to all of you with a bow." Dylan courteously started. "Yeah!" The crowd was pretty riled up due to the unexpected demonstration that Azelmek, Sheldon, and Allen did earlier. "Today, the Soaring Garden enterprise is going to conduct its'' very first Monthly Auction which is free for all! That means regardless of your status as long as you have money, you are allowed to enter."Dylan raised his arm as he maintained the volume of his voice. "Yeaaah!!!" The crowd responded excitedly. "If you wish for accomodation, we can also entertain you all with a very attractive offer. If you want to enter the two accomodation houses we have prepared,one must pay 10 gold coins to enter the ground floor of both buildings. To access the second floor of the two buildings, one must pay 100 gold coins. To gain entry to the third floor of the Auction House, one must pay 1000 gold coins or 1 spirit stones. To be allowed to enter the fourth floor, 10 spirit stones must be paid beforehand." Dylan explained. Dylan continued without pause. " Of course, I know that the accomodations are not the reason you came here, instead, you desire rare and exotic treasures that may cause a vast amount of fortune! I assure you that all of the items that we are going to present are 100% authentic! Get ready to be amazed by the different treasures that we have prepared for all of you!" "Whoooooohoooo!" "Yaaaaah!" The cheering became even louder as Dylan paused. But what truly excited the audience when Dylan had the girls enter the stage. "Ladies, enter!" "Yaaaaahooooo!" "So beautiful!" A parade of beauties wearing beautiful dresses fed the eyes of the men within the crowd with fervor and excitement! Their light make up helped them come out of their shells even more and bloom like beautiful flowers blossoming. "Men, Enter!" Dylan queued the men to enter. "Kyaaaaaah!" "They''re so gorgeous!" Dashing men wearing fine formal wear. Looking amiable and pleasing to the eyes with their gorgeous smiles. They looked like bachelor gentlemen standing in an orderly line while maintaining their radiant smiles. "With this, I formally anounce the opening of the 1st Monthly Soaring Garden Auction!!" Dylan matched the hype with a rallying roar which heightened the moral of the customers waiting in line. 131 Chapter 131: The Auction 1 "Before we start the auction proper, I would kindly ask everyone to wait 5 minutes more. This time would be allotted for checking in for accommodation and registration of participants. Once again, thank you for coming." Dylan finished his opening remarks while leaving a good impression to the crowd. The crowd was very excited by the appearance of the Azelmek trio. There were even some rumors that spread that this auction is sponsored by the Premier Hall. This rumor added the excitement and the anticipation that the crowd felt formerly because Premier Hall always provides items of the excellent. On the fences of the block of Soaring Garden... "Step right up! You will only need 10 silver coin to pass and 1 gold to participate with the auction! Step right up!" Ron sounded like a peddler as he was shouting ceaselessly while he simultaneously accounted the money being given to him by the customers that were continuously passing by and were participating with the auction. Ron was surprisingly efficient in his work despite his goofball image. Everytime a customer brings out a coins he immediately receives and gives the change if needed. Ron was ceaselessly talking with everyone he met: "Oh, it seems like sir is fairly wealthy judging from your status, you must be from a prestigious background. To match sir''s blinding image, I advise sir to book a seat in the second floor of the accommodation building." "Greetings, ladies. I overheard your conversation earlier. If I may ask, are you here to see some of my very handsome colleagues? I will tell you the perfect spot to watch the auction from and to talk with my friends before they are called out to stage by our boss. Hehehe, interested?" "Madam appears to be as dazzling as always. I see that Madam has come here with your handsome husband. I must say that Madam and Sir are like a match made in heaven. To assure the privacy of your boundless love and undying fidelity with each other for the entire duration of the auction, I recommend the two of you to reserve a seat at the 3rd floor." "If it isn`t Lord Hank, I see that you and your friends are also here to participate with the auction of our store. As a token of appreciation for Lord Hank and company to come here, I sincerely suggest booking a table in the right building on the first floor or second floor with a 10% discount. Hehehe." Ron was a very sociable and overly talkative person. During his worktime, he would happily converse with his customers while taking their orders. He was a good judge of character and was able to distinguish what person the person he is talking to was. This enabled him to choose a topic that was aligned with the interest of his customers and rope them into a chat with him. Due to this, he was able to make a lot of friends with nobles of different status. Using his intersocial skills, he convinced people who he encountered at the stall with slots within the block. Therefore, it could be said that he significantly contributed with the earnings of the Soaring Garden. ... In no time, people were flooding the entire block. However, with Dylan''s management, the 713 customers were all accommodated and admitted into the block. The first and second floor were all fully packed. The third floor also had some people on it. Some chose to just watch and stand while waiting for the commencement of the auction. For precautionary measures, Dylan had some of the boys to work on the roof of the Soaring Garden main building and create another floor. Allen extended an extra hand by forming an energy barrier around it to prevent the debris from falling off which could accidentally hit someone on the head. With Sheldon''s interference, the new floor was quickly made. Different people of different sects and families came. A lot of which were easily recognizable which incited discussion as soon as they were seen. "Hey, bro, aren''t they from the Fleeting Wood Residence?" A man called out his friend after pointing out a small group of people heading to the 4th floor! "Where? Oh, you''re right! Isaac Fleetwood is even here?! What''s a top 20 rank power doing here in a middle scale auction?!" The friend''s jaw dropped when he saw them. "They are not the only top 20 power who attended this auction! Look there!" A large man pointed to one direction. "Woah! Even the Hundred Hills Grand Clan are here! Daniela Hills also showed up!" Another gasped in astonishment when they saw the representative group of the Hundred Hills Clan who also made their way to the last floor. "The Stone Edge Manor is here also!? Even Saint child came to participate?! Just what does this auction have in store for us?!" Another man spoke. "I wonder why they have gathered in this auction. What could be the reason?" A man from the same table thought out loud. "I heard they came here because they want to learn the skills of the person that beat all of them during the Noble Test." A man from another table took the initiative to answer the question. "Really?" The man who just spoke was surprised. "It maybe a rumor but it is possible." The man said with confidence that made the others nod in agreement. Among them, the four powers: Firebull School, Charon Clan, Quadra Fang Sect, and Steelheart Sect, which signed a contract of partnership,came to visit Dylan. "Thank you for coming, Sir Steven, Sir Arman, Sir Okemos and Sir Yander. It has already been a week since we last met." Dylan greeted them warmly. "Of course, how can we not attend the event of our fellow partner?" Okemos laughed merrily. "That''s right! I heard that you have herbs of the Mid Earth Rank in store as the last items. Is that true?" Arman probed in a teasing manner. "Hahaha, unfortunately I cannot disclose any information regarding the items that will be auctioned, so I hope you, gentlemen, could wait until the auction proper." Dylan smiled. "We know. Trying to build up tension so that the crowd will expect more." Yander smiled as he waved his hands to indicate that it was not a serious question. " We were just trying to push our luck that''s all." Steven just laughed it off. "Dylan, you must know that this atmosphere you are building is a double edge sword. If you are unable to meet the expectations of the crowd, your brand''s reputation will go down the sink!" Okemos warned. "You worry too much, Sir Okemos. I won''t let that happen. I will give you a hint then. You can expect more than just Mid Earth Rank herbs." Dylan purposefully acted mysterious when he said those words. As soon as he finished, he immediately left. "We can expect more..." the four were lost for words. The presence of a Mid Earth Rank Herb is something that is rarely seen even for a Middle Class Auction! So if they should expect more, then that means items equivalent to the High Earth Rank can be bought from this auction?! ''If that''s true, I need to buy just one of those items!'' Each one of the four had the same thoughts in their minds. They paid the accommodation fee and made their way to the 3rd floor of the building. ... On the 4th floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House... "Hallmaster Azelmek, I am rather surprised that you are here. May I ask what intrigued you enough to make you come here?" A person from the camp of the Fleetwood Residence asked. "3rd Elder Fleetwood, I didn''t expect you to come here also. I came here because it is the first event Dylan has invited me to. If there was something that intrigued me, it would be him." Azelmek calmly pointed his arms to Dylan who was climbing up the stage once more. "Oho, what about him interests you aside from the fact that he is the successor?" The old butler beside Daniela Hills decided to join the conversation. "I didn''t expect I would be interviewed right off the bat. Normally, I would find your actions annoying but I am in a really good mood right now so I''ll answer your questions. The interesting thing about him is his talent for business." Azelmek replied with a faint smile on his face. "May I ask whether the rumor about Premier Hall sponsoring this auction is correct?" Stone Edge Saint Child was the one who asked this time. "No. This entire event is organized by one businessman and his subordinates who is Dylan and the entire Soaring Garden enterprise." Sheldon interjected and answered the question of Saint Child. Then, all of the experts within the fourth floor sensed something on the sky and focused their attention on the auras they felt earlier. Suddenly, three silhouettes came flying and descended from the sky to the fourth floor. It was two old men and one handsome teenage boy. Their robes indicated that they came from the Alchemy Academy. The handsome young teen was none other than Alchemist Asiel and the two old men were his protectors. "What a surprise. The Alchemy Academy also came. You youngsters must be really curious about the person who outdid you all." Sheldon spoke while scanning the expressions of the four geniuses that came with their protectors. "It''s natural for them to feel threatened about the appearance of a fellow genius. Do you not think so?" One of the protectors said. "I guess it is." Azelmek agreed. It was at this moment that Dylan was heard shouting: "Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived! Now, I officially declare this auction open!" "Whooooooooooo!" "Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Thunderous cheers could be heard everywhere after Dylan''s voice was heard. So, Dylan modulated his voice at an even higher volume than before using his spirit energy! "We have a total of 30 extremely precious items in store for auction. Each item is far better than the prior! That''s why I hope that you have enough money with you because this auction will surely be worth the trip!" Dylan spoke as loud as he can. Thanks to him using spirit energy, he was heard by everyone. "The first item on our list is a Low Earth Rank Axe known as the Steelcutter! It was forged by a Tier 5 Blacksmith named Lyrius!" Dylan anounced the name of the first item. "What?!" "A weapon?!" "Isn''t he a herbal shop owner!?" "How could this be?" The crowd was shocked! They thought that the herbs would be the only thing up for sale! They never thought that Dylan would bring out a good weapon and a Low Earth rank at that to be auctioned! " This axe has a special ability named "Rage Strike". It temporarily boosts the strength of its user by half but can only be used five times a day! Though this ability has limited use, it can be considered as lifesaving skill! This skill can be used to turn the tides around at times of life and death situations! The starting bid is 100 gold coins!" Dylan introduced the weapon even more. "I will get this! 100 gold coins!" "200!" "230!" "300!!" ... That was when the bidding wars started! 132 Chapter 132: The Auction 2 Going several moments before the bidding started... As Dylan''s introduction neared its end, Maria entered the stage. Her sudden appearance attracted the gazes of the crowd. It was even more so when she called out the Steelcutter Axe out of the storage ring that Dylan gave her. It was an axe with a black metal handle and a white sharp blade. Per Dylan''s instruction, the moment the axe appeared, she attracted natural energy towards the axe. The natural energy being concentrated to that spot became somewhat visible creating mild crystalline lights that appeared to be something like glitters. Though it was subtle effect, it boosted the aesthetic effects of the first item. "Whoa!" The crowd was enticed to buy the item even more. ... To the present... "I did not expect him to take out such a valuable equipment for the first item!" An elder of a low rank sect exclaimed. He joined the fight and announced his bid. "310 gold coins!" "The gentlemen over there bids 310 gold coins! Anyone bidding for 320?" Dylan intentionally spoke slowly to wait for those who are interested yet waiting the opportunity to strike! "320!" Another bid came from someone in the second floor. "You''re right! Since we cannot hope to compete for the final items, we will just get what we can before the big shots intervene!" A man with a really long beard accentuated. After commenting, he raised his panel and bid a price. "350 gold coins!" "That''s 350! Anyone up for a higher bid? 350 going once-" Before Dylan could finish his statement, another bidder raised the price! "360!" Someone on the first floor called out. "380!" A consecutive bid was raised again "400 gold coins!" This time it was a well-dressed woman who bid. She looked like someone who held a high position in a Noble Clan. "400 gold coins! Anyone who will bid 410?" Dylan spoke once more while doing his best to accommodate the bids. As soon as Dylan finished his sentence, another person called out a bid, " 430!" "440!" An old man did not want to lose and bidded also. "The weapon is in great condition! Though there are evidence of it being used, its durability and sharpness is still there! Not to mention that this was also crafted by a Tier 5 Blacksmith! I must have it!" A muscular woman felt that having this sword would be extremely beneficial for her quests and missions later on. Thus, she loudly screamed. "500 gold coins!" "Whoa! 500 gold coins! A large rise from the previous bid. Anyone who wants to place a higher bid?" Dylan purposefully inserted adlibs again. "A skill that could boost your strength by half?! In a life and death situation, using that skill once is more than enough! Using it three times would increase my surivability in any mission I take!" A burly man from a hunting guild was in awe in the skill that the awe has. He decided to get this weapon no matter what. " 700 gold coins!!!" "Damn it!" The woman cussed because the price has already passed her range for this item, making her unwillingly give up on the item. The same also went for the others who wanted to have the weapon. "Going once.... Going twice.... Sold for 700 gold coins!" Dylan happily concluded the bidding for the first item. ... On the fourth floor... "Hahaha, Dylan is really a sly one! To think he has such items in his disposal. This type of weapons with special abilities are exceedingly valuable for low rank powers." Sheldon laughed happily. "Indeed. I''m shocked as well. I wonder where he got this stuff from." Allen was overjoyed because it seemed that Dylan still has a lot of cards to play with. "It seems that he prepared meticulously for this auction. His doing the same techniques that Sir Null has pointed out on the administrator of the auction several days ago." Azelmek observed Dylan closely and he was able to notice how Dylan modulated his voice, paused at appropriate moments, slowing down his speaking speed, lighting aesthetics and other subtle factors to entice the crowd. The little differences may not impact the presentation individually but together they will affect the entire atmosphere as a whole! "The axe would only normally cause around 370 gold coins but because of evidences of it being used beforehand, the rate would slightly decrease to approximately 300 gold coins. However, thanks to their preparations and presentation, the price practically doubled." Sheldon analyzed. "I guess Sir Null must have taught Dylan somethings before he left the city." Allen guessed. "Then, it would be his fortunate encounter to be able to learn from Sir Null despite being so young." Azelmek smiled as he watched Dylan proceed with the auction. "I might even join this auction if something valuable comes out." Azelmek rubbed his chin while he spoke. "Why so?" Sheldon was lightly shocked. Just what item in a middle rank auction could attract the Hallmaster? "Can''t you remember what he said in his intro? He has thirty items ready for auctions. Though the part where he said, every item is more valuable than the last will most definitely be a hyperbole. But most certainly, the quality of the items would increase every one-third of an auction." Azelmek deduced. "You''re right! Items in a section would be usually divided or arranged into introductory items which are the lowest quality, intermediate items which are of middle quality, and the finale items that are the highest quality." Sheldon now understood why Azelmek said that he could possibly join the auction if something catches his eyes. "Correct. That''s why will wait until the last ones and see what type of items Dylan has." All three had eyes filled with anticipation, waiting to discover what type of items Dylan would put up later. ... "Now let us move on to the second item! The second item is called Blizzard Spear." Currently, the person beside Dylan was Maria who was holding a silver white spear with snowflake like patterns encrypted on the handle. Of course, Maria also did the same thing that Marie did when she presented the Steelcutter Axe. "A Low Earth Rank weapon forged by Tier 4 Blacksmith Snollin. His known best for creating ice elemental weapons that has the skill of Freeze! It is a skill that could only be activated with the probability of 1/25 but once incurred to the opponent, he/she will not be able to move for 5 seconds! There are only a three hundred spears of the same capabilities!" Dylan briefly introduced the spear. "What an execllent spear!" The crowd gasped when they saw the appearance of the spear and the background it has. "However, its only suitable for people with ice type spirit/origin energy." But, a person woke up the crowd when he spoke. Though it could be usable to most people, however, they would be unable to bring out its'' full potential if they were not compatible with the weapon. But, disregarding this flaw, it was an amazing spear to use. "Okay, let us start the bid with 120 gold coins." Dylan then announced the opening of the auction for the second item. "If none of you will bid on it, then allow me to take it for myself! Hahaha, I bid 120 gold coins!" A black skinned man on the second floor stood up and laughed while saying. "Dream on! 150 gold coins!" Another bidder said. "The spear will be mine! 200 gold coins!" A short haired noble woman placed a bid also. "No, it''s mine! 210 gold coins!" Another person shouted. ... As Azelmek and Sheldon expected, the following items were of the same quality as the first. Though there was slightly increase in quality for every item, to their eyes, it was barely negligible. Allen even noticed the strange scent of blood with a dagger that was sold for 540 gold coins. But, they did not put much thought into that discovery. The truth is, the weapons were from the loot that Dylan got from the hunter group that Barry was once in. They all had an amazing collection of items. Dylan sold most of them since they were useless. He gave 80 High Spirit Rank weapons to his employees for them to train with while they were still at the Spirit Gathering Realm. Since they still had a long way to go and he already has the Cosmic God Mansion to receive weapons from, Dylan decided to put all the Earth Rank weapons in the list for the auction. When the bidding for the 5th item ended, Dylan proceeded in the same manner as he always did and introduced the 6th item. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now moving on to the sixth item in our auction. Just a heads up the sixth item is a High Earth Rank Herb!" Dylan revealed playfully. "What?!" The crowds jaws nearly hit the ground by this revelation that seemingly came out of nowhere! ... "What the fuck?!" Azelmek, Sheldon and Allen were so shocked that they even blurted out curses! A High Earth Rank Herb as the sixth item for an auction?! The quality leaped from Low Earth Rank Items to an out of the blue High Earth rank herb?! They never heard this type of arrangement before! This even looked as if it were a mistake but taking a look at Dylan''s faint complacent smile as he stood at the platform beside his next assistant, they knew that it was all predetermined. However, they could not shrug off the thought that arranging auction items this way was... absolutely ridiculous! "Ah.. I thought that he would only reveal something like that after the 20th item... Why is he..." Sheldon could not even continue what he was saying. He was at a lost for words. "Hallmaster, do you have any idea what Dylan is trying to do?" Allen could not read what was on Dylan''s mind so he relied on Azelmek to clear out this confusion. But to his shock, Azelmek did not react and could only stare at Dylan with a serious expression. "Hallmaster..." Allen and Sheldon did not expect silence to come from Azelmek so they could only watch as the entire auction played out. It was not only them. The other top powers at the fourth floor had similar reactions. However, regardless of how much they thought, they could not figure out what was his reason. They all thought one question the next instant: ''Just what is he thinking?'' ... The crowd went frenzied and aggressively asked Dylan. "Is what you''re saying the truth?!" A madam from a Great Clan who was situated at the 3rd floor. "Don''t you dare punk with us, little man! You would not like it when me and my bros are angry!" Some members of the Thunderstrike Hunter Guild looked pissed as they interrogated Dylan. "Calm down, everyone. I am telling the truth. If you don''t believe me, how about seeing it for yourselves." Dylan smiled in the face of intimidation. The one who was standing beside him was named Delia Kurt, a blond beauty with beautiful blue eyes. "Show it to them." Dylan softly said. Delia naturally followed Dylan''s orders and retrieved the item. It was in a boxthat isolated spirit energy from leaking out of it. Delia opened the bow to show the herb. The next moment a beautiful white flower appeared! The natural energy was being absorbed as soon as the herb emerged. Then, a whirlpool of visible energy could be seen after! "Oh my gosh..." "No way...." "That is a..." The crowd could not believe their eyes as soon as they saw the herb. "Impossible!" Everyone at the fourth floor stood up from their seats in order to get a clearer view. They thought it was an illusion but it was absolutely real! "I am sure that you have recognized it by now. It is what you think it is. The Body Refining White Flower! The rare flower that could allow anyone at the Origin Transmutation Realm to achieve King Stage body strengthening if consumed!" Dylan loudly revealed. 133 Chapter 133: Body Refining White Flower 1 The people on the fourth floor became frenzied when they heard the name of the herb! "Body Refining White Flower..." Isaac who was silent all this time, stood up and meticuolously looked at the white flower that was emitting brilliant fragrnace and creating a large whirlpool of energy. "Uncle, how much spirit stones do we currently have in our disposal?" Isaac inquired. "We have 798 spirit stones all in all." A man a long black beared replied. Evidently, he was Isaac Fleetwood''s uncle named Delir. "Though it is enough to buy the spirit stones, we must at least have 1000 spirit stones to ensure that the Body Refining White Flower would fall into our hands. Quickly, send someone back and inform father to give me at least 3000 spirit stones! There at least 4 more treasures comparable to this herb!" Isaac decisively ordered. "Right away." Delir briefly replied and had someone to go to their residence. " A High Earth Rank Herb like this must be mine! This auction will no longer be a middle class now that a treasure of this level has emerged!" Stone Edge Saint Childspoke ferociously! "Guards, inform father and Eldest Uncle about this auction. We must get a hold of all this treasures as soon as we can before other sects get a gist of this auction!!" Saint Child heavily spoke to indicate the need to seize the treasures in the Soaring Garden Auction. "As you wish, my lord!" A guard detached himself from the group and flew to the direction of the Stone Edge Manor. "Heavens, it really is the white flower! It matches every description written in the books." An elder from the Hundred Hills Grand Clan could barely believe his eyes. "If I get this herb, I will be able to breakthrough directly to the peak of the Origin Transmutation Realm without any external or internal backlash! This herb... I will not let it escape my grasp!" Daniela clenched her small fist and had a determined look on her face. "Elder, how much spirit stones did you prepare?" Daniela asked urgently. "We have 634 spirit stones in total." The elder replied. "Damn it, I only have a hundred spirit stones! It is not enough to secure the herb!" Daniela felt a crisis because of they did not prepare enough. They thought that the highest grade of treasure that should appear would at most be Mid Earth Rank. " This Dylan was shockingly daring enough to produce such a treasure like this. Normally, cultivators would save such treasures for themselves so why would he give it away like this?" Another elder voiced out his opinion. "Who cares why he did it? The improtant thing is that it is already up for sale. Once we get a hold of it, my genius ranking at city would significant rise! Then, our clan would have a chance to enter the Top 10 sects! Go back to the clan and get more spirit stones! There must still be other items of the similar value in this auction so we must muster up all the money we can!" Daniela accentuated. "Yes, milady!" The elder responded. One of them swiftly disappeared and went back to the headquarters of their clan. "With that herb, I would be able to have master concoct the Star King Physique Pill! If that were to happen, I would be able to attain the strongest King Body in history! No one will be able to take that from me even if it means blowing 1200 spirit stones!" Alchemist Asiel who was known for being a supreme genius in alchemy was only an above average talent in cultivation. But, if he were to acquire the herb and consume the pill once he reached Origin Transmutation, he would undergo an unbelievable transformation that would allow him to stand toe to toe with an apex genius like Victor Thunder! "No way... it really is a High Earth Rank Herb!" Sheldon''s eyes were squinting as he was trying to confirmwhether what was in front of them was real. "He really was not jesting when he said those words." Allen was also left in disbelief. "Just what is your motive in selling this herb, Dylan? I don''t quite get it. Why would you exchange a chance to get effieciently stronger for immediate profit?" Azelmek was just as confused like the other faction. Even though he was Dylan''s master, he did not know what was currently going on in the mind of that young man. The reason why Dylan gave up the herb was simpky because he had the Cosmic God Mansion, a true treasure trove for someone at the Spirit Gathering Realm. It could infinitely provide him herbs as much as he wants as long as he just waits for a day. All he needs to do is remember the place where he harvested the herb and wait. But, of course, the quality of the herbs vary from the first harvest than those he woud pick every 24 hours. He left those for himself as they were the best quality. Also, he was also planning to harvest and prepare 100 more batches of the herbs that would be used for cultivation for his employees. But Dylan also knew that the stronger they get, the more useless the herbs in the vicinity of the gates become. ... Meanwhile the people within the Soaring Garden Auction were acting wildly due to the unexpected appearance of the Body Refining White Flower, the top 10 powers who had the most advance intelligence gathering squad was able to get a wind of what just transpired... Within the residential garden of the Thunder Grand Clan, Zachary, who was leisurely playing chess with an old friend, was enjoying his tea. Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of him. The shadow turned into a person who quickly knelt in his presence. "Milord, I have an A-class information to report to you." "Oh, an A-class. That is quite unexpected. Recently, almost all the reports have been B or C." Zachary was suprised a bit by this news. He glanced at the old man he was playing with. The old man knew what his gaze implied so he stood up and bowed, " Thank you for the nice game, City Lord. You''re skills have completely surpassed mine. I will take the insights that I have learned and further my understanding with the game. I shall now take my leave." After ensuring the man left, Zachary even set up a sound-proof barier as an extra caution. "Speak." The man started and kept his report as brief as possible. "The Soaring Garden Herbal Store has organized an auction which housed 700 people. The supposed middle class auction was unexpectedly turned into a top-tier auction when a High Earth Rank herb called Body Refining White Flower was auctioned as the sixth item." "What did you just say? High Earth Rank herb, Body Refining White Flower, the herb that allows any practitioner of the Origin Transmutation Realm to easily achieve King Stage Body just by consuming the herb without any repercussions!" Zachary was completely stunned when he heard this news. "Yes, milord." The man answered. "It is only the sixth item?" What kind of auction is that?" Zachary had never heard any auction house to organize an auction similar to how Dylan did his. "Explain to me everything from the very start." Zachary ordered. "Yes, milord. The auction started..." The man gave a very detailed narration of what happened up until the present time. "Hm..." After hearing everything, Zachary was stuck in deep thought. After a while he spoke once more, " By now, the other 9 must have already gotte news of what happened. I''m pretty sure that we would not be abke to get the herb anymore. So, send the third and seventh elder to represent the clan. Have them go there in just five minutes. That is all." "As you wish, milord." The man turned into a shadow again and disappeared when Zachary ended his orders. "Dylan Ford... what an interesting young man." Zachary played with his wine before gulping it down. ... Back at the Soaring Garden Auction... "It seems like everyone is excited to start this auction! So without further ado, the auction for the Body Refining White Flower is now open at 120 spirit stones! Since the base price is already spirit stones, you only need to add one more spirit stone to add the price." Dylan loudly announced. When the price was revealed, a lot of hopefuls immediately felt depressed. Just the base price was already out of their reach. They were hoping it would be something lower but they all knew the market value of herbs so they were only deluding themselves with those fantasies. As soon as the bidding started more than half of the participants were already excluded due to the ridiculous price but a lot of rich nobles still chose to try their luch and get the herb for themselves. "I bid 120 spirit stones!!" In the third floor, A black skinned man who wore a dainty red robe and had a fist filled with jewelry that was at least 1 spirit stones each. He was holding two beautiful ladies with each hand "I bid 121 spirit stones!" A brown haired lady at the 3rd floor who was wearing an Exquisite Tailor cocktail dress raised her panel. She had 4 big guards beside her who were at the Origin Foundation Realm! "That flower is mine! 124spirit stones!" An old fat lord who wore expensive clothing, had three golden chains that were adorned with different gems around his neck and wore three pure crystal bracelets on both of his wrists. "I said it''s mine! 125!" The black skinned man bid once more. "Dream on! 129 spirit stones!" The brown haired lady also called out. "135 spirit stones!" The fat lord did not want to lose but also call out. "138 spirit stones." Another person who was wearing frugal clothes shouted. The bidding continued without paise. Seeing this, Dylan calmly watcged in the sidelines waiting for the oace of the auction to slow down. "141 spirit stones! This treasure is for my son!" The black skinned guy shouted once more! "143 spirit stones! Heh, you think you are the only one with a son!" The fatty screamed! "147 spirit stones!" Another female also decided to join the bid. "155 spirit stones!! Hahaha, this treasure is mine!" The brown haired lady went all out and raised the bid! "Shut up, you noisy fools! 200 spirit stones!"Stone Edge then decided to join the fray while reprimanding the three loud persons who were shouting loudly. "I... we lost." The three who was fighting earlier was ruthlessly removed in the competition because of the large raise that Saint Child bid. "Oh, finally. Anyone up for a higher bid? 201 spirit stones? 205?" Dylan was probing the crowd before he continued, " 200 going once!" "The flower is his.." The three thought that the flower already had it''s owner but they thought wrongly. "225 spirit stones!" Daniela Hills also decided to join in seeing that Stone Edge Saint Child was the first person in the fourth floor to bid! "The herb is mine Brock. Get lost!" "Tch, I knew it would not be easy to take it for myself." Stone Edge Saint Child, Brock looked coldly at Daniela. "So you must also think the same thing, Daniela! 240 spirit stones!" "Hmph, two hundred and fifty spirit stones!" Daniela articulated loudly. "Che, two hundred and sixty five spirit stones!" Brock did not want to appear that he was losing so he went and bid immediately after Daniela finished. "Tsk, two hundred and seventy five spirit stones!" Daniela strongly raised her panel to bid. "300 spirit stones! This is not a pleace where people should be flirting with each other." Isaac coldly uttered. "Who do you think you are! Flirting with him? I would rather die! 325 spirit stones!" Daniela angrily screeched. "Are you messing with me, Isaac?! I will crush you! I bid 350 spirit stones!" Brock''s expression was twisted while saying those words. "Pitiful bastard! 380 spirit stones!" Isaac did not back down and even increased the bid by 30! "500." A low voice compare to yelling that the other were doing, this was a soothing and warm voice. Even though it was said in a low volume, its '' impact was exceddinly high that it silenced the entire crowd. The crowd searched for the origin of the voice. When they found it, they all looked dumbfounded because it came from a thirteen year old boy who was popularly known as the Child Genius of Alchemy, Asiel Gamott! " This is an auction not a party. You should refrain from being too festive if you wish to return to your houses with face left." Asiel slowly said those words but they all caused quick and hostile reactions from the other three. Dylan who was just watching in the sidelines was only thinking and faintly smiled, '' Come on, fight some more. The more you fight, the angrier you get. The angrier you get, the more of a show-off you become. Finally, the more they show off, the more I earn.'' 134 Chapter 134: Body Refining White Flower 2 "Asiel..." Daniela, Brock and Isaac coldly stared at Asiel who just reprimanded them in a condescending manner. "Do not be so arrogant, snot-nosed brat!" Daniela harrumphed. "What a petty girl." Asiel arrogantly commented. "You! Take back what you just said!" Daniela became furious when she heard Asiel''s words. "Tch, you think you are so haughty, huh? Why don''t we fight here?" Brock impulsively challenged Asiel to a fight. "How shameless. I am only at the 13th level Awakened Spirit while you are already a 22nd level Origin Transmutation. Not to mention that I am only thriteen while you are already seventeen. Are all members of the Stone Edge Manor this shameless and stupid?" Asiel remained calm and only spared a side-glance to Brock. "Watch, what you are saying you, arrogant brat!" A guard from the Stone Edge Manor could not handle Asiel''s arrogance and stood up. "Do not intervene with the matter of the junior or else, you might not be able to take the consequences." An old alchemist sitting beside Asiel threatened. "Ugh.." The guard groaned in response but he went back to his seat. The olan man was right he could not allow his emtions to get on the way becaide if he did, he would be dragging the sect along with him. The sect might even disown or exile him if chose to do so. "..." On the other hand, Isaac remained silent as he watched the entire scene play out. "What about you?" Asiel turned his attention to the silent Isaac. "Don''t even think about taunting me. I am unlike those two idiots. It will not work on me." Isaac replied coldly. "500 spirit stones going twice! Still no follow up bid?" Suddenly, a voice disrupted their argument. Dylan''s voice awoke the attention of the people within the fourth floor. "Damn it! 510 spirit stones!" Brock was the one with the quickest reaction and was able to quickly raise his bidding panel. Cold sweat trickled down their spines. They somehow temporarily forgot about the auction because of Asiel''s interjection. They almost lost the chance to be able to compete for the Body Refining White Flower. ''Shit, that brat almost had us fooled! He was insulting us so that our attention would turn to him! If they were successful, then the herb would have been theirs! Fortunately, I was able to hear that Dylan Ford''s voice!'' Brock cursed in his mind. "I thought there would no longer be anyone bidding anymore since you appeared to have a quarrel up there."Dylan lightly laughed. But in reality, if it were not for Dylan increasing the volume of his voice, the others would not have noticed. Inwardly, Dylan praised Asiel, ''What a cunning little brat. Too bad you''re a hundred year too early to compete with me.'' "520 spirit stones!" Daniel Hills shouted a bid after recovering to her senses. She threw a glance folled with hatred, ''You think you''re so smart! I will make you pay soon enough, Asiel Gamott!'' ''Tricking me like this? I, Isaac Fleetwood, will make you pay for this humiliation!'' Isaac gritted his teeth before roaring a price, "550 spirit stones!!" "It seems like the plan failed. Whatever, I will just have to crush them with the wealth I have!" Asiel softly sighed. He unhurriedly rose his bidding panel and stated, "600!" ... The crowd was mortified as they were witnessing how frugal this young masters and mistresses could be with their money. They could even barely bring out 100 spirit stones yet this young adolescents could easily mention a price that would be equivalent or even greater than their entire fortune! "Si-six hundred s-spirit stones?! I could buy a clan residence with that much money! Yet they are easily thrown by this youths..." A man from a middle rank power felt extremely weak in front of the wealth of Asiel and the others. "The current price has already surpassed the price of even a hundred year old Body Refining White Flower, which is 550 spirit stones!" A female appraiser had a pale expression as he mentioned those words. "However, I do think it is reasonable for the herb to reach such a price because Body Refining White Flowers only grow near places with exceedingly dense and conventrated spirit energy like Earth Veins! But what is really shocking me is the amount of wealth these three possess?" A knowledgeable old man shared the information he knew about the herb. "But why are they fervently competing to buy one herb? If they used that money to buy the mansion, like that guy said, they would have a comfortable place to stay and lodge." An ignorant commoner idiotically questioned. "Because for true cultivators, raising their cultivation is much more valuable than any money in the world. Getting a herb that would ensure a completely safe breakthrough is something that cultivators would kill for." A wise old man imparted an important lesson to the child. ... "601 spirit stones." A grey cloaked person in the third floor raised the bid by just 1 spirit stone which slightly shocked the crowd. "625 spirit stones! I won''t lose to any of you!" Daniela gave a bid once more. "626 spirit stones." The grey cloaked person continued to bid. " Who is this guy?" Daniela di not expect that there would still be another person who would bid for the flower when it already neared the conclusion. "660 spirit stones! It''s mine!" Brock also placed another bid by raising it 34 spirit stones. "661 spirit stones." The grey cloaked person repeated by raising it with only a spirit stone. "Hmph, how about 697 spirt stones, then?!" Brock raised the bid again. "698." The grey cloaked person was still unfazed and continued to bid. "Fine, I''ll go all-in! 716 spirit stones!" Brock ferociosly shouted and put everything on the run. When he saw that the grey cloaked was not bidding any more, Brock laughed coldly, " Hmph, a nobody trying to compete with me? That''s courting death. Finally, the herb is mine! Hahaha!" "Sorry to burst you bubble but I will go all in as well! 747 spirit stones!" Daniela also went all in. "What?!" Brock could not accept it. The bratty girl actually had more money than him. He grudgingly thought ''She actually waited for me to go all-in before she went all out! What a devious woman!'' "That''s what you get for being too overconfident." Daniela smirked as though she had already one. "798 spirit stones!" Isaac slowly spoke. He, too, went all in! "Nooo!!" Daniela thought she had this one in the bag already since Asiel and Isaac were no longer participating. "Hahaha, can you repeat what you just said to me?" Brock took this opportunity to sneer at Daniela. "Grrr!" Daniela could only stomp her foot! She felt that her face was burning from embarassment. "Laugh all you want, you still are not getting the herb!" "Guh..." Brock somewhat choke while laughing because it was indeed true that he won''t be getting the herb. "798 spirit stones! Anyone who still wishes to bid?" Dylan spoke smilingly. He felt accomplished because he had earned big time from this auction. Almost every sects would tirelessly enter life-threatening tombs and dungeons in orser to find priceless treasures that they would be able to use or auction. Dylan, on the other hand, did not do any of this. He only needed to have patience and he would be able to harvest treasures of the same amount. He could earn the same amount without even needing the need to risk his life but the effort he put in order to organize, this effort could even be a larger investment than going to a tomb. Feeling accomplished with the feats he was able to do was well-deserved. "Never thought the herb would actually go to him..." Brock gritted his teeth when he saw the faint smile on Isaac''s face. "If you thought that we are the only ones waiting for each other to go all out, you must be mistaken." Daniela did not want to admit it but among those who are present someone like Asiel who was from the Alchemist Academy is the person with the greatest wealth. "You mean..." Brock understood what Daniela meant by that so he unconsciously looked at Asiel who was still comfortably sitting and sipping his tea. Finally, Asiel went a made a move and said, "With all of you out of the competition, this herb is already mine. 800 no, 850 spirit stones!" Asiel was not complacent even when he was the last man standing. He wanted to make sure that he establishes his dominance. Thus, raising the bid to eight hundred and fifty spirit stones! "That''s 850 spirit stones for the Body Refining White Flower. Anyone up for a higher bid?" Dylan was still maintaining the faint smiling expression on his face even though he was trembling in excitement inside. He just earned nearly 7 times the amount of the price he set as the opening price. "850 spirit stones going once" Despite knowing that Asiel was the last bidder and no one else would be able to top his bid, Dylan still stayed proffesional and stuck with the protocol of an auction. "850 going twice." Dylan continued the count and raised two fingers to indicate the second probing. "Sold for 850 spirit stones! Congratulations, Asiel Gamott of the Alchemist Academy! The Body Refining White Flower is yours! You may claim the herb after the auction is concluded." Dylan sincerely congratulated. "You may now go back." He gestured Delia to return and store the herb again. "Yes, sir." Delia nodded and close the lid of the chest that contained the herb. Closing the herb also caused the phenomenon it created to cease. ''Finally, it is mine! After a year, I will become the youngest person to ever reach Origin Foundation!'' Asiel looked at his closed fist and could imagine the glory that he would revel if he were to become the youngest Origin Foundation Realm in history! A smile resurfaced in his face as a mark of attaining victory. "Tch, look at that smug face of his! You can laugh all you want! The next treasure item is mine!" Brock Stone pledged to himself. Due to the commotion caused by the High Earth Rank Herb, Body Refining White Flower, those who lived nearby and were able to get news of what just happened went out of their homes and brought a large amount of money to join the auction in hopes to be able to get a similar treasure. The seven hundred something participants increased in numbers and turned into seven hundred eighty persons. "I hope. I would be able to get a treasure of the High no, just a Mid Earth Rank would be plenty great already hehe." A newcomer hoped and expected great things as he booked a seat. "Okay, now for the 7th item, the seventh item is a Low Earth Rank Battle Techniques called the Tornado Fists. It is a technique created by an Mortal Moulting expert. Like the name suggests, it could summon the winds and make them spiral with the fist as the center, creating a devastating attack accompanied by raging winds!" Dylan introduced the next item. "WHAT?!" "Didn''t he just reveal a High Earth rank?! Why did it suddenly change back?!" "Is this some kind of mistake...?" "Is he messing with us?" The crowd was once again flabbergasted. The ones that felt most frustrated were the nobles of the 4th tier and above. The thought that the items next would be something of the same or slightly lower quality but they did not expect that it was that low. They felt that they were once again played by someone else''s palms which was a very true intuition since everything that was happening in the auction was controlled, measured and calculated by Dylan''s mind. However, there were also a significant portion of the crowd which rejoiced once they heard Dylan''s descriptions. "Hehehe, finally, a chance to be able to get treasure!" "Whoo! I thought that we would not have the chance to participate anympre when I saw that her appeared." "I know right. It is a good thing that the arrangement of the goods are eccentric or else I might have gone home empty-handed." Different comments aroused from the crowd. Some were of displeasure while some of relief and satisfaction. But, ultimately, none still chose to leave, in hopes to be able to see an item like the Body Refining White Flower. In the seats of Jack and the others, they were all laughing because everything that was happening was exactly what Dylan planned it to be. "Hahaha, look at the faces of the crowd. They were all extremely startled when they heard the sudden drop of quality." Ronald could not help but laugh. However, he was doing his best to pipe down and restrain himself. "Yup. Right now, I am just blown away because almost everything went just as Dylan planned. Except for the larger population from the very start that even Sir Dylan did not expect which made us renovate the diner and the store earlier than planned, everything went just as he planned." Larry could only look at Dylan with shock. "If everything does go according to Sir Dylan''s plans from here on out, the most interesting part will begin after 4 items." Jack smiled confidently. 135 Chapter 135: 9 Supersects 1 "The base price is 210 gold coins. The bidding for the Low Earth Rank Battle Technique, Tornado Fists is now open." Despite the confused stares and numerous people ranting, Dylan remained composed and continued with the auction. "Screw you! Who would but that?" A Tier 4 noble loudly cursed. He was a middle aged man with a freshly shaved beared which displayed a dissatisfied expression. He did not like how inconsistent Dylan was woth the arrangement of his auction items "I will! I bid 210 gold coins!" A Tier 6 noble who was a Thundercloud as a profession responded otherwise. He was on his leave and during his patrol in this area he was given 4 flyers about the auction. After he discovered that the auction was a middle class auction that is organized by the topnotcher of this year''s batch of Noble Test examiners who scored a perfect 100, he was determined to participate. It was just the right time for him to buy quality goods since he had already outgrown his current techniques. "You!" The nobleman felt that his cheeks were burning from embarassment because the Thundercloud Guard rhetorically answered his question right after he said it. "220 gold coins!" Another person raised the bid. "How dare you both?!" The nobleman was enraged and shouted wantonly. "250 gold coins! It is best to shut your mouth to avoid embarassing yourself especially if you are not bidding." A lady who was at the same level of nobility sitted at the second floor sneered. "Grrr.." Although he was angry, he could not refute what she just said. Thus, he decided to join the bidding wars! "Fine, 300 gold coins!" ... The technique was eventually sold for 640 gold coins. This auction was unlike the previous it only ended after a minute of bidding. The three following auction items were the same. They were all sold for 730, 880, and 590 gold coins that all finished within two minutes of bidding each. "Now the 11th item is a Mid Earth Rank weapon named Groundsplitter! It is a heavy sword crafted by a Tier 8 Blacksmith! It weighs around 1000 pounds and is made using Obsidian Steel! With this material along with the spirit core of a Berserk Gorilla, the creator of this heavy sword was able to create the popular skill, Berserker! You all know what Berserker can do right? It can temporarily boost your strength and speed twice than the original but at the expense of rapidly consuming your stamina!" Dylan was able to create an atmosphere where the people became impatient to see a treasure ever zince the sixth item. Now that the item''s quality has increased, the crowd''s reaction was exactly what Dylan expected it to be. "Hell yeah!" The crowd was like a car out of gas that was suddenly filled with fuel! The positive vibe of the crowd was reignited. Energetic shouts and screams soon filled the entire block! "Now that is a true treasure!!" A man who was sick of waiting siddenly stood up in excitement. "Berserker, huh... That is one hell of a skill!" The eyes of the adventurer that jus spoke glistened as he continued to stare at the heavy sword. " Hahaha, this sword is mine!" A barbarically brawny bald man laughed happily. "Let''s see you try! It''s mine!" A larger black-skinned guy with a mohawk refuted. "Don''t spout nonsense! In an auction, your money is the one who does the talking!" An off-duty Thundercloud Captain reprimanded the two large men. "Hahahaha, it seems like many of you are interested with this item. So, I will go straight to the part where I begin the auction for this high quality weapon! The starting price is 2 spirit stones!" Dylan announced loudly. "I BID 2 SPIRIT STONES!" The brawny bald man stated his bid Iin an astonishingly loud voice. "3 SPIRIT STONES!" The muscular black skinned mohawk guy roared loudly too. ... "Hallmaster, what do you think?" Sheldon inquired. Currently, he could not think of the reason why Dylan has eccentrically put a top tier treasure as his sixth item when the auction was only beginning. Not only did it cause confusion, it also caused displeasure to a considerable percentage of the crowd. "It is far too early to say anything. But for now, I have no comment with regards to the auction." Azelmek, too. Regardless of anything that he thought, he still could not understand Dylan''s line of thought. "He is unusually enigmatic for his age." Allen wryly smiled. *Whoosh* *whoosh* Suddenly, the wind which moved normally erratically changed directions. With the change of air direction, the wind pressure increased and created a downward breeze. The occurrence of the downward breeze caught the attention of the crowd and along with it experts from different powers descended. "Whoa! They flew!" A teenager looked in astonishment. "Does that mean all of these experts are at least Breaking Demarcation Realm Experts?" A wise old bookworm gasped in awe. Like what he said, all of them were at least at Breaking DemarcationRealm Experts because only practitioners who has reached this stage gains the ability to use their energy to support themselves and allow them to soar and stand afloat in mid-air. Mortal Severing is the phase of cultivation where abandonment of mortal bindings occur. After the shedding of mortal skin which occurs at Mortal Moulting, the next stage of this realm is the first step to unfetter mortal binding which is breaking the restriction of flight. A mortal is something that is subjected to the tenets of the world and this includes the ban imposed in flight, forever grounding humans close to earth. Liberating oneself from this demarcation marks a person''s step onto the path to Immortality. Thus, the name Breaking Demarcation Realm. There were 7 different powers who descended. There were at least two to three representatives for every power. The powers who came to the auction are: Thunder Family, Battlebeast School, Cloud Serpent Sect, Savage Lion Guild, Thundercloud Guards and Thunderstrike Hunter Guild. "Those are experts from the Thunder Family! Whoa, that is the Thunder Punisher and Electro!" A fan of the third and seventh elder of the Thunder Clan loudly stated. "That guys are from the Battlebeast School! He is the right hand-man of the school master, Vice Head Garet the Elephant!" A fan of the 8th foot tall giant who was accompanied by two more elders. "Woah! The Cloud Serpent Sect is even here as well?! That is Cobra the Reaper, right?!" Another participant was refering to the sharp-looking white haired man with a pale complexion. "I don''t believe it! Isn''t she Savage Lion Sect''s third strongest, Lioness of Combat, Veronica Vlad!" A girl who had some background knowledge about the sect shared. "Thundercloud Army Captain Kyrie and Hanz are here as well?!" A thundercould guard was relatively shocked to see their superior at his day-off. "Holy moly, three of the Seven Thunderblades of Thunderstrike Hunter Guild came too!?" A man who was aspiring to get into the Thunderstrike Hunter Guild was excitedly onserving the two men and one woman who just arrived. The crowd were all slackjawed as they saw the entrance of 18 important figures of 7 seven superpowers that all belonged to the Top 10 of the city''s Sect Rankings! "They must also be here for treasures that are as miraculous as Body Refining White Flower!" A person speculated. "I think so too." His friend agreed with him after finishing a bottle of beer. Though his voice was somewhat low, an expert like Azelmek was able to hear it due to his evolved senses. This speculation was like electricity that run electrified his mind which made him realize something profound. It somehow connected everything that he thought of until now. "So that was it! I finally get it." Azelmek realized and could not control his voice making him speak loudly. Sheldon and Allen was surprised by Azelmek''s reaction but they still asked, " What do you mean you "finally get it"?" "Dylan''s objective... The reason why he placed Dylan that herb as the sixth item for his auction... I finally understand what Dylan is planning and trying to do! He truly is a genius!" Azelmek finally understood everything. "Really? Can you please enlighten us?" Allen took the initiave to question while Sheldon was on the side looking desperate to know the truth. "Let me start so that I will be ablt to explain the reason why Dylan placed the herb as his sixth item. As you can see with the arrival of the 7 powers, there are already 9 powers of the Top 10 sects gathered for this auction!" Azelmek started. "That''s right! Then... does that mean Dylan was planning to gather the Top 10 sects using the allure of High Earth Rank Herbs?!" Sheldon was also starting to realize. "Yes, this is Dylan''s objectives. With the exception of the Panther family which he is currently in bad terms with, he desires to gather all the 9 using the herbs. This also means that Dylan is aware of the high level intelligence that all Top 10 powers possess! He knew that if he were to cause such a commotion early on, he would be able attract the attention of the different sects to come here quickly to participate with the auction." Azelmek deduced substantially. "I did not think that he would be this cunning." Sheldon was still in the process of fully digesting things but he was still shocked as it is. "How proactive and devious... He is thinking of profitting from the conflict between the members of the city''s top 10 sects " Allen was amazed by what Azelmek thought. "Yes, he purposefully changed the place of one his items in order to do so. As you can see we have already entered the intermediate stage of Dylan''s auction that means it is most likely that the next 9 items are of the Mid Earth Rank while the last 10 items are High Earth Rank and maybe even the last item is something at the level of Low Heaven Rank. He was really thinking of gathering 9 superpowers to earn big time. He really is one hell of a kid!" Azelmek smiled as he predicted. It was also at this time that the auction for the Groundsplitter finished. "103 spirit stones going twice..... Sold!" Dylan concluded the auction for the eleventh item. "Hahaha, it seems like this kid is going to earn big time!" Azelmek and Allen strangely spoke at the same time. Shocked, they looked at each other fora while then eventually laughed but those smiles stopped once they heard Dylan''s next sentence. "The twelfth item is something that is similar with the sixth item..." Dylan''s voice resounded all through out the block. The crowd naturally knew what he was insinuating but they were at a state of disbelief once more. "No way..." "Really..." "It can''t be..." "Does he mean..." "Yes, it is just what you think it is! The 12th item is a High Earth Rank Herb as well!" Faintly smiling, Dylan revealed to the crowd without even stuttering . The entire crowd especially Azelmek, Sheldon and Allen were shocked beyond unreasonable doubt! 136 Chapter 136: 9 Supersects 2 "Hallmaster-" Sheldon tremblingly looked at Azelmek. He tried to get an answer from Azelmek but contrary to his expectation, Azelmek even interrupted him. "Don''t say another word... I don''t know anymore. I give up." Azelmek surrendered. He thought that no matter what type of reasoning he could think of might just embarass him instead so he chose to shut up. He did not know whether to laugh or cry because even though he who had several hundred years of experience, he could not decode or crack the plan of an 18 year old! "I..." Sheldon did not know how to respond as well. He knew how intelligent and meticulous Azelmek was. He always did things methodically by virtue of taking into consideration the practicality, foresight and effects to him and the Premier Hall. Most of the problems that were encountered by the Premier Hall were resolved due to Azelmek''s intelligence and plans. Seeing Azelmek struggle to the point that he gave up was quite the shock for not only Sheldon but also Allen as they accompanied him all throughout his administration in Premier Hall. "He is formidable." Sheldon vaguely muttered but he was referring to Dylan who rendered Azelmek hopeless because of his impenetrable plan. Allen who was just beside him understood the underlying meaning of his words and responded in this manner, " Too formidable if you ask me." ... The representatives seven superpowers who just arrived already checked in to the newly made third floor of the building of Soaring Garden Herbal Store and the Soaring Diner. The quality of the seats here were the combination of the third and fourth floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House. The layout of the new floor was divided with 2 side sections and the middle section. The middle section is much fancier than the side sections because it provides greater view for the items and the happenings during the auction. The middle section was the part that was comparable to the designs of the 4th floor while 2 side sections were of the same rank as the 3rd floor of the auction house. All of them chose to take a seat on the middle section and paid 10 spirit stones because it is the same quality as the 4th floor. Similarly, the sidesections would require guests or customers to pay 1 spirit stones akin to the rate of the third floor. They were all satisfied with the accommodation provided but they were even more pleased when they heard Dylan''s announcement. "Hahaha, it appears that we have just arrived just at the right moment!" The third elder of the Thunder Clan who had the title of Thunder Punisher, Romero Thunder merrily spoke. He appeared to be a cheerful and amiable big guy who is open yo make friends. "The reports that the Clan Leader told us with is really true. This auction is overly peculiar. Placing top tier treasures so early in an auction. How bizzare." The seventh elder of the Thunder Clan, Dorin Thunder said while fondling his chin. He was slightly smaller in comparison to Romero but he was still pretty buff in size. He always had this irritated look on his face as though he is ready to blow up any time. "Hahaha, do not overthink it too much, Dorin. The important thing is it is an event that auctions treasures which are extremely valuable and the two of us were sent here to get it. It is as simple as that!" Romero leisurely said while patting Dorin on the back. He had a straightforward personality and does not like to over complicate things. He freely voices out his likes and dislikes and if someone comits evil, he will decisively strike him down. Thus, earning him the moniker Thunder Punisher. "What a simpleton you are." Dorin smiled while shaking his head. "Hahaha, I do get that a lot." Romero even acknowledged what was clearly an insult. "Well, it is your most redeeming quality. Anyways, we have a total of 8,000 spirit stones and our objective is to seize all the high rank herbs we can as much as possible." Dorin praised Romero. "That is the mission." Romero added. ... "It is a good thing that this Dylan Ford arranged it like this or else this would have been a wasted trip." Vice Head Garet the Elephant, the 8th foot tall giant annoyingly spoke. "So, he is the one that caught the attention of the Headmaster." The long bearded elder accompanying Garet mentioned. "Yes, it seems that he is far more capable than we thought. Attracting 9 of the 10 super sects of the city to congregate here. His audacity is something commendable if I would say so myself." A black-skinned bald elder with a thick beard commented. "Indeed. If only the people present is at one thousand five hundred participants and the items he has prepared reached 50 or 60 items, then this would have been a top tier auction." Vice Head Garet concurred. ... "I did not expect that I, would get to see a High Earth Rank herb today. The updates while we were on our way was a bit discouraging. So, I lowered my expectations but reality still proved otherwise." Cobra the Reaper, the sharp-looking white haired man with a pale complexion, sighed deeply. "I thought so too. The updates said that after the 6th item, the quality of the items for auction drastically dropped to Low Earth Ranks. When we arrived, the auction for the 11th item, Groundsplitter, just finished. It was significantly more valuable than the others. Even I was slightly tempted to get it because it is just the suitable weapon for one of my disciples." One of the elders of the Cloud Serpent Sect that came with Cobra said. "But, now, a treasure of this level is presented to us. Which is why we must do our best to seize it!" Another elder said. ... "What an interesting kid he is." An autumn orange-haired temptress with a ridiculously voluptuous body chuckled with an amused smile as she looked at Dylan. She was the Savage Lion Sect''s third strongest disciple, Lioness of Combat, Veronica Vlad . "I told you to wear your veil! You are attracting unwarranted attention!" A 7 feet- tall man akin to a giant reprimanded the remarkable beauty. "I know, I know. You don''t have to be such a worrywart, uncle." The beauty rolled her eyes and put on her veil. "Ugh, what should I do with you? Why did you insist coming here in the first place?" The man shook her head. "Something tells me a treasure beneficial to me will appear here." Veronica took a sip from the Gardenford Tea served. She let out a praise after tasting the tea, "Good tea." "Where on earth did you get this idea from?" Her uncle frowned. "My intuition." Despite being covered by the veil, a sillouhette of a beautiful smile that could strike the hearts of a thousand men could be seen. "Uh... Fine. Do what you want." The large men could do nothing but shake his head helplessly. "She really looks like a goddess." "How can someone be that hot and sexy!" "If I have the opportunity to marry her and hold her in my arms, then I would gladly die a thousand deaths." Her beautiful smile attracted all the gazes of men in her surroundings. But along with this attraction, the emotion of fear crept onto their minds as they were reminded of the news about this woman. who mercilessly kills anyone who offends her. "You better stop your daydreaming. You''re only toads lusting for swan meat. Just her status alone deems all of us unworthy, not to mentiin the overwhelming strength she has." "That''s right. I heard she kills anyone who looks at her with lecherous intentions!" "Really?" "No wonder she placed 2nd of the 10 Fairies of the entire Mystic Red Cloud State! She is not only devastatingly beautiful, I heard she also recently reached Mortal Moulting Realm at the tender age of 22!" "No way! She is only 22 yet she is already the third strongest disciple of her sect?! Does that mean she is a supreme talent like Victor Thunder?" "Definitely, she is just a little bit older but her strength already is that level because like Victor Thunder, she is also a ''Realm-Jumper''!" "Amazing..." They gasped in amazement ... "Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the second High Earth Rank herb of the auction, the Cleansing Origin Vines!" Dylan revealed while a petite and cute doll-like girl named Elaine opened a chest that revealed the Cleansing Origin Vines. The coiled emerald green vines had buds that gold crystalline light from different locations. The spirit energy around the area appeared to be thinning but there were miniscule origin energy that appeared out of nowhere. It somehow converted the spirit energy around them to pure origin energy. ... "It actually appeared here?!" The Thundercloud Army Captain quickly reacted as soon as he saw the herb. He had the expression of disbelief while he was staring at that herb. ... "What a fortune! To think, we would be able to see this herb here! We must gain it no matter what!" An ugly looking petite girl who was part of the Seven Thunderblades of Thunderstrike Hunter guild spoke. "You are right about that, Jena! This herb is a must get for any cultivator who is still at the Origin Palace Realm!" A tall man with an exceedingly long hair agreed to what the girl said.He was Nick Williams, also a member of the Seven Thunderblades. ... "You may have already observed the phenomenon that it just caused. It could turn Spirit Energy into Origin Energy. But another one of its uses is that it could help purify your origin energy thereby, improving the quality and the strength of your Origin Energy. Improving the quality of your Origin Energy also makes cultivation easier so for those who are currently stuck at their respective levels with this herb you will be able to grow stronger once more! Another interesting use for this herb id that it could be used in any level or realm within the Origin Palace Realm!" Dylan explained the function that the Cleansing Origin Vines entails. ... Hearing the details of this herb caused an uproar within the participants! All the rich nobles all started shouting and screaming! "I need to get it! This miracle herb will be mine!!" A prodigal plump Tier 3 nobleman shouted vigorously. "That herb is mine even if I have to give my entire life savings!" A forty year old Tier 4 noblewoman roared in desperation. "With this herb, I can finally reach the Palace Establisment Stage! I will put my entire fortune for this!" A sectmaster of a power at the top 500 scowled and started calculating his wealth. "Sadly, I have already crossed the Origin Palace Realm but I will still bid. I can still give it to my little sister as a present." Veronica was somewhat disappointed because the herb was of no use for her but she still decided to bid for her little sister. ... "What a treasure! Clan Head was right treasures will really appear in this auction!" Romero Thunder was astounded when the vine was shown. "Indeed! Per the instructions of the Head, we must get this herb! If we get this herb, then the Young Master Gil will be able to quickly catch up to Young Master Victor''s brilliance!" Regardless of the cost, Delir Thunder was determined to get the herb for it will be greatly beneficial for the future of Gil Thunder! ... "The heavens are really on our side!" An elder of the Alchemy Academy said while looking at Asiel. "To think this herb would actually appear, acquiring this herb means having the cahnce to create that pill!" The Grand Elder was also keen in getting the herb for their Alchemy Academy. " It seems like Dylan Ford does not know the greatest function of the Origin Cleansing Herb! Even if the price raises up to 2000 spirit stones, it will still be worth it! If we get it, the rise of our Alchemy Academy to the first spot will be guarenteed! We need to have it!" Asiel had a look of anticipation on his face. It was as if he had already won! "Yes. That Dylan Ford is really an ignorant idiot for not-" The elder could not finish his sentence because he was interrupted by Dylan''s voice. "Everyone, calm down. That is not all the benefits that the herb has to offer! The best function has yet to be revealed. Alchemists naturally know this hidden benefit." But contrary to what they thought, Dylan actually knew what function they were referring to. Dylan even purposefully paused to glance at Asiel''s direction and smiled. "No! It couldn''t be..." Asiel had a bad feeling about that look. His face became pale as he provessed what was currently happening "Really? It has a hidden function?!" The crowd was subtly shocked. They did not expect this development. "The Cleansing Origin Herb can actually be used as a substitute for a certain Mid Earth Rank Pill. It is even a rather popular pill. It is called Origin Pillar Forming Pill! When this substitution is done, the pill breaks through to the apex of High Earth Rank Pill almost entering the Heaven Rank and it becomes the Twin Origin Creation Pill! The pill that could enable a person to create another Origin Palace!!" Dylan revealed publicly "WHAAAAAAT?!?" The entire crowd was dumbfounded. They never thought a pill like that actually exist. 137 Chapter 137: Twin Origin Creation Pill Majority was shocked by this sudden revelation. A herb that could give someone an extra Origin Palace?! The idea was nearly absurd! Even nobles from top-tier sects like Brock Stone, Daniela Hills or Isaac Fleetwood did not know about this certain piece of information. "Do you know anything pertaining this pill?" All three asked their respective elders but unfortunately, they were met with a disappointing , "No." "How about you two?" Daniela took the initiative and asked the other two. "I know about the Pillar Forming Pill but I don''t know anything regarding this Twin Origin Creation Pill. To think it could actually help you gain another palace. It has been my dream to get two palaces and create a Palace King for myself. Then, I could sweep the entire generation beneath my feet!" Brock responded. Isaac was silent for a while before agreeing with what Brock said. " We are on the same page. I know about the former but not about the latter. If I had a Palace King, I would be able to crush you both easily even if you fought me together!" ... "Damn that Dylan Ford! He actually knew!!" Asiel''s expression was livid. He did not expect that Dylan would know the secret regarding the herb. Originally, the herb would have only cost 140 spirit stones as it''s minimum price but with this information, the value of the herb just doubled! "That sly bastard!" The Grand Elder beside Asiel also cursed Dylan. "What should we do now?" The elder sitting with them nervously said. Now, that every participant knows, more people would become even more invested in this item and try to get it with their all resources available! "What else? We''ll have to bid extensively get that herb! It must fall into our hands!" The Grand Elder responded with a determined look. ... "How amusing." Veronica chuckled sweetly. " This pill is only intended for people with mediocre talent. Creating another Origin Palace on your own is what makes a person a true genius." "Hmph, you think everyone are monsters like you who could create 3 Origin Palaces? This pill gives these people the chance to evolve and become a genius. Don''t compare everyone to yourself because you are a supreme genius of this generation even the Four Saints of the Magnate Tower praised you! If only you would have accepted Sword Saint''s proposal, our sect would have long become the strongest of the city and your father would have been dubbed as the city lord and not Zachary!" His uncle harrumphed. "Uncle, I know. Please stop repeating this nonsense again. I am going to repeat this for the nth time! I will get to decide the man I marry! Not you or even father, could do anything about it! " Veronica was enraged when she heard this topic again. "Veronica!" The uncle stood up and wanted to scold Veronica. "Enough, Uncle! Also, don''t even think about using my sister as a substitute or I will leave with her and never come back! Focus at the mission not on some engagement that''s never going to happen!" Instead, Veronica was the one who scolded her uncle. "We''ll talk about this later when we get home." The Uncle conceded after furiously looking at Veronica''s face. "Huuu." Veronica softly sighed. A face of melancholy was hidden under the veil that covered her beautiful face. ... Recovering from the shock, many tried to ask Dylan for clarifications regarding this shocking information. They wanted to confirm whether it was a fallacy or a fact. "Is this information true?" A tall nobleman asked him first. "Yes. If you wish, you could find a book written by Alchemist Sage Turner entitled ''A Record of Earth Rank Pills''. You may find the content you are searching for of Chapter 3 page 237 at the second paragraph which has an illustration of the Cleansing Origin Vines and below it is also an illustration of the Twin Origin Creation Pill. " Dylan came prepared with an instant reply. ... "Hallmaster, I think... that the book he mentioned was one of the books he borrowed from us three days ago." Sheldon suddenly realized something. "I remember him wanting to borrow some books. Are you sure?" Azelmek asked. "Yes. I was there when he was picking out books. He picked out tens of books regarding techniques, weapons, alchemy and high-ranking herbs. I asked him what it was for but he simply smiled and never replied. It seems like he wanted to know every information he could find that were related with the items he has for auction!" Sheldon recalled how Dylan carried a ridiculous amount of thick books. "This young man actually went through such lengths to gather information. His dedication for his work is really admirable." Azelmek was pleasantly surprised when he discovered the extents that Dylan went through to prepare for this day. "I think so too. He was even diligent enough to secretly ask for some guidance on my free time when you specifically and strictly told him that he is forbidden to train because the soul attack you induced might resurface again." Allen disclosed. "Really? Damn it. I told him on the letter to take it easy and rest. Why does he have to be such a workaholic? Hmph, I''ll teach him a thong or two once I meet him for his training." Azelmek produced an angry look but eventually he smiled thinking how diligent his disciple was. "I truly am lucky to have a disciple like him." Azelmek spoke straight from the heart. He turned to Sheldon and said, " Tell him that he could keep the books of he wants to." "But, Hallmaster, he already returned it two days after. He said that he read and memorized everything already so he had not more use for it even if he kept it." Sheldon wryly smiled as he paraphrased what Dylan said to him that day. "Huh~ Oh, I forgot that that little monster is an X-Grade Magna Magnate with photographic memory." The fact that Dylan was an X-grade Magna Magnate slipped out of Azelmek''s mind. "I guess we will just have to watch how his auction will enfold." Azelmek said. "Yes, sir." Allen and Sheldon smilingly replied. ... "Can you explain to us how this miraculous pill works?" Another noble asked. "A necessity for this formation is the Origin Energy, transmuted from spirit energy during Origin Transmutation. It is used to create the Origin Base and 10 Origin Pillars during Origin Foundation. The Origin Base and Origin Pillars are then connected to each other in order to create the Origin Palace during Palace Formation. In Palace Establishment, the Avatar is then incubated in the Origin Palace and transform it into the Palace Guardian. This is what is passed down since the time of their ancient ancestors, right?" Dylan asked the crowd. "Yes, this is common knowldege. But how is this related with the question earlier?" The noble who asked impatiently said. "It is every bit related. According to the system of the Origin Palace Realm, a person needs a vast amount of Origin Energy in order to complete the formation of the Origin Palace. Thus, we can say that the creation of an entire Origin Palace requires a certain large amount of Origin Energy." Dylan deductively reasoned out. "Yeah." The crowd nodded. "Since there is a certain amount of Origin Energy needed to create one palace, we could say that as long as we have twice the amount of energy, we could also create two Origin Palaces! This was the principle the Alchemy Sage followed to create this heaven defying pill!" Dylan continued with a shocking deduction. "That means the pill could..." The crowd now understood what Dylan was meaning to say. "Indeed. The Twin Origin Creation Pill supplies excessive amounts of Origin Energy which is enough to create yet another set of Origin Base and Origin Pillars! Once this new Origin Palace is constructed, the Palace Guardian would have another opportunity to evolve and become a Palace King!" Dylan answered with another shocking fact. "A Palace King..." Almost everyone could hardly comprehend what was going on. But they knew if they got the herb, they would be able to rise to prominence! Dylan had a certain piece of information that he did not disclose because he knew it will affect his sales greatly. It is true that the Twin Origin Creation Pill would supply more than twice the amount of energy needed to create Origin Palces. However, the capacity of the spirit core of a human varies but normal spirit cores are incapable of storing such a monstrous amount of origin energy. If a person is able to successfully get someone to refine this pill, the next predicament is the refinement of the energy within. Some rare geniuses could create another Origin Palace even without the aid of the Twin Origin Creation Pill. The quality of their spirit cores are vastly superior than the normal ones while there are others who have great affinity with energy that they are able to collect enough energy for the creation of their Origin Palaces. In the past, there were even geniuses who could create three Origin Palaces and make their avatars evolve to a Palace Emperor! The craziest legend was about a person who was able to form 4 avatars and breeded a Palace Ancestor! ''I was excited at first when I discovered this but then, I remembered that I possess the Supreme Core. I wonder how many palaces I could make since my Supreme Core is equivalent to 20 normal spirit cores.'' Dylan wondered. But since his Supreme Core is a vastly superior grade of spirit core, does that mean he could also create 3 or even 4 Origin Palaces! ... "The pill is mine!!" A crazed man suddenly screamed out. Hearing the wondrous effects of the herb, he lost control to his greed. He wanted to seize the treasure. "No, it is mine!!" Another shoved off that man and screamed. "You think you deserve such treasure! Die!" A barbaric man stood up and started beating up the two guys who started the fight. "Gentlemen, calm down. Let us settle this in a calm and peaceful manner." Dylan said to everyone. His voice contained a warm and serene vibe that allowed the onlookers to calm down. "Much better. Although I have stated information about the pill, I don''t really have the pill with me. However, the ingredients for the refinement of the Pillar Forming Pill is relatively easy to find as it could be bought on any herbal store within the city as long as you have a budget of 10 spirit stones. Since I am kind to everyone, I will let you in on a sweet deal. Whoever gets his hands on this herb will get a 50% discount if her buys the ingredients at my store." Dylan cunningly used this oppourtunity to advertise his store. The crowd rejoiced when they heard Dylan''s gallant offer. "Really?! That''s an amazing deal!" A middle aged man said. "Then, once I get a hold of this herb, I will surely buy from your store!" A thundercloud captain promised. "Me too!" A hunter seconded. "Me three!" A noble repeated the motion. ... "I feel sorry for these guys. It seems like they completely forgot that nine og the Top Ten Sects of the Thunder Clouds City''s Sect Ranking are also participating with the auction." Tom felt sorry for these greed-driven people who thought they could get the herb. "Yup, it is a little bit sad. They would be really dosheartened once they realized that from the start they really did not have the chance. "Hahaha, let them be. They will be the ones to raise the bid non-stop once the auction starts. Technically, the sects are actually helping them. If one of them really acquired the herb, they woulf be either bankrupt or killed by other who will try to get the herb. But, this happenstance won''t happen if the nine supersects get the herb." Roland logically explained. "He''s right. It is better this way. We get to earn a lot of money without anyone trying to kill each other." Larry agreed. ... " I assume that everyone is already waiting to for the bidding to start. Without further ado, the auction for the Cleansing Origin Vinesis now open with an opening price of 250 spirit stones!" Dylan quickly announced. The crowd was unsurprised with what they heard. Actually, they were expecting a bit more but Dylan intentionally lowered the price in order to build tension and momentum for these frenzied people. "250 spirit stones!!" A sectmaster of a low ranked power started the bid with a loud shout! "252!" A thundercloud captain was the first to raise the bid shouting in a similar fashion as the prior one. "I bid 255!!" A clan head of a middle ranked power also decided to join the fight! "Two hundred fifty six spirit stones!" A fat lord called out. "Two hundred fifty nine!!" A lady wearing an expensive dress shouted loudly too. "Two hundred sixty two spirit stones!!!" A hairy and bulky hunter roared. "Two hundred sixty three." The grey cloaked personnwho always raises by only 1 spirit stones also joined in. .... ''It has been so long... It feels so good to earn a large amount of money.''Dylan''s smile was even more brilliant than before as he was calling out the people who were raising there bids. 138 Chapter 138: The Brown-Cloaked Person The bidding for the treasure, Cleansing Origin Vines, became even more heated as more people raised their bidding panels to join the fray. The 9 superpowers has yet make a move yet the price has already skyrocketed to 412 spirit stones in just one minute! There were about a dozen people who were constantly bidding for the herb. The endless increase of the bidding was brought for by power of the Top 200. This includes powers like the Quadra Fang Sect, Firebull School, Charon Clan and Steelheart Sect! Arman and his company were constantly placing bids one after the other. "416 spirit stones!" A sectmaster of a Top 600 power roared and went all in! But, Okemos Charon easily raised the bid which made him lose the chance to compete with everybody. " Four hundred nineteen spirit stones." "Damn you, Okemos!" The sectmaster coldly barked. He was a relatively short and accompanied with her old appearance, he looked quite senile. "I apologize. I just want to get this herb for the development of my eldest disciple." Okemos quickly replied. "Grrrr! Four hundred twenty one spirit stones!" The sectmaster was very stalwart and forced himself to increase the bid once more. He planned on selling Earth Rank Weapons to Dylan if ever he got the herb. "That''s the spirit! Let''s see you beat FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY!!" Steven Bulwark provoked the sectmaster. "Steven!! You too?! Are you messing with me? I''ll show you! Four hundred thrity three!!" That sectmaster once again stated a bid. "Four hundred thirty three spirit stones." A brown cloaked person suddenly stated a bid out of nowhere. He was sitting on the back row seat of the second floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House. "Shit! Another one just joined!" The expression of the sectmaster turned livid. With some difficulty, he growled with a hoarse voice, " Four hundred thirty five spirit stones!" "What is the matter, old man? Already out of money? Hahaha. I raise it to Four hundred forty spirit stones!" A 6''9 tall brown skinned man with muscles that seemes to be bursting out of his arms. He was apparently a squad leader of middle ranked Hunter Guild. "Four hundred forty one spirit stones." The brown cloaked person raised the bid by one again. The grey cloaked person who had been silent ever since the bid went past 350 finally spoke, " Four hundred forty two." "You...!" The short sectmaster'' face twisted when he heard the taunt of that tall man. He fell for the taunt and blurted out his final price while he stood. "FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY SPIRIT STONES!" Suddenly, a voice resounded, " Four hundred firty five spirit stones." The old man knees weakened and fell to the ground. "Who...?" He turned around to look only to see that Arman Heinze was the one who out-bid him. "It is okay, old man. Better luck next time." Arman smirked while drank his wine. "I... can''t compete anymore..." The old man helplessly admitted his defeat. He tried to push it way past his budget but his fate was the same as those people who he just went passed when he was carelessly bidding earlier. He now understood what it felt like to be passed by. "Don''t forget about me! Four hundred fifty seven!" The tall squad leader bidded once more and triumphantly looked down at the person he just passed through. "I just really wanted to cultivate more... I don''t want to die yet..." The old man cried helplessly because he knew that his life was nearing its'' end. Like him, there are also other cultivators that wanted the herb so that they would be able to breakthrough and extend their lifespans. Some wanted to use it to become extremely strong and turn into a genius. However, reality was cruel to them because of their lack of resources and power. ... ''I once felt like that..." Dylan saw his face and his cries, not only him but also other people who despaired due to their depleting lifeforce or those who lost the chance to become stronger. Like them, he also had a rude and horrendous awakening. But Dylan knew, it was up to them if they were to continue to despair and dwell on the past or they would choose to move forward like him and struggle to break free from the chains of fate. ''I will never become weak ever again! For myself and my family!'' He vowed in his heart. Seeing them made him sharpen his resolve to become stronger! He would do everything he can in order to safeguard his family from whatever harm that they may encounter in future. ... "Four hundred fifty nine!" A middle aged blonde noble lady who was a clan head of a newly risen Grand Clan. "Four hundred sixty spirit stones." The grey cloaked person intervened once more. "Four hundred sixty two spirit stones!" A lanky elder of a a power that belongs to the Top 300 of the city rankings raised the bid. He was gritting his teeth as the price went nearer to the end of his wealth. "Tsk, Four hundred sixty five!!" The tall hunting squad leader strongly said. "Four hundred sixty nine spirit stones!" Yander Cooper of the Steelheart Sect also placed a bid. ... Just like that, the bidding continued until 500 spirit stones without Dylan interfering. Dylan was calmly watching the crowd and he turned to look at the fourth floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House. ''I think it would be time for those three to interfere now if they want to create a lasting impression.'' When the bidding reached 510 gold coins, it went out like what Dylan thought. Isaac Fleetwood joined the fray and raised it to a really dramatic degree! "I raise the bid to... 600 spirit stones!" "This... this..." The middle-aged blonde lady stuttered. She did not expect that the price would suddenly rise out of her price range. "Oh no, I can''t bid anymore!" The lanky elder was similarly slack-jawed. In an instant, it surpassed the boundaries of his wealth. "This can''t be! Ugh... I give up." The tall brown skinned squad leader could not accept the outcome as it is which lead him to give up this item. Due to this meteoric rise in the price, most competitors were unable to keep up with the price range. Hence, they unwillingly withdrew from the competition. "Hmph, you think I would lose to you brat? Six hundred twenty spirit stones!" Steven Bulwark indicated that he was still in the game. "Heh, you still have milk on your mouth, kid! Six hundred forty spirt stones!" Yander Cooper also implied the same thing that Steven was tring to imply. "You think you can get all the spolptlight for yourself, Isaac. Take this. 700 spirit stones!!" Brock also made the price dramtically rise once more! "Damn, spoiled brats! Seven hundred thirty spirit stones!!" Okemos did not back down as well and kept on bidding. "You are still a hundred years too early to compete with us! Seven hundred sixty spirit stones!!" Arman roared a raise. "Hmph, ignorant old men. Eight hundred fifty spirit stones!" Daniela was the one who raised the bid exponentially this time. "The fuck?! How come they have so much wealth?!" The four brother was dumbfounded when these young masters and young mistresses fully display their wealth! It was not only them. The onlookers were also shocked by how much money these three were spending. They then felt envy over their status in life because of they had their status, they would be able to live comfortably and almost not worry about money at all. What they did not know is that the emmisaries that Daniela, Borck and Isaac sent to their clans already came back! Not only that, they also brought approximately 1500 spirit stones each! Additionally, their respective emmisaries told them that the heads of each sect would send reinforcements to secure the herbs. Thus, these three were undaunted when competing with money. "Che, I will not give up that easily! Eight hundred sixty five spirit stones!" Steven still insisted to compete with these three. "Settle down, Steven. This is beyond us already! The ones you are competing with are top geniuses from the Top 20 sects. Their status entails that their pocket money is in whole new other level than our life savings!" Okemos rationally persuaded. " Is that so? How about nine hundred fifty spirit stones!" Brock increased the amount by an entire hundred spirit stones!! "This is madness!" The crowd commented. "The herb is mine! Nine hundred seventy five spirit stones!!" Yander was also really determined to get the Cleansing Origin Vines. "Brother Yander, calm down! Do not let your greed get the best of you! Give it up! There are still plenty other items in the auction that you might be able to get! You just need to wait for it!" Arman also reasonably convinced Yander to concede. "Old fools who does not know their place. I bid one thousand and fifty spirit stones!" The disdain in Isaac''s eyes were apparent. He was clearly looking down at the four as though they were not his match. ... "You!! I''ll destroy your smug face!" "I''ll kill that brat myself!" Yander and Steven almost exploded but they were stopped by Okemos and Arman. "Calm down, brothers! You would only be courting death if you let your anger take over! Their lives are not worth it! Think about your disciples and family!" Okamos persuaded them while trying to prevent them from flying out. "Huuu...."After a while, they were eventually able to calm down and let out a mouthful of air. "You are right, brother Okemos. He is not worth it." Steven who had a fiery temper cooled down but he still gave Isaac a cold stare. "Thank you for stopping us." Yander also restrained himself. "It''s alright. Just compose yourselves, we will eventually get the items that we want." Arman said. "Right." Steven and Yander responded with a nod. ... "Is that al you''ve got, Isaac? One thousand one hundred!" Brock taunted. "One thousand one hundred fifty." Isaac Fleetwood flatly replied. "Typical boys..." Daniela whispered under her breath before loudly bidding! "One thousand two hundred spirit stones." "One thousand two hundred one." The brown cloaked person suprised the crowd when he raised the bid. "Just who is that person?" "How could someone have that much money!" "Tsk, another nobody. Let''s see if you much you can bid! One thousand two hundred fifty!" Brock coldly snorted "One thousand two hundred fifty-one." Another calm reply from the brown cloaked person. ''First, it was that person who wore that thick grey colored cloak. Now, this?'' Isaac inwardly thought. He was uncertain how much wealth this person has so he decided to probe by raising the bid. "One thousand two hundred eighty." But the same thing also happened as the brown cloaked person replied. " One thousand two hundred eighty one." "One thousand three hundred!" Brock loudly said. "Hey, bratty girl, Why aren''t you bidding anymore?" Brock asked after bidding. "Because the price has already surpassed the velue of the herb, you moron." Daniela coldly insulted. "What did you say?!" Brock was enraged when he heard that. "..." But he was coldly ignored. "Why, you!! Fuck it! I should not have even asked!" Brock angrily snorted. ... The bidding between the grey cloaked person, Brock, and Isaac continued. The rate by which it increased whitlptked down from twenty to ten and from ten to five. The crowd was shocked that this mysterious person could still calmly vote. They even thought that he may truly have a ridiculous amount of wealth! Everything proceeded in the same manner Until the price reached 1680 spirit stones... "One thousand six hundred eighty!" Brock was gritting his teeth because despite bidding nonstop. The brown cloaked person has yet to give up. Even Isaac was so annoyed with the brown cloaked that he gave up when the bid went past 1650. ''Damn it, is he toying with me?!'' "One thousand six hundred eighty one." The same manner of reply followed. "It''s time to end this. It has already become boring. I know that all of you were waiting for someone to take the first move. So let me be the one to start it. I bid one thousand seven hundred." Romero Thunder could no longer handle waiting so he decided to do it. ''Fuck, I give up. It''s your time to be annoyed with this cloak wearing bastard, Thunder Punisher!'' Brock evilly thought to himself. But what he was expecting did not happen. When he looked at the direction where the brown cloaked person was, he was no longer there! "Where in the fucking hell did that bastard go!?!" Brock''s vein in his forehead became apparent due to his anger. 