《Godly Otaku System》 1 If I donst get a system who will? "Ughhh", Zhen Shi groaned as he opened his eyes. His mind a blank, he stared at the star-filled sky with a huge crescent moon. "Eh? Isn''t that moon a bit too large" he shouted as he quickly stood up. "...." Or tried to, as he fell down back on to the ground, on his face. "Your mother... Shiet my whole body hurts" he growled as he endured nerve-wracking pain. The pain was like a bucket of water hurled on his head, "Shiet, Shiet. I actually died while I was leaning on a guard rail next to a cliff trying to act cool, when a truck randomly drove off the cliff with me plastered to the windshield? What useless idiot made that guard rail? It couldn''t even hold off that truck?!!!? That poor truck!!!" "...." "So this is the afterlife? What afterlife is so painful?" he grimaced and lay down for some time till the pain decreased. "Hold on a minute, maybe I reincarnated?", Zhen Shi completely forgot about the pain as he slowly stood up and looked at his surroundings. He noted the overly large moon and the completely new pattern of stars in the sky. "Holy Shiet, looks like I did come to another world! Mwahahaha!!!!" he laughed joyfully. Still grinning with a huge smile he looked at a nearby pond, as he felt his legs were more breezy than usual and saw his reflection of a noble,refined-looking young man in a loincloth. "I look devilishly handsome and outrageously scholarly in this new body, but whose mother made me wear a loincloth. Nevermind I''m still handsome". His grin grew even wider if that''s even possible. He stood there grinning like an idiot. "Whoosh" a light wind blew past him and reformed into a girl. His face froze ... ??? as he stared at this girl that appeared as if by teleportation. She had long luxurious silver hair tied up in a ponytail shining under the moonlight. Dressed up in dark red robes which were tightly wound around her petite body, her cute face was scrunched up in worry as she stared back from where she came. "Whoosh" Several more figure formed into a group of men dressed in similar black robes. "Zou Rou you better obediently hand back the pill if you know what''s good for you and come back with us to enjoy ourselves", shouted one of the black-robed men. Zhen Shi''s eyes widened, still not having gotten over the girl''s beauty, Holy Shiet! Are these martial artists?? Could it be I have reincarnated in a cultivation world with spells and magical weapons? Zhen Shi was secretly dancing wildly in joy in his heart. As an Otaku, this was a lifelong dream of his. Flying on a sword with the wind blowing on his body with his hands behind his back, fighting monsters and saving girls. Now all I need is a system to make everything perfect. Which bastard even dares to reincarnate without a system?!!? Every time he read or saw a story based on reincarnation he pitied all those main characters that did not have a system. Thus, he quickly focused his efforts on trying to turn a system by mentally shouting random commands. None of them paid any attention to Zhen Shi nor did they notice him. After all, as far as they were concerned this was a mere mortal. "You bastards of Xue Yue clan, you''ll have to take it back over my dead body. Lets fight" shouted Zou Rou as she grimaced. "Well you asked for it..." all the black-robed men rushed towards her swords outstretched and a dark black miasma wafting over them. The girl grimaced again and lifted her sword in defense,with a bright yellow light bursting out. The swords clashed violently generating a gush of wind. The girl was thrown back like a broken kite, blood spewing from her mouth and she collapsed momentarily fainting. Zhen Shi having faced multiple failures in his attempt to activate a system, seeing the pretty girl get hurt immediately jumped in front of her shouting "You shameless bunch of pigskins. Do you think you can gang up on an innocent girl when I am here???" Zhen Shi was thinking Didn''t that Xu-something bastard get his awesome system after shamelessly acting tough. Hmmppff, so I will too. He waited quietly for the system to activate. ....Silence... The black-robed men looked at him their energies furiously rising. They had ignored him before but not any longer. "A non-cultivator dares to talk back at us of the Xue Yue clan, with such a foul mouth? Dressed in a dirty loincloth no less? If you crawl down and beg for mercy we''ll give you a clean death". But surprisingly they didn''t attack. They were with confident faces as the only thing between them and their goal was a mere mortal. Temporarily ignoring them Zhen Shi was thinking, Shiet where''s my system? Is it in my loincloth? But he didn''t feel anything in his lower abdomen, so probably no! Why? He felt like flipping a table (¨s¡ã¡õ¡ã£©¨s¦à ©ß©¥©ß. He refused to believe he could be in the same situation as some of those main characters he pitied. If I don''t get a system jumping in front of these men will mean that I truly have sought death!!! -If it fails once just try again!- He gritted himself to brag again. With a calm and aloof expression as if the entire world was beneath him he serenely said, "I have witnessed countless legends being born and countless men reaching the sky with their effort. The heavens were sealed, flames were conquered, otherworldly aliens were beaten, peace was established between warring nations, entire universes were branded and controlled, gods were slaughtered." The black-robed men of the Xue Yue clan were truly stunned with the mention of these awe-inspiring actions. Still, they grinned and one said "Shameless braggart, your words are truly amazing. Come along entertain us more!" Alas in a way Zhen Shi had truly witnessed these events. He was rapidly bragging about all the movies, novels, and anime where he had witnessed heaven-defying main characters. He knew that they were fiction, but somewhere deep in his heart, he had a belief! That they were actually true!! Along with his words, his own spirit was being stirred. A spirit to lead an awe-inspiring life. Even as the black-robed men of the Xue Yue eyed him as prey already on their plate, Xue Yue changed topics. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Besides these, there was one other thing he truly loved to throw himself into. He was a bookworm who loved to read books of all sorts. Be it fiction, non-fiction, thesis, history, business, etc. But even then, a topic he truly loved was mythology!!! The tales of gods in different parts of the world and their struggles for power, their abilities & powers, origins, their lifestyles and the possibility that they truly existed in the past, excited him beyond measure!! Seeing that he''ll die here, he figured he might as well die with the things he loved and enjoyed. "Zeus of Greek mythology and Jupiter of Roman, the gods of Lightning and Thunder, the leader of the pantheon originating from none-other than CHAOS!!!! The lesser-known but undoubtedly powerful Heka of Egyptian mythology, who viewed the creation of the universe itself, the personification of magic!!!! The World tree, Yggdrasil of Norse Mythology, which bears the nine worlds of existence!!! The Jade Emperor of Eastern mythology, who rules the entire universe with the Taoist and Buddhist faction beneath him!!! Brahma, the one who creates. Vishnu, the one who preserves. Shiva, the one who destroys. All of Eastern Mythology!! Sakyamuni, the most recent Buddha, who overcame worldly attachment, bringing peace to the masses!!!!" The black-robed men stared on stupefied in surprise and horror as this random mortal shouted out those all too familiar names. As if death was looming over them, they hurriedly shot off towards him brandishing their swords!! That moment was a mere instant, but to Zhen Shi, it was more comparable to a lifetime!! Zhen Shi grew calm as his mind and heart settled down! His passion for knowledge, the things he had enjoyed in his past life, combined with the desire to grow stronger in this new world using this rare opportunity resonated with his personal heart and soul. Although he could see death looming over him he continued on, in his mind, with his deep attachment for systems aroused, "The path to the top is difficult, riddled with countless obstacles. The only thing which makes that path easier is a SYSTEM!!! I have reincarnated and I refuse to die a useless death!!!! IF I DON''T GET A SYSTEM, WHO WILL??????" DING..... 2 The Otaku System has a fetish? DING!!! Zhen Shi was elated as he heard the system notification, never heard before but strangely familiar. ~SYSTEM ACTIVATED. Considering the user''s love for systems, shamelessly acting tough and strong will, the Godly OTAKU system has descended. The Godly Otaku System overshadows the gods themselves!!!! Congratulations to the user! In consideration of user TRYING to act tough, user will receive a one time gift of 20 acting tough points equivalent to 20 Otaku points~ YYYAAAAASSSS!!!! Zhen Shi was dancing wildly in his heart and probably physically as well if it wasn''t for the imminent attack by the "Xue Yue" clan. Ding! ~User is currently in bad shape and weaker than mortals. Physical and Spiritual assimilation yet to be completed. Destroyed Promoridal chaos base detected. Repair commencing.....Aether detected. Addition of Soul roots started~ Zhen Shi looked on in amazement. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. ~Repairing completed. Soul Roots of four base elements-Fiery, Earthen, Aqua, and Aerial added.~ Ding! Detected presence of cultivators and abundance of natural qi in the surroundings. Building up cultivation. Completed! Physical Assimilation Completed!~ Energy filled his body and the primordial chaos base and elemental energies of the soul roots resonated as they were established within his dantian, with the primordial chaos in the middle and the elements around it. The resonation sent out a minor wave of energy causing the attacking black-robed men to halt looking in surprise at this supposed mortal. ~Otaku System commenced~ Zhen Shi who was already over the moon with this turn of events happily shouted out "STATUS" within his mind. User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Mere mortal [Next Level-Qi Refining Stage 1] Cultivation energy: None Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base-Pending Selection Exp points: 0/1000 OP(Otaku Points):20 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells. Intelligence +10 Charisma +10) Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Status: Naked Monkey pretending to be Tarzan with a dirty loincloth{Effect: INACTIVE} Zhen Shi''s smile froze..... ?_? and his eye twitched. "MOTHERFUCKER, GET OUT AND FIGHT ME!!! Not only do you call me, YOUR GRANDFATHER, a mere mortal, you even give me Charisma and Intelligence points. YOUR GRANDFATHER is already the most charismatic and intelligent person in the universe. If you do this, how will the other people even compete? And who the fuck is "Probably human"? Your siblings are PROBABLY HUMAN!!! But worst of all you call me a naked monkey pretending to be TARZAN???? Who the hell even made me wear this loincloth in the first place. And this loincloth is a mere rag covering only the front????" As for the scholarly bookworm title, he took no offense. In fact, he was proud of it!!! Having shouted out in anger Zhen Shi gradually calmed down quite quickly as he was still quite satisfied with the descent of the system. Aiya! Nevermind, you''re MY system so I''ll let you play around a little bit. And he consoled himself as such. Meanwhile, the black-robed men were staring with unblinking eyes at this crazy naked mortal who first mentioned the Great Creation Gods and later started screaming out at ''them''. They were so stunned at this sudden nonsensical outburst, that they momentarily paused. ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? -What the hell? Weren''t you readying some spell? Besides, we''re already out to fight you! Who died and made you the most charismatic and intelligent person in the entire universe?? And worst of all, who called you a naked monkey? Isn''t it yourself?? Maybe that''s why you''re unsure about your humanity? And do you have to describe your filthy undergarment like your proud of it?- One of them calmed down. "HAHA, this guy must have hit his head when he was a kid. He must have mentioned the Great Origin Gods after having read about them somewhere. Also, weren''t there some nonsensical things in his description of them? Now he''s so afraid that he started insulting himself. Come on lets put him out of his misery." The others also having calmed down, silently agreed and -WHOOOSSH!- leaped forwards with their weapons ready to attack for the 2ND Time. Ding! ~User is incomparably weak. Also considering his recent ascent into the new world, congratulations to the user for earning a beginner power up bag! Do you wish to open it?~ Seeing imminent death at the hands of these black-robed guys, Zhen Shi agreed. Besides he was feeling pretty lucky. After all, this was the day he earned his godly system, the Otaku System. Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for obtaining a LEGENDARY cultivation path chest! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for obtaining a minor experience pill! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for earning Special Skill-Hell''s Flare! Ding! User does not have a cultivation path yet. Opening of LEGENDARY chest recommended. "Open chest" Ding! User is truly lucky. 3 Cultivation paths available, please choose. - [Platinum tier. Cultivation technique used by the thunder god Zeus before he ascended to true Godhood in the Heavenly Realm. Personally created by him while he was still divine thunder born of the primordial chaos. Guaranteed to reach God Zeus''s level] "Shiet, the level of Zeus!!! But I never liked his unnecessarily overbearing nature. In fact, he felt cruel!! Moreover, he is a sis-con!!!!! So, PASS!" - [Scheming tier. Cultivation technique used by a certain someone to EXPLODE the heavens. Added due to user''s failed attempts at acting tough. Requires 5 elemental spiritual roots to reach completion] "HAHA, this is pretty good. But it belongs to another bastard who already used it and besides, I don''t have 5 elemental spiritual roots. And who failed to act tough? Was it Zeus? System, why did you even put this cultivation technique here when I can''t use it? PASS!" System:"...." - [¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ tier. Complete information not available. A path tread by no mortal since the dawn of creation! Requires a Primordial Chaos base and supplementary four elemental soul roots for completion] "HAHAHA, Now this is made for me. It''s even hiding its tier. Obviously it''s giving out some flags! Choose Primordial Chaos Arts!" Ding! Primordial Chaos Arts skill path learned. Once again his primordial chaos base and four elemental spiritual roots resonated and this time they actually connected each other. This immediately leveled up Zhen Shi from mere immortal to Qi Refining Stage 1. He felt attuned to nature itself. As if nothing could be hidden from his senses. The resonance had leveled up his spiritual perception by several levels. Zhen Shi even felt like he had control over all of creation. Of course, this was a mere feeling and nothing much else. Also remembering the EXP pill, Zhen Shi looked over his inventory. "Use minor experience pill" Ding! 8000 exp points earned. Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for reaching Qi refining Stage 2. Congratulation to user... ..... Congratulation to user Zhen Shi for reaching Qi Refining stage 6 "Haha, now this is what you call leveling up and cultivating." Along with the growing strength and weird occurrences the black-robed men had stopped once more and stared wearily. "Hey you bunch of pigskins, see this? This is power. This is confidence. And you bunches of shit keep getting ready to attack, but stop soon after in fear? Even if you''re not embarrassed I''m embarrassed to see your cowardice. Now obediently stay there for me to come and free you from your suffering. MWAHAHAHA!! Oh yes, I might let you live if you explain to me the "Great Origin Gods"! His thirst for knowledge had awakened as heard about ''gods''!! The men visibly grew angrily and were about to curse and attack. Ding! System Unique Skill: Level Vision(Minor) activated[Grants user the ability to discern the level of other cultivators up to Soul Transformation. Granted after gaining cultivation path] Zhen Shi looked at the black-robed men. "MOTHERFUCKER!!" The level floating above their heads read "Foundation Establishment" and the lowest was at Stage 2 with the highest at Stage 6. "DAMN YOU, System couldn''t you have activated this skill before I shamelessly bragged at these men. Its almost like you were waiting for me to do this." System "...." The men boiling in anger calmed down further and continued, "HAHA, he doesn''t even know of the Great Origin Gods! There was no need to worry! A mere crazy middle stage Qi refiner is shouting shit. Why did you even hide your cultivation when you were so weak? Honestly aren''t you tired of seeking death repeatedly?" The 6th stage expert said, "Brothers, this time lets attack to the very end. I refuse to believe this shameless Qi refiner has hidden strength" Whoosh! Once again the black-robed men attacked. Weapons extended they reached out for the kill. Being only a Qi Refiner, Zhen Shi was unable to react. However, his enhanced connection with nature and spiritual perception let him see all, as if in slow motion. As luck would have it the young silver-haired girl stirred up. Zhen Shi who was watching via his spiritual perception was elated. She was also of the foundation establishment stage. "Haha, this is what they mean when they say good deeds beget good deeds. This girl will naturally save me as I saved her. When it comes to living, even if you''re being saved by a lady it''s nothing to be ashamed of!!" The girl slowly opened her eyes. Zhen Shi was facing the front so the loincloth covering his dignity was only active in the front giving the silver-haired beauty an eye-blinding view of his backside. So what lay facing her less than a meter away were two shining bare buttocks. "PERVERTTT!!!" she shouted as she brandished her sword and attacked forward. Zhen Shi''s mouth twitched. ?_? WHAT THE LOINCLOTH!!! Enemies and victim attacking from front and back he could only await death. SHIET, whose mother made me wear this...?? And what''s wrong with this girl. Who thought I''ll be killed by a railing in the former life and due to a loincloth in the next? Shiet , this is too pathetic. NO! I won''t give up! He truly did not want to die here! But what can just a strong desire do in the face of certain death? His mind relaxed as he gradually began to accept a possible death. Thus with his entire being, he decided to take a risk and completely rely on the only thing he could, THE SYSTEM!! When all else fails and everything seems dark and bleak when life seems hopeless ... Leave everything to the system, kick back and relax! Maybe even do a dance? (~???)~ System "..." ~An inaudible sigh~ "Ding!" ~Conditions for status effect activation has been met. Congratulations to user for achieving status effect of Fake Tarzan ! via near-death situation. ~ User reaction speed will be increased by double permanently. An additional 10x multiplier to reaction time while wearing loincloth [washing it will permanently remove effects] Nearing death and grasping at straws Zhen Shi successfully evaded to the side like a flash of wind. This sudden action caused both attacking sides to stop. Whew! What type of shameless status effect is that? Never mind, at least I got something. Having survived, Zhen Shi completely relaxed and got back to his usual self. He realized that if he had not activated that status effect he would have been skewered by the swords from both sides! SHUCKS, almost achieving death by loincloth only to be saved by loincloth? And what''s up with so much about a loincloth? System is that your fetish? System "..." "Pretty Girl what''s wrong with you? I jumped in there to save you and you attacked me? I admit the loincloth is hideous and a poor fashion choice, but still, it obviously can''t hide the handsome and scholarly nature of this gentleman. Also, will someone please explain to me these so-called Origin gods?" said Zhen Shi grinning. "Wh-Who asked to be saved by you, a mere Qi refiner? What gentleman walks around revealing himself like that? A-And who''s pretty? I''ll kill these goons as the main course and finish you as dessert!" mumbled the girl while ''cutely'' frowning in anger. HOLY SHIET! I''ve hit the jackpot!! Isn''t this the legendary TSUNDERE??? Near-death truly does change your fortune!! Zhen Shi stared on with widened eyes... 3 A Special Skill from a certain special Slime Nevertheless, she stared at the bunch of black-robed men and brought out a talisman ready to attack. "Hmmpf, you idiot you don''t even know the Great Origin Gods? I don''t have time to lecture you. But I do owe you my life. I''ll tell you if we survive this." "Loin clothed idiot, Qi refiners shouldn''t get involved in a fight between Foundation Establishment Experts, you should leave and let this lady take care of this!" Zhen Shi frowned. Indeed he wasn''t strong enough. "Status" he shouted mentally. There had been some changes, User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Qi Refining 6th stage Cultivation energy: 100% Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: Level Vision(Minor) Exp points: 0/2200 OP(Otaku Points):20 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells Intelligence +10 Charisma +10} Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Fake Tarzan(-Permanent 2x reaction increase) Status: Naked Monkey pretending to be Tarzan with a dirty loincloth{Effect: Wearing the given loincloth grants a 10x reaction speed boost. Washing will negate effect } Ignoring the embarrassing details Zhen Shi fell into thought, He was lacking ideas, so he shamelessly said "System state suggestions to beat this bunch of faggots!" Ding! User has not yet learned Unique Skill earned from Beginner Power Up Bag. SHIET!! Cough! Nevermind system I asked just to check if you had forgotten! Don''t be ashamed, even geniuses make mistakes sometimes!! System "....." "Ding!" Special Skill: [ Gold Tier. Fire and lightning based skill originating from a certain reincarnated slime. Deals massive fire damage by heating enemies to incomparably high temperatures. Comparable to the eternally burning blue flames of Gehenna/hel at maximum power. No damage dealt beyond given area limit] "WOAH, Haha one of the few things better than gods and mythology is anime! You have my thanks, you bastard slime. Learn Hell''s Flare" [Note: This is basically one of the earlier skills of Rimiru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime] Ding! Hell''s Flare Skill learned. Skill completion reached 25% due to Fiery Soul Roots. "Hoho, Little girl don''t underestimate this humble fellow. MY POWERS cause the heavens itself to shake. Let''s attack together" said Zhen Shi grinning. "Hmmppf... Maybe it''s your loincloth that causes the heavens to shake! In embarrassment! Don''t blame me when you die" she muttered, while pushing the talisman forwards. It had the Character Sun! It glowed with a brilliant starry light and condensed three starry