139 Chapter 139: Astronomical Price While Brock was flaming on about the brown cloaked person''s disappearance, the bidding started to heat up. "Since you decided to break the ice, it would be impolite if we did not respond. I bid One thousand seven hundred fifty spirit stones!" Vice Head Garet spoke in a deep voice. "That''s it, Brother Garet! One thousand eight hundred spirit stones!" Romero deeply chortled. "How about letting me join the fun? One thousand eight hundred fifty spirit stones!" Thundercloud Army Captain Kyrie also joined. "There you go! But I won''t lose that easily hahaha! One thousand nine hundred!" Romero was widely smiling as he raised the bid by fifty stones like it was nothing. It even seemed that he was having fun spending money. "Well said, Brother Romero. One thousand nine hundred fifty spirit stones!" Vice Head Garet voted another bid. "Two thousand spirit stones!" The tall Nick Williams who was part of the Seven Thunderblades spoke as he raised his bidding panel. "Two thousand fifty spirit stones!" Another bidder shouted. Suprisingly, it was Sheldon of Premier Hall! ... As the price rose, the faces of the crowd was of horror. They never would have thought that these people could spend spirit stones like it was nothing. Most of all, the manner they rose the bid was fifty spirit stones! To commoners, that would have been a large amount already as they could already buy a house as big as Dylan''s Residence. "Their raising it by fifties!" A sectmaster that ranked 800+ was dismal as he continued to watch how this bidding war proceeds. "As expected of the top 10 sects that towers over 2000 sects, the way they handle spirit stones is just... depressing." A clan head of middle ranked noble clan looked depressed as he heard the price of the herb rise like there was no tomorrow. ... "I never thought that a herb could actually cost this much money." Daniela said with a shocked look on her face. "It is because it is a herb that could create a High Earth Rank Pill that could make another Origin Palace." The elder who accompanied her answered her. "I know that. But I mean isn''t two thousand spirit stones enough to buy a High Earth Rank Pill like Purifying Origin Pill which could make the Origin Palace twice as big? Won''t it yield the same result? Moreover, the fact that there is a high possibility of failure for alchemists who attempts to create such a high rank pill. It just seems impractical. " Daniela refuted. " You do have some point there. But you are mostly wrong." The elder replied. "Huh? Why is that?" Daniela frowned. She did not understand what was the fault of her argument. "Firstly, the effect of the Twin Origin Creation Pill and Purifying Origin Pill is different. The Purifying Origin Pill may enlarge the user''s energy reserves but it won''t make his/her Palace Guardian evolve into a Palace King." The elder compared the two pills first. "Why not? Isn''t the theory behind the Palace King about the amount of Origin Energy incubating it? Using this theory, if you pour in twice the amount of Origin Energy required to create a Palace Guardian, won''t it also result to the evolution of the Guardian?" Daniela rebutted. She was a learned individual so she has large array of information stored in her mind. "No, that theory is not entirely true." The elder smiled seeing how much Daniela thoroughly thought her arguments. "Really?" There was a trace of disbelief on her face when the elder said otherwise. "Yes. The proven theory behind the Avatar Evolution is the number of Origin Palaces a cultivator has. This is because an Origin Palace is an entity that can establish a slight connection with the worldly laws. By establishing a connection with this law, the Avatar could undergo evolution. With another Origin Palace, you establish another connection with the worldly laws thereby, giving another oppurtunity for evolution." The elder replied. "That''s right! How could I forget about the thin connection that could be formed during Origin Palace!" Daniela suddenly realized the faults of her arguments. "Secondly, you are underestimating the connections of these people. Almost all of them are people at the peak of Mortal Severing Realm. To reach this stage, they would most likely have connections to Alchemy Sage. For Alchemy Sages, refining a High Earth Rank Pill is as easy as breathing. You must know that an Alchemy Sage is someone who needs to concoct 3 Mid Heaven Rank Pills in front of a council of Alchemy Sages with one of the Alchemy Saints as its Head Examiner." The elder eloquently said. "I was too ignorant, First Elder." Daniela admitted defeat. "It is okay. Youngsters tend to make mistakes and it is the duty of old fogies like me to guide you." The First Elder wisely imparted. "I shall remember these words. Thank you for your guidance." Daniela gratefullt said. "Good." The First Elder smiled but he eventually looked at the 3rd floor of the Soaring Garden Main Building. "But, the real reason that these people are so invested in getting this herb to get the pill is for their main disciples to be able to easily traverse the Heavenly Connection Realm of Mortal Severing!" He revealed. "Heavenly Connection? Why would... Connection... No way! First Elder, do you mean to say that forming another Origin Palace increases survivability in the Mortal Severing Tribulations of the Heavenly Connection Realm?!" Daniela felt as though everything seemed clear now. "Indeed. Having multiple Origin Palace will greaty help you "surpass" that Mortal Severing Tribulation. That is why even if this herb''s price went 10 tomes its'' original price, it would still be worth it." The First Elder admitted. "Heavens, what kind of terrifying luck does this Dylan Ford posses in order to get that herb? Hmph, he must be jumping in joy right now." Daniela suddenly felt envious to Dylan once she learned the true worth of the herb. "True, he may have terrifying luck but what''s more terrifying is how calm he is despite the situation." The First Elder spoke with a solemn look on his face while his eyes focused at the wooden platform in the center. "You must be jesting. There is no way he could be... calm?" Daniela had a movking tone with her. Earning more than two thousand spirit for just one herb? Even she would be jumping in joy literally. But what she saw at the wooden platform was a man calmly drinking tea with a nonchallant smile on his face. "This guy! Isn''t he too nonchallant?!" For some reason, Daniela became agitated and grumpily said. "Nonchallant? No, if he was nonchallant, he would have never gotten a perfect score in the Noble Test. Rather, I think that it is confidence. Confidence in the amount of effort he exerted to succeed. Confidence to be calm no matter what the situation. He must have known these things like how he knew about the pill that even you did not know." The First Elder enigmatically stated. "Confidence?" Daniela was a bit lost but she knew that the First Elder would never lie to a fellow clansman because he possess the ability to see through what personality a person has. Knowing this, she felt trepidation towards Dylan because if what First Elder really accurate, then Dylan''s plans and strategies would be completely ingenius. ... The raise continued to rise until it reached 2300. Now, eight of the nine powers pf the Top 10 were participating for the herb. Constantly, every single one of the seventeen continued to bid.No one backed down even half a step until it reached 2500 spirit stones. "I bid Two thousand five hundred spirit stones!" Veronica daringly said. Though she did not show it, this was the last bid that she would raise. ''I just hope no one would raise it again. Just a little bit more, sis. Big sis has a huge present for you.'' She really did not want this herb but it was for his sister. She was confident enough that her sister would be able to create two but only has a slim chance of creating three. She wanted her sister to have the best because that is how much she loved her little sis. ... "It seems that we should give this up, Sir Cobra. There are still a lot more oppurtunities to seize some quality herbs." A skinny female with bright white complexion suggested. "You are right. I will give this one to them." Cobra easily agreed and conceded. With that, Cloud Serpent Sect withdrew yhemselves from the fight. ... "It has reached two thousand five hundred already. Let us stop bidding." Army Captain Hanz told his partner. "Are you sure? That herb would definitely help Lil'' Lance to become a whole lot stronger." Army Captain Kyrie was still undecided whether to give up or not. "I am. We are only at the twelfth item yet it is already this valuable. We''ll just need to be more patient and amass more spirit stones to bid with." Hanz comvinced his partner again. "You are right. We will just have to wait." Kyrie eventually agreed. ... "Brother Nick, it would be unwise to continue bidding any longer. We must save our spirit stones for the next items." Jason Slice was the third member of the Seven Thunderblades who came with Jena and Nick. He felt that it would be not worth to continue any longer. "You do have a point. We might as well save our spirit stones for the next ones." Nick agreed. ... "Hahaha, Sheldon, I did not expect you to bid before me." Azelmek cackled softly. "Well, I just thought of giving something like that as a gift for Dylan." Sheldon embarassingly said. "I know. But you should back out for now. If yu want to bid on something bid on the last 5 items." Azelmek suggested. "I will take your advice, then." Sheldon said approvingly. ... More than half of the 9 powers felt apprehension in going further as two thousand five hundred sporit stones was already their upper limit for this herb. They still needed to conserve their spirit stones for the next batch of items. Seeing that most of the competitors have already shown hesitation, Dylan decided to intervene because even though more than half chose to concede defeat, that did not necessarily mean that the other 4 would not bid any longer. "Is there someone who is still willing to bid for the herb? Two thousand six hundred going once!" Dylan was trying to whittle down the competitors for the winner to finally emerge. "I bid 2 thousand six hundred!" Vice Garet Head strongly said while thinking,''If someone will raise another bid, I will give up on this herb.'' "Two thousand six hundred going once!" Dylan probed once more. "TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FIFTY!" Romero roared. "Two thousand six hundred fifty going once! Two thousand six hundred fifty~" Dylan could not continue as another bid interjected. "Two thousand seven hundred spirit stones!" The Grand Elder of the Alchemy Academy personally voted this time. They had finally reached their limit price. "Two thousand seven hundred spirit stones going once!" Dylan calmly articulated. ... "Two thousa~blewp" Romero wanted to bid again but Dorin was the one who covered his mouth and stopped him. "You promised that was the last time. Keep your word." Dorin warned. "Huuu... fine."Romero said. At the same time, Dorin released him. ... "Going twice!" Dylan loudly spoke to be heard by everybody. He thought that it was already over until something unexpected occurs... "I bid two thousand eight hundred spirit stones." The representative of the Night Grand Clan, Fendour Night raised the bid. The quiet one suddenly decided to strike at the most critical moment. The crowd did not expect that the Night Grand Clan would suddenly bid out of nowhere. The shock rendered them looking like this -> "(¡ãO¡ã)" Even Dylan was somewhat caought off guard but eventually recovered, " Uhmm... Oh, Two thousand eight hundred going once!" "..." No response from anyone at all. "Going twice..." Dylan continued. "..." The same thing happened. ''Why is no one bidding?'' Dylan did not expect it to become so silent all of a sudden. He initially thought that it would be the Alchemy Academy or the Battlebeast School. He never expected that it would be the 10th ranker of the Sect Rankings, Night Grand Clan. "Sold to the Night Grand Clan!" Dylan announced with a faint smile but in truth, he never expected any of that to happen. 140 Chapter 140: Madman of the Nigh ''I don''t really get it. Why would they choose to concede? As far as I know, the Night Grand Clan is the weakest of the ten. They have the least number of Mortal Severing experts in their manpower. The only reason it was able to stand is because of the current patriarch of the clan whose strength was equal to the heads of the other 9.'' ''All the leaders of the Top 10 supersects are the almost the same in strength, the reason for the heirarchy was the difference in the quantity of geniuses in each sect and their owned properties and businesses. Why is that I could see apprehension in their eyes right now?" Most people may not be able to but Dylan was able to easily distinguish the emotions of a person through their eyes and body language. He saw how the eyes of Romero and Asiel dilated when the Night Grand Clan decided to crash the party. There was also momentary shocked expressions in every single one of the 8 supersects present that includes the Azelmek trio While Dylan was wondering why all eight supersects decided to concede, the eight were still shaken by the sudden interference of the Night Grand Clan. "Damn it! Why did it have to be them? They would rarely place a bid on something! But, Master told me if they were to bid, I must not compete with them!" Asiel crushed the glass of wine he was just drinking silently a while ago. "It is for the best. You would not want to offend the "Madman of the Night" because of a herb. It is stated that he won''t interefere in matter of the city but if he wants something, he will get it without any competition at all." The Grand Elder warned with a solemn look on his face. "But they are only at the bottom of the Top 10 while we are considered as one of the three monoliths of the city! Why is it that Master, the Academy Headmaster, holds that Madman of the Night so much when he could even fight evenly with Azelmek and Zachary?" Asiel growled in a low voice. "You are right. I should not be telling you this to anyone but since you are already the successor, you might as well know. Your master could indeed fight evenly with Hallmaster Azelmek and City Lord Zachary but "Madman of the Night" is someone who could even defeat all three of them at the same time!" The Grand Elder revealed in a low voice. "What?! That is impossible!!" Asiel never knew this matter. Hearing that his master, one of the strongest cultivators in the city, was actually defeated by someone when he was cooperating with Azelmek and Zachary?! It was inconcievable! "It is the truth. You must have heard of the battle for lordship 100 years ago, right?" The Grand Elder asked. "Yes. The results of that battle was a tie since all three were evenly matched." Asiel outrightly answered. "That was what the public knew. In reality, all 9 nine were dominated by a single person, Shadow Night, which the 9 leaders called the Madman of the Night." The Grand Elder disclosed. "It can''t be!" Asiel was still in the state of disbelief. He could not believe it. " Feeling powerless, your master along with Zachary and 7 others surrendered the title of City Lord but he did not want the City Lord title because he said had no talent in leading people and was better off seclided. He only said that he would leave the title to them and in exchange, when he wants certain items, no one will stop him or bar his path. That was his only condition." The Grand Elder continued. "I...If that is true, wouldn''t he and his descendants take what ever they wanted?! How are you sure that that elder is not using that promise as a pretext to get the herb that he wants? I have not heard anything of this case!" Asiel still could not bring himself to believe what he just heard. It seemed so ridiculous. Why would a man exchange lordship for some items? Couldn''t he just get them while he was also a City Lord?! "That is because that man is ruthless enough that he even beheaded or bisected those who tried to wantonly abuse his backing publicly or secretly and had the leaders close off any information regarding these matters. So if that man, did what you just said then you would never be able to see him ever again. After several incidences and executions, no one from his clan dared to do it again." The Grand Elder replied. "No way..." Shocked, Asiel still had a hard time processing everything. Other than Asiel, every single one of the representatives knew of this matter that was why they felt dread and fear everytime they encounter the Night Clan because they were lead by the strongest and most ruthless expert in the city! ... ''There''s no use worrying about it. What''s done is done. I already earned nearly three thousand spirit stones from zero capital. Hehehe. I''m just going to focus all my attention to the auction instead.'' Dylan decided to put the past behind him and focus on making money. ... The auction proceeded. The thirteenth item was a Mid Earth Rank treasure which was completely disregarded by the 9 powers that were present but were fought amongst men who had lower status or rankings. Each following Mid Earth Rank treasure was sold around 100- 350 spirit stones as they were of higher quality than Groundsplitter. They were all acquired by powers at the Top 200 rank. There was even one treasure that fell on Brock''s hands. "Sold for one hundred thirty nine spirit stones!" The final price of the thriteenth item was called out by Dylan. It was a Mid Earth Rank Herb called Three-leafed Healing Orange. Its'' effects enables a person to increase his recovery speed by 10% for three minutes. A high ranking hunter squad leader from the Thunderstrike guild bought the item after everyone withdrew. "Sold for one hundred sixty spirit stones!" The last bid for the fourteenth item. This item was another Mid Earth Rank Herb called Cold Nightbreeze Fruit which could heighten a person''s susceptibility to Cold by 50% and even raise a person''s cultivation by a stage. A woman who was apparently the sectmaster ofa sect called Icy Breeze Sect was the one one who obtained this item. "Sold for two hundred five spirit stones!" The last call for the fifteenth treasure. This herb was called the Iron Veined Leaves which would significantly person strengthen a person''s internal organs. "Sold for two hundred sixty nine spirit stones!" The sixteenth treasure ended with this as its'' final price. The Mid Earth Rank Herb, Burning Blood Fruit could make a person rise three whole stages using the fruit''s innate characteristic of burning half of one''s blood! Though there are no permanent damage of doing this, the entire process is said to be extremely painful. The person who obtained the item was Despite this fact, a lot of people still fought for the herb making its'' price rise up until it surpassed two hundred. The person who acquired it was the Firebull Schoolmaster, Steven Bulwark. "Sold for three hundred fifty three spirit stones!" Dylan ended the auction for the seventeenth treasure. The last herb for auction was called Rising Stone Roots which was capable of harnessing the power of the Earth to form Rock type Energy. But the most interesting effect it could offer was to raise the cultivator''s cultivation by an entire level! With such a miraculous effect, it was no wonder that the price reached such heightes but it was eventually acquired by Brock Stones of the Stone Edge Manor. ... "Oh my, the value of the items keeps on rising!" Someone spoke in astonishment. "We''re only halfway through yet the quality of the items has already reached a high class auction!" A friend of the person who just spoke shared. "Does that mean this auction has already approached the level of the Premier Hall''s monthly auctions?" A large red-skinned man with a long hair curiously raised a question. "Don''t be ridiculous, it is at most comparable to the Premier Hall''s weekly auction!" His female partner immediatly refuted. "I agree. Have you not heard that two weeks ago they auctioned a high earth rank herb and a pill that were complimentary with each other?! The value of the herb and the pill is the same as the 6th and 12th item of this auction respectively!" A orange haired man who was a regular customer of the Premier Sect. "Really? They were that valuable? Then what about their monthly auctions or their annual auctions?" The red skinned man gulped a mouthful of saliva. He does not usually go to auction houses due to his hunting schedules so it was only natural that he did not know. "Their monthly auctions? They auction 25 Mid Earth Rank treasures and 25 High Earth Rank treasures. As for their annual auctions? It is rumored that the last 10 items of the 60 items are always known to be Heaven Rank treasures!" The orange head replied. "Woah..." ... More people began to gossip as the auction continued... "There are a lot of people swarming around here now and it has barely been two hours since this auction started."A well-dressed person started another discussion elsewhere. "Did you not notice that this auction has already caught the attention of the Top 20 Sects! On the fourteenth item, there were five groups of people who entered the room!" A fat woman behind that person said. "What?" Theperson was startled. "Oh, I have noticed this too. On the fifteenth item, I noticed that all the Top 20 sects have converged in this venue! The Moonlight Paradise, Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Enchanted Gardens, and 7 others are all here!" A muscular man with a large bear belly said. "You''re right! I saw the Moonlight Beauty, Emilia Sparks just a while ago!" A scrawny lad spoke. "Me too!" A handsome man said. "I even saw the Spring Fairy!" The scrawny youth mentioned. "You mean Lady Anastasia?" The handsome man asked. "Who else?" The scrawny lad sarcastically said. "Where?" The large man interjected "They went to the 3rd floor of that building." The youth pointed. "They really are!" Their gazes saw that Emilia Sparks and Anastasia Spring were there at the left building. The Thousand Treasure Pavilion Head, Pill King and the other boss-level figures of the Top 20 along with their guards were also either at the left side or the right side. ... "For the eigteenth item, it was something given to us by a very important client. I paid a great deal of spirit stones just to get this treasure. I present to you the Origin Core of a Core Transformation Rank- Obsidian Scaled Crocodile!" Dylan opened the chest he got from Beverly. Within, a shiny black colored orb emanating strong origin energy enough to rival a Palace Formation expert or even someone at the Palace Establisment Realm! A Spirit Beast also has a spirit core similar to humans. Reaching Origin Realm, their spirit energy starts to transform into origin energy as their bodies also breaks thourgh to Origin Realm. After breaking through, they would need to devour other beasts to form their foundation. After which, their spirit cores would undergo Core Transformation and evolve to an Origin Core! They achieve this through the power of their bloodline which what they essentially rely on in order to grow stronger but it''s downside is that their peak is limited to their lineage''s power. "This power...!" This shocked the entire crowd! It was yet another High Earth Rank treasure! But what shocked them was the fact it was not a herb! Everyone thought that the top-tier treasures that would appear in this auction would only be herbs! Another fact was that there was actually a client who had negotiated with Dylan Ford! Why would someone hand over such a treasure to someone who has little reputation in the city? ... "It is authentic! A beast core that successfully transformed into an Origin Core!" Nick Williams who hails from a top hunter guild naturally knows how to verify an Origin Core of a beast! ... "With his strength, it would be really unbelievable if he killed a beast like that! It seems he has some rather strong connections..." Vice Head Garet contemplated. ... "It seems like the reports are true. His way of doing things are really eccentric." Pavillion Head Galick mumbled with an amused expression. ... On the fourth floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House... "It was probably given to him by Sir Null before he left." Sheldon commented with a surprised look. "Why didn''t I realize it sooner..." Azelmek stood up from his chair and had a complex expression with him as he said those words. "What do you mean, Hallmaster?" Allen did not expect Azelmek to suddenly stand without notice. "Is something wrong?" Sheldon asked. "No, it is just... I finally realized his line of thought! It seems like my earlier conjucture was only slightly off the mark." Azelmek shared his thoughts with his comrades. "Sir... it is alright...You don''t have to be so hard on yourself. " Sheldon shook his head, showing a face of pity. "Don''t push yourself, Hallmaster." Allen had a similar expression on his face. They really did not expect anything now because they have been arguing about this topic since the start of the auction. Sadly, they could not arrive with a reasonable answer. Seeing that Azelmek still has not given up, they could not help but have such expressions. "What..." Azelmek was stunned when he saw the pitiful gazes these two gave him. "It''s alright, sir. I understand that it is hard to believe that the wots of the child could outsmart you. You should even be happy that you have been blessed with a brilliant disciple. It''s okay." Sheldon also stood up and patted Azelmek''s back. He thought that it was only right to console him at this moment. "I think so too. You should just sit down and relax as you proudly watch your disciple''s success from afar, Hallmaster." Allen added. "Enough! Don''t treat me like a pitiful sore loser! I''m serious about what I said!" Azelmek felt insulted so he raised his voice. "Really?" The two was taken aback. It seemed like Azelmek is truly serious this time. ''Huu, good thing we set up a barrier as a precautionary measure.'' They inwardly let out a sigh of relief because it was a good thing that they created an invisible sound proof barrier as soon as they arrived at their seats. "You don''t have to believe me. I already lost the mood to tell you anyways." Azelmek calmly said but there was a hint of coldness in his tone. He was still a bit angry, comsidering how he was treated. "We''re sorry, sir. It''s just we thought you were only jesting. You did say you gave up already a while ago." Sheldon apologized. "Err..." Azelmek forgot that he did say those words so he coughed and replied, " Ahem, since you apologized, I''ll just froget about it." "Hallmaster, you said that you figured it out. So do you know why he arranged his items like this?" Allen asked. "Indeed. He arranged his top tier treasures like this for two reasons. One, to attract, not only the Top 10 sects, but the all of the Top 20 sects. Second, to give time to prepare for the final items of this auction!" Azelmek revealed. 141 Chapter 141: Decode "What do you mean give them time to prepare for the final items?" Sheldon asked with a conflicted mind. "Can you please elaborate further?" Allen spoke in an inquisitive mannner. "The 6th and 12th items are the "attraction" Dylan set up in order to lure out the Top 20 powers. Frankly, he could have done it using just the sixth item but he purposefully added the 12th item as a precaution." Azelmek answered. "I get it but why would he? Is there really any need for him to set it up? Just the sixth item alone could have attracted the Top 20." Allen questioned. "No, that''s not it. He needed the 12th item in order to continue the "attraction". Revealing another top tier treasure would leave the buyers anticipating for more while at the same time hinting that there is more to come. It is an assurance that he does not only possess one top tier treasure but also more." Sheldon was starting to realize what Azelmek was trying to point out. "As expected from you Sheldon, you are excactly on point. But that is not all there is to the arrangement." Azelmek solemnly said after he praise Sheldon. "What else is there?" Sheldon could not think of any more answers. "It is to create a pattern." Azelmek uttered slowly. "Pattern? For what purpose?" Allen raised his brows hearing this. "Yes, a pattern. He arranged the top tier items into a fixed interval. The appearance of the 18th item supported this conjecture of mine. I am sure he has already taken into account that the members of the 20 would notice this pattern on the 18th item. This pattern leaves behind a clue that the 24th and the 30th item might be items that are more valuable than regular High Earth Rank treasures." Azelmek explained. "You mean to say that this intervals are connected with the time he has given the powers to prepare money for the 24th item and 30th item? Wait- no- rather, this interval is the time given to them to prepare for this items!!" Allen realized where Azelmek was going with his explanation and was shocked by this. "That is indeed the case." Azelmek nodded with his eyes close. "Amazing! To think that a person could lay out such a meticulous plan in an auction!" Allen could not help but praise the intricacy of Dylan''s Plans. "I agree! His talent for business is truly terrifying!" Sheldon also praised after being enlightened. However, there was issue that bugging him, "But what about the 21st item to the 29th item? They have to be at least at the High Earth Rank level to support this and create the tension of the buyers." "Right! If he could not provide this quality goods, the effectability of his strategy would drop considerably." Allen realized this flaw too. "That is true. The answer to this lies on the number of items auctioned." Azelmek mysteriously said. "How?" Sheldon frowned for he could not understand what was Azelmek''s point. "Normally, an auction is classified as small class, middle class, high class and even top class. A small class auction usually has 10 items, a middle class has 20-25 items, a high class has 40-50 items while a top class had above 80 items. Why do you think was his purpose to situate the number of items between the typical number that middle class and high class has? Why would he auction top tier treasures in a middle class auction?" Azelmek asked. "!!" Allen and Shledon gasped with shocked expressions! It was indeed so! It did not make any sense. Knowing Dylan, he should know the norms of an auction. So why would he do something like this? "For this, I cannot truly provide a definite answer but I think that I can interprete this as his way to indicate that though the number of his items are closer to a middle class auction, the quality of his goods is high class! The only clue that I have so far that would support this claim would be the steady increase of the value of the items auctioned." Azelmek deduced. "Incredible. To think that there would be such deep meaning behind a small detail. Such a well-thought plan." Sheldon spoke awestruck. "This level of meticulous planning is... outstanding! I could not help but admire this young man for such planning could not be actualized without investing a lot of hard work and effort!" Allen nodded repeatedly. Dylan''s image in his mind improved by several times due to this. ... The 18 other groups have also started to realize the profound planning and meaning behind Dylan''s plans. "To think that he could have created and implemented such an amazing plan. Hihi, he suddenly seem more pleasing to the eyes." Veronica Vlad said to her self. ... "What a terrifying talent for business! To execute such a well-thought scheme, not only does he need to consider an endless array of possibilities, confidence with oneself is also needed. To stay calm, despite the possibility of failure.... just how much confidence does he have with his strategies...?" The Grand Elder of the Alchemy Academy observed Dylan from afar. ... "What a pity that he has already been recruited... Such a talent could be the catalyst of the rise of my sect." Cobra of the Cloud Serpent Sect silently spoke. He calmly raised his glass and drank the fragrant red wine within. ... "No wonder Victor wanted to recruit him. I never would have though that an eighteen year old boy could hide such a marvelous talent. Such genius of the wits could have severely helped Victor to become the next True King of the country." Zachary smiled as he was informed by one of the members of his clan''s intelligence units. ... On the wooden platform below... "For those who have no knowledge about Origin Cores, let me enlighten you. An Origin Core could not only help with strengthening the Origin Energy, it could also nourish the pillars and foundation of the Origin Palace! The Origin Core of a beast could also allow one to integrate the innate abilities of the beast to one''s Origin Palace, which would permanently be ascribed to oneself and could even be developed! For example, the great defensive ability of the Obsidian Scaled Crocodile which can block the attacks of those who are two-three stages stronger than you could be succesfully attained!" Dylan did not let the hype end there as he continued to disclose valuable information to the buyers. Collective roars could be soon heard after. This was mostly from hunters or cultivators who want to increase their overall survival power. Some were rich nobles who wished to buy to pave way a bright future for their offsprings. "Woah!" "That''s amazing!" ... "I must have it for my son! I definitely can get it!" A long haired handsome noble who was holding a pretty girl gritted his teeth. "With that, I would have no worry tanking against monsters!" A hunter whose face was riddled with scars said. "I could withstand senior apprentice brothers attacks if I get that and finally, get the hand of junior apprentice sister!" A hot blooded youth fantasized himself defeating his senior and happily seizing his lover. ... "Let us start the bid with 200 spirit stones!" Dylan set the price. Immediately after his words, rampant voices yelled out. "Two hundred spirit stones!" The long haired handsome noble was the first to bid. "Two hundred five spirit stones!" The scar-faced hunter roared without a moment of delay. "Two hundred ten spirit stones!" The hot blooded youth also joined with a loud shout. "Two hundred twenty spirit stones!" An elder from a middle rank sect also placed a bid. "Two hundred twenty one spirt stones." A green cloaked person stated another price. ... ''It was a good thing that Rian gave me this Origin Core. I still could not believe that a little guy like him was that strong...'' As the competition aroused, Dylan reminisced how he got the Origin Core. He Back in Dylan''s Residence, one day before the auction... Dylan and Barry were at the small hut on the backyard of his residence. There was a teapot and two teacups with platelets containing some sweets. They were discussing about the Spirit Rank and Earth Rank Herbal Garden. "How is the Spirit Rank Herbal Garden going?" Dylan asked. "It is progessing splendidly. The 500 spirit stones you let me was just the right amount to buy the empty lot and the equipments needed for the creation of the garden. Two days ago, I have already started transplanting the herbs you have in storage and I also took the opportunity to plant some seeds. They are growing appropriately. I estimate that we could start the harvest in three to four weeks." Barry reported with a smile. "Great! Thank you for doing this favor, Barry. With the garden, the workload on me significantly decreased." Dylan sincerely thanked Barry. "Hahaha, don''t worry about it, Dylan. I am just paying the debt I owe you. I really can''t thank you enough for the hope you have given me. Also, it''s not like I am doing this without rewards. The faster the progress of the garden, the faster I could gather the ingredients for my advancement. Technically, I am just helping myself to accomplish my motives." Barry smiled wryly. "Don''t say it like that, bro. We have already talked about this. I did this because I acknowledge you as my brother. I am also doing this because you saved my life so the debt you have mentioned has already been paid. Technically, it was me who approached you first with ulterior motives." Dylan was slightly ashamed of himself. "Hahaha, all right. I am really glad to have met a brother like you." Barry laughed blissfully. "Me too. I am thankful to have met a brother like you." Dylan happily smiled. It was then that Rian suddenly walked in. " Hey, Dylan. I got something to ask you to do." "What is it? Be quick though, I still got a lot of things to take care of." Dylan noticed Rian immediately. "I know. It is this... Blargh." Rian suddenly spat a shiny black orb. "What is that? What should I do with it? It seems familliar though." Dylan asked. Dylan felt that it was oddly familiar but he could not place a finger on where he saw it. "Dunno. Just store it or you can have it if you want." Rian answered without the slightest bit of care. ''I felt that I have seen it before. But where? Let''s see...'' Dylan closed his eyes and rummaged through his memories but he was interrupted by Barry''s shocked voice. "Whe-where did you get that?!" Barry loudly questioned. "Woah, what''s with the attitude?" Rian frowned. "Ah, sorry. But can you tell me where you got that?" Barry tried to restrain himself but the shock was still apparent in his eyes. "Sheesh, someone''s got some issues. Fine, I got it from a scaly bastard who tried to eat me while I was doing that Heavenly Tribulation or whatever." Rian spoke in an annoyed manner. "What did this scaly bastard look like?" Dylan asked. "A black scaled lizard or maybe crocodile? I can''t remember anymore I killed him after one swipe. Why?" Rian vaguely described. "You killed it with one strike?!" Barry was shocked. "Yeah. After that, a ball appeared from his body and I ate it." Rian answered. "Calm down. Is something the matter, Barry?" Dylan asked. "Dylan, this- this little Rascal just one-hit a Core Transformation Level- Obsidian Scaled Crocodile the moment he was born! How do you expect me to stay calm!" Barry angrily said. "Are you sure?!" Dylan asked with a frightened look. "Yes, that forest only had 11 forest kings who rarely reveal themselves and the only one which is lizard like is the Obsidian Scaled Crocodile. The only spirit beasts which could condense an Origin Core are Core Transformation beasts!" Barry elaborated. "So that''s an Origin Core? Rian is monstrously strong...?" Dylan looked at Rian like he was some sort of Ancient Beast. ''Fuck, I actually have an monstrous beast as a companion!'' "They were strong really? They did not seem like it.There were also ten others who tried to eat me so I killed them and ate the balls that appeared out fo them. Anyways, my tummy''s trying to digest the other ten and I could no longer eat another one so I decided to give it to you instead. I''m going now. It''s nap time already." Rian just happily turn around and left the two dumbfounded. ... Back to the present... "That rascal never does cease to amaze me." Dylan shook his head as he mumbled. 142 Chapter 142: Profitting Big Time "Three hundred twenty eight spirit stones!" The hunter who had multiple scars on his face still managed to persevere up until this point. He was gritting his teeth praying that it won''t rise any longer. ... "Four hundred sixty three spirit stones!" The hot blooded youth roared once more for one last attempt to acquire the Origin Core, wishing that he would be the one to get it in the end. He really wanted to get it to beat his senior and seize his junior. ... "Six hundred ninety nine spirit stones!" The handsome noble who was evidently a playboy was still able to hold on despite the quick increase of the price each minute that passes by. .... "Seven hundred spirit stones." A purple cloaked person placed a bid. .... "Nine hundred eighty one sprirt stones!!" Arman Heinze was surprisingly the one who placed a bid for this. He was still at the Palace Establishment Stage and defense was one of his weak points and by getting this Origin Core will help him overcome this weaknes. ... "One thousand two hundred twenty seven." It was the first elder of a Top 20 power called Domineering Tamers School who raised the price for this. ... The auction continued for thirty minutes until the price was raised to one thousand seven hundred forty four sport stones and was succesfully seized! The person who got it was Vice Head Garet of the Battlebeast School which was a part of the Top 10 powers. "Sold to Vice Head Garet!" Dylan announced with a smile. "Hahaha thank you for letting me win." Vice Head Garet politely stated. He was in a really good mood for winning the item he wanted for his student. ''With this, my eldest student will have an even greater chance to place top 5 in the City-wide Competition two months from now!'' He laughed inwardly. ... For the nineteenth and twentieth item were items that were cream of the crop treasures in the Mid Earth Rank. The nineteenth item, Tantalizing Illusory Flower which could make the surrounding Origin Foundation Experts or Beasts fall into an illusion, was seized by Okemos Charon at the price four hundred fifty spirit stones while the twentieth treasure, Demon Water Lily which could grow into a peak level Origin Foundation Monster if fed and nurtured well, was seized by the Enchanted Gardens leader, Anastasia Spring. ... "We have finally entered the final phase of the auction! As a teaser, I would like to tell you that the following items are all High Earth Rank Treasures!" Dylan declared with a joyous expression. "REALLY?!" The crowd was even more pumped up because of this declaration. Though a lot of them knew in their hearts that they would not be able acquire such treasures with the Top 20 strongest and wealthiest sects around, they still stayed to just see glimpses of such treasures. ... "Sir, it seems like your speculations were right!" Sheldon told Azelmek "It is indeed so." Azelmek said solemnly. ... "Is everything ready?" The Grand Elder of the Alchemy academy asked the elder accompanying him and Asiel. "The extra 8,000 spirit stones you ordered is already here, sir." The elder quickly replied. "Good." The Grand Elder nodded. ... "Romero, how much spirit stones do you have right now?" Dorin Thunder asked. "I only brought bout 3000 spirit stones. Why?" Romero Thunder answered. "The clan head just instructed me to put everything in the line for the 24th and the final item. I too have 3000 with me. With the amount that was given to us, all in all, we have 14,000 spirit stones." Dorin explained. ... "This is where the true battle begins!" This was the thought of the members Top 20 powers who were participating in the auction. ... Dylan started: " The first treasure of the final ten items I have prepared is named the Goldeneye Fruit. The fruit holds the ability to grant a person a mind''s eye or as others would call it the golden eye. This eye could nourish the person''s mental strength to the extent that any Rank 7 Mystical Magnate''s illusion could no longer harm him! Additionally, it also gives enhanced sight and night vision to the user which increases the mobility a person can have during night time. The lowest price will be 70 spirit stones!" "What a valuable treasure! It must be mine! Seventy spirit stones!" An aspiring Rank 2 Mystical Magnate said. "Seventy five stones! I must have it!" A female cultivator gritted her teeth and shouted a price. "Eighty spirit stones! With that, our hunting prospects would skyrocket!" A workaholic frizzy haired hunter placed another bid. "Eighty one spirit stones." A purple cloaked person spoke up. ... "Six hundred fifty spirit stones!" Isaac Fleetwood stated the final bid. "Sold!" Dylan declared. ... Dylan moved on to the next item: " The second item is an item called Dragon Scaled Vines. This vine is something similar to the Water Demon Lily which is a nurturable High Earth Rank Herb Creature but unlike the Water Demon Lily, it is classified as a symbiotic Herb Creature. It could assist the user with battles using it''s 4 vines which could be used for attacking and defending. It could grow to an entity whose strength is equal to a Pinnacle Palace Establishement expert! The starting bid would be 120 spirit stones!" "One hundred twenty spirit stones! My fighting capabilities will significantly increase with it!" A Herbal Specialist from a Top 200 power was the first to bid. "One hundred thirty spirit stones!" Another Herbal Specialist called out for a bid with a similiar goal as the prior one. "One hundred thirty one spirit stones." A black cloaked person raised the price. "One hundred thirty eight spirit stones!" A Thundercloud guard also raised the bid. ... "Nine hundred thirty three spirit stones!" Anastasia Spring was the victor on the fight for the twenty second item. "Sold!" Dylan stated accordingly. ... Dylan continued: "Let me present to you all, the next item is a High Earth Rank Herb called the Heavenly Eight Leaves lotus. Each individual leaf of the Heavenly Eight Leaves Lotus posses remarkable healing ability. The leaves could alleviate any type of poison or ailment. It could also instantly heal flesh wounds. But the most heavenly effect of the herb is that it could even regrow an amputated limb! For this herb, we will start with the price of 180 spirit stones!" "One hundred eighty spirit stones!" A rich looking pretty boy was rather quick as he was the first to state the opening price. "One hundred eight one spirit stones." A gray cloaked person stated a bid. "One hundred ninety spirit stones!" A young mistress from a clan who placed 100 also raised a bid. "Two hundred five spirit stones!" An elder from the Enchanted Garden also decided to bid. "Two hundred twelve spirit stones!" The companion of the Pill King also raised the price. ... "One thousand four hundred stones!" Pavilion Head Galahad was the last bidder for this herb. Subsequently, Dylan announced, "Sold!" ... "The quality of items are steadily rising but the twenty fourth item will be far different from the last three!" Jena of the Seven Thunderblades seriously said. "I know. The master told us to seize the treasure no matter what the price!" Nick Williams said. ... "Let us now move on to the next item. It was also given to me by a client. The next item is somewhat different from the others so far. Because it is not only one but two herbs!" Dylan looked around the crowd while he was delivering the speech. His words attracted the attention of the crowd even more. "Two herbs? So it is a joint item?" The crowd started to gossip about the next item. "Ooooh, I wonder what would they be." A person thought aloud. "This two herbs are very complimentary with each other. Individually, they are both High Earth Rank herbs but together, their effectiveness increase by several levels, reaching Heaven Rank! I am certain than everyone knows what type of item this is." Dylan teasingly chided. ... "It can''t be..." Azelmek understood his hidden meaning and he knew excactly what he was referring to. "This child actually has two of them?!" Sheldon was in a similar position. "Unbelievable..." Allen did not expect what the 24th item was. ... "Uncle, is he actually referring to a Herbal Set?!" Even Veronica did not believe that another Herbal Set has just appeared when there was just another herbal set before this. "I-I don''t know any other treasure that could match his hints." Her uncle replied with an uncertain tone. ... "It is excactly what most of you think! It is a Herbal Set called Lightning and Thunder!!" Dylan disclosed with a smile. "WHAT?!" The crowd almost fell out of their seats when they heard it! It was especially so for Romero and Dorin Thunder! "This...." Th two of them could not belive their ears when they heard it. "This Herbal Set is comprised of only two herbs which are the Thunderclap Clover and the Lightningblade Grass! If these two are ingested at the same time, that person could change change the talent or even enhance the talent of a person for the Lightning and Thunder attribute to beyond genius level! I am sure that everyone knows what the power of both lightning and thunder holds. To prove it, two members of the greatest talents of the country, Mythical 10 have the power of lightning and thunder, one of them is even crowned the strongest of all talents and you all know who I am talking about, right?" Dylan cunningly smiled after he ended his speech. ... Within the Thunder Clan''s Residence... Zachary smashed the armrest of the chair he was sitting on with his barheands when he recieved the report. He trembled as he thought, ''If Gil consumes the Lightning and Thunder Herbal Set, his talent would almost reach Victor and the clan would have two supreme level talents!! By then, the conquest of conquering the entire country would no longer be a dream but a goal we can certainly attain!'' He immediately grabbed his Spiritual Transmitter and contacted Dorin, " Dorin, change of plans! You must get that set at all cost even if it means spending 6,000 spirit stones on it!" Dorin comminicated back and replying flustered, "Uh, yes, I will do everything in my power to get it!" ... Something similar also happened within the Headquarters of the Thundercloud Guards... "To think a Lightning and Thunder Herbal Set would actually appear, with it''s help Lancelot would be able to become as strong as Victor Thunder! Quickly contact Kyrie and Hanz! Tell them getting this set is a must!" The only Marshal Paladin of the Thundercloud Guards, Barachel Vane abruptly ordered. "Yes, sir!" The Army Captain who was bowing to him replied. ... In the headquarters of the Thunderstrike Guild.... "What did you say? A Lightning and Thunder Herbal Set?! Are you serious?" A large black haired man with a scar on his left eye that stretched from the forehead to the neck asked multiple times. "Yes, sir. This was a report made by the three Lord Thunderblades." The subordinate was kneeling on one knee while he spoke. "THEN, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL BLABBERING ABOUT?! I DON''T CARE WHAT THE PRICE IS! GET THAT TREASURE FOR MY DAUGHTER!!" The large man apparently was extremely short tempered so he suddenly bursted in anger. "Wi... Will do, sir!" The man struggled and quickly ran out of the room. ... "That''s all the details I know about the treasure. Now to start the auction, the starting price would be 500 spirit stones!" Dylan smiled as he said. "What the hell?! You might as well rob someone! What a~" Someone among the crowd voiced out his displeasure when the Top 20 powers suddenly made their moves! "Five hundred spirit stones!" Dorin Thunder was the first to step into the competition but just as he finished, another voice spoke. "Seven hundred spirit stones!" Thundercloud Army Captain quickly raised the price by a two hundred spirit stones! "One thousand spirit stones!!!" Nick Williams strongly shouted as he raised the price to a terrifying number!! "One thousand two hundred spirit stones!!" Another roar from the camp of the Thunder Grand Clan was heard but this time it was Romero who spoke. The price went upwards at a frightening rate! It quickly reached two thousand five hundred spirit stones in no time! "I..." The person who just spoke was so embarassed that felt he just slapped himself ten times in public due to what he said. ... Dylan was in deep thought while the unceasing wars were occuring. ''Seeing the rate of increase, I would estimate that the lowest price that I can get from this would be around four thousand stones and the highest would be around fove thousand five hundred I guess. After this item, I guess that my profit would be around 10,000 spirit stones and if converted that would be approximately 10,000,000 gold coins. Hehehe, I started from barely zero yet now I am already a millionaire. Who would have thought?'' 143 Chapter 143: The Last Item After relentless bidding, the final victor was the Thunder Grand Clan and like what Dylan estimated, the final price was at the five thousand four hundred spirit stones! "The 24th item is now sold to the Thunder Grand Clan!" Dylan happily announced and thought of his earnings. "Huuu, that was close. I thought we were going to spend an even greater amount." Dorin sighed in relief. ... "Five thousand spirit stones...." The crowd was drooling when they thought how much Dylan was earning from this auction! They roughly estimated that his earnings would be around ten thousand spirit stones already and even if they were to say that the profits would be split for the people who auctioned the item. Dylan would still at the very least retain about 50% to 60% of the total income! That is around 5,000-6,000 spirit stones! To gain such money would mean that they won''t have to worry about anything for the rest of their lives! But what they did not know was that the existence of those clients were nothing but lies. All of the income would still go to Dylan! Not only that, the fact that Dylan did not even have to invest money to earn such an amount would leave them speechless and envious to their very core! ... Dylan continued with the auction with a sense of accomplisment on him already but he knew that the greatest income has yet to come for he still has his final item. It was not only him, he could sense that the all supersects present in his auction are also anticipating what sort of treasure he had prepare as the last item. ''It seems the hype for the last item is incredibly intense.'' Dylan thought. ''That''s even better the more hype and excited they are, the more heated the bidding is going to be, the more money I earn from them.'' ... With the auction proceeding it''s end, the bidding for the next items just intensified even more! Dylan maintained a calm and pleasant demeanor despite how many hours has already passed. "Okay, the twenty fifth item is..." With the intensity of the twenty fourth item, the crowd was still excited witth the introduction of the next item was called Lightning Beans which could be used to create a psuedo-avatar of the lightning level. Even though the twenty fifth item was just at the High Earth Rank, the momentum of the previous item lead it to have the price of nine hundred ten spirit stones despite it''s maximum cost being only seven hundred fifty! It was as if the brazen momentum of the twenty fourth item was infectious! This item was sold to the Thundercloud Guards. The following items after the twenty fifth item were all sold above one thousand spirit stones! The twenty sixth item was another Solarburst Chrysanthemum that Dylan prepared and yet it was sold at the price of one thousand fifteen! This item was acquired by Brock Stone of the Stone Edge Manor. The twenty seventh item, Four Season Clover, was another High Earth Herb which has an unexpected functional effect if used in a pill like the Cleansing Origin Vines. Although it was not as amazing as creating an extra Origin Palace, however it could increase the duration connectivity of a human to nature by threefolds, it was still sold for one thousand six hundred spirit stones! This was bought by Emilia Sparks of Moonlight Paradise. The twenty eighth item, Boar Faced Flower, was yet another herb with the ability of raising a cultivator''s energy reserve capacity by 60% and also provides a stable breakthrough of three to four stages! It was eventually sold at the price of one thousand seven hundred eighty spirit stones. It was bought by Nick Williams of the Thunderstike Guild. The twenty ninth item, the Acidic Venom Mantrap, was one of the shocking herbal creatures that Dylan had for it could be cultivated up until Mortal Moulting Realm which was a really terrifying monster! It was sold for two thousand six hundred sixty spirit stones! This item was seized by Cobra of the Cloud Serpent Sect. ... "The final item is finally here! But before I introduce the final item, I would like to thank everyone for coming here to this event. This event would not have been so successful without all of you. As a form of gratitude, I would like to gift you with a one-time 10% coupon to your overall purchase in my store." Dylan took this opportunity where the crowd was still focused with him in order to advertise this deal. The entire crowd which was concentrating on Dylan naturally heard this and was pleased with this generous deal. Words of praises and jubilant cheers could be heard in several areas of the entire block. "Woah, 10% for overall purchase? I''m definitely coming back!" "Does that mean the more I buy, the more discount it could offer? What a generous offer!" "Hahahaha, I like it! Now that''s a bargain!" "To think that coming here actually has benefits like this! What a great deal this is!" "To present you with the coupon, here are my employees who will disseminate the coupon to everyone." Dylan added. He glanced at his employees who were already standing and holding small papers with them signalling them to proceed with their tasks. Each moved like how they would serve their customers: fast and efficient. The crowd praised them for their coordination because there were rarely errors that they committed. In no time, they were able to distribute the coupon to all nine hundred participants. ... After the distribution, Dylan continued speaking, "Now without further ado, this is the final item!" The final item was brought by Tesa, a cute yet voluptuous lady with a dark brown hair. She opened the treasure chest she held and it contained a small antique vile which was about three inches big and within a pint of red could be seen. "What is that?" That was the only question which the crowd had in their minds when they saw the vile. It was contrary to what they actually envisioned the final item would be. "This item was given to me by an unknown old man. According to him, he found this at an ancient tomb with an arachaic language inscribed on it''s entrance! When he entered the tomb, he said the death traps and the flash mobs it held could easilu kill a Mortal Severing Cultivator. Fortunately, he stumbled upon a secret passage and had an exit with this vial on hand. He luckily escaped and never returned to the tomb ever again." Dylan mysteriously narrated a story. The crowd was shocked by this story. Some even believed the story immediately after they heard of it. "An ancient tomb?" "Gate with archaic language?" "Traps and creatures that could easily slaughter a Mortal Severing?" However, there were still some people who was critical about what they heard and interrogated Dylan. "Where is this ancient tomb located?" Dorin Thunder was the first to critique the story. "Sadly, he did not reveal the location of the tomb for he feared that it may only cause the fall of many experts and geniuses." Dylan replied showing a dejected expression "What was the appearance of this old man?" The next one was the Grand Elder of the Alchemy Academy to critically imquire about this matter. "I am sorry but I cannot reveal that due to client confidentiality." Dylan simply stated. "What does the vial contain?" Veronica asked bewitchingly without her even trying due to the tenderness of her voice. "According to the client, it might be possible that it contains the blood of a Demonic Beast God!" Dylan revealed in a deep voice. "What?! The blood of a Demonic Beast God?!" Everyone was flabbergasted by what they heard! A Demonic Beast God is an existence of myths and is said to be strong enough to dominate the entire Great Mystic World! Legend has it that once an Immortal level Beast successfully endures the Heavenly Tribulation, it would be able to transform to a Demonic Beast God. There were even some ancient records that were preserved since time immemorial that states that several eons ago. The Great Mystic World was a world which was governed by the Demonic Beast Gods! "Are you sure with this claim of his?" Cobra was able to recover his senses and quickly asked Dylan. "I am not. I have yet to let this item be appraised since I did not want anyone to divulge any relevant information about the contents my auction for the past weel. I am just telling you the exact words he told me when he gave me this vial." Dylan stated. "The vial does look ancient but I can''t seem to feel any pressure from the blood you are holding." Vice Head Garet pointed out some details. "According to him, only beasts are able to feel the pressure of the blood." Dylan quoted once more. "Really now? Any beast should be fine right? How about my contract beast?" Veronica offered. "If it would not be too much of an inconvenience to, Miss Vlad. I would deeply appreaciate it. Dylan politely spoke. "Well said." A smile emerged under Veronica''s veil as she lightly whistled. *Whistle* A few moments after, a figure appeared in the sky and was moving towards the Soaring Garden Territory! Then, a shadow appeared on the middle of the road near the block of the auction and was constantly getting larger. The passing citizens circled around the large shadow in order to avoid a disaster. A moment after, a loud crashing sound resounded. *Crash* *Bang* Once the dust settled, it revealed a large red liger that was over 4 meters tall and 7 meters big in the middle of a dilapidated road! It''s eyes contained ferociousness and brutality that was ready to commit murder! Its large white teeth seemed as though they could easily drill through any human skull! It''s muscles seemed as though they were alive yet looked as if it was harder than steel! It was a Mortal Moulting Realm- Slaughtering King Liger! "GRAAAAAAWR!" The Slaughtering King Liger roared as though it desired to cause a massacre! "What a fearsome beast." The crowd gulped a mouthful of saliva from the oprresive pressure that the beast king was emitting. Veronica jumped from the third floor and appeared next to her companion in the blink of an eye. She rubbed the lower chin and the forehead of the tiger with her hands as she said, "Oh, Tina! Did you miss, mommy? Who''s a good girl?" "Rawr~." Shockingly, the terrifying looking tiger appeared to become docile and adorable as it showed as let out a satisfied moan. It even sat with its bat and started wiggling its tail like kitten. "Gahh.." The crowd was dumbfounded by this scene! They did not expect the fearsome beast that was ready to kill a moment ago was now behaving cutely in front of this woman. "To think she could actually tame a beast as powerful as that..." Asiel and the other geniuses present felt threatened by her existence once they got too see firsthand how amazing she is. ''She is even more fearsome than the beast. She actually tamed that? Women really are terrifying.'' Dylan though to himself not daring to wantonly speak. After playing with her ''pet'' for a while, Veronica turned around and said, "She''s ready now. Try opening the vial. Let''s see what happens." "Okay." Dylan nodded readily. He picked the vial from the treasure chest "It looks like you are rather calm about this. I initially though that you would feel nervous considering the uncertainty of the item." Veronica spoke. "Well, it is true that I am nervous but I am ready no matter what the outcome. Similar to everyone, I am also hoping that this is actually authentic. Like what you have said earlier, let''s see what happens." He calmly uttered with a smile. Although he stated he was uncertain about this item, he still exuded confidence which felt like he knew that the item was real. The truth was this was a drop of blood that came from Rian when the puppy accidentaly bit his tongue from eating. When Rian spat blood on his already empty plate, the very next moment his wound healed. This shocked Dylan even more and became curious about Rian''s origins. Although Dylan was unsure about Rian''s Origin, he was certain that Rian being related with the Cosmic God Mansion meant that his identity would at least be at the Immortal Rank! He also knew how absurdly broken Rian''s strength was so he made a bet that this would need be a real treasure! ''It is definitely authentic! I am sure of it!'' Dylan continuously repeated in his mind. "Well, said." Veronica was amused by Dylan''s words and also had the similar anticipation that Dylan had in his eyes. Without delay, Dylan opened the vial. The moment it was opened, Slaughter King Liger who was nestling her head on Veronica''s palm suddenly stood straight. Its'' eyes instantly became blood shot and it opened it''s mouth salivating! "Tina?" Veronica looked oddly at her contract beast and called. But, it did not react and was really fixated with the vial of Rian''s blood. It was as though... it had lost any reason to think! The next moment it brushed Veronica aside and leaped towards Dylan who was holding the opened vial like a true wild beast! "What?!" Veronica and her uncle was most shocked about this since they knew how obedient Tina was to her. The crowd started to panic and began screaming like crazy! "Ahhhh! It''s coming!" "The beast is going to eat us all!" "Run for your lives!" "The beast has lost reason! Restrain it!" Azelmek was the first to react. He, Sheldon and Allen quickly appeared in front of Dylan''s side and created an energy barrier to black the onslaught of the liger. "Evil Subduing Cube." Simultaneously, they called out a box like treasure which successfully sealed the beast. The crowd rejoiced when they saw the beast was restrained: "Woah! We''re saved!" "Hurray! The beast was sealed!" "Amazing! Thank you for saving us, my Lords!" While the crowd was rejoicing, the Top 20 supersects were astonished. "A single droplet of blood caused a Mortal Severing Beast to act like this?!" Romero Thunder did not expect that to happen! "A Mortal Severing Beast already has an intelligence comparable to a human and has intrepid minds yet it was actually forced to go berserk?!" Vice Head Garet was perturbed by what just transpired. "Inconceivable! This blood actually might be a Mid or evn a High Heaven Rank Treasure!" Cobra who was detached and indifferent all throughout the auction had a startled look on his face. ... Somewhere underground of Thunder Clouds City... A dashing middle aged man with a long straight black hair wearing a dark robe was sitting cross-legged when he suddenly opened his eyes! Those eyes reflected the dark night sky vast and... incomparably mystical! He stood up and he released an aura that was nearing the Immortal Saint Realm! He soared as his robes fluttered and at his back was a sown insignia of the Night Grand Clan! This man was none other than the founder of the Night Grand Clan and the cultivater feared as the Madman of the Night, Shadow Night! "To think it would actually appear here! Hahahahaha! Merlin was right after all! The blood of an Immortal Rank Beast, the blood of a Demonic Beast God is mine!" 144 Chapter 144: The End of the Auction 1 The liger inside the Evil Subduing Cube was slowly showing signs of weakening. After a while, the liger gradually laid down and comfortably fell asleep inside the cube. Dylan was taken aback. He felt the cold sweat perspiring on his back. A moment ago, he felt like he was going to have a meeting with death. But, he did not panic instead, he was even preparing to summon the Shield of Dusk and use up the last Burning Dusk ability it still has. ''Luckily, Master and the others was able to stop the beast in time or else, I might have lost another life-saving trump card.'' Dylan thought to himself. ... The crowd still had aghast expressions from the incident that just happened. It happened all too fast. The moment Dylan opened the vial, the beast king quickly lost all of its reasoning and randomly pounced towards Dylan. Fortunately, Azelmek and company was able to intervene and successfully restrain the liger. "I thought that Dylan was done for when I saw that liger jump towards him." Okemos murmured to himself "Me too. The liger was so fearsome that it felt one swipe could easily break your back." Steven concurred with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. ... "Miss Vlad, we apologize for imprisoning your beast." Allen went ahead and apologized to Veronica. "It is understandable. If you have not stopped my companion in time, something dreadful might have happened to Sir Dylan. It is I who should be thankful instead." Veronica humbly replied and asked for apology. "Worry not, Miss Vlad. It was all an accident. I, myself, did not expect that the blood would have such a direct and discreet effect to spirit beast of the Mortal Moulting Realm." Dylan smiled amiably and considered bygones as bygones. "I understand. But, I still do feel guilty for the mishap that I have caused." Veronica spoke in a meek voice which made the hearts of countless men present melt. ''A beauty that could bring downfall to a nation, indeed.'' Dylan suddenly felt that the hearsey about this woman was not baseless at all. Despite her face covered with the veil, her voice could still beguile men to a trance. Fortunately, Dylan had a strong will to resist otherwise, he would have been the same as those men openly staring at Veronica without restraint. Some were even too trapped in their fantasies that they were already drooling. "I see. Since Miss Vlad feels this way, why don''t we consider this as you owing me a favor?" Dylan brilliantly suggested. "Agreed. If you have anything you want me to help with, as long as it is within my power, I will do it without fail. Hehe." Veronica answered sweetly. There was even a sillhouette of a smile that was being formed behind her veil. "A goddess..." A smile which smited the young men who caught sight of it. "Then, I will be in your care when the time comes." Dylan replied in a similar manner. But, he could feel sharp glares at his back when he said those words. He laughed bitterly in his heart, ''Beauties really do bring a serious amount of trouble with them.'' "Moving on. I believe that everyone should more or less know the authenticity of the item due to what happened. A single droplet of blood could make a Mortal Severing Beast lose control! Do you think that this is an item equal to Mid Heaven Rank or even a High Heaven Rank? It is up for you to decide. The client only wishes to exchange it with a material of equal price. Thus, the bidding price is also up to you. Let the bidding for the last item of the auction start!" Dylan shrugged off the gazes with amicable smile as he face the crowd and proceeded with the auction. "Is he for real?" A cultivator asked in shock. "He is right in front of a crowd. Lying would affect his publicity! It must be true!" A low ranked businessman stated. "The does that mean... I bid my family treasure, Dark Sabertooth Dagger! It is a dagger that was passed down for 8 generations! My ancestors believed that it came from the fangs of the Mythical Beast, Dark Sabertooth Tiger!" A youth which wore a Beast Tamer robe gritted his teeth and bid for a price. ''If I get that blood, my Night Panther would be able to evolve! When that happens, I would be able to protect big sis!''He raised his hand and a dagger with the shape of a fang. It had serrated lines along the sides which was dark in color. "Hahaha, just an idiot trying to do a fool''s errand." A high class noblewoman berated. "Indeed, how could a suspicious looking dagger compare to the blood of that Demonic Beast God?" A 3 star Hunting Squad Leader laughed mockingly. "It does resemble the black serrated white fangs of the Mythical Beast mentioned in the Mythical Beast Encyclopedia. TheI believe that it needs verification from a Treasure Appraisser. If it was appraised, I could reconsider." Dylan critically said. "Really?!" The young Beast Tamer had a joyous look of surprise on his face when he heard what Dylan said about the dagger. "Indeed." Dylan smiled back. "I- I will get it checked right away!" The youth was trembling as he spoke and left to look for a Treasure Appraisser to evaluate his family heirloom. "Impossible..." The noblewoman and the hunter looked agape when they saw that scene. They felt their cheeks were burning from embarassment so they decided to keep low. "I bid the secret technique of our sect, the Hundred Sword Strikes! It is a technique that was derived from the Thousand Sword Execution of the famous Thousand Sword Immortal which roamed the Mystic Clouds 2000 years ago!" The sect leader that came from the Dozen Sword Sect bidded hastily. "If it was the complete Thousand Sword Execution or even the first four parts of the said technique, I could have considered for this item. I apologize." Dylan shook his head as he spoke. "I bid..." ... The bidding went on as different people tried to bid for different treasures. At first, the items that were being put into bid were items that was only based on family belief, folktale, and superstitions but as the time went on, the treasures that were being placed were now appraised and verified by different Treasure Appraissers. "I bid the High Earth Ranked Weapon, Tetra Revolving Cannons! The cannon has the strength comparable to a Low Heaven Rank Treasure but due to its slow mobility and extensive reloading time it was appraised to be a High Earth Rank Weapon! It has been appraised by the 6th Tier Treasure Appraiser, Gington." The second elder of the 32nd ranked power, Mountain Breaker Guild placed a bid. The crowd was taken in by surprise. It was a true Heaven Rank treasure! They suddenly felt that the price of the vial was starting to become far more astronomical than the other items earlier. "A Low Heaven Rank Treasure?!" "That could kill a Palace Establisment expert!" "What a powerful treasure!" "I bid the Low Heaven Rank Slaughter Formation of our Manor, Stone Edge Guardian Golems Formation! It summons five stone giants which form the formation in order to eradicate the target. It has a strength which is capable of even killing a Mortal Moulting Expert!" Brock Stone roared strongly. His father allowed him to bid one of three secret formations of their manor just to get this vial of blood. "Damn it!" The Mountain Breaker Guild second elder cursed as soon as he heard another bid. Another item which caused a great uproar to the onlookers. They, then understood that the Slaughtering Formation is something that was even more valuable than the Tetra Revolving Cannons that was offered moments ago. "A Low Earth Ranked Formation?!" ''Five stone giants to beseige a target?! A formation could do that!?" "How terrifying! It could even kill a Mortal Moulting Expert!!" "I bid the egg of the offspring of two of my Mortal Severing beasts. It is an egg that I tried to breed from the Frostwing Three-eyed Sparrow and Blizzard Night Owl. Although I have yet to ascertain if it was a successful hybrid, but at the very least it also has the power to become a Mortal Severing Beast." Vice Head Garet of the Battlebeast School placed an exorbitant bid! The crowd was dumfounded yet again when they heard the bid from one of the 10 Supersects. One must know that a Mortal Severing beast is exceedingly rare. A pureblood Mortal Severing egg would naturally retain the strength of it''s predecessor once it reaches adulthood. On the other hand, a cross bred egg might not necessarily have the chance to be equally strong as its'' parents but it also might be stronger than both parents combined! "A hybrid egg from two Mortal Severing Beasts?!" An astounded bystander was slack jawed as he repeated Garet''s words. "That must be of equal worth with a High Heaven Rank treasure, right?!" A participant curiously asked. "Did''nt Vice Head Garet only have 6 Mortal Severing Beasts?! Why is he bidding such a invaluable treasure?" A rather informed noble questioned Garet''s actions. "You ignorant dumbass! That is because the blood of a Demonic Beast God is a True Immortal level beast if Vice Head is able to successfully asimilate the blood to one of his beast could evolve and reach Immortal Saint Realm!" A learned high class noble sneered while he explained. "Is that really possible?!" The nearby people opened their jaws widely after they heard their conversation. "Then, I think no one else can get it aside from Vice Head Garet now." Another person said. Suddenly, a voice resounded from the sky as a figure descended to the stage in the middle of the block where Dylan was standing. " I bid a favor from me." The crowd had one question in mind when they saw the devilishly handsome black haired man who appeared out of nowhere, " Who is that?" "May I ask who this kind sir is?" Although surprised, Dylan managed to compose himself and calmly asked with a bow of greeting. "I am Shadow Night." The black haired man uttered with confidence. "I see. It is Founder Shadow of the Night Grand Clan. If I may pressumably ask, how is a favor from Sir Shadow be of more value than the hybrid egg of sir Garet." Dylan knew that this man was overly arrogant just from his expression and words ealier and he knew exactly that he was the type to kill if displeased. So Dylan showed a respectful behavior, despite his inner thoughts. "Hahaha, a hybrid egg of two Mortal Severing Beasts is quite valuable but compared to me, it pales in comparison. I understand that you don''t know what I am referring to due to the large disparity of our strength. So, I will clarify it for you." Shadow replied with dismissive attitude. "What does Sir Shadow mean?" Dylan asked confusedly. "I am bidding the favor of a Half Saint Realm expert of the Saint Energy Refining Realm." Shadow Night revealed. 145 Chapter 145: The End of the Auction 2 "Half Saint Realm?" Dylan''s eyes contracted once he heard such a claim. The Half Saint Realm is the realm that is found in between Mortal Severing and Immortal Saint Realm. It is a realm aimed at refining a cultivator''s body, energy, and soul to that of a Saint''s. Thus, the name for its three subrealms: the Saint Body Refinement, Saint Energy Refinement, Saint Soul Refinement Realms. The Saint Body Refinement refines the body similar as to how the Mortal Moulting Realm sheds the practitioner''s Mortal Skin. In this cultivation realm, the Severed Origin Energy, the energy of Mortal Severing experts, are infused to every nook and cranny of his/her body. Once this process is completed, the body breeds a new form of energy called the Saint Energy. This type of energy is an energy which is highly compatible with the Law Force. Law Force is the power acquired at the fourth and final stage of Mortal Severing, the Primal Law Realm where a cultivator could form and find a law for himself or herself with the heavenly connection he or she has established back in the Heavenly Connection Realm. Once used together, they could generate attacks far more intrepid than their basic attacks but this is also largely dependent on the type of Primal Law formed by that person. When Azelmek told him about the Half-Saint Realm, Dylan was absolutely shocked he did not expect that he had to cross 3 major realms in order to reach Immortal Saint! He suddenly felt how hard the challenge that Immortal Saint Sacred Flame Fox gave him. Now, he only had a little more than a decade left to complete that almost impossible task. The fact that Shadow was a cultivator of the Half Saint Realm shocked Dylan greatly because he thought that the only people which entered the Half Saint Realm was the head of the Top 5 powers Azelmek, Zachary, the Alchemy Headmaster, the Savage Lion Sectmaster and Battlebeast Schoolmaster. But the fact that Shadow was at the Saint Energy Refinement Realm shocked him even more since the other five were only at the Saint Body Refinement Realm. ''I am so dumb...Master only told me that he, Zachary, and the Headmaster were at the Saint Body Refinement Realm but he did not directly state that they were the strongest in the city. I have to be careful with this guy. Master might nor necessarily have the power to block him esecially with citizens around. Master may look intimidating but he is kind enough to use his Evil Subduing Cube in order to avoid causing too much damage he could have cause with his power...'' Dylan'' brain was in hyperdrive as it instantaneously processed how Dylan should deal with the problem at hand. But just as he thought, Dylan knew very well that as a Saint Body Refinement Realm cultivator Azelmek could easily use his power to easily supress the beast. In normal circumstances, Azelmek could have easily pressured the beast king into submission. Nevertheless, that only applies if the beast king still has its conscience, but die to the enticement of Rian''s blood, its'' inner beast kicked in and all of its'' reasoning was lost. Azelmek was afraid that the beast might resort to a suicide attack and implicate other bystanders if he had used pressure to subdue it. Killing it was also outside of the question since it is the same as offending the Savage Lion Sect and Azelmek had no reason to offend the sect so easily. So he resorted using one of his treasures which was the Evil Subduing Cube to rescue Dylan. ... Within the crowd... "Half-Saint Realm?" The crowd had confused looks when they heard Shadow''s words. But it was only understandable, since this realm is something that most people could never reach, information regarding this realm was only known to people with a noble rank of the fourth tier and above. "It is the fourth major realm." A wise old man decided to reveal but as brief as possible. He felt that it was still not the right time to disclose matters regarding the fourth major realm. His voice was not that loud but amidst the quiet crowd, it was immediately heard and it caused an abrupf uproar. However, due to being ignorant, their reactions were only to be expected. "What?!" "There is another realm?!" "Does that mean it still has some sub-realms as well!?" "The fuck! I thought I could reach Immortal Saint but now..." ... Within the cricle of the top 20... "That realm really is true..." Daniela Hills had a grim expression when she heard Shadow. She was informed about it by her grandfather when she was studying for the Noble Exam. "Father was right about the Night Grand Clan! I thought it was only a farce but to think they were led by the strongest expert in the city!" Brock was just as astounded as the crowd. Although he recieved information about it prior to this event, he was still shocked when he was faced with the truth. "This auction just took an unexpected turn..." The Grand Elder of the Alchemy Academy solemnly said. He looked at the unbelieving face that Asiel had and he shook his head. He never expected that the person whom he just told to Asiel, the man who defeated his master, would suddenly appear in this auction. "He actually appeared..." Cobra looked at Shadow in a mysterious manner. ... "You seem surprised, kid." Shadow amusingly spoke. "Sir... it''s just that I honestly did not expect that there was another person who reached that realm aside from the head of the Top 5 supersects." Dylan was still able to quickly formulate a quick reply despite his shock. "Oh, you are quite informed. Not everyone knows about this realm." Shadow said while intentionally glancing at Azelmek who already returned to the fourth floor. It seemed like he already knew what their relationship was. Despit that, he feigned ignorance and said, "I won''t pry any longer. Just give me the pill already and I will leave." Everyone thought how lucky Dylan was to obtain a favor from such a strong expert. That would mean that he had gained the backing of a truly strong power. Presently, he now has two supersect-level power who he favors him, only few would dare to offend him in the city with that type of backing. But, what happened next went against their expectations. "I do apologize but I cannot do that." Dylan suddenly said. ... The crowd all had violent reactions regarding his answer. Though they did not dare to voice it out loud, afraid that they may annoy the strong expert, their voices were heard nonetheless. "Is he bonkers? Or just an idiot?!" "What the fuck is he thinking?" "Has he gone mad from all the money he got?!" On the other hand, unlike th crowd, the Top 20 powers were contemplating why had Dylan done so. "What is he thinking?" A unified thought appeared in all of their minds. ... "Why is that?" The complacent smile on Shadow''s face clearly disappeared after Dylan''s words. "Because although that bid would be of great help to me, it would be of no use to the client. He intends to exchange this item with an item of equal value. Something as vague and as breakable as a favor would not be something that he would desire. I do apologize for declining but if there are no other inquiries from Sir Shadow, I would like to proceed with the auction." Dylan showed his signature faint smile while calmly speaking to Shadow. "Wha..." Shadow never expected that sort of reply from a junior, never in his wildest dreams. He stood there with a dumbfounded expression as Dylan continued with the auction. "Mortal Severing Hybrid Egg going once!" Dylan quickly changed to a joyful smile when he faced the crowd. The crowd suddenly understood where Dylan was coming from. Their views about him quickly changed as well. "He was willing to offend the strongest expert for his client... What a great businessman!" "A man of principles! That is how a businessman should be!!" "Sadly, such a great person has offended somebody whom he should never offend." "Hahahahahahaha. What an interesting kid." Vice Head Garet could only laugh as he thought that he was already out of the game due to Shadow''s arrival. To think Dylan would actually reject the strongest expert in Thunder cloud! "Hahahahaha." Azelmek who was back on his seat could not help but laugh. He could never forget how Shadow humilliated them after defeating all of them. Ever since that day, he wanted to get back at him. To think that his sworn enemy would be publicly humiliated by his disciple who was only at the Spirit Gathering Realm. "Do you even know who I am, you brat?!" Shadow grabbed Dylan''s neck and lifted him up as dark pristine aura enveloped his entire body. ''Who does this kid think he is! The blood is the only thing I need for the refinement! How dare he bar my path to advancing to Immortal Saint!!'' Shadow furiously thought! Azelmek, Allen and Sheldon were going to intervene when they saw Dylan''s calm face. They knew that he knew how strong a Saint Energy Refinement cultivator is and it is not something that Azelmek could not match. So, they could not understand how Dylan was still able to stay calm at a time like this. "Let''s standby and watch for now. I think Dylan still has some plans." Azelmek decided to wait a bit more. This notion was quickly answered with a nod from the other two. "You are the founder of the Night Grand Clan as well as the strongest expert in the Thunder Clouds City." Dylan remained looking unperturbed despite his life now on the hands of Shadow. "Despite knowing that, you still brazenly rejected my offer? Do you think I would not dare to kill you?" Shadow threatened Dylan and tightened his grip on his neck. "Would you?" Dylan dared to say. "I''m really curious where you are getting the gall to speak so foolishly in front of me." Shadow showed a sinister smile. "From this..." Dylan lifted his arm with difficulty and and showed the vial. He continued to say. "And the... spiritual transmission that I... just received from my client." "A spiritual transmission?!" The representatives of all the top powers uttered almost simultaneously because they did not sense the slightest bit of fluctuation of energy connecting to Dylan. There were only two possibilities pertaining this matter either there was an exceedingly strong8 person who was over a major realm more powerful than them or that Dylan was bluffing. "Hahahahaha, laughable! Do you seriously think I would not believe you when it is obviously a bluff? Hahaha, you underestimate me too much, you brat! Hand over the blood vial now and keep your life or should I take it from your dead body?" Shadow laughed mockingly at Dylan and tightened his grip even more. However, Shadow was growing uneasy inside for he could not sense any form of erratic beating in Dylan''s heart while he was holding him. ''There are no signs of him getting nervous or anxious. It''s like he already encountered something more gruesome than death. Could it be... he''s really saying the truth?'' Dylan''s face was already red from the halted blood flow and veins were already apparent on the periphery of his iris. Though he struggled to speak, he still remained calm, " Do I... look like... I am... bluffing? Kill me... you die too..." Suddenly, in the southeast, there was an extremely terrifying energy that came from miles away from the city! Every inhabitant of the Thunder Clouds City felt the shivers of an extremely powerful aura coming from a single direction! But after several seconds, it quickly disappeared. "What was that?" Different citizens called out in panic. "What sort of expert could exert such a powerful pressure?" Various experts converged to know what was the source of the pressuring anomaly. While the inhabitants and different sects were wondering who and where did that originate from? The participants of the Soaring Garden Auction were all silent. No one was uttering a word. They were only staring at a single subject which was Dylan Ford. It was terrifying how both of these events occured just right after the other. It seemed like a coincidence but it also was not at the same time. The timing was just too perfect for it to be a coincidence. Shadow, who was strangling Dylan one handed, released him immediately as soon as he felt the overwhelmingly powerful aura directed killing intent at him! He was sweating non-stop, it was just as Dylan said, if he killed him, he would die too. ''He really wasn''t bluffing...'' *Cough* *Cough* *Cough* There was only one sound that resounded the entire block. A coughing sound that came from the center of attention, Dylan successfully escaped from the clutches of death once more! ''Hehe, looks like it worked.'' ... Before he went to the auction, he instructed Rian, "Rian, I know you can sense if I am going to die or not. If you do, run into a random direction and run into the top of a mountain and release your bloodline''s strength to the best you can even just for several seconds and direct the killing intent at my direction. If you do that, I will give you 3 of the items that you need for your advancement." Rian answered, "What the heck? I could barely use it for 5 seconds after myevolution 2 days ago and my body goes numb after that! I demand more at least twice as much!" "Hmmm, fine, how about third of a baker''s dozen?" Dylan thought awhile before saying with a smile. "What''s that?" Rian asked curiously. "Let''s just say it''s higher than the previous offer I said." Dylan said. "Deal!" Rian simplemindedly said. ... After recovering, Dylan stood up and coldly stated, "The client said that you are a mere ant in his presence if you dare do something like that again, he will erase you despite being hundreds of miles way." "Tsk..." Shadow could only avert his gaze. In comparison to that aura, he was really nothing but an ant. He shuddered once he realized despite how much of a distance the expert was from Dylan, he still could perform such outstanding feats. The crowd was in awe as they witnessed how terrifying the backing behind Dylan was. They never thought that there could be such an expert out there. They have truly widened their horizons from this auction much more than they could have possibly thought. "Now, where were we? Oh right, Mortal Severing Hybrid Egg going twice..." Dylan continued despite the pain he was feeling on his throat. "I bid the Immortal Level Rank spear, Immortal Slayer. It was a weapon used by True King Ramiel which took the lives and bathed in the blood of a hundred Immortal Saints back on his days. Though it is already dilapidated, it still contains his True King technique inheritance. I am sure that with your client''s power he has the ability to restore it to its peak state. I could not use it anyways since it needs the user to master the Thundercloud Monarch Art first, I might as well use it to get that vial of blood." Shadow showed a spear filled with cracks and rust but the form of the blade signified its briliance during its glory days. "The spear of True King Ramiel..." The crowd did not expect such a treasure would appear in an auction like this. Unfortunately, it is dilapidated but with the power of that expert, they could have hope that it could be restored back to its former glory! "The client agrees immediately. The Demonic Beast God blood is sold!" Dylan announced immediately as he and Shadow exchanged items. Quickly after, Shadow turned his back but he turned his head to loom at Dylan one more time and muttered to himself, "This kid will definitely turn strong..." After which, he soared to the sky and returned to his residence. "The auction has come to aclose. Thank you everyone for your patriotism. I hope to see you next time!" Dylan said smilingly as he felt extremely proud of himself that he was able to earn so much from zero capital! 146 Chapter 146: Threa "CONGRATULATIONS!" The auction has come to a close. Dylan was congratulated by all the participants for a very successful and a rather bountiful auction. Though some may have left without buying an item, they acquired the coupon that Dylan distributed at the near end of the auction.They also found a businessman who has integrity and worthy of their trust due to the incident that happened for the auction of the last item. " I will be sure to come by and buy from your store every now and then." "Through this auction, you have earned a fan, brother Dylan." "I will recommend your store to my friends, sir Dylan." "Hahahaha, if that is so, I would have to thank everybody for their support." Dylan smiled as he received their cheers. Dylan was also congratulated by the 19 Supersects that were present for this encounter. He assisted the sects one by one and even chatted with the, while escorting them. "Well done, young lad. It has been nice doing business with you." The exceedingly tall Vice Head Garet said to Dylan. "Thank you for finding the time to come here, also, sir Garet." Dylan replied respectfully. "What an astounding auction that was. If I have the time, I will come by again." Cobra said with a crisp smile. "I would be honored to have you in one of our auctions once more." Dylan articulated. "I commend your for your bravery and ingenius you have showed, young friend. I was hoping to have a drink with you." Nick Williams laughed heartily while being followed by his companions. "I would not mind having a few drinks with sirm as well." Dylan smiled. "Do you wish to become my disciple, young lad? I find your intelligence and personality quite appealing to the eyes. I heard you also train in the Thundercloud Monarch Art. With my guidance, you will soar higher than any genius." Romero Thunder directly offered with a laugh. He really liked Dylan after witnessing who he was and how he handles situations. "I am very sorry, sir Romero. I am flattered that you have taken a liking to my personage but I have already accepted a master recently. It would be quite disrespectful to find another one immediately." Dylan generously declined. "Is that so? Well, I don''t mind sharing a student with another person. But, if that is your choice, I will definitely respect it. But, if you wish, you can find me for some guidance in training the lightning arts. Just continue on your path and I am sure you will be a strong expert in the future." Romero did not feel dejected despite being rejected,he even encouraged Dylan with his goals. "Thank you very much, sir Romero." Dylan gratefully thanked Romero for his encouragement. He found that Romero was a really nice person despite his appearance. "You have performed splendidly, young one." Partiro Vlad, the uncle of Veronica praised. "Thank you for attending my humble event. I hope you enjoyed your stay." Dylan answered courteously. "As a matter of fact, I did. The food we ordered was unique and of high quality. The tea you serve is also to my liking." Partiro had a favorable impression on Dylan after everything that has happened in this auction. "Then, if sir finds the time to come by, I would gladly personally serve you the tea aforementioned." Dylan smiled faintly. "I would like that. Veronica, we''re leaving." Partiro remarked. He soared with a satisfied smile on his face. "Yes, uncle." Veronica answered. But before she left, she said to Dylan , " Don''t forget about the favor I owe you or I might forget it instead." "I will certainly keep that in mind." Dylan spoke with a smile. Dylan and his employees were tidying up the surroundings of the Soaring Garden Store. Having such a festive event, there was bound to be a lot of trash everywhere. After instructing and dividing the work, the cleaning up was done easily quickly and effeciciently. Dylan went inside first to organize the serious deal of money he earned from the auction. He systematically organized the more than ten thousand spirit stones that he profitted with. "What a bountiful profit." Dylan said as he calculated that he currently has approximately twenty thousand spirit stones! With the auction'' profit hitting nineteen thousand and the accomodation fees hitting several hundreds of spirit stones, Dylan earned a whole lot of money. Not to mention, the five thousand gold coins he got from the minor items and nearly ten thousand silver coins he earned from the toll! "Hahahaha, with this, I just successfully defeated that Steph over three folds of his earnings! That said, all of this is just a little beyond than my expectations. I initially thought I would just earn about 15,000 to 16,000 spirit stones. To think, I would actually earn this much."He was really happy how the auction turned out to be. It was really succesful overall. "It seems like I have nothing to worry about anymore." Azelmek moved closer to Dylan as he said. "Do you mean about my business, master? It is still in it''s budding stage but I believe I can move up to the Top 100 in two-three months." Dylan replied thinking that what Azelmek said was about his business. "Nope, not about that. I was worried about your lovelife. You are already 18 and you have yet to find a single wife! I was starting to think that you were gay. But it seems like it is because you are quite fickle to pick one of the Ten Fairues, the most beautiful women in Mystical Clouds. You are my disciple, indeed. It reminds me of my conquest for my first wife..." Azelmek rubbed his chin and laughed while he teased Dylan. "What?!" Dylan was dumfounded by this topic. His master was actually referring to marriage. In the Great Mystic World, polygamy is globally accepted except for extremely few countries that promotes monigamy in their culture. Polygyny and polyandry are both accepted in their culture as long as it is done in a legal manner. Stealing wives and adultery is looked down upon by its residents. In their customs, a fifteen year old youth could already marry to his/her wife/husband. Bythe age of eighteen, a man or woman having two or three spouses are the norm. Dylan, who came from Earth, was raised in a monogamous society. He had trouble accepting such traditions since he believed that marriage is a sacred union of two people birthed from consummate love and unwavering fidelity to one another. "Hahahaha, hallmaster has conquered twelve women before reaching the age of 100!" Sheldon joined the discussion as well. "You put me too shame having a harem of twenty beautiful women at your home! Hahaha." Azelmek teasingly stated. "Indeed. Sir Sheldon is quite the man to bring love to so many women. I, on the other hand. am rather satisfied with my five wives already." Allen smiled. "But all of which were once part of the city''s Top 10 beauties a hundred years ago! I heard you wished to conquer all ten! Hmph!" Sheldon harrumphed but laughed right after. "Well, I... was rash back then." Allen wryly smiled "Hahahaha, indeed." Azelmek laughed. He looked at Dylan and continjed to speak. " I guess that Dylan is quite more ambitious than any of us. He is already showing us that he wishes to conquer all ten women of the Ten Fairies." "Indeed, the Ten Fairies awarded to the 10 females who could definitely bring downfall to any city! Especially the number 1 beauty, Elizabeth Corentine of the Royal Family of the Mystical Cloud Alliance, she is rumored to be so beautiful that any man who sees her will immediately be smitten." Allen shared. "I heard Veronica is only a hair breadth''s away from her beauty but that is only what the rumor''s say. Rarely has anyone seen the top three fairies without their veils on. Anyways, I heard Miss Vlad tell you about a~ certain favor.~ Hehe." Sheldon mentioned a hearsay before teasing Dylan once more. "What do you mean I am hinting to conquer the Ten Fairies? When did I say that? What are you three even talkking about? Could it be that Master, Uncle Sheldon, Uncle Allen are men who likes to gossip?" Dylan''s brows creased and fires a counter back at them. "Well, it is not like that, Dylan. We were just kidding around that''s all." Sheldon awkwardly smiled after realizing how silly they sounded. "Is that so?" Dylan intensified his gaze and Sheldon could only avert his gaze from embarassment. "Of course. Uh.. There was something I was wondering about the auction. Was the person who let out that aura Sir Null?" Sheldon was flustered as he replied. He quickly changed the topic to avoid plunging into a disaster. "It was. He sensed that I was in danger. He told me it was because of the mark that he has left on my body. Though he was extremely far away, he could still sense which direction I was at. Focusing his aura on that direction, he was able to warn Sir Shadow about killing me." Dylan was prepared for that question so he was able to quickly concoct an answer for it. "To be able to direct his aura despite being hundreds or even thousands of miles away... just how strong is Master Null?" Azelmek curiously stated a question. "I remember him telling me that he is far stronger than any expert in our country." Dylan intentionally looked upwards to insinuate that he was trying to remember something before saying. "Does that mean he has reached the peakof Immortal Saint Realm?!" Azelmek''s eyes bulged when he heard Dylan''s vague statement. "Uh... I''m not sure..." Dylan was wearing an uncertain expression when he said that. It was to give way for the the other three to think and contemplate more about the matter. "I see..." The three nodded their heads while seemingly in deep thought. "By the way, how are you going to plan to deal with the threats, Dylan?" Allen suddenly asked. When he asked this question, the mood became heavy. "He''s right, Dylan. Although we have already publicly showed that we will grant you security, there is still no guarantee that you will be safe from assasination and death threats." Azelmek spoke in a solemn voice "If you want, we can mobilize some of our units that will guard you." Sheldon suggested in worry. "Then, I would gladly accept Uncle Sheldon''s suggestion." Dylan was not so dumb as to reject such a generous offer. He knew the risk that having earned such a great wealth and its'' most common result is threats and ransom. "That would be the best course of action. I will personally assign an Origin Palace Realm Squad to you. Would 20 Origin Transmutation and 10 Origin Foundation Realm expert be enough? If that is not enough, I could still send an additional five Palace Formation Realm Experts." Azelmek wanted Dylan to have a secure life without any underlying dangers so he could wholeheartedly focus in cultivation. Thus, ended up sounding too protective. "The former squad is more than enough, Master. I, thank you for all the concern you have shown." Dylan bowed as a form of gratitude. "Do not worry about it. Your safety is now our priority after all." Allen added. "I have been an unfilial discople for skipping our training schedules for the past week. I am deeply sorry for the selfishness I have shown. I will, without fail, come to every session without fail strating from tomorrow." Dylan apologized for his absence in training for the past week because of the preparation for today''s auction. "All is well. It is not like you did it without our consent. But I do have to increase the length we will do training for this week by three hours." Azelmek replied smilingly. "Please do." Dylan willingly complied. After their discussion, Dylan and his employees finished organizing the entire block and closed the store. They went home to their residence and at the mail post at their gate. There was a paper not that was improperly folded. Dylan moved to the mail post and grabbed the paper. Dylan read the message written, [Give me 10,000 spirit stones. Come to the Dreamy Forest and give me the money. Remeber to go alone. Do not tell anyone about this. If not, your life will be taken in three days.] "Sir Dylan, what should we do? Your life is in danger now!" Jack hurriedly said. But Dylan''s reply was something that shook not only him but everyone "A threat, huh? You should at least do better than your life will be taken in three days. I have heard better like "You will die immediately or your family will die instantly". Asking for only 10,000 when I earned 20,000 spirit stones? What a joke. He did not even properly research his target and he has the gall to demand ransom? Ransom is demanded at the target''s maximum value. He did not even have information crucial about me that would make me surrender. What an amateur." Dylan laughed at this meager threat. In his previous life, he recieved threats that stated they were going to burn his company''s building or bomb it. Threats regarding the murder of Dale, Rose, friends and thousands of employees were also added. Blackmails of different proportions and varieties. Ransom that reached billions if not tens of billions for their lives. Compared to that, this threat was that of a child''s. "Really?" Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard what Dylan said. It sounded as if he had already recieved numerous threats like this even before this one. He sounded as if he knew how to create death threats and ransoms. "We don''t have to worry about this. It''s an empty scare. Let''s just go back inside and have a goodnight rest." Dylan nonchallantly said as he crumpled the piece of paper, threw it into the trash bin and walked towards the house. 147 Chapter 147: Entering Ancestral Veins Realm "It has been seven days since then. Huuu." Dylan exhaled for a while to release some of the stress that has been pilong up for the past few days. After closing his eyes for a bit, he opened it and stood up from his recliner. "Time to get back to work." Seven days after the auction, Dylan received a total of 18 provocations and death threats but he had not paid heed to any of them. The first threat he recieved was actually realized. On the third day after he recieved the threat, the sender snuck into his house past midnight but the "Ford Protection Squad" was able to fend off the infiltrator easily and capture him. After that there were several more instances where assasin tried to break in Dylan''s house but was caught by the Ford Protection Squad and detained by the Thundercloud Guards. Though protecting Dylan was strenuous for the 10 people who comprising the squad, they were rather satisfied with the ample amount of pay that Azelmek gives them in order to do their jobs properly. They also easily got along with Dylan as Dylan always invites them inside everytime they ate dinner. They even anticipated the times that Dylan cooks because his dishes were all top-class! During this sevend days, the number of customers that entered the Soaring Garden Herbal store has averaged 1000 customers a day! The largest batch of customers was in the second day where it reached a total of one thousand four hundred. Their sales even reached a total of 57,000 gold coins! This was reported to the City Hall and the Soaring Garden Enterprise was able to advance in rank. Prior to the auction their official rank was at the 1832nd, but after the auction, they moved up to the 987th place. Currently, they were able to rank at the 764th! Due to the large number of customers, Dylan decided to constructthe third floor of the Herbal Store and Soaring Diner''s which caused him 3,500 gold coins. He also renovated the first floor of the Soaring Garden Auction House and created a reception area for the auction house. Five days ago, he also planned to buy the lot behind the auction house so he could have it remodelled and expanded. Two days after, he finally finished discussing the terms with the owner of the house. The owner demaded a new yet larger lot so Dylan arranged it with the Real Estate Agent he knew and bought the lot at a preferrable price. Fortunately, they were able to arrive at reasonable conclusion. Thus, Dylan temporarily closed the Soaring Garden Auction House for renovation. Dylan was progressing well with his cultivation as well. For the past week, Dylan has showed overwhelming progress in Mystical Magnatism! He was able to advance from the first tier to the third tier easily! His mastery with the Magnate level Mystic Technique already reached Expert Stage! In terms of Cultivation, Dylan was able to reach all of his Low Spirit Rank Techniques to Grand Perfection Mastery, Mid Spirit Rank Techniques to Expert Mastery as well and is currently training with more techniques at the High Spirit Earth Rank. He knew that he did not have an overwhelming talent in Cultivation like how his talent is in Mystical Magnatism so he decided to not take any shortcuts and craft a stable and well-paved path that would secure a bright future for him. His talent did not cease to impress the Azelmek trio as he completely shattered their expectations of him. But what even surprised them even more was the diligence that Dylan had! He did not stop training unless he had fully depleted his energy reserves in his Supreme Core and his Mystical Pond. Once Dylan was near breakthrough to the next Mastery, he did not stop until he was able to achieve that breakthrough. This level of discipline made them feel a great deal of respect to him. His stack of cultivation resources has also drastically improved. Now, he has more than 14,700 Primal Stones, 1,470 Deca-Stones, and 147 Centurion Stones and 7 Millenial Stones! With regards to his Ancestral Veins, he had 36 stones he still did not use that ads up to 183 stones all in all. He used 52 Centurion Stones to reach to a hundred ancestral veins. When he reached the 100th vein, he discovered that it actually needed 3 cernturion stones to create the final 25 veins due to it being the last set of Ancestral Veins. Now that Dylan has over 130 Centurion Stones left, he possessed the qualifications to enter the Ancestral Veins Realm. Just to be safe, Dylan asked Azelmek if he could enter a Cultivation Room for his upcoming advancement because he was afraid that someone might take this oppurtunity to attack him. He told Azelmek it was for his safety during advancement so he was naturally permitted. He was even given access to a high class Cultivation Room. Dylam naturally did not let this opportunity go to waste. The very next day, he arrived at the Premier Hall, prepared with the tribulation he is about to undergo to enter the Ancestral Veins Realm. After greeting Azelmek, Sheldon and Allen a good day, he was guided to the Cultivation Facilities of the Premier Hall. It was also situated at the underground section of the Premier Hall building. According to Azelmek, there was a total of five underground floors. The first two floors were for the cultivation and training grounds for its disciples and staff. The third was the treasury of the entire Hall while the last two floors is the ancestral grounds of the sect. "Thank you so much for letting me enter." Before Dylan was about to enter the Cultivation Room, he thanked them once again for giving him the opportunity to use this Cultivation Room. "Hahaha, there is no need to thank me like this. You are my disciple. I would naturally give you the best treatment I could offer but you have to remember that master will not be there to help you always, you have to remember that the only reliable aid is oneself." Azelmek imparted an important teaching before Dylan entered the Room. "Hallmaster is right. Empty your mind and focus on making the breakthrough." Allen offered good luck for Dylan''s advancement. "Sir Azelmek has already promised a gift for you..." Sheldon was about to disclose the surpise when Azelmek called out his name. "Sheldon!" Azelmek stared intensely at Sheldon. "Ooff, me and my big mouth." Sheldom spoke in a silly manner. "Thank you, master." A heartfelt thanks could be heard. Dylan felt warm after knowing how much these three appreciates and supports him like a father to his son or uncle to his nephew. It was just like his past life, he may have never had a true father or uncle but he had elderly figures who played that role, however, none of them showed us much concern as these three did. "Mmh. Now, go on and become more stronger!" Azelmek nodded and remarked. "Yes, sir!" Dylan answered and turned around to proceed to the room not having any thought to turn around anymore. The three looked proudly at this man. They first thought of him as a means to become closer to the enigmatic and incomparably strong expert but now, they have formally accepted him as a disciple and a nephew to them after interacting with him. ... Dylan sitted crossed-legged. He meditated first to adjust his mental and physical state to its peak state. After a third of an hour, Dylan slowly opened his eyes and uttered, "Begin!" He crushed the Centurion Stones by pairs. Each 5 Centurion Stones he crushes, a new ancestral vein was incorporated to his Spirit Veins System. By the time the 120th extra vein was formed, the 120 veins started to extricate itself from the Spirit Veins System. It started to form an independent and new Veins System with a different structure altogether. But compared to the Spirit Veins System, it did not have the sense of aliveness with it as if it was dead. "This... is the Ancestral Veins System?" Dylan pauses as he observed the changes in his body. He observed how the 120 Ancestral Veins was slowly changing the morphology of the insides of his body. He was feeling rather strange as each veins connected with one another. "I have to continue!" Despite the eerieness he was feeling, he still decided to continue. As soon as the 125th vein was born, the Ancestral Veins System came into being once more! The connection of each Ancestral Vein was established and it successfully became an independent system from the Spirit Veins System. "Finally, the formation is done. According to the manual, the next thing to do is the detonation of each vein, one at a time. The worse thing is that I have to this successively..." Dylan could already feel the imaginary sting in his body just from reminding himself of that phrase. "Before I continue, I need to use this." He held out a Mid Spirit Rank Herb called Silencing Pepper. It was pretty much useless other than losing your voice for an hour. It was the perfect thing that Dylan needs in order to avoid attracting attention just like how he attracted the bandit group that Barry was in at Great Pine Forest. After consuming the herb, he tried speaking a few times to test it out and it was truly effective. Just to make an extra precaution, Dylan ate another one in case the effects of the first one would die out midway. ''Explode!'' Dylan shouted in his heart. He concentrated a great deal of energy to one of the Ancestral Veins and it exploded! *Boom* Dylan shivered as he felt the pain across his body. It felt like one of his fingers exploded suddenly. He opened his mouth and wanted to scream. Right after, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to do it again. *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* Consecutive explosions followed! Dylan opened his mouth and soundlessly coughed blood. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay in a meditative position with one thought resounding in his mind, ''I can do this!!'' *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* Repeatedly, Dylan detonated his veins with just a few seconds as an interval. He did not know how many times he had done it or how much time had elapsed from doing it. He had lost track what vein he was detonating and was just mindlessly following the route which the Ancestral Veins System had. He was constantly reminding his self four words which kept his mind awake. Constantly hanging on that one thread of conscoiusness that he had been holding onto. "You can do it!" "You CAN do it!" "YOU CAN DO IT!!!" His appearance could only be as bloody as it could get. Every time he detonated an ancestral vein, the part of the skin where it could be found upon would break and excrete blood. He was rapidly losing too much blood but he persevered and continue on with the task at hand. ''I''m... finally done." After 10 minutes of nonstop self-torture, Dylan was finally able to completely detonate all of the Ancestral Veins in his body. But it was not without a cost, he has lost too much blood from the process, he was suffering from hemorhage and organ failure. He was nearly losing his consciousness and his heart could not keep up with the rate he was losing blood. ''Like hell will I die!'' Dylan forcibly opened his eyes and he remembered the last step that was written on the chapter [Circulate your spirit energy into the system]. He used all of the mental strength he could summon in order to guide his spirit energy to the Ancestral Veins System. With difficulty, he let his spirit energy pass through the crippled veins of the system. It seemed rather futile doing all of this because there was no apparent reaction that was happening. ''You have to work! YOU HAVE TO!'' Dylan did not feel disheartened and hanged at this one hope he had left. At last, he was able to complete one cycle of circulation in the Ancestral Veins System. Suddenly, the entire Ancestral Veins System shone, each vein had an abstruse golden light with them! The Ancestral Veins System was greedily absorbing all of Dylan''s energy reserves in his Supreme Core at an extreme rate! ''So this is... Ancestral Purification...'' Dylan''s body was shining like a star! It floated in mid-air. Seemingly ancient runes appeared atop of each part of the skin which broke and was excreting blood. These runes converged and formed one ancient seal! The Ancestral Seal entered Dylan''s body and mended his wounds at a terrifying rate! In just a matter of seconds, the wounds were gone without even leaving scars! The blood, that Dylan lost, shone in golden light as well. It ascended in mid air forming 125 conglomerated bloods and they all condensed into the ancient runes that appeared atop of the wounds earlier. Each entered to the respective spot where they originated. Now, Dylan has full regained all of the blood he lost! He opened his eyes which emitted golden light. He looked like an immortal ascending while he floated in mid-air. He suprisingly spoke even, "That felt amazing!" "Apparently, the effects of the Silencing Pepper was neutralized in the process of awakening the Ancestral Veins as it was labeled a foreign material and was purified." Dylan deduced. "Yes! Hahaha! I have successfully awakened the Ancestral Veins!" Dylan laughed in excitement. He felt as if there was another additional route opened to him! Now that he has entered Ancestral Veins Realm. He was really excited what type of Avatars he is going to get after he reaches Awakened Spirit Realm. 148 Chapter 148: Increase in Power! "Wait... I have evolved my constitution again...could it be? " Dylan was thinking that he was going to take another Heavenly Tribulation. He sat down immediately and tried to sense that sense of impending doom he felt when he was about to undergo his first Heavenly Tribulation. "Huuu. It''s a good thing that I don''t have to undergo the Heavenly Tribulation again." Dylan sighed in relief. He thought he was going to endure that type of gruesome experience once more. ''Maybe it is because I am not the first person to create the Ancestral Veins System? Cosmic God was the first person to achieve that realm after all.'' Dylan contemplated. ''Now that I think about it, I was only able to sense the Heavenly Tribulation after I formed the Supreme Core. I guess that it is a probable reason for now...'' "The Cosmic God was a really amazing person. To think he would dare to enter a Godbeast''s lair and steal one of it''s babies." Dylan remembered how Cosmic God described how he could acquire 125 extra veins for the formation of the Ancestral Veins. Cosmic God snatched the newborn egg of a Godbeast called Thousand Tentacle Ancestor. He heard of how the core of the beast could transform one''s Spirit Veins System to the Ultimate Veins Realm where the spirit veins are enlarged to an exaggerated extent of 10 times than that of the normal sized ones. Acquiring this will evolve that person''s Avatar to an Ultimate! It could even still grow stronger with the bestowment of the Origin Palace Evolution. Cosmic God snatched the egg of the Godbeast when a a group of people tried to slay Thousand Tentacle Ancestor. When he consumed the yolk of the egg, he felt an indescribable change in his body and he fainted. When he woke up, he was shocked when his Spirit Veins System was duplicated! He did not dare detonate his original Spirit Veins like how he detonated his Spirit Core to form the Legendary Core since it could result to him falling to Cultivation Deviation. But with a duplicated Spirit Veins System, he decided to try it out. When he finished detonating it one by one, he was already knocking on death''s door. He decided to circulate his energy with this new yet already crippled Spirit Veins System. That was when it incited a new transformation just like how Dylan was able to complete the evolution process. ... "Hehehe, I feel powerful!" Dylan streched his body and he was amazed by how light and energetic his body was feeling despite the death-incurring torture he just endured a few minutes ago. "I wonder what my two Avatars would be." Dylan said while he was doing his training routine. An Avatar is something which determines the path that a person should follow because it depicts the talent that you inherently posses. It further enhances techniques which are aligned with its nature. Thus, many people would choose Earth Techniques only when they have awakened their Avatars since Earth Techniques are the techniques which are designed with a prefirgured element to train with. "However, judging from my heritage, it would most likely be related to fire and water." Dylan thought while he performed the High Spirit Rank technique, Deadly Spiritbreaker, that he chose for himself. An Avatar is also mostly related with one''s heritage. That is why a clan has a trademark Avatar that people would recognize them for. The Ford Clan is the True King Clan which is renowned for its water attribute avatars. The most famous one was Derik Ford''s Ocean Swallowing Whale! On the other hand, the Magma Clan is known for its'' inherent fire attribute avatars. They are most renowned by the royal family''s Magma Firebird. "Does that mean I have the possibility of getting contrasting elements?" Dylan momentarily stopped once he considered this possibility. He had not thoroughly thought about what type of Avatar he is going to get as he was preoccupied with stabilizing his business in the city. "I was originally hoping I could obtain a pair of Avatars with similar attributes so I can easliy create fusion attacks. The possibility of it being contrasting attributes will make it harder to create combinations. There is also the conflict between the attribute of the spirit energy I am going to cultivate." Dylan did not consider this possibility early on. He was starting feel the problem of his origins. "My Spirit Veins and Ancestral Veins System could each cultivate one element. If my avatars is truly fire and water, that means I can only use it one Avatar at a time! Because if I try to use them both, my core would not able to handle the friction between the two energies. Not to mention, it would greatly weaken the energy output of my attacks... Damn!" The more Dylan thought about it, the more he felt how much crisis he was in! "Wait! I forgot about the fact that I train in the Cosmic God Manual where common sense does not apply bevause I train in the Cosmic Energy!" Dylan''s eyes suddenly brightened once he thought of it! The Cosmic Energy is the type of energy which the Cosmic God designed to be similar to the Source Energy of the cosmos. Although he royally failed to do so, the Cosmic Energy still retains some of the qualities and characteristics of the Source Energy. One could even call it the Pseudo-Source Energy. One of the prominent features of the Source Energy is that all types of energy comes from it! This is the feature which the Cosmic Energy was able to mimic after Cosmic God''s years of research. Enabling him to be able to cultivate and use multiple energies with different attributes. This was also one of the reason''s that Dylan could use the Thunderclod Monarch Art! "The Cosmic God Manual is really awesome! My master Cosmic God is really the best!" Dylan was endlessly prasing the Cosmic God Manual since it had solved his most troublesome issue in his cultivation! "With those problems solved, I guess I can now focus on improving my strength!" Dylan happily remarked. Dylan was currently piling up the more than fourteen thousand Primal Stones in front of him. It flooded the entire cultivation room. But if there was somebody else here, they would not able to see the Primal Stones since they are invisble to other except for Dylan. On the night after the auction, Dylan was thinking that the Primal Stones no longer had any use to him now that he was already at the Pinnacle of the 10th level of the Spirit Veins Realm. But there was something that hit him. He had only used the Primal Stones in ones or in twos. How about if he starts crushing it by fives or even tens? Surprisingly, when he crushed five Primal Stones at the same time, the energy contained within gathered in his arms and became denser. When Dylan absrobed it, it felt as though it was twice if not thrice as more effective than doing it by twos! Now, Dylan was attempting do it by tens! The energy from within the stones gathered in Dylan''s arms and formed an even denser color of white than a Deca-Stone could offer! "Hahaha, it''s like having absorbing three Deca-Stones at the same time! The energy within the Primal Stones has a strange tendency of gathering together and making it even more denser and purer than usual!" Dylan arrived at this conclusion after absorbing the Primal Stones! Initial 11th Level Ancestral Veins! Intermediate 11th level Ancestral Veins! High 11th level Ancestral Veins!! Dylan continued breaking the more than 14,700 Primal Stones! It took Dylan an hour to finish absorbing to all of them! Dylan felt as if he just absorbednearly six thousand Deca-Stones from it!! He was able to advance from Initial to High stage of the 11th level due to this! He was even close to breaking through to the next stage! A single Deca-Stone is equal to ten Primal Stones. However, by discovering the principle of the enrgy within the stones, Dylan was able to ascertain that crushing 5 at ones would double its expected amount of energy but crushing 10 at the same time would be four times more the expected amount! "Amazing! How about if I use this method with the Deca-Stones as well?" Dylan thought of a really rad idea. "Let''s try it!" He called out the 1,470 Deca-Stones! He tried doing it by fives at first. The same phenomenon happened with how the Primal Stones Energy became even more denser! Dylan was even surprised by the amount of energy recieved which was equal to using 15 Deca-Stones individually! "This is amazing!" Dylan crushed 10 Deca-Stones at the same time! He was even more delighted to discover that it was equivalent 60 Deca-Stones! Dylan tried to do it with 20 stones but its effectiveness was just the same as doing it with 10. So, Dylan decided to stick with doing it by 10s. Peak 11th Level Ancestral Veins! Pinnacle 11th Level Ancestral Veins! Initial 12th Level Ancestral Veins!! Using all one thousand and four hundred seventy Deca-Stones, he was able to succesfully breakthrough past the 11th level! Dylan was feeling the surge in power after checking out the overflowing and smooth flow of spirit energy from his Supreme Core until the Ancestral Veins System! "I''ll break thorugh past the 13th level with these seven!" Dylan continued to crush the 7 Millenial Stones that he still had! The ten thousand energy threads of each stone that was equal to a Primal Stone per thread made Dylan''s strength surge forth by leaps and bounds as he was being raaped by the coccoons! He broke through from the Initial to Peak Stage of the 12th level with one Millenial Stone. Broke through to the 13th level by using one more stone. The third stone helped me advance until the Intermediate Stage of the 13th Level. The fourth stone was used to jump from Intermediate to High. The fifth was used to barely break through the Peak Stage while last two stones were used in order to reach the Pinnacle 13th level of the Ancestral Veins. "So close. But I guess my estimate of 30 Millenial Stones to pass the Amcestral Veins was just right. Twenty three more!" Dylan clenched his fist as he said those words. He could cultivate without even reinforcing his cultivation due to the presence of his Supreme Core but Dylan still chose to circulate his spirit energy so that it could be more refined and so that he could familiarise himself with his new Ancestral Veins System. He thought that he could maybe multicast with the addition of the Ancestral Veins. Both energy vein systems could be manipulated with a thought. Both have the same positioning inside the body just different structure. So, Dylan tried to use the power of his Spirit Veins on his left and on his right! "Tiger Crushing Fist and Deadly Spiritbreaker!"Both were fist techniques that needs the fuel of spirit energy. The dummy he put in front of him was qyickly destroyed without a cinch, Also, they both followed different channels of veins in order to be activated but Dylan was able to do both at the same time! "This is brutally awesome!" Although he only used Spirit Techniques, he was able to confirm that he could definitely perform a multicast spell! Even using two techniques with different would be no problem if he mastered the timing! But if he does, he could definitely destroy opponents of an even higher level than what he was right now! He could only imagine himself multicasting Earth or Heaven Rank Spells at an army. The amount of damage incurred would be incredibly high! But there was one downside to this, Dylan noticed that multicasting puts a lot of stress on the body. His arm were already shaking after he used the two techniques earlier. "I guess I have to build up enough stamina and resistance if I want to use this multicasting method in the future. But once I reach King Stage of Body Strengthening, maybe multicasting would be much more easier to use than how it is now." Dylan thought before continuing to train. After an hour, Dylan decided to exit the Cultivation Room and felt truly joyful because of the bountiful harvest he got from this cultivations session. He was received by Azelmek and the others when he exited the Cultivation Room. "How did it go?" Sheldom asked. "It went perfectly. I was able to smoothly breakthrough to the next level." Dylan told them. "Oh. I am quite curious what level you are now. I can''t see through your cultivation level because of the unique Cultivation Technique that Master gave you." Azelmek inquired what his current cultivation was. "I am already at the 12th level." Dylan disclosed but he decided to hold back a bit because he knew that advancing to the 13th level was too fast and it would most likely shock the three a bit too much. "You are rather talented in Spiritual Cultivation as well." Allen was mildly surprise because it only took Dylan 3 weeks to advance 2 whole levels! "Indeed. To think that nephew would be so talented in both aspects of cultivation as well." Sheldon lightly clapped his hands to show his support. "Well, it is mainly because of the purer and denser spirit energy within the city that made it twice as easy gathering and refining energy." Dylan modestly replied. "But, not everyone could do advance two levels in just three works." Azelmek commented. "I was merely lucky to receive your guidance." Dylan said meekly. "Stop being so modest in front of us, be more confident, will you? You have talent. You should be proud of it. Being brazen is not peculiar when you are at your age." Sheldon complained about Dylan''s ever-humble behavior. "I will try, uncle." Dylan scratched his head and looked a little bit embarassed. "He''s right. Its'' not bad to be proud about your achievements. Be brazen but with moderation." Allen added. "Mhm." Dylan nodded. He bowed and turned around to leave. "Thank you again for everything, everyone. I think I should go now. My employess must be waiting for me in the store." Dylan left the Premier Hall and made his way to the Soaring Garden Property. When he was near the store, he saw that Billy, Larry and the other were outside wearing frantic expressions. He found it peculiar because he knew that it was not their shift yet today. Seeing this, Dylan immediately rushed over to them. He asked as soon as he was close enough, "What are you all doing? Why are you here at the store? Shouldn''t you all be at home ~?" "Sir Dylan! Thank goodness, you are back! Mary has been kidnapped and has been missing since you left! We can''t contact her for the past few hours. We don''t know who did it but we have already reported it to the Thundercloud Guards." Larry reacted immediately and said. "What?!" Dylan was too shocked by this news. Someone kidnapped Mary? Dylan had a bad premonition about this news because he had the feeling that the abductors were the people who threatened him. 149 Chapter 149: The Dreamy Fores "Everyone who is not working, contact them now! Searching for " Dylan commanded. "Yes, sir!" Larry''s group replied immediately after. All of his employees have already reached the Awakened Spirit Realm including his newly employed workers as they were already at the Awakened Spirit prior to their employment to Dylan. Thus, they could already perform Spiritual Transmission with each other. ''Emergency! Everyone, Sir Dylan is calling you!'' Larry and the others each contacted another person which also forwarded the massage to other employees of the Soaring Garden Enterprise. "Tell everyone to search for Mary and gather intel about her previous whereabouts!" Dylan immediately commanded. "Yes, sir!" The contact group immediately transmitted Dylan''s message to the others! One hour after, in the third floor of the Soaring Garden Herbal Store... One hour has already passed since Dylan came home from training yet Mary is nowhere to be found. Dylan was quickly growing uneasy as he sat on his chair. He clenched his fist as he swore with killing intent, "If anything happens to Mary, I would slaughter every single one one of you!" *Boom* *Crash* A loud sound was heard from the window near Dylan. Dylan stood up from his seat and remained vigilant. Dylan was going to attack when he heard a familiar voice. "Dylan, I found Mary! Follow me!" It was Rian who crashed through the window and hurriedly said. As soon as he said what he was supposed to say, he immediately left through the window he just broke. Jack and the other who were currently working, swiftly went upstairs. They saw the broken window and quickly asked what happened. "Sir Dylan what happened did another assassin try to attack you?" "No, it was just Rian. I''m following him where going to where Mary is!" Dylan answered as brief as he could that it left his workers dumbfounded. "Rian found Mary?" The rest of the staff asked. But Dylan no longer answered their question as he jumped from the window and leaped on the roofs of the buildings beside the Soaring Graden Property. Forgetting about the broken window, Dylan wordlessly followed Rian right away. He saw Rian effortlessly leaping from one building to the other. He was so fast that even a Palace Formation expert would find it difficult to keep up with the swiftness he was showing. Despite Rian appearing to be a dot in Dylan''s gaze, he was still able to follow him because of the connection that they shared from the Beast Companionship Contract. ''Zooming Thunder!'' Dylan roared in his mind. His body shook and shone as it zoomed past the buildings! His speed has increased by tenfold the moment he used the Cheetah Monarch: Zooming Thunder! His body flickered with lightning and was slowly closing the distance between him and Rian. *Swoosh* *Swoosh* In just ten minutes, the two was able to quickly leave the city. After leaving the city, Rian sped up even more to a speed which was comparable to a Palace Establisment Expert! Rian went so fast that there were gust of airs forming tiny twisters. "Hmph, show-off." Dylan smiled but it was not like he did not have any methods to increase his speed as well. When he corculated his energy in specific manner, wings of flickering lightning started to form on his back which greatly enhanced his speed! "Zooming Thunder Wings!" Although it would be much more draining, Dylan stacked his Tyrant''s Wings of Lightnings with the Zooming Thunder which amplified his speed to fifty times his regular speed! The Zooming Thunder is a pure movement technique through transforming one''s energy into pure lightning and using the intensity of lightning to increas one''s speed. It could amplify one''s speed by tenfold increasing agility and attack speed during battle or an escape. At Grand Perfection, it could raise the speed of its user by fifty times!! The Wings of Lightning is a Battle Technique which creates wings from transformed lightning energy and increases the speed of the user by five times. Dylan designed this technique for instantaneous movement speed to form dashing attacks in quick succession. At Grand Perfection, he designed this to be able to perform 12 successive dash attacks! His speed nearly approached that of an Palace Formation Realm''s speed! Though it was still greatly slower than Rian''s speed, it enabled him to maintain a distance of 1 kilometer between them. Rian who was leading the way noticed that Dylan was able to maintain such fixed distance with him, "Hehehe, I guess my partner is no pushover, eh?" "Isn''t this direction trailing towards the Dreamy Forest?" Dylan mumbled as he remembered that the direction they were going was the same direction where the Dreamy Forest that was 76 kilometers away from the Thunder Clouds City. With their speed, they were able to reach the Dreamy Forest in just two thirds of an hour. Dylan scanned the entrance of the forest. The forest was really filled with mature Illusion Isolating Trees which could beguile any cultivator of the Spirit Gathering Realm and trap them into illusion but to people of the Origin Realm it was no problem at all. Dylan was an exception of this rule because he had the Ancient Veins Realm which could immediately filter the contaminants which tries to enter his body. Even Earth Rank Poisons from Poison Master could be easily purified by the Ancestral Veins Realm. "Are you sure that Mary is here?" Dylan asked Rian who was standing beside him. "I''m sure of it. I can smell her clearly. She is being taken somewhere in the middle of this forest." Rian squeaked. "How did you find out that she was being taken here?" Dylan was wondering about this ever since they started running. "The moment I heard from the others that Mary was missing. I immediately searched around the city. While I was searching for her, I heard your name in a large mansion with a panther statue. I sneaked through that mansion and found out that they were planning to take Mary to this forest." Rian retold his actions to Dylan. "A mansion with a panther statue? The Panther Grand Clan?!" Dylan was able to quickly since there was no other clan that dared to take away the symbol of the Panther Clan in the Thunder Clouds City. "That''s right! That''s what they called themselves! I heard that he ordered some low ranking sects to kidnap one of your employees and demand you to come here in this forest so that they could kill you!" Rian paraphrased what he heard when he listened with the discussion Gayolei and the leaders of the low ranking sects had. "No wonder, there too many assasination attempts for the past week! It was all his doing! He must have offered a hefty price just to tempt the others to get rid of me." Dylan quickly understood what had transpired after hearing some crucial information from Rian. .... Inside the Panther Clan''s Mansion... In his garden, Gayolei was pleasantly drinking his tea and was eating his lunch worry free. He lightly dabbed his handkerchief to his lips and drank his tea as he looked at the calm pond of his, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere of his garden. "My plan is truly ingenius!" Gayolei smiled while took a sip of his tea once more. It was indeed true. When Gayolei heard how much profit Dylan was able to make and how he was being safequarded by a tremendously powerful expert, he immediately felt threatened. He sensed the shocking talent that he possessed in business and he knew that he was bound to rise to the top 100 in a year at most or half a year at the very least. Thus, he crafted a plan. He planned to finish Dylan off before he could showcase that talent even more. But, he can''t do it in public because he hasAzelmek and that expert keeping him guard. If he tried to openly kill Dylan, he would face dire consequences and might even end up dying at worst or a damaged reputation at best. However, if Dylan were to die in the hands of weak individuals, the expert would definitely not invest his efforts on a talent that could not defeat low-level grunts of Origin Transmutation or Foundation Realm. Thus, he decided to pressure Dylan with the pressure of death! He anticipated that Azelmek would assign a protection team for Dylan but he did not expect that Dylan would still be so calm despite being constantly threatened for the past seven days. Therefore, he changed plans and took an even more drastic measure which was to kidnap one of his colleagues and force him to come to the Dreamy Forest alone so that he could be killed without anyone witnessing the matter. After doing so, he would order his men to kill the sect leaders in order to assure the silence and his uninvolvement to the matter. "Hahahaha, Dylan Ford, this is what you get for offending me! Today will be the day of your death! Hahahahah!" Gayolei laughed victoriously as he reviewed his plan in his mind, feeling that it was unerring. But, he would have never thought that Dylan had the strength to contend to Origin Transmutation Realm already and had a beast companion with a strength that was already unequaled in the entire Origin Realm despite only being 2 weeks old! ... Back at the entrance of the Dream Forest... "Are we going or not?" Rian impatiently questioned, "Give me a moment." Dylan closed his eyes. He crushed the remaining four Deca-Stones with him and recovered his expended energy from it. "Okay, let''s go." "Hehehe, finally I get to have some work-out." Rian smiled deviously. "Remember, do not show any mercy." Dylan coldly said. "Hmph, of course, Mary is so kind and gentle. She always brought me food and asked how I was doing. Yet, they kidnapped her? I''m going to crush their skulls!" Rian''s eyes flashed and it revealed some of the demonic killing intent that he showed while he activated his bloodline. "Mhm. If anything happens to Mary, they wouldn''t even deserve to have an intact dead body!" The kind and warm Dylan that everyone knew disappeared that instant. It was as if his originally dark eyes, darkened even more. The coldness and brutality that Dylan was showing in his eyes would make people to distance themselves from him. The man and puppy walked to the forest, preparing themselves for the slaughter that was going to happen! ... Somewhere in the middle of the forest... A large fort could be found. It was the base of the coalition of the low-ranking sect leaders which all had the power of Origin Foundation Realm.There were a lot of people patrolling in the vicinity of the fort. Inside, There were 18 sect leaders within which were the ones responsible for the eighteen death threats Dylan recieved and each of them had at least 3 people accompanying them which at least reached the power of Origin Foundation Realm. There was around ninety people in this alliance! This group was arranged because they were afraid that the Ford Protection Squad would appear. Each one of that squad had battle strength and techniques that far surpassed all of them individually but they would definitely over power them with the numbers they possess. Inside the fort, there was a prison cell containing only one person. This was none other than Mary who was abducted by the group. She was trembling and was alone. There were traces of crying on her haggard face. She was scared because she did not know what was going to happen to her. But she knew that she was being used as a bait to lure Dylan tp this forest and kill him! She tried escaping countless of times but for some reason, she could not use her spirit energy. She felt really guilty and useless for being so useless and weak. She even implicated various problems to Dylan because of this. She could only pray that the man she love would not come and rescue her. Crying helplessly, she said, "Oh heavens, I beg of you, please do not let Sir Dylan come... *sniff* If he dies, because of me... if the man I love dies, because of me... *sniff* I would rather die! *sniff*" "Shut up, bitch! You just ruined my sleep!" A large bald man guarding her shouted. "Hehehe, bro. Calm down. Look at her, she is a beauty after all. We need to be gentle with her. Bro, our boss only said that we should keep her alive, right? That means we could do anything as long as she is alive..." A similarly large bearded man pervertedly insinuated. He even licked his lips while looking at Mary. "You''re right! Hahaha, you are quite smart, bro. I did not thought about it until you mentioned it. It would be nice to release some stress." The large bald man nodded and looked at Mary lecherously. Sensing their obscene gazes, Mary could only shiver and she was scared about what was going to happen next. She could only retreat until she reached the wall. "Don''t come closer!" Mary screamed while she hugged her knees with her back on the wall. "Don''t worry, we will be gentle. Hehehe." The bearded man laughed evilly. They were only a few steps away from Mary now. She closed her eyes and whispered in her heart, ''Someone, save me.'' Abruptly, they heard a call for help, "HELP US! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!" "What?" The two guards who was planning to **** Mary was taken aback when they heard that voice. *CRASH* Suddenly, a large crashing sound was heard! When Mary opened her eyes, she could only see the wall behind her destroyed with a large hole beside her! There was a thick dusty fog everywhere so she could barely see anything. She could see streaks of light and hear crisp sparking sounds from the large hole! Amidst the rubble, he could hear the groans of the men who tried to **** her and from the large hole, a man entered the prison cell. That sillhoutte was too familiar too her, she memorised that figure by heart. That was then, she knew that the man she love has come to save her! She heard a very gentle voice which said, "Don''t be afraid, I am here to rescue you. It''s me, Dylan." The fog suddenly cleared up and she could see tha face of the man who saved her. "Sir.. Dylan..." She cried in joy because she thought could never see him again. She hugged him without even thinking. All the anxiety and frustration she felt was strangely relieved when she felt the hand which carressed her head. Maybe it was because of the mental fatigue and stress she felt or from the feeling of bliss and security she felt with Dylan here beside her but she fainted in his arms. Dylan saw the sorry state that Mary was in. It was like he felt all the anxiety and stress she felt when she cried on his chest. He carried her on his bank supporting her with his left hand. ''She is really light and fragile'' he thought. He looked at the people who tried to **** her, quickly got up and asked for his identity. "Who are you?" "Death." Dylan coldly said. He raised his right hand and used Piercing Thunder Skill of the Thundercloud Monarch! Like lightning the tigerbeetle that Dylan formed, easily punctured their chests and destroyed their hearts of these two. "Wha..." The two did not even have the time to react as their bodies fell lifelessly. Dylan turned around and left with Mary whom he carried on his back. "Scum." That was the only word he left to the two people who tried to defile Mary. 150 Chapter 150: Battle at Dreamy Forest 1 When Dylan exited the fort, he saw the 18 sect leaders gathering twenty to twnety five meter away from him. Behind them, the fifty eight grunts that they have were standing. There were orignally seventy two grunts but Dylan and Rian took care teelve of them while they infiltrated the Fort and Dylan killed those two fodders that were guarding Mary. "Who are you? Why did you come and kill our men?!" Pne of the sect leader stepped forward and screamed at Dylan, demanding to know who he was and why he was doing all of this. "What useless assassins. Can''t even recognize your target?" Dylan took strides forward in order to show his face to the people who abducted Mary. "It''s you?!" The eighteen leaders were shocked because with a closer look, they were able to recognize who he was! It was none other than their target, the person they were supposed to kill in this forest. "You better prepare yourselves because you will all die in this forest!" Dylan''s aura was brimming witj killing intent as he said those words. "Hahahaha, with just you? You are merely at the peak of the Spirit Veins Realm! What can an ant like you to us, cultivators of the Origin Realm?" One of the more than fifty Origin Transmutation Realm mockingly said. "Laugh while you still can because you will end up like those people I just killed." Dylan sneered at that person. He was already somewhat used to this underestimation because everytime he encountered bandit groups, they would greatlu belittle him but it was also due to this that he was able to kill them without exerting too much effort. Dylan knew that his surface strength is his greatest shortcoming but it is also one of his advantages. His opponents would greatly underestimate him while fighting him which leads to them lowering their guard. When they least expect it, Dylan would strike at his full power and easily defeating his foes. "..." His words rendered the opposing side speechless. This guy actually admitted that he was the one who slaughtered more than a dozen of their comrades! With this revelation, they became much more vigilant towards Dylan because it did not seem like he was lying at all. He just got out from the prison cell where they kept the girl and the two that were guarding the girl were at the 17th level Origin Transmutation but it appears that they are already dead similar to how they found 12 bodies along the pathways to the prison cell. "Why are you all so silent? Are you all scared of me now?" Dylan mockingly taunted. "You think we are scared with the likes of kid who has barely separated from his mother''s tit?!" Another man immaturely said. He thought that he axtually said a good insult but Dylan only replied indifferently, "Pathetic." Then, another crashing sound was heard. *Crash* The rest of the crowd was shocked as they watched their fort be destroyed in a matter of seconds! It all happened too fast! They could only see a swift shadow that their eyes could barely keep up with smash through the walls and pillars of the fort! The fort that was built from material of the High Spirit Rank was destroyed in the blink of an eye! "I''m done. How about you?" The shadow moved beside Dylan. It was none other than the cute black furred puppy Rian. But, Rian already knew that he was asking a rhetorical question when he could already see the unconcious Mary on Dylan''s back. "?!" The opposite side were shocked by what they saw! A talking puppy?! What it in the world was happening? "Yeah. Just tied up some few loose strings. You said you could take all of the leaders by yourself right?" Dylan did not seem to mind and mentioned the statement that Rian told him before crashing to the inside of the fort. "You kidding me? I could take all of them singlehandedly without breaking a sweat." Rian arrogantly declared. "Tsk." The alliance was deeply insulted with Rian''s declaration. They were being looked down upon by a talking puppy? What could be more insulting than that?! "You dare belittle us! I will kill you!" A long haired man could not take the insult anymore so he rushed towards Rian. "Oh, shut up." Rian jumped and moved towards the charging man. He lazily swung his paw to the cheek of the man. *Crack* *Krruukk* A loud crack was heard as the jaw of the man shattered and his head was easily dislocated from the spine and spinned around twice! Blood was coming out from the disfigured face of the man and the twisted flesh of his neck. The body of the long haired fell with his head facing his back. It was horrid sight to behold. "Don''t disturb me when I am talking!" Rian disdainfully reprimanded the already deceased man in front of him. "How the heck?!" The alliance members were so shocked that this little puppy could actually one shot a 19th level Origin Foundation Realm! This strength that he had to possess was at least Core Transformation Realm of beasts!! But Rian did not mind them that much and continued speaking with Dylan. " As I was saying I could easily take them all on! You just need to sit back and protect Mary." "Okay, I will protect Mary. I will assist you from the back and take care of the grunts that will try to come for Mary or me. Just finish off the 18 leaders that they have." Dylan did not reject Rian''s declaration so he decided to leave the 18 sect leaders to Rian. Well, it is not like he could handle them like Rian could. "Good. I''ll leave Mary to you. Leave these despicable bunch to me." Rian excitedly said. "Be wary about them and do not let them form any sort of formation. They have the numerical advantage after all." Dylan reminded his partner to remain vigilant despite his overwhelming strength. "I know. I know. I won''t get caught that easily. I will kill them before they could do anything to me." Rian smiled evilly. ... While Dylan and Rian were discussing what to do, the leaders also arrived at a quick decision after some deliberation of their opponents'' strength. "Everyone, the beast possess unbelievable level of strength. I believe that it has already reached Core Transformation Realm despite its'' juvenile appearance. I suggest that we use that formation!" A scholar looking individual suggested. "I agree as well! Individually we are not a match with that beast but using that formation will strengthen us to an extent that we could easily slay it!" A smart looking middle aged man concurred. "Then, it is decided! Activate the formation!" The 6 formation masters of the 18 sect leaders swiftly moved into 6 separate directions. The formation masters set up their formation flags which consequently formed 3 12 feet-tall muscular energy warriors! "Three Headed Minor Demon Formation!" The leaders called out. Each warrior had six people in them. These warrior had menacing appearances, each having 3 heads and six arms with six 2-meter broadswords on each hand. The auras of each warrior, escalated to the degree which is comparable to a peak level Palace Formation Realm expert but together, they could even contend against a Palace Establisment Expert. "Come, little puppy! Let us see how you are going to deal with all of us now!" One of the burly leaders taunted Rian. Their men cheered loudly when they witnessed the transformation of their leaders. "Whoooo! Our bosses are so amazing!" "We can slay the puppy and the arrogant youth now!" "Let''s kill them! Hahahaha!" ... On the other hand, Dylan and Rian had solemn expressions when they saw the formation of the three demon warriors. Their auras just shot through the roof after using this formation! "It looks like they want to go full force after witnessing your strength. Can you still beat them?" Dylan inquired. "I definitely can but if I am fighting against them, there has to be no distractions." Rian looked at the morale of the other side constantly rising. Dylan immediately knew what Rian was referring to. Thus, he volunteered, " Okay, I will fend off the people who will try to obstruct your way. I can deal with the fodders by myself. You can focus all your strength slaying the leaders. Got it?" "Thanks! Let''s do this!" Rian charged through and attacked the demon warrior in the middle. He went full throttle from the get go so the leaders who were just taunting him were shocked when they witnessed his raw speed. "How fast!" The leaders gasped in astonishment as Rian instantly crossed the distance of twenty meters before they could even react. "Take this!" Rian roared as he used his head headbutted the demon. The sheer amount of force that Rian built up from his sprint and the natural strength that his muscles had added upon each other which made the demon warrior in the middle get blown away from the force of impact! *Booom* "Arrgh!" The leaders who were inside the energy demon warriors were naturally connected to it so they could feel the full brunt of the attack that Rian just did. Despite the pain being properly distributed to all six of them, they still coughed blood *Crash* The demon warrior was sent flying ten meters away from his original spot! It crashed into the Illusion Isolating Trees within their vicinities, thereby uprooting them upon landing! "A monster!" The allies of the leaders cried in horror. The cute puppy could actually bring out such terrifying raw strength! "Attack!" The two demon warriors that were still standing, quickly composed themselves and attacked Rian who just landed on the ground after delivering that blow. *Kaboom* Two swords from both demon warriors chopped down heavily to the ground! Clouds of dust formed on the location where the swords striked but a shadow quickly exited from the clouds. "Hehehe. Too slow!" Rian smirked. He backflipped in mid-air and executed a double heel kick with his back legs which aimed at the back of the head of the Demon warrior to his right which was crouching down! *BOOM!* The demon warrior had its face planted onto the ground because of the flawless kick that Dylan executed! "Ohhhwww.." The sect leaders inside were still severely staggering from the ground-breaking blow that Rian just landed on them. They felt that it was like there was a sledgehammer hitting them directly on the head. Their men were immediately frightened once they realized that the little beast actually dealt with two large demon warriors so quickly! "We-we can''t beat a monster like that!" "We''ll die instantly from just one of its paws!" "We are all going to die!" "Hahaha, take that, you bastards!" Rian laughed while he was still in mid-air. "Ah, shit!" But his eyes constricted when a large sword hit him and sent him flying to the forest! *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* "Ouch!" Rian struggled to get up as he destroyed three mature trees before he stopped being blown away. "What the fuck are you all doing?! Have you gone dumb from watching! You may not be able to win against him alone but we have numbers! Fire your long range attacks at him while we tank ourselves against the beast!" The scholar looking sect leader rallied his troops and immediately delegated some commands. After saying those words, the demon warrior that Rian just blasted away and the demon warrior that Rian just face planted to the ground stood up and charged at him! "Kill that little monster!" After hearing those words, the allied forces had a quick realization: "That''s right! We don''t need to directly join the fight!" "We can distance ourselves whil supporting our respective leaders!" "Hahahaha, that''s right! Let''s go and slay the puppy!" All fifty six grunts gathered in one spot and raised their morale! They, then decided to go and fight with their leaders. Just when they were going to follow their sect leaders, they suddenly felt a strong surge of energy which force all of them to their knees! The strength of the pressure was so strong that they could only crouch down to prevent themselves from falling to the ground. "Where do you think you''re all going? I''m your opponent now." Dylan coldly smiled under the shocked gazes of the people while he suddenly appeared at the center of the group of fifty cultivators! 151 Chapter 151: Battle at Dreamy Forest 2 "How did you.... suddenly appear here... in the middle... just like that?" The nearest thug to Dylan struggled in speaking. "You''re a... Mystical Magnate?!" Another thug exclaimed with difficulty. Along with the suppression of first volume of the King of the Land Technique, they could feel their cultivation dropping by 20% or at least by one level due to the natural advantage of the Mystical Magnates. "That''s a secret." Dylan mysteriously said. He summoned his Waning Moon Sword and attacked the nearest person to him. He swiftly inserted spirit energy into the Waning Moon Sword. "Nooo!" The thug targeted by Dylan screamed in horror when he saw Dylan summon a sword out of nowhere and glance at him. It was not only him but also the person next to him who was also kneeling beside him "Half-moon Slash!" Dylan accurately aimed at his neck and slashed horizontally which easily decapitated the target of his attack. The headless body fell lifelessly on the ground with blood squirting from his exposed neck. "This can''t be!!" It also took the life of the person next to him which was less than a meter away from the target. With the Half-moon Slash proceeding to his neck as well, he was easily killed despite trying to avoid it. "Damn you!! Bastard!! I''ll kill you!!" The group roared in anguish as they saw their comrades die just like that. "You kidnapped a part of my family that alone sentences every single one of you lowlives to death!" Dylan''s face remained indifferent while his eyes emitted mercilesss killing intent. He did not remain idle and swiftly moved one with another person to kill! As Dylan was slowly killing those near him, those who were far from him noticed that the pressure in their bodies were alleviating each time Dylan moves. When they noticed this, they stood up gritting their teeth and attacked Dylan! When Dylan appeared, he made sure that all of the grunts were within the range of his suppression technique. However, one of the weaknesses of the King of the Land is that the further the target is from the center, which is the user, the lesser pressure he feels. Unless its'' user has reached the Grand Perfection mastery, this defficiency will remain but will decrease as the user''s comprehension increase. "Die!" The first person to stand up was a man who had a top-knot on his head. He unsheathed his sword and unleashed a Low Earth Rank Battle Technique, Wind Blade. Powered by his Origin Transmutation cultivation, the full powered wind blade he released swiftly cut through the air and made its way to Dylan! *Swoosh* Dylan naturally anticipated this since he knew the weakness of his techniques thanks to Azelmek''s guidance. He did not even attempt to dodge, instead he grabbed one of the people close to him and used him as a meat shield. "Oh no!" The man with the top-knot called out in alarm. "Fuck you..." The one Dylan was holding cursed as he saw the wind blade move nearer to severely injure him. Dylan knew that the person he was holding has already reached the King-class body for he could ascertain that his cultivation was the 18th level Origin Transmutation Realm. Attaining a King-class body would not only enable a person to contain Origin Energy but it would also mean that not even Mid Spirit Rank weapons would not be able to hurt its'' skin. Thus, with the person at hand at his mercy, Dylan was easily able to match the path by which the wind blade followed and angled the neck of the person he was holding to that path. "What are you doing?! Noooo! Aghhg!" The meat shield also met a headless end like the first two. No matter how much stronger the King-class body is than a normal person''s body, the neck will still remain one of the vital points of a human. "Brother Kam! Bastard, I am going to tear you to pieces!" The man with the top-knot shouted wrathfully. At the same time, another person was able to stand. He retreated several steps back, exiting the range of Dylan''s technique. It was a feminine man with a long hair and slender face and was clenching a fan with his fist. Despite his feminine appearance, he actually had a deep voice, "Brother Kiju, calm down! We need to regroup! Everyone who can stand, distance yourselves from him as quick as possible." Another man was also able to get on his feet and distance himself from Dylan. He was quickwitted and he understood that it was their chance to reignite the morale of their troops. He concurred, "What he is saying is right! I could feel the pressure leaving my body when I was around seven or eight meters away from him!" ... "It seems like they are not as dumb as they look." Dylan plainly commented. He did not waste another second watching their dramatic charade. He approached another person and tightened his grip on the Waning Moon Sword while he provided it with Spirit Energy! "Please... spare me... " Begged the person who Dylan just approached. "Then, you should have never touched my family." He indifferently killed those who were near him one slash on the neck after the other. ... "Release your auras to the best of your abilities. It will help you counter the effects of the pressure!" A man who was filled with tattoos on his body was also able to escape from the shackles of Dylan''s King of the Land, instructed to the others, Hearing this, the group was finally able to see hope after they saw four men standing up. All of them quickly did as the others said. Within a minute, they released their auras to its'' maximum output and moved further from Dylan. Those who were at the 4 meter-mark was able to leave with some difficulty. But to those who were within the 3 meter mark? All were slaughtered! Not a single person was spared. Bundles of corpses created a small lake of blood. The men stared furiously at the cause of this horrendous sight. A man whose clothes were stained with blood and whose sword was slowly dripping the blood of those it took. Their eyes turning bloodshot from the fury that they were feeling in their hearts as they focused their gazes at the person who killed thirteen of their friends in a minute! "Brothers, let us attack together! Fire all of your long ranged attacks at him!" The feminine scholar looking youth courageously initiated the attack on Dylan. "Kill!!" The more than forty grunts remaining fired forty Earth Rank Battle Techniques with varying qualities and masteries at Dylan. Dylan did not remain idle. He canceled the suppression of the King of Land to conserve spirit energy. He used Zooming Thunder in order to move 20 meters away from the concentration of attacks. But when he moved away from his original location, he was baffled to see that there were a group anticipating his path of escape already. "You... will die for what you did!" A muscular curly haired man who lead the group ferociously scowled. He charged towards Dylan carrying his heavy axe with him as he initiated the frontal assault. The axe targeted Dylan''s head. But, Dylan did not panic, instead he bent his body backwards to make more room for him to summon the Shield of Dusk! When he summoned the Shield of Dusk, it was at that moment that the heavy axe met the mettle of his shield. "Gugh!" Dylan groaned when he landed heavily to the ground. He felt extreme pain on his back but he knew that he did not have any time to waste as the axe-wielder already lifted his weapon above his shoulder. He rolled away from his foe and fortunately, evaded the attack. "You took the words directly from my mouth." Dylan uttered coldly as he stood up. He took a battle stance and prepared for a rigorous battle ahead. ... Meanwhile... "Hehe, is that all you got, old farts?" Rian taunted as he landed on the ground. Rian was still fighting the three demon warriors that the 18 leaders formed. A lot of Illusion Isolating Trees were uprooted in their vicinity as the intensity of their battle has started to heighten over time. "Brothers! Surround him!" The demon warriors moved and surrounded Rian from 3 different directions. With the large physiques of the demon warriors, they were able to block Rian''s possible exits by extending two of the swords of each demon warrior on their sides. "Attack!" As soon as that cry was heard, twelve swords came crashing to the ground! *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* Consecutive explosions were heard after. Despite being surrounded by rains of slashes, Rian was able to use his small body as his advantage. Accompanied with his acute senses and insane reflexes, he was able to read the trajectories of each slash and evade them while he made his way out of this ordeal. When Rian was able to escape from their encirclement, Rian rushed up to the closest foe to him and barred his fangs. Very quickly, he dashed to a tree and climbed it to bite one of the heads of the demon warrior. When he reached a certain height, he leapt from the tree which caused the tree to break from the enormous force contained by his kick. But, the controllers of the demon warrior that Rian targeted noticed this. They quickly maneuvered the two hands that were on standby to defend. Despite seeing them defend themselves, Rian did not show any signs of stopping or even hesitation! He opened his mouth as a vague shadow of a powerful beast appeared behind him and bit one of the hands which defended! The leaders'' reactions were ludicrous when they saw one of the hands of the demon warrior be ripped from its body! What shocked them the most was that Rian actually gnawed the arm and started devouring him. They shuddered knowing that the body of energy of the demon warriors they created were a consolidation of all their energies! It was as dense as the energy of a peak Palace Formation Realm practitioner! Overcome by their shock, they could only watch as Rian devour the arm in seconds! "Pweh! It tastes as if it was rotten! Tch, well, I guess I should not have expected something good from you, guys." Rian disdainfully said. "Tch, you think you''re so amazing? We''ll slice you into pieces, puppy!" One of the leaders taunted. "Then, I will show you just awesome I am by ripping you guys limb from limb!" Rian stretched his body and sprinted once more! This time he went even faster than he usually were! *Zoom* He was quicker than lightning as he bit off another arm from another demon warrior! When he landed, he also ate the energy from the arm and recovered some of his energy. "Two down, a couple more to go!" Rian took off once more. He zigzagged and moved at an unpredictable rhythm. By doing so, he was able to confuse the leaders which demon warrior he is going to assault next! When Rian approached them in an unusual pace, the leaders of the alliance were disoriented and scattered from the pressure and fear that Rian gave off. Taking advantage of their miscommunication, Rian quickly pounced the demon warrior he disfigured first! In a flash, another arm was also torn from the energy body of the demon warrior. "Kugh!" Now, the demon warrior had a missing lower right arm and middle left arm. The manipulators of the demon warrior who only had 4 arms left coughed several times before stabilizing themselves "Hehehe, I guess I overestimated you guys!" Rian mocked his opponents arrogantly. After stating those words, he immediately commenced another attack advancing with the eccentric method he did earlier. "Brothers, we cannot continue like this! We need to watch each others backs! That is the only way that we are going to fend off his ligtning quick attacks!" The leader which was also, the strongest member of the alliance, Angus Mattledeer strongly said. The others nodded without further debate after determining the severity of the situation. The leaders manipulated their warriors and all of them stood back to back! They prepared their swords to attack the moment Rian tries to rip off another arm again. "No matter what strategy you do, I am going to win!" Rian arrogantly said as he lunged forward to another demon warrior. Maybe it was because of the successful suppression he did for the past few minutes that he was boasting than he originally did. But his arrogance actually became his undoing the very next moment. When he prompted the attack, he unrestrainedly chose the demon warrior which still had a complete set of arms. The moment he was only 4 meters away from the demon warrior, the warrior attacked him with his upper left arm. However, with Rian''s terrifying battle sense, he was able to evade the slash by sliding to his left. But how could he have anticipated the ruthlessness of Angus? It was as if he anticipated Rian''s move. He commanded the demon warrior to stab his upper left arm in order to attack Rian who just evade the attack! "Urgh..." Rian moaned miserably from the unexpected attack that he sustained. When Rian was just about to be sent flying by the stab, his eyes widened when he saw that there was two blades that came slashing down! Evidently, it was from the 5-armed demon warrior which was the one guarding the left side of the 6-armed demon warrior. "No way!" Rian was dumbfounded as he was hit by the attack. He did not expect that this humans would actually be so ruthless that they would hurt themselves to land an attack! "Arrrgghhh." Rian was hit yet again and landed heavily on the ground! But, it was not without a cost. In order to land that deadly blow, the demon warrior which originally had six arms, now only had four arms left! But the demon warriors did not stop there, they knew that it was the opportunity for them to take the little punks life! Rian struggled to stand up. When he was able to stabilize himself, his eyes shone a dark yet bloody light and muttered, "You''re forcing my hand.." 152 Chapter 152: Battle at Dreamy Forest 3 In the 2nd floor of Soaring Garden Main Building... While Dyian and Rian were fighting with the low ranking sect alliance, his employees could not help but worry when they saw Dylan leave with Rian. They gathered there as it was there lunch break. The room had a heavy atmosphere because of everyone''s anxiousness. "What should we do? It has already been an hour since sir Dylan and Rian left. They still haven''t returned... My cousin is still missing... *sobs*" Marie cried helplessly, covering her face with her hands. She was anxious and deppressed knowing that her cousin who she treated like a sister was missing with no clue on her whereabouts. They grew up together and because of their similar appearance, they treated each other like twins and did everything together. Now that she went missing, she felt as if half of her world was gone. The same goes for Dylan who went to find her without considering the dangers that it entails. She and Mary initially applied for the job for the sake of getting close to Dylan because of his handsomeness. But as time went on, she fell in love with who he was in the inside as well. It was also similar to her job and her friends. The happy and fun times they spent, the stressful yet fulfilling work they did, the several life and death situation they overcame together with the others and many more. This brought forth the true sense of belonging and bond that was similar to her family. This was also the reason why she and the others decided to follow Dylan instead of going with their families after knowing that their families were safely migrating to another city. "Marie, it''s alright. Sir Dylan will somehow find Mary and bringnher back to this city." Scott tried to console her. "Really...?" When she heard Scott''s words, she stopped sobbing and tried her best to wipe the tears off her face. Marie''s eyes were still red and teary when she looked at Scott. Accompanied with her sweet breaking voice, she looked really cute. "Uh... yeah." Scott was somewhat flustered. He looked opwards to avert her gaze and embarassingly answered her question. He looked at her again and though, ''She''s still that pretty when she cries.." "He''s wrong, Marie" Ron suddenly spoke. His sudden interference darkened the mood even more. *Sobs* Marie could not help but cry when her hope was quickly extinguished by Ron''s statement. "You fat jerk! How am I wrong?! This is not the right time to tease someone!" Scott quickly refuted. "Correction: It is plump jerk, not fat jerk! Hmph!" Ron corrected Scott''s words! After which, he continued, "Also, you haven''t even let me finish my words! What I was trying to say was! He''s wrong because Sir Dylan will not just SOMEHOW find Mary, he will DEFINITELY find her!" Jack also approached Mary and warmly smiled," Ron is right. Sir Dylan promised to protect us just like how we promised to protect him. He will definitely find Mary. So, cheer up Marie." "That''s right! You wouldn''t want Mary to see a frowning face when we welcome her back! We must wear our warmest and happiest smile when he comes back!" Ronald added enthusiastically. "I..." Marie cried even more after hearing their encouragement and guarantee. It was just what she needed the most right now. Tesa hugged Marie as she spoke comforting words, "Have faith in Sir Dylan. Nothing is going to happen to Mary with him personally doing the search. Plus, didn''t you hear what he said when he left? Rian found her and he followed Rian without delay to find her as quick as possible." The other girls also moved closer and hugged Marie one by one. Each hug warmed Marie''s heart. ''This is my family'' Eventually, her tears were replaced by a beautiful smile. Amidst their heartwarming moment, they suddenly heard rushed footsteps. A man emerged from the staircase. It was Larry. He looked at everyone with an excited and a happy expression, "A member Protection Squad that Hallmaster Azelmek assigned to Sir Dylan came back! According to him, they were able to follow sir Dylan and Rian to Dreamy Forest!" "Really?!" Everyone was elated to hear such great news! ... A few minutes earlier.... The member of the Ford Protection Squad naturally informed Azelmek first about what happenned. Despite being at the Origin Foundation realm, their spiritual awareness can''t communicate more than 5 kilometers. That was why when they were able to ascertain Dylan''s destination. Their squad decided to send him back in order to inform Azelmek. They started to tail him the moment they saw Dylan jump off the window. ''Amazing!'', They inwardly praised Dylan for the astounding speed he displayed when he used Zooming Thunder to follow Dylan. They evaluated that this speed of his was at the very least comparable to a 18th level Origin Transmutation Realm! They even thought that Dylan''s forte was speed and that it already was his top speed. That was why they were flabbergasted when they saw how fast Dylan and Rian went at full speed! They decided to go top speed once they saw this shocking display of speed! They actually exceeded their top speed by at least two hundred percent! This shocked all of them since there were 4 of them at the Peak 25th level Origin Foundation! He naturally informed this to Azelmek as soon as he returned and to his surprise, Azelmek actually shouted, "What?! His body continuously flickered with streaks of lightning?! His top speed is at least at the Palace Formation Realm?!" "Yes, Hallmaster." The messenger answered with awkwardness. "Incredible!" Azelmek cried out in surprise. There was only one thing that he knew could pull off this amazing feat! ''He must have already grasped how to use the Zooming Thunder technique of the Cheetah Monarch! But it was only two weeks after he obtained the Thundercloud Monarch Art? Just how amazing is his comprehension to be able to quickly use it in such a small frame of time?! More importantly, how is his body able to support a Heaven Rank technique??!!'' How could Azelmek have imagined that Dylan was immediately able to use a technique of the Thundercloud Monarch Art several hours after acquiring it or the fact that Dylan had the never before seen Supreme Core?! The true reason why Dylan was able to quickly comprehend how to use it was because of his self derivation technique of the Thundercloud Monarch Art, the Tyrranical Thunderbolt Clouds Art. Although his techniques were different from the original skills, he did not make any essential changes pertaining the structure of the skill. Dylan may have changed the application and function of the techniques but there were no fundamental difference. This helped him quickly master the techniques of the inheritance of the four Thundercloud Kings. With no way of doing this, Azelmek formulated his own theories about how Dylan was able to gain initial mastery of the technique and how his body was able to support the technique, ''He must have trained quite rigorously in order to attain Novice Mastery of the technique for the past two weeks. During which, he must have unknowingly entered a state of enlightenment. His body must have an innate mutation with him! Something which allows him to store large amounts of energy that exceeds the capacity of normal people!'' Continuing down this thought, Azelmek laughed heartily, ''If he is trained well, he might just be a talent capable of contending with the Mythical 10!'' Immersed with his thoughts, he actually forgot that he was on call with his subordinate. "Sir, are you stil there?" The question of the messenger of the Ford Protection Squad jolted Azelmek awake from his thoughts. "Ah, yes. You have done well reporting this to me. I will award you and your teammates a handsome reward. You must prioritize Dylan''s safety! " Azelmek was in a great mood after learning this good news. "I cannot express my gratitude in words, Hallmaster!" The emissary was overjoyed when he heard about the handsome reward. Their salary was already handsome enough for them. Who would have thought that they would actually have a bonus just like that? "Let him suffer a bit. This will serve as his experience and refine him even more. But if you deem, that the situation has already went out of hand, you must save him at all cost! Are we clear?" Azelmek strictly instructed. "Crystal clear, Hallmaster!" The messenger replied immediately. "Ah, that''s right. Kindly inform one of Dylan''s employees of his status. I know that he does not want them to worry about him as he considers them his family." Azelmek suddenly thought of how Dylan would always remember to communicate with his employees through his Spiritual Transmission Tablet and check on them. "Yes, Hallmaster." The messenger nodded as Azelmek ended the call. Quickly, he made his way to the Soaring Garden Enterprise and do what Azelmek told him to do. ... Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of the Dreamy Forest... "Damn it!" Rian gritted his teeth while blood flowed from his mouth. His whole body was aching from the attack that he just dealt with. He had several wounds on his body that came from the slashes of the demon warriors. When he was just going to stand up earlier, the third demon warrior actually shot another barrage of slashes at him. Rian tried to dodge the attacks of the third demon warrior but he could not because the other two demon warriors has already blocked his exits by embeding their swords deep to the ground to create a semicircle around him. After being hit twice by the slashes of the third demon warrior he tried to jump over the swords after succesfully evading the other two slahes. But when he reached the top of the swords, he was bashed back down by the hands of the demon warriors! Fortunately, he was able to burrow the ground after he crashed on the ground and created a small crater. He was able to temporarily escape the grasp of the demon warriors. He hated retreating because he had an innate arrogance written on his bones that enabled him to look down upon all creatures but there was nothing he can do right now. He knew beforehand that he cannot fight all three demon warriors at the same time. Although the attack power of the demon warriors were at the pinnacle of the Palace Formation Ream, its defense actually could compare to the defense of a 37th level Palace Establishment Realm. While, Rian only had the strength equal to a 36th level Palace Establishment Realm as of now. "If only I had just one more week..."It was precisely as he said if only he had just one more week to accumulate strength he could have at least reached the 40th level! Then, he could easily crush his opponents with a single swat! Hiding on a tree Rian cursed as he closely monitored the movements of the three demon warriors which were still vigilant of his surprise attacks. "Fuck! The little demon actually escaped from our grasp!" A brown haired one-eyed sect leader cursed out loud. "Don''t worry, brother. He must have not gone far. I''m certain he is still within the forest because of his friend. But he would likely not appear any time soon due to the injuries that he sustained." The scholarly sect leader analyzed the situation. "Indeed. But we should not let him escape. Letting him escape is the same as our plans being foiled. Not to mention, how terrifyingly fast and powerful that little demon is! He could take any of us one on one." Angus warned his colleagues. His words caused all of them to shudder because they all personally witnessed how intrepid Rian was. "But we can still kill him as long as we use the demon warrior! We are invincible as long as we are together!" Another sect leader rebutted. "Invincible? That only applies if we could maintain it indefinitely but sadly we can''t. Our demon warriors generally only have 4 arms now . Each arm is vital for a demon warrior. Taking three arms could dispel the entire formation! It is the same as killing one of the controllers of the formation. Remember we need 6 people to maintain the formation!" One of the formation masters explained. "..." The sect leader who just spoke could only shut his kouth after hearing that. "Yes, that is why I suggest. We force the little demon out by killing Dylan Ford!" Angus coldly uttered. 153 Chapter 153: Battle at Dreamy Forest 4 "Mhm." The other members of the alliance agreed with what Angus said. Now, killing Dylan who was originally their main objective suddenly became secondary with the appearance of Rian. "It''s decided. We shall kill Dylan Ford!" Angus announced the conclusion and lead the leaders to the fort. ... "Those fucking bastards!!" Rian was thoroughly angered when he heard their conversation. Dylan held a really significant place in his heart. He was like an elder brother to him. Hearing these sect leaders plotting to kill him, birthed pure rage in his heart. "I am going to kill them all!" This pure rage eventually harnessed cold-blooded killing intent! He no longer cared about his injuries, he just wanted to kill these wretched bastards who dare attempt to kill Dylan. He did not even care if he had to use his bloodline strength to do it. Before this, Rian wanted to rest for just ten minutes at most because with the regenative ability of his body. His wounds would be quickly healed in that short span of time. "Huh? M-my body is heating up!!" Unknowingly, his fury, killing intent and excessive desire for power actually stimulated his bloodline! For the past 2 weeks, he ingested and absorbed different treasures that were beneficial to him according to his inherited memories. He followed the instructions within these memories and ate these treasures at certain intervals. He thought that he was doing everything right as he could feel his bloodline excited and the power within it became slightly violent than before. However, he was unable to fully take advantage of the medicinal effects of these treasures because he was lacking one thing: the stimulus of a life and death battle! As the battle escalates, his true potential is gradually being squeezed out of him, helping him familiarize the power of his bloodline! The same also applies with the remnant medicinal effects of the things he ate. The more he fought, the more his body could assimilate the effects of those treasures! Now, his body was reacting with the medicinal essence and pushed his body to its limits! However, despite this, it should not have pushed his body to undergo premature second evolution. But, it seemed as if his body responded when it sensed his wrath and thirst for power which gave the final to push him to evolve! His heart pumped a vicious amount of blood which increased his blood pressure by at least three times! With the increase in blod flow, his body temperature rose like it has no end! Steam was actually emanated out from his body! The shocking thing was that the grievous wounds that Rian had were healing at a freakishly fast rate! It was not only that, the grass underneath him was actually turning into ash! "Argh!" Rian closed his eyes and groaned from the intense pain. He wanted to scream as loud as he could but he could only let out a small groan. He no longer had any strength to support himself and powerlessly fell on the ground. ... Near the fort, there were thirty or so men who was spread out and looked as if they were trying to find someone. They all had grim expressions on their faces while they were searching for something. Around them piles of human bodies could be seen scattered around them, the corpses were either headless or charred. "Coward! Come out and fight us! Are you even a man?!" A person shouted angrily. "That''s right! I thought you were some gallant youth trying to save a damsel in distress. It turns out that you are actually nothing but a spineless wimp!" Another henchman mockingly sneered. "Brothers, you don''t have to expect much on a boy who is hiding and running away with his tail between his legs! Hahaha!" A large nosed person heartily laughed while insulting Dylan. "Hahahaha!" The others laughed at the large nosed person''s insults. They felt a bit of pleasure mocking Dylan who was hiding somewhere. Suddenly, a clapping sound was heard from who knows where. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* " You must be thinking that you could outsmart me by taunting me with these words? How naive! Do you really think that any sane person would attack when it is no different than courting death? I am in awe with the level of wits that you lot possess." A voice filled with indifference and mockery resounded. "You!!" His words directly hit them at their sore spots. "What''s more is that you even have the nerve to call me a coward when you adults are gagning up on a youth who is only at the Spirit Gathering Realm? Despite that, you still have the audacity to call yourselves man? Laughable! How shameless can you all get?" The voice continued to speak in a condescending tone. The faces of the henchmen were twisted and black from his words. All of them were enraged to the point that they nearly vomitted blood. "I''ll kill you!!" There was even a person who could no longer control himself and foolishly charged at a direction where he thought the voice might have come from. He even released his avatar which was a long spear and ran forward. "Wait!" The scholarly man among them cried out! "Graaah!" But to no avail, the person mindlessly continued his pursuit disappearing in their line of sight. *Boom* *Tzzzk* Several moments later, an explosion was heard along with flashes of lightning. From afar, they could see the shadows that were created at the same moment the bright explosion was heard. A spear wielding person attacked a person above him with an explosive Battle Technique but the person seemed to be holding ball of lightning and used it to attack. The ball of lightning actually extended and turned into a blade and pierced the chest of the spear wielding person! After that scene, the shadows disappeared along with the light of the explosion dying out. "Nooo!" But the grunts knew that the spear wielding person who was their enraged comrade that aimlessly charged was killed by the person who was mocking them! Most of them immediately released their avatars and marched to the direction where their spear wielding comrade die. But when they arrived, the only thing they could see was the body of their colleague whose heart was pierced! "Come out, Dylan Ford! How dare you kill my brothers!" A hairy person who was carrying a mace roared with his eyes bloodshot. "You actually think I would stay there? Idiots. This is excatly the reason why a junior like me could kill nearly half of your scum group. It is because you are all idiotic beyond compare." The person who was mocking them was Dylan who was currently hiding. Yes! The were the henchmen of the sect leaders that were fighting Dylan were nearly reduced to half through Dylan''s efforts alone. Right now, there were only 29 of them remaining! In a span of 10 minutes, he was able to reduce the remaining forty one by killing 12 more people! When Dylan was intercepted by the assault team, he was shocked when he saw that all of them had attack-type avatars which were either weapons or ferocious animals. Not only that, there were two assault teams! Both of which had at least 10 members. Thus, he did not hold anything back anymore and started to use his Thundercloud Monarch Art and Tyrranical Thunderbolt Clouds Art! He increased his mobility through the use of Zooming Thunder and broke through the encirclement, with the use of Sweeping Thunder and Thunder Break! He also used the King of the Land to slow his opponents down. After which he used, another one of his techniques, the Lightning Blade to deal and fend off the attacks of his foes. The Lightning Blade was inspired from Sasuke''s Lightning Blade(Chidori) in the anime series, Naruto. He was inspired by the flexibility of how Sasuke used this technique. It can be used as close-range and mid-range attack depending on how the situation arises. Not to mention, that it has excellent penetrating and slashing capabilities. In coordination with this skill, he used the terrifying penetration of the Piercing Thunder and the Wings of Lightnings to create spontaneous and extremely fast attacks to kill his opponents. For his surprise attacks, he used the Mental Blade to sneakily incapacitate his opponents and kill them with his Half-Moon Slash. Several occassions, he also used Shrouding Thunder and Thundercloud Wave to defend with his opponents joint attacks. With his judgement, he may not have used it perfectly due to his lack of battle experiece, but he was still able to execute the attacks at the most opportune moments during the fight. Using everything he had, he was able to succesfully escape with his life intact and still slay 11 of the 21 men who attacked him! But it was not without a price, Dylan had to endure being pierced by two swords in his torso and a spear on his back. Each of which was at least embedded a few inches deep. His left shoulder bone was destroyed by an axe-type avatar and the right part of his ribcage was almost shattered by an attack of a mace-type avatar. His left arm had suffered minor fractures from absorbing the brunt of the attacks with the shield. He also had several wounds from the claws of several animal types of beasts. He may be severely injured all over but he was still able to successfully keep his life despite facing so many cultivators alone! He had no problem with his energy reserves with the amazing capacity of the Supreme Core but he still needed time to recuperate and heal his injuries. After that, the group knew how extremely powerful and skillful Dylan was using his Battle Techniques. It has been a few minutes since he was able to escape from the encirclement. He started retrieving herbs from his Storage Rings which he knew could accelerate his rate of recovery by several folds. With Earth Rank Herbs at his disposal, he could significatly recover from his injuries if he had at least twenty minutes and fully recover in just one hour! Right now, he was just bidding time for his recovery. Dylan planned inwardly as he was wrapping his wounds with bandages to reduce bleeding, ''I need to keep them within the vicinity of the fort so that I could prevent them from going to where Rian and the leaders are fighting. Just ten more minutes... By then, I can have the confidence to fight with them again.'' *Riiing* Suddenly, his spiritual transmission tablet in his storage ring actually rang! Dylan cursed as soon as he heard the call. He knew right away that the call gave away his location! "Shit! Why now?!" It was also the next moment that he heard the delighted voices of his pursuers, "The strange sound came from this direction! It must be him!" "There are only a few people who knows the contact of my Spiritual Transmission Tablet! Just who could it be!" He retrieved his Spiritual Transmission Tablet in rage and even had the urge to throw away. But when he saw the name of the caller, it was actually the captain of the Ford Protection Squad!! The anger he felt a moment ago disappeared in a flash and was replaiced with a smile of rejoice! He quickly entered the call and heard, "Sir, we are appraoching your location in fifteen seconds! Please do your best to escape from their encirclement!" "I will!" Dylan excitdly replied and abruptly ended tye call as he stored his Spiritual Transmission Tablet. Behind him, he sensed the presence of his pursuers and even heard someone scream, "There he is! Get him!" When he heard those words, he did not nother to look back yet he smiled. He did not use Zooming Thunder or Wings of Lightning to escape from them instead he just leapt from one thick tree branch of the Illusion Isolating Trees to the other! The henchmen group used their movements techniques and was moving closer and closer to Dylan each second that passed. They all laughed triumphantly, thinking that Dylan no longer has anymore spirit energy within him which was equal to him being sentenced to death. "That''s right! Run while you still can!" "You are going to die in the most painful way possible kid!!" "Hahaha, look at you kid! Where is the arrogance you showed earlier?!" Suddenly, Dylan stopped jumping onntree branches. He looked back and smiled at them. That smile gave them chills and a bad premonition. His mouth opened while maintaining that smile and uttered, "My arrogance? I will show it to you all through them." "Them?" The grunts blankly blinked and became wary of their surroundings. Suddenly, nine shadows appeared out of nowhere! The moment they appeared, they attacked Dylan''s pursuer''s and easily overpowered his opponents. They were the Ford Protection Squad who came out just in the nick of time! "Die, scums!" The leader of the Ford Protection Squad created a battle cry while materializing his avatar and releasing the strength of a 25th level Origin Foundation Expert! Behind him, a giant black tiger with red stripes appeared! Thrusting forward his long sword, he lead his team to slaughter those who harmed Dylan and kidnapped Mary! "Die, scums!" His team also followed his lead and scream out the battle cry while they exuded their auras to its'' limit and released their avatars in synchronization! *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* Screams of despair were soon heard along with the clash of weapons and Battle Techniques. "Nooo!" "Ahhhh!" "Help!" "So powerful! They are elites of the Premier Hall indeed. Each one of them could easily crush 2 of these grunts!" Dylan smiled brightly when he saw Just as Dylan was thanking the heavens with his luck, he saw something which made his eyes have a look of disbelief. It was three large figures with three heads and four arms each! They were the demon warriors which was controlled by the eighteen sect leaders! "This can''t be... Why are they here...? What about Rian? Where is he?!" Dylan blankly looked at the demon warriors who appeared to be targetting him. 154 Chapter 154: Ligtning Breaker Piercing Blade! A few minutes earlier... "What happened here?" Three exceedingly large figures appeared near the fort. The sect leaders were beyond shock when they returned to the vicinity of the fort they saw more than 20 lifeless carcasses around them. They even saw a few bodies along the way. It seemed like there was a massacre that happened here! "None of our guards were weak! How could it be that they were slaughtered by a Spirit Gathering Realm?!" A sect leader who saw all his henchmen lying on the ground was truly enraged. "Calm down, Schoolmaster Dotts. Although Dylan Ford is stronger than most people because of the Ancestor''s inheritance, there is no way that he could have killed all of our henchmen alone. His protection squad must have followed him and helped him eradicate our troops." The glasses wearing sect leader logically deduced. "Clan Head Nicolas is right. There is no way he would have that much strength! I can see footprints of at least 25 people to that direction! They must have performed a pursuit on Dylan Ford! We must make haste! Otherwise, we might not be able to see what is left of our people!" Angus was a very decisive leader. He was able to quickly make arrangements on what they are supposed to do. ... Back to the present... The sect leaders were able to intercept the route by which Dylan and their men were going because of the enhanced Spiritual Sense that the demon warrior gave them. "Dylan Ford... singlehandedly killed half of our troops?" They were shocked to find out that Dylan was actually alone while he escaped from the hands of the henchmen group! They couldn''t believe what they were seeing but reality has proven it otherwise! "He and that little demon dog are actually both inexplicable monsters!" A man with a thick beard spoke heavily. "He is not as strong as the demonic mutt. He is severely injured and it seems like he can''t use that much spirit energy anymore!We can kill him with a single swing! Let''s hurry or else, the protection squad might arrive!" A spiky haired sect leader hurriedly stated. As he said those words, Dylan suddenly stopped jumping from tree to tree which greatly shocked the sect leaders. He turned around smiling and uttered some words. Subsequently, nine shadows appeared behind him and attacked the shocked pursuers! The spiky haired sect leader looked dismal. He had just jinxed his own men to oblivion! When he turned around, he could see cold stares from his fellow leaders. He could only shut up in embarassment. "There is no use crying over spilled milk. With the current strength of the warriors, two can distract the protection units while the last one goes for the kill! My group''s and Schoolmaster Dotts'' group will square off with the protection squad and attempt to stall them while Sir Angus'' group will be the ones to slay Dylan Ford." Nicholas calmly said and created a strategy for them to execute. "Got it." Dotts and Angus nodded because they knew that this could only be the possible method they could use right now as their demon warriors are barely being maintained. ... In a flash, the twenty or so men were quickly reduced to ten and from ten to none! The disparity in strength was just simply too large! "Sir Dylan, we have eliminated your pursuers at last!" The captain of the Ford Protection Squad reported to Dylan. However, Dylan did not respond to them. He was blankly staring in one direction. The very next moment Dylan roared as his body was engulfed with lightning and moved at extreme speeds, "Where is Rian?!" When they traced his line of sight, they saw two large three-headed four-armed demons heading their way! Though shocked, the captain immediately composed himself and ordered his dazed squad members. "Men, evade!" "Yes, sir!" His voice awoke the others. After regaining clarity, they complied with their captain''s command and retreated from the upcoming attack. *Boom* The two large demons slashed the trees in front of them which fell to the direction of the Ford Protection Squad! They jumped as soon as the trees were chopped. The trees were the first to fall creating a large banging sound! *Kaboom* The members of the FPS were able to evade the falling trees but suddenly the moonlight was obstructed by a large object. It was the two demon warriors which jumped a second ago. Both smashed their swords to the ground which created an even greater explosion! When the dust settled, there were two large craters that were formed. The members of the Ford Protection Squad was also able to survive the attack but it still incurred considerable damage to some of them. The two demon warriors stood up and prepared their weapons. They were surveying their surroundings for the whereabouts of their enemies. "Regroup!" An encouraging voice was heard. The origin of the voice was of course the captain. Quickly, the members regrouped to the location of their captain. "Attack Formation H!" The captain called as soon as they gathered. The members wordlessly responded with swiftness. They formed two rows with the captain at the middle connecting the two rows which formed a letter H! After the formation was formed, they sprinted towards the demon warriors in a synchronized manner! The demon warriors sensed their movements and also charged to their direction ''Aim for the limbs! They must have already fought a battle considering that there are only 4 arms on each of them. So, we will only to srike then where it hurts! Don''t fear attacking them because once they are in this form, they cannot use their avatars! Attack!'' The captain telepathized to the others. The captian of the squad was quite knowledgeable so he was able to recognize the formation their opponents used as well as its'' weakness and strengths. When they were about 5 meters away from the demon warriors, the two members of the FPS jumped and summoned their avatars. Their avatars were both bows. Thus, they were really suitable with attacking at far away places. "Shooting Star!" "Spiral Falcon Arrow!" The two attacks were too quick to block. Even when the two demon warriors raising up their guard, the two arrows hit the chest of their targets! The attacks forced the two demon warriors to stop in their adavnce. The rest of the members of the Ford Protection still continued with their approach. Now, they were only two meters away from the demon warriors. The next two members at the front suddenly increased their speeds and dashed forward. They moved past the demon warriors which confused the sect leaders. They then stopped after they distanced about a meter away from the demon warriors. Both leaped to a respective demon warrior and attacked them from behind with their beast type avatars. The archers way back continued to attack them at the front. These two constant attacks forced the demon warriors to take the defensive. The remaining four members sprinted forwards and released their avatars which were two sledgehammers, an axe and a spike mace. They ran in pairs and went to a demon warrior each. "Hughhhraaahhhh!" They swung their heavy weapons as they used their individual Battle Techniques and aimed at the demons'' lower extremeties. They were apparently the heavy hitters of the team. Being hit with each limb, the two demon warriors fell on the ground. Finally, the captain moved and attacked the demon. "Tiger King''s Slash!" Using his longsword, he slashed horizontally, aiming at one demon warrior''s arm.and a tiger roar could be heard along with the slash. His Black Tiger avatar was also called and attacked the other demon warrior! *Boom!* The captain''s attack was very successful. He was able to destroy an arm for each demon warrior. The explosion came from the forced cancellation of the formation. From the two demon warriors, a dozen men appeared. They were all pale white from vomitting blood. The decimation of the demon warriors carried a backlash which quickly took effect. The rebound involved complete reduction in energy reserves and weakness of the body. "Give up or die." The captain domineeringly said as he pointed his longsword to the weakened sect leaders. "Wait, please spare me! We were only forced into this by Gayolei Panther!" A leader conceded in the face of death "He-he''s right! Don''t kill me!" Another cowardly sect leader surrendered and even kowtowed. In the face of death, dignity no longer matters. After the two of them, a few more surrendered. They were all restrained with Energy Sealing Handcuffs. They were not killed since the captain thought that it would be best to keep them captive and interrogate them later on with Dylan. Despite that, there were still a minority of the group who was unyielding. "Hahaha, you may have defeated us but Dylan Ford will be killed by our leader! He has another group of people who form another demon warrior! We were only a diversion!" The thick bearded sect leader evilly grinned. He was an avid supporter of Gayolei and trudted that he would keep his word of giving riches to his clan. "What?!" The captain was shocked he thought that there was only two demon warriors. He never would have thought there was actually three! *BOOOOOOM!* Suddenly, a large explosion was heard! A bright white light filled with lightning sparks enveloped the entire forest! "Oh no! Sir Dylan is in danger!" He cried out in alarm while the explosion also affected them. ... Several moments back... "Where is Rian?!" Dylan used Zooming Thunder and increased his speed to attack the demon warrior which was controlled by Angus and his group. The demon warrior did not emit any sound. It was evident that it did not have any intention of answering Dylan''s question. He quickly used one of its sword and slash down! "Answer me!" Dylan activated Wings of Lightning and exponentially increased his speed! With a simple adjustment on his path, he gracefully evade the attack! Though Dylan maybe enraged, he was also able to remain calm at the same time. He was still clear-headed and was able to appropriately use his techniques as the situation differs. "He is too fast!" Angus was shocked when he saw how Dylan increased his speed by several notches. He quickly manipulated the demon warrior with the help of his group and launched another attack. This time, he used two hands and stabbed his swords forth! "Hpmh!" Dylan quickly jumped almost ten meters in the air to evade the attack. He flipped his body and angled it downwards to dive down. "If you won''t talk, then I will force it out directly from your mouth!" Dylan angrily roared. At the same time, his body shone as lightning was inceasantly exuded out of his body! He gestures a grabbing movement with his right arm and rested it near his right bossom. Another batch of lightning suddenly emerged on his palms and was slowly accumulating and building up strength as the lightning was compressed! With lightning wings on his back and a demon beneath him, he looked like a Thunder God passing judgement to a demon! The demon warrior on the ground prepared for the attack. All six controllers had grim expressions on their faces. They initially thought that Dylan was vastly weaker than Rian but it seems like they underestimated him. The pressure emitted by the Heaven Rank Technique was makingnit harder for tyem to breath. "Die!!" So, they also decided to launch and all out attack with the four swords at their hands and supplied the Demon Warrior with more Origin Energy! The demon warrior started to become more vibrant and emitted a nefarious air. His blades emitted great Origin Energy andIt really looked like a true demon now! "Ligtning Breaker Piercing Blade!" This move was a combination technique of three techniques! Yes, it was three techniques that were simultaneously stacked on one another! The techniques that Dylan used to create this technique was the Piercing Thunder, Thunder Break and Lightning Blade! An attack which had destructive, penetation and explosive powers combined to an awesome degree! However, this attack would require at least 50% of his current reserves and drain all of the remaining energy within Dylan''s body. Be it spirit energy or bodily energy, all would be drained in order to perform this devastating attack. After which, he could no longer move his body for an entire day! This was the strongest trump card Dylan could pull off with his current strength but with it he could muster an attack that was already comparable to an all out attack of a 31st level Palace Formation Expert! The next moment, the two extremely strong attacks met and a large explosion was the only thing that was heard next. *BOOOOOOM!* 155 Chapter 155: The Domineering Rian At the same time... "Aahh..." A soft whimper could be heard from a puppy which was lying on the ground next to a tree. Rian was no longer exuding steam out of his body. It looked like his second evolution was a success! Rian''s black fur seemed to become even more darker than before. If Rian''s fur was black before, then now, his fur is pitch black in color! Additionally, strange white lines of fur appeared on his tail! There was even a white X mark which appeared on left of his neck! His body which was only 10 inches big prior to this actually grew by around 5 inches that instant! His canines and little claws became more strudies and sharper than before! "Urgh... wait... The pain is gone... Whoa, my body feels great!" Rian exclaimed in surprise. He could feel that he just underwent a qualitativechange in his body! The most shocking thing was not his change in size but his pupils that were now of different colors! His left pupil turned whitish while his right became even more darker than before! But, of course, Rian does not know this change yet, But he could feel his change in size and that his perception and senses has been augmented drastically! He checked his body for changes and was astonished, "My body feels strange... I feel countless times stronger than before! Eh? My tail has white lines? Weird..." *BOOOOOM!* Suddenly, he heard a really loud sound and saw a blinding explosion! The blinding explosion caused him to close his eyes and look away. The explosion only lasted for several moments before dying out. "What was that?" Rian slowly opened his eyes and wondered. At the same time, his memory of the things that happened before his evolution started to to pop in his mind! "That''s right! Those bastards were going to attack Dylan!"Rian suddenly remembered the conversation that Angus and his subordinates had! His killing intent and anger resurfaced after which! At the same time, his pitch black fur glistened and released dark energy! The dark energy vaguely turned into a shadow of a ferocious beast that came from ancient times! "I have to hurry! His life is in danger!" Also, a strange feeling arose from his soul. It was the same feeling he felt when Dylan was being strangled by Shadow! Rian abrubtly jumped off from the ground and shooted across the collection of trees around him using them as spring boards to jump on! He became at least twice as fast as originally was! His sense of smell has become more acute than before so he was able to quickly tell where the leaders went! If Rian were to look at the trees he just jumped on, he would be shocked to see they were all destoyed by the power of his kick! It was not just a normal break, the parts which Rian jumped on were punctured and formed huge holes that were at least a meter in diameter! It was as if that part was erased! ... In just ten seconds, Rian was able to arrive at the fort. He saw the tens of corpses that laid on the ground. He thought, ''Looks like there was quite the fight here. I just hope that he''s okay.'' But, he did not stop there because he smelled something ominous on the driection where the explosion originated. "This blood... is Dylan''s smell! Oh no!" Rian had a foreboding feeling when he sniffed Dylan''s blood which trailed towards the direction of that dazzling blast. Gritting his teeth, Rian went full throttle once more! Winds were being pierced through as he sprinted! *Swoosh* *Swoosh* Rian quickly arrived at the place where the explosion happened. He saw giant crater that was at least 3 meters big and half a meter deep and trees bent, scorched or destroyed 15 meters around it. He also saw some people that were lying near the crater but he did not pry any further because Dylan was still nowhere in sight. He quickly surveyed his surroundings for any sign of Dylan. "Where is he?" Finally, he saw Dylan who was lying on a tree. "There he is!" But when he got nearer to him, his mouth was wide open and quivered. Dylan had a large "X" scar which covered his entire torso. His clothes wered drenched in blood and he was bleeding severely. Blood seeped out of his mouth, ears and nose. His spirit energy was depleted and his body was thoroughly exhausted. He was not moving an inch. "Am I... too late?" Rian''s voice was breaking. He felt extremely guilty and heartbroken seeing Dylan who was always calm and warm like this. He was close to tearing up when he heard... *Thump* *Thump* His highly senstive ears heard a beat. Despite how weak it was, Rian was able to hear it! His eyes brimmed with hope as he looked at Dylan. He saw a faint movement in his chest and felt the air being inhaled and exhaled from his nose and mouth respectively. "Hahaha, you''re alive! I knew it!" Rian hopped to express his joy. However, his eyes soon flashed great sorrow and worry, "But you are barely holding on... I don''t know or have anything that will help you recover... Damn it!" "I have to take him to safety first!" Rian intelligently decided. However, he did not know how he should do it since he can''t carry on his back because if he did so, then Dylan''s bleeding might worsen. It was at that moment that he heard a sweet female voice filled with worry, " Sir Dylan? Rian? Where are you? Are you okay?" "Mary?" Rian was surprised. He was very familiar with that voice because it was Mary''s voice. When he used his nose and detected her scent, he became even more certain that the one who just spoke was Mary, "Mary, we''re over here! Come quickly!" "Rian? Is that you? Alright!" The sweet voice agreed after recognizing Rian''s voice. ... Indeed, it was Mary who was instructed by Dylan to escape when he and Rian was about to clash with the alliance. When Mary was still unconcious, Dylan used his Zooming Thunder to carry Mary and left her to tree twenty meters away from the fort. Dylan even left her with his energy concealing Stealth Cloak beside her to prevent her from falling into the illusion of the Illusion Isolating Trees. The High Earth Rank Stealth Cloak that Azelmek gave Dylan prevents energy from entering it but it does not prevent energy from exiting out of it which helps greatly in concealment and assassinations. Ten or so minutes, after being left, Mary woke up. After waking up, Dylan left a message in Mary''s mind. ''You need to run away. The farther, the better. Don''t worry about me and Rian where strong enough to deal with all of them. You need to get out of this forest and wait for us outside. Follow the instructions I imprinted in your mind. It will lead you to the borders of the forest.'' When Mary recieved the message and the instructions, she knew that it would be best to follow it because she was well aware that if she stayed she would only be a burden to Dylan and Rian. As she escaped, she could here the sounds of explosions and trees breaking and sense the undulations of spirit and origin energy. She began to worry more as distance between her and Dylan widen but she remained faithful to Dylan''s words and followed his orders. But when she heard the large explosion and saw the blinding light from afar, her intuition told her that something wrong is happening. Using her Mid Spirit Rank Movement Technique, she dashed with all the strength she had towards the source of the explosion which was only one and a half kilometers away from her. In less than five minutes, Mary was finally able to reach it. What she saw shocked her greatly, there was giant crater and the trees surrounding it were either damaged or obliderated. She immediatly seached for Dylan or Rian. Finally, she was able to find them when she heard Rian''s voice. "Rian you look slightly bigger and your eyes..." Mary was really happy when she saw Rian. But, when she saw Dylan''s body which was greatly injured, her heart broke and tears started to well up in her eyes. She could not continue what she was going to say. "Sir..." She knew she was the one who caused this to the man she loved. He put his life on the line to get revenge on the people who abducted her and he kept the thugs from following her to help her escape. "Stop crying, Mary. Crying won''t help him in any way. Dylan became like this because he already took care of those people who kidnapped you. So, he needs you to help him recover. We need to heal his injuries and stop the bleeding." Rian was somewhat harsh with his words. He somewhat blamed Mary for this but he quickly rejected that thought. Mary was innocent and she was only abducted because she was the most vulnerable one when the alliance made their move. It could have also been anyone in her position. It was not like she wanted to be kidnapped. "Mhm." Mary did not seem to mind his words. She quickly moved nearer to Dylan and started getting bandages and medicinal herbs from her storage rings. All of Dylan''s employees were required to have a storage ring and medical kits on them in the event of emergency. He also had them study basic first-aid and how to stitch up wounds. Dylan was the type of person who will create preventive measures even before accidents happen. "Look after Dylan, I have a few people I need to take care of." After seeing Mary attanding to Dylan''s injuries, he was finally able to do what he wanted to do earlier. His rage turned to the six figures he saw near the crater. "Okay. You have to make them pay but please be careful." Mary stated while an unusual glint appeared in her eye. She seemed to undestand what he meant. She glanced meaningfully at Rian before nodding and quickly returned to what she was doing earlier. "Yeah." Rian walked slowly to where the crater was. His aura becoming more powerful by the minute. Killing intent could be felt with every step he took. It was as if a primoridial beast has been enraged!! ... On the other hand, near the crater... "Uggghh." Angus and his group had trouble standing up. They were still suffering the forced dissolution of the demon warrior. But, they were able to eat healing pills and energy recovering pills that helped them with their recovery. They just finished meditating and absorbing the effects of the medicines they just took. The demon warrior dissipated after that epic clash with Dylan. Alhough they managed to get the upper hand in the clash and managed to send Dylan flying, the force from the explosion was enough to destroy two arms of the demon warrior. "Fuck! I never thought that child would actually be that strong!" The spiky haired sect leader cursed while he exhaled heavily. "To think he could actually use a Heaven Rank Technique! Isn''t he just at the Spirit Gathering Realm? How is it possible for his body to support a high ranking technique like that?!" Another sect leader could not help but comment on Dylan''s absurd constitution. "He must be one of those blessed geniuses with heavenly constitution. That is why he was abke to use a Heaven Rank Technique. But we need not worry about him anymore. I am pretty sure that our attack was enough to take his life." Angus stood up after cultivating. His originally pale face had now regained some color. "Hahaha, that''s right! We are finally able to kill that Dylan Ford." A square faced middle aged sect leader rejoiced. "But what about that demon dog?" A bushy browed sect leader''s eyes narrows as he reminded his fellow sect leaders about their unsolved ordeal. "..." His words caused the atmosphere to become silent. They seemed to have forgot the other problem that they were facing. "Tsk, there were too many unexpected outcomes today. Damn it!" Another sect leader felt depressed by the twists of their plans today. They initially thought they could eliminate Dylan easily and deal with Rian after. But the prerequisite for this plan was if they still had the demon warrior. With the dissipation of the demon warrior, they also lost the ability to defend themselves from Rian. The air around them suddenly became heavier than before. They felt a sinister presence coming from the direction that Dylan was sent flying. They could faintly see an ominous shadow with six red eyes behind the smoke created by the scorching trees. Its gaze was piercing through the smoke. They felt as though just its gaze could eat them alive. "Wha-what the heck is that?!" The sect leaders were shivering from that eyes of that unknown entity. "It''s timw for pay back." A small sillhoute of a dog could be seen emerging from the smoke. By the time the voice finished, its sentence a puppy with heterchromia was revealed. "It''s you! But your wounds... This aura... Impossible!" The eyes of the sect leaders were petrified on the spot that they were standing. Their nightmare actually appeared before them at the most unfortunate time! What shocked them the most was that the wounds that they gave Rian was now completely gone and the extremly strong aura he was emtting! "What are you all doing acting all dazed?! He''s here to kill us!" Angus roared to warn his comrades. He released his strength as a Palace Formation Expert. He also released his avatar which was a Metalwing Raven after his warning. The other sect leaders came back to reality and also released their avatars and exuded their strong auras which all belonged to the Palace Formation Realm. All of them had beasts as their avatars. They all summoned their weapons and took their battle stance. "Heh, you think you stand a chance against me? Dream on. But I will let you do your worst. Come, attack me!" Rian arrogantly said as he slowly approached them. The reason why Rian did not attack upon sight was because he wanted them to feel what true despair was!! "Why, you!!" The sect leaders were enraged so they used their best attacks to destroy him. "Let him be! Attack with all your might!" Angus issued a command as his Metalwing Raven shone and attacked with his trump card. "Steel Razor Twister!" A giant tornado appeared with fierce gales on the spot where Rian was. *Swoosh* * Swoosh* When they saw Angus attack so ferociosly, they also started attacking with all they had: "Salamander''s Scorching Flames!" " Blazing Serpent''s Demonic Breath!" Two leaders attacked with their flame type attacks and amplified the Steel Razor Twister and turned it to a blazing tornado! *Fzzzh* *Fzzhhh* "Thunderbolt Blast!" Three ferocious lightning entered the center of the tornado and created a large explosion! *Tzzzk* * Tzzzk* * Boom* "Giant Tombstone!" A large boulder which was almost half a mountain was lifted from the ground and levitated to the top of the tornado. Once it reached the peak, it abruptly fell down! *Crash* *Boom* The sect leaders were all pale-faced after their attacks. It drained them of every ounce of energy they had left. They looked carefully at the giant boulder for several seconds and compnfirmed it was unmoving. They quickly celebrated and laughed victoriously. "We won! Hahahaha!" The square faced sect leader announced in joy "Hahaha, that''s what you get for being so arrogant! Hahaha!" The spikey haired sect leader laughed happily "Hahaha, he must have been squashed by the boulder!" The bushy browed sect leader added in amusement. "Nice work, guys. We have finally defeated our enemies!" Angus smiled and felt accomplished by their feat. "Haaawh..." Suddenly, they heard a yawn and it originated from the boulder! A thump sound was heard next. Then, the giant boulder, which was half the size of a mountain, moved and was elevated several inches from the ground! They all looked at it with dumbfounded expressions. They could not believe their eyes when they saw a small figure at the middle holding the boulder with one hand. It was Rian who was completely, unharmed! Rian sheepishly said, "Is that all you got? I expected more." After which, he threw the boulder to his right. One could see that there was a small hole on the boulder which was as big as Rian. It could be inferred that Rian did not even need to defend the attacks that the sect leaders threw at him. 156 Chapter 156: Shared Memories "..." Angus and his companions were silent and had expressions of disbelief as they looked at Rian. Thise attacks would have at least given him grievous wounds but facts were now placed before their eyes. Rian was unscathe! "Are you done with your tricks?" Rian leered at the terrified group of people. Seeing the scared looks on their faces, Rian smirked. "Then, I guess it''s my turn to attack, right?" When the sect leaders saw Rian''s grin, they felt as if they saw the smile ofa devil. Their already pale white countenance became even paler which appeared to be rather sickly. If his defense were so strong that not even 31st level- 33rd level attacks were able to faze despite being defenseless, then how terrifying would his attack be?! "Run... Run!" That was the only thing they could see in the face of their doom. No matter how futile their attempts maybe, they thought that if they went to separate directions and Rian went after them, then there should at least two or even one person who would escape with his life. Thus, they could only pray that they would not be the ones that Rian will chase and kill. ''Please, Don''t let me be the one to be killed! I beg you, heavens!!'' The spikey haired sect leader prayed religiously. ''I don''t want to die! Let those fools die instead!'' The square faced sect leader sinisterly thought. ''I can still make it if he does not target me!" The bushy browed sect leader hopefully repeated in his mind. Their line of thoughts would have been feasible if the they were facing was still Rian prior to his evolution. But now? That would be just a fool''s thought! "Time to feel despair, human scums!" Rian put his upper right paw forward and lower left foot backwards. He looked like a wolf that is ready to pounce. A faint shadow of a six-eyed demon beast slowly converged on Rian''s back! It looked like the pitch plack ancient beast aura when Rian activates his bloodline but it also was not at the same time. This faint shadow was the result of the partial activation of Rian''s Bloodline Strength! Along with his evolution, he was able to somewhat control the degree by which Rian could release his Bloodline Strength. Currently, Rian was only able to activate 2% of his entire bloodline''s strength but this would help him use it for longer durations than he originally could. His time limit while using 2% of his bloodline with his current strength was only ten minutes but during these ten minutes, he would be able to dominate the entire Origin Realm! Rian''s aura was augmented drastically at this instant and reached the power of a Pinnacle 40th Level Palace Establishment! He opened his mouth and barked, "Roar of Decimation!" *Shwoooh* *Krrrzzzzhhhh* *Shwoooh* Terrifying black winds and unfathomable darkness started to blow as Rian''s roar resounded unidirectionally! It burrowed the ground and eroded the soil upwards while turning it all to dust! They did not carry any debris instead it obliderated everything at sight! "What in the blazes?!" The sect leaders did not expect this sort of attack from Rian. During their earlier battle, every attack that Rian unleashed upon them was melee. His paw strikes and kicks were akin to weapons of mass destruction! Just one hit would send you flying! But, presently, he was suddenly attacking a long range area of effect attack?! How could they not be shocked? "There was no hope from the very start..." With that thought coming into all of their heads, they stopped fleeing and despodently looked at the sky with apathetic expressions. "So this is what he meant..." It was at that moment they finally understood what the true meaning of despair was. They could only watch as the terrifying black winds and unfathomable darkness reached them and erased them from existence! The Roar of Decimation caused the landscape in front of Rian to be reformed in the blink of an eye! Thirty meters in front of him was turned into a wasteland! "Serves you right." Rian coldly looked to the distance and haughtily chided as he turned around to return to Dylan and Mary. ... In Dylan''s conciousness.. ''Why can''t I move? What happened to me?'' Dylan felt like he was drifting in some kind of sea. He could not determine where he was but he could not open his eyes, smell with his nose, open his mouth, or even move his limbs. He felt heaviness and cold ness all throughout his body. ''Huh? I can see.'' Suddenly, he could open his eyes for a little bit. At first, everything was unclear and murky but as time passed, everything became vivid. He saw a beautiful meadow, filled with green grass and vibrant plants and also had beautiful mountains on its horizon. A mesmerizing azure blue sky with white clouds and active birds flying in a flock. ''This place... It''s like I have been here before but...'' Dylan felt a strong sense of familiarity with this place. But, he was sure that he has not been to such a place with his memory of his past lifetimes. ''What is going on here? Weren''t I in Dreamy Forest fighting those sect leaders?'' He was confused why he was suddenly in this strangely familiar place. But, strangely, he still could not move or speak. Suddenlu, he saw a blue-robed man approaching him. This man was extremely handsome. His greenish blue hair drooped down to his shoulders like the waves of the sea His face seemed like a work of art sculpted to perfection. His eyes were deep blue like the calm waters of the ocean. His brows were thick and stern. His smile emphasized the wetness of his red lips. He was definitely a dream boat that any girl would die for. If he was born on Earth, then he would definitely a world class celebrity. But Dylan had a diffirent thought when he saw this man, he was petrified. He knew this man very well despite his youthful appearance. He never thought he would actually see him again. ''Father...'' If Dylan could only move, he would definitely hug him and cry. He really missed his father because he was the only father he had. Although his memories were somewhat vague because of his young age, he knew how much is father cared and sacrificed for him. When he was 2 years old, the bloodline of his father and mother was too strong for mere infant to handle. The overbearingness of his mother''s royal bloodline was only slightly lower than his father''s heavenly bloodline. These two bloodlines contrasted each other too much that it created a unique disease which threatened Dylan''s life. His father had to exhaust all of his earnings to purchase all kinds of herbs that will help supress this disease. In the end, Derik could only choose to seal both of his bloodline to prevent Dylan from perishing. ''But, why does he look slightly younger than I remember?'' As Dylan thought of this, his father moved closer to him and seemed to be kissing his forehead. His father''s eyes was filled with gentleness and love. ''What''s going on?'' Dylan did not understand what was happening. He saw a hand that seemed to originate from him but he was shocked when he saw how fair and slender this hand was. Suddenly, Derik, his father, kneeled down before him. Smiling, he leaned slightly on his bloated stomach which seemed to be that of a pregnant woman''s belly... ''Wait? What the heck? Why am I suddenly a girl? And I am even pregnant?! What on earth is happening here?!'' No matter how mature and collected his mind was, this overly weird situation shocked him greatly. However, on careful thought, this does not seem the case. Dylan immediately dispelled this thought as he started to think in a new perspective. ''What if this isn''t my memory but another person''s? Judging by what I have seen until now, this should be my mother''s memory when I was still a fetus?'' Although this hypothesis was probable, he could not help but conflict himself about this, ''But how is that possible? How can I share the memories of my mother? Is this some kind of innate ability of my mother''s clan or father''s bloodline? Considering that, this is still too mysterious.'' While Dylan was contemplating about this, the scene continued. Derik remained leaning slightly on Melissa''s belly. It was as if he was trying to feel how Dylan was doing. Melissa carressed his head with utmost care and love using her left hand and placed her right on the top of her belly. "I have decided. We''ll call him Dylan." Derik suddenly said with certainty. "Hm? That''s quite odd. We spent several months thinking of our son''s name but you always sounded indecisive. Then, you suddenly name him with certainty. Hehe." Melissa had a surprised tone when she replied to Derik''s sudden suggestion but she still giggled lovingly. "Well, when I was checking his aura, it was so calm like the waves of the ocean. That feeling made me remember the time when my father took me the Lake of Heaven''s Tears, he told me that if he had another son, he would name him according to his father''s name who had once sailed across Neptune''s Sea. It''s like a commemoration to my father and grandfather. Also, because I want him to live a calm and peaceful life dissimilar to mine." Derik spoke reminiscently. "Dylan... son of the sea... I like it. My mother''s name was Lynda. It''s like an anagram of her name. It''s decided then! Our firstborn shall be named Dylan." Melissa happily spoke. ... ''My name actually has such a story with it...'' Dylan was rather emotional when he saw this scene. A part of him was really happy while a part of him wasn''t. The part which was sorrowful in this encounter was the Dylan who lived on Earth. Dylan and Dale where left by someone on an orphanage in their hometown. They only knew their names came from the handknitted cloth which covered their bodies. They were fed well until the age of 5 because that was when their caretakers had them pickpocket from others. When he was 6, Dylan realized that what he was doing was wrong and decided to leave the orphanage so that Dale''s hands would not be tainted like his. ... "You really are my wife." Derik suddenly kissed Melissa which took her by surprise. However, Melissa did not resist and even closed her eyes to feel the sensation of the kiss. ''Huu. Thanks, mom. That would have been really weird.'' Her actions were very fortunate for Dylan. Derik''s sudden movements also caught him by surprise. Although his father kissed him when he was still little, it was different now that he was all grown up. After several moments, Melissa''s eyes were opened once more. Her husband was no longer face to face with her and had distanced himself. She bashfully looked away and whined, "Hmph, second wife! Sister Allison is your first wife!" "But you''re my first love and first lover... We only got together because..." Derik indignantly replied but he was stopped by his lover''s finger. "Shh, don''t say that! Sister Allison did so much to support you in your campaign and even saved your life once which severely injured her. She even kept the fact that we are meeting here once a week for the past seven months! She even treats me kindly despite knowing I am her rival in love when she comes here with you. Most importantly, she has loved you just as long as I have. Don''t forget about your promise!" Melissa reprimanded Derik. "I know. You don''t have to remind me because she already is in my heart. But it''s just I''m guilty of not being able to fulfill my promise of making you my only wife." Derik said helplessly. Melissa''s gaze turned warm and she moved closer to Derik and hugged him. "It''s fine, my love. Although I was against at it at first, but seeing how she did so much for you, I have already accepted her as my sister. We already promised each other that we will do our best to be the best wives for you. That''s why you have to do your best and become a great and faithful husband to me and Sister Allison." "En, I promise to treasure you both for the rest of my life." Derik felt really fortunate to have such great wives and just hugged her wife tightly as he could. Dylan found this scene very peculiar because he was a native of Earth and he knew firsthand how territorial and selfish women could be for the person they love. So, for proud women, to share their men with others? It was culture shock for Dylan. Suddenly, Dylan was enlightened about a certain matter. ''This means that the person who has been secretly sending us money to father was her?'' When Dylan''s bloodlines were suppressed and he was no longer in peril, his father was already out of money and even sold most of his possession aside from his weapons. Occassionally, a person in a black cloak would always find them and talk with father outside of the place they would be staying for the time being. Then, that person would quickly leave after several minutes. Dylan always wondered who their benefactor was. To think, it was actually his other mother! ''I would have to thank her personally when I am strong enough. I''m glad I don''t have to go through ''an evil wife'' event. I remember father told me that he would introduce her to me the next time she came on her last visit. But who would have thought father would actually be sold out by the friend we were staying in! After Byron, I have to kill that person who betrayed me and my father!'' Dylan thought coldly. The scene still continued. While Derik and Melissa were hugging intimately, they suddenly sensed something ominous from their surroundings. The couple became vigilant and prepared for battle when they sensed the ominous presence. "Who are you?! You dare infiltrate my territory?! Come out!" Several meters away from them, clouds of darkness started to appear out of nowhere and formed some sort of portal. Four figures came out. All of them were wearing black robes with a strange insignia of a castleon their left chest and their backs. The pitch black clouds were agglomerating and moving around their feet like it was alive! "Malevolent Magnates of the Darkness Castle!" Derik and Dylan quickly identified them. Both of their eys shone with killing intent! "It seems like King Ford knows us already. Then, you must know why we have come. Hand over the Heaven''s Origin in your body and we will let your wife and child go. If not, you can all go to oblivion as a family." The person in the far right stood forward and said. ''Heaven''s Origin? What''s that?'' Dylan who was already very familiar with the Great Mystic World, suddenly heard an alien term. "Hmph, do you really think that you have the right to demand something from me and even threaten me?! How foolish! Since you have the audacity to come, don''t expect returning out of here alive." The kingly aura within Derik started to gush out of his body as he disdainfully said. Derik activated his Immortal Energy which caused his greenish blue hair to float and suddenly the water vapor around him was influenced by his aura and directly turned into water! A golden trident appeared on his right hand amd a scaly bluish gold armor replaced his clothes. The moment it appeared, the newly formed water aggregated behind him and formed a gigantic whale that covered the a part of the sky along with a vast volume of water that could already be considered a small sea! Derik soared ten meters to the air and look down upon the Malevolent Magnates. Right now, Derik looked like a true sovereign of the sea! "Ruining my alone time with my husband?! You''re all courting death!" It was not just him! Even the pregnant Melissa was summoning her Immortal Energy and her dark red hair fluttered on her back and lava started flowing out of the ground. Miniature volcanoes started appearing around her while excreting lava from their craters. A large phoenix was formed from the lava around her and floated behind her. Two identical shiny black long swords with red lines on the blade appeared on both of her arms and the heat around her intensified into extreme lengths! Even if the two auras one the sky and on the ground looked contrasting, there was a strange garmony and connection whenever they met with each other! ''Whoa, mother and father was extremely powerful! They even influenced the space around them with their immense strength! Someday... I will also be as strong as them!'' Dylan was in awe and was also very proud to have such outstanding experts as his parents. "It seems like we can only use force!" The man who took a step forward said. With the end of his words, he and his companions released their dark energy and was in ther process of summoning their avatars! Each avatars were some kind of demon or abberation which could bring horror and devastation to any city. The pitch black cloudy energy soared to the skies and prevented sunlight from passing through! Just as they were about to fight, Dylan''s vision was gradually being withdrawn from the scene and the speed by which he was being withdrawn was gradually growing stronger with the sunction force that came from his back! ''Nooo!'' Dylan indignantly thought. He truly wanted to see what would transpire between the battle of his parents and the group of Malevolent Magnates. "Dylan... Dylan...." ''Who?'' Suddenly, Dylan heard a voice whose volume increased with every call. "Dylan... Dylan. DYLAN!" "Mother! Father!" Dylan suddenly opened his eyes and cried out! But when he came to, he saw the shocked and excited expressions of a beautiful lady and a puppy in front of him. "Hahahahaha! He''s finally awake!" The puppy was naturally Rian who jumped in happiness! 157 Chapter 157: Hidden Foe "Sir Dylan!" Mary could not control her emotions anymore. She jumped into Dylan''s embrace and cried tears of joy. "Thank, god..." "Where is this..." Dylan stared blankly at the two individuals who was in front of him and scanned his surroundings. His mind was still elsewhere as he recalled the memories that he and her mother shared. "I knew it! You definitely won''t die on me! Hahaha!" Rian merrily chimed. He let out a sigh of relief after having a hearty laugh. After blinking a few times, he began to remember about Mary''s abduction and the fight with the alliance. When his mind became more clear, his eyes lit up. "Rian! You''re okay? Great! When the leaders came back, instead of you, I thought something might have happened to you." "Heh, you think those old farts could kill me? Hmph, you think too highly of them! As I am now, I could take care of the entire alliance single handedly!" Rian unhappily snorted yet as he looked away, there was a faint smile on his face. He was really happy that he could still talk with Dylan like this. "Arrogant as always, I see. Mary, why are you here? Didn''t I tell you to run as far as possible?" Dylan then turned to the crying damsel on his shoulders. " I..." Mary suddenly realized how inappropriate her actions were. She immediately detached herself from Dylan and answered. "I heard a large explosion. I felt something bad happened to you so I..." "You shouldn''t have! What would happen if the... The alliance leaders! They... Ugh!" Dylan, who was in the middle of speaking, could now fully feel the enfeeblement that lurked within his body. With the clarity of his mind returning, the sensation of his body had also done the same. "Huh?" It was only now that he discovered his chest was shrouded with bandages which were now drenched in blood because of its'' attempts to stop excessive bleeding. When he tried to move his body, pain was the only thing that he could feel. He, then, looked at Rian and Mary with an inquiring stare, "What happened to me? Why am I injured like this?" Rian answered. "I don''t know what happened exactly. When I found you, you were already like this. I thought that you might have fought the demon warriors of the clan leaders which resulted you being heavily injured." After hearing Rian''s assumption, he remembered his arduous fight with the demon warrior, " That''s right! I fought with a demon warrior because I thought they already killed you. The last thing I remember was using my strongest attack against them, then, everything went white. I guess I fainted quickly after." "But, still, you were able to destroy their demon warrior because when I found them, they were already lying on the ground so I cleaned up your mess and killed them." Rian mentioned Dylan''s feat and mentioning his right after. He even grinned when he said ''I cleaned up your mess'' "Okay, okay. I get it." Dylan rolled his eyes in response. "Hmph, how ungrateful! If it were not for me, you would have died!" Rian growled in a dissatisfied tone. "Well, that''s what comrades are for, stupid. I would do the same if you were injured like I was." Dylan wore a warm smile while he laughed. "Anyways, you should also thank Mary. Regarding your injury, it was even more worse initially but Mary helped you with that. She was the one who took care of you when I went to kill those bastards." Rian spoke with a knowing tone. "Thank you, Mary. I owe you one." Dylan turned to Mary and smiled gratefully. Mary became flustered as she looked at Dylan''s captivating smile. She turned her head away and waved her hands while talking hurriedly, " I only stopped the bleeding, sir. Your body was already recovering at a visible rate when I arrived. It was continuously taking in spirit energy from its'' surroundings and refining it to help your body recover. I only took off your shirt and..." She abruptly stopped talking when she mentioned the matter of her taking off her shirt. Her hands stopped moving and she placed on her flushed face. Despite covering her face, there were gaps on her hands. Even if she was embarassed, a part of her wanted to see Dylan''s reactions. "Even so, you helped me keep my life. That''s why I''m really grateful." Dylan smiled warmly as he expressed his thanks. "Mhm." Mary stared at Dylan in amazement. His smile suddenly became more brilliant which made her heart skip a beat. She lowered her head and smiled secretly. "Let me meditate for a bit. I want to inspect what happened to my body. Plus, the pain in my chest is killing me." Dylan joked. "Sure, we''ll guard you." Rian guaranteed without heistation. Without delay, he crossed his legs with difficulty and entered a meditative state. He scanned his body for any major injuries, blocked spirit veins or internal bleeding. After a thorough check, he could only bitterly smile as he witnessed how messed up his body was. ''6 broken ribs, a cracked sternum, severed chest muscles, 30 clogged spirit veins and ancestral veins... It''s a good thing I managed to angle the strike to my upper torse or else my dogestive system would have been severely damaged...'' ''My Supreme Core already has spirit energy within it?'' Dylan was stunned to find that his body was already recovering from energy depletion. After using the Lightning Breaker Piercing Blade, his body lost all the energy it contained. To his shock, he had already recovered 10% of his spirit energy. But, he soon understood that this matter was because of his Ancestral Veins System ''The ancestral veins could even absorb and refine the invasive energy in my body from the explosion earlier... Huu, I guess I don''t have to worry about hidden injuries with the tandem of the Ancestral Veins and Supreme Core in my body.'' Dylan was satisfied with the results of his hardwork paying off like this. His Ancestral Veins System could guide any type of energy that entered his body to his Supreme Core while his Supreme Core cleanses and converts those energy into his very own energy. With the power of these two, the Cosmic God did not fear just any type of poison unless it was one which could corode one''s Divinity or anything of that level. But, Dylan knew that one of the greatest advantages of the Ancient Veins Realm is that it could absorb spirit energy from his surroundings indefinitely and involuntarily. Though this absorption was lesser than if one cultivates manually, it could decrease the time which a cultivator has to restore his energy and it could even be done without the user''s will as it becomes an involuntary function. Sadly, Dylan''s body could still not absorb the energy from nature for some unknown reason. He thought that if he were to successfully cultivate the Ancestral Veins System, he could finally absorb nature energy even if his original Spirit Veins System could not do so. Thus, he was really despodent once he had this discovery, ''Just what is wrong with my body?'' ''I hope I can unveil the mystery of my body somehow... someday.'' Dylan helplessly thought but he had immediately cast away that thought as he crushed several Primal Stones and recovered some of his spirit energy. He also noticed that as he refined his Primal Stones and Deca-Stones, he could use some of it to aid his body in recovering. With the rate of his conversion, he was able to fill his Supreme Core in less than two minutes. After doing so, he guided some of his spirit energy to his abdomen to up the speed of the clotting of the wound. Several minutes later... "Help!!" A cry filled with fear broke the silence of Dreamy Forest. This cry has also jolted Dylan, who was in meditation, awake! Rian and Mary was also alarmed by that abrupt scream. After the shout, the ground seemed to be shaking with loud rumbling sound coming from the north. *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* "What was that?!" Rian, Mary, And Dylan stood up and looked around them with caution. To their north, they saw a group of people who was running towards them at really fast pace. They seemed to be running away from the dustwave behind them. There were a total of seventeen people where majority of them were in handcuffs. There were six people at the front with three of them carrying a person each. The people which were being carried seemed to have lost at least a single limb. "Help us! Please!" The leader of the Ford Protection Squad cried for help as he ran with all his might. "The Ford Protection Squad?!" The trio was shocked when they saw the distressed faces of the mighty squad which fended off every assassin which threatened to take Dylan''s life. With some effort, they were finally able to reach Dylan and their group. They all had ghastly complexions with them while they were panting nonstop. They came to a stop when they saw that the dust wave could not just be found to their north but in all eight directions. It seemed as if they were being slowly cornered and trapped inside a cage. "We-we''re done for!" A sect leader dropped to his knees and cried out. "We''re going to die!" Another sect keader wailed in fear and crouched while trembling. With the approaching figures within the dust clouds, they could finally see what the group was running away from. It was an army of giant spiders which had varrying number of legs. These spiders were either a meter to 3 meters in height and 4 to seven meters wide. They were all dark purple in color with portruding horns from the sides of their heads. Their numbers would most likely reach beyond a hundred if they were counted. "A beast tide!!" Dylan''s face became dark as he uttered those words. He turned around and asked the sect leaders in a deep voice, "What did you all do?!" 158 Chapter 158: Night Arachnid "We-we did not do anything at all!" A skinny long haired sect leader denied quickly. "Then, why are those spirit beasts chasing you like there is no end to them?" Dylan interrogated the remaning seven with a fierce glare. "We seriously don''t know. Five Core Transformation Realm Darkness Spider suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed five of our men. We were so shocked that we were petrified on the spot!" A curly haired sect leader recounted the events which happened to them. "Was all of that true?" Dylan looked at the leader of the Ford Protection Squad who currently had a pale white complexion. "Indeed. We reacted at the next moment and tried to defend against the five beasts. Then, ''it'' appeared..." The leader replied hoarsely. He clenched his fists so hard that it was trembling. "It?" Dylan curiously asked. "A Night Arachnid!" The leader stared into Dylan''s eyes. His eyes filled with helplessness and hate. "What?!" Dylan was absolutely shock to hear such a rare species of the spirit beasts to appear in the Dreamy Forest! A Night Arachnid is a rare type of spider type spirit beasts which was half-human and half-spider. It''s upper body was that of a humans and a lower body of a spider''s. Legend states that the Night Arachnid was a being born from a powerful cultivator who hopelessly fell in love a with a spider who transformed into a female human. Despite knowing the origins of the woman, the man still pursued the spider lady. After suffering the criticims of the world, the couple settled down and bore a humaniod beast offspring on the night of a full moon. It gave it a dark lower body with milky white spots that seemed to be a reflection of the night sky on the night it was born. The couple named their child the Night Arachnid. With the heritage of its'' parent, it had an outstanding affinity with darkness, intelligence comparable to humans in adulthood and an innate ability to lord over weaker spiders. With it''s natural endowments, it was able dominate among spirit beast and became widely known. Thus, the birth of a new species. "It''s aura was so wrong that it should at least be at the Mortal Moulting Realm! It simply smiled to us and said ''foolish humans''. With a simple blast of its webs, we were blown away like ants. Wally, Sean and Huvi lost one of their limbs to protect all of us." A female member of the Ford Protection Squad inserted with a grave tone. "After that, the Night Arachnid let out a peculiar noise which summoned the beast tide. The strange thing was that the spider were burrowing out from the ground! After several holes were made, the spiders swarmed like a colony of ants. Thus, we fled hoping to escape from their encirclement but it seems like it is impossible now." A large robust man shook his head. "The situation has become even more troublesome that what I had originally thought." Dylan bit his thumb and thought of how they could possibly evade this predicament. A Night Arachnid at the Mortal Severing Realm would most likely be able to have intelligence of an adult human. Coupled with it''s ability to control spiders that were at least at the Origin Realm, even a Breaking Demarcation Realm expert would run from it. It was a true forced to be reckoned with. "Look! The spiders stopped moving!" A horse-faced sect leader abruptly mentioned. With his words, everyone saw that the spiders have indeed stopped. They stopped about 10 to 12 meters away from them. They were now currently encircled by the large numbers of spider which covered all paths of escape. It was like they were trapped in a room with spiked walls slowly closing innon them. They felt like they were no different from featherless chickens waiting to be slaughtered by the butcher. Death was screaming everywhere they looked. ''There is no hope at all...'' Despair filled the minds of the members of the Ford Protection Squad and the surviving sect leaders "We were sure that there were no beasts in the forest when we came here! How did they suddenly appear out of nowhere! Why?! Does the heavens really want me to die that much?!" The skinny sect leader screamed in despair. After being silent for some time, Dylan raised his head and exhaled with hiseyes closed. After repeating the same actions three times, he was able to revert back to his orginal calm state. This type of breathing was Dylan''s habit every time he was stuck in an unfavorable situation. By doing this, he could flip the switch that he personally created for himself. This switch allowed him to become calm and free from any distractions or unecessary thought. In this state, Dylan could think more clearly than usual which allowed him to form a direct plan of action. "From everything you have all said, I could infer that the spirit beasts did not just appear out of nowhere. The Dreamy Forest must have been their habitat for a long time. Since you have witnessed them digging out of the ground, they would most likely have lived underground." Dylan wore a poker face as he looked at the spiders around them. "But why would they live underground? But Darkness Spiders would usually live on the surface specifically on top of the trees. That does not make sense." The female member of the Ford Protection Squad asked. "With the innate intelligence of the Night Arachnid, it would naturally know that their newborns would not be able to handle the strength of the ilkusion of the Illusion Isolating Trees. It could determine that the forest would be a good place to settle in since they would not need to compete with other beast clans for food here. That''s because most spirit beasts would not want to live here since it would threaten the lives of their newborns. Thus, it decided to have its tribe to live underground. An intelligent leader, it is." Dylan calmly deduced. Dylan continued, "The clamor caused by our battles woukd most likely infuriate the Night Arachnid since a powerful spirit are prideful and territorial. With its strength, it must already be an adult which means it''s intelligence and cunning would be equal, if not, greater than an average adult human. Sensing that we were both fighting to our deaths, it bidded for time and waitingnto strike at our weakest." After hearing Dylan''s explanation, everyone could not help but shudder. They truly felt like they were dancing on the palms of the Night Arachnid. "Hahahaha, you, humans, are not so dumb after all." A loud piercing laugh came from their north. As everyone turned around to look, they saw the spider''s making a pathway while a exceedingly beautiful naked woman with a spider body as a substitue for her legs. She released an overwhelming pressure from her body which stemmed from her strength of Mortal Moutling Realm. "So powerful!" Everyone except Dylan and Rian were all pale faced especially Mary who had the weakest cultivation of them all. "So you are the Night Arachnid?" Dylan calmly stepped forward while the others took a step back. It seemed as if he was not affected by the pressure that the spirit beast exuded. If one were to look closely, the origin energy that the Night Arachnid emitted to pressure Dylan was subtly being sucked by his skin specifically his pores! " So what if I am? What are you gonna do about it, pretty boy?" The enchanting Night Archnid smiled seductively. "What a beauty..." The expression of almost everyone present turned somewhat silly. It was as if they entered a state of trance. "Command your troops and recall this beast tide and let us go." Dylan indifferently requested. It seemed as though he was not affected by the Night Arachnid''s seduction technique. ... "?!" The rest were silent and agape. They never expected Dylan to have the gall to command such an overwhelmingly powerful spirit beast! The Ford Protection Squad had different thoughts when they heard his words. They admired his courage but feared for his safety. ''Where did this young man get his confidence from? How brave of him! But bravery won''t be of any help in this situation.'' The leader thought to himself ''What a balsy man he is! A commendable character!'' The large robust man praised Dylan inwardly. The same also went for the remaning sect leaders. However, they did not admire his bravery but instead, rejoiced in his misfortune. ''Does he have nerves of steel?! How can he say that with a straight face? No doubt about it. He''s going to die!'' The skinny long-haired sect leader sneered but only in his mind. He did not dare voice such thoughts because it was inviting disaster upon himself. ''I thought this guy was smart. It turns out he''s just an idiot digging his own grave. Hmph, how arrogant and stupid of him!'' The curly haired sect leader smiled mockingly at Dylan''s back. ... "How amusing. A mere Spirit Gathering human can not only resist both my aura and my seduction, but also has the nerve to demand freedom? Hahahaha, humans are truly beyond saving. But, I like your courage. Not to mention how incredibly dashing you are. Hehe, how about becoming my mating slave? If you agree, I will consider sparing your companion''s life. I promise we are going to have lots of fun~. How about it?" The Night Arachnid even playfully winked at Dylan after saying her comments about him. "I decline because I have no interest with mating with a repulsive beast.'' Dylan ruthlessly said without even batting an eye. "You!!" The Night Arachnid''s aura suddenly became more dangerous as she was utterly enraged with such insult. "As I was saying, recall your troops or face total annihilation." Dylan spoke fearlessly. 