swords. Zhen Shi "....." Shaking his head, "Geez, girl your beauty is blinding me, so ease up on this damn loin cloth, do you think I love it?" Zen Shi said as he lifted his hand condensing a small ball of black lightning flame. "Wh-Whose beauty is blinding? Your loincloth is what''s blinding!!" muttered Zou Rou. Zhen Shi sighed and ignored her thinking, "Tsunderes..." So tsundere''s have a loincloth fetish as well? Maybe the system is a tsundere as well? System "..." Turning to the black-robed men, "And you bunch of black-robed pieces of shit, how could you have the heart to attack this cute girl? Where''s humanity''s love for pretty girls? Don''t worry though, I''ll fix this problem by turning you bunches of black shit into dust. Justice will be delivered by me, Zhen Shi... As a HERO OF JUSTICE!!!" said Zhen Shi striking a hero pose. That proved fairly difficult with the hell''s fire in one hand, but he managed. And indeed he did look like a hero of justice; a poor Tarzan version of a hero wearing a loincloth that is. Most of the black-robed men got extremely angry at this provocation by a loincloth wearing freak! But the Stage 6 foundation expert asked them to calm down as he was apprehensive of the flame in Zhen Shi''s hand. After all only Core formation stage experts can materialize elemental energies externally. Anyone capable of doing it at a lower level is a true genius with a deep understanding of elemental laws. He was sure that this seemingly crazy cultivator was more than what he was showing! Furthermore, he wasn''t utilizing any divine blessings as most geniuses would! Hence he respectfully placed one palm and one fist together and said, "Little brother, my name is Xue Yuehai, my father is an elder of the sect. How about we put this matter behind us? That girl actually stole that pill from us and it is a treasure of our sect." Xue Yuehai was thinking if this genius is introduced into the sect by me, I''ll receive more treasures and even my father''s status will be increased. Ding! User Zhen Shi failed to act like any hero of justice, instead making a fool of himself. No points earned. YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!!! What the hell is this shit? Since when did the system give points for being heroic? In the end, did I become the villain? And why does no one mention these types of shit before I make a fool out of myself? First, it was those black shits being stronger than me even after I powered up, and now "Tsun Rou" is the criminal when I say I''ll bring justice? IT''S A CONSPIRACY!! The system and Xue Yuehai must be conspiring together. Yes, that''s it!!! System: "...." Forgetting his shame, Zhen Shi looked questioningly at little Zou Rou... She looked down, "I needed the pill to help my father. I was willing to purchase it". She looked up with flames of fury in her eyes, "It was supposed to be sold at a fixed price. But this Yuehai bastard kept asking me to satisfy them or pay a sky-high price. They were begging for me to steal their stuff!" Ignoring Zou Rou who was shooting daggers at him, Xue Yuehai continued, "Little brother why don''t you join our sect. We worship Ammit, the devourer of souls. I''m sure we will be able to get you a godly blessing!! I admit your words and choice of dress are....." he struggled to find the proper word, "...UNIQUE. But with your talent, you can definitely be a core disciple. Moreover, we never planned on returning this pill to the sect. Let us share it between ourselves and have fun with this feisty girl as well. What do you say, little brother Shi?" Zhen Shi was surprised! Ammit? The devourer of souls? She was only a minor goddess who would devour unjustified souls under the whims of Osiris, one of the primal gods of creation. Nevertheless, Zhen Shi was growing more and more curious about the relationship between this new world and the gods of the old mythology. Zhen Shi instantly laughed out loud, "Heh? What little brother Shi? Your brother down below is what''s little. Do you dare to pull this hero of justice down to your level? DREAM ON!! I might consider your request if it was Lord Horus. Pay for your crimes against the tsundere!!" There was no way Zhen Shi was teaming up with this idiot when he could team up with a tsundere!!!! Xue Yuehai frowned in anger and confusion. What''s a tsundere? Can you eat it? And how does this loin clothed bastard no anything about his little brother? Did he peep? Maybe this idiot secretly likes men? What the hell am I even thinking? Clearing his head Xue Yuehai said, "Very well. You don''t know what''s good for you! Just because you''re a genius in elemental handling do you think you''re invincible and capable of jumping cultivation levels? And you dare to wish for Lord Horus''s blessings? A mere pipedream!!!" "Fellow Brothers lets attack!!" Thus the black-robed men readied their weapons. However, seeing the ominous black flame so small yet so..... ''deadly'' and the Zou Rou girl''s three starry swords they grew apprehensive. Xue Yuehai could vaguely interpret that these attacks were unusual. Nevertheless, they readied their best attacks as well. Covering themselves and their weapons in the dark black elemental essence they hurried forward to attack. Zou Rou smiled at Zhen Shi for him supporting her. That smile..... Zen Shi felt everything was worth it! The girl then looked back at the black-robed men and grinned devilishly "Sky Sun Bone Sword talisman, Three swords descend" and the manifested swords slashed forward as a streak of starry light. Zhen Shi also grinned in suppressed excitement, He was going to use his first spell in this new world! He disappeared using his increased 20x reaction speed and reappeared by the side of the charging group, numbering ten men. "Hell''s Flare" he shouted as he tossed the ball of "slime"-packed goodness at point-blank. The majority of the group had no time to block. Of course blocking would have made no difference. WHOOSH. A black fire dome appeared on the side of the group instantly annihilating half of the group. The Three starry swords also attacked and hit two men cleanly on the chest instantly turning them into ash. One unfortunate sword, however, entered the dome and burned up never to emerge. Also, an unlucky black-robed shit---man lost his arm to the dome of black fire. Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for successfully subduing and defeating a Foundation Stage expert! 1000 exp earned. For defeating your first foundation establishment practitioner, user has earned a minor gift box. Ding! Congratulation to user Zhen Shi for successfully subduing and defeating a Foundation ...(x4) ... Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for eradicating a soul spark sun sword. Rare Material Sky Sun Bone with assimilated soul earned! Ding! User has successfully acted out with Hell''s Flare and has earned 5 OP. Ding! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Congratulations to user for reaching the Qi Refining Stage completion stage. Wait, what? So I gain Otaku points once I use the skills earned?? Is that it?? Nevertheless, pushing aside these questions, Zhen Shi said out aloud mentally, "Open minor gift box". Ding! Minor gift box opened. Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for obtaining a lesser Spatial tear sword! EHH?What''s that? A weapon? Lesser spatial tear sword[ A consumable item capable of dealing 2 attacks equivalent to the full power attack at the peak Nascent Soul stage. Effective on cultivators below Spirit Formation. Can be used to tear spatial rifts which will randomly teleport user alone within an area of radius 100km. Suggested use: Fleeing] SHIET! You give me a cultivation level transcending weapon and expect me to use it to flee? No, I definitely won''t use it to flee. I''m done being the butt of your jokes, I definitely won''t follow by your rules!!! This tsundere system with a loincloth fetish is really GETTING ON MY NERVES!!!!! System:(????) Zhen Shi sighed. Nevertheless, I have profited. Meanwhile, the black fiery dome lasted for a couple more seconds, eerily giving off no signs of its danger to the outside. At the same time, the Sun talisman in the hands of the girl cracked and turned to dust. Zhen Shi was quite surprised by the power of the talisman. "That was a pretty good talisman" he praised. But the girl gaped and pointed at him, "Loin clothed bastard, what sort of attack was that? Aren''t you at Qi condensation? Humph, I guess you''re not too bad for your loincloth wearing self. More importantly, why''d you hit my attack? We could have taken down another one of these bastards" frowning grumpily. "Haha, I told you I shake the heavens. So don''t make excuses pretty girl. I killed 5 of them and an ARM!! But you got only 2. HAHA!!", laughed Zen Shi in happiness. Besides he gained a rare material from it. "You cheated you bastard. I hate you, both you and your loincloth!!" said Zou Rou grumpily crossing her arms over her ample chest. Grumpy Tsun Rou is cute as well!! Meanwhile, Xue Yuehai was scared out of his wits. Turns out he was the unlucky bastard who had lost his arm and started to escape, "You bastards you''ll pay for this!!" Zen Shi awakened from admiring the beauty, unhappily frowned at him and prepared another hell''s flare on his hand. Seeing this, the other surviving two immediately started to escape as well. At the same time, "My father is at the peak of Soul Transformation, he''ll definitely capture you lot and flay you alive!" shouted the now one-armed Xue Yuehai. Immediately he took out a black talisman and crushed it. 4 A sudden name change! "Shiet" muttered Zhen Shi. "Brother Yuehai, I understand that your little brother is short, but why is your temper so short as well? You didn''t have to go crawling to your father, did you? Now, now calm down and reform those broken talisman shards so that he won''t arrive. Let us have a fair duel and I''ll even give myself a handicap by only using the fire attack once. I PROMISE!!" What fair duel? One of those black balls will be enough to finish me off! And why are you so attentive to my little brother? Do you want it? Does this Zhen Shi like men? That might explain his choice of clothing. More importantly do I like men? Wait, what am I even thinking? Bringing himself back from his thoughts, "Obediently await your death, my father will be here in a breaths time!! Hahaha!!" shouted Xue Yuehai in glee. But the other two foundation establishment experts had already left!! "Idiot Loin Cloth, did you really think this little shit''s elder won''t come if you put back the crushed pieces of the talisman together? Is your brain in your loincloth? We should leave now!!" shouted Zou Rou. YOUR GRANDMOTHER''S LOINCLOTH!! I could handle it when you called me a bastard! But Tsun Rou why''d you put me on the same level as this damned loincloth, and change my name to Loincloth? Ding! System Notice! .... Zhen Shi''s eyes brightened!! "My dear Tsun Rou you keep underestimating me! Let me show you the extent of my abilities!!! That expert will never arrive while I''m here!!" saying so he waved his hand and his powerful spiritual senses latched on to the amulet and instantly reformed it. This was a mere repair and in no way was the amulet brought to its initial state. The one-armed Xue Yuehai with a little brother problem and Tsun Rou looked on in confusion. However, just as stated by Zhen Shi time passed on, but the supposed powerhouse never came. In fact, previously the system had informed him that Hell''s flare had damaged the message talisman so it wouldn''t work anyway. So, clever as he was, Zhen Shi couldn''t pass up this chance to impress the girl. Seeing this surprising turn of events Tsun Rou gaped, "Loin Shi, looks like underestimated you! Nice work! But what was that ability? Do you have the blessings of a god of time??" Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for gaining 5 OP! Zhen Shi was grinning ear to ear, having gained a reward and the girl''s praise. Still, he was wearing nothing but a dirty loincloth that was flapping in the wind. He had gotten thick-skinned regarding it and forgotten all about it. However, Xue Yuehai having seen this immediately started to escape "Little brothe--I mean bastard, just you wait. You can be on top now but when I get back with my father, both of us will definitely let you feel what it''s like to be at the receiving end!!!" Zhen Shi gaped, Is this guy threatening me? Or is he saying that they''ll have to switch positions ''in bed'' when he and his father get into it together? What type of shameful father-son duo is this? I definitely can''t let him escape. My CHASTITY IS AT STAKE!!!!! "SHUT UP IDIOT, die now!!!!" said Zhen Shi as he vanished and reappears ready to give the killing blow. He had no qualms against killing, after all, if he lacked a system he would have died several times already! Although Xue Yuehai had been trying to escape he was still quite close to Zhen Shi who had 20x reaction speed. So it was quite easy to catch up to Xue Yuehai. "Hell''s fire!" he shouted and threw the manifested black fireball ???? Seeing this Zhou Rou shouted, "No! Wai-" But it was too late. The fiery flame dome descended. But at the same time, a yellow dome appeared surrounding Xue Yuehai, which held off the attack. Seeing this Xue Yuehai actually grinned."Haha, little bastard you have made the biggest mistake of your life. My father that you held off will now finally arrive. No amount of tricks can change that!!!" But his grin immediately disappeared as the hell''s fire flame dome burned off the yellow protection and continued to attack him as well. "No...!" and he disappeared into dust within the dome, as Zhen Shi looked on with his loincloth fluttering in the wind. Just like that, he died! He didn''t even get to explore his newly arising desires. Ding! Congratulations to user Zhen Shi for subduing and utterly incinerating a foundation establishment stage practitioner protected by a life-saving artifact. User has gained 3000 exp. User has gained 10 OP. Ding! User Zhen Shi dealt damage through a life-saving artifact personally molded by a peak Soul Transformation expert. Hence the expert has already been notified of the user''s actions and will arrive shortly. Shiet! Why did this happen? Is the universe against me being a braggart? Did this expert have to come exactly when I said HE WON''T? Hmm, It appears like the system has found a new partner to conspire with, when I try bragging. This time it''s the UNIVERSE!!!! System "....." Ding! For destroying the artifact user has gained Soul Silver Metal. Hmmm..... Well, I suppose the system isn''t completely heartless! System "..." "Zhen Shi, you imbecile, what have you done? Since he was important enough to have a message talisman he probably would have had a life protection talisman as well! And although you finally did kill him, the Spirit transformation stage expert will still arrive!" shouted Tsun Rou in anger. "Don''t worry Tsun Rou, let this big brother handle this!" said Zhou Rou patting his chest and grinning, as he understood her worry. But how could be fearful of anyone when he possessed a system! More importantly, he had that overpowered sword!!! The notifications continued, Ding! Congratulations to user for reaching the foundation establishment stage 1! Congratulations to user for gaining a major choice chest! Immediately his dantian resonated with nature. The four elemental spiritual roots connected with each other grew closer and formed a brown ball of matter which floated withing the primordial chaos. Zhen Shi''s physical attack and defense increased as a result. His connection to nature increased further. While he was entranced in his power-up, a terrifying roar exploded from far away, "WHO DARES TO KILL THE OFFSPRING OF THE XUE YUE SECT!" and a terrifying pressure descended on all those remaining. Zhen Shi felt stifled and found it unable to move under this spiritual pressure. This...was power! Ding! Spiritual pressure of a higher tier cultivator detected! Resolving of pressure completed! Finally, Zhen Shi felt like he could move. He was growing more and more apprehensive noticing the seriousness of the situation. Because even if he escaped with the spatial sword, Zhou Rou would be in danger. A terrifying figure descended from the skies like the descent of a god. He was exploding with natural lightning energy which crackled around him. He crossed his eyes and stared straight at Zhen Shi. Zhen Shi could feel the malice in this person''s eyes. The notification above his head read {Soul Transformation-Peak} !!! Xue Yuegui was mad. He was truly mad! Not out of loss for his son, but rather for being disturbed from his cultivation seclusion! He held nothing but contempt for that useless son of his, that had been bested by a mere 1st stage foundation establishment expert parading around as a qi cultivator! Besides he had many sons, loss of one spelled nothing for him! Nevertheless, since his reputation would be tarnished if he took no action and to prevent any blemishes in his dao heart he would kill these two! Xue Yuegui brought out a scepter emanating crashing lightning and immediately struck out at the duo, targeting on Zou Rou! It was simply too fast! He arrived like a bolt of lightning but struck even faster! But before the attack landed, Zou Rou''s body glowed with a brownish glow and a giant earthen face emerged out of thin air holding off this attack. "Hoh? Another Soul transformation.....No, nascent soul stage expert? But it appears you''re wounded. Ah it''s you, the renowned City Lord! Your illustrious name echoes throughout the world despite how far away you are. But do you think just your incarnation can stop me from taking revenge? Even if you personally came, in your wounded state you couldn''t do much! Besides your real body is so far away" said Xue Yuegui. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Fa-Father? No! Why''d you come here? That talisman held a part of your soul? No! Your state will worsen even further!" shouted out Zou Rou in worry. Zhen Shi could guess the power of Zou Rou''s father, the Earth Face merely via the notification above him. It simply said HIDDEN! The large face turned to her, "Stupid girl! I''ll die before I let you get hurt. You almost died. I truly shouldn''t have let you go on this journey" and sighed. He looked back at Xue Yugui, " Fellow Daoist, you''re taking revenge for your son. I can respect that. But this is my daughter, and I''ll rather both us perish than her! Make a choice" and said in a solemn tone. Xue Yuegui grimaced, "Very well, I''ll give you some face. The girl didn''t deal the killing blow anyway. But if you think I''ll let this little undignified scoundrel running about in his undergarments escape, you''ve got another thing coming!" "No father! This scoundre-- I mean man helped me out. I can''t let him die!" said Zou Rou. She said this even though her father was in such bad straits. Zhen Shi felt warm in his heart even though she almost called him a scoundrel. He was about to refuse... The City Lord eath face turned to him, "Little boy, What on earth are you wearing?" he smiled, "Either way you saved and helped my daughter. I am truly thankful. I can''t help you at the moment. This is a tribulation of your own doing! If you can''t take responsibility for your actions, why even cultivate?" he stated seriously. "Come meet us at Solsun City if you survive. For your help to my daughter, I''ll naturally reward you!" he continued on. He then grabbed Zhou Rou and started to leave. But Xue Yuegui obstructed him, "Saint Sun Soul of Solsun city, give back my clan''s property before leaving. Not only do I intend to kill and torture this little kid you''re being friendly with, I also want you to give me back the pill!" Xue Yuegui was truly curious how a random immortal pill in their sect could grab the intention of this city lord''s daughter. He was worried that they had failed to identify the value of the fish which had been caught in their own net! Saint Sun Soul''s face contorted in anger and the terrifying pressure of a nascent soul expert radiated out. Even wounded, his supremacy could not be hidden. "Yuegui, don''t go too far! Do you think I''ll give you a mile when I agreed to an inch? Do you think I''m truly that powerless?" he shouted out. Yuegui grimaced, but ultimately conceded, not willing to court disaster for his clan but mostly for himself. Still, Zhen Shi who was watching this verbal war between the two grinned! "Oi Oi, Old men who do you think you are? Arguing with each other and ignoring me like I ain''t here?" The mass of matter and primordial chaos in his dantian generated a unique pressure as he talked completely ignoring all pressure given out by the two. "Tsun Rou you''re a city lords daughter? No matter how I look, I can''t see it... And old ''Earth Face'' Sun don''t worry, I''ll be there to see you soon" he said grinning nonchalantly. City Lord Sun Soul raised an eyebrow, he was surprised. But said nothing. Xue Yuegui was getting impatient and was maddened over Zhen Shi''s attitude, albeit slightly surprised by the boy''s capabilities. Wait till you''re alone with me little kiddo! he thought. As the space around Zou Rou and the earth face started to vibrate she said, "Loin clothed bastard, why so confident? I''ll be surprised if you even survive",she said worriedly. "I''ll never forgive you if you die!! Also,I know you''re an idiot so you probably still think I''m Zou Rou right?" said grinning. ''Zou Rou'' continued, "My name is Sun Rou. If you make it out alive I''ll get you some proper clothes! Oh, I promised to inform your idiot self about something, didn''t I? Here this should be sufficient for you!" and threw over a talisman. He caught it and pocketed it. "Sun Rou? Thank god it wasn''t anything else. I was really starting to get attached to calling you Tsun Rou! Besides both are basically the same. Sun Rou, you were born to be Tsun Rou!!!" shouted out Zhen Shi laughing out loud. "Loin clothed idiot, Is this what you should be thinking of before facing off a Soul formation expert, especially when you''re so weak?" retorted Sun Rou. Zhen Shi just grinned. Xue Yuegui had been silent the entire time. He was no longer overbearing in the presence of Saint Sun Soul. The moment he realized that this city lord could bend space for teleportation, he thanked the gods for not having provoked him too far!!! Still, he felt stifled!! But now that they were on the verge of leaving, Xue Yuegui decided to unleash all his anger and worry on this little genius!! Hence he immediately attacked with his scepter and lightning crackling around his body. Zhen Shi immediately disappeared and reappeared to the side completely bypassing the attack. However, a thunder serpent emerged out from his lightning covered body and struck out. Seeing this, Zhen Shi hurriedly utilized some earth elemental energy and covered his chest. In that sudden instance, he gained insight into utilizing pure elemental essence. After all, he had utilized the Hell''s flare attack, which incorporated both fire and lightning, several times. Pu! He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was struck backward and thrown to the ground. Still, the gap in cultivation was too immense. AH! Motherfucker! That hurts! He turned to look at Tsun Rou and the earth face. But they had already left, and space gave no evidence to their presence. "Haha, little bastard where''s your cocky attitude now? I know you''re supposed to be a genius, but with this little bit of ability, if you fight me, you won''t even know how you died!!" Zhen Shi slowly crawled to a standing position. Ignoring the ridicule in Xue Yuegui''s words he sharply stared at him, with an indomitable will surging in his eyes! 5 The most terrifying support skill is double edged!!!!!! In that instance, Zhen Shi truly looked heroic with the strange pressure emanating from his body, his hair blowing in the breeze, the slight trickle of blood at the corner of his chin and the sheer look of unbendable will in his eyes. Well, at least he would have if it wasn''t for the front-only covering dirty loincloth..... IT TRULY RUINS THE PICTURE! Still, Zhen Shi took no mind to this, as he was completely focused on the strong opponent in front of him. He instantly formed and threw out a Hell''s Flare but the lightning cloaked Xue Yuegui was too fast and easily dodged it. "Status!" said Zhen Shi in his mind. User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment Stage 1 Cultivation energy: 99% Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: Level Vision(Minor) II Hell''s Flare-27% II Exp points: 0/10,000 OP(Otaku Points): 40 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells Intelligence +10 Charisma +10) Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Fake Tarzan(-Permanent 2x reaction increase) Status: Naked Monkey pretending to be Tarzan with a dirty loincloth{Effect: Wearing the given loincloth grants a 10x reaction speed boost. Washing will negate effect } Oh! Hell''s Flare seems to have improved with constant usage. Zhen Shi was getting ready to open the choice chest he received when he reached foundation establishment, but a well-placed gust of wind, or for Zhen Shi and Xue Yuegui a badly placed gust of wind, suddenly lifted up the front flap of the loincloth!! Providing great shame to Zhen Shi and an eye-blinding view to Xue Yuegui! ???????????? ?_? WHAT THE MOTHERFUCKING LOINCLOTH!!! I''ve been whooshing here and there like a gust of wind but this frapping loincloth never moved nor gave a peep, but now when I was barely getting into this fight and standing totally still, you decide to reveal me for all to see!! SYSTEM I KNOW THIS IS YOUR DOING!!! This time you have teamed up with the wind itself to stop me!!!! System "...." Ding! Congratulations to user for learning UNGRADEABLE SKILL . Created Skill: [Iron Tier Support Skill. A simple action of revealing oneself will cause shameful feelings to arise in all affected men, even the heavens itself! The sheer difference in size will cause all to be stupefied in shame!! All those affected will act as if they''ve been blinded and with next to no mental faculties!! Its effect will simply be temporary on higher tier cultivators. The skill is upgradeable. Unknown effects might occur....] Ding! Target Soul Formation cultivator has been affected! Ding! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. User has gained +100 Skill exp for Ding! Skill has reached Copper-tier! One look at the dazed Peak Soul formation expert Xue Yuegui who was standing still as if nothing else mattered, caused Zhen Shi to tremble in excitement!!! HAHA! The heavens are truly fair!! Good fortune indeed lies within misfortune. This time I have truly stumbled on a big treasure!! If this skill can daze a cultivator this much powerful than me, while still in the Iron tier. I can''t imagine how much OVERPOWERED it could get in the future. I do admit it''s a shameless skill, but power is power!! There is nothing to question. I just have to be careful to use this skill when I am alone. Zhen Shi was over the moon, however, he couldn''t help but feel a shiver run up his spine as he read the last sentence of the skill description. "Unknown effects....". Almost immediately a slight but repeating sighing sound could be heard. Zhen Shi slowly raised his head in fear only to see the blinded Xue Yuegui with reddened eyes and panting. A bestial aura had arisen around him as he looked at Zhen Shi like he was eyeing a slab of meat!! "Little boy what have you done to me?? It seems you have bewitched me? HMMM, looks like I''ll have to use you to relieve myself. I''ll play with you and kill you. A much more happy ending than you deserve. Now COME TO DADDY!!!" Zhen Shi in his fear gained insights into applying fire and wind elemental energies, and with his 20x reaction speed boost and earth elemental energy as well, his movement speed was even on par with a soul transformation expert. After all elemental combination requires great skill! Hence he easily dodged Xue Yuegui who had mentally fallen to the level of a beast in heat, he no longer used the lightning to attack Zhen Shi as before. Completely understimating his strength and speed, Xue Yuegui missed and shot off to a distance of several meters. Now with room to breath, "AHHH MOTHERFUCKER looks like this overpowered skill is A DOUBLE EDGED BLADE!! Does this mean the blinding effect is useless?? NO! WAIT! Didn''t that Xue Yuehai fellow mention something about both him and his father making me feel what it would be like on the receiving end?? That has to be it!! This shameless father of his must-have affected my skill with his tendencies. Looks like I''ll have to be careful about how I use this skill!" "Hey System, tell me about this situation and explain the side effects in detail." Ding! is still a copper tier skill. As UNGRADEABLE it has the potential to rise in tier. Certain special individuals will exhibit strange symptoms as here when used. But the deciding factor is the cultivation level difference. Since the power between user and target is great, the blinding effect was easily neglected. Still, the skill will affect the mental faculties of even such powerhouses. "Haha, so that''s how it is. This skill is a truly overpowered support skill. It will shame men and even if they''re ''special'' it will reduce their intelligence. This much of an effect while being in the lowest tier!! The system can be quite helpful at times I suppose." Suddenly his face contorted lecherously, I wonder what effects this skill will have on women!!! Ding! More information has arisen upon further analysis. OH? The system is being seriously helpful. Ding! To employ maximum power of user must personally lift and reveal himself to the target. ?_? WHAT THE SHIET!!! SYSTEM, DO YOU THINK I''M A MALE STRIPPER??? Here I was praising you, I TAKE IT ALL BACK. DO YOU THINK YOU''RE MY GRANDFATHER??!! Wait, could it be that the system got mad when I thought of using this on women? Wait, is the system a feminist?? System "....." Ignoring this unhappy turn of events, Zhen Shi turned to look at the panting Xue Yuegui. With his mental faculties affected, he was an easy target. "Hell''s Flare!!" he shouted repeatedly as he threw out balls of hell-flare like throwing stones. His energy dropped to a mere quarter of the total. They all landed on the unguarded body of Xue Yuegui covering him and multiple meters around him with hemispherical domes of hellfire. Ding! User has repeatedly used hell''s flare skill. User has gained 5 OP. Zhen Shi, however, frowned as he did not notice any notifications granting experience. Xue Yuegui was still alive!! The hellfire domes gradually disappeared, revealing a half-burnt Xue Yuegui. His face had basically melted off, all that remained of his robes were charred black filth which clung on to his skin. Even to a peak soul transformation, the dark black hell''s fire is deadly!! His face contorted in pain, he roared out loud as any semblance of sanity he had was lost under the pain! His death was inevitable, but his desire to take down the one who had dealt him death burned brightly! Suddenly a terrifying pressure emanated out from his half-burned body. And a dark red miasma wafted out from his body! This miasma formed into a terrifying creature with the head of a crocodile, torso of a leopard and hindquarters of a hippo. It was hideous to look at, but a terrifying almost god-like presence could be felt. Ding! Target Soul Transformation cultivator has successfully sacrificed his remaining life force to gain god aether and summoned an Ammit persona! Target cultivator has broken free of Shaming the Heavens! Target cultivator has reached a pseudo-Nascent Soul stage! The now powerful Ammit-XueYuegui struck out with his/her claws. Immediately realizing the seriousness of the situation, Zhen Shi shamelessly looked straight at Ammit personified Xue Yuegui and lifted the front flap of the loincloth!!! "Shaming the heavens!!" The 100% strike of the now silver-tier !!! Ding! Full powered was effective. The presence of both the ''special'' Xue Yuegui and goddess Ammit has made your attack super effective!! Ding! Temporarily, the target has lost mental faculties and lost control of the god aether. Regardless of this success, the full-powered claw strike with god aether was still arriving towards him!! Zhen Shi immediately deciding to take no risks, took out the lesser Spatial tear sword and swung out at the claw attack and the now dazed Ammit-Xue Yuegui. He continued on being dazed even as the full power of a Nascent Soul stage expert ripped him apart and all space around him. Trees, Rocks basically anything and everything it came in to contact with simply disintegrated. He was ripped apart into nothing by the spatial chaos! The area all around grew blurry due to unstable space. Zhen Shi was quite satisfied with its power, but he was mostly satisfied at having bested the system. After all, he used the sword to attack instead of fleeing!! HAHA! SYSTEM I TOLD YOU I''LL USE IT AS A WEAPON!!!!! System "..." Ding! Congratulations to user for slashing apart a peak soul transformation expert! As Zhen Shi heard the familiar notification he finally relaxed!! He felt like his luck today wasn''t so good after all!! Although he got reincarnated into a world perfect for him chock full of gods, although he got a system perfect for an otaku, he had been facing enemy after enemy since the moment he arrived!! He had also been falling into ridiculous situations! Well, his luck just got worse. The blurry area grew clear again, as the unstable spatial tear stabilized, revealing a scary sight!!! SHIET!!!! Apparently the spatial attack had phased through the claw strike. Although it struck Ammit-XueYuegui the claw strike had remained and it now struck full force on Zhen Shi''s body. He didn''t even have time to defend. A terrifying claw mark appeared on his chest reaching his bones!! Blood splattered all around!! The pain was terrifying!! He felt himself losing consciousness and so pushed himself towards the now stable spatial tear!! He was unwilling to be captured by experts who would come due to the spatial disturbance!! As he further lost consciousness his final thought, HOLY MOTHERFUCKER!!!! I bragged like a king but in the end, used the sword to flee!! System this was your plan all along wasn''t it??? System "..." 6 The healing beauty?? After Zhen Shi left off into the unknown primordial space, the spatial tear disappeared. The still stabilizing space and the 100-meter area completely devoid of existence were evidence of the battle that took place. Sometime later a familiar earthen face suddenly formed itself out of the dirt on the earthen ground. He slowly surveyed the scene of the battle. A surprised look appeared on his face but was immediately replaced with an impressed smile. Moments later he disappeared, in the same way he arrived... ???????????????? Zhen Shi was surprised to find that he was still conscious. He could vaguely feel how he was moving through the vast and unpredictable spatial chaos. And then he felt nothing and saw darkness!! "Shiet, has this scholarly self passed away?? Just because of the mere claw attack of an Ammit-powered-XueYuegui?? NO!!! He refused to believe it!! Ding!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. User has not yet passed away. His life is hanging on by a mere thread!! Shiet! System, can''t you ever come bearing good news??? System "..." Ding!! User has received a higher random loot chest for killing the Deified Soul Transformation cultivator!! Zhen Shi almost laughed out loud. HAHA! System if only you were always so perfect! Suddenly,his vision veered off of the darkness to focus on a mass of matter within primordial chaos!! "Holy Moly!! Isn''t this my dantian? Is this the legendary innate-body-view??" shouted out Zhen Shi. And in addition to this, he could feel a vague understanding of his tendons, meridians, bones, and soul. He realized that they were badly damaged!! He even felt like he was touching upon a vague concept. Potential!!! Ding! Condition of body and innate talent comprehended. New feature is active! User has gained access to . Zhen Shi barely noticed this as his attention had switched to something else. The brown ball of matter within the primordial chaos was undergoing a qualitative change!! Simultaneously, Ding! User has gained 100,000 exp for defeating the Pseudo-deified Soul Transformation cultivator. Ding! Congratulations to user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 2! Congratulations to user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 3! Congratulations to user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 4! ... ... Congratulations to user for reaching Foundation Establishment Full completion! Ding! Congratulations to user for reaching the Core Formation Stage 1! As such, the brown matter within the primordial chaos started to rearrange itself. At the same time, it glowed with four colors; a fiery red, an aqua blue, a lively green, and an earthen brown. Those colors formed into maelstroms of aether as they wreaked havoc all over the brown ball of matter. There was strange beauty hidden within them as they kept on destroying!! Earthen speck, after Earthen speck was destroyed. But for each destroyed speck, a minute but almost invisible energy emerged. With the emergence of this energy, miraculous changes occurred!! Within the earthen globe terrifying fiery energy rose. It formed into a magma core present within, creating a force of gravity on its surface. At the same time, a strong wind blew throughout the surface of the globe, removing any remnant specks of dust. But the destruction caused by the aether maelstroms had left it uneven. With the blowing of this wind, a sudden downpour of rain occurred..... As time passed on, this rain stopped. But the water remained on it forming lakes upon lakes, except for the higher levels of the earth which remained above it as land and mountains. His dantian had become the skeleton of a planet within primordial chaos!!! Ding! Congratulations to user for reaching Core Formation Stage 2! DIng! ..... Zhen Shi was so confounded by the series of events that took place within his dantian, that he just kept on staring completely oblivious to the systems notifications. He was absorbed in this miraculous event, trying to make sense of this miraculous occurrence. This entire time he had been thrown from dangerous situation to situation, he had tried to be careful the entire time although he had been throwing insult upon insult at the enemy as well!! This was the first time he could actually calm down and analyze what he had seen this entire time!! As such he had a fairly deep understanding of cultivation which he believed was simply utilizing physically or spiritually developed energy externally to show greater prowess. But this was a planet created within a body! Creating something from nothing!! Not a bit of his science and physics knowledge could help him make sense of this. So he gave up on it and started to comprehend creation simply from what he saw. As time passed on, he got a vague feeling... A vague feeling that he could comprehend the basic laws of what had occurred. But he felt he lacked that final step. Whatever it was that was needed to comprehend this law, he was sure it couldn''t be found within his dantian! Still, the formation of this skeletal planet had drastically strengthened his elemental control, and strengthened his spiritual power and perception!! Now, temporarily putting off this, he started to focus attention on his body. Since the time he had spent comprehending creation, he had felt a warm light washing over him. This warm light had slowly repaired his damaged body. Even going so far as to bring his damaged tendons and meridians out of the critical state. Although he had neglected it in his comprehensive state, he now realized that someone had probably healed him!! He grinned, within his innate-body, if that''s even possible. Holy Shiet!! I must have fallen into the hands of a beautiful maiden, who had fallen in love with me at first sight. The moment she saw my handsome and scholarly self hurt she must have healed me!!! YES, THAT''S THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXPLANATION!!! ???????????????? At the same time, his vision blacked out. Instantaneously he had regained control of his body and was now back in the world. He could feel that he was in the hands of someone. He could feel a soft and tender touch reapplying bandages to his chest, which now only gave a dull ache now and then. He grinned in his mind as he imagined the beauty who was applying bandages to his body. He groggily opened his eyes unable to wait for any longer!!! ?_? His eye twitched... What awaited his vision was a "stunning, utterly bewitching"... ....... face of an old man. He was dressed in an old-fashioned western butler uniform. His face was filled with wrinkles almost showcasing the wisdom he had obtained over the years. FUCK!! SYSTEM, WHERE''S MY PROMISED BEAUTY!!! I DIDN''T WANT A WRINKLED OLD BUTLER!!! And how are there butlers anyway?? Isn''t this supposed to be a cultivation world, where everyone wears traditional robes??? System "....." But no matter how much he ranted mentally he dared not complain to the old man holding him. After all no matter what, this old man had played a role in healing him. But mostly because above his head his cultivation state was Soul Formation Stage 1! The old man raised his head and smiled. Yet he looked down and continued to wrap the fresh bandages. Zhen Shi looked on... Moments later the old man stopped and calmly stood straight. "Young man, care to tell me what you were doing in the young lady''s room? Suddenly appearing ripped from head to toe and on the verge of death?" he spoke in a wizened voice. But the workings of a smile was playing on his lips, "How did you enter the mansion alerting no one in such a horrible state??" Seeing that he''d rather not reply, the old man finally brought out that smile. "Well, you sure did give the young lady a startling surprise. Oh, and you have to thank her for healing you. The young lady was personally blessed at her birth by one of our region''s goddesses. Eir, the goddess of healing!! You are quite fortunate, I doubt anyone in the entire kingdom of Lyonesse would dare proclaim themselves better at the art of healing than our young lady." he finished with pride in his eyes. OH WELL! This scholarly self was correct in the end. It was a beauty who healed me!!! Noticing that Zhen Shi was still looking tired, "Well I suppose I''ll leave you to your recovery" As if to reassure him, "Don''t worry, our Lord Count Brishman is a kind man. In terms of being kind-hearted, I''d reckon he''s out shadowed only by the young lady! You will definitely be safe here." Turning around to leave he opened the door and took a step. But looking down at himself Zhen Shi noticed that besides the bandages he was wearing only a pair of black pants. With a slight tinge of worry and also shame he asked out, "Old man, what did you-- I mean...Was there a piece of cloth on my person?" The old man frowned, A piece of cloth? The only thing on his body besides blood was that....He laughed out loud!! "Young man, do you mean that Filthy loincloth? I suppose it must have some sort of", he paused as he struggled to find the right word, "sentimental value to you? Don''t worry I''ll make sure the maids return it to you. It''s probably been already washed. Well if that''s all, I''ll be taking my leave." Zhen Shi mentally grimaced. NOOO!!! My 10x reaction speed!!! ?_? He stared on almost as if his soul had reached the heavens, as his dreams of utterly shattering people with his godly reaction speed collapsed around him. Even if shameless, Power is Power. But now... Alas..... Suddenly the leaving old butler, turned around and asked, "Oh yes, young man, I didn''t quite catch your name?" "Zhen Shi" he managed to speak out. Although not in a critical condition it was still pretty difficult for him to talk. Moreover, he was still wallowing in his loss. "Zhen?" a look of worry arose on the old man''s face. But he quickly dismissed it with a shake of his head and left quietly, the door closed behind him. Now left alone in the noble and refined room, finally forgetting his loss, Zhen Shi mentally thought "Status" User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Core Formation Stage 4(Body-Damaged) Cultivation energy: UNREACHABLE Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: II II Exp points: 10,000/100,000 OP(Otaku Points): 45 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells Intelligence +10 Charisma +10) Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Fake Tarzan(-Permanent 2x reaction increase) Status: Crippled and Useless( 5% faster pity healing) SYSTEM!!!!!!! But almost as if he was tired out from the wounds and loss of his Naked monkey status, he didn''t retort back to the system for his ridiculous title. But this was because he was confused. When did reach almost completion of silver tier? Based on his understanding after using it against Xue Yuegui it should have reached silver tier at best! Wait... Could it be that when my clothes were being changed, someone accidentally activated that skill?? SHIET, WAS IT THAT GRANDPA?? WAS THAT WHY HE WAS SO HAPPY???? He almost shivered. NO, NO. It was the young lady who healed me! So it has to be her!! And he consoled himself as such. However, he was lucky enough to put this matter off his mind quickly, because he remembered the unopened chests he had and also the new feature he had received. But most of all his inner bookworm had awakened, he remembered the data talisman given to him by Tsun Rou! Deciding to start off with the chests, he excitedly said, "System show me the available chests" Ding! A small box with 5 squares opened up in front of him. One had a Major Choice Chest and another said Random Material Chest. He quickly thought to open them. Ding! Higher Random Material Chest. Gold-tier Arachnid Corpse gained!! EH?? A dead spider?? But this corpse was emanating a terrifying aura. As an item of the gold tier its a good bargain. After all, it was of the same level as Hell''s flare which burnt a soul transformation expert to near death. Ding! Major choice chest[Type-Skill] opened. The system poses the user a question, Will the user take what he wants or what he needs?? Zhen Shi pondered momentarily. "What I need!" there was no doubt in his mind. Even he wasn''t sure of what he ''wanted'' and desired, and whether it would be useful for him right now. However, what he ''needed'', should help him survive just a bit more. And the system should be able to easily decide what he needed. Although he had done fairly well since he reincarnated, no matter how irritated he was, he knew his success was due to the system. Thus he decided to take what he needed!! Ding! Congratulations to user for earning . Unique skill: [Silver Tier. Transformation Skill. Using the souls of a Vermillion Bird and an Azure Dragon, user will be able to achieve a nearly unkillable and strong physical body. The Azure dragon will grant ferocious attacks and strong scaled defense. The Vermillion Bird will grant great speed and high regeneration of all wounds. Allows user to hide skill with partial transformation giving 25% of the power. Skill can be further strengthened with the souls of the white tiger and the black tortoise] Seeing this next to overpowered skill and due to his knowledge of how overpowered it could get at completion, Zhen Shi was extremely elated and excited!!! But he couldn''t help but feel a nagging in his mind. Suddenly his eyes glowed in understanding!!! System... Not considering the first power-up bag, so far you have granted me item and skill loot boxes for each first kill of a particular cultivation level and also for reaching a new cultivation stage. So, why have I not received two choice chests for reaching the foundation establishment and core formation stages??? System "...." 