159 Chapter 159: Bloodline Suppression "This..." The expression of the Night Arachnid was that of shock. She never would have thought this weak human would make such a bold declaration. "Yield or die. Choose." Dylan only uttered four words but it showed his domineering presence in the battlefield. Saying that, a familliar smile appeared from his face. Suddenly, it felt like the one who held the upper hand was no longer the overly strong Night Arachnid and her army of Darkness Spiders, but the seemingly weak Dylan who was also severely injured. ... "Total... Annihilation?!" Everyone was flabbergated upon hearing Dylan''s words. There were at least a thousand Darkness Spuders in order to fully encicle them like there was no end to all of them. In contrast, there were barely twenty people on their side. There has to be at least fifty times of their number on the opponent''s side. Putting aside their exceedingly high numbers, the weakest among the spirit beasts which gathered here were at least at the Origin Transmutation Realm! Not to mention that most of them were injured and incapacitated, this was a not a battle at all. It was a slaughter show, rather, to be more precise, it was a feast for the Darkness Spiders to consume humans at their level. It was akin to a old rusty boat fighting a full naval armada! This was even excluding the fact that their leader, the Night Arachnid is a Mortal Moulting Realm being! Just her alone could decimate their entire group! But now, this young man, not only dared to talk back to the enemy''s leader, he even dauntlessly threatened her and her forces complete oblideration?! How does any of this make any sense? "This guy... saying he has balls of steel isn''t suitable to describe him... he has to have balls of platinum or even diamond to say something like that!" A glasses-wearing sect leader did not know whether Dylan was heroic or just exceedingly idiotic but he was sure of one thing, he was courageous to the point of foolishness. "Is he... alright?" The leader of the Ford Protection Squad nervously said to Mary while he tapped her shoulder. Although he admired Dylan''s courage, was this not a little bit too much? He could not help but feel anxious from his actions. Despite tapping her shoulder''s, Mary did not turn to look to the leader. "Miss... you..." He would have never expected to see that kind of expression on Mary''s face in this type of situation. It was a face filled with respect, joy, excitement, and even trace of love. He bitterly thought. ''Is this woman a hopeless romantic?'' What the leader did not know was that if there were any other employee of the Soaring Garden Enterprise present, they would have the same reaction as Mary. Because only the employees of Soaring Garden knows that when Dylan smiles like that, it means that everything is under his control. Shocking the leader, Mary suddenly turned and offered a sweet smile, "Don''t worry, captain. He will win. Definitely!" ... "How arrogant! To think I actually fancied you! Hmph, a mere human like you is not worthy of this beauty! I take back what I said! I will kill every single one of you in the worst way possible!" Night Arachnid was getting increasingly furious every time she continued her talk with Dylan. "Krssshh!" With her outburst of anger, her minions, the spiders were getting more aggressive despite being held back in attention. They released their auras which caused the trees to shudder and the sky to be blanketed by a curtain of darkness. This caused the Mary and the others to be forced back by the pressure. "Hm, I have no qualms with that whatsoever. It seems like you leave me no choice but to let you be slaughtered." Dylan nonchallantly replied with a calm facade. "I really want to see where you are getting this confidence from! My vassals, attack them! Leave no bones! I want them to die without a grave!" The Night Arachnid''s face turned twisted after hearing Dylan''s ruthless and condescending rebuttals. "Kriiiieeergh!" Waves of piercing screeches resoundeed one after the other accompanied by the rumbling of the ground which was caused by the advancement of the beat tide. *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* "Look at what you''ve done, you idiot! We''re going to be devoured piece by piece now and it''s all your fault!" A sect leader rushed to Dylan and held his collar with his cuffed hands. "I think we should surrender him to the queen and ask for reconsideration! He''s the one who caused this so he should take responsility~" Another sect leader scowled but was interrupted by simple hand gesture. Dylan placed his long and delicate index finger in between his lips and let out a soft sound, "Shhh." "Why you!" The sect leader which was silenced wanted to bash Dylan with his bare fists. However, he saw Dylan making a pointing gesture to his right. "Huh?" He followed its'' direction and he saw a puppy with pitck black fur standing in front of him and Dylan. He saw the cute puppy smile and laugh, "Hehe. I was itching to try out these two moves I have learned after the evolution. You guys are the perfect guinea pigs." The puppy spread out his four paws and lowered his head while closing his cute eyes. Who could this cute puppy aside from Rian? "What the heck is that puppy going to do?" The Ford Protection Squad could not help but exclaim the same question. They only knew that this puppy could run at a speed comparable to a Palace Establishment Expert when they tailed Dylan so they had no idea how strong Rian actually was. "Take this! Hell Gaze!" The moment he spoke, Rian raised his head and opened his eyes which was shining in a shiny blood red glow! His aura began to soar like crazy until it surpassed the aura of the Night Arachnid! "Grrrgh!" A faint large pitch black shadow with three pairs of blood red eyes appeared above him. It released an overly menacing aura which suffocated everyone present from the pressure it emitted! A shocking phenomenon happened consequently during the activation of Rian''s Hell Gaze. All spirit beasts which has a cultivation base lower than Origin Foundation were killed by a sudden wave of dark Mental Strength that invaded their brains which caused their heads to explode from the overflow! Darkness whose strength was at Origin Foundation were bleeding from their eyes, nose and ears while those at the Core Transformation Realmwere trembling and prostrating to Rian. ... "WHAT?!!" The Ford Protection Squad and the sect leaders could not believe their eyes! This seemingly week puppy''s aura and strength was actually this strong! His aura was at least at the peak of the Mortal Moulting Realm! He singlehandedly stopped a small-scale beast tide! "How can he become that strong so quickly?! Did''nt we just fight him several minutes ago? Although he was strong, he was not ''this'' strong!" "How can the heaven''s be so unjust! This dog has yet to mature but... but he''s already overwhelmingly strong! This can''t be!" The sect leaders were in disarray and were also feeling incomparably indignant faced with the overwhelming natural talent that Rian had. They were even despodent to the fact that Rian was still an infant! "Isn''t... this a little bit too overpowered...?" The leader of the Ford Protection Squad stuttered in shock. ... ''How can this be?! He can surpress my bloodline this bad?! He could even forcefully cancel my control on the Darkness Spiders! He... he has to be a descendent of a Demonic Beast God to perform complete suppression!!'' The Night Arachnid could feel a strong opressive force pressing down on her body. This feeling was not just pressure but it was an authentic and complete bloodline suppression! She was shivering from fear when he looked into those blood red eyes. It was if it could devour her awhole. ''But how?! Beasts of his level should only be found in our ancestral home, the Beast World! He should even be a royal there! How can he appear here?!'' The Night Arachnid could not understand what was going on. Nothing which happened before her make sense! "How can a royal like him be the companion of human who is barely at Spirit Gathering?! Even if the human found him at his infancy, his ancestral bloodline should have made him remember who he was after reaching two year old! With his strength right now, just a swipe could easily kill that human! Just what is happening?!" The Night Arachnid found everything which happened before her incredulous and unreasonable. It did not align with any knowledge she had of royal spirit beasts. "Ahhhh! My vassals have been reduced to half with a single attack! How powerful can he- AHHHH!!" The Night Arachnid''s gave up as she held her head screaming from the piercing pain she was experiencing! ... "Tch, dammit'', I got a little bit carried away and used nearly half of my strength." Rian cursed with a low voice. He was panting a bit heavily. Dylan appraoched him and praised, "You had to adjust your strength to not affect us. That required considerable control which drained most of your energy. I''m impressed. You''re one heck of a monster, Rian." "Heh, although I still don''t know what spirit beast I am, I do know that my bloodline is at least at the Demonic Beast God level you told me about. It might even be stronger than it. So, there''s no reason for me not to be impressive." Rian raised his head and puffed his chest proudly. Dylan rolled his eyes and asked, "Can you still go on?" "Mhm, yeah. More or less. " Rian nodded. ''Don''t mess around! You told me earlier that these new attacks you''ve learned would only cost a fifth or maybe a quarter of your power if used. But seeing how powerful it was, it must have took at least double of what you''ve said! Seeing how drained you are, you must have already used the other technique, right. If I am not mistaken, you must have used it against the sect leaders that injured, right?'' Dylan telepathically scolded Rian angrily using their life connection with each other. "Hehe..." Rian could look the other way and laugh awkwardly. He cursed in his heart as he wondered how Dylan could be so on point with his guesses! ''Is this bastard some kind of telepath?! How did he know that?'' ''Seeing your reaction, I guess you wanted to pay them back at least a hundred fold for what they did to me. This means that you only have 20% of your initial reserves, right. Don''t push yourself. We have plenty alternatives when we talked earlier.'' Dylan concluded his telepathy. He no longer communicated via telepathy because he saw the Night Arachnid stabilise herself. "If Plan A fails, we can still continue Plan B." He reminded Rian while appearing to be calm in the surface. "I know, I know." Rian nodded back because he knew what Dylan was talking about because when Dylan closed his eyes, he took the initiative to tell Dylan that he could stop the tide. After being momentarily shocked, Dylan came up with a multifaceted plan impromptu seconds after he conversing with Rian! "You puny humans! How dare you!" The Night Arachnid seemed to have gone insane. She let out another high-pitched shriek and expressed her madness with her floating like snakes in mid-air. "Let me repeat what I said, Yield or die!" Dylan was unfazed with the aura she released and stood there with calmness and clarity in his eyes. 160 Chapter 160: The Chase, Leaving Dreamy Fores "Human! If the Demonic Beast God descendent was not here, I could grind you to dust! Do you dare fight me, Spider Queen, alone?!" The Night Arachnid madly shrieked. "I am not a child to fall for such petty taunts. I thought you were better than this, Spider Queen. It seems you are no different than a moody teenager I suppose. Judging from your impulsive disposition which far differs from the cunning and evil descriptions of a full grown Night Arachnid, you must be a newly ascended queen which means you are only young adult. In other words, a teenager no different from adolescent humans." Dylan waved his hand as he shook his head in disdain "How did you..!" The Night Arachnid stared dumbfoundedly at Dylan as if she saw a ghost. Just from her attitude and cross-referencing it with his knowledge, he was able to accurately determine her age! It was nearly unbelievable! ''Heh. Bingo.'' A wide smile appeared in Dylan''s face which was currently facing the ground. He raised his head and maintained the faint smile he had since earlier, "That can''t be right. From what I know, only fully grown adult Night Arachnids, which means roughly reaching the peak the Breaking Demarcation Realm or at least three decades or four decades old at most, are able to become rulers of a spider tribe." Dylan intentionally paused before continuing and saw that the Spider Queen''s complexion was becoming paler with every word he uttered. "Let me guess, your parents are already dead by some unfortunate turn of events and you the only heir was forced to take the throne prematurely. Am I wrong?" "This... No... But how...?" The Spider Queen was at a lost for words when Dylan was able to previsely deduce her age and her family background from crappy hints Rian was not surprise by Dylan''s accurate deductions. He shook his head and smile bitterly, ''He''s done it again. I really don''t know how he does it but he definitely can read other''s mind just by lookin into tiny details. He''s also one helluva'' monster himself.'' "Hehe, it seems like I''m right. What do you think would happen to your tribe if you were to fall in battle in today? They would most likely go to the surface without your commands and create their homes here because that is what their instincts dictates. Once their offspring hatch from their shells, they would forever fall prey to this forest''s illusions. Without children to grow and replace the older generation..." Dylan slowly spoke with a faint warm smile. To outsider''s, this smile would be inviting and pleasant but to Spider Queen, it was the most demonic and diabolic smile she had ever seen. The Spider Queen hoarsely said, "What do you want?" "Simple. Yield, so that you can retreat and both sides will not suffer anymore unnecessary losses or Resist, which will be a path of doom to you and the tribe that your family painstakingly built." Dylan smiled while he said the first half of his statement with friendliness and cordiality but when he reached the latter half, unmistakeable coldblooded killing intent was shown. ''This guy... No wonder he said, leave the talking to him. When it comes to negotiations, he is simply too good!'' Rian stared at Dylan in shock and respect. He was in awe by how Dylan was flawlessly handling the Night Arachnid like she was but a fellow businessman. "So which option does Spider Queen want to choose. Surely, you must have already chosen a wise answer. Otherwise, how could you face your parent''s in the future." Dylan meaningfully said. "I... I yield. I will command my men to retreat." The Night Arachnid finally admitted her surrender. She issued an order through her bloodline''s ability which made the army retreat back to their lair through the holes they made earlier. In just a minute, the spider beast tide was gone from their sight. ... "The... The spiders are retreating?" The large and muscular member of the Ford Protection blankly surveyed his surroundings which were clear of any spider. "I knew he can do it." Mary looked at Dylan with pride as tears welled up in her eyes. "Captain, the spiders have retreated!" The female member of the Ford Protection Squad jumped in joy and even hugged the captain. "That''s a little bit tight, Sharon." The captain blushed a little as he felt his subordinate''s ''softness''. "Oh, I''m sorry about that." Sharon immediately released the Captain after realizing how embarassing her actions were. "It''s fine." The Captain was similarly embarassed. He looked away in another direction while using his index finger to scratch the back of his ear. His gaze drifted to a figure several meters away from them, "Dylan Ford... He really did have a plan in mind." .... "What a wise decision as expected from the Spider Queen. I can see a bright future for you and the clan. Thank you for letting us go, Spider Queen. We shall now take our leave." Dylan courteously bowed like a royal diplomat. "Let''s go, Rian." Dylan smiled and glanced at Rian meaningfully. He did not spare another glance to the Night Arachnid and left in a very casual manner "Okay. You chose well." Rian nodded to Dylan and haughtily glanced at the Spider Queen before turning around. He was stopping himself from exploding with joy because it would foil everything that Dylan had set up. But, he was beyond happy when he thought how successful their plan was. The man and puppy duo went back to the others who were already rejoicing from the departure of the beast tide. Everyone was expecting Dylan to have a victorious smile on his return but what they saw was a solemn face which somewhat dampened the mood. "Sir Dylan, did something happen?" Mary asked in concern. "There''s not time to celebrate we must leave now!" Dylan seriously said in a low voice. Hearing the solemness in his voice, they immediately recognized that something bad might indeed happen. ... The Spider Queen was going to enter the underground passage with her subjects. She knew that what she had done was for the sake of her tribe''s survival but she could not help but let out a roar because of the indignance she had in her heart since earlier. "Damn it! To think I would have to retreat in the face of a human! How embarassing! If not for that demon dog''s strength and my tribe''s circumstance... Grrr! Hm...!" The Spider Queen was in the middle of her flaming when she suddenly had a realization. "Wait a second. Why did they choose to retreat if they had the power to decimate my tribe? They could have just done it by using that demon dog''s terrifying skills. But they didn''t... What would be their reason?" The Spider Queen could not help but furrow her brows for a moment. "Unless... the demon dog no longer had any ability to do so! When we were on our way up, I heard a terrifying roar that had the same aura of the gaze that demon dog used. It must have been one of the two skills he mentioned before he released that terrifying gaze. Can an infant Demonic Beast God use such skills indefinitely? Definitely not! His bloodline strength and origin energy must have been nearly depleted from those two attacks!" The Spider Queen intelligently deduced. "No wonder that human was so keen on leaving. It was because he knew that the demon dog no longer had any strength to fight! If I only had realized this sooner, I could have killed them all! Wait, it has not been long since our retreat, they might now have even left the forest yet!" Once the Spider Queen had this thought, a cold blooded glint in her eyes flickered along with the arousal of a sinister smile. "Hehehe, you thought you could outsmart me human? Hahaha, our wits are simpy not in the same level! Arachnid Guards! Your Queen summons you!" As Spider Queen''s voice resounded, nine shadows came out of the underground passage. All of the figures which appeared had an appearance similar to a Darkness Spider but the distinct feature that each one of them had was that they had humanoid upper bodies. However, these humanoid upper exterior was no where near a human''s. It''s skin was completely black and it''s head was that of a spider''s. Each spider had eight jointed legs. The arms of the upper body were similar to jointed legs but were more of blades than arms. These are one of the possible evolutions that a Darkness Spider might have once they reached the bottleneck of their full maturity at Core Transformation Realm, The Black Arachnids! All of these spiders were at the Blood Origin Realm of spirit beast cultivation which is comparable to the Palace Establishment Experts of humans. In the Blood Origin Realm, beasts could undergo bloodline evolution and create their Blood Origin in their Origin Cores. Blood Origin refers to the power that would grant them immense strength but also pass down to their future generations. However, to undergo evolution, spirit beasts must be able to cross a Heavenly Tribulation. Although the primary purpose of the tribulation is to eliminate them, it also gives them unparalleled benefits for it can refine their bloodline and undergo bloodline evoltion. The nine Black Arachnids of the Arachnid Guards are the strongest units of the Spider Queen''s tribe which have guarded the tribe since the reign of the Spider Queen''s parents. They are to be only summoned in critical situations such as invasion and defending the tribe. Even though they are unable to match the Spider Queen''s cultivation, their strength can easily kill her in less than ten exchanges. If the Spider Queen did not have the ability to control spiders with weaker bloodlines, she would have been already slayed by these guard should they defect from her reign. "Yes, our queen. What is the adversity that you wish for us to purge?" The Black Arachnids replied in the language of spiders while kneeling and bowing their humanoid bodies. Upon reaching True Origin, these guards were able to possess fundamental intelligence which enabled them to communicate with the queen and command their men. "We will make way to the south and kill all the humans at sight! They have invaded our land and disturbed our peace! They have humiliated your queen and sullied the pride of our tribe. In our laws, what is the punishment for such sins?!" The Spider Queen questioned in their language. "Death!" All the Arachnid Guards answered in impeccable unison. "Then, let us depart and slay these invaders! Follow me!" The Spider Queen declared loudly. She ran at extreme speeds that even appraoched the speed of the wind and made her way to Dylan''s direction with and evil glint on her face, "Just you wait, human! I will kill you with my own hands!" "Yes, our queen!" Like a series of black lightning, they swiftly moved like the wind and closely followed their queen from behind as they matched her swift speed. 161 Chapter 161: Plan B On the other hand... Dylan and the others were rushing out of the forest. They were running at the top speed of slowest man of the group which was the speed of the captive sect leaders. Though their origin energy was obstructed, the physical strengths of Origin Foundation Realm experts are not to be overlooked. One must know that they underwent physical training in order to posses a King Stage Body to house the Origin Energy. Their speed was even faster than track and field olympic gold medalists. Dylan was currently carrying Mary on her back. She was only a practitioner at the 11th level and her physical abilities though it was far greater than mortals but it paled in comparison to the experts in front of them. Despite carrying Mary, Dylan''s speed did not lag behind and even managed to closely follow the group. The Ford Protection Squad ate Energy Gathering Pills in order to accumulate enough origin energy to replace the amount they lost while fighting the Three Headed Minor Demon Formation of the sect leaders and running a marathon from Thunder Clouds City to Dreamy Forest. "Why are we running away, Dylan?" The Captain ran closer to Dylan and asked him. His question quickly piqued the attention of everyone who was currently running. "It is just a precaution that I wish to take in order to eliminate all possible threats to us within this forest." Dylan replied seriously. "Threats? What kind of threats?" The Captain''s brows met while his expression turned solemn. It was not only him, the faces of the others also met with a gloomy shade. "I guess there is no more use hiding it. When I told the Spider Queen that I have the power to completely decimate her clan, I was taking a gamble. By using Rian''s overwhelming strength as a deterrent and with a slight discussion, I was able to scare the Spider Queen. Right now, we are currently safe but we can''t say for sure." Dylan finally disclosed the secret to the others. "You were bluffing?!" The others were dumbfounded by this revelation! When they saw how Rian was able to fend off the entire spider army, they immediately believed what Dylan was claiming before Rian''s outburst of strength. Now, they suddenly found out that it was all an act? How could they not be shocked? "Somewhat." Dylan replied with an apologetic smile. He continued with a grave tone, " If the Spider Queen contemplates on this matter again, she might discover the minute flaws in our actions. Should she connect the dots, she would definitely come to find us while being accompanied by the strongest force she could muster!" "But didn''t the puppy-- I mean Rian, used that powerful skill to scare away the Spider Queen and her army? Can''t he do it again?" The Captain subconciously looked at Rian in trepidation as he spoke. The sect leaders who were running in front also shuddered as they remembered the scene of Rian using Hell Gaze. "It''s hard to say. Rian''s strength was nearly emptied when he used that skill once. As he is now, he can''t continuously use it. Thus, we can''t rely on it." Dylan shook in his head to express his disagreement. "..." An odd silence appeared in the tense atmosphere of the group. No wonder Dylan did not celebrate even when the spiders retreated, he was still considering all possible outcomes either good or bad. He did not become overly confident from one victory because to him, escaping from this forest alive is the only event worthy of celebration. "What do you think is the possibility that the Spider Queen will find out?" The Captain broke the silence and asked in a serious tone. "About eighty percent." Dylan answered readily. After a slight pause, he then, added, " But the possibility of this happening while we are still within the forest is at sixty." This estimation caused the mood of the entire group to darken. There was another period of eerie silence but it did not last for long. The person who chose to speak out was Mary, "What should we do, Sir Dylan?" "If the time comes when the Spider Queen reaches us before exiting the forest, then--" Dylan stopped midway when he felt danger on his back! After acquiring the Ancestral Veins System, despite not being able to absorb energy from his surroundings, his ability to sense energy fluctuations became more acute. Dylan sensed ten dark auras coming at them like bullet trains. Among them, he sensed a very familliar aura. His expression quickly paled after realizing who it was. Sensing a burst of energy coming from the ten figures, he shouted in desperation while he let himself fall into the ground, "GET DOWN!!" Hearing Dylan''s voice, everyone subconciously did as he commanded. They all let themselves crash flatly to the ground. To make sure that everyone would follow his voice, he used a slight enchantment technique in his voice which proved to be very effective. *Fzzzhhh* *Kzzzzingg* The next moment, a dark aura enveloped them as they saw dark spiderwebs passing through above them. These dark spiderwebs seemed delicate and fragile but as they went past trees, they chiseled the trees around them according to the shapes of the gaps of the webs. They seemed to be as sharp as steel razors when they severed the trees like paper! *Thump* *Thump* *Thump* Debris fell as the dark spiderwebs proceeded with its destruction. All that was left from the trees were about half a meter of their originally tall statures! The dark spiderwebs continued for several tens of meters before it dissipated. It definitely made considerable ecological damage to the forest along with the countless trees it destroyed. Everyone was ghastly pale as they witnessed such a horrible display of power. This was the true picture of desolation. If it were not for Dylan''s warning, they would have become similar to the trees severed to the point of not being recognized any more. A piercing laughter was heard after the dark spiderwebs disappeared, " HAHAHAHAHA!" Ten figures stepped out from the shade of the Illusion Isolating Trees. The one leading them was the Spider Queen who was the very same person who let out the piercing laugh. The nine behind her was naturally the nine Black Arachnids which are the Arachnid Guards of the spider tribe. "Black Arachnids!! All of them are Nine True Origin Realm beasts...? With a Mortal Moulting Realm Night Arachnid leading them...?" The Ford Protection Squad and the sect leaders were shocked to their very core. Black Arachnids are famous for their absolute physical power and the sharpness of their webs. It is said that their strength is comparable to heavy-hitter spirit beasts like elephant-types, rhinoceros-types, and gorilla-types. Their webs are so sharp they could break steel. It was not only sharp but also extremely flexible! That''s why Black Arachnids are feared among Spirit Beasts. Such a force could grind Middle Prosimity to dust in mere seconds! Not even a Mortal Moulting Realm expert could save them from this ordeal. "This time... we are truly done for." The Captain bit his lip as unresignedly said. ... Dylan stood up and asked Mary at his back, " Are you okay? Were you hurt?" "I''m fine. Just minor scrathes from the fall." Mary bashfully looked at the ground. "Apply this ointment to your wounds. It will quickly heal them." Dylan offered a small container with milky white liquid inside. "Thank you, sir." Mary gratefully replied. "Go to the Captain and the others. Rian and I will deal with them." Dylan said as he turned to face the Spider Queen and her guards. "But they are far stronger than you! You might..." Mary looked terrified when she heard what Dylan was planning to do. "Don''t worry. We have a plan. I definitely won''t die here! We have yet to kill Byron and reunite with Scarlet. Remember? Believe in me." Dylan glanced back and offered a reassuring smile before proceeding. "I always have believed in you." Mary muttered to herself as she watched Dylan walking away. ... Dylan went to where Rian was and he asked. "All good?" "Yup." Rian nodded. In that split second, Dylan and Rian exchanged a couple of wprds through telepathy. ''How was the herb? Did it help you regain your strength?'' Dylan quickly asked. ''It was more effective than I imagined. I have recovered barely half of my strength. How about you?'' Rian replied just as quick. ''I have recovered about 80% of my energy reserves but my wound is preventing me from using too much. If I use ''it'', it might worsen my injury. However, hearing your strength recover, makes me even more certain of the succes of ''Plan B''.'' Dylan shared his condition in summary. ''We only have one shot at this. Ten seconds, that is all the time I could offer for ''Plan B''.'' Rian said. "That is more than enough.'' Dylan replied telepathically as a confident smile appeared on his face. "Let''s go." Dylan spoke and walked towards the Spider Queen and the Arachnid Guards. "We meet again, Human! Did you like the little greeting that my guards gave you? It was a move I like to call ''Black Killer Webs''. With the joint effort of the Arachnid Guards, it could even pose a threat to Breaking Demarcation Beasts! I was hoping to see you get sliced up into a dozen pieces by the webs but I was actually relieved to see you alive. Maybe it''s because I want to torture you to death myself!" The Spider Queen arrogantly said as she walked forward. "..." Dylan did not reply and simply looked straight at the Spider Queen''s malicious glare. "Where is the arrogance that you showed me earlier, human?! Didn''t you say that you were going to annihilate my tribe with that ''power'' of yours?! Where is it now? Oh, wait, that power of yours did not even exist in the first place! Hahahaha, the demon dog can no longer use either one of his roar or that gaze! He''s already spent while you are still suffering from the wound in your chest! Now tell me?! What are you going to use to annihilate my entire tribe now! Hahahahaha!" The Spider Queen hysterically laughed with the madness apparent in her eyes! "Power? Then, I will show you the power to lead your clan to total destruction!" Dylan confidently said. "Do you know what true power looks like? This is true power! The ability to make your enemies wallow in despair and beg for their lives! You humans, have dared to invade our land, disturb the peace of out tribe, threaten this queen and most of all, kill my subjects! Your audacity knows no bounds! Forthe sins, you have committed against my tribe! Death shall be the only way to atone for these crimes! Arachnid Guards, attack!" The anger in the Spider Queen showed as she ordered her guards. "Yes, our queen!" The Arachnid Guards replied in perfect sync. They released their auras and dashed towards Dylan as nine bladed arms came slashing down to take Dylan''s life. 162 Chapter 162: Ten Seconds "Rian, now!" Dylan shouted as he took several steps back. In just a few steps, he was able to distance himself about five meters from his original location. Rian, on the other hand, went in front of hand appearing to be guarding Dylan while he retreated. "Hmph, you can run but in the end, you will still die, human! Hahaha!" The Night Arachnid laughed in bliss. "A''right! Let''s end this! Bloodline Burst!" Rian shouted with all his might as a familkar shadow of a gigantic beast with six blood red eyes emerged from his back. However, this time it was more corporeal than Rian''s last usage. Now, it could be inferred that the six blood red eyes were of separate heads! "Raaaaaaawwwrr!!" Rian roared loudly as a vague ferocious looking humungus three-headed hound roared along with him! Rian had now the bearing of true tyrant which could look down and incite fear upon all. His power was increasing at an alarming rate! It was surging past the Origin Palace Realm of humans or Origin Core Realm for beasts! It directly broke the barrier of Mortal Moulting Realm and reaching the Breaking Demarcation Realm! "?!" His roar caused the attacking Black Arachnid''s to stop in their tracks! Their bodies seemed to be rendered into stone! They could not even move a single part of their bodies. Suddenly, they felt prostrating in front of Rian. Their view of him also changed in that instant! Strangely, they no longer saw him as an enemy but a sovereign they need to bow to. "Is he a descendent of a Demonic Beast God?" It was not just them. The Night Arachnid, also known as the Spider Queen, had a similar feeling. However, she had a different reaction compared to the Arachnid Guards. She tried to step back but staggered and fell on her knees from doing so due to the influence of Rian''s godly aura, "No... No. No! This can''t be happening! How is he still able to unleash the power of his bloodline when he should have already been depleted?!" How could she have known that Dylan gave Rian a Low Heaven Rank Herb known as the Dragonic Blood Ginseng which helped him recover the strength of his bloodline along with his origin energy? A Dragonic Blood Ginseng is a type of herb that no human would dare to intake or use without ample preparation. This is due to the speculation that it''s formation requires the blood of lesser dragon''s in order to germinate and eventually grow. Its'' main function is to reinvigorate the blood of the user to the point that it could unlock the person''s latent talent and potentially evolve the user''s constitution. However, due to its'' chaotic and violent energy, it could cause both beast and man to explode from the excessive energy. Thus, the imposition of the ban on the irresponsible usage of the herb. Despite this, it is still one of the most demanded heavenly treasure for physique enhancement pills that were at least at the 5th tier! However, would a heavenly treasure of the mortal realm affect someone like Rian whose origins are linked with the Cosmic God Mansion and the higher realm? "Hufff! Hufff! Hufff!" Rian panted heavily with his body. Rian''s eyes were no longer black and white in color but went blood-red. It was as though he was being possessed by another entity! The pressure he exuded was by no means similar to a puppy anymore, it felt like he turned into a prehistoric beast waiting to devour everything on sight! Along with the change of his eye color, Rian''s body swelled and became bigger until it reached the length of a half meter! The white patches of fur in Rian''s body suddenly began to spread as though they were alive! The white patch on Rian''s neck now formed irregular and archaic patterns which extended through his left eye and over half of his entire body! ... Amidst Rian''s transformation... Gritting her pearly whites, the Spider Queen shouted in their native tongueto snap her guards awake, "Why did all of you stop?! You could have stopped him from completing his transformation!" "Your highness, his bloodline is too strong! It even far outstrips the purity and power of your bloodline. We have lost mobility and control of our bodies. The pressure is too.." The leader of the Black Arachnids quickly spoke in reply. "Do not be fazed! Although his strength reached Breaking Demarcation, the strength of all of you combined is comparable to one too. Also, I''m more than certain he can''t maintain it for long! I will help you reduce the pressure." The Night Arachnid encouraged her men. "Blood Infusion!" She lifted her arms as nine webstrings shot out of it and attached themselves on the back of every single Arachnid Guard. Dark glow of energy emanated from the webstrings and supplied the Arachnid Guards with her ignited Bloodline Strength which helped temporarily strengthen their bloods to the extent of somewhat resisting Rian''s strength! Something incredible happened. The Beast Origins of the Arachnid Guards were suddenly influenced by the Spider Queen''s Blood Infusion! Their cultivation base seemed to have underwent a boost. This allowed them to reach the power of Mortal Moulting Experts in both energy and body.It also directly increased their overall strength! But, they knew that this boost was only temporary as it was augmentation caused by external forces. Thus, it was only apt to call themselves ''Pseudo-Mortal Moulting Beasts''! "Go and avenge our bretheren..." The Spider Queen weakly said before she fainted. She no longer had any strength to participate in this battle after using this rare bloodline skill of the Night Arachnid, Blood Infusion. The Blood Infusion was the temporary augmentation of the bloodline of any group of spirit beasts by at least two folds! At it''s peak, it could even strengthen a whole army of spider! A skill which could turn the tides of war in the most critical situations. This skill was one of the reasons that the Night Arachnid was hailed as a Royal Spirit Beast in the Beast World. As expected, the morale of the Black Arachnids returned back to it''s peak when they felt that change. With a joint effort of releasing their auras, they were able to ward off the suffocating power Rian exuded. With a battle cry, they charged forth, "Krashi taya nikana! (For the Queen!)" ... ''It looks like have already figured it out.'' Rian somewhat understood what the contents of their conversation. Like them, he knew that he could not maintain this form of his for long. ''I don''t know what would happen but I need to hold on for ten seconds! Whatever it takes!'' The ten seconds he told Dylan was even a strectching his limits since his current physique could support eight seconds of the power of his Bloodline Burst without danger. After his first major evolution, Rian discovered that there were twenty blood seals on his body. He did not know where it came from but he was sure that it''s purpose was to restrain the godly prowess of his bloodline. ''The first seal only possess five percent but the power I feel has to be at least three times than my normal power.'' Upon this discovery, he also found out that he managed to break one of them which allowed him to use Bloodline Burst. After some calculation, he speculated that he could use Bloodline Burst for eight to ten seconds because it held five percent of his bloodline''s power. ''I can do this! We won''t die from this! We. Will. Live!'' Rian resolutely thought. After dispelling all of his worries, he enetered battle mode and lunged forward to meet his foes! ... At the Mortal Severing Realm, cultivators and beasts have already reached the stage where they could already influence nature. Their strength could cause mountains to crumble and speed that was swifter than the wind. At this level, a second is all it takes to exchange dozens of blows. This was what precisely what was happening as Rian and the Arachnid Guards fought! When Rian and the nine Black Arachnids met, Rian swiped his right arm sideward at the Black Arachnid at the very front which the bloodline shadowcopied. That Black Arachnid planted his legs deep on the ground as dark colored spider web appeared at the form of a shield from his crossed arms. It originally thought that even if it could not block the attack flawlessly, with its current strength, it could at least hold it down for a split second so that its fellow guards could get into position and pin him down with their tactics. But, when it recieved the attack, it suddenly realized how foolish it had been. The full brunt of the attack was so strong that it felt like a mountain was pounded againt it and was effortlessly sent flying by Rian. But it''s attempt to block Rian was not truly useless. Two of his companions could be said to have been in position at that time. So, when they saw the Black Arachnid who tried to block Rian''s attack being blasted away, they reacted quickly in an attempt to retrieve momentum. Large wads of black spider webs were shot out from their mouths and formed into a thick net to pin down Rian. Rian detected the presence of attack so he immediately turned their way and tried to swat aside the two large nets but he was shocked to discover that the nets were unnaturally sticky and flexible. He tried to struggle out but the spider webs were just too damn elastic. Hence, he was pinned down to the ground. With their initial success, the leader of the Arachnid Guards led his group to attack. Black threads of origin energy started to form from the auras of the leader of the Arachnid Guards. He crossed his arms as the black origin energy threads gathered and spiralled all over their blade-like arms! Then, the spiralling origin energy condensed after one full revolution and formed drill-like blades on their hands which were even more sharper than before. The other five followed his lead and did the same. With that moment''s delay, they were now rightfully positioned in six directions while they formed a formation with the shape of a semi-circle. The drills on their hands suddenly started to spin which caused the surrounding energy to be absorbed into the swirling motion of their drills. "Attack!" The leader of the group signalled as they impeccably dashed towards Rian at the same time with the spinning drills on their hands pointing at their target with intent to kill. "You think you can trap me with this sticky webs?! Think again!" Rian willed his bloodline shadow with great might as it''s size swelled and became larger once again! Although the spider webs could pin him down, it did not prevent his bloodline shadow to grow. "Eat this!" Rian lifted his arms mid-air and bashed it onto the ground aiming at the two Black Arachnids at the opposite ends of the semi-circle formation! *Boom!* The two Black Arachnids knew that they could no longer retreat or advance with their positions. Therefore, they chose to jump and try to damage the bloodline shadow as much as they can!The drills on their hands tried to pierce through those large paws but they did not pierce through as though they have encountered a steel wall. With the failure of their attack, they knew that they would most certainly die. Thus, without further ado, they chose to self detonate to cause as much damage as they could. Light shone from within them as their skin started to crack at a faster rate each milisecond that passes. This was the sign of their Beast Origins being iginited. The destruction that these two ignited Beast Origins could generate was no less destructive than a atomic bomb. Sensing what they were about to do, the leader and the other three which were still somewhat farther from them, knew what they were going to do. Thus, they initiated a tactical retreat by using webstrings that they excreted from their buttocks and anchored itself to a far away tree. While they were being pulled back, they released the spinning drills on their hands as if they were missilies and was fired towards Rian like homing missiles. *KABOOOM* * KABOOOM* 163 Chapter 163: Ten Seconds 2 The Black Arachnids landed several meters away from the point of explosion. They deduced that the self detonation of two Pseudo Mortal Moulting Experts and the missile drills they launched would surely have been enough to slay a Demonic Beast God Descendent! It might have even been overkill but to make sure that they have slain the demon dog. After winning, they felt extremely proud on themselves for attaining victory from such a formidable foe! "Hahahaha, we won! Even a Demonic Beast God descendent was slain by us! We are truly invincible when we are together!" A Black Arachnid proudly chided as he raised his blade-like arms. "My queen, we have won." The leader murmured to himself in the language of arachnia while holding the unconcious body of their queen. He slowly kneeled and lowered the body of their queen with car as another Black Arachnid went to check her condition. "Eldest brother, Ghuryp is still alive but is heavily injured after suffering the blow of the demon dog. His location is somewhere three hundred steps north from our position. However, Kygrl and Fiserdt, they..." The Black Arachnid with the slimmest physique reported. "They have made meritorious service to the ribe. When her majesty is awake, I shall request for the two of them to be written on the Tablet of Heroes. As for Ghuryp, we shall go check his condition immediately." The leader of the Arachnid Guards suggested which lightened the mood of their group. "Sir, what should we do about the human that fled?" The Black Arachnid with bulkiest body grunted. "We shall...!" The leader felt something omimous from the tingling feeling he felt. It was something that all spider would innately have as some would call it the Spider Sense which is something similar to a sixth sense for them. It was not just him but also the remaining members of the Arachnud Guards. "That is..." They turned around to look at the direction where their Spider Senses were acting up to and the location it came from was where the explosion occurred! Suddenly, they felt that familiar terrorizing aura! They shivered as they saw a familiar figure emerging from the drifting smoke around the place of explosion. A half-meter black dog with strange white marking on his left side was seen smiling with a giant three-headed hound above him looking at them with those three pairs of blood red eyes, daunting them from the savageness in its eyes. "Hehe, you thought I was dead? I would have to disappoint you! to you, guys!" Rian smirked while leaping towards the Arachnid Guards. "No, this can''t be... He can''t be unscathe from all of our attacks, can he?!" the smallest one of the group dumbfoundedly stared at Rian. With the reappearance of Rian, they subconciously thought of retreating from such a monster. ''He has to have sustained a significant amount of damage. No matter how strong he is, he must have been inflicted with some sort of serious injury or even if he did not sustain great damage, his bloodline strength and energy would most likely be depleted!'' The leader calmly analyzed and communicated his thoughts through everyone of them in a fraction of a second which helped the group regain their confidence. ''I don''t know how he survived or how much power he still has but we don''t have much time maintaining our strengths either. The Blood Infusion skill still has it''s limits but I am sure that we are faring better than the demon dog! Thus, we must take this oppurtunity to truly kill the beast this time around! The only choice that remains is to fight!'' The leader slowly paased over the queen to another Araxhnid Guard while he instructed his team. ''Zsiwa, guard Her Highness. You will stay at the back if anything unfavorable happens I want you to reatreat with the queen.'' The leader told the Black Arachnid with the slimmest physique who quickly nodded. After doing that, he raised his right arm and initiated the attack towards Rian. "Fight!" They all roared and followed their leader faithfully! ... Even Rian did not know how he exactly guarded against their attacks, he was even more shocked than anyone when he found out that he was able to guard the detonation of two Pseudo-Mortal Moulting Beasts because it happened too quickly! When he was guarding against the attack, the attack mysteriously disappeared. It was as though it was absorbed by something similar to a black hole. At the same time, the explosions of the attacks still occurred with no delay. Rian sensed that it was transported to an area of 20 meters near them which made it seem that the explosions hit Rian. The fog that was formed was the result of Dylan''s attack against Kygrl and Fiserdt that hit the ground. Hence, there was no suspicions on the side of the Balck Arachnids whatsoever. So, the only thing that he had to take care of were the missile drills which the other four fired. Although it was still a dangerous barrage of attacks, Rian did not seem worried when he guarded against them because compared to the self detonation of the two Black Arachnids, they were far weaker. To counter those missiles, Rian merely commanded his bloodline shadow to cover him and strengthen it''s defenses. He made sure to make no more additional movement. He prepared himself to use all of his bloodline skills when the time was right because during this state where his blood essence is being circulated at an unbelievable pace, he could use his abilities for at most three times. Thus, he was waiting for the apt moment to release his power. He waited for exactly four seconds before revealing himself. Although this wasted more than half of the duration he could use. This ensured that the Arachnid Guards would be caught off guard. During these short amount of time, he was able to prepare himself to use two bloodline skills almost simultaneously! But he was time-pressed since he only had two seconds left! Rian saw that the remaining seven Black Arachnids were already charging towards him in a triangular formation. They formed four rows with their leader leading them at the front, two more following closely behind him, another three at the base and at the tail of the formation, Zsiwa could be found holding the Spider Queen.Rian knew that what was happening was already at the critical juncture of the fight. So, he did not dare to be careless for a slight moment because one mistake could lead disastrous results. ''Fire: Dark Venom Beams!'' Almost immediately after the leader issued his command, the last three detached themselves from the rest and executed the attack. It was done by opening the mouths of their spider heads and releasing three dark purple beams directly to Rian. When it passed through some trees, despite not touching it, the tree was being corroded from the extremely dense poison! The power of three beams combined was not any weaker than an all-out attack of a high level Mortal Moulting Realm. "Have a taste of my Roar of Decimation!" Rian quickly stopped in his tracks. He put his upper right paw forward and his lower left leg backward. He stretched his neck as he opened his mouth. Each of his actions was of course mimed by his bloodline shadow but this Roar of Decimation''s strength was triple the strength of the one he used against the Angus and the others. "RAAAAAAWRR!!" Terrifying black winds and unfathomable darkness started to blow as Rian''s roar resounded in the direction of the beams. When it met the three Dark Venom, it seemed to have met it''s match as a deafening boom rippled throughout the forest which made the surrounding trees bend from the clash! *BOOOM!* Nonetheless, this stalement only lasted for a moment before the Dark Venom Beams were completely overpowered by the Roar of Decimation! With nothing to obstruct its path, it continued to destroy everything on its path. Seeing their attack failed, the three Black Arachnid''s quickly went back to their formation and escape the roar''s range in lightning speed. They seemed to be initiating yet another attack after regrouping. This time, they positioned themselves at Rian''s left side which is about eight meters away from their prior position. ''Let us use our strongest attack! Pour a portion of your power to me!'' The leader ordered as all seven warriors connected themselves with him using the webstrings that was formed from their blood. Somehow, they looked like an arrow from the sky. They injected half of their remaining origin energies to their leader which made him illuminate from the overflowing power he recieved! ''Spider Ancestor, bless thee with thy strength. I call upon the Eight Dark Spider Lances!'' The Arachnid Guard''s leader chanted as he used the strength he recieved to condense eight black spears resembling spider legs. These spider lances depleted all of the energy the guards injected onto him. They started spinning at an alarming rate and created mini vortices of origin energy which further strengthened the spears every revolution! The only thing remaining was to use his Mental Strength to lock on a target! When the leader was just about to do so, he saw that Rian was already facing them! Cold air flowed into his spine when he saw Rian taking a familiar stance. "Oh no! Is he..." Indeed, Rian predicted that they would attack him on his right since he eliminated the left side with his roar. Thus, he quickly gathered the energy he bided and released it on his 3 o''clock which was precisely where the Arachnid Guards were. He quickly released it and initiated yet another Roar of Decimation! "RAAAAAAWWR!" The terrifying black winds and darkness appeared once more, leveling the entire topsoil of the area it was unleashed upon. This version of the Roar of Decimation seemed to be even faster and stronger than before! "This! How could it be more faster and destructive than the last one!" The three Black Arachnids, who just evaded Rian''s Roar of Decimation earlier, were all shocked to see this. "Focus! Evade to the right!" The leader was rather quick with his descisions. He quickly assessed that if they tried to push to their right, they might not be able to cross the range of the roar since they were not even at the central range of the attack! Thus, returning to the left side was the only safest choice right now. However, despite their quick reaction speeds, the Roar of Decimation which traveled close the speed of sound closed in on them swiftly. There was only five meters left until they got out of the range of the Roar of Decimation. Without hesitating, the leader used five of the eight spider lances to defend against the impact of the roar every one meter. *Tvuush* *Tvuuzzzhh* *Boom* *Boom* Finally, they managed to escape the Roar of Decimation by a hair''s breadth with every single one of them alive. The feeling of escaping death was most fulfilling no matter what the species. However, the leader did not relax despite winning over death. He commanded the three remaining spider lances of the Eight Dark Spider Lances to pierce through Rian. "Die, demon dog!" "Shit! Time is up..." Rian was at his most vulnerable state after using two consecutive Roar of Decimation . Even his bloodline shadow was turning illusory as time trickled down to the end of the duration of his Bloodline Burst Skill. Waves of weakness crept all over his body while his body was gradually turning back to his prior size. With little strength to defend, the three spider lances pierced Rian! 164 Chapter 164: Celestial Arrow Blood splattered from Rian''s wounds. One arrow hit the lower part of his back narrowly piercing through his spine, another pierced through from the lower right side of his neck, sliding through his collarbone and exiting on the part above his lowest left rib while the last destroyed his left shoulder blade and clavicle before piercing to the ground. "Blugh.." Rian threw up blood from the serious damage he just sustained. His entire body was swaying which meant that he could barely stand. The only thing that was keeping him up was his willpower. ''No! I cannot die here! Dylan needs just a little bit more time! Don''t fall! I can do this! Just one more move!'' Rian repeatedly said to keep himself awake. He was constantly fighting the clouding of his mind and the drowsiness he felt. The Arachnid Guards, who just got out of the blast zone of the Roar of Decimation, were nearly depleted of their energies from all that running. To be able to run fast enough to cover 5 meters in a fraction of a second, they had to pay a great price of burning their blood essence. They all struggled to stand up because of the weaknes they felt from overdrafting their strength. "This is the price you will pay for disrupting our peace! Your plan has failed! Get ready to die! Your blood will be used to avenge the souls of my fallen brethren!" The leader of the Arachnid Guard was the first to stand up and shouted. This was mainly due to the fact that he was the one with the highest cultivation strength out of all of them. He was expecting Rian to be begging for his life or screaming for help from his human friend but what he heard was absolutely contrary from his expectations! The demon dog that seemed to be in the brink of his life was laughing maniacally! "Hahaha, you got it all wrong, douchebag! You guys are the who should get ready! You are right where I want you!" Rian crazily roared even if there was a spear which punctured his neck that caused him to vomit blood again. "Hell Gaze!!" Rian once again reenacted his stance. He spread his legs in a moment and lowered his head in the next. His bloodline shadow quickly materialized above him and imitated his actions. Rian was now overdrafting his strength just by relying on sheer willpower! Subsequently, Rian and the giant three-headed shadow quickly raised their heads and displayed eyes filled with brutality and carnage which sent visible dark wind blades made of Mental Strength! "What?! He can still use his Bloodline Strength!" The leader gasped but his face also darkened as he discovered how dangerous their situation had become. "How can he still use his strength when it already died down a moment ago?!" All of the Arachnid Guards were shocked! Rian actually still had suffecient strength to use another one of his bloodline skills! Because of the decision of the Arachnid Guard leader to run backwards, they were now coincidentally on the area in between the craters formed by the immense force of the two Roar of Decimations that Rian used. What was even more surprising was that they were all standing in staright line! It seemed as if they were somehow lead to this position... When they realized these facts, they knew that it was already too late! They were now frozen on the spot because of the dark Mental Strength that invade their bodies! The petrification effect of the Hell Gaze was fully operational as of this moment! Was all of these jus a coincidence? Absolutely not. These were all planned by none other than Rian. Though Rian did not have the knowledge and the calm disposition that Dylan had, his battle instincts and talent would surely surpass Dylan! Those instinct and talent that he had was embedded to his genes that came from the accumulation of the experiences of his ancestors! Even without personal battle experience, his capability to fight by just relying on his intuition would leave all within the same generation to dust! First, he purposefully held back on his first Roar of Decimation to decrease its speed of destruction enough for the three arachnids who attacked him to escape. He even angled it on his northwest to force the Black Arachnids to flee eastwards and position themselves on his right side. Anticipating their attack, Rian immediately turned to his right side and attack with the second Roar of Decimation that he still had in store. He similarly tilted his head enough to force the Black Arachnids to go to their present position. Although his estimations were rather rough, but they were enough to pressure them. Why did Rian lead them to this particular direction? If one was observant enough, this was the position and direction that Rian and Dylan intercepted them earlier! This was also because it was perfectly aligned in a straight line from where Dylan retreated to! If things went his way, he could have killed nearly half of the seven on his second roar but it did not go that way since the Black Arachnids had their ample share of battles which allowed them to react as quick as they did. But this outcome, although not the best, was still ideal. Because everything that Rian did, it was to set this moment for Dylan to strike! "Dylan! Do it now!" Rian roared while blood flowed down from his blood red eyes. Restraining the guards that were nearly at the Mortal Moulting Realm for even just a second was exceedingly strenuous. "Thank you for buying me enough time, Rian!" Dylan''s voice suddenly resounded as a sublime light shone from the direction of his voice. A young handsome man holding out his left arm forward that appeared to be gripping something while his right hand was position right chest. This position was exactly how archers hold their bows. "Stars of Orion, align!" The blinding light turned into numerous shiny glitters. They started to be sucked towards Dylan while they circled around him which formed a shadow of a galaxy! The glitters of light gathered into his left hand and condensed into the form of a bow while the same thing happened on his right hand, an arrow was conjured from his thumb and index finger to the hole of the newly formed arrow! The bow was exquisitely crafted with intricate patterns of constellations that it seemed to be crafted from asteroids and meteors! The arrow was even emitting blinding light with the shaft and point glistening and twinkling as if it was made from a star! ... Rian was strangely feeling a familiar sensation from this attack. It was as if he had felt, or even seen it before! He could even feel his body being reenergized as it bathed on the light. He thought, ''What is this strange feeling?'' "What kind of power is this!" The Arachnid Guards were in awe in front of such might! Feeling deathly crisis, they tried to move with all their might! "Oh no, you don''t!" But Rian''s Hell Gaze is far too powerful for them to escape to especially with the recovery he was experiencing in the presence of the light. Thus, their resistance only led to fruitless results. ... This shining bow and arrow was the condensation of 100% of Dylan''s cosmic type spirit energy! It can be formed after unlocking the first seal of the Cosmic God Manual which could only be done after attaining the Legendary Core and the Ancestral Veins Realm! With the synergy of both heavenly constitution, it allows the user to connect himself with the universe and unlock the first power of the Cosmic God Arts, the Shooting Star! The Shooting Star is only the first of the five great techniques that the Cosmic God devised according to his understanding of the universe. Each technique has their own distinct use which represent a different celestial body of the cosmos. Each being more abstruse and mightier than the previous one! Technically, this could only be barely used once the user reaches the Origin Realm which also meant that the user has to also cross the Ancestral Veins Realm. But, Dylan possessed the Supreme Core whose capacity is twice more than the already terrifying Legendary Core! Thus, Dylan only had to replinish his Supreme Core to its peak before using the first technique of the Cosmic God Arts. This was also the main reason why Rian stalled for time. Dylan who was holding the bow and arrow looked like a divine archer which was ready to hunt its prey! He slowly chanted as he let go of the arrow and the bow quivered, "Pierce through the night sky! Celestial Arrow: Shooting Star!" *Swish* *Swish* The arrow was indeed like a shooting star! It was ephemeral and mystical yet contained immeasurable might! Piercing through the air with insane speed, it even incited a sonicboom! *Boom* The darkness which pervaded in the forest was expelled in the presence of the shining light! The petrified Arachnid Guards could only close their eyes in resignation and accepted their fate. "My King and Queen, we have failed to protect Her Highness... Please forgive us..." The leader indignantly spoke his last words as the dazzling arrow neared. He was the first to be pierced. When it hit, he did not feel any pain because at that moment he already lost consciousness. When it passed, it destroyed his body without trace. The remaining six Black Arachnids and the Spider Queen died in a similar manner. The arrow disintegrated their bodies as soon as it hit. With their death, all threats have now been eliminated. "We won..." Dylan fell unconcious immediately after releasing the arrow. With his Supreme Core depreived of energy and being mentally exhausted from that very long battle, he fell on the ground. But, without spirit energy to surpress his injuries, his chest wound had opened up once more, bleeding profusely. "We did it..." Rian managed to utter before falling on the ground. As he fell, the three spider lances on his back disappeared because of the death of it''s owner. However, without anything blocking the punctures, blood poured out from his wounds. A truly dire victory. 165 Chapter 165: The Immortal Tomb Opens "They are here!" A voice suddenly resounded as a group of individuals hurried to where Rian and Dylan was. They were, of course, the Ford Protection, the few remaining sect heads of the aliiance and Mary who were previously running away. When they finally exited the Dreamy Forest, the Ford Protection Squad could not help but feel ashamed and guilty for what they were doing. They were the Ford Protection Squad, formed to protect Dylan Ford but they were instead being protected by the person they were supposed to protect. Thus, they decided to turn back which was greatly supported by Mary. Contrary to the squad''s thoughts, the sect heads wanted to use this chance to get out of their detention and leave Dylan and Rian who greatly harmed them to die on the hands of the Black Arachnids. However, with theEnergy Sealing Handcuffs on, they could not do anything but abide their orders unless they were tired of living. On their way back, they sensed ten insanely strong energies and an even stronger energy after! Next, they heard one deafening explosion and two loud roars which made them move double time. But, when they saw a blinding light that pierced through the dark Dreamy Forest like a shooting star, they were shocked by the strength it possessed. Finally, after running as fast as they could, they were able to reach the site of battle. "Oh no, Rian! Sir Dylan! What happened?" Mary quickly moved to their side and checked their conditions. However, what she saw made her ghastly pale, both of them had very severe injuries. Rian had six blood holes with barely any spirit energy left while Dylan''s chest wounds opened up and even worsened because of the depletion of his spirit energy. There was already a small puddle of blood that formed underneath them. At this rate, they could really die! "What happened here?" On the other hand, the others surveyed their surroundings and they were shocked by what they have seen. There were two tens of meter wide craters which leveled two different drections of the forest. In between them, the small gap between them no longer had any Illusion Isolating Trees which blocked their views as they could see the grass lands already! The trees and greeneries surrounding these scene were all heavily damaged or bent backwards. It was evident that there was a catastrophic fight which happened here. But the most shocking thing is that the ten powerhouses they were fearing to fight, disappeared the moment the light was unleashed. This can only mean that the ten of them were killed by the light. This amazed yet confused all of them. Was this really caused by a demon dog and a Spirit Gathering Realm human alone? What sort of attack was that needle of light to obliderate such powerful beings? Though they could somewhat believe that Rian could do this, but Dylan? Was that even plausible? While they were thinking of such thoughts, Mary was focusing on another matter. "I have to do what I can." Mary immediately retrived some of her first aid kits. But as soon as Mary was going to do something, she sensed a faint connection between Dylan and Rian. They seemed to be exchaning life forces which greatly enhanced their recovery. It was like this connection is what was keeping them alive! Along the connection, there was a faint misty purple energy that was providing them with immense energy. This connection was none other than the life connection that Dylan and Rian had.The misty purple energy was actually immortal energy that came from the Cosmic God Mansion inside Dylan''s mind. It was the excess immortal energy that scarcely flowed out of the mansion and into Dylan''s mindscape. The reason why Dylan could not see or even sense the immortal energy yet was because his cultvation was far too shallow but once he is strong enough, he would finally be able to sense this energy. Normally, this immortal energy would be an independent entity that Dylan could not harness even if he was in the brink of death unless his cultivation is high enough. But the variable called Rian made the absorption of this energy possible. Even when unconcious, Rian''s cells are actively hoarding energy to support his injury. But, the spirit energy around them was far too weak to support the severity of his injuries even with his natural recovery speed intact. Thus, his cells tried to attract higher energies which lead the minute amount of immortal energy in Dylan''s mindscape to be absorbed. Although the quantity was feeble, but the quality of a strand would far surpass a Mortal Severing Stone which is worth a thousand Origin Stones! With this amount of energy, their internal injuries were rapidly being healed! "How mystical... but how is this possible?" Mary was dumbfounded by witnessing such a strange occurrence. But, she quickly snapped out of it. "With this recovery speed, they could recover on their own so I would just have to cover their injuries." With a plan in mind, she then asked one of the members of the FPS to help her cover their wounds. After covering their wounds, Mary did not become negligent. She closely monitored these two''s condition. The FPS also offered Tier 3 and 4 healing pills which also contributed on the duo''s recuperation. Waiting for their conditions to stabilize, the FPS took the opportunity to recover their energy. They had one person to keep watch out for monsters and the sect heads. An hour later... The duo had make a shocking recovery. Dylan''s wounds has been healed to at least 50 percent while Rian''s six holes did not bleed anymore and was visibly clotting. The Ford Protection Squad had also fully recovered from their injuries and nearly filled their energy reserves. "I suggest that we now leave this forest. There might even be more spirit beasts that are just hiding around the corner. We must remain vigilant as we go back." The leader of the Ford Protection Squad said as he lead the way. "Yes!" The others followed behind him as well. ... Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Soaring Cloud City... A ravishing beauty was flying towards the city like an angel. She wore white blouse and skirt which accentuated her hourglass figure. Her brunette hair flowed downeffortlessly and left sweet mild fragrance wherever she went. Her eyes shone like gems as it accompanied a heavenly smile which could make the world go round. She carried two longswords on her back which gave her a somewhat heroic bearing. She was none other than Rea Cross, Dylan''s very first customer after his transmigration. Indeed, she was now flying and was even exuding the aura of the Breaking Demarcation Realm! In fact, she had just broken through a week ago. "It took a while to accomplish the inheritance ceremony but father is happy now. I can finally come back and see little sis Scarlet!" Rea smiled sweetly as she gracefully turned around in mid-air. Then, an image of smiling young man appeared on her mind. This man was barely handsome yet he had the elegance and calmness that you will seldom see in most men despite living a poor life. This young man was none other than Dylan. Upon thinking of him, she halted and slowly blushed. She connected her two index fingers and cutely pouted, "It has been three months since my last visit. I wonder how he''s been..." She was just about to increase her speed when she suddenly remembered something and retrieved a pair of ear rings, "I forgot that when I last met them, I was using this aura camouflaging treasure father gave me. So, I can''t appear in front of them while flying." Rea put the ear rings on and her aura started to shift until it reached the initial stages of the Origin Transmutation Realm. "I guess this should be enough as disguise. Now, everything''s fine. I have to hurry though. Father must have already found out I snuck out by now." Rea originally wanted to come here earlier but two months ago, she turned sixteen which was the coming of age ceremony of youths in her clan. It was also at that time when she is most suitable to inherit the ancestral sword art of True King Jiro Cross! As the only person who made the Twin Calamity Swords to acknowledge her, she became one of the future pillars of the and heir of the Cross Clan! Initially when she came, she was already at the Palace Establishment Realm. Being a Palace Establishment Realm Expert at the age of 15, she immediately rose to the ranks of geniuses and became the 3rd rank of the Ten Fairies. But after she finished the inheritance, her cultivation skyrocketed and in mere three months, she broke through to the Breaking Demarcation Realm. Her cultivation is already on par with Veronica Vlad despite being two years apart! The elders of the Cross Clan celebrated with the birth of such a genius. They even forecasted that Rea''s talent is already comparable to Princess Elizabeth''s and Victor Thunder''s. Rea had an excited and joyous expression with her as she walked towards the Soaring Cloud City. Unfortunately, her mood was bound to be spoiled. Her expression soon changed as she watched the dilapidated state of the entire city. She spoke with a pale face, "What... what happened here?" REA saw that over half of the city was destroyed and the forest also had some traces of destruction although it had somewhat recovered. A foreboding feeling crept to her heart as she immediately rose up in the air and went to the place where Dylan''s house once stood. But when she reached it, Rea saw debris of a building everywhere. Her fragile and soft heart felt like it dropped and shattered when she thought of the innocent and sweet smile Scarlet had or the warm and inviting feeling Dylan exuded. Tears rained down from her eyes as she uttered, "This can''t be..." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. At the same time, several kilometers away from Rea''s location... The Immortal Tomb on top of the highest mountain of the mountain range which had been inactive since its emergence, suddenly lit up! It appeared to become like a star and illuminated the sky! The pressure of an immortal could be felt from several kilometer away! "What is going on?!" The sects on standby in the mountain range suddenly blurted out from the shock. But along with the shock, there was an unconceleaed excitement in the eyes of all powerhouses present! Could this sudden burst of activity mean that the tomb is finally opening?! *Rumble* *Rumble* *Shake* *Shake* Earthquakes followed its suit as the mountains of the mountain range shifted their positions and aligned according to height. They seemed to be forming some kind of stair case. The light of the tomb expelled the clouds covering the peaks and showed flat peaks which seemed to light one by one towards the Immortal Tomb as the door of the tomb slowly opened. An arachiac voice soon followed. "The fated is near. Those who seek the treasure of old shall be given chance. The trial has begun! The Tomb of Maelstrom Sword Immortal will now open!" 166 Chapter 166: Maelstrom Sword Immortal The crowd rejoiced when they heard that the Immortal Tomb has finally opened. They camped on this mountain range for months to know what the giant Immortal Tomb holds. Though they were not truly sure who was the one who was buried within, just the fact that it suddenly appeared floating on the sky two months ago without anyone sensing its presence before it showed up, shows how powerful the expert buried inside was. They could not do anything to it because of the mysterioust mist surround the tomb and the terrifying defenses of the Immortal Tomb! No matter what they did, they could not breach its walls. Now, the gigantic gates of the tomb has finally opened! How could they not be excited?! "Hahahah, the tomb has finally opened! We have waited a long time for this!" A Mortal Severing cultivator from the Golden Saint Church of Mystic Yellow Cloud State chortled. "But who is this Maelstrom Sword Immortal the voice told us about? Is he an Immortal Saint Cultivator?" A Palace Formation Realm Expert from the Concealing Sun Sect of the Mystic Orange Cloud State. "Who is he? He is the pride of our Mystic Blue State! He is the strongest sword cultivator of his era who wielded the power of wind and water! It is said that he has reached the peak stages of the Immortal Saint Realm! He was so mighty that he could fight toe to toe with True King Ramiel for 3 days straight!" A blue robed man from the Ethereal Sea Palace of the Mystic Blue Cloud State proudly disclosed. Although Maelstrom Sword Immortal was defeated in the end, to be able to fight with the near invincible True Kings of the Mystical Clouds Country for tens of thousands of exchange before being defeated was a feat that only eonic geniuses could do. The Maelstrom Sword Immortal was one with such prowess. "He''s that strong?! He could fight the True King with the greatest destructive strength of the five True Kings?" A female from the Mystic Red State said. "Hahaha! The Immortal Tomb opened quickly after we arrived. Thefated one mentioned must be one of us!" A handsome cultivator ,that came from the reinforcements from the Inner Proximity Cities of the Mystic Red Cloud State, assumed happily. But his words were not without reason, most of the Inner Procimity Cities arrived in the last three days with different intervals. Their group on the other hand, just arrived this morning. "Hmph, the inheritance of Lord Maelstrom shall belong to us! He is our state''s ancestor after all. Thus, it is only right that the inheritance belong to us." A legacy disciple of the Ethereal Sea Palace declared. "Belong to your state? Then, why didn''t he just create his tomb on your state, huh? But, he didn''t. That means he does not feel the slightest patriotism to your state. Heh." The handsome young man retorted. "Err..." The disciple bit his lips in embarassment. He could not think of a retort to the the man''s words. He looked hatefully at the man for he really wanted to embarass him to not embarass his sect. "Indeed, a reply that came from ignorant apes. If you had only read just half of the history of Mystical Clouds, you would have discovered that after their battle, the Maelstrom Sword Immortal became True King''s Ramiel head general, a status not lower than the Thundercloud Kings." A cold looking snow-haired gorgeous lady, of the Ethereal Sea Palace, floated forwards and looked down upon the handsome young man and his group with her deep blue eyes. It was evident that she was a Breaking Demarcation Realm and she did not even look older han 23! "He participated on the war against the large scale beast tide which happened here. Unfortunately, he fell when he fought against ten Beast Emperors by himself on the Forest Pass not far from here. However, before he died, he killed four and severely injured the rest. This shows how much power Lord Maelstrom holds." The cold beauty continued. "I..." the handsome young man was speechless. He never expected such things to actually happen. He was a mere commoner who managed to endure hardships and cultivate until the Palace Formation Realm. He did not have the proper education that nobles have or the time to rummage through the library as he was too busy cultivating. "Look, there is already someone who is going towards the gate!" Someon suddenly exclaimed as the attention of everyone present went onto the gates of the tomb. Indeed, they saw a person who was running all his might to enter the doors of the Immortal Tomb of the Malestrom Sword Immortal. Upon cooser look, he was not alone; in fact, he had three others who were accompanying him. The group of four did not hesitate and directly entered the tomb! "Why should we debate on who goes there? The owner wants to find a worthy heir! It said that it gives everyone an equal chance to seize their own good fortune! Thus, it is a free for all, whoever is strong enough is worthy!" A legacy disciple of the Golden Saint Churchpointed out as he and his group dashed to the gates. "He''s right! Due to this pointless banter, someone has already entered the tomb and taken the lead! My fellow Sea Guardians, let''s go and seize the inheriantance of our ancestor, Lord Maelstrom!" The ice cold beauty rallied her troops as they made their way to the Immortal Tomb. "Sieze the inheritance!" Six other individuals released their Severing Origin Energies and followed the snow haired beauty. "Kyahahaha, now things are getting fun!" A long green haired man with a muscular yet slender body laughed wildly as he licked his lips. He wore a tigerskin robe but did not button it showing his rock hard abs and white pants with green patterns on the sides which seemed to depict vines. "Brothers, it''s time to hoard us some treasure! Jungle Lords, hunt!" The wild looking green haired man smirked amusingly as he also soared towards the air and leaped towards the tomb. "Hunt!" Four more individuals roared with the same wildness and savageness their leader had. The other number one sects of each state also had similar elites who initiated their search for heavenly treasures and the inheritance within Maelstrom Sword Immortal''s Tomb. "We must not let them get too much of headstart! Let''s go!" The handsome young man who was caught with the debate earlier shouted while he and his team sprinted towards the tomb to compete with the other groups which have already entered. "Let''s go! Like what the mysterious voice said, we all have a chance!" Similarly, all of the groups of experts who came from the Inner Proximity Cities of the Mystical Red State roared in unison! "Charge!" The hundreds of thousands of the cultivators present went towards the Immortal Tomb on top of the mountain. Fights occured in order to get in to the large gate. The million cultivators quickly dwindled down due to the carnage! ... A large emerald castle could be seen on the eastside of the mountain range. Within, the king of the Jungle Hall, Balmund Destrak, was found sitting on a throne talking with his advisor. This man had dangling wavy green hair on his shoulders with a crown sitting atop his head and had a pair of piercing gold eyes. His kings robe was unbuttoned showing his well-toned and crafted body. His arms was currently on the armrest of his throne and his knuckles relaxed on the edge of it while his feet were opened widely. He currently had a wide smile on his face when he heard the opening of the Immortal Tomb. "Hahahaha, the tomb has opened! How fortunate. It seems like your idea of using the Grand Blood Sacrifice Array is not going to be used anymore. Although you fixed the problem of genocide already, it was still rather opposed by the Golden Saint Chruch, Mystical Magnate Tower, and Ethereal Sea Palace and most of the True King Clans." Balmund laughed. "I am glad that this is how things had transpired, milord. This way we would not have to resort to sacrifice. Although I have personally reconstructed the Blood Sacrifice Array to reduce the severity of its activation by distributing the need of blood to a large number of cultuvators, we would have still suffered the loss of at most thirty thousand lives. Their apprehensions are not misplaced." The white robed scholar in front of Balmund replied humbly. If Dylan were here, he would be dumbfounded. This man actually reconstructed the Grand Blood Sacrifice Array that no Formation Master could modify ever since it''s discovery! Reducing the severity of the effects of the array by distributing the requirement of blood to over a million cultivators with the calculated deaths only at thirty thousands? The mortality was only around 3%! This is like heaven and earth compared to the damage that can be caused by the original array which was a hundred percent of the lives which participated! To do something like this, a supreme genius on the art of formations is required. And, this was exactly who this white robed scholar is. He was King Balmund''s chancellor and the Jungle Hall''s First Elder, Yohan Eisenwald. The greatest Formation Master genius to have ever lived in the Mystical Clouds. Reaching the Tier 9 Formation Emperor and Half Saint Realm at the same time by the time he aged 120! He eventually chose to serve under the strongest man in his state, Balmund Destrak! "But in the end, they still agreed with the idea after not being able to find a way to breach the defenses of the Immortal Tomb." The king snickered. "When should we send our elites, my lord?" Yohan asked his king. "We shall wait for the others to make their move." Balmund calmly stated. "My king is becoming wiser each day." Yohan praised his king with a warm smile. "Th credit goes to you, Yohan. You made this brute become a real king and for that, I am grateful for your service and fidelity." Balmund stood up and patted Yohan''s shoulders as he thanked him. "I merely assisted the king to the right direction for he already has the qualities of a fine king." Yohan replied to Balmund as though he was talking with a brother. ... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Within the camp of the Mystical Magnate Tower... A gray haired middle aged man wearing a red robe with golden engravings that exuded mysterious aura. This man could definitely be described as handsome even at his present age, making one infer how incomparably dashing he could be in his youth. This man was Aiden Cainsfrost, one of the four Tower lords of the Mystical Magnate Tower. "My lord, it seems like we don''t have to proceed with tomorrow''s plan." A beautiful black haired lady appeared in front of him. "That is for the better. If we can find a way with no sacrifice, we will choose this way regardless of the outcome. The Mystical Magnate Tower''s ultimate purpose is to protect the citizens of state and not to take away lives. Anyways, have you done a thorough check on the individuals who just arrived today?" Aiden lamented. "Among the people who just arrived, there are only a few people which could be considered talented and even fewer to be called genius. Among these geniuses, only three of them are sword cultivators. All three are at the Palace Establishment Stage with ages 38-40." The lady quickly replied. "Hmm. Good, you can leave for now." Aiden seemed to be in deep thought before he spoke again. "My lord." The lady was hesitating before suddenly asking. "Yes?" Aiden raised his brows. "There are over millions of cultivators that would try to enter the tomb of Lord Maelstrom. Are you sure we should not try and stop them? Although the legacy disciples are strong, the disciples might meet some unforeseen end." The lady said in concern. "There is no need to worry. I am suffeciently confident on the skills of the Tower Kings. This can be considered as another form of trial to them and help them gain more experience. This is what the other powers are also thinking that is why no one prevented them from entering. If I am not wrong, the tomb should have several spaces that would distribute the number of people who will enter it. Being at the peak of the Immortal Saint Realm, the Maelstrom Sword Immortal could create more than twenty pocket spaces. Thus, there should not be a problem housing a million people in the tomb." Aiden explained his intentions and his confidence on his disciples. "I see..." The lady nodded after understanding the situation. "If they fail, that only means they are not fated for the inheritance. The thing I am really concerned with right now is the person who the tomb spirit sensed as destined to inherit the sword and sacred art of Maelstrom Sword Immortal. We must recruit him/her no matter what the cost!" Aiden balled his fist and stood up as he spoke. 