7 A soul struggling against Vermillion fire.... Ding! System Rule:- Chests: Only a single type of chest can be possessed by the user at any given time. Since the user already possessed the initial choice chest from reaching the foundation establishment stage, the second chest for reaching the core formation stage was skipped. HOLY SHIET!!Your sister''s "CHEST"S are limited!! SYSTEM... SYSTEM... Don''t you think you should tell me this sort of thing?? Aiya!!! What to do, what to do??? This handsome and scholarly self is too much of a genius that he couldn''t stop himself from leveling up too fast!! System I supposed it wasn''t your fault! It was mine, for being too much of a genius!! And he consoled himself as such. System: "..." Zhen Shi focused on his wounds. Immediately realizing a way to heal up faster he mentally said, "System learn skill !" Ding! Are you sure? "YES!" Sheesh, didn''t I already tell you? Why are you so slow..... Zhen Shi''s thoughts stopped as a horrifying pain arose all over his body. He almost let out a scream. But realizing what would happen if he did so within the count''s mansion, he turned around and tightly bit onto the pillow. Just as he did he lost consciousness.... Just as well, because immediately his bones and flesh started moving around like worms in muddy soil. Blood seeped out of his pores as his skeletal structure rearranged into a more powerful form. Azure Blue scales started to slowly seep out of his skin, as two horns emerged out of his head and a draconic spiked tail emerged out of his back. Next, dark red feathers started to appear in between the gaps of the draconic scales and a pair of dark red wings also slowly dug themselves out of his back. This physical transformation took a huge toll on his body and as it was already in a damaged state, he was instantly thrown back into a life-threatening situation, despite the divine healing. Fortunately, a dark red but lively flame arose from his entire body. It emanated no heat outside and strangely burned nothing. Not even the bed he was lying down on. However, it gradually started to heal his wounds and the blood on his body was evaporated away. The flames reached his soul and started to burn away his soul, it was a quantitative decrease for a qualitative increase!! Thus his soul was now extremely pure and several times stronger. The dantian and body was strengthened as well. Widening his meridians, improving his tendons and stabilizing his cultivation! It could be said that this flame made his body stronger and much more suitable for cultivation!!! This was the legendary Undying Flame of the Vermillion Bird!! As the fire burned on, his physical strength slowly rose up as well. Within an hour his body had reached the maximum level possible for his current cultivation level. He was a core formation expert by the physical body alone, meaning he could punch foundation establishment experts to death while using no cultivation energy at all and could easily take the full-powered attack of an ordinary core formation stage cultivator head on!!! .... As the flames died down, Zhen Shi regained consciousness and he slowly stood up to check his body!! He was completely healed and was actually better off than before!! Meaning that his regenerative capabilities were on par if not better than the count''s daughter''s divine healing!! Moreover, his physical body had become extremely strong!! His powerful muscles could be visibly seen from outside. He looked and felt like a leopard on the poise of shooting off to hunt!! He happily walked over to the mirror in the room and started to admire himself. MY GOD, I LOOK LIKE A PROFESSIONAL MODEL!!!! He even started to pose showcasing his muscles!! But, suddenly, the door opened and a maid dressed in the western style black and white dress holding some clothes walked in! Zhen Shi was frozen in his pose as he looked at her, (???) Actually, she was pretty cute, but her face gawked in surprise and she bowed saying, "I-I''m sorry, young master. I thought you were still recovering and asleep." She slightly raised her head and continued on with a bright red face, "Lord Butler sent me here to leave a fresh pair of clothes and return something of sentimental value??" THAT OLD MAN??!!! Well isn''t he quite the crafty one. I suppose he must be having the time of his life, with that kind smile plastered on his face, while imagining what is happening!! And something of sentimental value? Don''t you think that some jokes just get old after a while, old man?? Still, I got a chance to impress a cute girl!!! Cough!! He calmly returned back to a normal posture, as if posing in front of the mirror and checking himself out was the most normal thing in the world. He lightly smiled in the way he felt was most charming, "It''s fine. You can leave it there." The girl was stunned seeing his smile, but quickly came back to herself, blushing even more! She did so, albeit quite slowly while looking at Zhen Shi, who calmly looked at her with that smile on his face. bowed and left. HAHA!! That was exhilarating!! Did you see that cute blush??!! But Zhen Shi quickly forgot about it as his mind turned to the information talisman given to him by Tsun Rou. He was even more excited as he would be getting his hands on a bunch of new information. He could finally get to know what this world was about! He sat down cross-legged on the bed. He had already gotten rid of the bandages and was only wearing the black pants. He held the talisman in his hands and sent a wisp of Qi into it. Immediately a torrent of information was transferred to his mind. He grinned! As time slowly passed his grin grew deeper!! This world is interesting! The talisman gave him a BASIC overview of the world... Did that Tsun Rou think that I was actually an idiot?? She must''ve truly thought so, as she kept calling me an idiot over and over! Why does this talisman only tell so little?? ???????????????? Somewhere out in the world, a cute and silver-haired tsundere was peacefully cultivating. When all of a sudden, she sneezed!!! ???????????????? In actuality, this talisman was already top grade being able to hold so much information. Still, what he did learn, he was greatly happy with!! This world was apparently extremely vast. So vast that even the strongest mortal cultivators would take thousands of years to go around it!! And beyond this world lay the empty and desolate space. Within the world, however, there were humans, Elves, Dwarves, Giants and Beast-kin. The other races were greatly discriminated in the human regions and thus their population visible to the outside world was fairly low. However, none believed that those races were dwindling!! This is because of THE GODS!!! Almost every clan, tribe, kingdom, and organization had a patron divinity!! Let alone an entire race!! They would worship statues and totems of these gods and goddesses, with requests which would sometimes be answered. But most importantly, the powerful cultivators can use these totems to summon and harness god aether and drastically strengthen themselves. Generally one needs to be of the Nascent Soul Stage to safely harness god aether! But some cultivators can forcefully harness god aether at risk of destabilizing their cultivation. This explained how Xue Yuegui had suddenly summoned down god aether and used the power of Ammit, the patron divinity of his clan. If Zhen Shi had faced an actual Nascent Soul cultivator using god aether, he wouldn''t have been so lucky!! In addition, some truly talented individuals have been known to result in the appearance of apparitions in the form of gods who provided them divine blessings. At birth, like for the young lady who had healed him or even at other instances of one''s life. Nevertheless, due to these divine totems and divine blessings no one doubted the power of the gods. Hence most people believed that those other races including elves, dwarves, and beast-kin had completely isolated themselves in other worlds. Because patron gods generally do not allow those who worship them to be massacred in large numbers! However, these gods never appear themselves and almost never have. At least according to the talisman. This lead Zhen Shi to suspect that maybe there were no gods at all and something else was afoot??? Leaving this conundrum for the moment, he focused on the details regarding the presence of eastern cultivators and also the western staff of the mansion he was currently in!! ..... Apparently, this world contained people who followed multiple traditions and customs. But no matter what traditions or customs they had, every culture included cultivation. So if you meet a strong knight donning armor on horseback, chances are he will also be a strong cultivator!!! And in this world, there were nearly uncountable numbers of kingdoms, clans, and tribes with cultivators and their own unique patron divinity. Realizing that he couldn''t get much more out of the talisman he placed it aside and asked something from the system he had been quite curious about. "System, what use do Otaku Points have? And also explain how I gain those points." Ding! System Information[Otaku Points]: Otaku Points(OP) are generally gained when the user uses skills earned from the system granted chests or gift boxes. However, after earning a certain number of points, designated by the system, that particular skill will stop yielding points. Also earning the trust, admiration or pride of some individuals may also grant OP. Finally, the user can use these points to summon a divine boon!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Oh? System that actually sounds pretty reasonable. Except for the part where EVERYTHING IS UP TO YOU!!! System: "....." Zhen Shi sighed, "What''s a divine boon?" Ding! Divine boon: User can utilize a certain amount of otaku points to get an IOU from any god! The god whose favor you gain and what he will owe you will depend on luck!! But of course, the user can pay an additional amount of Otaku Points to specify the god and also to specify what you need to be done!" IOU[I OWE YOU]''s from the gods? My God! Isn''t that too OP? SHIET, SYSTEM THIS IS TOO AWESOME!!!! Wait, DEPEND ON LUCK??? Isn''t this gambling? System don''t you know that gambling isn''t good for the family? System "...." Still, Zhen Shi was greatly pleased. Hahaha!!!! "System how much do I need to get a divine boon from Zeus, Odin, Vishnu or let''s say Nuwa??" Ding! The higher tier gods are currently locked out for obtaining direct or random IOU''s. SHIET!! I guess I should have expected that with this System!! Anyways it would have been too OP(Overpowered) for my lack of OP(Otaku Points) anyways!!! [Note: Get it? ????] Now, what should I get as my first divine boon? Gamble and hope for the best? Or ask for something specific? A personal godly pet? Or even a harem? Or a super-strong old man as a guard?? Suddenly, remembering that he had quite a bit of material collected and feeling that he was missing a powerful weapon he asked mentally, "System, how much to get Hephaestus[Hepheastus: Son of Zeus, the Greek god of Blacksmithing, manufactured weapons for the entire Greek/Roman pantheon] to make a weapon for me?" Ding! Hephaestus is a high tiered god in the art of Blacksmithing. Price is 1000 OP. But..... considering this is the user''s first divine boon, the price will be 100 OP!! SYSTEM, I LOVE YOU!!! That is a massive discount! Although I only have 45 OP, I have an idea to earn the extra OP! Wait, system what would have happened if I had gambled on my first try? Then I would have never gotten this discount, RIGHT???? System "..." Still, praising his luck, Zhen Shi activated , albeit very lightly. About 1% of the skill. A small pair of horns emerged from the sides of his head but they were very well hidden by his hair. Some azure scales appeared on his chest inlaid with vermillion feathers. His eyes grew slightly red. But that was it. He maintained this state for around an hour. Ding! User has earned 1 OP for using YES!! It worked! THIS FEELS LIKE A CHEAT!! This means I can get the weapon in less than 3 days! He would have used Hell''s Flare as well but a count''s mansion seemed rather inappropriate for it. He put on the clothes provided to him by the old man Butler, fully covering the scales and feathers. His hands touched a clean but still dirty looking piece of cloth. Sigh!! His heart still filled with pain, he pocketed the loincloth for OLD TIME''S SAKE! Suddenly remembering that he also got a new feature, when he was trying to comprehend the event in his dantian, he mentally said, "" This time rather than the usual status window with direct information, he got that innate body view once again. He realized that his meridians, tendons, bones, and flesh had strengthened many times under the effect of the planet formation and the vermillion flame. He had a vague feeling that his body was at the peak potential for cultivation!! At least compared to the general human race. As for his dantian, it held primordial chaos surrounding a tetra colored planet. This gave him the feeling that he could practice chaos related skills! And that all spells and skills related to the four core elements would be easier to comprehend. As for his soul, which had not yet manifested due to his low cultivation, he could still feel that it was pretty strong after being purified by the undying flame. But within his soul, there seemed to be something impure? Shouldn''t the Undying Flame have purified my soul? How could this impurity survive? Wait, has someone cursed this handsome and scholarly self???? Surprised but suspiciously, Zhen Shi carefully inspected the impurity. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a soul! It was a speck of a soul. Barely holding on, as the undying flame was still trying to burn it off!! But the reason it was noticed by Zhen Shi was also because of the undying flame which had burnt off quite a bit of the soul''s impurities. Zhen Shi wondered, and could only find one possible explanation. He asked the system, "System, could that be the soul of the original soul of this body?" Ding! Correct. After the former ''Zhen Shi'' passed away his soul appears to have struggled to survive. Would the user like to assimilate with this soul?? Zhen Shi held nothing but respect for this other ''Zhen Shi''. The part where they had the same name had nothing to do with it!! Still, his sheer will to hold on as a speck of soul moved him. Besides he''d have to live in this body for the rest of his life. Wouldn''t it leave a bad taste in his mouth if he gave up on his namesake? So he wanted to find out this Zhen Shi''s grievance and solve it for him. "Yes" Ding! Assimilation started! Since the soul is damaged some memory fragments may be lost. No drastic changes in personality will take place, but with memory addition, it would be similar to having lived another life. The user will pass out for a day. WAIT, WHAT??? No drastic change in personality?? Living another life?? AND PASSING OUT FOR A DAY?? SYSTEM, YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED ME FIRS---- And he passed out. System "..." 8 The goddess beneath the moon One day later, Zhen Shi gradually opened his eyes. He let out a deep breath. After all, he had just lived another life. His memories of this other life weren''t exactly complete. There were some missing memories. But what he did see and what he did learn was immense. He truly felt like he had been reborn and died for a second time! This other Zhen Shi had been something of a genius in the Zheng Clan. His father was Zhen Long, an illustrious and powerful elder. His mother had been a mortal maid that his father had fallen in love with. She was a kind soul but had no talent in cultivation. Thus after his father suddenly died in a secret mission, she had had a hard time maintaining her place in the clan. He also had an elder sister, Zheng Xixi, who had been blessed by the clan''s guardian deity, Theia the titan of precious jewels. She had the ability to turn items with sufficient spiritual energy to precious metals. Thus she had been coveted by the sect her entire life. As a result, she and his mother had had a very difficult time. Zheng Xixi had received multiple proposals in marriage but she had refused them all. After all, they were ''marriage proposals'' on the surface but basically slave contracts in reality. Thus she and her mother along with the still very young, Zhen Shi, had retreated out of the clan grounds and lived in a hut on the Zhen Mountains nearby. They dared not venture too far for fear of demonic beasts. Hence it was only a matter of time before the clan resorted to underhanded methods to get what they wanted! But this situation completely turned around when little Zhen Shi showed great aptitude for cultivation. He was trash in mastering elemental energies. But he had been born with the primordial chaos base! He was also talented in archery. As a result, he could cultivate very fast, and reached the foundation establishment stage at the tender age of 10! This instantly put his family in a better position. Although better, the pressure only lessened. The desire for the clan to use Zhen Xixi always existed. After all, it wasn''t only the Zhen Clan keeping tabs on her ability. Nevertheless, with the support of the clan patriarch and his talent, he reached the core formation stage at 12 as an archer! This was a great achievement! Still, this Zhen Shi had made an error in cultivation and gotten forever stuck at that stage. After all, he didn''t have a cultivation technique suited to his primordial chaos base. He spent 5 years making no progress as all those other ''geniuses'' he had surpassed, caught up to him. As a result, the troubles regarding his sister came back. His mother passed away soon after. After all, she was a mere mortal and had finally broken under the pressure. The memories after that were blurry. Basically he had spent a year trying to heal his cultivation but apparently, he had somehow died, as his body was now occupied by the new ''Zhen Shi''. These memories brought out a strange feeling of wanting to protect his only remaining family, his sister! He knew that nothing had happened to her during that final year. Since then a month had passed and on her own, her situation couldn''t be too good. But Zhen Shi knew that he wasn''t strong enough just yet! Besides which was effective against peak Spirit Transformation when used in large quantities in line with , he only had , whose power wasn''t exactly known yet. And that came with its own problems. If he were to fully transform and be considered as some mutated beast-kin, the Zhen clan wouldn''t be all he had to worry about. Moreover what he actually used to kill Xue Yuegui, the minor spatial tear sword, could only be used once more. The cultivators interested in Zhen Xixi''s skill could possibly reach the Nascent Soul stage! As such he decided to spend some time at this mansion until the weapon could be crafted and also train on his way to the Zhen Mountains. He planned to go back in around two months. He was confident that his sister would be fine until then. After all, he had only been missing for a month. Although he now had a sad origin story and an urgent objective, nothing could make his handsome and scholarly self feel down!! Hmm, this former Zhen Shi was considered a genius? Did it take him 12 years to reach core formation? BUT I DID IT IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!!!!! MWAHAHA!!! *Sigh* It''s truly difficult to be a genius!! System: "....." More importantly, since I have lived around 18 years in both lives does that make me a middle-aged old man?? NOO. How can I be that old when I don''t even have a girlfriend yet??? SHIET!!! Is this what it means to be more mentally mature than your peers?? Being a genius is truly a burden!! And he consoled himself as such. While he was pondering on what to do to become stronger while he waiting to earn enough points to get the weapon, a loud shout was heard from outside his room. "Lady Isolde, daughter of Count Vir Brishman has arrived," Zhen Shi immediately perked up and stood up. Simultaneously a light sonorous voice was heard, "Jacque, you know you don''t have to be so formal within our house. You can be more relaxed here than your former employment." This Jacque spoke out, "My lady, it is only proper. How could my lowly self not show you proper respect." A light sigh, "Fine. Just remember to be more relaxed" and the door opened. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. A vision of pure beauty arrived in Zhen Shi''s room. She was followed by the guard, Jacques. Her blonde hair was cascading like waves of water onto her shoulders. Her face the picture of innocence was curved up in a slight smile of regality. Her wide eyes glowed almost as evidence for her kind nature. Zhen Shi remembered his mother of this life when he saw her eyes. She was wearing a light pink dress suitable for a noble lady in her class. He stared at her for a moment but instantly gained back his bearings. After all, he was now a fairly powerful cultivator. If he couldn''t control himself in the face of beauty, what was the purpose? He calmly bowed deeply in the way he knew ancient western nobles would and said, "Lady Isolde, it is finally a pleasure to meet you! I am thankful to you for saving my life!" This girl was obviously well brought up and believed in class. He wasn''t going to be crass and rude like he normally was. "It''s nothing, don''t worry about it. Oh, young master Zhen Shi, I''m surprised you are familiar with the customs of the kingdoms. I was led to believe you were from a sect or tribe based heritage." she spoke while slowly walking and sitting down gracefully on a chair in the room. She nodded at Jacques to leave and he did, but only after he gave Zhen Shi a long hard glare. "Well, Lady Isolde, let''s just say I am well learned" he spoke out while sitting down himself, now with only the two of them in the room. Her eyes glimmered with excitement, "So young master Zhen Shi care to explain how and why you suddenly appeared in my room?" Zhen Shi laughed, he had already prepared an excuse. "I must apologize. It was not my intention to intrude upon you. I was exploring a nearby forest when I was attacked by a very strong beast who created spatial tears as it attacked. So I jumped into one of those tears to at least gain a chance of living. And I suppose I must have ended up in your room later on." Isolde nodded. He had been wounded by a claw attack after all and only spatial travel could explain his sudden appearance. "That sounds pretty suicidal. Well, I guess you are truly fortunate to have survived the spatial chaos," she said. Zhen Shi just laughed. Isolde then focused on his body. "I''m surprised that you healed so fast!! As far as I can see you''re completely fine. Since I haven''t improved my healing abilities to the next level, it must be that young master used some special skill since you also passed out for a day?" "Haha, yes I did. Let''s just say its something I picked up in my travels," he said clearly hinting his preference not to discuss it. After all, experts tend to not reveal certain secrets. Isolde remained silent as if in agreement. Then she stood up and walked towards the balcony. The sun was out and shone on her, making her blonde hair shine amplifying her beauty. She started speaking out sorrowfully, "In reality, my guards were going to have you killed. No matter how kind we are, we wouldn''t just save some random man who appeared in my room. I asked them to not harm you, because..... you reminded me of my younger brother." The wind blew her hair to a side as if to comfort her. Zhen Shi also stood up and walked towards Isolde in the balcony. But he remained silent as Isolde continued on, "He was a very playful boy, always spouting the most ridiculous tales, but the way he said it always made me believe in him. He was only 12 years old at the time. We were on a royal expedition to Cerullia. It was just some random political courtesy! But, we were attacked by a demon beast. Probably of the Nascent Soul Stage, just like the one which attacked you. We survived as a Cerulean expert intervened, but my brother was gravely wounded. That wound was completely identical to yours. But... I wasn''t able to save him at the time, I who was blessed by Eir, the greatest goddess of healing, wasn''t able to save my own brother" a tear trickled down her face. "He wasn''t as fortunate as you. Seeing you wounded just like him.....I realized that I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself if I let you die under the same circumstances!" Suddenly realizing the place where she was in and what she had said, she hurriedly brushed off her tears, "I''m sorry young master Zhen Shi, I must have bored you with my nonsense. I''ll be taking my leave now" and she started to walk away, really fast this time. "She isn''t the greatest you know..." said Zhen Shi. "What?" asked Isolde, stopping. She was surprised at the complete irrelevance of his statement to the current situation. Zhen Shi continued, "Eir, was a Norse god of healing, but she was only a handmaiden of Freya-the Queen of the Vanir gods. In my opinion, Asclepius with Greek origins, the Eastern Emperor Yan Di, Danvantari an avatar of Vishnu, and Egyptian Imhotep were leagues above Eir. After all not only were they specialized in medicine, but they also were greater gods!!" Isolde was intrigued by his words but she frowned, "Young master Zhen Shi, are you saying that my healing ability is inferior?" Zhen Shi shook his head, "Lady Isolde, I merely said that Eir is inferior to those other gods, especially Asclepius. Your ability has nothing to do with those gods and their ability. After all, the gods'' blessings only give you a better start. In the end, you are the one that decides whether you are useless or not!!" These words resonated in her head like a crash of thunder! She realized that she had been relying on the divine blessing too much and not on herself. In that instance of epiphany, she actually overcame the bottleneck she had in her cultivation and immediately reached the Core Formation Stage! She stared at Zhen Shi in amazement. Zhen Shi was elated. In reality, he was immensely thankful and had been greatly moved by Isolde''s story. When she was leaving he had wanted to comfort her, but what had come out of his mouth was something else entirely, almost accidentally insulting her!! After that, he had said everything on the spot. Fortunately, it was successful. HAHAHA!!!! THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PICK-UP GOD!! GIRLS FALL FOR YOU, EVEN IF YOU INSULT THEM!!! System: "...." "Young master Zhen Shi, legends say that the gods disappeared immediately after creating life. In fact, if the Sovereigns and the 4 divine organizations didn''t exist, I doubt we would even know of their existence! What is known of them besides their names and titles, is very little. I find it hard to believe you, when you speak so familiarly of them " Isolde said curiously. Zhen Shi smiled, "Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Hmm, let me tell you a story about Asclepius. Did you know that he was so skilled in healing that he could make humans immortal? In fear of his capabilities, Zeus had him kill..... And, Zhen Shi recounted tale after tale with Isolde pausing him to ask questions here and there. As time passed on her eyes were brightening in amazement. She found it hard to not believe him. After all, his stories connected to each other giving a completely realistic and humane description of the gods! ???????????????????? The crescent moon was illuminating the balcony. Isolde stared at Zhen Shi as he talked of these mystical and impossible, yet still strangely believable tales. He was speaking on in a suave voice with the moonlight falling on his handsome face. His eyes were glowing with a light fiery red, as a result of . He moved about in a charismatic way, and his face was filled with satisfaction as he spoke of one of his greatest passions! Isolde couldn''t help but think he looked very handsome as he talked like this and found herself wishing it could always stay like this. Suddenly, Zhen Shi stopped and looked up at the moonlit sky, "Lady Isolde, it''s getting late. You should rest. Don''t you think it''s improper for you to stay in this room with me?" Isolde was surprised and looked up as well. She hadn''t felt the time pass. She blushed as she realized his meaning. Still, she spoke, "I will, but only if you call me Isolde from now on." Zhen Shi grinned, "Hmm, but what if I don''t want you to leave?" Isolde immediately blushed but frowned at him in anger. "Geez, fine fine, forgive me Isolde! But, only if you drop the young master!" Isolde immediately smiled brightly. When she smiled like that with the slight red tinge still visible on her cheeks, under the moonlight, she looked like a goddess descended from the heavens!! Like Chang''e reincarnated. This time Zhen Shi was truly stunned. [Chang''e is the Chinese moon goddess] He didn''t even notice as Isolde came up to him and whispered, "Deal!", kissed him on the cheek, opened the door and ran out of the room! Zhen Shi finally came to his senses. AIYA!! I missed a great opportunity!! But there was still a slight smile on his face as he looked on at the now-closed door. Ding! Congratulations to the user for gaining 25 OP! WHAT??? Could Isolde have fallen for me?? Or did I just gain her trust and admiration? Wait...combined with the 20 OP I''ve gained so far by maintaining doesn''t this mean I can get my godly weapon by tomorrow morning?? SYSTEM, I''ve said it many times and I''ll say it again. YOU ARE THE BEST!!! System: "....." Zhen Shi continued on. HAHA! Is this what it means when they say ''when it rains, it pours''?? Wait that isn''t right. Don''t they use that statement for bad luck? SYSTEM, you made this scholarly and handsome self make a MISTAKE!!! I always did say you were a bad influence!! 9 TWANG!!! The sun was out and shining brightly, signifying the time of day. Zhen Shi was leaning on the balcony staring at his status with a disappointed look on his face. As time passed on the rate of Otaku point gain had slowed down. He had been unable to sleep last night, not that one sleepless night meant much to a person of his cultivation level, and thus had tried to cultivate but had made very little progress. His progress was actually pretty fast compared to ordinary cultivators as he had the primordial chaos base, but how could it compare to leveling up! As for OP, he hadn''t received any in the last 5 hours... Even Isolde had arrived in the early morning, asking for him, and he had spent some more time chatting with her. She had wanted to speak to him and it was a good opportunity to show off his ''scholarly self''. So he entranced her by showing off his mathematical and scientific knowledge, and also presented several anime and movies as stories made by himself! But in the end, he had pardoned himself for the day by saying he was still not fully healed and needed to rest, once he got 99 OP. Otaku Points(OP): 99 *Sigh* System why the HELL, did the rate of OP get so slow??? Is this the LEGENDARY CLIFFHANGER?? Ding! The rate of OP earned for the current level of has slowed down since the user has neared the maximum threshold for the moment. But suddenly, Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 1 OP. Zhen Shi perked up and mentally called out, "System, quickly get me the divine boon from Hephaestus for my divine weapon." Ding! Divine Boon request acknowledged. Divine boon gained. White magical particles suddenly appeared and coalesced to form a piece of paper. On it were the words, ~IOU Hephaestus owes ''this handsome and scholarly self'' a divine weapon.~ (???) MOTHERFUCKER SYSTEM! How am I supposed to find the god Hephaestus to pay up this debt. He might even refuse. IS THIS ENTIRE THING JUST A JOKE? But I do agree with how you referred to me. Looks like my influence on you is rubbing off. System-nii, OMEGA GOOD JOB! ???????? Ding! The user can use up the divine boon at any preferred time. What is promised will be received. HAHA!! System, you should have said that from the start. Don''t you know shouting isn''t good for blood pressure? System: "..." System, then use up the divine boon!! Get me my divine weapon!!! Ding! Request not acknowledged. Materials must be supplied. FUCK! SYSTEM THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY. System: "...." Fine... I couldn''t have done much with them anyways. And he threw the Sky sun bone, Soul Silver and the Gold tier Arachnid corpse at the white paper. His heart ached as he threw away the spoils of his victories so far. The materials were absorbed by the white paper and the white piece of paper disappeared away, just as it was formed. ??????????????? In the divine realm, within a cave in a volcanic mountain, there was a muscular and bearded man dressed in a light leather overall, pacing back and forth while frowning. His face and body were covered in grime while his feet were horridly misshapen causing him to walk about with a rather obvious limp. That cave had been fashioned into the guise of a room with a furnace and an anvil alongside a terrifying pool of silver-white lava that caused the air to wave here and there. But the most surprising objects within this cave were multiple metal automatons. They had the appearance of metallic spheres walking about on tripod legs. The man limping about would occasionally glance at his anvil. This was Hephaestus! He was frowning over the fact that he hadn''t had any inspiration in his craft in a while. Honestly, he was madder over the fact that his wife[Aphrodite; Goddess of Love and Beauty], was cheating on him and the woman he actually loved [Athena; Goddess of Wisdom] had pushed him off when they were having ''fun'' together, resulting in him accidentally impregnating the earth titaness; Gaia, who had been nearby. Now not only was he heartbroken, now he even had an illegitimate kid to take care of! But suddenly a white piece of paper appeared in front of him, which caused him to stop. He was surprised, but not afraid. After all, he was a GOD! His first thoughts were, What''s an IOU? And who is "this handsome and scholarly self"? Has some unknown fellow Daoist reached the god level shedding his mortality? But since when was he in this daoist''s DEBT? However, his questions went unanswered as he suddenly felt a great surge of inspiration to craft a weapon! He was incomparably excited and thus said, "Now to find some good materials." Immediately the piece of paper glowed giving the supplied materials. "Oh? Ugh, what am I supposed to do with this junk? They barely reach the requirement to make a piece of low-quality divine string!" If Zhen Shi had heard these words he would have coughed up blood. "Perhaps they are of sentimental value to that fellow Daoist? I''ll somehow use them as well to gain his favor" And thinking so Hephaestus lightly waved his hands at the metal automatons which stood silently within the room. This immediately caused them to start walking about with a light clanking sound. Some of the automatons started to prepare the furnace, some cleaned the anvil, some worked on setting the temperature properly while others collected the white lava from the pond. One of the automatons walked over to him revealing materials including divine meteorite, spatial rock, liquid chaos, Mythril, obsidian and much more. If any of those materials had appeared within the mortal plane, countless cultivators would claw each other to death to obtain it. Now with the preparations complete, Hephaestus limped over to the furnace and anvil. Having collected the materials he easily separated the impurities from the materials in one fluid motion and got started on building the basic weapon skeleton while adding in materials. As the process continued, his hands moved here and about like the skillful fingers of a musician. Divine sparks flew about as a repetitive clang sound was heard within that room deep within the volcano. While he was working, there was a slight smile on his face... A year passed, just like that. And soon a hundred. Many fellow gods had come to meet him including his wife. But he refused to meet them all! For a god, a century was, nothing much. Hephaestus finally stopped... and overlooked the weapon that had just been born within his furnace. He was extremely satisfied with his creation which bore all his feelings and ability. Moreover, he was extremely happy as he had forgotten his worries regarding love, by throwing himself to work. Thus he heartily laughed saying, "HAHA!! This must be the best weapon I have ever created... Even the one that I made for Eros is a bit weaker than this. I truly owe that fellow Daoist ''this handsome and scholarly self'' a debt for giving me the inspiration to work on this." He must be of the eastern scholarly faction and even knew I would be in his debt beforehand, so he must be skilled in scrying the future! Now I just have to find him and gift this to him. Still, I hope he is skilled enough to wield this since only someone loved by primordial chaos aether can use it. Even I would not be able to use it at its maximum potential. I believe only Grandma Chaos achieves that condition. Hephaestus was a god and to gods who had already reached the peak of their ability, especially one like him who didn''t care much for power, giving up even this best creation of his to repay a favor was nothing much. But, suddenly, the white paper glowed, absorbed the finished weapon and disappeared. Hephaestus was speechless. Fellow Daoist shouldn''t we at least meet up? How am I supposed to repay my debt now? Still, he was greatly impressed by this ''fellow Daoist'' and his capabilities. Moreover, he decided to repay him for helping him forget his worries if he ever met him in the future. ??????????????? Back in the mortal realm, only a couple of hours had passed. Zhen Shi was pacing back and forth in worry. Suddenly Zhen Shi realized. Wait a minute, I never mentioned what my weapon would be and the system never asked! SHIET! WHAT WILL I DO IF I GET SOMETHING LIKE A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, AS A WEAPON! WILL I play MY ENEMIES TO DEATH? "System quickly make my weapon a sword, a saber or some bladed weapon." After all, it was a man''s romance to fight with swords and fly in the sky with them! Ding! The request has already been processed and will be arriving shortly. Specifying the weapon would have increased the cost. FUCK! Since I''ve already laid the bed I might as well sleep on it. PLEASE LET IT BE A SWORD!! Ding! Divine Boon completed. Item received. Will you receive it? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Of course, I will! Suddenly a bright golden light appeared within the room. It was lucky that he had previously drawn the blinds as it had gotten slightly hot out. Otherwise many would have noticed this light. A terrifying pressure appeared within the room, this was many times greater than anything Zhen Shi had ever felt. It even caused the space within the room to lightly shake and crack in fear. It seemed GODLY!! And within this light lay a bow! It didn''t look like an ordinary bow and looked more like a gracefully curved laurel wreath. It was intricately crafted and shone with a gold finishing. Zhen Shi was stupefied and completely forgot to complain about not receiving a sword. Well, at least it isn''t a musical instrument. I suppose it just barely meets this handsome and scholarly self''s requirement! If Hephaestus had heard him he would have vomited blood. After all, Hephaestus himself had said this was his beat creation, even after having made weapons for so many other gods. Still, Zhen Shi was extremely happy with it. Moreover, the former Zhen Shi had actually been skilled in the art of archery. So in a way, this was perfect. Zhen Shi suddenly realized a glaring problem. How the shiet could he take this bow outside? It would be so attention-grabbing by its aura alone making him the target of many. Ding! The user should be able to change the appearance of the weapon as required once he binds it. OH! Of course, I knew that! System I''m disappointed you didn''t answer me sooner. Tsk-tsk. System "..." So as in his memories, Zhen Shi bit his finger to get some blood out and dropped it on the bow floating in front of him. Several moments passed and nothing happened. FUCK! Is this the legendary instance of weapon not acknowledging its master? Zhen Shi stretched out his hand to touch the bow while saying, "System, what should I---" He asked no further because the moment he touched the bow, the primordial chaos base in his dantian sent out a streak of chaos to the bow completely subduing it. Immediately he could feel the connection between him and this bow as if it was an extension of his body. Zhen Shi was elated as he sensed the impossible power of this bow. Even if he could only use a fraction of its power, it would give him a great power boost! He mentally guided the bow to retract its spiritual pressure and changed its shape to a dark black oak bow with a light gold carving on its body. Now Zhen Shi wanted to try it out... So with the bow in hand, he left the room. He didn''t get too far before running into the old butler. "Oh, young man, I thought you were feeling unwell?" he said with that kind smile. "Huh? No, I feel better now and was feeling like stretching my legs a bit and shooting some arrows," he replied. The old butler glanced at his bow, "Hmm... good bow! But where''d you get it from? It wasn''t on you when you ''dropped in''. Do you have a spatial treasure?" and asked curiously. Old man, this is A GOD BOW, made by HEPHAESTUS himself! How could it be just ''good''? As for the old man''s question, Zhen Shi ignored him and said,"Old man, you haven''t told me your name yet." "Ah, Yes, pardon me. This one''s name is Alec, Alec Strauss," he said while lightly dipping his head. Zhen Shi nodded, "Old man Alec, do you have any place where I can practice archery?" Alec nodded with a light smile," Of course. This is the count''s mansion after all. Follow me, young man," and walked off. Just as Zhen Shi started to follow him Butler Alec spoke, "Young man, how''d you like to face off against this old man in a bout of archery? Of course, we won''t use any Qi or internal energy and put up the targets at a distance of, let''s say 1 km? Of course, we can reduce the distance if you wish, and even give this old man a handicap---" Zhen Shi stopped him with a lightly raised hand, "Cut the crap old man, let''s do this. Don''t go blaming your old age when you lose," and said laughingly. The old man also laughed as they finally arrived at the archery grounds. Isolde had been in her room within the mansion staring at the empty and desolate archery grounds with three lonesome targets when suddenly she heard a familiar voice. She was surprised as she continued to look on at the grounds as Zhen Shi and Old man Alec positioned themselves within one kilometer of the targets. These were fairly strong wooden targets used for the training of ordinary foundation establishment soldiers. Alec looked at Zhen Shi and said "Let''s begin. Kid, don''t cry when you lose!" Zhen Shi just grinned lightly flicking his hand, as he planned to use action, to silence this old fool. Isolde was surprised. She had come to believe that Zhen Shi was a well-learned but powerful scholar and found it hard to believe he was an archer as well. She knew that Butler Alec was a very skilled archer who had even served his majesty in the army, and was also very surprised to see him so interested in a young person. Thus she was slightly unhappy at Zhen Shi''s dismissive attitude towards Alec. Alec took out his bow from the side, it looked to be of high quality. He slowly stretched the string with the arrow and let loose! It flew through the air completely ignoring the air and struck itself perfectly in the center of the target. Zhen Shi was stupefied. He had not felt that arrow with his powerful spiritual sense, meaning he couldn''t have dodged it if it was unseen. More importantly, the arrow completely ignored the presence of air shooting perfectly straight, like a fish in the water. ''EXPERT ARCHER!'' he thought. Still, he grabbed on to his bow and lifted it. He took an ordinary arrow and tried to stretch the string. FUCK! It won''t budge! Is this a DIVINE BOW? He was unable to do so even with the physical strength of core formation. Alec and Isolde looked at him in confusion, as he didn''t shoot a single arrow. They began to doubt his skill as time passed... Still refusing to give up, he increased the power of to the maximum on his arms alone causing vermillion scales with inlaid scarlet feathers to grow out of his skin. Thankfully it was hidden by the sleeves of his shirt. This time he was able to stretch the string to a fairly good distance. He could have managed more if he used primordial chaos, but he decided to hold off as he wouldn''t be sure of the full power. Zhen Shi took a deep breath, with the memories of the former ''Zhen Shi'' regarding archery in his mind. He let the arrow loose! Just as the arrow left, a formless energy was added from the bow. It shot forward many times faster than Alec''s and struck the target, causing it to explode into countless splinters! If Alec''s arrow passed through the air gently, this one completely eviscerated the air. Alec looked at Zhen Shi disapprovingly. He thought that the kid had maybe added qi to the arows in order to hide his poor archery skills. Since the targets were for foundation establishment cultivators, it wasn''t particularly difficult for a core formation cultivator like Zhen Shi to destroy it. However, he failed to note that Zhen Shi''s arrow caused the target to explode int very fine splinters in an even manner. This was because Alec was only focusing on the path of the arrow and the target, not the power. But, seeing his look Zhen Shi understood what he thought. As such, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry! Isolde had come to a similar conclusion as she watched on with a slightly disappointed face as well. Was Zhen Shi really just bragging?? Zhen Shi laughed, "Sorry old man, I guess I wasn''t able to control my strength." He drew another arrow and targeted the next target. Alec nodded. But both Alec and Isolde lightly doubted him in their hearts. Zhen Shi one again stretched the bow. This time he reduced the strength he imparted on to the bow and concentrated on trying to imitate Alec. He felt the formless but tangible nature of air with the deep connection he had to nature and his aerial roots. Again, the arrow was let loose! The formless energy was added once again, but this time it shot off with the great speed of last time but while causing much less damage to the air. It swam in the air and struck the dead center of the target, but once again the target exploded into fine splinters! This time Alec was not disappointed. He noted the subtle changes in the arrow''s path and also noticed the even nature of the splinters the target exploded into. Thus he began to believe that Zhen Shi might have actual trouble controlling power. But Isolde who knew little of archery completely lost faith in him and even began to think that the tales of gods and science he had said were false as well. After all, since he had bragged so shamelessly to Alec, it was completely possible he had done so before. She started to walk away completely disappointed, but momentarily stopped as Zhen Shi pulled another arrow. Last time, Zhen Shi had felt the addition of that formless energy. So as he stretched the arrow on the bow he vaguely tried to control and lessen this energy using his will. However, as he did so, that formless energy rapidly followed the stream of his will to enter his consciousness! He was so surprised that he dropped the bow which gently fell on to the ground. Seeing this, Isolde was completely disgusted believing he had given up and started to walk off, but... deep in her mind was a sense of loss. Alec, on the other hand, watched on with a light smile,as he felt that Zhen Shi had gained a sudden epiphany at that moment. His rapid improvement in the second arrow had not gone unnoticed by him. Thus, he believed that this kid was an archery GENIUS! Still, Zhen Shi was completely oblivious to their thoughts as the shadow of a bow, identical to the god bow was forming within his dantian separated from the primordial chaos. He felt a vague connection to the art of archery itself. Within a few seconds, a vague shadow of a bow had finished forming. Zheng Shi now bent down and picked up the fallen bow. He lightly brushed off the dust that had gotten on it, as he loaded another arrow. Since two of the targets had exploded into splinters, this time he could only target the remaining one with the arrow shot by the old man. Once again he pulled back the string, but this time with almost perfect strength and control. He combined his connection to air and nature with his old memories of archery and even considered a bit of practical physics on projectiles. He lightly changed his posture and lifted the bow slightly higher. He took a deep breath and let it out. TWANG!!! The formless energy was added once again. The arrow passed through the air many times faster than before. It was completely silent as it swam through the air. This was unlike the destructive arrow shot at first. It almost neglected the air presence, as it gently followed the guidance of the air rather than opposing it. One instance the arrow was on his bow and the next it had disappeared... TWANG!! TWANG!! TWANG!! ..... And this sound resounded in the silent archery grounds for a total of ten times. Isolde who was leaving in disappointment, hearing this loud and repeating sound felt her heart shake. She stopped for a moment and turned back. When she arrived at the window sill, she gaped. What awaited her sight could only be considered as a miracle! The first arrow shot by Zhen Shi had partially cut Alec''s first arrow in half as it too had struck dead center on the target. And every arrow after that had partly cut the previous one in half. One vertical and the next horizontal, leaving a strange but beautiful pattern of splintered arrows. The sound of the arrows lightly echoed within the grounds and each of this was like an arrow striking her heart. Painful... Tears started to flow down her eyes as her heart was filled with one feeling. GUILT!! She whispered in a cracking voice, "I-I''m s-sorryy!!!" heard by none but herself, and at the same time jumped down from the window. One must note that this window wasn''t that high and that Isolde had also recently reached the core formation stage. Zhen Shi who had been reveling in his success and achievement looked back in surprise, to see Isolde arriving before him with tears in her eyes. Although she was crying she still looked very beautiful. She hurriedly hugged him as she sobbed. As she hugged him that sense of loss gradually disappeared. But for Zhen Shi, one moment he had been gaining insights into archery and the next he was being hugged by a damsel in distress. Zhen Shi didn''t know whether to laugh or cry!!! 10 Training and Comprehending Cough! "Lady Isolde... is your..... behavior appropriate?" asked Alec with a light smile. Isolde suddenly realizing her place let go of Zhen Shi, with her face a bright shade of red, the tears still lightly visible on her eyes. Old man, what are you doing? You ruined this handsome self''s fun! Could it be that you''re jealous?AHHH!!! System this time you''re colluding with this old man Alec right? System "...." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Isolde, what''s wrong? Did someone trouble you?" Zhen Shi asked her in confusion while simultaneously wondering, ''Could it be that this handsome and scholarly self''s archery talent is so godly, that it made her fall in love with me?'' and staring daggers at Alec. Butler Alec could only force a smile as he felt Zhen Shi''s unhappy gaze. "Shut up kid. Forget it, in return, this old man will help you to perfect your skills." Zhen Shi grimaced, "Old man, I didn''t even say anything to you. More importantly, do you think you''re worthy of being my teacher?" Alec grinned and said, "meh... young man, if you don''t want my help just say so." Zhen Shi smiled, no matter what this old butler''s archery skill and experience was the real deal, "No, No, Butler Alec is truly skilled, the God of Archery! Now come and give this young and unexperienced self some guidance." Alec grimaced, this kid...! Isolde who had been watching their conversation had a smile playing on her lips. She had been feeling guilty and unhappy before but this warm atmosphere had completely thawed away her sorrow. Butler Alec had taken care of her since she was a little child. To her whose father was always busy with official duty, old man Alec had been the real father figure, but he was rarely truly happy even though that kind smile was always on his face. Seeing him enjoy himself in this manner filled her heart with happiness. She felt even more satisfied with Zhen Shi. Alec shook his head and said, "Come, young man, follow me," while starting to walk back towards the mansion. Zhen Shi and Isolde followed him. Zhen Shi was currently happily following the role of a good and obedient student. After all, he wasn''t going to slap a gift horse in the face! On the way, they ran into several servants, who bowed respectfully. Lightly acknowledging them they continued onwards. Along the way, just when they passed an isolated hall, Zhen Shi''s advanced hearing and attunement with the air aether let him hear a light and muffled sound of screaming originating from deep within that hall. These screams were simply animalistic as if the person in question had fallen into complete despair, under never-ending pain. Zhen Shi frowned and stopped staring at that hall, FUCK! Does this place have a torture chamber or something? He didn''t doubt Isolde and Alec but he couldn''t help but frown in worry. Seeing him stop, Isolde and Alec paused as well. "Kid, what''s the matter?" asked the old man with a questioning look. Zhen Shi shook his head, "Nothing. I thought I heard someone screaming from within this hall. I suppose it must''ve been a torture chamber?" Alec lightly frowned while looking at the hall in question but still nodded and said, "Of course. Our mansion has captured countless spies and criminals. Torturing them isn''t all that unusual..." Zhen Shi nodded in understanding albeit slightly skeptically. But now with the question solved, Alec walked forwards with Zhen Shi following him. However, Isolde paused for a moment and turned to look at the hall with a face of disgust and anger. But moments later she too followed the duo with a light sigh of helplessness. Pretty soon, Butler Alec walked into a dark corner of the mansion, which looked dreary and slightly uncared for. Zhen Shi was slightly surprised to find such an area in the pristine and perfect noble mansion he had seen so far. Butler Alec lightly waved his hand causing a nearby wall to disappear revealing a passage hidden behind it. NANI? Is this the legendary secret passage that leads to the treasures, skills, and pills of the mansion? Zhen Shi found it unbelievable as he had previously swept the corner with his powerful spiritual sense. He grew weary in his mind as he realized that if the count''s mansion held such powerful illusions, the Lyonesse kingdom was definitely not simple either! Isolde calmly spoke out, "This place leads to a secret chamber discovered by Grandpa Alec and me when I was a little girl. My father gifted it to him and Grandpa Alec used it to set up a training ground." Zhen Shi nodded as they continued into the passage. Soon they arrived at a dark and open space. From initial probing, Zhen Shi could feel that this place was fairly large. Actually, it was larger than what could be held within the mansion walls leading him to believe that some spatial magic was at play. Alec clapped, suddenly causing the roof to rumble and spread apart giving way to the sky and sunlight lightening the room. The now sunlit room revealed itself to be filled with shelves of weapons and randomly assorted targets for practice. There were some uniques setups that Zhen Shi felt had come straight out of those martial art stories for the main character to train and grow stronger. He grinned happily as he imagined himself growing stronger here... Alec noticing his gaze frowned, "Kid what are you staring at and grinning for? Those are some stuff I made for children. What you''ll be using are those," pointing at two distinct devices. Zhen Shi looked at what he was showing and gaped, YOUR MOTHER! Are those TORTURE DEVICES? Is this why people were screaming? Could it be that you want me to train to become a torturer or a male DOMINATRIX? Could it be that... this kind and simple Alec was a DOMINATRIX as well?? though Zhen Shi as he stared at Alec with judging eyes. Butler Alec frowned under his gaze, "Shut up kid. This is some of my best training equipment, many would fight over a chance to use them. Here I''ll show you how there used." Butler Alec shook his head lightly smiling as he walked over to the equipment. Isolde giggled seeing this comedic show between the two. Alec put his hand into a small cuff, that Zhen Shi had previously thought was used to restrain people, and tightened it. It spread out to form a glove. "Young man, this is a glove that can be used to strengthen your finger strength. Fingers are important tools for an archer. I noticed that although your power was overwhelmingly great, it was still not sufficient the bow you wield." He then pointed at the pool which was sealed except for a small entrance, which Zhen Shi had figured was for drowning people or some strange type of water play, and said, "This is filled with a special type of liquid diamond. Although diamond is valuable, there are very few uses for this liquid diamond. It is at least 10 times denser than water and can be used to train movement techniques." Alec continued speaking, "Furthermore, by strengthening your ability to move around in it, once you come out it will help you to grow closer to air aether. Control over the air is another important factor for archers. But the liquid diamond can also be deadly if absorbed through your pores. So sealing off your pores will have to be done simultaneously while training. This drawback is one of the reasons that many do not use liquid diamond for training." Alec also brought out a bunch of black bands and a vest. "These are specially made heavy equipment, wear them while you train. Also once I am satisfied with your performance I''ll impart onto you a fairly good close combat skill for archers." Isolde''s eyes widened at Alec''s words. But Alec looked at Zhen Shi curiously to see how he would react. Zhen Shit took in all of this. He had been wrong regarding his initial guess, but they could all go to hell if he''d ever acknowledged his mistake! Thus he nonchalantly asked, "Old man, I''m thankful for all of this. In fact the entire time, I was thinking your training equipment is TOPNOTCH, but why are you even going this far to help me?" Alec was surprised by his shameless statement and the sudden question. In the end he laughed out loud shaking his head in exasperation and saying, "Shameless kid, get to work!" Zhen Shi grinned in a satisfied manner as he put on the finger training gloves. They greatly tightened his fingers and made their movement next to impossible. He also put on the weighted clothing. Although rather heavy it wasn''t unmanageable for his core formation physique. He then immediately jumped into the diamond pool. "Wai---" shouted out Alec. He ran over to the pool to help Zhen Shi out. It was extremely difficult to manage all three types of training simultaneously even for him and this kid had jumped in without a warning... Indeed, Zhen Shi had been initially stifled. He had underestimated the pool, so he had immediately cranked up the level of up to 50% strengthening his body hidden under the liquid diamond, with scales and feathers. With these scales and feathers, he did not need to seal off his pores as they completely eradicated the one disadvantage of this training. As the old man arrived at the entrance to the pool with a worried face, Zhen Shi nonchalantly lifted his head, "Old man, what are you looking so worried for? Worrying isn''t good for the elderly you know?" Alec looked at him in surprise and admiration, however, he noted the light bestial nature in his eyes and thus assumed a special technique. Visibly relaxing, "Idiot kid, get out now before you drown yourself," he said. Zhen Shi shook his head, "Old man, relax, I can handle this much." Alec shook his head as well, "Fine young man, let''s see how long you last with that technique" and walked back. Isolde who did not have a clear understanding regarding this watched on in an amused fashion. Since that moment in the archery grounds, she had decided to trust Zhen Shi''s ability and not to doubt him so easily. As Alec walked back she asked him, "Grandpa Alec, why DID you go so far to teach him? Even planning to teach that skill of yours?" Butler Alec shook his head, "Nevermind that, my lady, but are you aware that his name is Zhen Shi?" Isolde frowned questioningly, "So?" Alec continued with a light smile, "It''s highly possible he is of that Zhen Clan. With his level of talent, he could even be someone of important stature in his clan. Do you think we should report this to Lord Count?" Isolde frowned even further, "Just because his surname is Zhen doesn''t mean he is of that clan. More importantly, I don''t want to see him get hurt." Alec smiled deeply and nodded, "Neither do I." "So?" asked Isolde once again. Alec looked at her questioningly, Isolde smiled and continued, "You ignored my first question. Why are you teaching him?" Alec smiled, "I''ll tell you... if you tell me why you suddenly jumped off your balcony and hugged him." Isolde was speechless at this, but their conversation halted as they looked on in stupefaction at Zhen Shi in the diamond pool. In fact, Zhen Shi could''ve handled this task fairly easily with full but that would''ve beaten the point of the training. Thus he had decided to maintain it at 50% and had attempted to walk about while moving his fingers. However, this too proved fairly easy as he soon started to practice more complex moves. Punches, strikes, flying kicks, jumping jacks and all sorts of complex motions. As his resistance to the high-density liquid diamond improved, he slowly weakened and continued his training by repeating his previous movements. Alec and Isolde were greatly impressed and continued to watch his training as he continued to practice in this manner for several hours. By the time the sun visible through the gap in the cavern had started to set, Zhen Shi had gained insights into aqua and earthen aether. Since liquid diamond was several times denser than water, rapidly gaining insights into water aether was not surprising. As for earthen aether, diamond is a type of mineral originating from the earth, no matter how special it was or what state it was in. Now feeling rather tired, Zhen Shi started to get out of the pool while canceling . Isolde started to hurry over to welcome him but Alec held her back, as he continued to watch Zhen Shi in expectation. Meanwhile, Zhen Shi was very satisfied with the training because when he had used the at a higher level he was able to speed up the rate of Otaku Point gain and had gotten 5 OP so far. In addition, he was now able to maintain his previous level of movement within the liquid diamond at just 40% of the skill. But for now, he seemed to have hit his limit in improving his movement in the diamond pool. But he soon forgot that, as a strange feeling came over him just as he came out. As he exited the pool, the pressure he had been under disappeared replaced with the cool touch of air. The air lightly danced over his body as if in pity for the rigorous training his muscles had undergone. Indeed, the level of improvement Zhen Shi had shown in just a single day would have been completely impossible had it not been for the physical strengthening by the dragon and vermillion bird bloodlines. But now, he closed his eyes reveling in this newfound comfort. He felt as if he was one with the air itself and began to move about like a light breeze. He danced about as if he was a part of the wind itself. As a result, Zhen Shi was able to just barely comprehend the true nature of wind aether and something much more complex, which even he felt impossible to explain. Isolde and Alec watched his wind-like movements in surprise. Now coming to a stop, Zhen Shi felt his understanding of air aether interact with the bow shadow in his dantian. Thus he brought his hands into the position of holding a bow and arrow, as if in a trance. Miraculously a bow similar to his own appeared materialized using pure air. Then he stretched the string with an arrow of air while wearing the finger gloves. Alec looked on in stupefaction, but with a hint of pride in his eyes. Materializing the bow! This was something only someone with both a sufficient understanding of air aether and the art of archery could achieve. The former Zhen Shi''s arduous archery training had paid off now. But Zhen Shi''s mind was empty, free of other thoughts, and the arrow shot out! There was no sound, after all, all he used was air to shoot. Thus the arrow was completely unimpeded by air as well. After all, how could the same thing impede itself? The arrow shot off like a fish in water, happily dancing about as if it had returned home. Still, this did not affect the speed in any way, as the aerial arrow which had been in Zhen Shi''s hand suddenly reappeared struck on a target. These targets were several times stronger than the previous ones and did not break under the power of the materialized arrows. Still, most skilled archers, even those able to materialize the bow didn''t use it to attack. This was because they could usually reach a better level of strength with an actual bow, but most importantly because the manifested arrow disappeared almost immediately after striking a target unless the archer had a very powerful spiritual sense. Thus using the materialized bow greatly reduced the dealt damage unless you had a very powerful cultivation or soul. However, Alec was even more stupefied.... as Zhen Shi''s arrow did not disappear. In reality, Zhen Shi''s hands were a blur. It wasn''t that his aerial arrow did not disappear. It was just that he kept on shooting arrow after arrow. So that when one disappeared it would immediately be replaced by another. His speed of shooting was so great that even Alec, a spirit formation expert could see nothing but a lasting aerial arrow. To achieve this speed Zhen Shi was utilizing almost all of his spirit roots. Earthen to strengthen the arrows and his connection to the earth itself, Fiery to give an explosive start, Aqua to let them swim about in air and obviously Aerial. He was even subconsciously using primordial chaos to teleport these arrows, albeit lightly. Only then could he reach this speed at his current level of strength. Moreover, he wasn''t using Vermillion Dragonification at full power and was being impeded by the weighted clothes and finger gloves. However, using primordial chaos again would be difficult as this was a moment of epiphany. Isolde watched on in amazement, his body lightly glistening under the now setting sun, his hands a blur causing these miraculous events to occur... he looked godly. Alec too was greatly impressed and was now confident that Zhen Shi had surpassed him in sheer power, but had still a ways to go in terms of comprehension. Zhen Shi was indeed born to be a divine archer! As Zhen Shi gradually left this state of comprehension, he slowly let the bow dematerialize. He gazed at his palms in surprise as he too was unable to believe his gains in one mere day of training. Now finally free, Isolde ran over to him smiling and grabbed his hand saying, "That was amazing Zhen Shi, I have never seen even Grandpa Alec doing something like that!" Alec smiled walking over, "HMPH, don''t underestimate the elderly, young lady, and especially you, young man. I just never showed off this skill." "Huh? Old man your just jealous that Isolde is holding my hand right?" said Zhen Shi grinning. Immediately Isolde let go of his hand blushing bright red. Zhen Shi grimaced, Me and MY SCHOLARLY MOUTH! Alec grinned happily at this turn of events and continued, "Kid are you done with your training now?" Zhen Shi shook his head, "No, Old man I feel like I could do better." Old man Alec nodded in agreement, "Indeed, you''re pretty close to my current level, but reaching it won''t be easy to reach it. Here," he said while throwing him a leatherback book titled, Descending Bow. "That holds my close combat skill for archers and also some