167 Chapter 167: The Chosen One On the southwest of the Immortal Tomb, the quarters of the Cross Grand Clan stood erect. In the building, a tall brown haired middle aged man was standing and looking at the Immortal Tomb not faraway from him with his hands on his back, looking like he was in deep thought. This man was extremely handsome despite his age. His sword like brows and hazel brown eyes gave him the charm that could entice countless women. His body was stout and straight which exuded true manliness. Accompanied by the sword that he carries on his back, it gave him the feeling of dominance and pride that could pierce through the heavens. He was the head of the Cross Clan and father of Rea, Randall Cross. A figure suddenly entered the room. From his clothing, it could be inferred that heThe man had an anxious expression on him as he stood in front of Randell. "Milord, I have urgent news to report." Randall turned to face the man in front of him. However, the man seemed to hesitate even more when Randall''s stern eyes glared at his. "..." Randall''s thick brows creased and asked, "What is it?" Seeing Randall''s seriousness, he cleared his throat and continued."It''s about Miss Rea. She has been found missing from the Hall of Inheritance." "What?! When did this happen?! The inheritance supposed to last for a minimum of six months! That''s impossible! Tell me what truly happened!" Randall''s rage drove his aura to be awakened! Profound sword intent could be felt from his gaze alone! "Sir, please calm yourself. This happened a week ago. According to the guards present, they noticed the door of the Hall of Inheritance slightly open. This morning, the prior guards were just done with their shifts so the newly arrived guards thought that someone might have snuck in the hall when the shifts changed. Fearing that an assasin entered in an attempt to slay the misstress, they charged in. But what they saw was an empty room. The King''s Sword Stele was still there and other than the disappearance of the Twin Calamity Swords, every manual and cultivation technique was intact." The messenger quickly informed his master of the events which happened. He continued after inhaling a mouthful of air, "The elders quickly responded to the reports of the guards and investigated the matter personally. They were shocked to find out that there were traces of our ancestor''s, Dual Sword Domain! The elders~" "Wait! What did you say?! Dual Sword Domain! But that is the highest art of the ancestor''s sword art, Unrivaled Twin Swords! It took him exactly two years of seclusion on the Forbidden Ground, Ten Thousand Sword Grave, to master it! Are you telling me that my daughter did it in just two months?!" Randall could not contain himself when he heard how talented her daughter was. "Yes, my lord. The elders could not believe it at first. But they could not doubt the judgement of the Grand Elder, who similar to the Clan Head, also comprehended the Dual Sword Domain." The messenger was secretly stunned when he saw the flushed expression of his Clan Head. "Ku... ku..." Randall was suddenly quivering which greatly shook the messenger prompting him to inquire, " My lord, are you okay?" "Ke... Kahahahahaha! With the Grand Elder vouching for it, how can I still not belive it? Having such an achievement, I can finally say that my daughter is finally able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Victor Thunder and Princess Elizabeth!" Randall laughed heartily as a rare wide smile appeared on his handsome face. "Ah..." The messenger looked blankly. He could not belive what he was seeing before him. The always-serious Clan Head was laughing out loud? He understood that Randall was happy for this great news but he was really taken aback at this moment! He even thought the clan leader will never laugh at all. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Sensing the awkward gaze of his subordinate, Randall realized how inappropriate his actions were. He actually lost his composure and laughed like a fool. He embarassingly coughed and changed the subject, "Ahem... Did the elders already find out about my daughter''s whereabouts?" "As of now, there is still no news regarding Miss Rea''s location. The Grand Elder also said that the trace has already been there for a week already and with the mistress'' cultivation already reaching Breaking Demarcation two weeks ago, she would have already went really far by now." The messenger''s said with sorrow. "What were the guards doing?! My daughter has already been missing for a week yet they only noticed it now! What incompetent fools! What if something happens to my daughter?! I will slaughter them all myself!" Randall said with a vicious glare. "Urgh..." The messenger was not weak. He was already at the Heavenly Connection Realm. To most people, he might have already been a terrifying expert but he felt like an insignificant ant in front of Randall. ''The rumors were true! Clan Head has already reached the Immortal Saint Ream! From his stable and vast aura, he must have stepped onto it for quite some time now.'' "Honey, calm down. Remember that Rea has the Calamity Sword. You can find her with the True King Seal." A melodious voice could be heard along with the arrival of a fairy like silhoutte. A brown haired mesmerizing woman suddenly called out while her soft delicate lips opened. This woman looked almost exactly like Rea however her figure was more devilish and slender and her face was more mature and prettier. Her beauty could even rival Rose and Elizabeth! "My lady." The messenger quickly faced and humbly greeted the brown haired woman. The woman merely smiled in response. "That''s right! Leya, you''re a life saver! How could I forget! I had the answer all along! As long as she is within the country, I can find her! True King Seal, locate the ancestral swords!" From his storage ring, Randall took out a squarish ruby the size of a hand which inscribed the word, ''Cross'', on it and injected his blood essence. The ruby then iluminated and started to create a squarish hologram above it. ''The True King Seal left behind by King Jiro as the mark of the patriarch of the clan like other True King Clans. It was also made to help his descendents locate the ancestral swords in the event, it was snatched or lost. It is also said that a spiritual imprint from the king was left behind within it.'' The messenger seemed to recall a writing as he witnessed Randall activate the True King Seal. The next moment, the ruby flashed a 2D map of the entire Mystical Clouds and zoomed into the Mystic Red Cloud State. With their location as the center, a tiny ''x'' mark materialized on top of the True King Seal and floated towards the map and landed at a spot not far away from the mountain range and the Soaring Cloud City. "This..." The three could not believe their eyes when they saw the location that the ''x'' landed onto. It was merely seven kilometers away from the mountain range! They all knew what the ''x'' represented and that was Rea''s location. "She''s close?" Leya Cross'' beatiful ruby eyes squinted in shock. She spread out her imkortal sense and saw her daughter standing in a debris filled grass field. She could even see the melancholy and sorrow in her eyes. She pondered, "Why would she come here though? Did she know about the Immortal Tomb? But if she went out without notice, the elders could not have informed her of the Immortal Tomb. The matter of the Immortal Tomb has been kept into secret to the public and only the top ten sects of each Inmer Proximity Cities of the red state were informed.'' "Maybe she just missed her mother after she was done with accepting the inheritance. But, why is she standing at an empty lot not far from the city? Hehe, I want to hug my cute little daughter right now if I could." As she murmured, her gaze wandered to Randall''s trembling figure. Finding his actions strange, she asked him worriedly, "Honey, are you okay?" "Okay? I''m more than okay! I am in cloud nine right now! Hahahahaha!" Randall happily grinned. Seeing her husband look so happy, a beautiful smile broke out of Leya''s supple lips and chuckled, "I can understand that you are happy you found your daughter but aren''t you overacting, honey?" "Overacting? My beautiful wife, it seems that you have not yet grasped the situation completely." Randall stopped laughing and approached his wife. He softly held her cheeck and smiled lovingly "There you go again. Acting all mysterious. Are you keeping secrets from me? What have I not grasped yet?" Leya cutely pouted. "My wife, let me ask you a question. What did the Tomb Spirit say before opening the Tomb of Lord Maelstrom?" Randall softly spoke. " It stated that the ''the fated is near. Those who seek the treasures of old shall be given a chance. The trial has begun. The Tomb of Maelstrom Sword Immortal will now open!''. What does that have to do about your foolish grinning earlier?" Leya quickly quoted and questioned back. "And, where is our daughter?" Randall replied similingly. "She is just a few-. Wait! Are you saying that our daughter is the fated one the Tomb Spirit is referring to?" Leya was taken aback from the realization she just had. "Indeed." Randall nodded slowly. "But could it not be just a coincidence? She is only at the Breaking Demarcation Realm. Even at her top speed, it would at least take her ten days to make it here and the Grand Elder said that her traces were only a week old. It may be too hopeful of us to assume that she is the fated one." Leya was still unsure of this conjecture so she decided to pry further. "Coincidence? My wife, how could you compare our daughter with a regular person. She has already comprehended your Melodious Gale Sword Art which greatly enhanced her speed to a frightening extent. Not to mention, the exceedingly pure energy and sword intent she cultivates. If she really went full speed, she could have reached this place in four days at the very least. Thus, even if she travelled leisurely, it is only reasonable for her to arrive here in more or less a week." Randall calmly explained to her wife. "My lord, please forgive for my impudence but there could have been other geniuses who could have been recognized by the Tomb Spirit, could it not?" The messenger was dumbfounded by the sudden twist of the topic so he could not help but voice out. "Exactly." Leya concurred. "It could have been. However, I have already went throught the list of the possible candidates of the inheritance earlier who just arrived today. There were only three possible geniuses. If we consider the hypothesis that Tomb Spirit could have done that to incite confusion, there could be ten possible inheritors. But could anyone of their talent compare to Rea''s in the path of the sword?" Randall finally released the big qiestion. "But..." Even though she already felt the possibility, Leya still wanted to deny it. Because if her daughter was truly the fated one, then she would endanger herslef by competing with so many competitors. Not to mention that there were ruthless and indifferent but powerful geniuses who could take her life for the sake of the inheritance. Although she should be happy for the talent her daughter possessed, her motherly love prevailed over this proud feeling. Which mother would not worry for the welfare of her children? 168 Chapter 168: Rea Enters the Tomb "The answer is no. There is no genius who can compare to Rea in the art of sword within our country. Rea did not only gain the recognition of the Twin Calamity Swords, she also comprehended my Chaotic Thunder Blade and your Melodious Gale Sword in just five years. We cannot even compare to her talent." Randall asserted his point and explained it by recounting Rea''s achievements. He added, " But the most cognizant achievement she has achieved was comprehending the ancestor''s Dual Sword Domain in less than two months. Uncle and I took half a year to comprehend and we were pronounced as supreme genius of our generation because of it. But, Rea she comprehended it in two month''s time! I can''t see any reason why we can''t associate the inheritance with her." "But, honey, won''t she encounter many danger once she enters the tomb? The tomb would have Entrapment Arrays, Slaughtering Formations and Illusionary Spaces. There are also hundreds of thousands of vicious cultivators that have experience far greater than what Rea has encountered. The chances of death is high. It''s too dangerous for our daughter who isn''t even twenty years old." Leya voiced out her worries. "I can understand your worries, my dear wife. However, it is time for us to let our daughter experience the world. Since her childhood, I know that we have been limiting her periods of going out that even violated the rules of our clan. This greatly inhibitted her growth. We need to let her spread her wings and soar to the vast world of the Great Mystic." Randall responded with a comforting tone. "But.. you said it your self. She inherited both of our legacy sword techniques which are both High Heaven Rank and the ancestor''s, Unrivaled Twin Swords which is at Immortal Rank. She also possess the Twin Calamity Swords and the abundant resources of our clan. Surely, she would not need other inheritances any longer. Having too much techniques to refer to would just affect her cultivation speed and efficiency." Leya did not back down and argued. She really did not want her daughter to risk her life even for an Immortal Saint''s inheritance. "My dear wife, it seems like you have forgotten the Dual Sword Domain''s greatest function. It can enable a person to use even two different sword arts at the same time. It does not even limit it to just two sword arts. Once mastered, the user could interchange different sword arts on his own liesure. Our ancestor, True King Jiro, comprehended exactly 100 Heaven Rank sword skills which made his battle style diverse and ever changing and allowed him to reign supreme even against leaders of Empires. You have to understand." Randall rebutted and hugged her intimately. "No! No matter what you say, I can''t let my baby be in the risk of danger! What kind of husband and dad are you?! I hate you! My baby is only safe with me. I wont let you... *sobs*" Leya unhesitatingly beated her husband''s chest several times as she cried helplessly on her husband''s embrace. "..." Randall stood there and recieved his wife''s blows with open arms. He neither fought back nor defended because the rebound might hurt his beloved. Recieving just the normal attack of an Immortal Saint was like receiving a tank''s cannon barehanded. Even with his saint-refined physique, a trace of blood flowed from his mouth but he immediately used his Immortal Energy and instantly recover the superficial injuries he had. He looked at the messenger who was still kneeling with his head bowed down and telepathically told him, ''Please leave us be. Tell the others I would like to have some time to talk with my wife. I will personally go out once this is over.'' Nodding silently, the messenger exited the room and left the couple without producing a sound. The couple stood there hugging each other in complete silence. After some time, Leya finally spoke, "The last time I did what you said, I lost Rio... *sniff* *sob* I don''t want to lose her too... Randall, please..." "Rio..." That name was a reminder of a cruel memory. His firstborn Rio Cross, the former number two of the Mythical Ten. He was sent to Mystic Yellow State when he was seventeen for the inheritance of Sunblaze Sword Immortal, a similar peak level Immortal Saint like Maelstrom Sword Immortal. He was triumphant in doing so but he also managed to offend various sects in the process. While Rio was on his journey home, he and his party was ambushed by dozens of cultivators at the Mortal Severing and Half Saint-Realm. The disciples and elders who accompanied were all killed. On his last battle throes, he was able to comprehend the Dual Sword Domain and managed to kill all of his enemies. However, he overexhausted himself and fractured his soul which caused him his life. At that time, Rea was only thirteen years old. Both she and Leya were devastated by Rio''s death which caused Rea to be distant and Leya to be overprotective. His death also drived Randall to rampage over the sects involved and destroyed them all. Remembering such painful memories made his stern expression to turn into sorrow. ''Should I really let my daughter risk her life for this...?'' Seeing her wife crying and pleading, Randall''s heart pained and his will waned. He really wanted to remain adamant just like he used to but the memory of his son''s death also dealt a huge blow to him. After closing his eyes, he exhaled. "Huu..." Then, he looked into her wife''s beautiful ruby eyes and stared at her like there was no other woman in the world, "Since my wife wills it is so, your husband shall follow." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Really?! Honey, I love you so so much!" The tear filled Leya smiled in delight as she kissed him on the lips. "Hm... I seem to remember someone telling me she hates me." Randall teased. "I... I was angry, okay. I''m sorry." Leya bashfully uttered. "I know." Randall lowered his head and kissed his beautiful wife. "Mmf..." The couple indulged themselves with the passionate kiss they shared. They slowly floated towards the bed while the windows suddenly closed by themselves. Their actions became more passionate and intimate as time went on. However, it did not last as a voice caused their sweet moment to be halted. "Clan Head! We have urgent new to report for you!" A messenger shouted hurriedly from the other side of the door. "What is it?! Have I not told Ivan to tell you idiots to leave me and my wife be for a while?!" Randall''s rage was fueled by this insolent act of his subordinate. They were just getting to the good part as well. No wonder, he was angry! On the other hand, Leya chuckled on the sight of this. "I''m very sorry, my lord. You may punish this ignorant one later. However, for now, we have more pressing matters. It''s Miss Rea. She has been found..." The messenger was just going to continue his report when Randall stopped him midway. Randall''s mood was already quite foul but he still managed to contain some of his anger. He scowled, "I am already aware of the location of my daughter because of the use of the True King Seal. She is somewhere near the Soaring Cloud City. If that is all you have to say, you are permitted to leave." After saying the messenger''s dismissal, he turned to his wife and romantically said, "The nuisance is gone. My dear wife, where were we?" "Oh, you. Hihi." Leya sweetly chucked as she was the one who initiated the kiss this time. "But my lord, this is where you are wrong. Miss Rea is..." The messenger urged once more. "Say another more word and I''ll kill you!" Randall was in the verge of exploding as they were once again brilliantly disturbed by that messenger. "Umf..." The messenger did not dare continue any longer for he really valued his life. "Honey, you don''t have to be so agitated. Seeing how anxious Omar is, we should at least listen to what he says. Besides, we can still continue tonight. I am quite in the good mood today because of your decision earlier." Leya calmed her husband down and gently kissed him. She stood up and wore her robes as she fixed her hair. Hearing her words, Randall sighed and straightened his robes. "Fine. We shall listen to his blabber." Randall walked towards the door and opened it. He saw a middle aged man standing with his head faced down. He asked, "What did you say was wrong about what I said?" The middle aged man quickly stood straightly and bowed respectfully. He did not utter one word but he did send a mental message to Randall, ''It was nothing important, my lord. We will just wait when it is convenient for you.'' "Since I have already opened the door, I might as well hear what you want to say. Also, why are you speaking to me telepathically? Are you playing a prank on me?" Randall inquired with a doubtful look. ''No, my lord. It is just that you told me if I utter another word you will kill me. So, I decided to answer lord using Spiritual Transmission. Aren''t I smart, my lord?'' Omar telepathically chided as he entered the room. "You buffoon. Fine, I won''t kill you if you speak. Now, what is the matter you wanted to report about? Did something happen to Rea?" Randall shook his head helplessly in front of this shameless man. "Hahaha, I knew, my lord, won''t kill me. I came here to tell you that Miss Rea just arrived in the camp several minutes ago and is safe. She is also preparing to enter the Immortal Tomb. But, milord seemed to know that Miss Rea is safe and did not seem to worry. So, I thought that I came here needlessly However, milord''s approximation of the mistress'' location seemed to be off." Omar even smiled foolishly while he told the information to the husband and wife. He thought that Randall would be happy to know his daughter arrived here and was about enter the tomb. He even thought he would be rewarded by reporting it but when he saw the dumbfounded faces of the couple, a foreboding feeling emerged in his heart. "What?! Rea is here?! Why didn''t you say it any sooner?! Randall, come on! We have to stop Rea from entering the tomb! Now!" Leya ,who was smiling warmly at him earlier, became even more fiercer than Randall and stormed out of the room in an instant! "Yes, my wife!" Randall quickly followed is wife and disappeared in an instant. Although it seemed that he did not pay no more heed to Omar, he actually left a threatening telepathic message on Omar''s Mind. ''If anything were to happen to Rea, I will hold you accountable.'' Omar was left on the room alone. He could not help but say, "Did I do something bad?" 169 Chapter 169: Feelings of Gratitude Earlier... Rea, who was standing amidst the rubble of the Gardenford Restaurant with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. Her eyes were flickering with orange light as his gaze scanned the entire city and it''s vicinity. She was currently using the Chronic Energy Detection Skill. It was a Low Heaven Rank skill that cultivates the user''s Mental Strength and instinct that it could allow the user to examine any type of residual energy and detect the amount of time that passed when it was left. The pironeer of this technique created it believing that the auras any being leaves in a place would not dissipate but instead, assimilate itself with the environment and be permanently imprinted within. After devising a way to heighten one''s senses and use it conversely with Mental Energy, the technique was made. This technique is commonly used for investigation and pursuits of High level Spirit Investigators which is the secondary profession Rea took to satiate her thirst for knowledge and adventure. After which, she proceeded with her investigation: "The fight that occured here must have been the cause of the city''s destruction. The auras I am sensing indicates that there were no severe loss of human life. There are at least seven hundred people that were killed by the residual energy. However, among them, Dylan and Scarlet is not one of them." "The strange thing is that I can feel a high level beastly aura mixed on Scarlet''s aura. This is also the same beast which fought with the evil aura that would most likely come from a Malevolent Magnate. This beast has the same pressure of a Beast Emperor but not at the same time... is this a Mythical Beast?Could this mean that Scarlet was a Spirit Beast all along?" "That can''t be. Although there was something odd innher aura, I was sure that Scarlet was a human her attitude and aura were exactly that of a human. This matter is really problematic." "On the other hand, Dylan''s aura seems more different than it was. It seemed he also fought a person similar to a Malevolent Magnate and won. Why do I feel as if I was staring at the stars when I examine his aura now? But why is there a faint darkness with it? If it were not for that gentlemanly vibe, I would have thought he was another person now." "There is also two more auras I can feel that is similar to that beastly aura is more powerful than Scarlet. They seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere..." "Everything about this event is very peculiar... What did really happened here?" "Lil'' Sis Scarlet, Dylan , I will find the both of you. I believe that you are still not dead. And, for the one/s who did this to you guys, they will pay!" Although their meeting was brief, the two already had a significant place in her heart. She came from a very noble background. Everyone around her would greet her with courtesy and respect. Some would fawn over her and praise her endlessly just to form connections with her. Although they seemed very close and intimate to her, she knew it was because of the talent, wealth and status that was ascribed to her. With her inquisitive nature, she had read a volumes of literature which enlightened her that if she did not have any of those things, they would never bat an eye even if she was dying. However, she was very shy and meek. Thus, she could not force herself to tell those things to those people who wish to get close to her. She could only courteously greet them and converse with them as minimal as possible. The only exception for this was her brother, Rio. Even when her brother was very handsome, extremely talented and the next heir of the clan, he did not put on airs when he was with her nor to others. He would always play with her when he has the chance and even prank or tease her from time to time. He would do things as he saw was morally righteous and just. He was her idol. However, for the first time, he met people who did not care of her background. A naive little girl pulled her sleeves on this path asking her to be a customer without even asking where she came from. This little girl treated her like a big sister and even asked her to be the girlfriend of her elder brother. A young man who politely greeted her and conversed with her with no ulterior motives. He knew his boundaries and did things very proffesionally with finesse. There was no lust and desire in his eyes, only warmth and calmness which attracted her very much. These two left a mark on her pure and sad heart which made her look forward to the next time they met. A serene and calming feeling would visit her heart each time she remembered that awkward yet fun tea party she had with those two. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Unknowingly, Rea thought of them even in her meditation that granted her a peaceful heart and a clear mind. Hence, making her comprehension soar exponentially thereby, learning the Dual Sword Domain that only ten in their clan''s history was able to master. Because of them, Rea was able to make such an achievement in only than two months! The sense of gratitude and debt welled in her heart. These fueled her desire to find and meet these once again. Amidst her thoughts, she sensed her Twin Calamity Sword resonating. "Did father use the True King Seal to find me? Hm, mother''s immortal sense? Does that mean mother and father is close? What is happening?" "Father''s location is not far from me. I guess I''ll go to them now... since my plans for today... can no longer be done." Rea said despodently. The reason why he could detect her father''s location was because of the Twin Calamity Sword. Since the seal could detect the swords, the sword could naturally do the same thing. The sword spirits within whispered to her the location of her father after recognizing his call. Her lonely figure slowly drifted with the air. In less than a minute, she reappearred on the premise of the Mountain Range. She sensed countless Immortal Shelters all around this mountain range. She was shocked to discover that all of the Six Great Sects of the Mystical Clouds as well as all five True King Clans have gathered here! But what shocked her the most was the tomb that was situated atop the highest mountain of the mountain range. She even saw signs of battle along the entance path of the Immortal Tomb. It seemed like it''s opening created quite a chaotic battle. ''What is happening here? Why has almost every power in the country gathered in this mountain range? Could it be that tomb? From it''s aura alone, it has to be at least an Immortal-level Tomb! Has it just risen? I need to find about how it came about or whose it is.'' Rea thought to herself. After her momentary pause in mid-air, she quickly went over to the base of her clan. Once she arrived, she spotted some familliar faces as she was flying around. It was a group of four, two girls and two boys. She quickly descended and asked them about the tomb. With that, her curiousity went overdrived and immediately shot off several questions, "Big Sis Kiana, what happened here? What is that tomb? Where did it come from? Why did all the great powers of the country gather here?" "Miss Rea, you''re here? The entire clan was in shambles because of your disappearance. Where have you gone? Did you know how worried the Clan Head and the Misstress were of you?" The well-endowed black haired beauty ignored Rea''s question and interrogated her. "I... plan to go to mother and father to apologize to them personally later. So... can you please tell me about everything you know about the tomb?" Rea realized that she seemed to have caused her entire clan to worry which made her feel very guilty. But, her curiousity stil got the best of her and shyly asked. "Haaayst, the important thing is that you are safe." Kiana sighed. "It is nice to see that Miss Rea is safe." The man and woman who seemed to be a couple bowed at the same time. "At long last, I get to see, Fairy Rea in person. I am astounded by the incredible beauty that you possess. To satisfy Fairy Rea''s curiousity, let me, Luxio, do the honor of enlightening you." A rather handsome blonde haired guy with long hair politely bowed as he ''fabulously'' flipped his hair. "Uhm, if Sir Luxio does not feel it is not a waste of his time, err.. I would have to trouble." Rea shyly replied. She naturally knew him, he was one of her suitor''s in a different branch of her family. Seeing an attitude made Rea very uncomfortable. Seeing that shy expression on her face, made Luxio''s heart beat incomparably fast. He got a hold of himself and told her what she wanted to know, "Ahem... Just after Fairy Rea entered the Hall of Inheritance, The Six Great Sects and the Five True King Clans gathered on this area as they sensed the appearance of a Cosmic Light which could only be summoned by a Primoridial Level Law Fragment." "A Primoridial Levele Law Fragment!" Rea was dumbfounded by this news. She did not expect something like this to appear on their country. Even in Empires, a Primoridial Law Fragment would cause lots of people to go mad from greed! Anticipating her shock, Lucio smiled and continued, "When they arrived, there was no sign of any Law Fragment. Even the Tier 3 Imperial Investigator''s were helpless in this respect, they described it as though the one who invoked it did not have an ounce of energy on him at all. They deduced that the Cosmic Light seemed to have removed any trace of his being within this place." ''No once of aura on him? The Cosmic Light wiped away his traces?'' As a Tier 9 Spirit Investigator herself which is just a step away from a Royal Investigator, Rea knew how capable a peak level Imperial Investigator which was two realms above her. To think that they could not actually resolve such a matter. This matter seemed to have went beyond the power of a country. This time, the one who comtinued was the other man beside Luxio, named Jasper continued, "Only when all eleven powers gathered did the tomb finally emerge on this mountain range a month ago. They thought of various ways to open the Immortal Tomb. One of which was using the modified Blood Sacrifice Array which nearly offsets it''s sacrifice to less than 5%. This was brilliantly done by Formation Emperor Yohan of the Jungle Hall. Thus, asking the Mystical Magnate Tower to inform all top level powers of inner proximity sects to send two thousand experts of the Origin Palace Realm and above." ''Modifying an ancient array?! Mitigating it''s effects to nearly 5% of it''s original damage! How incredible!'' Rea could not help but gasp after hearing such a miraculous achievement. But, she soon understood that it was only to be expected as the experts which gathered here were as many as the clouds. A petite and young looking girl at Jasper''s side named Cecil, chuckled at Rea''s reaction and took the initiative to continue. "The designated schedule for its usage was tomorrow but earlier this day, the Tomb Spirit detected the presence of the fated one and opened the tomb. More than a million cultivators battled their way to enter the Immortal Tomb which caused the bloody scene you could have scene ealier. Now, half an hour has passed from its'' opening, all of the sects and clans present plans to send their elites to find the Law Fragment." "Coincidentally, we are part of the Elite Team and was just preparing to embark. Would Miss Rea want to accompany us? Er... That is if you are avaible, I mean. But if I was being to presumptuous, you won''t have to." Kiana warmly smiled and offered. But she soon realized her mistake, taking Rea would risk her life. Knowing how protective the Clan Head and his wife to Rea after the death of their son, Rio, Kiana realized how insolent she was. If they knew that she invited her daughter, would she not be punished? "Let me ask permission from mother and father, first. It shall only take a few moments." Rea smiled and stated. She used her spiritual sense to contact her parents but the room they were staying at were surrounded by her father''s immortal energy. She thought that her father and mother seemed to be discussing about important matters as of the moment. Rea was conflicted in her thoughts at first but she eventually steeled her resolve, ''Should I go? But knowing mother, she would certainly be against it. I guees I shouldn''t... No! I owe them my achievement of comprehending the Dual Sword Domain and my new sword art! I need more strength to investigate Dylan''s and Scarlet''s matter. His opponent was already condensing his Primal Law. I must become stronger for them!'' "It''s done. They... they were anxious at first but I... persuaded them and they eventually, agreed to it. I mean... there are elders guarding us, right?" Rea was not a good liar at all. She was stuttering as she did. She thought that she would be caught easily. But to her surprise... "Really?! Miss Rea is actually coming with us!" Cecil could not control herself and jumped in joy. "Great!" The others revealed a shocked yet happy expression. They did not find any fault in her words because they thought that was just how she talked. "Well, let''s get going, the elders are waiting for us." Kiana sighed in relief. She thought that she was done for. After saying that, she smiled at Rea and Rea did the same to her. As they went on their way, Luxio was constantly trying to converse with Rea and attempted to show her his ''fabulous'' side. Rea even chuckled seeing how he repeatedly flipped his long bangs every time he spoke. Hearing her slight laughter, Luxio talked even more and he only shutted down once they reached the entrance of the tomb. On the entrance, the various geniuses and a few elders gathered. When they saw Rea accomoanying Kiana and the others, they were immediately taken aback and bowed in her presence. "Miss Rea." "Kiana, what is the Miss doing here?" A tall old man with a long beard askedKiana who was leading the group. "Second Elder Credo, we met the Miss on the way here. We asked her whether she wanted to come. She first consulted her parents and she said that they let her did since elder is here guarding her." Kiana said. "The Clan Head really said that?" Credo was shocked. He did not anticipate that the Clan Head would trust him so much so as to entrust him her daughter''s life! He subconciously looked at Rea in disbelief. Hearing their conversation, Rea thought that Elder Credo was looking at her for confirmation. She panicked and she did not know what she should say. In the end, she could only look at him with determination and nodded, "Mhm." Although it was a simple nod, to Credo, it was surprisingly persuasive. He clenched his fist and vowed in his heart. ''The Clan Head trusts me that much?! Don''t worry, my lord! I will not let you down! Even if it costs me my life, I shall protect the Miss from danger!'' After recovering, he became even more stricter and shouted coldly, "Brace yourselves! We shall now enter the Immortal Tomb! To those, who will not behave themselves, I shall take it as grounds for discipline! Remember, we are here to do an extremely important mission! You must always stay with me and listen to me at all times! Understood?!" Although the disciples and elders found it weird for his sudden uptightness, they still followed by saying, "Yes, sir!" "Now, follow me for the glory of the Cross Clan!" Credo shouted as he truned around and was sucked into the world within the tomb! "For the glory of the Cross Clan!" The others along with Rea also entered quickly. Soon, the entrance was empty once more like it had been earlier. ''I shall become stronger!'' That was Rea''s thoughts as she entered the Immortal Tomb of Maelstrom Sword Immortal. ... A few moments later, Leya and Randall had finally arrived on the entrance but they did not even see a glimpse of Rea''s shadow. "Noooo!! Rea!!!" Leya arrived too late and knew that the elite team has already entered along with her daughter. 170 Chapter 170: I Donst Want To Be Weak Anymore Meanwhile in Thunder Clouds City, two hours later... On their way back, the captain carried Dylan while Mary, who was carrying Rian, was carried by the female warrior because she could not keep up with their speed. On the other hand, the muscular man monitored the sect leaders while their three other members carried those whose limbs were amputated during the ambush of the Spider Queen. It took them two hours to return as they only travelled by foot. Due to their injuries and the prescence of the sect leader captives, they could not force themselves to go at their peak speed. While they were travelling, they met their comrade who they sent to report to Azelmek. He was dumbfounded by their state when he met them but after hearing their story, he could not help but become even more stunned. He even felt bad in his heart because if he was not absent, they would have been able to use their Battle Formation like the sect leaders did. So, to make up to his wounded comrades, he spearheaded the way to the city and took the brunt of the wind resistance so that his team could relax and recover as they move. It was a small gesture but it helped the entire team conserve their enegy and use it efficeintly. The Ford Protection Squad was finally able to return to Thunder Clouds City. Fortunately, they did not encounter any sort of accident on their way home. They were the remaining survivors of the arduous battle in the Dreamy Forest. Reaching their homeland, they could not help but feel a sense of security. "We have finally returned." said one tired member of the Ford Protection Squad. He thought how fulfilling it was to live after suffering such ordeals. They took of on day unscathe and never would they have thought that they would return tonight with such serious injuries. "If you think you can escape, now that we are on the city. Think again." As soon as they arrived, the muscular man quickly used special chains to lock the Energy Handcuffs to him. He knew that these sect leaders were cunning and sly so he had to take initiative to pin them down. "Shit!" The remaining sect leaders cursed in anger. But with their Origin Energies obstructed,they were helpless to do anything and could only watch the chains lock itself to their handcuffs. "Miss, you can let me down now." When they reached the city gates, Mary decided to walk on her own as she did not suffer any sort of injury. She did not want to stay a burden to the Ford Protection Squad any longer. "Are you sure?" The only female in the group inquired. "Yes. I did not suffer any sort of injury. I can walk perfectly fine on my own. On the other hand, although all of you might have recovered your Origin Energy, I know that you are all physically and mentally tired. I think you can all go home now. I can take care of sir Dylan and Rian. In behalf of Sir Dylan and my comrades, we, thank you for helping us." Mary softly said while she thanked all of them with a smile and even bowed to them. "Although we are flattered by this, we don''t deserve your gratitude. We were the one who was supposed to protect sir Dylan but during the battle with the Spider Queen and the Black Arachnids, we were the ones being protected by our client. Thus, we have to decline your offer. We can still wait a little longer before taking a rest. We need to make sure our benefactor is alive and well or else we would not be able to sleep soundly at night." The captain resolutely declined Mary''s offer. "But you have already done more than enough. We have involved you too much in our problems." Mary frowned. "Miss Mary does not have too worry about it. We are simply doing our duty. Besides, how can we live a girl alone." A tall and ordinary looking man smiled and said. "If you insist." Mary could only agree after the insistence of the group. However, a bitter feeling arose in her heart. They still saw her as a frail young maiden who is in risk of being kidnapped every time she goes out. She really did not want to feel this feeling again. "Thank you for your reconsideration, Miss Mary. Ganku, take the sect leaders back to the Priemer Hall and imprison them. Also, tell Master Azelmek what has happened on Dreamy Forest. Qure, Ion and Pete, take the injured to Sir Allen for treatment." The Captain told the muscular man who was the one in charge of watching the sect leaders. "Yes, sir." Ganku and the six others quickly answered. Ganku pulled the chains and lead the way, "Come on and follow me, sect leaders." "Gargh, don''t pull so hard!" One of the sect leaders complained as they were being forcefully dragged to the Premier Hall. After Ganku and the others left, the captain escorted Mary and the unconcious duo to their residence. When they arrived, they were welcomed by worried faces of Barry and the others. "Mary, you''re back!! Are Sir Dylan and Rian okay?!" That was the only two sentences that everyone said in common. In fact, that was the only two sentences that was heard when Mary and the FPS arrived. "They''re not doing well." Mary gritted her teeth and answered sadly. After which, their voices all started to voice out their worries ceaselessly: "Oh no! Sir Dylan is so pale!" "Ahhh! He has such a huge wound on his chest!" "Rian is not doing so well too!" "He has six holes on his body!" "Mary, what happened?" "Captain, who did this to them?" "Whoa! Even you guys are injured!" ... "Uhh..." It continued for a while that it left Mary and the members of the Ford Protection Squad present to be overwhelmed greatly. They did not whose or what question to answer first as they were being mobbed by eighty people. "STOP TALKING!"A loud voice was heard from the back which caused everyone to become really silent. "How is Dylan and Rian?" Barry made his way to the crowd. He quickly checked his brother''s pulse and Rian after. After checking his face turned unsightly, he quickly called out, "Bill, Tom, and Larry bring Dylan and Rian to their rooms!" "Yes, boss!" The three which were called out, quickly obeyed Barry''s instructions and carefully carried Dylan and Rian to their room. "Everyone, stop squirming! Go back to your rooms! Now!" Barry ordered them once more which the employees unwillingly followed. "Yes, boss." "Thank you so much for escorting them back safely. In behalf of my brother, I shall remember this favor!" Barry turned to the captain of the FPS and thanked them. "No problem. We shall come again tomorrow and see Sir Dylan''s condition." The leader bid his farewell along with his companions. ... Inside Dylan''s room... Dylan and Rian were bathing on medicinal liquids made from Earth Grade herbs that Barry created for them. Each bath was specifically designed to target the individuals injuries. At this moment, Barry really has demonstrated his skill as a Herbal Specialist. Barry was done checking their vitals. His scope of expertise as a Herbal Specialits, is not merely limited by memorizing the effects of tens of thousands of herbs, it also covered medical fields because the Vernon Clan believed that only through understanding the essence of the human body and any injury can one concoct effective herbal solutions which directly solves the root of the problems. He deduced that both had life-threatening wounds yet they were somehow surviving because of an unknown foce supporting their recovery. "His injuries were really life-threatening. There are multiple lacerations all over his body. There are also signs of multiple compound fractures all around his body and several internal wounds. Even his spine and tailbone are cracked! The most worrying thing about him is his cross shaped wound on his chest. It severed his ribcage into four irregular parts." "But, everything seems to be recovering really fast! I don''t know what is happening but the fractures are healing visibly that they should completely heal in five hours. His ribcage which was been severed is recconecting itself! The process might take eight hours but it would probably heal like there was no wound at all! For full recovery, it would take ten hours with this rate." "The same thing is also happening to Rian. He even has more flesh wounds and fractures than Dylan. He even has six wholes in his body and bones disconnected by things which penetrated his body. But all of this seemed to be healing even more faster than Dylan''s. I estimate him healing in eight hours only." "According Rea, three hours ago, they were already just a hair away from death. But they showed, heaven defying recovery speed, in the next hour, jealing nearly 40-50% of their entire injuries. However, as they travelled, the recovery speed seemed to have decreased by at least half. Now, although their injuries are still very alarming, they have more or less stabilised." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "This two guys really gave me a headache. Oh yea, for those who are listening at the other side of the door. You can just know and come inside. But, only enter in groups of five!" Barry shook his head. "Err, so Boss Barry knew we were here, all along?" A voice was suddenly heard from the other side of the door. The door knob twisted and the speaker was revealed which was Ron. Behind him, there was Mary, Marie, Allana, and Tessa. "Of course. You guys were so anxious. That you did not even bother to hide your auras." Barry chuckled. "How are Sir Dylan and Rian? Are they okay now?" All five of them strangely blurted out at the same time. "Yeah. More or less. They''re fine now. They just need some rest. I think tomorrow we can see them regain conciousness already." Barry replied reassuringly. He laughed in his heart, ''These kids really car about you, bro. This is one great family you have here. I really want to thank you for taking me in.'' "Oh." The group of five exhaled a sigh of relief. Hearing that, helped them relieve a heavy weight on their chests. "Hahaha, I told you that Sir Dylan is fine. I knew that he has the strength and speed of a true dragon! Our Sir Dylan is definitely a genius among genius! There is no way he would be defeated by some small time sects!" Ron nonchallantly said as he even gestured the ''you don''t have to worry'' look. "Okay, your visting time has now expired. Next, visitors, please." Barry looked as if he was a doctor seeing the relatives of the patients as he said jokingly. Seeing how Barry acted, the group of five chortled with a laugh and exited. As expected, the next group of five''s first question was the same as the first. Though their slight differences, the next batches also followed the same manner of entrance. Thus, Barry had to repeat the same reply over and over again for at least sixteen times. ... After everyone visited Dylanthey all gathered on the long tables in their dining area. They all seemed to be very dejected by the fact that they could not do anything to help Dylan at all when Mary was kidnapped by the sect leaders. An eerie silence filled the air along with the frustrated expressions of everyone within. Suddenly, Mary stood up. She turned around and seemed to be heading to their back yard. Although it was done in a very casual manner, her actions broke the silence and caught the attention of everyone on the table. Seeing her actions, Marie called her out and asked, "Sis, where are you going?" "I am going out to train." Mary answered plainly. "But you just arrived. You need to rest first." Marie stated in concern. "Marie is right. Mary, rest first. You went through a lot today. So why don''t you sleep first? Besides, the schedule for training is already done for today and it is already late. Don''t push yourself." Jack tried to comfort Mary. Hearing Jack''s words, Mary could not take it anymore and had a breakdown, "I went through a lot?! No, I didn''t! Compared to what Sir Dylan, Rian and the entire FPS went through, I went through nothing. All I could do was run away and watch them protect me while they fought the entire alliance and the spider tribe of Dreamy Forest. They might not admit it but I was a burden! I could do nothing! I was useless! I watched Sir Dylan and Rian get wounded because of me!"After getting those feelings out of her chest, she cried helplessly. "I''m sorry. I..." Jack apologized and wanted to comfort her. But, he, too realized how weak and useless he was. Though Dylan might not say it, e knew that Sir Dylan went off on his own this morning because if he took anybody with him, they would only be deadweight. But what could they do? They were just that weak. Mary continued while tears flowed down from her eyes, "You know, too. Everyone in this room knows how weak we all are in this city. It is only because of Sir Dylan''s talents that we were able to have a stable footing in this city. I know that we have already improved more than an average person could thanks to the guidance of seniors from the FPS. But, I know that we are still lacking compared to geniuses in this city!" "I don''t want to hide behind Sir Dylan. I want to stand on his side and keep our promise of protecting him and accompanying no matter what happens! That''s why even if my body gives up on me, I will train! If my talent is lacking, I will use hardwork to make up for it! I want to be stronger than just an average genius! I know I am sounding greedy but... but, I dont want want to be weak anymore!" Mary wiped off her tears and said with incomparable determination. 171 Chapter 171: We Dare Her words touched the hearts of everyone on this room. Her conviction reached out to their souls and ignited their passion and desire to become even more stronger! They subconciously clenched their fists as they Mary''s words, ''I don''t want to be weak anymore!'' resounded in their minds. "Damn, I can''t believe that we were actually so pitiful that the innocent and meek Mary had to shout at us just to wake us up." The normally quiet Tom stood up. He looked at everyone and said, "Are you guys just fine with that?!" Scott, Larrry, Ronald, and every male raised their hands and responded loudly, "No!" After hearing his brothers speak up, how could Jack remain silent, "He''s right! The answer was just right before us! If we are weak, we just have to become stronger! We can''t stay pathetic like this all the time! So, what do we have to do?!" The males answered back. "Become stronger to protect our family!" "You, guys." Mary smiled at the sight of his fellow brother''s silly roars. ''This is the family I know.'' Allana also stood up, "Although the boys are outlandish, but they are right! We have to prove that we ladies are strong and independent! We can''t let the boys see us damsels in distress! If we are only pretty, others might just take advantage of us! So like, Sis Mary said, we need to become stronger!" "Yea!" The girls also answered as though they were some kind of cheering squad. "You, gals." Mary''s eyes started to turn misty from all of this. She never expected that her speech would actually have an impact like this. "So, what are we waiting for? Come on, guys! Let''s train!" Larry also stood up and advocated. "Yeah!" Everyone responded in unison. Soon, everyone was found outside of their large backyard. "Hehehe, I still have some energy to spare! Let''s spar, Larry!" Bill smirked and taunted. "Is that so? You might just end up being beaten like last time. Come!" Larry scoffed his taunts with another. "Hmph, keep acting arrogant. You don''t know what might hit you later. Take this!" Bill confidently said as he leaped towards Larry. Just like these two, the others also started to train and refine their Battle Techniques and Movement Techniques. This night, everyone''s concentration was at it''s peak from receiving all that pep talk from Mary. Their minds and heart were clear and only contained one desire which was to become stronger! It was subtle but there was faint law resonance that was happening which connected everyone''s minds and enhanced their comprehensions. Unknowingly, they were all performing far better than usual! Two hours quickly passed, everyone was exhausted from such a vigorous training. They were all sweating profusely and fatigued. But their achievements this evening was more bountiful than a week''s worth of training. "Bill! You ere really concealling your skill, weren''t you? I thought you said your techniques were only at the Perefection Mastery? Why does it feel like you have long reached the Grand Perfection Mastery?" Larry was rubbing his stomach that was hit by Bill''s fist technique. "I don''t know either. I was just bent on beating you and becoming stronger. Somehow, my techniques became more perfect. Also, you''re one to talk! You have been hiding your skill from us! You have already reached Grand Perfection for quite some time now, haven''t you?" Bill protested while he looked at his bruised arms that he used to block Larry''s attacks. "Wait! I''m the same as you are. I just cultivated to this state! You know that everyone has been showing a steady pace and advancing together because of our after-training forums! I did not know what happened as well." Larry rebutted. "Really?" Bill was stunned. He did not expect that both of them would advance just like that. "Could that mean we have gained some kind of enlightenment?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "I don''t know for sure. But I guess it''s the only explanation for what happened." Larry scratched hishead in confusion. He did not know why they could advance so suddenly. "So, it''s not just you guys, huh?" Jack appraoched them and spoke. "What do you mean, Jack?" Larry and Bill exclaimed. "It seems like everyone has suddenly leaped throught with their comprehension just like you. Everyone has at least advanced all of their techniques to the Grand Perfection Stage!" Jack answered. "Woah! Really?! Does that mean we have really gained enlightenment?" Bill trembled in excitement. "Indeed. From what I observed, your desires to become stronger seemed to have created a faint connection with the heavens that augmented your comprehensions and blessed you with this breakthrough. According to the ancient records, this is an even called Heavenly Revelation." A figure suddenly walked out of the house and this was Barry. Although Barry''s cultivation remained stagnant for five centuries, his knowledge and wisdom would even surpass that of Azelmek''s. When he was being sent away by his mother, she gave her a spatial ring which contained the entire library of their family which was the whole heritage of their family. As the sole survivor, he took it to himself to enhance his knowledge and search for a cure for his disease. Nonetheless, he was still unable to find one that could be done with his current cultivation until Dylan came along. " Awesome!" Everyone finally understood the sudden leap in their strengths. A sense of achievement filled their hearts with even more passion to conitnue training. Who knows they might incite another Heavenly Revelation? " Guys, let''s continue to train! We need to make the most of this godsend opportunity!" Larry quickly shouted when he stood up. "Whoa, hold your horses. The Heavenly Revelation is a very rare once in a blue moon opportunity. It can only occur unknowingly and the participants must be free of thought. It is not something done on a whim." Barry gestured them to calm down. His words brought disappointment to their hearts. "Boss, how do you know all of this things?" Scott suddenly questioned. "Well... you see, I come from a noble clan which provided me with excellent education and cultivation resources. However... it was destroyed with only me as the survivor after being plotted by some old scums! One day, when I am strong enough, I will have my vengeance!" Seeing how he was quickly accepted into the this big family, he thought the revealing some of his past was only right. At first, Barry''s voice was filled with melancholy and sadness but on his last sentence, coldblooded killing intent could be felt from him. "How horrible!" The girls gasped and felt pity for Barry as the lone survivor of his tribe. They suddenly felt what kind of burden Barry was carrying on his back. "Urr, I''m sorry for bringing that up. I mean... I shouldn''t have." Scott oddly said, feeling guilty about his actions earlier. "It''s fine. You don''t have to worry about it. You accepted into this family. So, I felt that it was only right to tell you about my past. Well, that was basically the gist of it. I''ll tell you, chumps, the whole story another time." Barry waved his hand and widely smiled. To them, he now seemed like their big brother. "That''s just evil! Don''t worry, Boss. When we''re strong, we''ll help you kill those bastards!" Ronald stepped up and put his right fist on his left chest and swore. "We will avenge your clan together boss!" A well-built youth named Shawn smiled as he also did the same gesture as Ronald. The other guys also stood up and promised Barry to help him with his revenge. "Hahaha, then, you guys have to get really strong because my enemies are just as strong or maybe even stronger than that Baron you told me about." Barry smiled as he spoke. "Well, I don''t care! Since we have already promised you, we will do it even if we die in battle. I can feel myself grow stronger every day with everyone here. Sir Dylan told me to never limit yourself from growth and always think that you can still grow stronger, because the moment you do, only then would you have severed your ability to grow. We might not be strong enough now. But someday, we definitely will be." Jack stood up and shared. Everyone felt their blood boiling after Jack''s speech. He''s right! No one can stop their growth except for themselves! If they just stay true and believe in their training and will, they will become far more stronger than anyone else! Barry was also inspired by Jack''s speech. His urge to fuse the poison and his bloodline became even stronger. After a brief moment of thought, Barry suddenly looked up to them, "Well said, Jack. Because of that, I will help you guys become stronger. I was not planning to bring this up since Dylan might be opposed to it. But, I can sense the determination in your eyes. So I will ask you: do you dare to take the risk?" "Take a risk of what?" Everyone was suddenly curious to what Barry was going to say to them. Barry evaded the question first and spoke, "Everyone, let''s first gather inside." ... Once everyone was seated, Barry started, "As you guys are now, most of you are at the 11th level and a few has already reached the 12th level. You all know that you could already choose to form your Avatars in this level. But Dylan told you to wait till level 13, which is the limit to Avatar Awakening, to do that because it will help you awaken a stronger avatar than normal, right?" "Yes." The group quickly answered. Barry finally revealed his intentions in a low voice, "I know of a method that will help you purify and strengthen your bloodlines and help you invoke an even greater grade of your bloodline''s avatar when you reach level 13." "What?! Is that even possible?!" Everyone who was listening were all gobsmacked. Is that really possible? "Shhh, someone might hear you!" Barry quickly shushed them with a serious expression. Everyone quickly understood that such method must be very priceless. Thus, they silenced themselves and attentively listened. Barry continued. "You should know that Avatars come from the bloodline passed down to us by our ancestors which means they are heriditary. Although variants could happen, but such cases are very rare. They are universally graded from 1-10 because it also determines a person''s talent. Generally, 1 are considered to be wastes, 2-3 are considered average, 4-5 is for geniuses, 6-8 are heavenly talents while 9 and 10 are for supreme talents. My method ensure that you would at least have a Grade 5 Avatar!" This method is something that Barry found within the library of his clan. However, this method is only used on grades 1-4 and the limit that it could produce was Grade 7 Avatar. A True King Clan lik his usual had Avatars whose grades were no less than Grade 6 so it was deemed as useless to them. But, for people like Jack who came from a Middle Proximity City, this method could be said as godsend! "?!" Everyone was even more dumbfounded by this matter. Does that mean all of them could be geniuses?! "But, Boss Barry, you told us that there are risks? What are those?" Larry asked a very vital question. "The risks is that the medicinal liquid that I am going to create will bring you heaps of pain. This is because it will purify your bloodline as you bath in it for 2 hour and this should be done for 30 days in order to ensure the results I promised. The pain I mentioned is akin to being crushed by ten thousands needles at the same time. That is why I asked if you dare?" Barry solemnly finished his sentence. He left it up to them whether they will agree on it or not. After discussing among themselves, they came up with a unanimous decision, "We dare!" 172 Chapter 172: There is Nothing Wrong with Being Big "Good. I shall concoct the medicinal fluids tonight while I monitor Dylan and Rian''s condition. Everyone go catch some sleep. You start with the treatment tomorrow evening after training." Barry''s impression of everyone improved from this talk. He could see why Dylan would risk his life for them because they would be willing to do the same for him. "Are you sure, Boss? Don''t you need some sleep to?" Arnold asked him with concern. Actually, it was not just him. He was just the one who said but Barry could sense that everyone was looking with concern. They were worying for him as well. ''Heh, these brats are even concerned about me. Having a family... really feels great.'' Barry let out a heartfelt smile and said. "Don''t worry about me. I''ll get some sleep after Dylan and Rian wakes up tomorrow morning." "Okay. Goodnight, boss." Everyone said their goodnights to Barry before going upstairs and to their rooms. "Goodnight." Barry waved his hand and waited for everyone to go upstairs before going up himself. That night, Barry did his best to create the medicinal liquid that he promised and occassionally checked on Dylan and Rian at the same time. ... The next day... It was around seven in the morning. In the dining area, Jack and the other have been long awake and were already done eating breakfast. Mary and five more people were currently washing the dishes. "Shoud we not tell Boss Barry to come down and eat first?" Bridgette asked. "I already tried telling him but I saw a note on the door of Sir Dylan''s room saying to not disturb as he was still concocting the medicinal liquid he told us about." A short haired young man named Kyle said. "Oh. Then, I guess we should just leave him some food on the table fro him to eat later." Bridgette thoughtfully said. "Those with the assignments to the store today, it''s time to go." Ronald reminded the others. After his reminder, the employees with shifts today proceeded to the Soaring Garden Enterprise. "Everyone else, go to the backyard Let''s proceed with our training." Larry announced right after the working group left. ... Upstairs, in Dylan''s room... "Huu. Finally finished. The grade of this Blood Purifying Liquid is even better than I thought."Barry wiped the sweat on his face and grinned with his success. Under him, it was a large pot that could fit an adult. Inside, a liquid with deep purple hue was found. It emitted a flowery smell that was pleasant to the nose. "I even made more than expected. This should be more than enough for them to use for a week." Barry picked up the lid that he prepared and contained the flowery smell of Blood Purifying Liquid. He tapped it with his storage ring and the large pot was sucked into the ring in an instant. "Urgh..." A groaning sound was heard after. "Did he wake up already?" Barry was alerted. He went to check on Rian because he thought he would be the first to wake up since his wounds were already fully healed. But he saw the little puppy soundly sleeping. He was even snoring as he slept. "Where am I? I''m... naked? Is this a bath? Urgh, my body...!" Dylan groaned as he opened his eyes. He was wondering why he was naked. When he saw that familiar ceiling, he thought out loud, "I''m in my room?" Barry hurried to Dylan''s side. When he saw Dylan awake, he became very emotional and loudly laughed, "Dylan, you''re finally awake!! Hahaha!" ... "Dylan, you''re finally awake! Hahaha!" Barry''s voice was so loud that it could be heard outside. "Sir Dylan is awake...?" Larry and the others who were training came into an abrupt pause. It was as if time stopped as their thoughts processed Barry''s joyful cries. "Sir Dylan is awake! Whooohoo!" Such news elated those who were training outside. After hearing such a wonderful news, they immediately left their training and raised upstairs. ... "Barry?" Dylan suddenly saw his brother which made him heave a sigh of relief. At least with Barry here, he was sure that he was in his own residence. When he saw Barry coming closer, he was going to greet him. But, he suddenly remembered that he was naked! "Woah, wait! Don''t come any closer! I don''t even have clothes on!" Dylan jumped out of the medicinal bath. In an instant, he circulated his spirit energy to dry the water on his skin and quickly retrieved a robe from his storage ring to cover himself. Only after doing that, did he feel comfortable, "Huu.. That''s better." Barry laughed once more as he teased Dylan. When he saw how embarassed the ussually calm Dylan, how could he not take advantage of this and tease him? "Hahaha, it''s okay bro! I already saw everything! Though I must admit that you are rather big down there. Hahahaha!" "You jerk! I will..." Dylan was already trembling in embarassment. When the door suddenly creaked open, Ron and the others were there. All of the girls, who were just behind the guys that were anxious to see Dylan, suddenly blushed from hearing such disturbing words. When Barry saw them,he saw the others on the door. He thought with trepidation, ''Oh shit, I''m dead!'' Since Ron was the one at the front, he did not know what to do. It was really awkward. He wanted to turn back but it was blocked. So, he thought, ''Since I can''t turn back, I shall move on forward.'' Ron approached Dylan and even patted Dylan on the shoulders, "Sir Dylan, it''s nice to see that you''re up and well. I heard from Boss Barry that you were really ''big''. There is nothing to be embarassed about being ''big''. Being ''big'' is a blessing from the heavens, therefore, you should be proud of it." ... "I think... we should go down." Not being able to handle Ron''s vulgar words, Marie proposed to the other girls. Without further debate, the girls nodded and left one by one. ... "Ron, get out." Dylan said in a very low voice. Dylan''s aura suddenly changed. Barry and the others knew that things are not going to end well. "Eh?" Ron suddenly sensed killing intent from Dylan. He immediately retreated backwards and spoke like a rapper, "Oh, I suddenly remembered that we still have some training to do. Uhm, it was nice catching up to you, Sir Dylan. Bye!" "Hey, what are you guys doing?! Go down already!" Ron came running to the door as the guys quickly sprinted to the groundfloor. Barry ,who was the only one left on the room, approached Dylan with a wry smile, "Dylan, I''m sorry. I was just teasing you. I did not know they were there." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Really?" Dylan suddenly looked at him with a smiling face but that smile was not his usual smile. It was unusually cold. "Oh, I remembered that I have to do something. I got to go." Barry came up with an excuse and tip toed to the door. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. When he turned back, he saw Dylan already clenching his fist with the smile on his face. "Don''t go. I still haven''t thanked you, bro." Cold sweat started to trickle down his spine and he said, "You won''t beat up your sworn brother, right?" "Of course not. Can''t you see? It''s just a simple bro-fist. I promise you, it won''t hurt." Dylan smiled. "Really?" Barry looked suspiciously at him. "Yeah, because it''s going to really hurt!!" Dylan coldly smiled as he spoke. Barry, then realized that there was no escaping this ordeal of his, "Arghhh!!" "What''s all this noise about?" Rian woke up from Barry'' loud voice. He was surprised to see that he was already in their house. However, when he saw Sylan ruthlessly beating Barry, Rian shivered from fright. He saw Barry looking at him with pleading eyes. He quickly laid back down on the medicinal bath and pretended to sleep. ''Sorry, I can''t help you.'' ''Traitor!'' Barry cursed in his mind but he could not keep that thought any longer as another fist landed on his face, "Ouch! Stop! I said I''m sorry!" ... Several minutes later, Dylan went down to their backyard, looking fresh, and dressed with a proper robe. Barry accompanied him with purplr bruises on his face. "It really hurts, you know. I can''t believe I actually healed you just to be beaten up like this." Barry complained indignantly. Dylan snorted, "Hmph, it''s your fault for being a blabbermouth." "I already told you. I didn''t expect that they were already at the door. I thought they were doing their daily routine." Barry defended himself. "You shouted so loud about how I was finally awake. Of course, they would go to my room! It''s your fault for saying such a sick joke." Dylan indifferently replied. "Okay, okay, I get it. It was my fault. I''m really sorry, okay?" Barry finally admitted his wrongdoings. Dylan rolled his eyes and offered a pill as a form of reconcilliation "Fine. Here''s a healing pill for external injuries. It will your bruised face in minutes." "Okay, this is only just compensation. Now, we''re even." Barry took the pill and consumed it. The pill quickly took effect. His bruises were no longer purple and was slowly turning back to Barry''s original complexion. "That feels much better!" Dylan did not mind his brother any longer and instead, observed the training of his employees, "Hmm... their movements have become more refined lately. This... all of them has already reached Grand Perfection in their Mid Spirit Rank Techniques?!" "They''re amazing, right? Hehe. While you were asleep last night, these guys practiced for an extre two hours. During those two hours, their desire to be stronger connected their hearts and they were able to incite a Heavenly Revelation!" Barry recounted last night. "That''s incredible! Now wonder, they were able to reach Grand Perfection so quickly. From what Jack reported to me, most of them reached Expert Mastery five days ago. To think they could actually incite a Heavenly Revelation." Dylan smiled proudly. One must know that Dylan despite his high comprehension ability was only able to reach Perfection in his foundation techniques just recently. "They have surpassed you in creating a stable foundation. They are already working their way for High Spirit Rank Techniques and chose Low Earth Rank Techniques for their killer moves just like you instructed them. After the Heavenly Revelation, everyone seemed to be working extra harder than usual." Barry praised every single one of the employees. "I know. But they deserve it more than anyone." Dylan knew how hard working his employees were more than anyone because he watched them grow from the early stages of Spirit Veins to the early stages of Awakened spirit in less than four months. Such a speed was already comparable to average geniuses. "It seems like I have to work harder if I don''t want to get left behind." Dylan jokingly said. "Dylan." Barry suddenly said in a serious voice causing Dylan to look at him in shock. Barry turned to him and said, "I want to start the Contrast Polymerization after three days." 173 Chapter 173: Taking Over Excellent Tailors "Are you sure?" Dylan asked for guarantee because undergoing Contrast Polymerization could risk Barry''s life in two different ways. One, if a mishap were to happen during the fusion, it might cause him to become a cripple or even a corpse. Two, even if he were successful on the fusion, it has a high possibility of inciting a Heavenly Tribulation. Dylan even estimates that such a Heavenly Tribulation should be only slightly weaker or even equally poweful to his because if Barry succeeds, his Avatar would definitely reach Grade 8 or even Grade 9! This constitution evolution could turn his only heavenly talent into a supreme one. Such an act definitely goes against heaven''s will. Barry shot a resolute look to Dylan and stated,"I am sure. I have already prepared all the Earth Rank Herbs I need. I have already braced myself for the worst outcome which is my death. So, if that time really comes, I hope you could..." "Nonsense! Didn''t you say you''re going to personally take vengeance for your clan?! How can you say something like dying now? You spent centuries just to find a way to heal yourself and avenge your clan! You owe it to your parents, sibling, rather, your entire clan, that you shall avenge them with your own hands! So, don''t throw your responsibility to me. I have already more than enough to deal with." Dylan seriously retorted back at Barry. "Haha, you''re right. How could I think of dying when I haven''t even killed those old bastards? There is no way I can face my clan when I die if I don''t do it first. I''m sorry for acting so pitiful. Thank you for reminding me my life mission, bro." Barry exhaled a mouthful of air and smiled gratefully. He offered his right hand for a grapple. "Hahaha, didn''t you already say why? What are brothers for?" Dylan smiled back. He locked his thumb with Barry''s and grappled the other''s fists. They moved closed to each other and patted each other''s backs with their free hand. Quickly after, they released their grips and returned to their original positions. "Let''s go inside. I''m starving already." Barry grabbed his stomach while Dylan lightly laughed and followed hims inside. ... After eating, Dylan went to the Soaring Garden Enterprise. There he was greeted by his employees and his customers. "Sir Dylan! Are you feeling well now?" The beautiful petite girl named Lily exclaimed as soon as Dylan entered the store. "Whoa. Sir Dylan, is it really okay for you to be coming here already?" Mary was also one of the employees who had shift today. When she saw Dylan, she immeadiately went over and asked. "Do not worry about me. A little bit of pain won''t kill me." Dylan calmly smiled and even joked about his injuries. "If it isn''t Sir Dylan, I heard you suffered from overexhaustion after overexerting yourself from training. Although it is important to be hardworking in cultivation, it is also important to be aware of our bodies condition." An old man who wasa regular customer of Soaring Diner gave a thoughtful account. "Thank you for your reminder, Mister Joseph. I shall keep it to mind." Dylan respectfully replied. This excuse was what Dylan told his employees to do if someone wants to meet or find him. "Hohoho, there is no need to be so polite in fron of this old man. I told you several times alread, just call me Old Man Jo." Old Man Jo chortled mildly. "If that is what you are comfortable with, Old Man Jo." Dylan smiled warmly. "Hahaha, sounds a whole lot better if I say so myself." Old Man Jo laughed. Suddenly, an overly handsome young man who wore very luxurious robes suddenly entered the store. His skin and face seemed to be so perfectly crafted that it could cause girls to envy his beauty. However, he was perfectly manly with his demeanor and style. He was none other than the owner of the Excellent Tailors, Steph Raider! Following him, the beautiful glasses wearing beauty, Caira Dowell was seen. Her beautiful straight black hair left a nice fragrance whereever she went and her beautiful eyes which are covered by her transparent only added to her elegance. When he arrived near Dylan, it was as if two hansome princes met each other for a battle to the death. It seemed as if this scene was a painting that could be posted in a National Arts Museum. Seeing such a rare encounter, the girls, young and old, turned wild from the excitement: "Kyaaah! The Fashion Prince and the Mr. Perfect in one roof!" "Oh my gosh! They are both so perfect! My heart is going to explode!" "If only I had a Recording Mirror to treasure this moment!!" "Oho, such handsome young men if only I were younger, I would definitely take one for myself." "Stop dreaming, old lady. Even if you were younger, the Fashion Prince and Mr. Perfect ... The words and screams of the woman within and even outside the store were deafeaning. Mr. Perfect was the nickname that was unknowingly attached on Dylan. This was solely because of his impeccable looks, a calm and warm disposition, incomparably intelligent, talented in both business and cultivation, and a terrifying background that awarded him such a nickname. A fan''s club for him was already created unbeknownst to him. "I wonder what Fashion Prince Steph is doing on our store." Lily asked Mary who was just beside her. She could not help but blsuh just from the glimpse of this two man together "I don''t know." Mary shook his head. In front of them, the two handsome man seemed to be frozen in time as neither one of them moved. The next moment shocked everyone present! Because Fashion Prince Steph Raider actually knelt before Mr. Perfect Dylan Ford! "WHAT?!" His next words sent everyone flabbergasted as they stared at them with shocked eyes, "I am glad that you are safe, my lord. Your servant has been concerned of your welfare as soon as I recieved the news of your illness." "This... this..." Everyone rubbed their eyes and thought that they were seeing things. Mary, Lily, Ronald and the entire crew were gobsmacked. It was not just them the females who adored the two handsome men and the males whose attention were caught because of the ladies'' frantic cries, were all dumbfounded. The only one who had the most minimal reaction was Caira, whose poker face turned into a frown and Dylan who was still smiling despite the shocking movement that Steph did in front of him. Everyone present knew how respected and high Steph''s status was as a person who owns a sect which has a ranking of 201 and owns over eleven branches scattered in the Thunder Clouds City! Aside from his astonishing talent as a Magical Tailor, he is known to be very aloof and proud! They never would have thought that someone like him would kneel in front of somebody else. "Stand up, you''re causing too much of a disturbance. Let''s go upstairs and talk business." After saying those words, Dylan quickly turned around. Steph stood up and bowed as he acknowledged Dylan''s orders, "Yes, my lord." After which, he looked at Caira who was behind her and said, "Guard the building. Do not let anyone disturb my talk with the lord. Understood?" "Yes, my lord." Caira quickly acknowledged. Just like that the two dream-like princes left, leaving everyone on the ground floor dumbfounded. ... After the auction, Dylan allocated some of his funds and created two more sturdy floors for the two main buildings of his business. His office was now located on the fourth floor of the building. Dylan was currently sitting while Steph was standing behind him. "How is the production of the clothes that I asked you to design faring?" Dylan drank his cup of tea before asking. "It is going as splendidly as planned. By next week, we can get the Ford''s Clothing Line fully operational." Steph humbly spoke while he poured tea on his master''s cup. "Good." Dylan nodded satisifyingly. After sipping another cup of tea, he asked, "I presume your master is already aware of your servanthood. How did he react to it?" "He did not take it quite well, my lord." Steph replied in a despodent manner. "I guess he was thoroughly enraged after learning that his greatest student is now a servant of a mere Spirit Gathering Realm." Dylan calmly replied. "Unfortunately, he truly was infuriated by this fact. However, my opinion of this matter is different than his since I know how capable my lord is. I think that my service to you is only just." Steph replied with loyalty. "Is that so?" Dylan merely smirked as he continued drinking his tea. He could still remember the time that Steph first appeared in front of him after the auction. Even Dylan was shocked by how obedient Steph was to his orders. Having lost the bet, the terms of the Soul Lock Contract was immediately in effect. On the night of the due date, Steph''s personality changed. To be more accurate, it was his soul that changed. A soul imprint from Dylan''s soul was created on Steph''s soul while he was in his slumber, There was no significant change in his overall personality and self aside from his complete submission and loyalty towards Dylan when he woke up. On that day, Dylan immediately called upon the three Magical Tailors under Steph. After saying some words, he ordered Steph to take them to their dungeon and were to be slapped for 100 times by someone who was two realms above them. Just like how that feminine young man, slapped Loraine who was two realms lower than his. Dylan kept his end of the bargain and made them pay a hundredfoldfor what they did to the members of his family. Of course, the three died miserably after the torture Dylan ordered. After which, he learnt that Steph actually had a master named Oliver Guess who was from a sect that was in the Top 30 of the Sect Rankings. It was named the "Fabulous Tailors" and had an integral part within the city. The most troublesome thing was he was high ranking ranking elder with a Heavenly Connection Realm cultivation. Although he was shocked by his status and cultivation, he thought that it only made sense that a talented person like Steph would have such powerful and capable master. He knew that this guy would soon come find trouble for him but he was already prepared for him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. But Dylan really gained a lot from this bet, he not only have a talented Magical Tailor, who was at the Palace Formation Realm, as a servant. He also had taken over big business like Excellent Tailors because of it. He even had the bonus of Caira Dowell, an archer beauty at the Palace Formatio,n who pledged her loyalty to Steph! ''With this, my overall strength has increased yet again. My plan has also been accelerated by a large margin takes to this bet. So my next course of action is...'' Dylan thought calculatively with a confident smile on his face. 174 Chapter 174: Problems Popping Up Somewhere in the East Region of the Thunder Clouds City, three large and luxuriously architectured building with each having a label of "Fabulous Tailors", stood erect. Thousands of people could be seen coming and out of the building and the employees numbered to thousands. In the second to the top floor, a black haired man with a perfect oval face without a speck of facial was anxiously tapping his four fingers consecutively as he wore a frustrated expression on his face. This man had a beauty comparably to women and smooth skin that is as white as milk. He is Oliver Guess, the third elder of the Fabulous Tailors. After several seconds of continued action, he suddenly stood up and threw a tantrum, "Damn that Dylan Ford! If I find him, I am going to crush him to pieces! How dare he use a Soul Lock Contract to bind my disciple and make him his own servant?! Arrrgh!" Oliver was able to find out about this matter because of Steph''s precarious arrangements. Although Steph was very confident that he could win, with his meticulous personality, he still left an order to one of his servants to report to his master if he was to be defeated on his bet with Dylan. To Steph''s surprise, he actually lost to Dylan. He wanted to report it to his master about the details and demand his release from the bet. However, before he could, the Soul Lock Contract already took effect and created that Master-Servant imprint to his soul. Due to this, he discarded his thoughts of ever betraying Dylan and went to report his allegiance. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Per his disciple''s arrangements, Oliver did recieve the message that Steph left. When he received it, he was thoroughly enraged and immediately summoned Steph''s presence in front of him. His demeanor and personality was still the same which relieved Oliver. However, when Oliver brought up a plan that involved his freedom and betrayal to Dylan, Steph quickly became hostile and remained adamant to stay by Dylan''s side which was a big blow to Oliver. Oliver pushed all the blame to Dylan and really wanted to dispatch some assassins to kill him off ever since he recieved the message three days ago. But, he was still caught up with an important assignment that the sect head left to him so he could not make a move against Dylan for the past few days. A middle aged man with a rather peculiar beardwho sat in front of him suddenly said, "Calm down, third elder. It is not right for you to fight against a junior like Dylan Ford." "But my disciple is being manipulated by that evil brat, fourth elder! How can I remain calm knowing that my cold and aloof disciple is actually seen bowing to someone who is barely at the peak of Spirit Gathering?!" Oliver angrily replied. The fourth elder answered with understanding, "I am angered about this news as well. Nephew Stephen was not only an excellent Tailor, he was also a cultivation talent. That''s why it is only right for him to be free of the clutches of the Dylan Ford. However, we must first prioritize the task given by the sect head. If we are able to complete this transaction, both of us might recieve a very handsome reward and our sect might even rise in the rankings again. After which, you can focus on killing that brat. Let him have his fun but when he lowers his guard, that''s when you strike him! Then, you can torture the fool, however you want." "Fourth elder is indeed wise. My judgement has been clouded by my rage and I was not able to think correctly. I will follow your suggestion and focus on our transactions first. After two weeks, I will grind his business to dust and kill him along with everyone he values!" Oliver smiled sinisterly as he started to plot his revenge against Dylan and how he is going to take his disciple back. ... Back in Soaring Garden Herbal Store... Dylan was now alone because he ordered Steph to return to his establishment and continue the production of his clothes line. Currently, he was managing his documents and sorting out the papers that were piled up on his desk because of his absence. After thirty minutes, he finally finished all of his paper works. Dylan laid back to stretch and looked at the old fashioned clock on the corner of his room. He sighed, "8:20... Those four is already running late. I still have to go to Premier Hall at 9. Where are they? We were supposed to have a meeting on the joint establishment at 8. Hmm, might as well cultivate." Several minutes later, a knocking sound was heard on his door. Dylan who was cultivating quickly opened his eyes and responded, "Who is it?" "Sir Dylan. This is Ronald. The four sect heads are her to see you." Ronald introduced and reported. "Okay, let them come inside. Thank you for informing me." Dylan thanked Roland before letting him leave. "You''re welcome, sir. I am going back to work now." Roland quickly replied. He turned around and faced those four familiar faces and opened the door for them before leaving, "Esteemed Sect Heads, this way please." As the door opened, the four Sect Heads quickly greeted Dylan. Okemos was the first to speak, "Good day, Young Master Dylan. How have you been? Have you already recovered from your sickness?" "I have. Thank you for your concern. Please, have a seat." Dylan faintly smiled and hospitably offered seats. "Thank you." The four sect heads sat at the four chairs which were arranged in pairs in the left and the right with a table in the middle in front of Dylan''s desk. "We are sorry for being late. Arman had some trouble on his sect which affected the procurement of the lot we have decided fot out joint establishment. That was why we had to help him and got delayed but we were still unable to resolve the matter." Yander Cooper revealed. After he said that, Arman Heinze of the Quadra Fang Sect shot him with a glare. "Oh? What happened?" Dylan''s expression suddenly changed when he heard that the reason why they were unable to arrive in time was because they were settling the matters of their business. The lot they decided to get was a location with the perfect amount of exposure to be seen and was easily accessible to. Thus, it would considerably affect Dylan''s plans if they are unable to get this lot. "It''s nothing to worry about, Young Master Dylan. It was just a fight of the juniors of my sect which somehow drew the attention of both parties elders. That''s all." With the secret exposed, Arman no longer hid the matter and told Dylan the general gist of what happened. "Is this fight you are talking about somehow related to the Eagle Sect?" Dylan cruiously asked. "How did you know?" Arman looked at him with shock. "I was merely guessing. It is not a secret that your Quadra Fang Sect and Eagle Sect are at war with each other. I suppose this is still related to your son trying to ask the hand of the heir of Eagle Sect in marriage?" Dylan asked. "Indeed, my son and the heir of the Eagle Sect were secrety dating and it was only when a disciple of the Eagle Sect did this matter blow up and reported it to the sect head. Having a grudge against me, he forbade his daughter from seeing my son but my son kept finding ways to meet with his daughter which angered him greatly. Recently, his sect seemed to be gaining some strength and is slowly suppressing my sect. Coincidentally, the lot that we were aiming to buy was originally his so he deliberately made things difficult for me to get a hold of the lot we wanted." Arman confirmed and explained the situation. "I see. What a predicament, this is." Dylan did not expect for such a matter to suddenly pop up. He was expecting that the purchase of the lot and the establishment of the joint establishment would be smooth but he should have known better to think that things would always go his way. "Can you please explain what sort of grudge he has with you?" Dylan wanted to know all the details of this matter before making a move. "The sect head of the Eagle sect was the younger brother of a genius I killed when I was young, thus, he held grudge against me. However, as his talent was never a match from mine, he was always weaker than me and did not have the chance of taking my head. With that, he establish a sect in order to nurture a genius powerful enough to kill me which is precisely her daughter." Arman disclosed. "This is getting more complicated than I thought. So, reconciliation is out of the question, huh?" Dylan was silent for a moment after hearing Arman''s story. "I apologize. It is my fault for implicating this onto everyone." Arman was very dejected about this matter for two reasons. One, his son remained adamant about taking the Eagle Sect''s heir who was made to kill him as his wife. Two, he was affecting the entire group''s plan because of his sect''s problems. "This is not entirely your fault. How could you have known that your son was actually dating the child of the younger brother of the person you killed ages ago?" Steven comforted him. "Don''t beat up yourself too much. Life is too unpredictable to even predict what is going to happen next." Yander consoled his friend like so. "It is fine. Sect Head, Yander is right, I should have known that life would never let you have your way. Since we have decided to set this establishment together, we shall solve it together as well. I will accompany you tomorrow and try to resolve this matter." Dylan quickly decided. "Young Master Dylan, there is no need. We can do it on our own. We know that you still have matters to attend to in Premier Hall." Okemos stepped in and tried to stop Dylan. "That''s right. If the lot is truly unattainable, we can just simply find another one with a similar location and exposure. At most, out plans will only be pushed by a few days. There is no need for you to come with us." Arman added. " Firstly, I don''t have any appointements for tomorrow. Secondly, I am aware of such options because I have already considered it. But such a place would be impossible to come across. Aside from the fact that it has the right exposure and is easy to go to, the lot we decided has an almost congruent distance to all of our businesses. We decided it because through that we can monitor each other''s movements to avoid corruption within the establishment. That''s why until it is proven that we have other choices, I would want to secure that lot for ourselves." Dylan reminded them. "We understand." The four Sect Heads nodded. "That is all for today. Tomorrow, I''ll go to Eagle Sect with all of you and try to negotiate with the Sect Head." Dylan adjourned the meeting after saying those words. "Mhm." All four nodded and Okemos said his farewells before leaving the room, "We shall take our leave." After that, Dylan wrapped things up in his office and descended from the Soaring Garden Main Building and went on his way to Premier Hall. ... Thunder Clouds City, Eagle Sect... The Eagle Sect occupied a large lot about fifty hectares. Within, there were a nine buildings which held a specific functions for the sect''s needs. Eight of the building were arranged around the largest building found in the center. This building was named the Main Hall. Within the Main Hall, a middle aged man whose hair was styled like the wings of an eagle sat at the side of his garden while holding a Spiritual Transmission Tablet on his hand. He was Adalus Eagle, the founder of the Eagle Sect. It seemed as if he was having a serious conversation with someone important. "How was the suppression you did on Quadra Fang Sect?" said the voice in the Spiritual Transmission Tablet. "It is going very smoothly, Lord Gayolei. With your help, I estimate that in a month''s time we can fully suppress the Quadra Fand Sect and challenge them in a Sect War to completely crush them." Adalus smiled as he reported. The person who helped Adalus and the Eagle Sect to suppress Quadra Fang Sect was none other than the Clan Head of Panther Clan, Gayolei Panther. He spoke in a pleased tone, "Good." "My lord, how are you planning to deal with those low ranking sect leaders that have been captured by Dylan Ford?" Adalus said. "You need not worry. They have already been disposed of." Gayolei stated in a confident tone. "As expected of the great foresight and wisdom of Lord Gayolei." Adalus praised with an amazed tone. "Hahaha, of course. How else would I have guided my clan to the Top 10 of the Sect Rankings if I do not possess such qualities? And, Adalus, I am expecting quite a lot from you! I will not tolerate failure. But, if you do succeed, you would be able to take your sect to heights you have never dreamt before." Gayolei said with expectation. "Of course, my lord. I shall do your bidding without fail." Adalus said. "Very good." With that, Gayolei ended the transmission. After keeping the Spiritual Transmission Tablet, Adalus smirked as he said, "You think you are so smart to use me, aren''t you, Gayolei? Unfortunately, I am using you to! After my sect grows and I reach Mortal Severing, I will overthrow you and take your place in the Top 10! Hahaha!" 175 Chapter 175: Disposal of Evidence Thunder Clouds City, Premier Hall... "An attack on the Premier Hall? What a idiotic choice." When Dylan reached the Premier Hall, he found a large and deep circular crater just outside the entrance gates. He was rather surprised that someone would actually launch an attack on the third strongest sect in the entire Thunder Clouds City. Dylan walked in as usual and was greeted by the maids and butlers of the Premier Hall. He waved back at them with a faint smile which flustered all the maids. He quickly made way to the topmost floor and entered Azelmek''s office. As soon as Dylan entered, he greeted, "Goodmorning, Master. Goodmorning, Uncle Sheldon." "Goodmorning, Dylan." Azelmek and Sheldon replied with a forced smile. Dylan saw Azelmek and Sheldon with a grim faces. He knew that something was wrong, "You both look strangely bothered. Is something the matter?" Sheldon looked at Dylan with a sorry expression, "The sect leaders that Ganku brought in have all been killed." "What?! How did that happen? I thought that they were already imprisoned here." Dylan was shocked by this news. He heard from Mary that Ganku already took the sect leaders to Premier Hall for temporary detainment. The sect leaders were important witness for the destruction of the Panther Clan. Azelmek shook his head and replied, "Gankuu had indeed brought the sect leaders to the Premier Hall. But they were only able to reach the doorstep of the Premier Hall." Dylan suddenly remembered the crater outside the entrance, "You mean that crater? They were killed by that attack?" Sheldon nodded and told him everything. "Yes. According to the witness report, Ganku was walking on the small flight of stairs with the sect leaders in front of the Premier Hall. But, suddenly, aperson at the early Origin Transmutation jumped out of nowhere and screamed "I am sorry" then detonated himself. With the cultivation of the sect leaders sealed, they were quickly destroyed by the detonation. Fortunately, Ganku reacted swiftly and managed to create a forcefield around them which shielded the innocent bystanders. But with no protection for himself, he was severely injured and is currently in critical condition." "This must be the work of Gayolei! He sent that guy to eliminate the sect leaders to wipe out his tracks! Have you not investigated this matter yet?" After hearing what heppened, Dylan immediately knew that it was Gayolei. Otherwise, who would desperately get rid of such evidences other than the instigator himself? Azelmek gritted his teeth and grimly said, "We have. We already identified the name of the cultivator who detonated himself. His name was Chris Longbottom. It seemed like he had a poor family and was trying to make a living for them. His daughter who was barely tweleve was diagnosed with a rare disease. But, he could not find a stable job that could fund him to cure his daughter. According to his wife, an envelope suddenly appeared on their doorstep. After reading it, her husband left alone and returned the day after with 50,000 gold coins at hand! After which, he quickly left. They only heard of him doing this suicide bombing." "How could he be this inhuman!" Even the normally calm Dylan felt his blood boiling from anger because of such inhumane acts. He despised such use of vile tactics and carelessness of human life. ''So what if he was at the peak of Mortal Severing?! How can he use the lives of the innocent like chess pieces!'' "I did not think that Gayolei would be this vicous! He really deserves to rot in hell!" Sheldon cursed also. He and Azelmek naturally knew of the conflict between Dylan and Gayolei so how could he not deduce that the person who did this was Gayolei. "But we can''t do anything against him without proper evidence because of the laws of Thundercloud Guards. Thesurviving sect leaders should definitely have some transactions with Gayolei in documents within their storage rings but they have been killed along with their belongings. Thus, destroying all feasible evidences against him. I have known him to be vicious and ruthless but I never expected him to use human life as he please!" Azelmek clenched his fist with fervor. ''The Thundercloud Marshal Paladin and the Thundercloud Guards are indeed troublesome. Azelmek could just command the entire Premier Hall to crush the Panther Clan if it were not for them.'' Dylan covered his mouth as he thought. Sadly, the cultivation world that he got transported to was not crude and has already lived with laws they have abided for. ''Even Azelmek admitted that if he and the Marshal Paladin fought, he might have upper hand but it would be difficult for him to beat him. Thus, he could only follow the rules.'' Dylan remembered suddenly. A confident smile appeared below the cover of his hands, ''But this is much more exhilirating this way. Although borrowing other people''s might to destroy Gayolei would help me save some effort. Crushing him using my wits and abilities is a far better.'' "It''s fine. In the future, I will deal with Gayolei myself. Master, let''s continue training." Dylan was able to quickly contain his emotions after silently using his calming breathing exercise. "Are you sure?" Azelmek asked in worry. Although he was confident that Dylan could take on Azelmek in the future with his heaven defying X-grade Talent, he was afraid Dylan might overestimate himself and challenge Gayolei prematurely leading to his untimely demise. With his current speed, it would at least take Dylan seven years before he is able to reach the Magnate Lord Realm. It would take him another year to reach the peak of the Magnate Lord Realm. So, Azelmek wanted him to train slowly to accumulate enough strength to defeat Gayolei in the future. "From the look on Master''s face, Master fears that I might challenge Gayolei early on before fully maturing, right?" Dylan quickly saw through his master''s thoughts and gave him a calm smile. "It seems like you read me." Azelmek wryly smiled as he indirectly admitted. "You don''t have to worry about that. Do I really look like somebody who acts foolhardy and impulsively? I am certain that Master knows my personality by now." Dylan gave him a meaningful smile whilst talking. "You''re right. I must be getting old for thinking such things." Azelmek immediately understood his mistake. After training Dylan for the past few weeks, he knew how patient and persevering this young man can be. He knew that one cannot attribute all of his disciples achievements to his talents alone. Because without an unyielding and ambitious spirit, how can one ever reach the peak? "Come on, Master. I have a lot of things to ask you with regards to my techniques." Dylan smiled as he turned around and exit the room. ''To protect my family... To never to be looked down upon... To never feel weekness again...I just need to become stronger than anyone!'' Dylan knew that in this world only strength would reign supreme. If he had strength, would Gayolei bully him and his family? If he had strength, would he need to follow these laws? In the end of the day, it all comes down to strength. ... In the Training Grounds of Premier Hall... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. The sounds of fists colliding and kicks cancelling each other accompanied by the shouting of two combatants. Another exchange occured, the one with the weaker force was forced several meters back while the man who gained the upper hand did not allow any room for rest and quickly attacked. The person at the disadvantage was Dylan and the person he was fighting was Allen. Dylan was currently fighting against Allen in the conditions of not using martial arts. It was to strengthen Dylan''s martial arts usage, battle sense and combat adaptability. ''Uncle Allen is really amazing but I won''t Dylan lose that easily.'' Dylan was still in mid-air and was just about to touch the ground as Allen dashed towards him but he did not back down at Allen''s onslaught. He quickly adjusted his body in a crouching position and used the resultant force of the previous exchange to roll backwards when he hit the ground. Using his hands, he pushed the ground to propel himself backwards once more. Doing such astounding movements, not only enlarged the gap between him and Allen, he was also able to quickly retain his balance and resume a proper fighting pose. "Oh!" Azelmek and Sheldon who was watching on the sidelines could not help but exclaim in surprise. Even Allen who was fighting Dylan was amazed by how Dylan responded to that situation. "His ability to adapt has greatly improved ever since he first started training. I initially thought that he would just wait for Allen to close the distance and defend against his attacks. Who would have thought he managed himself splendidly and stabilise his footing like that." Sheldon praised Dylan. "Indeed, he has. Although he was still lacking in experience when he came here, his ability to stay calm and think quickly in a battle really helped him with his spars against you and Allen. Now, with your pressure, he is able to calmly respond and utilize his skills more profficiently." Azelmek nodded All of them thought, ''This youngster just keeps amazing us everytime.'' After Dylan regained his footing, he dashed forward and closed the distance between him and Allen which Azelmek and Sheldon did not expect him to do. ... "I thought he would first maintain that distance to rest for a while before attacking once more. Why did he suddenly initiate an attack?" Sheldon rubbed his chin with a frown. "Knowing him, he won''t do anything that impulsive. Let''s just wait and see for now." Azelmek was also confused but he still viewed the match with concentration. ... Even when he was still a bit far, Dylan actually initiated a kick with his right feet and aimed at Allen''s body. ''Aiming for my body? Unfortunately, you kicked too early.'' Allen crouched and leveled his to the kick very quickly. He assumed a cross arm block to defend against the kick. He was aiming to grab a hold of Dylan''s foot and slam him down with a throw. But, suddenly, Dylan''s kick tilted from it''s original path and landed on the ground causing the dust to explode and creating a smokescreen. Now, it was rather hard for Allen to see with his eyes as dust entered it. ... "So that''s what he was aiming for. That explains why he kicked so widely." Sheldon realized Dylan''s intentions after. "He was aiming to remove Allen''s sight. Very clever." Azelmek nodded approvingly of how Dylan effectively used his surroundings. ... But beeing removed of his sight, does not mean that Allen could not fight. He was a few hundred years old and has trained himself even with his eyes closed. ''Crafty kid. But I know where your attack is going to be!'' With his position, the most likely attack that Dylan was going to attack his unguarded backside and would most certainly hit the location of his head. ''But I know for sure that you won''t hit the most obvious spot because I taught you!'' And just like he predicted, Dylan''s kick did not indeed the back side of his head instead, he aimed for the original spot he aimed earlier. When Dylan''s right foot hit the ground, after dragging it for few more inches, he switched his center of gravity to his right foot and twisted his body counter clock wise to create a kick with both power and momentum. But, sadly, his attack was read by Allen and was perfectly blocked. Now, Dylan''s foot was locked by Allen''s powerful grip. Dylan''s powerful kick pushed the dust away and cleared the battle ground. Allen smiled as he praised Dylan, "Wonderfully executed, Young Master Dylan. However, this old man predicted your attack. You''ve lost." But when the dust fully settled, Allen was stunned as he suddenly felt the foot on his hands become heavier which also lowered his arms, leaving his face unguarded. He was in shock why something like that happened so abruptly. But when he witnessed Dylan''s body already above him, he quickly knew why. Dylan had once again changed the center of gravity to his right foot and by doing so, he lifted himself to the air. He quickly rotated his body vertically and initiated another full powered kicked! The only difference this time is that even Allen could not guard in time. "Like how you predicted my attack, I also predicted your block. You''ve lost, Uncle Allen." Dylan said as his kick landed on Allen''s head which caused a loud boom! "Indeed, I have." Allen smiled as he accepted his defeat. A crater and dust cloud appeared because of the great force that Dylan''s kick contained. 176 Chapter 176: Telling A Lie The dust fog dissipated and revealed Dylan and Allen facing each other. Allen was still unscathe despite taking in the attack as he was forced to use his Severing Origin Energy on his head to block it. He knew that if he met that attack without defensive energy, he would have been hurt badly. "That attack just now was splendid, Young Master. I did not expect that you would use my teaching methods against me. My defeat was to be expected." Allen highly praised Dylan. "It was only a fluke. I was only able to do it because I know Uncle Allen is expecting me to follow his teachings. I doubt I would be able to replicate such a deed again." Dylan modestly said. "Still, to be able to defeat Allen in martial arts at such a young age is astonishing!" Sheldon, who flew from the side of the training ground, landed gracefully and congratulated Dylan for achieving such a feat. "I was only able to defeat Uncle Allen after a few dozen bouts. I still think that I have a long way to go." Dylan answered humbly once more. "Hmph, still to be defeated by a kid? How humiliating." Sheldon sneered as he looked at Allen. "Then, how about fighting with Dylan right now since you''re so amazing?" Allen frown as he countered. "Enough of that, you two." Azelmek arrived and the two had quickly shut their mouths. He looked at Dylan with an impressed gaze, "Dylan, you have truly improved in your martial arts by a large margin. It seems like you have already advanced your foundational techniques to the Perfection Stage. When did this happen?" "This happened yesterday while I was fighting the sect leader''s alliance. As I immersed myself in true combat, I was able to utilize every skill I had to survive and also, strike my enemies at the same time. During which, I was able to coincidentally gain insights and once I consolidated them, I advanced." Dylan quickly told his experiences to his master. "Indeed, only the taste of live combat can stimulate a cultivator''s potential. Regarding the battle at Dreamy Forest, I was quite shocked to hear from Dennis and the others that you actually killed more than half of the Origin Transmutation Realm experts while fighting nearly a hundred of them alone. Your beast companion was actually the descendent of a Demonic Beast God and you teamed up to kill ten spider type spirit beasts which has the strength of a Mortal Moulting Expert. How did you do that?" Azelmek asked inquisitively. Although he understood what kind of talent Dylan was, he knew he has not even realized a quarter of his potential. So, how was he able to fight a group of Mortal Severing Expert? Even Sheldon and Allen were curious about this. Although they could somehow understand the first matter, but the other two were simply too astonishing to be true! Dylan was naturally prepared and answered, "Answering Master''s concerns, for the first matter, I merely used my advantage as a Mystical Magnate and the fact that I could use a skill of the Thundercloud Monarch Art at least three times. By using my skills conservatively and appropriately, I was able to eliminate most of the thugs. I can also attribute it to the training I have recieved from Master and Uncle-masters as you have always taught me how to fight against stronger opponents. For the second matter, although I knew Rian was most likely some type of rare spirit beast because of his ability to speak human tongue, I did not expect him to be a Demonic Beast God because I only found him on the path during my journey to come to Thunder Clouds City. As for the last matter..." The trio nodded as Dylan described the first two matters and all of which made sense. They could not find any fault of the matter. More importantly, Dylan was speaking in an unhurried and calm manner that it makes it seem that what he is saying is the truth. When faced with this young man, who could remained perfectly composed like this, it was indeed very hard to discern whether or not he was lying or not. Dylan intentionally pause and made a hesitant look before finally saying, "I was able to fight the Black Arachnids with Rian because of a gift that Master Null left for me." "Master(Sir) Null left something for you?"The trio immediately exclaimed from shock. Dylan readily explained, "On the day, you said that Master Null left. I saw a peculiar necklace which emitted a peculiar light on my desk at home. I asked my employees whose item it was but noone seemed to recognize it. So, I temporarily kept it for myself. I soon tried to use my spirit sense to inspect it and I was shocked to find that there was a small space within and it contained some sort of strand of energy which I could not recognize." Dylan continued, "However... it contained profoundness and power that I could never hope to fathom. At first, I thought it was strand of conciousness of an expert but when Master Null, used his aura and killing intent to scare off Sir Night from afar, I recognized the similarities of the two auras. If I remove the horrifying killing intent out of the picture, the two energy are basically the same thing. Thus, I came into conclusion that it was his strand of energy." "What?!" His words made them tremble uncontrollably. What kind of expert was Null? When Dylan said that he claimed that he was at least stronger than any expert in this country, it would mean that he was at least at the peak of Immortal Saint! But his vague reply could also mean that he could stronger than that!!A strand of his energy was indeed an effective life saving treasure! Dylan further narrated, "After experimenting with it, I discovered that I could actually control the energy strand as if it was ownerless! Having a faint outline of Master Null''s Strength, I estimated that I could use it to execute a fusion skill of the Thundercloud Monarch Art. Thus, I kept it with me at all times as a life saving trump card! When the Spider Tribe appeared and the Spider Queen and her royal Guards came, I knew it was a dead end. However, with Rian''s awakening that day, I- I took a gamble and tried to fight them with Rian." "With Rian buying me enough time to control and manipulate the energy strand from the necklace, with difficulty, I was finally able to convert it and use it to execute the fusion of all three techniques! I was even shocked by the degree of damage the energy of that strand held! It completely obliderated the Spider Queen and the nine Black Arachnids without even an ash of the corpse remaining! It even carved out a path until it reachedthe end of the forest! Only then did I manage to realize the immense power that Master Null actually possessed..." Dylan ended his lie there. Being a top tycoon on Earth, Dylan was a naturally skilled person in both communication and persuasion. Telling a lie without a fluctuation in his expression was nothing but a walk on the park for him. He even used facial expressions, paused or stuttered and used apropriate body language to support his words. ''Sir Null actually possessed such power! Hallmaster, you have indeed hit the jackpot for being selected as a student by such a powerful expert! Congratulations!'' Sheldon was suddenly elated and told Azelmek telepathically. ''Indeed. I don''t know what kind of good deed I have done in my past life to deserve such good fortune. Not only did I get an X-grade Magna Magnate and cultivation genius as a disciple, I was also accepted as the disciple of a mysterious and overpowered expert named Null!'' Azelmek said emotionally. He was even starting to have thoughts how awesome he would be when he recieves the full inheritance of such a powerful expert. "Master, are you okay?" Dylan suddenly stepped in and interrupted his daydreaming. "I am. I was just in awe about how powerful Master Null actually is." Azelmek sincerely described his current feelings. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Oh." Dylan responded with simplicity. But, inwardly, he could not help but feel guilty for telling them such a lie. Although he knew that pushing the responsibility on the mysterious but fictional Null was the most effictive way to clear up their doubts, their was still a slight guilt in tricking these people who even considered him family. ''Someday, I hope they will understand my actions when I tell them the truth.'' "Anyways, it''s time for you to continue training! I cannot disappoint, Master Null when he comes back! He expects to see you become stronger on his return!" Azelmek was thoroughly motivated to teach Dylan now. Dylan quickly returned to reality and nodded excitedly, "Yes, Master!" ... Several hours later, Azelmek was once again surprised by how much Dylan improved from his fight yesterday. He noticed that Dylan had more environmental awareness now compared to his lat visit. His thought process is not easily disturbed even when his plans were repeatedly foiled in battle. He had even become more cunning in combat than he ever was. After his fight with Allen, he had five bouts with Sheldon in martial arts and in their last bout, he managed to beat Sheldon by making him lose balance and fall on his back which was a technical knockout. That defeat actually shook Sheldon because he did not expect to suffer a defeat from this when they had only fought around forty times. Seeing Sheldon in shock, he confessed, "I was intentionally trying to make Uncle Sheldon lower his guard on the first four fights so that I can manage to surprise him and hopefully win in the last. Thankfully, it all went according to plan." "Are you saying you were holding back while fighting me?" Sheldon no longer had that usual cheerful smile on him. His lips were arched in a smile but it was twitching subtly. Though he was not prideful in nature, Dylan''s words actually hurt his pride. "No, definitely not. Uncle Sheldon, you must have misunderstood my words. How could I hold back when I am fighting Uncle Sheldon? I was merely bidding my time and carefully laying out my plan of attack before finally executing it." Dylan shook his head and apologized humbly. "..." His words caused the trio to shiver slightly. Because Dylan may not the type of person who would win every battle but by using his wits and schemes, he can even turn the tides and win the entire war. Even now, they could not fathom why a young man like him who should be hotblooded could actuallu be so crafty and devious! Dylan also fought with Azelmek but even after five bouts, he was still unable to beat him which disappointed him. What he did not know was that Azelmek was actually taking him seriously and carefully received his attacks. Because if he were to lose to his disciple so early on, how could he even have face to call himself Dylan''s master. After the martial arts training, Azelmek trained Dylan in his Mystical Techniques for the last half of his training today. He noticed that Dylan''s skill in his Mystical Techniques have also increased. Although it was still at the Expert Mastery, he noticed that it would only take a few more days before Dylan breaks through the Perfection Mastery. After he reaches Grand Perfection in these skills, Dylan would be able to move to Duke level Mystical Techniques. On top of this discovery, Dylan actually broke through to Tier 4 in the last moment! To anyone else, they would have fainted from shock but after teaching Dylan for a couple of weeks now, he has at least adapted enough to decrease his shock. "Woah! I broke through? Master didn''t you tell me that I would at least take three days or at most a week before I reach Tier 4? Why did I suddenly advance?" Dylan was rather confused about this. Dylan actually agreed with Azelmek that he would at least take that much time since he read that every three levels is a small realm in Mystical Magnatism. The realms are simply separated to Early, Mid and Late realms. Each would be a minor bottleneck that would be harder to cross than the next. But, he actally crossed it easily and did not even feel that sort of bottleneck! His Mystic Pond is already eight times bigger than it''s original size and was already 6400 meters squared. It was not even apt to call it a Mystical Pond anymore because it was more of a large lake already. And, this was still without the transfromation that would happen in Tier 5 to become a Mystical Lake! "I am not certain as well... Maybe it is because of your X-Grade Talent that the bottleneck of the small realms of Mystical Magnate Realm is barely negligible... I have read records of S-grade Magna Magnate accelerating to Tier 6 in just three months because it was not as shackled as normal Magnates are. I think you are also in a similar case." Azelmek quickly racked his brain for an answer until he was able to remember that record. "Oh, Master is really knowledgeable! Now, I am even more eager to read in the Premier Library! Hm... Master, it is already late. I shall now get going." Dylan noticed the time and quickly bowed. "Uh... okay. Take care. Remember to practive even at home!" Azelmek reminded quickly. He waved his hand as he watched Dylan leave the Training Grounds with Sheldon. ''This kid''s cultivation is insanely fast! It has only been two weeks since he started yet he is already at Tier 4! Normally, Mystical Magnates take at least two years to reach this rank but he actually did it in a thousandth of the time that most would do it! I seriously think I am going to have a heart attack if this goes on.'' Azelmek anxiously thought to himself but at the same time, he was extremely proud of having such a monster as his last disciple! 177 Chapter 177: Dylans Diligence "I got too engrossed with cultivation that I didn''t notice the time." Knowing that it was already 7 in the evening, Dylan did not waste his time to go to Soaring Garden Enterprise and decisively headed to their residence. When he reached the residence around quarter to 8, he did not see any of his employees in the dining are like the other days. Dylan saw a note on the table. It was on top of the covers of the plates on the table which he picked it up the moment he reached the table. Written on the note, ''Sir Dylan, we have already prepared your dinner under this note. If you are wondering where we are, we are at the backyard doing our training.-Sincerely yours, Your employees.'' "Training but I thought that the training schedule was only up to seven. Hm, why are they pushing themselves?" Dylan was rather curious about this extra training they were doing. But, he was rather craving for food now because of his training and his recent breakthrough. So, he decided to eat the food prepared for him first. Ten minutes later... "That was a good meal!" Dylan enjoyed the meal that his employees prepared for him and satisfyingly patted his stomach. He cleaned and wiped the table himself. After which, he went to the kitchen and washed his own plate and utensils. "Okay, time for me to check on them. Hm, I might as well ask why they started to do this late night training." Dylan dried his hands and neatly arranged the kitchen before leaving. He went to the backyard and check for his employees. "What the-?!" When he arrived at the backyard, Dylan saw a scene that he did not expect to see. His employees were actually fighting with Ford Protection Squad with weapons on their hands as if they were fighting for real! He did not expect to see such a scene in his own backyard! There was a total of seven groups all in all. This was because there were only seven members of FPS available as the other three each had one limb severed and had yet to recover. The seven member present seemed to be in good condition already. Each group have an armed member of FPS fighting with at least ten employees! Their attacks were all done ferociously as if they were actually in true combat! He could see most of his employees receiving injuries and were bleeding from the exchanges while the ones they were fighting were still unscathe but it was evident that they were getting exhausted as well. After recovering from his shock, he immediately shouted, "Stop this at once!" "Sir Dylan! You''re home (here)!" At the same time, everyone''s attention was drawn to Dylan and quickly stopped fighting as they stored their weapons on their respective storage rings. "What is happening here? Why are you all fighting to the death? Can someone explain to me why a conflict arose?" Although Dylan sounded calm, his face wore a dark expression as his hands were clenched into fists. "Fight to the death? Conflict?" Everyone looked at each other with confusion for a while. When they saw their messed up appearances, they could not help but laugh as they understood what Dylan was referring to earlier. "Hahahahahaha!" ''Why are they laughing?'' Dylan found it weird that they laughed. He pondered in his head, ''Did I say something wrong? It means...!'' After realizing that, he started to understand that there was a possibility that he might have only assumed the things from the very start. Once this thought arrived, he knew that it might very well be true! Alas, it was already too late. "Sir Dylan, we were only training with the seniors from the FPS. As for conflicts, there is none... yet, I guess. Since there is no conflicts, no fight to the death is going to happen here. Pfft." Roland quickly answered Dylan''s question while holding his laughter back. "So, those injuries and wounds are..." Before Dylan could speak further, Larry answered, "These injuries and wounds are result of our lack of experience. We asked the Ford Protection Squad to help us feel what true combat is by making them simulate the situation as close as a true fight." Dylan felt embarassed that he actually let his impulse control him. This had never hapened before except for the time that Rose was kidnapped. He shook his head helplessly and said. "I did not know about your arrangements. When I saw that most of your were injured and some are even severely wounded at that, I thought that a conflict must have occurred. So I impulsively said those things." "Hehehe, it seems that even the calm Mr. Perfect, that a lot of gorls adore and go crazy for, can be impulsive sometimes." Ron teased openly. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Ron, I was planning to let you off the hook about what happened this morning but it seems like you haven''t learned your lesson from the last time. If that is what you want, I will only give you a quarter of your pay." Dylan indifferently said. "Ayayay! I''m sorry, boss. Please, forgive me this time. I promise I will be good and not do it again." When he heard how much of a decrease in salary he was going to get, his abruptly turned as white as sheet. He even went as far as trying to tear up and hugged Dylan''s leg, "Huhu... my salary! Please don''t do this, boss!" "Err, you shameless fatty! Haaayst, what am I going to do with you? Quit hugging my leg. I get it. I won''t do it today because all of you are training so hard. But this is the last time. Got it?" Dylan could not understand how this shameless fatty could be so hardworking in work but annoying when at home. However, when he saw the determination and concentration he had while training, Dylan could not help but commend his focus. So, as a reminder, he solemnly stated. When Ron saw the solemn look Dylan had, he knew that Dylan was dead serious when he said this is the last time. Thus, he eliminated any thought of teasing Dylan again because he might not even have a salary to recieve if he did. Understanding Dylan''s statement, he nodded repeatedly, "Understood, sir!" "Next time, it would be best if you include matters like this when you leave a note, so that I won''t disturb your training again. Oh, that''s right! I nearly forgot, who come up with this extra training period?" Dylan reprimanded his employees. Fortunately, he was able to remember. It almost slipped his mind. "It was me, sir." Mary took a step forward and meekly admitted. "Mary? But, why? If you wanted to do this kind of training, should you not have consulted me first?" Dylan asked with curiousity. "Sir, it was not entirely her own idea. We all wanted to grow stronger and that is why we arranged this extra training period at night." Jack thought that Dylan might scold Mary so he took the initiative and speak to let Dylan know that everyone had a part of this matter. "Exactly, sir. We were merely motivated by Sis Mary''s will to become stronger. Thus, we had an agreement to insert this in our daily schedule. We could not consult you about this matter as you were still busy with a lot of things and did not want to disturb you. We simply did not have the chance. So, please don''t get angry at Sis Mary. " Surprisingly, it was the cute and shy Marie who stepped in and defended Mary. When she said those words, all eighty employees nodded and pleaded. "Please don''t get angry at Sis Mary, Sir Dylan." Their words left Dylan and Mary to a daze. Both were touched by everyone''s actions of pleading to Dylan. "Hold on, I am not going to scold Mary. I was merely asking out of curiousity. I understand all of your intentions but I just wanted to ask Mary her reason. That''s all. You all did not need to plead to me. I won''t get angry over such simple matters. I am your eldest brother figure, after all!" Dylan flashed a very charming smile which made everyone calm down. But to the girls who all had a hidden crush on Dylan, felt their heart skip when Dylan said those words with that bright smile. They all blushed and lowered their heads as they thought, ''Surprise attacks like that are unfair, Sir Dylan.'' "So, what was your reason?" Dylan looked at Mary with a focused gaze that made the young maiden blush. But after breathing, Mary calmed herself a little bit and answered, "Sir Dylan, you see when we were on Dreamy Forest, I hated myself for not being able to do anything. I hated myself for being so weak that you all had to risk yourlife while I was being protected. Compared to you, Sir Dylan, we are very lacking in many ways. That''s why I want to use hardwork and determination to make up for our shortcomings. That''s why I want to train harder and when everyone listened to me, they joined me in training because we don''t want to be a burden." "I know you want to get stronger but we have to do it step by step. There is no need to rush things. If you push yourself too hard and become impatient, it might even be harmful to your cultivations and could even lead to cultivation deviation..." Dylan reminded his employees to become patient because strength is only gained from culmination of years of training and cultivation. Hearing Dylan''s words, the employees knew that Dylan was right but they could not help but frown. They really wanted to continue training but if Sir Dylan were to say to stop, they would naturally follow. But to their suprise, "But who am I to judge when I cultivate for twenty hours a day?" "Sir (Boss) Dylan , cultivates twenty hours a day?!" This left everyone in shock. Twenty hours was an absurd amount of time to cultivate daily! But somehow, they managed to believe his words because they knew what kind of work ethic Dylan follows. There should at least be thirty to forty minutes allocated for eating and another fifty minutes to one hour for hygienic activities. If Dylan uses twenty hours to cultivate a day, the remaining two or so hours are used for doing paperwork and meetings with other people. Sometimes, it may decrease if Dylan had to personally manage some business outside. But, normally, Dylan really used twenty hours to cultivate. But based on their experiences, they would often, maybe always, catch Dylan cultivating if they were delivering him news or lunch! It somehow makes sense! "No wonder sir Dylan''s cultivation speed is fast! He could actually cultivate so intensely everyday!" The other now understood how much blood and sweat Dylan actually puts in order to have this kind of talent! But how was he able to follow such a strict cultivation schedule? ''20 hours of cultivating daily?!'' Dennis, the captain and the entire Ford Protection Squad could not even fathom how Dylan was able to do it! But was it even possible? It was but it was overwhelmingly tiring! What kind of person could do that without rest? How can one keep being motivated to do that kind of dull and tring routine? "Sir Dylan, how do you manage to cultivate like that?" Shawn asked with a stunned expression. "Hehe." Dylan chuckled at their dumbfounded expressions. Dylan inwardly compared his current situation from his former, ''Well, compared to my schedule back on Earth, this is a lot more relaxed. Those times...'' The reason why Dylan was able to follow such a strict schedule was primarily because of his old schedule back on Earth when he was still the CEO of the Omega Trading Corporation. From project proposals, business partnership, interviews, conferences to parties, everyday was eventful yet dull at the same time for Dylan. Dylan''s schedule was so tight and packed that there was even an entire month where he only had an hour of sleep everyday! People only knew of his success and fame. Only a few people how much hardship and sleepless nights he had to go through in order to create the Omega Trading Corporation and maintain it''s standing in the business world.Especially when he reached the peak of his career... "Sir Dylan, are you okay? You seemed to be in a daze for a moment there."Allana suddenly spoke which broke Dylan''s state of reminiscence. "Hahaha, I just remembered something from that question. Well, the reason for that would be my thirst to not feel helpless ever again, to exact my revenge against Baron and to get Scarlet back from her clan! Just these three things give me enough reason to think of nothing but getting stronger as fast as I can." Dylan uttered with a cold look on his face. "So that''s why..." Everyone became silent after hearing his reasons. They all had the same reasons to get stronger but the amount of devotion they were putting was nowhere near as how much Dylan has done. Realizing this, augmented their wills and determination to become even stronger! "We understand, Sir Dylan! We are ashamed that we are not even as hardworking as you are! Thus, we will do our best to slowly reach the level of diligence you have! So, please allow us to have this additional training period." Jack stood in front and spoke for everyone while bowing towards Dylan. "Please, allow us, sir Dylan!" The others followed Jack''s actions and bowed. "If that is what you want, I shall allow it. Remember to know the limits of your bodies! Do not be imapatient and cultivate with a proactive mind." Dylan smiled proudly and left words of wisdom. Jack and the others were elated and replied, "Thank you, Sir Dylan!" Before leaving, he turned around and face Dennis and the FPS, he sincerely stated, "Please, take care of my employees, captain." "Rest assured, I will train them well." Dennis replied with a smile as he watched Dylan entering the house. ... In Dylan''s room... ''Remembering my time in Earth makes me nostalgic...During those times, Rose was my happiness, relief and everything. If it were not for her, I would have already suffered from mental brokedown. Rose... I wonder if she is doing okay on her own.'' Dylan suddenly remembered Rose amidst his nostalgia. His heart could not help but ache when he thought how lonely Rose would be now, ''I have truly wronged you, my love.'' Actually, it was even better for Dylan now that he was in the cultivation world as cultivating was enough to remove all lethargy and fatigue he had for an entire day. What''s most important was that he was able to do what he has always dreamed to do ever since he first read his first fantasy novel which was to cultivate! ''I will get strong enough to travel dimension as soon as possible and go back to Earth just to see you again! That way we won''t ever be apart again!'' Dylan swore. It was another reason why he was so keen in getting stronger and why he could motivate himself everyday to continue such a repititive and dull lifestyle. Dylan knew he only had less than three to four decades left before Rose dies of old age. That was why he would put everything he had just to see her again! 178 Chapter 178: You Will Never Understand! On the backyard... That night, Jack and the others trained for two more hours before finishing their training. They all thankfully bowed to Dennis and the other members of Ford Protection Squad, "Thank you for your guidance!" Mary took a step forward afterwards and stated, "We are very sorry for the inconvenience we have caused. We made use of your precious time." "It isn''t a bid deal. We are doing this out of our gratitude for Young Master Dylan. We have not really wasted our time here since our mission is to monitor and guard the young master until his safety is guaranteed." Dennis waved his hands and said. "Besides, we have benefited from this training of yours as well. So, it is not an inconvenience." "I''m glad to hear we were not bothering you in any way. Thank for answering our request, seniors." Scott also spoke up. "Just continue to cultivate well. I believe you guys have potential to be true experts in the future. Well, since your training is finished, we shall now take our leave." Dennis bid his farewell and took off. The employees also waved their hands and said their goodbyes. As soon as the Ford Protection Squad left, they all looked at the backyard despodently. The garden was in shambles, the ground had intersecting footprints, weapon scars, and small craters. The Jagger Wolves'' houses were even damaged which caused the Jagger Wolves to look sad. "We really got carried away, didn''t we?" Jack wryly smiled as he looked around him. He took the initiative to get a rake and shovel and said, "I guess we need to start cleaning up right away. We still have to cultivate on Boss Barry''s medicinal bath so we need to hurry." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Let''s go!" Everyone nodded as they each took different cleaning materials to clean the backyard and restore the damaged shelters of the Jagger Wolves. With their coordination and teamwork, the were able to get the task done in just thirty minutes. ... In Dylan''s Room, Dylan has been cultivating all this while. He trained his physique with his body strengthening method and practiced his foundational Spirit Techniques. Right now, he was sitting crosslegged and meditating on his Cosmic God Manual. Suddenly, a knocking sound was heard from his door. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "What is it, Barry?" Dylan opened his eyes and quickly identified the one behind the door through his aura. He stood up and walked towards the door to open it. He went to a table and prepared some tea. Just as he said, Barry was indeed the one who knocked on his door. Barry entered the room and closed the door. He sat on the chair near the table and smiled, "You were just done cultivating, weren''t you? Hahaha, you really are a cultivation madman." Dylan rolled his eyes and comfortably crossed his arms. He did not beat around the bush and straightforwardly asked, "I know you did not come to my room just to joke around. What is it? If you''re here to check on Rian, he is already sleeping. Apparently, going beyond his time limit was too much for his current body to endure. " Barry seemed to anticipate Dylan saying those words. He unhurriedly explained his readon to find Dylan, "I heard your conversation with the kids earlier. It seems like they did not tell you about it yet. So, I will be the one to tell you instead..." "Tell me what?" Dylan knitted his brows as he found Barry''s behavior weird. At the same time, he placed a cup of tea in front of Barry for him to drink. "Your employees are currently undergoing Bloodline Roots Awakening to increase the chances of having an Avatar of a higher grade than what they usually would have." Barry disclosed. " Bloodline Roots Awakening?" Even with Dylan''s current knowledge of this cultivation world, he was unfamilliar with the term that Barry just mentioned. He asserted another question, "What''s that? It increases the chances of having a high grade Avatar?" "It is normal you have not heard of it as this was created by my grandfather.My grandfather''s research on herbs made him to discover that there is a possibilty of increasing the grade of a person''s Avatar. This is through using the Vernon Bloodstone which is used to find roots or traces of heavenly bloodline in a human''s body..."Barry was in the middle of speaking when he noticed Dylan''s expression. He knew that with Dylan''s intellect he would have caught on by now so he purposely stopped. "So this Bloodline Roots Awakening... refines the bloodline with the trace of heavenly bloodline found using this Vernon Bloodstone into a complete heavenly bloodline?" Dylan''s voice was peculiarly monotonous and low at this point. "Indeed. The Vernon Bloodstone, a type of herbal treasure grandfather discovered, is able to detect traces of heavenly bloodlines within the human body no matter how faint. By creating a medicinal bath..." Before Barry could finish what he was saying, Dylan grabbed the collar of his shirt. Dylan looked at him with hostile eyes, "Barry, I respect you as my brother but you should know that this method is dangerous! The pain of your bloodline being refined and replaced anew is excruciating! A small mishap might lead to death! How can you let the kids undergo such a dangerous method?" "It was not up to me to decide. It was them who decided to continue with such a dangerous approach. I asked for confirmation yesterday and asked again today after telling them the specifics of this matter. But, they did not even hesitate upon hearing the danger and chose to continue. So, how could I reject them?" Barry elucidated his matter. "Don''t lie to me. You could have decided not to tell them and yet you did! How would they know about the Bloodline Roots Awakening if you had not told them!" Dylan was angered after confirming that Barring knowingky risked the life of his employees, his family. "Dylan, you don''t understand..." Barry tried to convince Dylan but Dylan countered hastily, "What don''t I understand? I know them better than you! They are trying to get stronger because of they don''t want to be weak anymore, to not be bullied again, to meet Scarlet.." Barry also interjected and also grabbed Dylan''s collar , "You will never understand their plight! Do you know what it feels to not be talented enough? No, because you have two heavenly bloodlines within you, a heaven-defying Magna Magnate, and top-tier business talent! Although you are met with great misfortune, you are also gifted! As long as you are given time, you are bound to be a peak level expert not only in the country but even the entire world!" "But the kids... despite having their own misfortunes, their gifts are not as ample as yours! Even if you gave them time to grow, their mediocre origins will limit their growth! They will never have the chance to even chase you when that time comes! The main reason why they want to be stronger is to stand by your side no matter what! That''s why they are willing to risk their lives! That''s why you will never understand!" Barry let go of Dylan''s collar as Dylan did the same. "I... It never occurred to me that way." Dylan was taken aback and laid back on his chair with a dismal expression. Barry''s words shook him as he was far too focused with his own personal reasons. "I was too selfish... They were trying to catch up to me and I was inhibiting them. I am only limiting their growths if this continues. I was just too afraid of losing one of them again like Leila and Frank that I became too protective to them. I was wrong." Dylan slowly stated in realization. "You finally admitted it. Yes, you wanted to protect but you should know the limits of that protection. You should let them roam freely and discover themselves while you protect them from behind. If you''re risking your life to protect them, let them do the same and watch each other''s back because that is what a true bond entails." Barry wisely said. "You''re really wise, Barry. Your appearrance makes me forget how old you actually are. Thank you for telling me their side. I will leave them to your care, brother." Dylan smiled gratefully from the bottom of his heart. "Hahaha, leave them to me. There is no need for thanks since we are brothers after all. So, just make sure you and Rian guard me well when I take the tribulation three days from now." Barry smirked and locked Dylan''s neck with his right arm. "Definitely." Dylan answered confidently. After a split second of thought, he inquired about the status of his employees worriedly. "Barry, how are they? Are they doing fine? I mean, will they be alright?" Barry explained, "As for now, yes. Because I was certain of the medicinal effects of the medicinal fluid, I only put 30 percent of the true solution to their baths today and for the first week to give their bodies time to adapt. I will increase it by 20% on the second and let them feel the 80% and 100% of the solution on the third and fourth week respectively. According to the records, this should be enough for them to adapt to the medicine for the entire month." Seeing Dylan''s anxious expression, Barry spoke with reassurance, "I also examined their bodies so I am pretty sure they can handle it. In case of emergency, I also prepared some pain relieving herbal fruits for them to consume when I prepared the baths on their rooms ealier. To avoid disturbing the neighbors with their screams, I had them ate fifty year old Silencing Peppers just like you did." After hearing his words, Dylan heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he questioned Barry once more, "After the treatment, what do you think would be the grades of their avatars?" "When I interviewed them of their heritages'' Avatar quality, it was mostly around 3 or 4. Because of that, I have 90% assurance that they will at least have a Grade 5 Avatar. If things go really well, then I am 60% certain that some would even get Grade 6 Avatars." Barry smiled with certainity in his eyes. "To increase the level of an Avatar''s quality, this method is really revolutionary! If this is disseminated in the future. The future of our country will be boundless!" Dylan genuinely appraised the significance of the Bloodline Roots Awakeing! "Yeah, it was really hard for him to find people to test the method with so he did it with caution. After several years of trial, he was finally able to come up with this method but it was still useless to the clan because it could only be used on those with Grade 4 Avatars and lower. Sadly, the research was not completed due to my grandfather''s death." Barry spoke with bitterness on his tone. Dylan stood up and said, "Then, how about doing it in your grandfather''s stead?" "What? That''s impossible! It took grandfather nearly 7 seven years to create this method. Not to mention, that grandfather nearly memorized very single herbal book in our library..." Barry shook his head as he immediately rejected the idea. "Didn''t you tell me that you had a spatial ring which stored your entire library and heritage? You just need to become strong enough to open it. Once you do, you can use it to learn about your grand father''s research and absorb the knowledge of your clan''s heritage! In fact, just this current research is valuable enough to be called a national treasure! I am sure that if you complete it, your grandfather willl be endlessly proud of you as the future clan head of the Vernon Clan!" Dylan convincingly encouraged. "Continuing grandpa''s research? I never thought of it that way! Doing that would let me leave his name for centuries to come! I''ll do it!" Barry excitedly said. He looked at Dylan and said laughingly, "You really know how to persuade and motivate, you cunning tycoon. Hahaha!" 179 Chapter 179: Visit to Eagle Sec The two brothers parted ways after their conversation. Barry went to the employees and checked on their status while Dylan continued his training and cultivation. ... The employees were all in their rooms bathing in wooden tubs folled with deep purple water. They endured the searing pain from the Bloodline Roots Awakening medicinal solution called Blood Purifying Liquid. The medical solution was currently extracting the roots of heavenly bloodline from their bloodlines and was minutely refining the bloodlines of the employees. Bullets of sweat rained down from their faces and back. Their sweat had a bit darkish in color bevause it was the impurities that were being forced out of their bloods. It may seem that their sweat were combining with the bath but it was not affecting the effects of the herb. The pain that they were enduring was exactly like what Barry described it to be. It was as if there was iron needles drilling themselves into every part of his body. But, at least this pain was barely bearable for all of them so they kept on absorbing the medicinal essence of their respective baths. They all instilled in their minds one thought, ''I have to be stronger!'' Two hours passed, the pain eventually receded and all of them noticed that the bath which was originally deep purple was now slightly murky. This was because they were all able to fully absorb the medicinal essence of the bath and forced out a significant amount of impurities from their bloodline. "We succeeded!" The boys cheered in joy when they finished with that gruesome experience. They all immediately got out of clothes and wore some clothes. "Although I feel really tired, I can feel my body''s condition has improved considerably!" Arnold did some slight stretching and felt an unknown vigor in his body that was not there before. "You''re right! My body feels lighter than usual! My mind is also stately clear! I feel that my body can move better than it used to!" Tom exclaimed as he did some jabs and kicks on the air. "Yahaha! I feel that I can beat Larry now!" Bill energetically said as he also started to shadow box. In his concentration, he was even able to create a slight air blast from his normal fist alone. ... Meanwhile, the girls who were just fone with their baths noticed something different that happened to them which was different from what the boys discovered. They did not immediately wear clothes, they only dried themselves with their spirit energy before approaching one another. "Wow, Sis Marie''s skin is much fairer and brighter than before! It has even that delivate elasticity with it!" Allana exclaimed as she touched Marie''s white skin. The stunned Marie could not help but slightly blush from her touch. "Allana''s skin not only got smoother, her hair is now silkier and softer than before!" Bridgette touched Allana''s smooth skin and hair as she noticed the difference to how it currently is from what it used to be. Allana got flustered and jumped out of Bridgette''s grasp, "Eek, stop doing that! It''s not like I''m the only one whose skin and hair got better. Sis, your face and lips is even rosier than before!" "Hehehe." Bridgette also blushed and smiled as she bashfully connected her two index fingers. "Can we first please dress up first? It''s embarassing to move with our bare bodies." Mary shyly said as she took a dress and wore it. With her words, her roommates realized her words and then took out some dresses out of their closets. After the discovery made by the two genders, the employees teased and messed with each other for fun for a while. Eventually, their banters died down as they all fell asleep. The next day... Dylan, Barry, Rian and the employees had another peaceful morning as per schedule and ate a happy breakfast with a lot of enthusiastic topics for discussion. They smiled and laughed as they watched their whole family make fun of each other and eat merrily at the same time. After breakfast, the group with the assignements for the day left while the other went on their way to backyard and continue training. Barry returned to his room and continued the concoction of the Blood Purifying Liquid. Rian also went to the backyard and flaunted his evolved form to Mary and the others along with his beast ''pack''. "They seem to be doing fine. Ah, it''s already time to go." Dylan changed into a new set of clothes after taking a bath and departed. His destination today was not Premier Hall or Soaring Garden Enterprise. It was the Eagle Sect''s Residence. ... Outside Eagle Sect''s Residence, four individuals seemed to be waiting for someone to arrive. These four individuals were the four sect heads which were in a pertnership with Dylan: Arman Heinze, Steven Bulwark, Yander Cooper, and Okemos Charon. "Grrr, where the hell is he? We''ve been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes now." Steven Bulwark impatiently said. In his impatince, he crossed his arms while his indes finger constantly tapped his right arms'' biceps. "Steven, you really got to change that attitude of yours. What if the Young Master hears you?" Okemos reprimanded. Steven was just going to retort when he saw a familliar figure. "It is fine. I have indeed been a little late. I was unfamilliar how to get here so I was somehow lost on my way here. I am deeply sorry for this." Dylan arrived and faintly smiled as he cupped his arms. "Oh no, Young Master Dylan should have just contacted us with the Spiritual Transmission Tablet and we would have sent experts to guide you to come here." Yander expressed his concern in a very polite way. "I merely wanted to explore the city and find my own path just like what I always do. I have caused the Sect Heads to waste their time waiting. So, shall we go inside?" Dylan respectfully prosposed as he went to the opened gates. The four nodded in his actions and followed him from behind. ... Within the courtyard of the Main Hall of Eagle Sect, Adalus Eagle, who was enjoying his freshly brewed morning tea, was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected news. "My lord, the four Top 200 sect heads that came yesterday have entered the residence. With them, is one of the three Rising Tycoons and the owner of Soaring Garden Enterprise, Dylan Ford." The servant quickly reported. "What?! Dylan Ford is here?" Adalus did not expect that Dylan would actyally take the initiative of coming to his sect. He originally thought that this person was still busy expanding his business like what the other two rising Tycoons are currently doing. ''Even Gayolei had not expected him to come here. Why would he come? Is it because of the lot? Were those four that close with him? I thought that he was only working with them professionally...'' Adalus knew the reports of the Business partnership that those five agreed upon but he always thought that it was merely a show for the public. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Hmph, if those old fools think they can use this kid''s status to negotiate with me, the must be underestimating me! Fine, bring them here." Adalus resolutely harrumphed as he finished his tea. "Yes, my lord." The servant quickly retreated after bowing. He went to Dylan and the others and guided them to the courtyard. Adalus looked at his butler and said, "Prepare some tea and light snacks." The butler silently acknowledged and left. Several minutes later... Dylan and the other four arrived at the courtyard. The sect heads looked admiringly at the decorations of this place and nodded with approval while Dylan remained unfettered by anything and calmly moved towards the table Adalus was seating at. "Greetings, Sect Head Adalus. We are sorry for our abrupt visit. I hope it is not of incovenience to have us here." Dylan walked unhurriedly and calmly greeted. "Greeting, fellow friends. Hahaha, of course not. What brings you to my humble abode?" Adalus amiably smiled as he stood up. He even cupped his hands to show his hospitality. What was surprising was that he was able to remain calm despite Arman being in front of him. ''He''s not agitated even with Arman here. I can see that he can still remain calm. Hm, it seems like this man is not simple. But that anxiousness is not as well hidden well...'' Dylan smiled in his heart as he looked briefly at Adalus But such actions caused the four sect heads to look at him with disdain. Aramn was the first to suspect his peculiar behavior. ''This guy is oddly respectful and affable. He must be up to something.'' "We are here to talk about the lot of land in your possession." Dylan directly went to his point and sat on the vacant seat direcly in front of Adalus. Seeing his calm attitude, Adalus inwardly praised him, ''To be so young yet indifferent and calm. Just his temperament alone makes him qualified as one of the three Rising Tycoons.'' "I am terribly sorry but I cannot let that lot be taken as I had already sold it to another client." Adalus put on an apologetic face as he frowned in front of them. "Lies! The records of the City Hall does not have any files regarding a recent procurement of the lot! The lot is already classified as an abandoned lot since the business you previously installed there went bankrupt!" Steven exploded in anger as he said. He really could not stand that smug face of this Adalus. ''Steven, you need to calm down. We are in the enemy territory. We need to be careful.'' Okemos communicated with Steven and did his best to remind him not to get agitated. "The deal was just made recently. So, how could there have been recordsIndeed, it was classified as an abandoned lot but according to the law, the lot is still mine since the deed is still with me. I can either choose to return it or pay for renewal. I paid for the renewal in the City and is planning the deed to him after settling the papers. I found no fault in my actions as it is within the bounds of the law." Adalus replied with a patient tone. "Then, what is the reason for the Eagle Sect supressing my Quadra Fang recently?" Arman could no longer bare it but ask. "Supressing? No, no, it seems like Friend Arman has misunderstood the actions of my Eagle Sect. My sect has just entered yet another growth period and the recent tournament where my sect destroyed, rather defeated, your Quadra Fang Sect is merely a result of our overall growth. In terms of business, it just so happens that the establishments of your sect is also at the region where ours are. So, please forgive me for such a misunderstanding." Adalus replied with an apologetic tone but was inwardly happy seeing Arman''s frustrated face. ''That''s right, Arman! I like that face you are making! Show it to me more! I want to see you suffer even more! My revenge for my brother only begins here!'' Adalus triumphantly laughed in his heart while maintaing a frowning face in the surface. 180 Chapter 180: Compromising 1 "Grrr..." The four sect heads could only clench their teeths as Adalus continued to provide reasons for his actions. Even if they were positive that Adalus was doing this for revenge for Arman, they could not retort as everything he just stated were within the articles of the law. They could not carelessly malign him as it could result to them being fetained by the Thundercloud Guards. Though they could easily bail out, the money expended and the humiliation they would recieve it is just what Adalus wants. It was a matter of dignity for them. "Is something the matter, my fellow friends? You four don''t look well." Adalus said out of concern but he was just feigning ignorance. How could he not know that these four were burining with fury because of him? He inwardly sneered in delight, ''Hahaha, you thought I was only trying to get back at Arman? I am going to make you three pay back for all the humiliation you have caused me all these years!'' "This... It''s nothing. We must have ate something unpleasant for our breakfast on that restaurant before coming here. Friend Adalus does not need to worry about us at all. With our cultivations, this is nothing." Okemos forced out a smile as he calmed his heart. "Ah, I am relieved to hear so. Oh, I forgot to tell you my butler''s tea is excellent and is very soothing to the body. Perhaps, it could assist you in calming your bodies and minds." Adalus smiled cordially. He gave his butler a meaningful gesture and the butler immediately poured another freshly brewed tea. "Thank you." Arman and the othrr sect heads thanked him and drank the tea. But they were still on their guard for poison as they drank the tea. Using their spirit sense, they found out that there was no unique substance within. Upon confirming, they quietly drank the tea and showed a cordial face, "Good tea." "How about you, Young Noble? Would you like to drink tea?" Adalus smiled brighter than before as he warmly offered. Behind him, his butler was standing, elegantly holding the teapot on his right hand while a towel rested on his left arm seemingly ready for any sort of mishap. Dylan sat there unmoving while smiling faintly. He respectfully declined, "I am honored to be offered with such a fragrant tea. I feel that the tea offers many hidden yet fulfilling flavors that my tongue might not necessarily recognize. However, I have already ate a proper meal this morning and am currently full. Thus, I would have to decline. I believe that one should not eat more than what they could chew. Am I not right, Sect Head Adalus?" ''Hidden flavors that the tongue might not necessarily recognize...? An unknown poison!'' The four sect heads quickly caught up with what Dylan was trying to say. He was trying to say that he will not drink a suspicious tea that might contain some kind of unidentifiable poison! ''So that''s why I did not find any poison! He must have used those rare colorless and odorless poison in the tea!'' They suddenly felt cold when they realized this. They did not expect that even with their guards up, they would still fall pray on the enemy trap! Adalus seemed to be more sly than what they take him for. ''But how did he know there was poison?'' The four sect heads all had this pending question in their minds. Was his spirit sense more powerful than them? But that is impossible since they were realms apart from each other. Their spirit sense has already been refined and strengthened with every breakthrough. So, how did he do it? "That is indeed a shame..." Adalus smile became less cheerful than before. It may look like it was because of Dylan''s refusal but in fact, it was because of Dylan''s underlying words, ''This kid... Could he have detected the poison?! But that is impossible! The Clear Silver Poison is not known to many even in a high ranking Inner Proximity City like ours! How could this boy know it?!'' "My apologies." Dylan said. Indeed, Dylan did not know a thing about the Clear Silver Poison but he definitely knew that people like Adalus who are as cunning as they are selfish would definitely attempt to eliminate any sort of threat in his way and repay hi revenge no matter what kind of methods he would resort to. ''There are also other reasons for my words and refusal. It was because of that butler. Those four might not have paid attention to him but I was paying close attention to him. If I didn''t see his hand on his ocket before turning around, I would have thought Adalus was the only real evil here.'' Dylan thought. Dylan observed that when the butler served the, tea upon entry, he used two hands but after doing so, he turned around and raised his left arm and when he turned back to face them, the butler was already holding that towel like how he he was right now. It was normal for a butler to do so but his seemingly untraceable movement was seen through by Dylan. So, he started to suspect the butler right away. "Since your original objective could no longer be achieved, I wonder what these friends will do afterwards? I know that you are all so busy with your work but could I invite you all to stay for just a little bit longer? It is a rare chance to make acquaintance and strengthen each other''s sects." Adalus came up with a superb idea and suggested. "I think that we have already caused too much of an incovenience to Sect Head Adalus. It is best if we leave after this brief snack." Yander replied with a sad tone. From Adalus'' words, he could sense that he was trying to stall for time, ''It might be because he wants to kill every singke one of us. I must ensure that Young Master Dylan is safe or else Azelmek might demolish are sects from his anger." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "I agree. All of us have important duties ro attend to as we are all leaders of sects in the city. This is especially so for Young Master Dylan who is currently expanding and is expected to jump to the top 100 in mere six months. Thus, we cannot tarry here any longer." Arman even bowed respectfully to Adalus just to ask for his resfusal. "Is that so? Then, I shall personally send you all off after this." Adalus showed an understand face. But in his heart, he cursed, ''Hmph, if it were not for that brat saying thise things earlier, these guys would have stayed a little bit longer and the set-up would be finished. But that''s fine. I still have many ways to kill them all.'' ''Nice going, everyone. We need to leave before Adalus completes his preparation. I feel this uneasy feeling that he is up to no good and might even aim to kill all of us here.'' Okemos thought joyfully. "Indeed, what should we do? Not getting the lot is really a loss. Ah, that''s right. We need compensation for our losses. I may not be abke to get what I originally came here for but I can still compromise. So, we will stay for a bit more." Dylan suddenly stated. "Huh?!" His words caused everyone including Adalus to be dumbfounded. They did not expect Dylan to actually say that when it is apparent that Adalus was planning some sort of evil ploy. "Young Master, please reconsider this." Steven thought furiously, ''Is there something wrong with his head? How could he notice that Adalus is deliberately trying to delay us?'' "Really? I would be delighted to accomodate you all." Adalus revealed a smile of rejoice. Nevertheless, he inwardly laughing in mockery, ''Hahaha, this kid must have lost his marbles! Could he actually be this dumb? Even the old fools noticed my urging was suspicious. It seems like I was worried for nothing earlier.'' Adalus suddenly remembered Dylan''s sentence earlier, he righteously expressed, "Young Noble, you said that you wanted compensation. Compensation for what? Have I wronged you recently? Is this the work of my subordinates? Tell me quickly for I shall seek justice for you, Young Noble!" "Your subordinates have not wronged me in any way. The compensation I was referring to earlier is something you owe us for the invalid purchase we did to your lot." Dylan smiled as he calmly crossed his legs and rest his intertwined hands on top of his stomach. A posture he only makes when he is negotiating with someone. "Compensation due to invalid purchase? What are you saying, Young Noble? I do not seem to understand your words." Adalus was taken aback as his face started to become a shade darker. Even the four sect heads did not understand what he was doing. "Our losses were quite big this time because of this predicament. When we went to the Thundercloud''s Real Estate Department, we paid the adequate sum in order to buy the lot. But after several days, we were still unable to find the deed until we found the lead that lead to Sect Head Adalus. Since the deal is off, with the amount of time that has passed, the money we have paid will no longer be refundable. Not to mention, the time and energy we have spent to do so. Haaayst, we have really suffered great losses." Dylan shook his head and wore a bitter expression. Then, he looked at Adalus straight in the eyes with determination, "Thus, it is only right for Sect Head Adulus to give us just compensation for terrible losses. I hope Sect Head Adalus understands." Adalus expression went back to normal and argued, "Wait, wait, how could have this been my fault? If only Young Noble properly investigated this matter, you would have discovered that I have already sold the deed. Then, Young Noble would have not suffered such losses." ''Hmph, you think you can take advantage of me and get some benefit from me! Then, you are severely mistaken, Dylan Ford! To think you actually paid for the lot in full already! Hahaha! How foolish!'' Adalus sneered at Dylan''s attempts. "But, how could the matter be investigated properly when there was no report nor record regarding you and your client''s purchase? Didn''t Sect Head Adalus say it himself that the transaction has only been made recently and has yet to be reported? Isn''t Sect Head Adalus currently contradicting whatnhe just said earlier?" Dylan purposely gave a look of confusion but quickly returned to his calm smiling facade. "I... this... It must have temporarily slipped off my mind. Please forgive me. Being old can be really problematic sometimes, hehe." Adalus did not expect that his own words to be used against. That was why he could only use such excuses to cover up his mistake and even forced out a chuckle. Dylan continued to speak with a faint smile, "Indeed, time is really a cruel thing. Setting that aside, did Sect Head Adalus know that unknown transactions are forbidden in the city? I heard that not immediate admittance of transactions within twenty four hours can be considered to be unknown transactions and is already punishable by law. It could even be considered as an act of treason. The punishement involves a big sum of money and a few decades of imprisonment.Oh, how could I forget that Sect Head Adalus has been a citizen of the city since childhood so he must surely know such law, right?" 181 Chapter 181:Compromising 2 ''He was actually just acting dumb so that Adakus would lower his guard that made him spout some unnecessary things that actually benefitted Dylan''s arguments! Is he really just a nineteen year old? Why do I feel like I am staring at some old veteran here...'' Okemos thought dazedly. ''He did not interact much earlier with Adalus to keep his presence small and he waited for Adalus to speak... Wait, but Adalus was just answering our questions... Does that mean he even predicted what questions we were going to ask?! This kid actually set this sort of intricate trap without us knowing...?'' Arman felt cold air on his spine as he was amazed and scared of Dylan''s intellect at the same time. But, how could they know that Dylan''s predictions and words were all based in the highly advanced psychology of Earth at the Advanced Digital Age that it could deeply explain myriads of thing regarding human behavior. As the greatest businessman, he needed to know the behavior and interest of his target market that required him to read an ample amount of psychology books which in turn helped him in his negotiation skills. ... Adalus voice sounded hoarse as his smile was incessantly twitching,"Of course, I know. It seems that Young Noble is concerned about me. Do not worry, I will have a very reasonable reason from me delaying the report. Young Noble, asked about compensation? How much did you pay for the lot? Was it around 60,000 gold coins?" "The full payment was sixty five thousand gold coins..." Dylan spoke while wearing a frown. Seeing his reaction, Adalus quickly looked at his butler who quickly brought large bag of gold and placed it on the table, "Within the bag is seventy thousand gold coins, you can check it before you take it if you like. I hope that this will be an equal compensation already." ''I can''t believe I am actually being threatened by this kid! This kid is actually this sly and cunning! No wonder, Premier Halls Azelmek, took him as his disciple and formed a partnership with his business. '' Adalus harbored even more ill intentions to Dylan because of this! ''I can''t let him grow more! He will become a huge threat to us in the future! Inhave to kill him!'' If earlier he was just trying to help Gayolei to get rid of Dylan, nor, he wants to personally kill Dylan himself. But, he knew that he could not do anything as the situation does not allow it, he could only quietly endure Dylan''s words, ''If only these three were not present, I would have easily decapitated this arrogant brat who knows nothing but let his glib tongue run freely!'' At that moment, Dylan quickly returned to his calm demeanor and di not even look at the large amount of gold coins. He had no doubt that within there was exactly seventy five thousand gold coins like what Adalus said earlier but his aim was different, "But the compensation I had in mind is another thing. So please, withdraw this money bag." "Oh, what could be this compensation you wish to seek for, Young Noble?" Adalus asked with a problem-filled look. He angirly clenched his fist that was under the table. He gritted his teeth behind his lips, ''This kid is actually testing me my tolerance patience!'' ''This... is actually fun to watch!'' The four sect heads felt and odd feeling of happpiness when they saw Adalus'' frustrated expression. They knew all too well what it''s like to face Dylan in a negotiationbut seeing how irritated Adalus was made them feel this, ''I am really glad he''s not our foe.'' "Since the money, energy and time we used was for getting a lot, so I think it would be better to get another lot of land from those which you own. And, I already have a place that I would like to have." Dylan stated with a calm and warm voice. "Young Noble, it would be best if you refrain from being too free-willed. Are you going to ask me to hand over the deed of our best business?! Asking me for a land in my possession is an outrageous request! If Young Noble does not change his decision, I would have to be disrespectful to you and force you out." Adalus who was already burning from anger was trying to remain calm despite his temper already at it''s limit. "What do you mean, Sect Head Adalus? I am not interested on the lot of your best business because I have already a lot in mind. It is that lot you have at Lightning Boulevard. The one that costs only forty one thousand gold coins. That''s all." Dylan conversed cordially as he looked at the shocked Adalus. "Really?" Everyone present exclaimed in shock. They did not expect that Dylan would only settle for a small plot of land which was far smaller than what he originally wanted. Suddenly, they could no longer see through Dylan''s intentions at all. "Yes." Dylan simply smiled at their confused and shocked expressions. He even jokingly spoke," That lot is what I want unless you willingly give me more. I won''t decline if you do, though." "Indeed, if that is what Young Noble wants as his compensation, I shall not decline any longer and to make up for your losses here''s twenty five thousand gold coins. Just take it as a token of friendship from me." Adalus smilingly said. Hearing that Dylan was not taking advantage of him, he could not be any more happy but there was still an uneasy feeling that has been bothering him, albeit, he did not know what it was. ''So, this is a show of cordiality. I never thought that this kid would actually be so capable in matters like this.'' Adalus offered the twenty five thousand as a mere act of giving face to Dylan and he knew that Dylan would most likely reject it to give him some face. "Sect Head Adalus is too generous and hospitable..." Dylan praised him with a warm smile. Adalus smiled when he heard this because it appears that what he thought of was what was exactly happening. But, suddenly, Dylan continued his sentence, "...it would be shameful and unbecoming of me to not accept such a gift. I thank you for such a sincere gift, Sect Head." ''I''ve been had! This kid set me up again!'' Adalus'' smile became stiff as he did not expect Dylan to actually accept the offer! It remained like that for some time while Dylan put the big bag of cash to his storage ring naturally. When he saw Dylan taking the cash, it was as if a boulder was stuck on his chest. No matter what amount of money that was, for businessmen, if it was not used for their benefit, they would feel a huge loss from it. But, Adalus continued to play along, "Hahaha, it is mere money but if it could strengthen my sect''s relationship with yours, then it would be worth it." "Then, I shall look forward to working with Sect Head Adalus in the future." Dylan smilingly said. After which, he put on an ''I just remembered something,'' look and said, "Sect Head Adalus, what about the deed for the lot I mentioned earlier?" "There''s a little bit of problem regarding this." Adalus spoke with a slightly conflicted expression. ''If you want to get something from me, you have to get it after suffering a little bit. Let me make things hard for you!'' "Oh, is there a problem?" Dylan replied with a surprised face. "There is. There are at least thirty employees that are managing that place. I know Young Noble wants to use that place and create branch of your business. Since your business is different from their trained jobs, they will not be of use to you. If so, my employees would definitely lose their jobs and might express hostility against you, so if Young Noble gives me time, I would be able to find another branch for them to work to. At that time, we can arrange for a time and place to meet and I will give you the deed." Adalus explained. In his heart, he really wanted to add, ''...and kill you that day!'' "So, that''s the problem..." Dylan appeared to be in deep thought, but contrary to Adalus'' expectations, he was able to quickly devise a plan."Sect Head Adalus is really a caring and considerate leader to his subordinates. My respect for you has incread yet again. But, fret not, your employees will not lose their jobs. I shall directly take them under my wing and train them. It would be too much of an inconvenience to them if they were to transfer in another workplace. Thus, I will take responsibility of their training while they work there." Adalus did not expect for Dylan to come up with a solution on the spot. Even if it was feasible, Adalus still argued, "But training them would take too much time, not to mention it would affect your schedule and your business'' growth because of the increase of people you need to give salary to. Even your cultivation might be affected by this action." "My employees are fully equiped with the ability and skill to train so they would mainly be the ones training them. Although I would also instruct from time to time, I believe that if my employees train them, they would quickly adapt to their jobs and even form friendships which would definitely be beneficial during work and the entire business." Dylan replied readily. "But, aren''t your employees'' schedule already packed? Young noble have three buildings that needs ro be managed and each needs to have at least twenty two or twenty five employees to function. It would be unwise to make your employees overwork." Adalus did not back down and said. Dylan was unfazed and quickly constructed a refute, "For normal people, that is indeed the case but my emplotees have been trained by me. Each of the three buildings only needs eighteen of my employees to function on daily baisis. Not to mention that I have already, more than a hundred employees working under me. They have shifts every day so my free employees can switch mentoring them everyday that way all of my employees would get to interact with the new employees. Would that suffice to answer Sect Head''s concern?" "...." Adalus became more amazed by how Dylan managed his business. It was not only him, the four sect heads were also in awe as soon when they heard Dylan''s arrangements. Dylan''s customer rate this week has already reached one thousand five hundred per day. To think that there would be only fifty four people entertaining and assisting them was incredible! Then those fifty four must already be experts at their jobs! Just how did Dylan train his employees? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. ''I did not expect him to be this talented! He must die!'' Adalus recovered. He lowered his head to hide the fact he was gritting his teeth but quickly sat upright and said. "To think that Young Noble actually has this much management skills. If this is Sir Dylan''s plans, then I am rest assured of my employees welfare." "Thank you for your trust to me, Sect Head Adalus. As gratitude, I shall be the one to go to the City Hall and finalize the documents." Dylan maintained his faintly smiled as he thanked him. "Then, I would have to trouble, Young Noble.'' Adalus raised his right hand and injected some of his Origin Energy onto it. He retrieved a scroll and a paper which he swiftly wrote on for moment before passed both over to Dylan, "This is the deed to the lot while this is the letter of approval for this trade." "Thank you for doing business with us. Thank you for the hospitality as well. We have consumed much of the Sect Head''s time already. We shall now take our leave." Dylan bid his farewell to Adalus. "It is a small matter. Do come again if you have time in the future." Adalus waved his hand and smiled. He also looked to his butler and ordered, Julio, escort them" Dylan said before turning around, "I will keep that in mind, Sect Head Adalus." With him, the four sect heads also followed and said their goodbyes to Adalus. A few minutes later... A black clothed man suddenly appeared near Adalus and knelt, "Sir, they have left. The faces of the four sect heads were getting increasingly pale as they walked together with Dylan Ford and their auras became weaker and unstable as well." "Excellent! Hahaha! That brat may have swindled a property from me but at least the Clear Silver Poison is working well to kill those bastards. You may now leave." Adalus laughed triumphantly. But when he looked to his side, the black clothed man was still there, he angrily scowled, "Why are you still here? Didn''t I tell you to leave?! Scram already!'' "But, my lord I have something urgent to report." The black clothed man remained kneeling. Adalus was still agitated but allowed him, "Speak!" "Our intellugence group found out that Dylan only actually paid for the installment fee for the lot which means they only expended thirty six thousand gold coins and not sixty thousand." The black clothed man stated. "What?! Why the fuck did you only tell this to me now?! What do I keep you buffons for?! SCRAM!!" Hearing that report made Adalus blow his fuse that he was restraining ever since Dylan came. He punched the black clothed man with full force that sent him flying to the door. After being able to regain his balance, the man quickly fled. The furious Adalus roared wrathfully, "The next time we meet, I will kill you, Dylan Ford!!!" 182 Chapter 182: Barry Does Business Soaring Garden Enterprise, Executive Office... Dylan and the four sect heads went back to his office at Soaring Garden Main Building.Right now, Arman and the others all had pale white complexions due to the Clear Silver Poison that Adalus served with his tea. Dylan had Barry come to his office to check the conditions of the four sect heads. Dylan approached Barry and asked him of the four sect head''s condition, "So, how are their conditions? Can you help them?" Just a moment ago, Barry just finished with his diagnosis. He looked at the sect heads and said, "From what you have described and what I have collected from the diagnosis, it is certain that you four have been poisoned by the Clear Silver Poison." "Clear Silver Poison?" The four sect heads were shocked yet depressed at the same time because they never have heard of this Clear Silver Poison before. What they were afraid was the possibility of having no antidote for this sort of poison. Thus, Okemos quickly asked, " What sort of poison is it? Is there a cure for it, Young Noble?" "Hahahaha..." Instead of answering Okemos'' question, Barry strangely started laughing out of nowhere. To others, it might not be funny but for Barry who had lived for five centuries, it was hilarious. He sarcastically thought to himself, "Me, a young noble? Looking at your ages, I might even be old enough to be your grandfather!'' Barry''s abrupt laugh caused the four sect heads'' expressions to darken. They thought that this young man was laughing at them for not knowing what the Clear Silver Poison which they found excessively arrogant. Steven''s hot temper started acting up again, "Are you mocking for not knowing something you know?! I know that ignorant is bliss but don''t think we are easy to bully just because we''re poisoned!" With Steven exploding in anger, the other three did not stop their friend''s outburst this time like they have always did because they thought that Steven''s anger was with reason. Even if Barry was the brother of theirbusiness partner, they really could not tolerate such arrogant behavior. Barry realized that his actions were somewhat inappropriate. As such, he quickly offered an explanation to appease Steven and the others. "Wait, you guys have misunderstood me. I actually have some emnity with some noble clans and have hated them ever since. So, when I heard you adressing me as Young Noble, I could not help but laugh in sarcasm. I apologize for causing such a misunderstanding." Hearing the murderous tone in Barry''s voice, they knew that this ''emnity'' is something to scoff off. Even Steven was taken aback when he felt that murderous vibe on Barry''s voice. Arman was the one who stepped in and said, "Oh, we did not know that Friend Barton actually has such deep grudges. We did not mean any ill intentions. Please do understand." "Don''t worry. Similarly, I had no bad intentions to you guys as well. Thank you for understanding." Barry smiled and quickly moved on, "To answer you question earlier, the Clear Silver Poison is Tier 4 Great Poison which is rare especially around this state. It got it''s name from being colorless and odorless and also from the heavy duty blockage it does to the spirit veins of the body. After which, it corrodes the entire spirit veins system until it is crippled. However, even if it is rare and has problematic effects, I still know of a way or two to cure it." "Really? Then, please kindly treat us." Yander was elated when he heard that Barry could cure them. After learning that there was a cure for this acursed poison, how could he not grop a hold of it? He even respectfully cupped his fist towards Barry while he spoke "Please treat us, Friend Barton." Barry''s description of the poison scared all of them and the pain they felt from the poison was becoming unbearable as time passes. Turning into a cripple who can''t cultivate was worse than dying for any cultivator. But, Barry actually rejected them by saying, "I''m sorry but no can do." "What?! Weren''t you brought here to heal us? Since you know how to concoct the antidote, why won''t you make it for us, Friend Barton?" Okemos was stunned by Barry''s actions. He thought that Dylan brought him here to heal us so why was he not helping them? "Firstly, I was not brought here to heal you but to check on you. Secondly, I won''t make one for you guys because it''s value is incomparable to what you think. It might not even be something you would be able to afford with ease. Thirdly, why should I make it for you when I have no relations to you at all? You are my brother''s business partner''s and not mine. Lastly, I am not a saint who will benevolently give you something for free. If you want something, pay for it." Barry enumerated his reason for not doing so. "..." The four sect heads was dumbfounded by Barry''s barage of reasons. They could not retaliate at all and could only speechlessly listen because all of his reasons were sound and was not unjust. They could not help but feel deja vu in this sort of situation because they felt that they were also in a similar situation before. This odd feeling prompted them to stare at Dylan''s directions and they could not help but think helplessly, ''No wonder these two are brothers, they are almost exactly alike...'' When Dylan sensed the gazes of the four, he thought that they were trying to plead to him and help them discuss things with Barry. Dylan calmly apologized, "I am sorry, Sect Heads, but even I cannot bare to stop my brother because his reasons are justifiable. I cannot help you with this matter anymore. Please, forgive me." "So, what are your decisions? I forgot to tell you that even for people at the Origin Palace Realm, they might not even last a day in putting resistance against the poison. Think wisely." Barry smirked when he saw that Dylan had no intention of speaking up for those four. ''These two are actually taking advantage of our misfortunes!'' The four sect heads were actually helpless in front of a 18-year old young adult and a 24 year old man. They thought that Dylan planned this from the very beginning and that he only brought Barry here to fork out some money from them. These two brothers were actually conning them right now and they could not even do a thing! "I am willing to buy from you. How much is the antidote?" Arman shook his head and conceded. He secretly commended this two in his heart and sighed, ''Life is more important than money... These brothers are really amazing. They are bound to reach the top in the future.'' "Sect Head Arman is truly wise. Since you are the first to avail the antidote, I''will give a ten percent off. Now, you only need to pay 40,500 gold coins." Barry smiled and quickly told Arman the price of his antidote. He amiably gave him a discount like a cunning businessman would. "Isn''t forty thousand five hundred a bit too expensive? Wait, does that mean it costs forty five thousand gold coins?" Arman currently understood why Barry told him that the price was not something that they could afford with ease. It was not just him, the others also realized this because it was actually this expensive! "You mean forty thousand five hundred gold coins is more valuable than your cultivation?" Barry gave him a sarcatic remark which made Arman''s face to twitch. He quickly took his joke back and expounded, "I''m just kidding. The reason why it is expensive because the price of the antidote is proportional to the grade of the poison. The Clear Silver Poison is a Tier 4 Great Poison that Intermiediate Poison Kings concoct so this price is only reasonable. Also, I only do jobs where the payments are given beforehand." "Fine, I get it. Here is forty thousand five hundred gold coins." Arman gave two large bags which seemed to contain twenty thousand gold each and a small one that contained five hundred. He felt his heart ache when he handed that much money over. He was depressed as this cause his originally one hundred fifty thousand gold coins was reduced to only a hundred thousand due to this transaction. "We will buy one too." The other three also handed over two bags which contained twenty thousand gold coins and another small bag that contained five hundred. They could only deeply sigh as they surrendered the bags to Barry. "Wait a second, you three, your payment is lacking." Barry made the three halt and look at him with confusion. He quickly cleared up the matter by saying, "I only allowed Sect Head Heinze to pay forty thousand and five hundred gold because he was the first to avail it among four of you. Now, the discount is no longer available and you have to pay the full forty five thousand bill." "You!! This is not fair!" The other three voiced out their frustration as they shouted while Arman who finished paying let out a sigh of relief. He was celebrating inwardly for being the first to speak out at least he was able to slightly reduce his losses. "I''m sorry. That''s my policy. First come first serve." Barry shook his head with no intention to bargain at all. Sensing this, the three sect could only unwillingly surrender another four thousand five hundred gold coins to Barry with defeated expressions, "Here." "Glad to do business with you." Barry victoriously smiled as he turned around and went to another room to concoct. When he left the room, the sect heads truned to Dylan and said, "You two are really similar." "Indeed, we are." Dylan chuckled as he served tea for the three and sat on his recliner while the four also sat on the chairs in front of his desk. While waiting for Barry, they discussed matters regarding the joint establishment they had. The three were surprised to know that Dylan actually found another lot that was very similar to the lot that they wanted from the Eagle Sect. Although it was not as perfect as the original lot, it was still a great spot to establish at. They also discovered the reason why Dylan wanted the small lot from Adalus. It was because it was only a few blocks away from Dylan''s Soaring Garden. The discussion went real smotth along with tye delegation of tasks among the five of them Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. An hour later... "I''m done. Here are the antidotes, you''ve ordered." Barry entered the room and presented four vials of the antudote. After waiting for an hour, the antidote was finished and the four sect heads took thirty minutes to expel the poison from their bodies. "Amazing! We actually broke though!" The medicine that Barry prepared actually helped them to breakthrough a stage which really surprised them! The grade of the medicine Barry prepared was really exceptional. In the end, they felt that their payment was not spent in vain. "Thank you for the medicine, you have given us, Friend Barton. Young Master Dylan, Friend Barton, we shall now take our leave." The four sect heads gratefully bid their farewells and descended from the Soaring Garden Main Building happily. After saying goodbye to Yander and the other three, Dylan and Barry eent inside the office again. Dylan then raised a question to Barry, "So how much did you profit?" "Hehehe, exactly sixty two thousand gold coins." Barry smirled happily and calculated his profits from this transaction. Barry returned the question, "How about you? How much did you gain from that Adalus?" "The same as you. Sixty thousand as well." Dylan replied with a smile but Barry remembered sometjing and said "Wait? How could that be? I thought that you paid thirty six thousand for thedown payment and reservation of the lot? Also, why didn''t you spilt the twenty five thousand among you, guys?" "Nope, since I am the one responsible for the materials and the production of the wine, we agreed that they would be the ones to pay for the lot and the construction of the store. The reason why we didn''t split the twenty five thousand was because we also had the agreement that we are only allowed to split the money that we have all contributed in getting. Since they did not contribute when I baragained with Adalus, all of this belonged to me." Dylan explicated calmly. "Then, I guess, it''s my win. I have sixty two while you only have sixty." Barry smirked. But Dylan quickly interjected, "You''re mistaken, the lot I got was forty one thousand adding the twenty five thousand gift, I got sixty six. It''s your loss, Barry." "Damn it, you annoying and crafty tycoon!" Barry cursed in his loss. "Hahaha, whose annoying and crafty? Weren''t you the one who dressed in brown cloaked in vehemently fought to annoy Brock Stone of Stone Edge Manor because you wanted to increase my profits during the auction?" Dylan laughed. "You knew?!" Barry exclaimed he thought he brilliantly disguised himself during the auction but Dylan actually saw through his disguise. "Of course. I found it weird you disappeared that day and the only ones I knew had those cloaks were Arnold and four more employees because I asked them to raise the bid by one if the bids started to slow down to keep the bids rising and only stop when the desried price was reached. Anyways, the only one who knows that plan other than the employees was you." Dylan smiled. "Haayst, it seems like you are better than business than me after all." Barry sighed. He really could not match Dylan in both business and psychology at all. "You''re way more knowledgeable than me and have excellent medicinal skills. And, once you''ve crossed your tribulation the day after tomorrow, who knows, you might even become stronger and more talented than me in cultivation." Dylan cheered his brother up. "You''re right. Two days from now, evolving my Avatar will be my first step for revenge!" Barry clenched his fist as killing intent appeared in his eyes! 183 Chapter 183: Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus Two days later... In a forest several kilometers away from the Thunder Clouds City, three figures were seen standing in a wide clearing in the middle of the forest. In th middle of that clearing, a man sat crosslegged as he was surrounded by a dozen eight inches small pots emitting herbal fragrance. This person was none other than Barry who was currently preparing to initiate the evolution of his Avatar and cross his Heavenly Tribulation. Several meters away from him, a man and a dog stood side by side. Evidently, they were the acting guards of Barry who was currently meditating and regulating his body condition to it''s utmost peak. These two were none other than Dylan and Rian who promised to stand guard while Barry takes his Heavenly Tribulation. "Hey, Dylan, why is Barry not starting yet? He''s been sitting like that for almost an hour now." Rian impatiently said. When he heard that Barry was most likely to face a Heavenly Tribulation, he was elated. He could not wait to eat more of the nourishing lightning that is released during the tribulation. "He needs more time in order to prepare himself. We are not like you who is an indescribable freak of nature who could eat heavenly lightining and withstand 12 rounds of lightning. Without ample preparation, we, humans could not hope to cross this calamity of ours. So, learn to wait." Dylan reprimanded Rian who was getting increasingly impatient. "Fine. Since there''s nothing happening yet, I am going around and stroll." Rian snorted and displayed his unruly attitude. After he spoke those words, he quickly disappeared into the woods that not even his shadow was seen. But, the direction he went to was obvious because of the path he made from carelessly using his power. ''While you''re at it, survey the forest if there is any hosyile coming towards us. Okay?'' Dylan communicated with Rian via their life connection. Although he did not hear Rian respond, he was sure that the puppy got his message because of their life bond. He also understood that he could not keep Rian to stay here and boringly watched over Barry so he just let him do as he pleased. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "Do your best, Barry..." Dylan stood there unmoving as he carefully monitored what was going on. He calmly observed his brother several meters away. After another half an hour of eerie silence passed before, Barry suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Dylan. "I''m going to start.'' Without even waiting for Dylan to react, Barry quickly grabbed a small pot and drank the medicinal liquid from within. After drinking the entire pot, he quickly placed it on the ground and refined the medicine. There was a small green droplet that slid over the surface the improperly closed pot and fell on the ground. That one droplet fell on a leaf of a patch grass yet nothing happened immediately. It was only after three seconds that passed when the patch of grass lost color and dried up. At the same moment, sweat started to rain down from Barry''s face as his face alternated from being pale white and bright red. Amidst the pain, Barry groaned, "Urgh!" "He''s starting with the Clear Jade Poison like he said." Dylan nodded. He recalled the conversation that he and Barry had as they journeyed to this particular forest. ... Two hours ealier... Dylan and Barry were within a steel carriage. The carriage seemed to be moving in fast speeds from all the rumbling sounds outside. They sat across each other and was currently having a dialogue. Barry took out a small pot from the storage ring that Dylan gifted him. He looked at Dylan and chortled happily, " Dylan, I did not expect that you would actually help me find a poison that was perfect for the refinement of the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom! This is defintely a heaven sent opportunity." Dylan who was sitting across him had a different expression compared to Barry. He had a concerned face as he uttered, "Are you really sure you are using that poison? If you use such a poison as a catalyst for the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom, won''t the two poison wreak havoc inside you?" "I know that there are hazards for doing this, but if the poison I use is only a common poison, the effects would be weak. However, with this Clear Jade Poison, it will try to clog up my already clogged up spirit veins and cause the poison within me to awaken. Not to mention the fact that this is a Tier 4 Great Poison which has disastrous effects that is enough to push the Tier 1 Grand Poison like the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom to fully awaken!" Barry stated solemnly. "Once the poison awakens and the two poison tussles, I will eat the Spirit Awakening Pill and call forth my Avatar. After which, I can finally use the medicines I prepared to convert the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom''s composition and integrate it with my Avatar." Barry said with unshakeable determination as he clenched his fists with fervor. "Still, there''s a large chance you might die..." Dylan worriedly said. Sadness covered Dylan''s face. He really did not want Barry to die because he has already truly became part of his family. But, he could not object in this matter because like his employees, Barry is doing his best to become stronger. "The truth is, I don''t care if I die anymore. The only thing in my mind right now is revenge! If this succeeds, I will be able to take my revenge and personally slay those old greedy bastards! If I die... no, I can''t die! I definitely won''t die! Like what I vowed, I shall personally slaughter them!" Barry''s face contained both madness and killing intent as he uttered those words. "Hahaha, that''s the spirit! I know I can''t stop you so I will be waiting for your success." Dylan said smilingly. However, his face suddenly changed into a weird look and said, "Setting aside the fact that it is hazardous, it was vomitted by Yander and the others as impurities when they drank your medicine. Don''t you feel slightly grossed out?" "You... you just have to remind that to me, didn''t you? Haaayst... Well, the Capturing Venom Oil I made primarily functions to entrap any Great Poison which is Tier 5 and lower and expel it out of the victim''s body through vomitting so I had no choice. But I did refine it thrice in order to be sure that it is fully sanitized and pure." Barry sighed with an awkard expression. "Hahahaha!" Dylan laughed merrily. Then, the steel carriage suddenly stopped which made the two brothers head butt each other from resultant force. A childish voice from the outside was heard, "We''re here." "Rian, you could have stopped smoothly, you know." Dylan still felt the searing pain from that headbutt just now. Rian suddenly growled, "Well, you shouldn''t have made me a horse! I''m clearly a dog, you know!" ... "Arrrghhh!!"Barry roared in pain as his face no longer alternated in color but remained bright red in color. He could no longer remain seated in a crosslegged position as he started curl up due to the pain. He even coughed blood after he fell on the ground. Odd flames started to burn on top of his skin. The fire had three odd colors which were violet, dark blue and dark red as it started to turn his skin into black and slowly corrode his whole body. He no longer sweat because as soon as it was perspired, they were quickly turned into vapor. "So, this is the Tri-fire Corrosive Poison?!" Dylan had a horrified look when he saw the effects of the poison to a person! It was actually no dofferent than the description that Barry described when his clan was all burnt death with no one left alive except for him. "Barry!" Dylan was alarmed and rushed in to help but Barry seemed to have noticed his action and stopped him midway. He screamed in a hoarse voice, "No! Don''t help me! I... I can do this on my own! Just stand there and watch!" Feeling the determination in his words, Dylan stopped and said, "I understand. I won''t interefere no matter how battered up you get but you have to keep the end of your deal! Don''t fucking die!" After saying those words, he turned around and went back to his original position. During that torturous pain which made one''s senses numb, Barry heard Dylan''s words and smirked. Somehow, he managed to sit once again and crossed his legs. He thought to himself at that time, '' You bet I will! I will definitely won''t die here!!'' With unwavering resolution on his eyes, Barry disregarded the pain to take another pot and crushed it. A jade vial appeared after crushing the pot which Barry opened. He lifted the vial to his mouth as a pill rolled out of the vial. The pill that he just ate was none other than the Spirit Awakening Pill. The pill quickly dissolved while it''s effects quickly took effect! Barry''s spirit core and spirit veins system was once again reconnected with each other and from the spirit core a unique force of energy was illuminating. Barry also felt the presence of his soul at this instant and could feel the connection between it and the light. After which, the white light started to brighten as it made it''s way out of the body! The white light started to depict the silhouette of a lotus with multiple leaves! A few seconds after, the light dimmed down and fully displayed the majesty of a vibrant green Twelve-leafed lotus. In its presence, it seemed as if all plants have to bow and pay their respects. It was a true monarch of nature! "The legendary Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus of the Vernon Clan!" Dylan gasped in disbelief. He started to remember everything that Barry told him about the Twelve-leafed Lotus during their trip. ... At the carriage, two hours earlier... Barry told Dylan the origins of their clan''s Avatar, "The Heavenly Lotus is the hereditary Avatar of the Vernon Clan and considered to be the strongest plant-type Avatar in the history of the Mystical Clouds Country. It''s origin is the mythical plant-type spirit beast, Heavely Twelve leafed Lotus that are also considered as emperors in the Beast World and its clan, the Heavenly Lotus Clan, is hailed to be one of the strongest plant-type spirit beasts to have ever existed!" Barry explained, "A plant unlike humans and beasts, cultivates with age. The older it gets, the stronger it becomes and the stronger it becomes, the likeliness of it gaining intelligence is also bigger. But, most of them fail to cultivate to the point where they could have their own intelligence because they are the primary prey of the natural ecosystem. But those who could reach that point, all became terrifying existences." Barry continued, "One of it''s common descendants are the Heavenly Six-leafed Lotus popularly known for its ability to quickly heal different sorts of external wounds and the Heavenly Eight-leafed Lotues whose healing capabilities outstrip because it could even regrow an already severed limb. Each leaf represent five thousand years of cultivation for the Heavenly Lotus Clan. And once it reaches the fifty thousand years old, the tenth leaf gives the Heavenly lotus consciousness and the ability to attack and control it''s surrounding plants!" Barry proceeded, "After the 10th leaf, the next leaf requires fifty thousand years to appear At the 11th leaf, it obtains the ability to borrow power from its surroundings and create overwhleming attacks in rapid succession. While the 12th leaf needs one hundred thousand, it allows the lotus gain the ability to devour the vitality of any living organsim and become stronger indefinitely!" "Normally, humans are not permitted to have such a overpowered avatar, but with the blessing of the Six Clouds Convergence, Charles Vernon was bestowed the Twelve-Leafed Lotus as his Avatar which allowed him to dominate and unify the entire country!" Barry told with excitedment and admiration! 184 Chapter 184: The Poison Demon "In my clan, the usual number of leaves in a Heavenly Lotus was nine or ten which areclassified as a peak Grade 6 Avatar or Grade 7 Avatar respectively.The weakest Avatar awakened of a descendant was a Heavenly Lotus with eight leaves which is still a Grade 6 Avatar. In the main bloodline, except for grandpa, my father and siblings all awakened Heavenly Eleven-Leafed Lotuses considered to be peak Grade 8 Avatars. Only grandfather possessed a Heavenly Twelve-leafed lotus like grandfather." Barry shared to Dylan. "Which means you would most likely get a Heavenly Lotus with eleven leaves right? But who knows maybe you are going to get a Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus like your grandfather did. You did mention that he once said, your potentia, seemed to even exceed his. So, maybe you could get one." Dylan said as he rubbed his chin. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. "That is unlikely to happen since it was already proven that the reason why grandfather because he was the progenitor of the bloodline. My grandfather''s awakening influenced his two younger brothers Avatars to also evolve and become a Heavenly Eleven-Leafed Lotus which were tha ancestors of the brach families. It was observed that the descendents would always awaken a Heavenly Lotus one leaf lesser than the ancestors." Barry denied that possibilty right away. Barry even chuckled when he remembered, "Besides, I did tell you that my grandpa only said that to me because my big brother bullied me. It was more of an encourage to work hard. I long realized that it was just a joke anyways." "Oh." Dylan let out an understanding ''oh''. Then, he looked at Barry and smiled, "It''s true that you might not be able to have a Heavenly Lotus with twelve leaves as your Avatar but you are just one step away in attempting to eliminate the only flaw of your Avatar that even your father could not do. You will become invincible and fearless in your fights even against a fire user." "Hahaha, certainly. I have to acquire strength equal to father''s and grandfather''s, no, I should aim to have greater strength!" Barry said resolutely. He emotionally gazed at Dylan, "Thank you for helping me get a Tier 7 King Pill like the Spirit Awakening Pill and a high grade one at that. If it was before, I would have only dreamt of acquiring a pill that costs thousands of spirit stones. Thank you, Dylan..." Those simple words contained an unmeasurable feeling of gratitude. Indeed, for the past hundreds of years, Barry was forced to live in a secluded way. Although he opened a herbal shop before to satisfy his needs, he could not fully use all of his skills and knowledge in fear that he might be killed in the process because of his low cultivation. ''Being only at the 11th level Awakened Spirit, I was forced into living a commoner''s life pf stagnancy. But thanks to him, I can finally do what I have always wanted." ... Back to the present... "Your grandfather did not joke when he said that. He definitely sensed that you had it in you..." Dylan smiled as he witnessed the emergence of the Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus. "The Spirit Awakening Pill from Master worked like a charm hehe." The Spirit Awakening Pill is a pill whose function is to awaken the Avatar of a practitioner like what it''s name suggests. It is extremely helpful for those people who are unable to initiate the awakening of their Avatars on their own. The Spirit Awakening Pill could not only awaken an Avatar but it could also raise it''s grade by one. Even though it is only one grade, the degree by which it could affect one''s future growth was heavily sought for. For example, if a Grade 5 talent uses this pill, his talent will advance to the Grade 6 and enter the realm of heavenly talents! The limitation it has is that it could only be used once and takents whose grade is already at grade 8 can no longer advance their talents anymore. Although it is only used by Spirit Gathering Practitioners and is classified as a Tier 7 King Pill, the level of understanding of the law of pills it requires might not necessarily be possessed by a Tier 9 Grandmaster Alchemist. The truth is that the reason why it is labeled as a Tier 7 King Pill is because it''s ingredients are only High Earth Rank Herbs but the laws involved in creating includes the basic understanding of the soul and the spirit core. That is why Barry told Dylan that only way to fix his cultivation is to find one of the Alchemy Saints. Right now, the Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus created some sort of semi transparent forcefield around Barry. It was not only that it was not just borrowing energy, actually absorbing vilatilty of all the plants in it''s surrounding. Soon, the forcefield became light green in color due to the abundance of life force despite being transparent. Dylan who was watching on the side, could not help but gasp, "Is that the Endless Vitality Domain that True King Vernon had like in Barry''s stories?!" According to Barry, the Endless Vitality Domain is an innate domain skill of the Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus. Within the domain, all sort of life energy of plants are devoured by the Heavenly Lotus and converted into the user''s own energy. If mastered, the domain could spread into miles and its effects would also take a steep spike upwards! This was the domain that Charles Vernon was feared for. The seemingly inexhaustible vitality summoned by the Heavenly Lotus was alleviating the pain that Barry was currently feeling. Not only that, it was also trying to purify the two poisons while expelling them out of Barry''s stsrem. Suddenly, the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom reacted at the appearance of the Heavenly Twelve-leafed Lotus! Threatened by the life force, the poison actually exited out of Barry''s body voluntarily through his mouth! But things did not simply end there as it also took the Clear Silver Poison along with it. By the time the two poisons was expelled, the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom actually devoured the Clear Silver Poison! The fused poison was actually morphing itself behind Barry and turned into a figure similar to humans but there were strange things about it. It had a thin tail, a pair of liquid wings and a pair horns portruding out of its forehead but the most disturbing one that Dylan observed was that it actually looked like Barry! "What is that? Wait... is that the extremely rare Poison Demon?!" Dylan could not believe his eyes as he just saw a Poison Demon appearing right in front of him. There was only very few instances that a Poison Demon appeared in the Mystic Red Clouds or even in the entire Mystical Clouds Country. It was so few that it could be counted by hand. ... "Tha poison is gone?" At the same time, Barry also opened his eyes. He scanned his surrounding and he was as shocked as Dylan when he saw everything. He had an incomparably excited face and even trembled when he saw the Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus above his head. "Is that... a Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus?!" "This... Grandfather, can you see this? I actually manage to awake the same Avatar as yours! I... am sorry for doubting your words. I swear to avenge you and the clan!" Barry cried slightly and looked to the sky as he was overflowed with emotions. "Hm, this aura... the poison?!" But when his gaze landed on the Poison Demon, he wore a dumbfounded and confused expression, it was also at this moment that the Poison Demon opened his eyes and smiled from ear to ear literally! Seeing his face smiling that extended up to his ear, Barry''s expression had an indiscernable look on him. "..." ... "But how could a Poison Demon survive within Barry''s body?! Poison Demons are reported to be born in areas where naturally existing poison are found and only after several thousands of years could it finally form. But Barry''s body is not a place like that. Why does it look like Barry? How could it have been born in the first place?" Dylan did not understand it at all. While Dylan was wondering about that, he saw Barry and the Poison Demon talking to each other but he could not seem to hear their words. This strange phenomenon caused Dylan to wonder, "Could it be that even sound cannot travel past the Endless Vitality Domain...?" ... Within the Endless Vitality Domain... "You... you''re the Tri-fire Corrosive Posion, right? How did you become a Poison Demon? Most of all, why do you look like me?" Barry shouted solemnly. He was feeling really uncomfortable seeing his face in front of him and it was even more so that it appeared in a demonic form. The Poison Demon actually knew how to speak but his voice was very unpleasant and shrill, "It is naturally because I was born within you. So, technically speaking, you''re my parent. But unlike humans where children love their parents, we, poison demons are born to kill our parents!" "What?!Wait, by live inside me, you mean you acted like a parasite and treated me as your host? But, how is that even possible?! How can you survive in such an environment when you are supposed to be born in extremely toxic environments?" Barry roared as he looked at the Poison Demon. "Ding! Ding! Ding! You actually got it right! Indeed, I was like a parasite in your body. Since I am going to kill you anyway, you might as well know how I came to be as my parent." The Poison Demon stated in contempt. He was going to explain to Barry how he came to be because that was how confident he was that he could kill Barry after. The Poison Demon started explaining, "Yes, you''re body was not a toxic environment but your body actaully had truly immense life force and each time the me without conciousness bombards with it, I actually gain a very minute amount of life energy and it was only three hundred years later, where I came to life. Your furstrations, rage and sadness also helped to create me. Without spirit veins to circulate energy with, I freely roamed your system without you knowing. I continued doing what I did based on instinct until I learned to think another century later. I continuously fed on your life force bit by bit so that you would not even notice." "..." Barry was so speechless that he was pale white. He did not expect that there was a monster living inside of him without even knowing. The Demon continued with his story wearing a sinister expression, " I already had it planned out when I was going to kill you but you met that guy named Dylan. He ruined my plans when he told you this method so I panicked but fortunately, you did not know of my existence yet. So, I patiently waited until I discovered your plan. I created a plan that would counter yours and did it. Now, I have advanced to the Tier 3 Grand Poison after swallowing the Clear Jade Poison! But, what I did not expect is that you actually had a Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus." "Nevertheless, the end is still the same because I am powerful enough to squah you like a bug!" The Poison Demon maniacally laughed. 185 Chapter 185: The Fusion Incites Heavens Wrath "Squash me like a bug? Hmph, that means you don''t even know the slightest thing about my Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus. That means you will never be able to defeat me, much less kill me." Barry smirked which actually served as provocation. The arrogance hidden deep inside his bones that was supressed for over fifty decades has finally shown itslef! "Me? You''re saying I can''t defeat you? You''re even more foolish than I thought! I know that it could devour vitalty from it''s surroundings and foes which will strengthen you indefinitely! But you think I don''t know the effects, right? I''m sorry to disappoint you but I know that this three-meter radius circular domain is it''s range and you can only absorb life force within this domain." The Poison Demon laughed like what Barry just said was the most hilarious thing he has heard yet.. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. The Poison continued his maniacal laughter and scowled,"So, I would just have to exit the domain and prevent you from absorbing any of my vitality. But even if I didn''t I am still a Tier 3 Grand Poison capable of killing even kill Mortal Moulting Experts! Hahaha, I think that even my spit is enough to kill an arrogant and naive Spirit Gathering Realm like you! Stop dreaming fool, I can kill you however I want. Hahaha." Amidst his laughter, The Poison Demon noticed that Barry actually chuckled like he was holding back his laughter, "Pfft." Hearing that greatly insulted the Poison Demon so he arbritarily shouted, "Human, what are you laughing about? Do you actually believe that I won''t dare kill you right here and right now?! You underestimate me too much!" "I am not making fun of you or underestimating you but I was just excited that I could finally cultivate and battle once more. You''re right. You are incredibly strong compared to any practitioner at the Spirit Gathering Realm but I should remind you that I am not just any cultivator at the Spirit Gathering for I possess a Grade 9 Avatar! Since you''re the one who was underestimating me, I will show you what I''m truly capable of and crush you!" Barry swore and taunted the Poison Demon with a provocative gesture. ... At the same time, Dylan who was thinking of ways as to how to help Barry suddenly received a spirtiual message from Barry, ''Dylan, retreat about several hundreds of meters for now and call Rian for help. Currently, I still can''t beat him because of the large disparity in strength but stalling him until Rian returns is not a problem at all.'' ''But I can help you stall for time. It will be much more efficient and safer that way. Plus, I can still contact Rian whilst in battle. With Rian''s speed, no matter where he is in this forest, it will only take one to two minutes. Let''s stall him together.'' Dylan urgently transmitted. ''Bro, I wanted to face this tribulation alone as much as possible but his strength is just too much for me right now. So at least let me stall him myself until Rian returns." Barry emotionally sent that transmission. In just a moment, Dylan nodded. Using Wings of Lightning, he turned around to retreat just like Barry said as he sent one last message, ''Okay, I trust you. I have already told Rian and he said that he''ll be here in two minutes. So, don''t die!'' ... "I don''t have any intentions of dying here." Barry smirked. Seeing the livid expression on the Poison Demon, he knew that it was unaware of the dialogue that Dylan and him had just now. He taunted him in order to make it focus on him and he was able to successfully do so. "Just you wait, I will definitely make you regret saying those words!" The Poison Demon no longer dillydallied and directly went for the attack! Its wings flapped backwards and cunningly exited from the transparent light green domain in an instant. With that single action, he was able to cross approximately seven meters! *Swoosh* *swoosh* "I knew you''re going to do that. But let me tell you that what you said about my Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus is only half-right. Hehe." Barry smiled as he gave chase to the Poison Demon. The static life force in the Endless Vitality Domain around him suddenly spiralled towards him and created a light green whirlpool of vitality. The vitality that Barry absorbed shockingly raised his strength by several folds! His cultivation rose from 11th Awakened Spirit Realm to the Pinnacle of the 15th level Awakened Spirit in the blink of an eye! This ridiculous sort of strength flabbergasted the retreating Poison Demon, "It could raise his power by almost four levels! What kind of abnormality is this Avatar of his?!" ''I can''t allow him to drain my vitality!'' The Poison Demon furiously flapped its wings and flew upwards but before he could do it, a familliar scene happened. The Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus was actually drawing more strength and vitality from the plants nine meters around Barry! Behind Poison Demon, he could see that there was still a faint boundaryone meter away from him. The Poison Demon was beyond shocked that the Endless Vitality Domain actually had two layers! He knew he had to escape quickly but the next instant, dozens if not hundreds of vines and extended leaves of different plants tried to wrap the demon. He struggled to break free from such an entanglement but he was outnumbered by the sheer numbers of the vines that licensed aound him. Thus, he was eventually captured and wrapped like a cocoon. Seeing the incomprehensive shock on the demon''s face, Barry smiled contemptuously at the Poison Demon. "The Endless Vitality Domain has an inner and outer layer. The outer being the one which extracts a fraction of the life force of a plant and the inner as the site in which all of that life energy are absorbed and refined. Within the domain, my control over plants is supreme!'' The great amount of vitality derived from the life force of the surrounding plants once again surged towards Barry! The immense vitality that was rapidly being converted into spirit energy actually compressed and condensed into it''s higher form which was the Origin Energy! With the condensation of Origin Energy, Barry has officially stepped into the realm of the Origin Palace! His level quickly continued to soar once more and only halted once it reached the Peak of the 16th level of the Awakened Spirit Realm! ''The greatest strength of the Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus is indeed the absorption of vitality that allows one to jump an entire realm!'' Barry smiled confidently as he felt the endless vitality coarsing through his body. But to his disappointment, his confidence would be later shattered by the sudden turn of events. The cocoon oddly expanded on different spots, then it eventually swelled to the point that it exploded in flames! The Pouson Demon pierced out of the cocoon and soared to the scar. His entire body was clad with three oddly colored flames. His appearance no longer resembled that of Barry''s but instead, a true flame demon from the unerworld! "Hahaha! I actually forgot of your greatest weakness and the bane of all Vernons, extreme vulnerability against fire! With my Tri-fire Demon form, you are not even a month in my eyes!" The Poison Demon got out by entering his Tri-fire Demon form which could be achieved by turning nearly eighty percent of his body into flames and reducing his poison composition to twenty percent. After that, he merely ignited himself and the plants covered by Barry''s aura quickly evaporated and burned the grass easily. He laughed as he assaulted Barry with nine poison fireballs! *Zzzhhh* "Damn it!" Barry felt reality once more when he was reminded of their clan''s curse. But he gripped his hand and calmed himself. He looked to the incoming foreballs and quickly commanded the plants who have water elemental affinity and block the flames by making an aqua wall. But despite the wall being formed, it quickly detriorated but it was just enough to help Barry run from his position. The Poison Demon ignited a flame on his arms and placed it on the ground. The small poison flame encircled the two of them and formed a small battlefield. With a thought, the Poison Demon intensified the combustion of the poison flame until it reached two and a half meters high and barred any sort exit, "Hehe, you won''t escape from this!" "You..." Surrounded by flames, Barry felt powerless and he could feel his body get weaker every time a second ends. His aura could not circulate properly and his body''s homeostasis was in chaos. Instead of becoming redder from the heat, he was turning as white as paper. The Poison Demon formed more than a dozen fire balls towards Barry. He crazily laughed as each fireball hit it''s mark and scorched a part of Barry''s skin. "Tremble in fear! If you beg, I will do it as swift as possible. Hahahaha!" *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* But contrary to his expectations, Barry smiled despite his scorching injuries. An uneasy feeling emerged in the demon''s mind when he saw that smile. After that he heard Barry saying something like this, "Perfect." "What are you babbling on about?! Your aura is clearly getting weaker! How can you smile!" The Poison Demon roared. Dylan was barely standing and despite being morale the skin his arms were scorched black. The same happened to his feet where his right femur could be faintly seen. "I was just saying how perfect this scenario is. With this flame as the blockage, not even Rian would be able to see what is going to happen here. Thus, I have to pay you back equally!" Barry put both of his arms on the middle of his chest as he chanted a mantra. "What is this...?" Barry''s action lead the Poison Demon to be frozen on the spot as he did not think such things would actually happen here. By the time he regained his sense, Barry also finished chanting a mantra and was already near him. "Sacred Vernon: Life Imprisonment!" Barry pressed his palms to the chest of the unprepared Poison Demon. The Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus and his 20% of his vitality used formed into ten chains which bounded each limb with two chains, one for his torso and another for his neck. Now, the Poison Demon was floating while entrapped. Sacred Vernon: Life Imprisonment is a technique used to forcefully connect two peoples life and bind the target to the user for life. The target is bounded by chains and is forced to go where the user wants to unless he/she is permitted to go somewhere. But if the user wills it that the target shall never get out of the chains than it would be impossible to do excape. The prerequisites for this technique is to offer 20 percent of his grades and a target has to have deep grudges or grievances towards the user. "This? What is this! You wasted your life to capture me?! Do you really think you could subdue me?! I will never submit to the likes of you!" The Poison Demon panicked becaused it did not know what was going to happen next. He did not expect that Barry would actually sacrifice one-tenth of his life to capture him. "Hahaha, you got no choice now because I am going to start!" Barry returned to his spot earlier and collected his vases. After breaking a certian vase and getting the pill inside, he ate another Tier 7 King Pill named Heavenly Lotus Pill that was made to recover all external wounds in a minute. After a minute, his injuries were quickly treated. When he sensed that Dylan and Rian was already nearby, he quickly sat crosslegged and absorbed the Poison Demon by placing the Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus which continued to absrob and assimilate the energy of the Poison Demon which was very compatible to his. "Noooooo!!!" The Poison Demon struggled desperately with fear on his eyes! Barry quickly used his herbal solutions and started the reconfiguration the composition of the poison demon. But just as he started, dark clouds shriuded the once blue sky with a cloudy dark grey shade. The dark clouds continued to accumulate in order to become bigger and stronger! Yellow lightning sparks and rumbling sounds of thunder could already be heard. It seemed like the Heaven''s does not permit this fusion. 186 Chapter 186: Eight Unknowns Dylan did as Barry requested and distanced himself when Barry and the Poison Demon fought. He was observing every bit of the battle while using his Heavenly Eye. Although it was taxing, it helped him oversee the entire battle. When he saw that Barry seemed to be in control of the battle, he watched like a bystander. However, when the Poison Demon transformed to his Tri-fire Demon Form and effortlessly broke out of the plant''s encirclement, Dylan immediately moved as fast as he could because he knew the devastating effects of flames to Barry after their discussion in the carriage earlier. "The Poison Demon could turn into a Flame Demon as well?! Oh no, Barry!" When he was just building up speed, it was also that time that the Poison Demon created the fire circle and enclosed both of them. A foreboding feeling crept into Dylan''s heart. Suddenly, the flames seemed to weaken and flicker unstably due to the Poison Demon''s daunted mental state. Although Dylan did not know the cause, it helped him view what was happening inside. Along the spaces of each flickering flame, he was vaquely able to see Barry smiling and performing handseals that seemed to be some sort of secret skill that originated from the Vernon Clan. He quickly remembered the Sacred Vernon Arts that Barry mentioned to him. Although Barry did not explicitly explain the technique, the words, ''each technique requires us to sacrifice our vitality'' left a deep imprint in Dylan''s mind. "Damn it, don''t tell me you''re using those skills again! You said you wouldn''t!" "Jiyan (Dylan)!" While Dylan was dashing to Barry''s rescue, he also encountered Rian along the way who was still eating some sort of spirit beast meat weighing anout five kilos on his mouth which made him spout some wierd sounds. In another second, he crunched the whole meat and devoured it awhole. "You''re finally here. You glutton! What took you so long?" Dylan scolded Rian for taking too long. Normally with Rian''s speed, the little rascal could reach where they were in two minutes but it actually took him five minutes to get here. This made Dylan rather angry because if he were here earlier Barry would not have resorted to use such methods. "I fought a Core Transformation Beast which was really hard to kill so it took some time. I''m sorry." Rian lowered his head when he saw Dylan''s livid expression which lead him to crash to a tree. He concluded that Dylan was scary when he was pissed off. Avoiding Dylan''s gaze, he changed the subject when he felt the changes in the sky, "Dylan, look up, those clouds are..." Dylan followed Rian''s words and he saw giant torrents of clouds converging on top of Barry. A dark expression covered Dylan''s face, "But he''s not even done fusing with the Poison Demon! Why is it already trying to destroy Barry when they have not even..." His words caused him to somewhat understand the intention of the heavens and mumbled, "It''s trying to destroy Barry before he could fuse with the Poison Demon...?" "But why?" Rian also carried a worried look on his face. His running speed somewhat became slower due to this. "I am not exactly sure why the heavens is doing this but I can guess that it''s most likely related to us having simultaneous heavenly tribulation just several days ago." Dylan spoke of a rough guess but in truth, Dylan could already deduce the reason why. ''The both of us passing the heavenly tribulation at the same day must have angered the heavens which warranted surveillance. Now, another person with heaven defying potential has appeared yet again... The heavens won''t sit by watching three rebels appear at a single world...'' Dylan thought grimly. Dylan almost got all points but he missed the detail that Barry''s tribulation clouds were already as big as his. This meant that Barry''s potential were no less than Dylan''s. Another fact that Dylan did not know, was that there was never an instance in which three heavenly tribulations happened within a month in the entire Great Mystic World. After a few more seconds, Dyla and Rian finally arrived at the forest clearing. But they did not approach Barry because they were afraid that they might not disrupt his concentration while meditating. They could only stare at the sky and watch as the lightning vortex formed and pray, "You have to live and will definitely live, Barry!" Dylan spoke and said without looking at Rian, " Rian, if the time comes that Barry''s waves exceed 9, you have to quickly step in and defend Barry." "En." Rian seriously nodded. They both stood there ready to move to rescue Barry while being mindful of what was happening to their surroundings to repel any sort of interference for Barry''s tribulation. .... The flames around Barry has already receded. Among the twelve, only six remained unbroken. Barry was currently sitting in meditation as he tried to convert the flame to poison and create a 60% and 40% of poison and fire in composition. ''Everything is progressing smoothly...'' The four pots that Barry used were all to stabilize and to convert the poison to his desired extent. The medicinal fluids he created were all working as perfectly as planned. The Poison Demon''s conciousness has already faded from the constant weathering of the four fluids which contributed to the partial scattering of his conscience. Without the resistance of the Poison Demon, the medicinal fluid was able to reduce the fire-poison ratio from 80-20 to 70-30 in a matter of minutes. With caution, Barry started the process of contrast polymerization by integrating minute amounts of the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom which were already refined. He repeated in his mind, ''Make no mistake... make no mistake..'' Each step requires ability and meticulousness because a mishap could lead to disastrous outcomes. A lapse of concentration would result the Tri-fire Corrosive Poison to burst out and spread all over his body which may result to him being crippled or even dying directly on the spot. A slight mistake might lead to stagnancy and mediocrity. Thus, Barry was extremely elaborate with his work. ''What the...'' But before he could proceed with the conversion any longer, he felt his hair stood all over. Following that weird feeling, he felt an unusual intuition of impending doom that made him look up and saw gigantic mass of grey clouds covered the sky. This action greatly disrupted his concentration which triggered the poison to react violently. "Fuck! The poison has..." At the same time that Barry cursed the poison for going out of control, a lightning bolt came crushing down in the most opportune time! *Tzzzzzk* *Tzzzzk* "?!" The yellow lightning came so abrupt that Dylan and Rian were caught off guard. They were momentarily overcome by shock that delayed for over a second. That second was also the only time that the heavenly lightning needed in order to cross the distance between it and Barry. By the time they were able to react the lightning had already hit Barry! *Boom* "Nooo!" The two screamed as they watched the lightning envelope Barry who was already struggling internally due to the outburst of the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom. When they executed their movement techniques, unexpectedly, another lightning also came crashing down like the first! "Another lightning?! This is far different than my tribulation!" Dylan exclaimed with an ugly expression. It was indeed different from his cultivation, not only that, it also differs from a typical tribulation. "This is bad..." Even Rian thought so as well because according to his memories, man and beast have the same tribulations they need to undergo as the heavens view the two races as nothing more than pawns that just have dissimilar appearances. A Heavenly Tribulation usually starts with a single lightning for the first wave, two for the second wave, four for the third wave and so on. For each wave, the number of waves increase by multiples of two. Along with the increase of the number of lightnings, the strength of the lightning also increases by a single stage after every wave except for the first wave whose strength is equal to the strength of the defiant and the second wave whose strength hikes to four stages stronger than the defiant. However once it reaches the seventh stage, the number of lightning ceases to increase but instead changes color from yellow to purple and turns into lightning dragons which further increases the unpredictability and ferociousness of the lightnings. On the eighth wave, the lightning becomes deep purple in color and reduces into four fewer yet larger lighthing dragons! On the ninth wave, the lightning dragons turn into a singular red lightning dragon twice as big as the prior ones. The legends thought that Heavenly Tribulations could only foster nine waves, however, Rian proved it wrong when he told Dylan that he experienced twelve waves of tribulation lightnings. When he described that the tenth offers four red dragons, Dylan did not expect that at all because that just one of those could nearly kill what more of three more? Rian told Dylan that the eleventh and twelve wave was similar to the ninth and tenth but the difference was that the lightnings turns black and becomes more realistic than it was before. But Barry''s heavenly tribulation actually summoned two devastating lightnings on his first wave. Dylan and Rian did not expect this to happen at all. But unbeknownst to them, the reason for this happening was actually them. ... In a vast empty space that seemed to be infinite and endless, there were no stars, planets or galaxies anywhere in it but a strange milky white energy could be seen densely scattered everywhere. There seemed to be no signs of life along this space only deafening silence existed along with the subtle flow of the strange milky white energy along it. Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened somehwere within this space. Concurrently, the figure of a human started to materialize as the milky white energy was being sucked towards this person. The next moment, the person was fully formed and a man whth otherworldly charm appeared while sitting cross-legged. His face was devastatingly dashing and exuded an exuberant aura of masculinity. This otherworldly handsome man seemed to look around twenty one years old with a height of one hundred ninety centimeters. This young looking man had crimson hair that accentuated his striking gold eyes. His body was well built and very proportional to his handsome face. He opened his mouth as a charming voice sounded, "How many eternities has it been already...?" When he stood up, his aura was briefly unleashed and at that moment, it was as if the entire universe had to bow down in front of his grandeur. Quickly recalling his aura, he extended his right hand outwards as the milky white energy spiralled and formed a transparent mirror that emitted the similar energy. He muttered to himself as he covered his mouth with his left when he yawned, "Hm, why is Retribution so agitated?" The transparent mirror, then flashed, the image of the glaxy that Great Mystic World belonged to. It zoomed towards the planet and flashed once more as an extremely large continent was shown on the mirror almost three times the size of the theorized size of pangeae. This large continent is known as the Grand Heaven Continent which the Mystical Clouds Country belonged to. A surprised look on the face of the red haired man emerged, "A Minor World? This is why he''s agitated?" Suddenly, eight images of different people started to appear as they pointed out a certain spot of the continent which implied the location of the person showed in the image. Among those pictures, Dylan, Rian, and Barry was included. Very close to their images were Victor, Elizabeth and Rea was also found. The two other guys were rather far from the previous six. An amused smile appeared on the man''s face as he mumbled, "Eight unknowns, huh? For a Minor World, this is... a miracle over miracles! A high ranking Cosmic Beast, A person who has an Avatar of Celestial Lotus, A man who possess the Ultimate Thunder, A girl who possess the heart of the Sword Sage, Another who possess the Absolute Frost Physique, two transmigrators and one ancient cultivator. No wonder, Retribution is angry..." Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 187 Chapter 187: The Thirteenth Leaf "Argh..." Barry who was sitting crosslegged at the middle of the clearing, was now pale white in complexion. "Again?!" Barry was still in the middle of recuperation but the next wave of Heavenly Lightning was already starting to prepare to strike him and his Heavenly Lotus levitating above him. "Nature''s Protection!" Barry chanted as he once again drew large amounts of life force by taking a part of the total life force of every grass, tree, and even the soil! These life force formed an emerald green barrier around him and the Heavenly Lotus! Four blades of heavenly lightning collided with his Heavenly Lotus but it was somehow deflected due to the barrier derived from accumulation of the life force of everything around Barry. The four lightning blades were eventually dispersed after a short period of collision. At the same time, the barrier of Nature''s Protection also dissipated while the excess life force was devoured by the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus. The mindless Tri-fire Corrosive Venom which was unsuccesfully converted was actually integrating itself to the Heavenly Lotus! Brilliant white lines started appearing slowly on the leaves of the Heavenly Lotus. Although he was able to avoid the heavenly thunder on time by using the durability of his Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus, he now had even more depressing problem that presented itself to him. The evolved form of the Tri-fire Corrosive Poison, the Poison Demon, was reacting with the otherworldly powers of the Heavenly Tribulation. In Barry''s sea of conciousness... The intensity of the thunderbolts that collided onto Barry''s Heavenly Lotus was so overwhelming that it caused a temporary breach in his connection with the Poison Demon which was forcefully formed by the Life Imprisonment technique. The order that Barry issued which was for the Poison Demon to slumber was momentarily broken. A familiar voice arose from the depths of Barry''s mind. The Poison Demon laughed, "Hahahaha! It seems like even the heavens wants you to die! To think, I would actually break through that life seal in the most opportune moment possible. Hahahaha!" "The Poison Demon?! Wait, where am I? A world? A sea?" Barry opened his eyes and saw a world of white with a crystal clear sea bemeath him. A realization struck him as he scanned his surroundings. "Is this my sea of conciousness?" ''How did I enter my sea of conciousness?" Barry was flabbergasted by this. He remembered that only those at the Origin Foundation Realm are allowed to enter their sea of conciousness manually after they managed to form a single Origin Pillar. "It''s time for me to retake what''s mine! Hahaha!" The Poison Demon materialized in front of Barry. He extended his right arm and used his will to gain control most of the poison except for twenty percent which was already converted by Barry. This discovery caused it to be dumbstruck, "Wait, you were able to refine the poison that fast?! How?" The Heavenly Tribulation was not only a series of unfortunate events for Barry, there was still an unexpected benefit that he got from it. The ferocity of the poison also died down as Barry absorbed some residual energy from the heavenly thunder. To Barry''s surpise, this energy was actually effective in suppressing the Tri-fire Corrosive Venom! The reason for this is due to the heavenly thunder being the bane of all evil spirits and paranormal entities. The Tri-fire Corrosive Poison was originally a pure substance without any hint of evil but along with the birth of it''s sentience, evil started to uproot in its nature. Using this accidental solution, Barry was able to swiftly refine a portion of the poison. "Hehe, why should I even tell you? It''s true that you are temporarily free but I have my means in defending against your attacks now!" Barry confidently said. "You think that a small portion of my strength is enough to stop me?! Hahaha, you must be kidding! With the circumstances, I can devour you easily and take over your body! Hahahaha!" The Poison Demon glared evilly. The Poison Demon levitated while a pair of three colored flames appeared on both of his long arms. Accompanied by a wide devious smile, it screamed while initiating a throwing motion towards Barry, "Die and offer your body to me, father!" "I am not your father, you psychopathic demon!" Barry refuted as the grand aura of his Twelve-leafed Heavenly Lotus spread throughout his entire sea of conciousness. Nature-energy formed vines portruded at the lotus'' base and lunged towards the Poison Demon. "Rain of Venom Shards!" The Poison Demon called out furiously. Red-violet crystal started to agglomerate around him that numbered to hundreds. Each shard emitted fatal poisonous gas that could kill Origin Transmutation with a scratch. With the demon''s command, the hundreds of venom shards were launched to Barry''s direction. The demon added, "Each one of my shards could easily kill a Origin Transmutation Realm. You will die today! Hahahaha!" Barry was unperturbed despite hearing the Poison Demon''s words, "Let''s see about that! Heavenly Vine Wave!" With a wave of his hand, thousands, if not tens of thousands of vines shot towards the Rain of Venom Shards from the floating Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus above Barry. Each of the heavenly vines had pale white venacular patterns surrounding them which gave them a slightly different and mysterious feeling than before. "Huh? How can I release this sort of strength when I am only at the Spirit Awakening Realm?!" The number of vines produced by the Heavenly Lotus shocked Barry himself because he knew that his limit should only be at 100 vines simultaneusly but right now, he actually witnessed a sea of vines that seemed to reached over 10,000 in numbers! "I did not know once a Heavenly Lotus reaches twelve leaves, it does not only gain the power to devour life force but it also gains a spiritual attribute!" Barry blankly looked at the incredible attack he just pulled off. In just a few seconds, the Rain of Venom Shards was completely swallowed by the sea of heavenly vines. The Poison Demon had no other choice but to retreat with his life on the line as he attempted to salvage his life, "How can this be?!! He''s only at Spirit Awakening!! How can his attack power compare to a Mortal Severing!! This is not fair!!!" "Hahaha, you can curse at me all you want. But with this new found power of mine, I will crush you!" Barry taunted the Poison Demon. "Don''t get cocky, you miserable brat! I can still scatter your soul!" The Poison Demon snarled angrily. He lifted his arms as poisonous substance started to gather and form a long spear that was nearly ten feet in length. Clearly, Barry''s taunt was effective. "Slaughtering Poison Spear!" The Poison Demon chanted as he threw the poisonous spear to Barry''s Direction. *Swoosh* As it was released from his hand, a strange aura enveloped the spear. It kept increasing in size as it covered distance. The originally two inches thick spear became fives inches thicker and its length became twenty feet longer. In comparison, Barry looked tiny. "Hehe. Heavenly Lotus: Vine Shiled" Barry smirked as he manipulated the over ten thousand lotus vines and created a large spiral shield which was nearly ten meter thick. At the moment of impact, a large boom was heard. The spear had the power to even behead a peak Mortal Moulting expert or beast. But it was only able to penetrate 6 meters into the Lotus Shield. ''What''s this?! How can he manipulate a power that he just acquired so skillfully?!'' The Poison Demon was stunned as he watched his move penetrate thorugh Barry''s Defenses. The Poison Demon was not wrong. Typically, a cultivator cannot fully utilize a power they just acquired. For example, a cultivator that just broke through a realm needs to train and consolidate his strength before fully grasping it. But, there are a few that are exempt of such rules and they are what are called "geniuses". "Now it''s my turn to attack!" As if apart of his body, Barry wield control of the vines. He formed a spear hand and extended it towards the Poison Demon. At the same time, the vines from the Heavenly Lotus Shield rose and spiraled towards the direction of the Poison Demon. The spiralling vines constricted forming a sort of drill which rotated at an insane speed. "Heavenly Lotus: Vine Drill!" The drill formed from the vine shot forth aiming to take down the Poison Demon. "Don''t underestimate me! I''m far stronger than you!" The Poison Demon released a pair of wings and actually flew straight to the Vine Drilk instead of retreating. As the drill neared, the Poison Demon skillfully evaded the drill by maneuvering his body under the drill with merely centimeres between them. At maximum speed, the Demon went flying to Barry as he bared his killing intent upon him. "If you think you can kill me with this, think again! HAHA" "Indeed, think again." Barry smiled in the face of the Demon''s laugh. Seeing this, the Demon''s laugh halted as a bad premonition started to appear on his mind. At that instant, Barry''s spear hand suddenly closed and formed a fist. He mischievously spoke, " Heavenly Lotus: Vine Cage!" At the same moment, vines as thick as bears appeared on the Poison Demon''s path. He immediately knew that something bad was about to happen so he changed directions. But as soon as he changed directions he saw that similar vines were erecting around him at an alarming rate. ''This is bad!'' The Poison Demon thought as he halted and immediately retreated to the path he used earlier at full speed. "Hehe, you can''t escape from this!" Barry confidently said as he watched the Poison Demon become cornered. "You think you can catch me with just this?! Tri-fire Demon form: Activate!" The Poison Demon''s speed soared as his body made of poison transkuted into flames and successfully escaped. Thinking of how he nearly got caught, the Poison Demon was enraged. He looked ferociously at Barry, "I''ll end you!" "Grand Poison: Burning Phantom!" Crossing his arms in front of his chest, his entire body flame turned black and enlarged nearly forty percent his original size. With a crazed look, he flew towards Barry at a frightening speed. His strength was enough to easily slay a Core Transformation Beast! "Die!!!" Instead of wearing a solemn expression, an unexpected smile aeared on Barry''s face. It was as if he discovered something amazing. "Interesting... Let''s try it out!" "Wait, this is-!" The Poison Demon furrowed his brows and something happened beyond his imagination. Barry who was about to be hit by his attack suddenly disappeared!! The Poison Demon scanned his suroundings, he did not expect something as unbelievable as this would happen! "How is this possible?! Where did he go? He only has a plant-attribute Avatar, how is he able to perform teleportation?!" "Surprised? Hehe. But I won''t tell you how I did it. Let''s just say, I am invincible in this realm." Barry smirked concdescendingly at the Poison Demon which greatly infuriated it. He initiated a grabbing motion at the Poison Demon. Subsequently, a strange invisible force started to gather around the Poison Demon. Sensing this strange phenomenon, the Demon was alarmed, "What is this-?" But before he could do anything, the strange invisble force restricted his whole body and even sealing his mouth. Even "What did you just do?" Release me!! Mmppf..." Barry coldly glared at the Poison Demon and said, "Weren''t you going to kill me earlier? Heh, now you are powerless before me. You have made me suffer all these years and hindered my revenge! Now, it''s time for me to settle this grudge!" "Grrr..." Losing the ability to speak, the Poison Demon could only glare at Barry with ice cold killing intent. "But I must thank you, after all. After I assimilate the poison, the heavenly energy and life force you possessed will be refined by me and I will be able to blast through one level after the other. Hehe." Barry let out a sneer and a mocking smile. But, his expression quickly changed, "Now, it''s time for you to die!" With a flick of his fingers, the invisible force compressed fiercely. The Poison Demon tried to struggle. Despair filled its eyes and he even shot a hateful glance at Barry before his body was fully crushed by the invisible force. After killing the threat, Barry sat crosslegged. He was about to continue the assimilation process of the poison and his Avatar. ''I did not think that having twelve leaves was this overpowered! I didn''t know that it actually had the ability to freely control and defend my mind from any sort of invasion! No wonder grandpa kept this ability from me! It is too overpowered!'' Barry enthusiastically thought as his confidence in defeating the Poison Demon increased. Truthfully, Barry has not heard anything regarding the Heavenly Twelve-Leafed Lotus developing a spiritual attribute whenever he chatted with his grandfather or father. So, he thought that this spiritual attribute was something that was kept from him due to being too young. He was dumbfounded that the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus was able to fully control his mindscape akin to a deity! On his whim, he could reappear at any point and spot within his mindscape. He also felt that this spiritual attribute was not merely limited to his mind but can also be applied to the real world and deal devastating mental attacks! But what he did not know that due to the fusion process he was doing and with the catalyst of the Heavenly Tribulation, his Heavenly Lotus started to slowly evolve which started to give birth to abilities that even his grandfather did not know of. Unknown to him, back in the real world, a small extra leaf slowly emerged near the center of his Heavenly Lotus! Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 188 Chapter 188: Avatar Mutation The changes that were happening to Barry''s Heavenly Lotus may seem subtle on the surface but it actually gave birth to a heaven defying ability of spiritual attack and spiritual defense. The evolution of his Avatar was not solely reliant to the fusion of the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus and the evolved Tri-fire Corrosive Venom. It was also brought forth by the presence of the tribulation lightning that the Heavenly Lotus was defending against. Every time the Heavenly Lotus blocks, some of the tribulation lightning invades its body but due to its high resistance to elemental attacks excluding fire type attacks, it was able to absorb the residual lightning trapped inside its body. With the influence of a Grand Poison and the absorbed tribulation lightning, the Twelve Leaf Heavenly Lotus started to mutate!! Yes, a mutation occurred to Barry''s Avatar. The ability of heavenly lightning to purge and defend against all ghosts and demons was altered into a lesser form of spiritual attack and spiritual defense! It must be known that the nature of Avatars are hereditary and they are entities that cultivators rely on to grow stronger. Under normal circumstances, an Avatar of a cultivator cannot be changed or altered. Unless you reach a ceratin cultivation realm or eating a heaven defying treasure in which both cases upgrades your Avatar, it is impossible to change your Avatar. Dylan''s idea of fusing the poison to Barry''s Heavenly Lotus already went against heaven''s will as it was changing the nature of an Avatar. This incited heaven''s anger and brought upon a Heavenly Tribulation. However, due to this freak combination of factors, it gave birth to a rare case of Avatar Mutation. As the name suggests, due to some unforeseen occurrence or fortuitious encounter, a transformation of an Avatar may occur. An Avatar Mutation is not always beneficial for it could also degrade a person''s Avatar. This rarely occurs due to genetic defects or unfortunate encounter during pregnancy. But in Barry''s case, the mutation of his avatar could be said to be an extremely advantageous change! ... *Rumble* *Rumble* Dylan and Rian watched as the second wave of the tribulation cloud was slowly gathering strength. The clouds of bright yellow lightning were already emitting great might ready to strike down the felon beneath it. The might it emitted was already at the 16th level of the Origin Transmutation. As soon as the four lightning bolts were formed, they descended and fell onto Barry. *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom But Barry was still being protected by the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus, deflecting the lightning just by its awesome aura! "This tribulation is much... slower compared to ours." Rian noticed that the Heavenly Tribulation was significantly slower. From what they experienced it would only take a few seconds for the Heavenly Tribulation to halt its wave then a few more to gather strength. But this Heavenly Tribulation actually took half a minute to halt and another half to gather strength. "Indeed, this must be because the first wave released two lightning bolts immediately." Dylan looked at the sky with a serious look on his face. Seeing such a fierce lightning, Dylan and Rian could not help but worry for Barry. To check his brother''s condition, Dylan shot a glance at Barry and the solemn look he had was replaced by surpise. "This... Barry broke through?!" "Hm?" Dylan''s words caught Rian''s attention so he also turned his head and looked. "What he''s cultivation?! It increased again?!" The aura Barry was currently emitting was no longer at the Initial 16th level Origin Transmutation but it was currently at the 18th level! What''s more, it was even more abundant than an average 18th level Origin Transmitation Expert! The most shocking thing is that his cultivation was still showing signs of increasing and at the rate at which it was enhancing, it seemed to be hinting that it won''t stop with just this increase! Rian looked at Dylan with confusion, "Didn''t he say that the Heavenly Lotus could only increase his cultivations by 5 levels? Why did it suddenly become 7?" "I''m not exactly sure what is currently happening to him right now." Dylan was strangely staring at Barry as he replied. "Could it be... that the Heavenly Lotus increases 7 levels of cultivation?!" Even Rian whose origin was tightly connected to the Cosmic God and inherited some of the memories of his bloodline was startled by this thought! He did not know of such a heaven defying ability existed at least with the memories he unlocked as of now. Dylan felt tingles when Rian shared his thoughts but he had a different opinion on this matter, "If that were true, then Barry would be really terrifying but I think that''s not the case." "What makes you say that?" Rian asked. "Well, I''m positive that he did not absorb any more power after he chained the Poison Demon. So, I think it''s not due to the Endless Vitality Domain. Another reason is because of my Heavenly Eyes. It allows me to see the flow of energy more clearly than others." Dylan pointed to his eyes. "What about it?" Rian was rather confused that Dylan brought his eyes to this topic. Dylan explained. "When Barry used his Endless Vitality Domain, the energy he absorbs from the surrounding lifeforms is integrated to his body. However this sort of energy is something that he could temporarily use since it was not refined. When present in his body, there is some sort of slight rejection but could still be jointly utilized with his own power. This is the distinguishing characteristic of the absorbed energy which differs to the energy that Barry refined on his own." "However, this increase in strength seemed to not have any sort of rejection to his body but instead was already converted to his although not thoroughly refined. I''m guessing that it is due to the power of the evolved poison he is trying to fuse with." Dylan concluded. "Whoa, didn''t think that the creepy looking demon could have so much benefit to him. Hahaha." Rian laughed. But another thought came to his mind, a cunning grin suddenly appeared on his face, "That means once he refines the poison, you will be the weakest among us! Hahaha!" This thought caught Dylan by surprise, but oddly, he did not seem irritated, he smiled as he looked at the crosslegged Barry and said, "You''re right." Rian could only blink blankly. He did not expect him to react like this. He thought Dylan was going to be annoyed and scold him but he actually smiled. He helplessly shook his head ''This... He doesn''t feel even a lil'' bit frustrated? His geniunely happy that his brother is gaining stregnth, huh... He really is a good guy.'' "Look, Barry is waking up!!" Dylan exclaimed happily. Barry was currently opening his eyes and staring at the sky filled with terrifying lightning. "Whoa, let''s ask him how he''s doing." Rian was also relieved when he saw this. But, Dylan stopped Rian when he was about to send a spiritual transmission, "Don''t disturb him." "Why? Aren''t you worried about him? I mean shouldn''t we ask him if he was able to deal with that poison thing?" Rian was confused because he knew that Dylan would be more worried about Barry than him. "Of course, I''m also worried about him. But if we disturb him now, he might lose concentration. You can also see the resolve he has on his face. He said that he wanted to take this tribulation alone as much as possible. It''s best if we leave him be for now." Dylan explained his actions. He smiled at Rian and meaningfully said, "Besides, him being awake could only mean one thing." Rian instantly knew what Dylan was referring to and commented, "You''re right. That punk must have already been taken care of." .... In order to avoid anymore unnecessary trouble, Barry eliminated the consciousness of the Poison Demon which he restricted a few moments earlier. With his newly acquired ability, Barry exited his sea of consciousness and returned to the real world. He sensed that he must have just passed the second wave. When he opened his eyes to look at the sky, he saw that the tribulation clouds was already emitting the strength of the 17th level Origin Transmutation. "The third wave, huh? My tribulation is a little bit different to what Dylan and Rian described theirs." Barry said in contemplation. He already noticed what Dylan and Rian discussed earlier. But Barry did not lose faith in himself despite of this. Rather, he was confident. With the power of his Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus and his currently increasing cultivation, he was confident that he could surpass this trial. "With my current strength, the protective aura of my Heavenly Lotus alone should be able to handle the third wave." At that moment, the tribulation clouds finished gathering and sent its attack to scorch Barry along with everything around him. Eight successive lightning bolts with the strength of the 17th level Origin Transmutation came and clashed with the protective barrier of the Heavenly Lotus. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* * Bang* "What I need to do now is focus completing the fusion process." Seeing that he was able to succesfully block the ligtning, Barry immediately decided. His eyes were burning with intense determination. He immediately used the medicinal pots that he prepared. Each of the medicinal pots contained varying medicinal liquids, each having different effects. Barry first used the medicine which would transmute the poison fire''s composition which was already 90% fire and 10% poison due to the interference of the Poison Demon. But as the process of assimilation was already undergoing he could only reduce it to 70% fire and 30% poison. However, asimilating this sort of poison fire directly may cause his Avatar to suffer irreversible damage so he also used his medicines which reduces pain susceptibility and increases resistance. Still, the pain and stress to his body was still soul-rending. His skin turned bright red and he was perspiring an abnormal amount of sweat at a quick speed. To withstand this sort of pain, Barry clenched his teeth as tightly as he could. However, Barry did not stop there. He used another medicine which would hasten circulation speed in order to increase the rate of fusion. This also increased the pain he had to endure. Nonetheless, he had no other choice if wanted to gain the strength to compete with this horifying tribulation. Without the Poison Demon, the evolved poison no longer had any resistance in front of the pressure brought by the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus. With the assistance of Barry''s medicine, the fusion process went smoothly. As the fusion process progressed, the same applied for his cultivation. Now he was already at the High 19th Origin Transmutation and his cultivation still has not shown any signs of stopping!! "Success!" Despite the pain he was feeling, Barry smiled as he felt the integration of the two became even more evident! He was also able to feel the change in the aura of his Heavenly Lotus! At that moment, the Heavenly Lotus bursted with vigor and energy and created a cocoon that enclosed it and Barry! It was undergoing a transformation that was never before seen. It was sending forth energy waves that amazed Dylan and Rian. "Whoa!" The two exclaimed. They looked at the energy cocoon with befuddlement. They didn''t understand what it was but they were sure that Barry was undergoing a metamorphosis! The surrounding beasts all fled from the aura it was emitting. They felt natural suppression in it''s wake. On the other hand, plants were rejoicing because they were gaining the power they lost by nearly three folds. It was as if a ruler was born! ... Inside the cocoon, The Heavenly Lotus now had a thriteen full mature leaves. It''s veins were emitting white line while the originally vibrant green leaves were now darker and deeper in color. The shape of the leaves also changed into serrated flame-like shape. ''What?! Thirteen leaves?!'' Barry was shocked by this discovery! He did not expect that there was such a thing. He always thought that the highest form of the Heavenly Lotus was the Twelve Leafed Heavenly Lotus. Never did he expect that there would such a form. As he examined the newly formed Thirteen Leafed Heavenly Lotus, he discovered certain things that were not there before. He discovered the faint white light the veins were emitting had a spiritual aura! He also noticed that leaf shape and leaf color also changed! ''This light... Could it be that the spiritual attribute I have is not something from the Twelve Leaves but something gained from the thirteenth leaf?'' Barry suddenly speculated. The more he thought this way, the more he felt that he was right. No wonder his grandfather did not mention anything about a spiritual attribute. It was because he never had it! ''The change in shape in color must be from the poison fire but where did the spiritual attribute come from?'' Barry contemplated. The poison fire had no ounce of spiritual attribute on it so how could it provide such ability? ''This should be a case of Avatar Mutation. That''s the only plausible explanation.'' Barry thought. But the result he really desired from this fusion really came true! He discovered that the extreme invulnerability against fire has been resolved! He let out a loud howl of happiness, "HAHAHA, I DID IT!" Barry felt even more jubilant because it seemed that his clan''s greatest weakness has finally been resolved! Please go to to read the latest chapters for free