of my understanding and conclusions. You''ve already earned it. I can''t make you understand the art of archery, as such it''ll be up to you..." Zhen Shi was grateful for his help, but still quite unhappy at being underestimated. Old man, what do you know? If I wasn''t wearing a pair of pants right now, a mere flip and you''ll be stupefied and become a sitting duck under my ! Alec lightly paused and looked at Zhen Shi with a frown. Zhen Shi was stupefied, FUCK! CAN THIS OLD MAN READ MINDS? Still, Old man Alec shook his head with a smile and continued, "Kid I have some work to take care of. As for this place," he said while looking around at the secret room now just barely lit under the setting sun. "Isolde will be with you so she''ll be able to take you in and out. But..... you better not do anything ungentlemanly!" he said with playful anger in his eyes. Isolde blushed again but with a slight smile on her face. Zhen Shi played along, Jeez! It''s an old man, so I shouldn''t give him too much to worry about. "Of course, I''m a gentleman. If I dare to call myself the second in being a ''gentle'' man, no one will dare call themselves the first! So no need to worry, and increase your blood pressure for no reason." Still, he grinned as well, "See you old man," said Zhen Shi waving his hand. Alec laughed out loud and waved his hand in return as he left the room. Isolde smiled again in satisfaction as she looked at their interaction. Her heart was filled with a deep desire to protect this satisfying feeling. As for Zhen Shi, he was now oblivious to his surroundings as he sat cross-legged on the grounds reading the old man''s skill book. Ding! Congratulations to the user for discovering skill But Zhen Shi didn''t pay any attention to this, as he was focused on reading the old man''s understanding and conclusions. He couldn''t improve simply from it, but it did show him a clear path to follow for the moment. After some time having finished reading the skill book, he finally paid attention to the skill he had learned. Unlike comprehension, skills could apparently be learned directly using the system. His eyes widened. FUCK! This will definitely catch anyone off guard. The was an unconventional skill using the bow itself as a weapon to attack. Although Zhen Shi could use spells and punches, this would give him a chance to surprise the enemy. Of course, the skill wasn''t merely hitting with a bow. It was a refined and clever skill compiling the old man''s achievements in the art of archery. It could be considered his legacy! Zhen Shi''s eyes glistened maliciously as he imagined himself wreaking havoc all over a battlefield, whacking people left and right with his divine bow! 11 The Battle in the Cherub waters Zhen Shi continued to train his finger strength and physical body strength in the liquid diamond pool. He would also occasionally test out his archery and the understanding gained from the skill book. He had quickly mastered the skill, but he could vaguely sense that there was more to it than on the surface. Still, despite many attempts, he wasn''t able to comprehend that, and his pride refused to allow him to directly ask the old man. One week passed with him training the entire time. His training would stop just to have meals and chat with Isolde, occasionally with the presence of old man Alec as well. In such a meal where Isolde was alone with Zhen Shi, one of many they had enjoyed together, Isolde suddenly asked Zhen Shi, "What does the Zhen Clan mean to you?" Zhen Shi grimaced as she reminded him of the only faction he had an unbearable grudge against in this life. His face contorted in great anger and his eyes shone with malice and killing intent. Isolde grew frightened but quickly calmed down... as she had faith in Zhen Shi. Zhen Shi too quickly calmed his anger. His memories of the ''old Zhen Shi'' had arisen causing his anger to bubble out. Still, he laughed saying, "If there is anyone I will not hesitate to destroy given the chance, it is the Zhen Clan without a doubt!" Isolde heaved a sigh as if she had been worried over nothing, but still curiously asked, "But isn''t your surname Zheng? Aren''t you of the Zhen Clan?" Zhen Shi was aware as to why Isolde was asking this as he had the memories of the former Zhen Shi. Thus he continued with gritted teeth, "Yes, I am of the Zhen Clan. That is exactly why I will never forgive those pieces of green shit!" Isolde was surprised at his manner of speaking and his hatred but was still satisfied with his answer. Isolde now smiled lightly, "Well I''m sorry for having ruined the mood. Let''s forget this...!" Zhen Shi smiled as well. Just like that another week passed. The time he had spent here had been truly enjoyable and fruitful. Of course, it was all because of the beautiful Isolde. Nothing to do with that old man Alec, he just ruined everything. Zhen Shi had improved greatly in this period. He could now move around in the liquid diamond pool with next to no support from granting him the physical strength of peak core formation, and his understanding of the art of archery had finally leveled up to what the old man Alec had shown before in their archery competition. Zhen Shi was all smiles as he exited the room via the passage, to which he had been given control as well. He felt a tinge of sorrow as he felt he''d have to leave soon to level up. Zhen Shi walked through the courtly and noble corridors finally reaching a green meadow, full of life and giving off a mystical aura. This was the mansion gardens where he and Isolde usually had meals in unless of course, that DAMN OLD MAN disturbed them. In the center of these gardens, was a fountain with a cherub [Cherub: An innocent-looking child with wings, basically a baby angel] standing on it. This cherub was poised in a graceful posture with a stream of water trickling off his mouth. And on the edge of the wall of this pond was an actual angel...Isolde. Her hair was lightly wafting in the air and her face was slowly being adorned with a smile as she saw Zhen Shi. During their time together, she had asked him to join the mansion''s private army and serve in a lofty position several times but he always refused her. Watching Zhen Shi walk over this time she didn''t make her usual request and instead, "Tell me why are you so against joining me and the Lyonesse kingdom? With your hatred against the Zhen Clan, everything would be perfect!" Zhen Shi already knew that there was great enmity between the Lyonesse kingdom and the top clan of the Lyonesse region, the Zhen Clan. Although there had been several attempts to solve their disagreements they had ended up in failure so far. Thus Zhen Shi lightly spoke, "I don''t wish to shackle my wings and lose my right to fly in the sky. After all, what life is meaningful if you live it for others and not yourself??" Isolde gawked in amazement at his statement. This was truly awe-inspiring to her who had lived her entire life for her father and the kingdom... Honestly, what Zhen Shi said was part bullshit but also part of his real feelings. These types of situations were fairly common in stories so he took inspiration from a bunch of them while adding his own feelings. HAHA! System, ain''t I awesome? System: "....." Isolde shook her head and smiled sadly, "Zhen Shi only you can say something like that! I''d truly love to adhere to your ideals as well. But, I can''t leave my father or Grandpa Alec alone. Many other things are holding me back as well..." Zhen Shi grinned and grabbed her shoulder reassuringly, "Don''t worry Isolde. No need to be so serious. Solve all these problems first. I''ll come to visit you often, so when you''re ready you can join me on an epic adventure all over the world!" She was truly happy with this suggestion. She could already imagine her joining Zhen Shi with Grandpa Alec to journey the world, watch on as he improved with this peaceful and satisfied feeling in her heart. But, "Wait, what? Visit me often? Zhen Shi, are you leaving in such a hurry? Where will you go?" asked Isolde with sorrow and disappointment in her eyes. Zhen Shi laughed, "Although I hate the Zhen Clan, my sister is still there! I''ll also train in the Berthelien forest. I''ll be back to visit you before leaving for the Zhen Clan of course!" "Sister...?" Isolde frowned momentarily but pushed it out of her mind and said, "Fine, but you better keep your promise. I''ll be bored without you... Shouldn''t you bid goodbye to Grandpa Alec as well?" with a light smile. "Eh? Who cares about some old man?" saying so he leaned very close to Isolde''s face, "Come, give big brother a kiss for good luck!" Isolde''s face blushed red and surprised by the sudden situation she backed away... causing her to fall into the Cherub fountain! SPLLAAASSHHH!! Zhen Shi''s eyes widened. He had only been teasing her and she had fallen into the fountain... He hurried over to help her out and grabbed her hand to pull her out. And out came an Isolde with an unhappy frown on her face... and her wet dress sticking to her body. She had realized that Zhen Shi had only been playing around and so wasn''t that mad, but wasn''t willing to completely forgive him either. As such she hurriedly splashed and hurled water on to him as well. It wasn''t that Zhen Shi couldn''t dodge it. Even if he was unable to, with his aqua roots, this much of water could definitely be controlled, but for Isolde''s sake, he smiled and let it hit him. But of course, he controlled some water aether to splash her once again. This continued for some time until they were both laughing and soaked to their bones. Now completely satisfied, Isolde had a simple smile on her face. Zhen Shi stood up and dried his clothes with light fire and wind aether. Isolde who watched this frowned, "Hey, shouldn''t the world''s undefeated gentleman help a lady out first?" and shouted out in mock anger. Zhen Shi grinned at her and leaned close to her once again, but of course, this time Isolde who was used to it didn''t react by falling into the fountain. "BECAUSE I am a gentleman I can''t help you. How can I take away things that make a lady more beautiful? That dress looks so much better on you now!" said Zhen Shi with a satisfied smirk while looking at her with unblinking eyes. "But, Alas, I have to get going now. If I stay any longer I might never leave your side. But, I''ll definitely be back and maybe keep looking the same then as well?" said Zhen Shi with a laugh as he lightly waved his hand disappearing into the wind. She smiled at his ridiculous reply, but with a faint hint of sadness and sorrow. Now alone she looked at her reflection in the fountain waters. She gawked at the sight of the woman with the wet dress clinging on to her body. Now she understood what Zhen Shi meant and blushed a deep red while hurriedly running back into the mansion. In a balcony, on a higher floor of the mansion, an old man was looking down on the cherub fountain. He lightly muttered, "Ughh, that little bastard didn''t even come to say goodbye to his master..." he shook his head with an unhappy frown and walked back to the door planning to meet the young lady. But he stopped as he noticed a light blue envelope poking from under his door. On it were the words, "To that annoying old man." Alec bent down to pick it with a light smile on his face... ???????????????????????????????? Zhen Shi was dashing through the Betherlien forest with the wind on his back. The forest was filled with tall evergreen trees, thick foliage, and shrubs. Wherever you looked, one would be met with that lively dark green. The sunlight was mystically shining through the tree leaves and some animalistic sounds could be heard. But these animals sounds weren''t the occasional cry of a bird or an owl. No, they were the low guttural howls of demonic beasts. Zhen Shi was speeding along so that he could grab the attention of as many beasts as possible. These beasts were unafraid of this core formation cultivator as he was completely alone and they greatly outnumbered them. Zhen Shi finally stopped in an open meadow. But the demonic beasts did not. Lions, Tigers, Serpents, mixed hybrids and all sorts of unique beasts launched at him in an attack. But Zhen Shi just calmly grinned and hurled out obscenities finishing with, "O beasts of Berthelien forest, today is your greatest fortune. The good karma accumulated over your lifetimes has brought you this reward. For today you will see this handsome and scholarly one''s true self, so you can repent and die in shame!!" He let out his core formation aura and used his spiritual energy to bring his pants down, "Shaming the heavens!" There was no way he was doing that with his own hands, unless absolutely necessary! This group of tens of beasts paused in shock completely unable to move. Most of them were at the foundation establishment stage and there were a few core formation stage beasts. They would''ve vomited blood the moment that they realized that ''the good karma across their lifetimes brought them this [vision of the heavens]'', but they didn''t as they were being affected by the skill. Zhen Shi grinned, "System did you see that? They are so happy and satisfied, they''re stupefied. These beasts are probably blessing the karma that led them to this point." System: "....." There were some female beasts within the horde but they were so weak that they too were frozen unbale to show any strange effects. Zhen Shi sighed deeply, "Alas, forgive me, my beasty friends. I must now take away this happiness away from you. As a last kindness on my part, I''ll let you die with this vision in your mind. I know that to live once seeing this masterpiece is impossible, as such farewell." Alas! Being so handsome is truly a curse..... He summoned the wind and shuffled back and forth forming two of himself. This was a multi-tasking skill he had comprehended by himself based on his understanding of wind aether. Weaker targets would only be able to see tow of himself. One summoned a black flame and the other brought out a fairly good bow he had picked out from the old man''s stash. He didn''t use the divine bow as he wasn''t strong enough to use it to rapid-fire. These two apparitions simultaneously threw out black fireballs and arrows. By the time they stopped, the ground was littered with corpses. Most were skewered with arrows in their eyes and very few were burned. This wasn''t because was limited in effect but because the other affected beasts had simply turned to dust. He could have done better with his physical strength. But then he wouldn''t have gained any OP. So he had used his skills. Ding! Congratulations to the user for skewering a foundation establishment stage cultivator! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The user has gained 1000 exp... x35 Congratulations to the user for burning a core formation stage cultivator! The user has gained 10000 exp x 6 Congratulations to the user for earning 5 OP! SHIET! System, what''s with this pitiful amount of exp? Was the eternal happiness granted to those beasts, not enough? Could it be that... I have to try harder? System: "...." Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Core Formation Stage 5. Ding! User has gained 500 exp for skill Ding! The skill has reached the Gold tier! Ding! Congratulations to the user for defeating your first Core formation stage cultivator! The user has gained a minor reward bag. Oh? System aren''t you nice. This should be a sufficient reward for my effort. "Open minor reward bag!" Ding! Minor reward bag opened. You have gained 10 OP. SHIET, SYSTEM! I take it back. Are you running out of ideas so much that you have fallen so far as to gift OP? System:"....." "Hmpf... Status!" shouted out the disappointed Zhen Shi. User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Core Formation Stage 5 II Physical Body Level: Core formation Peak Cultivation energy: 95% Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: II II II Exp points: 5,000/200,000 OP(Otaku Points): 35 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells Intelligence +10 Charisma +10) Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Fake Tarzan(-Permanent 2x reaction increase) Status: Normal(No effects) Seeing nothing special, Zhen Shi intended to continue. He needed a stronger beast to get a general idea of his powers and also to level up faster. As luck would have it, "ROOOOAAAARR! How dare you kill so many of the Betherlien forest? How could you be so cruel? They were ONLY going to kill and eat you! This white and pure-hearted one will take your life in return!" A large gorilla-type beast with shiny white fur lumbered in from amongst the trees. The notification above his head read [Soul Transformation-Mid]. What DA FUCK? How did I not hear this loud lumbering giant? WTF, Is it stupid? Only kill and eat me? MWAHAHA! This gorilla is funny! "HAHA, don''t worry, I ONLY killed them as well," Zhen Shi grinned happily and threw out a dozen and the fiery domes descended. After a few seconds, as the fiery domes disappeared, out came a completely pitch black gorilla! He was roaring in pain. However, demonic beasts have much better physical strength than humans and most other races. As such although the gorilla was only hurt and it was not life-threatening, "NOOOO, my beautiful and pure white fur!!! How dare you defile me?? I''ll kill and defecate on you!!" "SHIET, you ugly pitch-black piece of shit, you''re words are too dirty and unrefined for my scholarly ears. You defiled yourself! Go defecate in hell!" shouted Zhen Shi while his grin grew wider as he activated to full power. Azure Blue scales completely covered his body along with Vermillion feathers. Two horns arose from his head and a pair of wings rose from his back, while a draconic tail grew out from his back. His eyes glittered with malice and his grin looked demonic. The gorilla felt a great pressure on it, although the Azure Dragon and Vermillion Bird was not related to its bloodline, they were still top tier divine beasts. As such the now pitch-black gorilla shuddered in fear and began to escape....or at least tried to... FLAP! With a flap of his wings, Zhen Shi reappeared next to the gorilla and, SLASH! with a single claw strike, he ripped its head off. Ding! Congratulations to the user for killing a Soul Transformation-mid Demonic Beast! The user has gained 80,000 exp. FUCK! System before didn''t you give me equal exp when killing those foundation establishment trashes with that Xue Yuehai? Now how can you give me less experience for killing this black piece of shit? System, you''re like a fake POLITICIAN! System: ( ?? ?? ?? ) ''Still, even that gorilla wasn''t enough. I''ll need someone stronger to check out my full strength. The nascent soul level should do I suppose'' wondered Zhen Shi while deactivating . Suddenly remembering that demonic corpses or rather their cores were valuable, Zhen Shi manifested his claws and ripped out the demonic core of the gorilla beast, it was pitch black. HUH, Though that gorilla was white on the outside it was black on the inside! HAHA! There is a lesson to be learned here. But..... I don''t give a shiet... Zhen Shi continued to collect cores from the core formation beasts he had killed before as well. Other beasts were neglected as weaker beasts would not possess cores. He then placed them in a satchel he had ''borrowed'' from the old man, rather unhappily. SHIET! System can''t you let me store this stuff in the inventory? Aren''t you being too proud by only allowing system related items to be stored in it? You should know being too proud and acting like a braggart leads to a quick death! System: (>?) Sighing, Zhen Shi continued on his path. After running forwards he quickly realized that since the previous battle, no other beasts dared to follow him. No matter how proud beasts were they didn''t actively seek death. Rather disappointed, he started to follow a faint trail until he arrived at a large mountain chasm. This chasm led into a misty and almost ghostly valley. It looked to be quite spacious but no one could say what lay within it. Even his connection to wind aether did not allow him to sense what was inside. Rather curious but still cautious, Zhen Shi looked around and noticed a rotten piece of wood stuck onto a pole. On closer inspection, he realized that it was a signpost! After several minutes of trying to read it, he finally realized what was written on it, "THE VALLEY OF NO RETURN." 12 Re-branding the Valley! Having read the ominous words on the sign, Zhen Shi simply walked into the chasm. "No return? Your Mother won''t return! If the world makes something scary, then you must run-up to its face and screw it! Screw it so hard, that you learn all of its secrets and gain all of its treasures!" he shouted out in a singing voice while walking through the chasm and entering the valley. This wasn''t Zhen Shi being an idiot, having considered the forest''s name and this valley, he had a guess as to what this place was. But if things went off plan, he figured he could always escape with the minor spatial tear sword. The valley was covered in white unmoving fog and he could hear a light and pleasant sound of trickling water. However, there was a fairly clear path leading out of the valley and Zhen Shi followed it. He soon reached the end and took the final step to leave the valley. BANG! Suddenly, he was thrown back into the valley by an invisible force. Still, he easily shook off this force by his physical body alone, bringing himself to a stop a couple of meters away. Almost immediately the mist of the valley began to disappear, gradually revealing hundreds of figures within the mist and a fountain at the very center; calmly trickling out crystal clear water. Zhen Shi grew weary and manifested a on his hand. But a large group of figures numbering several foundation establishment cultivators and a few core formation cultivators walked towards him with their hands raised. "Brother, you have our deepest sympathies. You are now stuck in this accursed valley," said a fat middle-aged man. Zhen Shi laughed, "Buddy, isn''t it the same with you? Then... I''ll give you my sympathies as well." The middle-aged man frowned, "Bastard, don''t be too cocky. You should know that people can still be killed here." Looking at this fat man''s Foundation Establishment level, Zhen Shi calmly laughed, "Oh? Say that again my fat friend!" and exerted the pressure of mid-core formation combined with some of the divine beast aura. The fat man immediately collapsed on to his knees with great ''remorse'' on his face, "Aiya! Forgive this useless fellow, young master. I failed to see the heavens in front of me. You can kill me to sate your anger if you please!" Zhen Shi''s eye twitched at this shameless fellow. One of the core formation cultivators in the group smiled and said, "Fellow Daois- No, Senior, I''m Carlos and this shameless fatty is Dolz. I beg you to forgive him as well," he said lowering his head while the rest of the group bowed as well. "This valley of no return is truly a death trap. Still, the group of us have been here for more than a millennium and would rather not see our comrade die!" he said. They were being so respectful because they felt the divine beast aura and realized that although he seemed to be of the Core formation stage, he could possibly kill them with ease. And as such, they referred to Zhen Shi as ''senior''. What? Foundation Establishment cultivators living for a thousand years? How is that possible? Despite what Carlos said, Zhen Shi would have preferred if these cultivators had been more overbearing and attacked him, so he could farm more experience points. Still, Zhen Shi nodded, as he needed to know the history of this place, and said, "Fine. I''ll forgive this Dolz for your sake, Carlos. In return tell me everything you know of this place." Carlos hurriedly began to speak out, "Thank you, Senior. Of course, I''ll agree to your request. Although there are hundreds of cultivators in the mist, god knows how long some of them have been here. They don''t speak nor do they move. But none of us dare approach them. The last time one did, he turned into liquid for the fountain on the spot." "One new person will join us every century but none from the same area. Thus we believe that this valley moves about and traps only some individuals. Also, besides our group, there should still be a few more powerful cultivators who act alone. As to how we have lived so long, the reason is that fountain. When you stay in this valley for a time, an unquenchable thirst arises. The only way to sate it is to drink from the fountain. Once you do, you''ll be forced to drink more and more. But you can stop aging and live longer. In return your ability to make further improvements to your cultivation decreases," said Carlos. Hearing this Zhen Shi grew extremely excited. Not because of the ''fountain of youth''. He wasn''t an idiot to drink from it. He was excited because he was now sure what this place was. The valley of no return deep in the Betherlien forest hosting the fountain of everlasting life. Based on his knowledge from Earth, this was rumored to be the place where the greatest mage of the Arthurian Age, Merlin was buried! Legend says that the valley of no return was a place arising from a curse set by a sorceress against unfaithful lovers. Later on, she battled Merlin who was suffering from old age. Merlin in the peak of power had been isolated as none approached him with genuine feelings. Thus this witch played with his heart and ended up ''tricking'' and defeating Merlin. In the end, she sealed him in this place for all eternity. The reasons for this sorceress to battle and seal Merlin were mentioned in history, but their were many versions... Now although he was excited, Zhen Shi had hated this place from the core of his heart since the time he had come to learn about it. "You guys, tell me have you ever been unfaithful to your lovers?" he asked the group of men, he particularly stared at the fat man Dolz unable to believe he had multiple women let alone even one. The group of men looked at each other and most of them guiltily nodded including Carlos. As for Dolz and a few more, they shook their heads. Dolz continued "I have only one woman in my life....or had," and said sorrowfully. Zhen Shi was confused, "Then have you ever just fancied another woman?" Dolz stiffened and said, "It''s impossible to not fancy other women. But I always remained faithful." Zhen Shi nodded sagely," Aiya, that is the problem, my fellow friends. If your heart is ever tainted with unfaithfulness you will be forever stuck in here. And as for the fountain, it is the root of your problems. Still, I have to say I am disappointed in your characters. Tsk-tsk." Brother, how can you look down on us like this? Aren''t you stuck here as well? Noticing their gazes, Zhen Shi sighed, "Aiya. How can you doubt this scholarly and handsome self? If you can escape from this place that means that even if you have a harem you aren''t unfaithful, right? I''ll show you why I look down on you and how to escape from this place. Since I hate this place, I''ll show the way to escape for you as well," and said. He continued and mentioned the reason for his deep hatred, "This place is the epitome of the anti-harem movement! Forcing one to love only one other. How cruel! This isn''t the ''valley of no return''. Some idiot must have made up that horrible brand name. I think it should be rebranded as the ''anti-harem valley''!!" Most of the people nodded their heads in agreement, to the first part that is. They didn''t understand most of what he said near the end. "Let''s fuck up the anti-harem valley!" shouted Zhen Shi. The group of men followed his lead and repeated his words in excitement. But, even they didn''t know why they were following his lead... Zhen Shi continued elated, "A fucking anti-harem valley is deciding our lives for us? Can you live with this?" and it was immediately followed by a loud, "NOO!" from the group. Zen Shi was happily reveling in the feeling of leading a group, when suddenly, "Oi! What''s up with the noise? Can''t you let a man cultivate in peace?" a loud shout riddled with laughter reverberated throughout the valley. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Carlos and the others shuddered and said with fear, "That is the strongest person in the entire valley, a nascent soul stage expert! No one knows how long he has been here but supposedly he hasn''t drunk from the fountain this entire time. Also, he killed every spirit stage cultivator who decided to drink from the fountain!" A mystical blue fire emerged next to their group. Despite the proximity, it only gave off a cool refreshing feeling. From within this flame, a young man emerged. At least he looked young externally. But to Zhen Shi, his eyes gave him away. They looked as if they had witnessed the dawn of time and had seen all of existence. Besides, the notification above him read, HIDDEN! That young man smiled, "Kid, your words are funny and you even say you''ll escape from this place? You appear to know that the sealing magic originates from the fountain and only affects those who are unfaithful as well? I suppose you are familiar with the art of formations and realized that the fountain was the center of the valley trapping formation? But do you know that even a full-strength attack from me couldn''t even leave a scratch on that fountain? Moreover, the space within the valley is extremely stable will barely vibrate under my best attack at the moment." FUCK! This is a formation? And a nascent soul cultivator couldn''t even scratch it? And how will I escape if space can''t be torn? Zhen Shi frowned. He had been planning on using the minor spatial tear sword, now that idea was useless. Since a Nascent Soul cultivator was unable to tear s He quickly thought out in his mind, "System, any suggestions?" Ding! The user is indeed incapable of surpassing a nascent soul level attack by conventional means. Neither does the user does not have sufficient OP to perform a random divine boon. Only suggestion: user and nascent soul cultivator must ''gattai'' [combine] Zhen Shi''s frown worsened. FUCK! SYSTEM, what shit is this, you want me and this Myne to combine? Why? Isn''t this too shameless. To have fallen this far--- OHHH! You mean work together! SHIET, system your dirty mind is rubbing off on me. System: ?_? The young man''s smile froze seeing Zhen Shi frowning and said, "Kid, don''t tell me you were planning on attacking it as well? Fuck! To think I got excited for no reason. Kid, I guess you''ll have to die to sate my displeasure." But he smiled again, "Oh, wait. Although you disappointed me, I agree with what you and this group of idiots were spouting earlier, so I''ll just be taking a limb or two," and said while looking at Zhen Shi as if he was expecting his heartfelt gratitude. Zhen Shi immediately grimaced saying, "Hold on Senior, I might still be able to achieve some effects with a special technique!" Zhen Shi dared not be arrogant in the face of this powerhouse. Despite being at the nascent soul level, he gave off a much more dangerous feeling to Zhen Shi. That young man smiled again, "Haha! Why didn''t you say so?" and clapped him on the back. "I''ll believe you since I agree with your ideals. Come walk with me," he said and walked away with Zhen Shi, leaving the bewildered but strangely pumped up group staring at this strange duo. After they walked some distance, "If you truly can destroy that cursed fountain we should be freed and I, Myne, will be in your debt. So kid tell me how do you plan on destroying it and how can I help you?" he asked. Zen Shi pondered for a while, "Senior can you tell me your most powerful attack?" and asked shamelessly. Despite this being a rude question in the cultivation world Myne didn''t seem to mind. "Hmm, right now I should be able to instantly kill everyone in this valley with cultivation lower than Soul Deification?" Zhen Shi thanked the gods for not going against this man, "Uhhh, no senior, more of a physical attack?" "How about flame manipulation? Explosions sufficient to burn everyone within the valley to ashes?" Zhen Shi''s eyes brightened, "HAHA! That''s perfect!" and then he leaned near ear Myne''s ear and whispered his plan. Myne frowned and said., "Kid, that''s fucking crazy and depends a whole lot on you, and I find it hard to believe you could pull it off. Moreover, even if you succeed since the fountain base remains, it might lead to an even worse calamity!" He continued to speak with a confusing mix of emotions in his eyes, "We''ll probably have to face a witch who''ll be very difficult to deal with." "Senior, can you take her down if I could keep her in place for a moment?" asked Zhen Shi. Hearing his words Myne''s eyes glistened in sorrow. But in the end, they glowed with decisiveness, "If you could really do so, I should be able to turn the situation around. In fact, I might be bale to find the answers to the questions that have been haunting me. So, kid, I''ll truly owe you if you can do as you say. Fine, I''ll bet on you. What do I have to lose!" and shouted out. Myne continued, "But before that show me your technique so I can determine your chances of success" Zhen Shi was stupefied, "Uhhhh... I''m sorry senior... since it''s a "secret family technique", I won''t be able to use it for a while if I show it to you," and lied through his teeth. Myne frowned unhappily and muttered, "Fine, I''ll see it when you use it on the fountain anyways. Kid, you better hope you don''t disappoint me!". Zhen Shi immediately grinned and nodded happily as he was fairly confident. He walked back towards the still bewildered and pumped up group shouting, "MEN! You have been trapped here for centuries just because you were following the Dao of harems! For such a sweet and innocent dream, what has befallen you is truly unjustified. This damned anti-harem valley has ruined your lives and will continue to do so for much longer! Worse still this anti-harem valley force-feeds its piss to you so that you get hooked on it and forget your true purpose!" Brother! Can you make it not sound like we''re piss drinking perverts?? "I can feel your pain even though I would never fall to your shameful level. You get addicted to this fountain of piss, just because it is a miraculous life-extending piss. But piss will still be piss!!" Each time that ''word'' was shouted out by Zhen Shi, it was similar to an arrow striking and incinerating the barely remaining dignity of this group of cultivators. Brother, can you leave us, old-timers, at least a shred of dignity? We have lived for so long. Don''t you know, you should respect the elderly? Zhen Shi continued, "Now that time has come. I and brother Myne will destroy this fountain of piss and free us all.... you guys particularly, from your habit of drinking piss! What do you say???" and shouted. Despite their thoughts, the group of people including Carlos and Dolz found themselves shouting out in cheers of agreement. Zen Shi looked at Myne who was trying desperately not to laugh."Kid, you sure are interesting!" said Myne while holding his mouth. "Senior, let''s do this!" said Zhen Shi with no hint of a smile on his face as if he was completely serious. Myne shook his head and along with Zhen Shi walked closer to the fountain which was still calmly trickling out its eternal ''water'' without a care in the world, while the group of empowered cultivators happily made way for their saviors and started to cheer, blurting out obscenities against the ''anti-harem'' valley and its piss fountain. Ignoring this, Myne grabbed Zhen Shi and flew up into the air. Only cultivators who have reached the soul stage in cultivation can fly in the air unless your understanding of air aether reaches a very high level. Myne was already a nascent soul cultivator with more than sufficient understanding of the air aether. Hence he could obviously fly. They quickly reached the upper limit allowed by the valley trapping formation, Myne started to generate large amounts of nascent soul energy as bluish fire aether descended on to his outstretched hands while he used air aether to keep Zhen Shi afloat. Small amounts of air aether combined with the descended flames causing a terrifying brown flame to be born. At that moment Zhen Shi was suddenly inspired and understood a deeper principle of air aether. As such, he broke off the air used by Myne and flew in the air by air aether under his own control. Myne was greatly impressed but still said, "Clever kid, I hope you''re ready!" and slapped the bluish brown flame covered hands on to Zhen Shi''s back. BOOM! A loud explosion resounded as the sky above the ''anti-harem'' valley showed a terrifying mushroom-shaped cloud where Myne was. Zhen Shi was propelled down like a bullet with the gravity speeding him up further. Whilst falling, he quickly brought out the minor spatial tear sword and loaded it as an arrow into his divine bow. He had figured since Nascent Soul was not sufficient, he would gamble with methods to improve the power. Zhen Shi''s eyes glistened with madness! He fully activated at 100%, transforming into a blue-red demon with horns, wings and a tail, as if he was descending back into hell. He had decided to throw caution to the wind as he realized that he needed to go all out and gamble in order to escape from this place. RAAARRGGH! He let out a bestial roar, as he put his life on the line for this attack. He retracted his wings to form a more aerodynamic shape to speed himself up further. At the same time, his tail was rapidly used to whap on to air which Zhen Shi solidified to gain even more momentum. He further utilized the wind aether to completely remove the obstruction by air, fire aether to manifest as explosions behind him and earth aether to enhance gravity and speed up his descent. As a result, all that the cheering onlookers saw was a streak descending from the skies. Even Myne could only barely see Zhen Shi''s bestial form even though he could sense the use of three elemental aether. Simultaneously, Zhen Shi pulled back the spatial tear sword on the divine bow, with his enhanced physical strength causing the space to generate terrifying spatial waves at every moment of his descent. But even then, the space was very stable and remained untorn. Zhen Shi activated the maximum power of the divine bow he could manage. Just when his roar ended, he had arrived next to the fountain, which had continued to trickle on calmly. At the same time, the group of cheering cultivators and Myne were able to witness a truly terrifying but beautiful attack. Zhen Shi''s bestial roar accompanied by the groups'' cheers was the music, and the vertical streak adorned with the residual elemental energy and spatial waves was the painting. At point-blank, the minor spatial tear sword shot out from the divine bow radiating great danger, along with the momentum gained from Zhen Shi and Myne''s collective effort. In this instance the primordial chaos he had opted to not use the last time was finally used as well. The divine bow also added that formless energy to the shooting sword, allowing it to streak forwards at full force! And finally, the sword struck the tip of the fountain, BOOOM DOOM!! 13 An Interesting Duo BOOOOM DOOOM!! The sound of the explosion resounded all over the valley, which had become blurry and unstable under the effect of the primordial chaos and spatial tears. Under this attack with power bordering on the level of Soul Deification, the fountain had been heavily damaged. Cracks appeared on the surface of the fountain and a powerful but strange energy wafted out. Zhen Shi found it very difficult to stop his momentum and prevent himself from falling into the waters of the fountain of everlasting life. Myne who had been watching from the side had been ready for such a situation, and so rushed to prevent Zhen Shi from falling in. Just as he grabbed on to Zhen Shi, that strange energy beat him to it, by latching on to Zhen Shi. Thus the energy indirectly caught Myne as well..... As space stabilized and the vision of the cheering cultivators'' was cleared what they could ''see'' was a lack of the two who had attacked, but a completely fine fountain still trickling out water as if nothing had happened. Ehhhh?? This..... Senior is this how you show us your ability? Is this how you said you''ll escape?? Why does it look like you were eviscerated by the fountain? "They seem to have left, but since that powerful senior promised, I''m sure they will come back to help us!" shouted out Carlos."Yes. The shame of having succumbed to drinking from the piss fountain. This hatred of ours against the anti-harem valley, as dubbed so by that... Uh... What was that senior''s name again??" asked Dolz. Another of the group, "OH! Didn''t he call himself ''this scholarly and handsome self''? It must be his Taoist name!" shouted out. Dolz immediately grew excited and exclaimed, "Yes! Our hatred against the Anti-Harem Valley as dubbed so by that Senior ''this scholarly and handsome self'' will never be sated. Everyone let''s work hard to cheer them on and curse this piss fountain. Let''s reach immortality under the Dao of harems!" Everyone agreed wholeheartedly and so continued to cheer and curse the fountain, still unsure why they were doing this. It was almost as if a strange was force was compelling them to do so. But still, the fountain continued to trickle its water without a care in the world. ?????? Ding! Congratulations to the user for greatly weakening the trapping formation center. The user has gained 70 OP. Zhen Shi didn''t pay much attention to this as he was observing their current location. It appeared that Zhen Shi and Myne were now trapped within a miniature space below the fountain of everlasting life. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Although a miniature space, it seemed like a cavern with multiple tunnels twisting and turning everywhere. As for that strange energy, it had disappeared the moment they arrived in this place. Zhen Shi had already canceled so he was back to his usual self, but his shirt had been ripped apart due to the wings and thus was only wearing a pair of pants. Suddenly, Myne started to cackle wildly as his aura grew stronger by an entire major level, reaching Soul Deification!! Zhen Shi looked in amazement and asked, "Senior, you weren''t hiding your power this entire time, right?" Myne shook his head saying, "Haha, of course not. My real body is trapped here in this wretched place and only my soul was in the valley. That''s why none of my abilities are of a physical nature, and you had to step in. But now that my spiritual body is closer, my powers have naturally increased. I really must thank you! If it wasn''t for you, I would have forever been stuck as a spirit ." Zhen Shi gaped, "HAHA! Of course, I''m awesome. Wait, you''re the one being sealed under the fountain of everlasting piss? FUCK! I was just joking before... The water from the fountain isn''t your piss right?" and asked excitedly. Myne grimaced, "Boy, what nonsense are you speaking?" "Ah, forget it then. More importantly, since you are the one sealed, are you...that Merlin?" asked Zhen Shi excitedly. Myne was surprised for a moment, *sigh* "Merlin? Who is that? What part of my name don''t you get, kid? My name is MYNE!" and said sternly. EHHH? This guy is definitely Merlin! I''ll make him accept that role yet!! Zhen Shi shook his head, "Fine. Senior, any idea on how to escape, since you''re so ''familiar'' with this place." Myne nodded and said with a pained look on his face, "Follow me. I can sense my body and I believe the instigator of this entire event is still trapped here as well. But she seems to be unaware of our arrival for the moment." Zhen Shi stayed silent for a moment, but still asked, "Senior, this person... was she who sealed you?" He also had a vague idea regarding her identity. "It was a stupid mistake...." Myne murmured but silently continued forward. "Kid lets go," he said walking forward. "What? Is that a yes? ... C''mon, dude... I mean Senior, tell me!" and as such, they continued moving through the tunnels for several days, with Zhen Shi continuously asking Myne questions... Nearly a week after, Zhen Shi who had been bored to death was cursing this cavern mentally and sometimes aloud. But suddenly, AARGH! A Nascent Soul level giant earthworm appeared out of the walls roaring. Myne vaguely waved his hand causing it to drop dead. Zhen Shi looked at this with dead eyes... "Senior! NOO! What are you doing?..... Aiya, such a waste." shouted out Zhen Shi. Myne looked at him in surprise and asked, "What? Are you one of those crazy people shouting for demon beast rights?" Zhen Shi gawked, "Demon beast rights? There is really such a thing? Ahh, No----I mean you wasted all those valuable exp points!" "Exp points? What''s that? Can you eat it?" asked Myne. Zhen Shi shook his head and sorrowfully said, "No. It is more valuable than food! Aiya... Nevermind, my earthworm friend I hope you can become a butterfly in your next life..." Myne frowned, "Earthworms can become butterflies? Has the world changed so much?" and asked. "AH, HAHA!! Yes yes. The world truly changes with time. Senior we''ve wasted enough time shouldn''t we be on our way?" said Zhen Shi quickly and led the way forward. But he did momentarily stop to shamelessly pocket the demonic core of the earthworm... FUCK!! System, what''s with you? Messing up such simple Biology? Is this what I have taught you? System: ?(?Òæ??) Myne nodded obliviously and said, "We''re pretty close now, we''ll be there soon." They moved forwards and soon reached a wide and open cavern. It was completely silent besides the sound of water. This light trickling of water was unlike that of the valley and granted this place a peaceful atmosphere. A strange blue light emanating from nowhere lit up the cavern in a strange magical manner. At the center of the room, an old man was lying on the floor with his eyes closed and the rocks surrounding him were emanating a powerful force creating a formation. There was also a fountain floating immediately above him releasing an energy that was perpetually sealing him. The occasional drop of water from the fountain would fall onto that old man. Myne looked at this with sorrow and despair. "Fuck! Myne is that your physical body? I was really joking before. But now... Your piss is really the source of the fountain!! And it''s even falling back on you? I don''t know if I should feel sorrier for those piss drinking fellows outside or... You!!!" shouted out Zhen Shi laughing. Myne completely forgot his earlier feelings and was about to shoot back in retaliation and anger. But... he suddenly thought, ''I was in sorrow and despair a moment ago, but this little boy''s insults made me forget about it. He must''ve done so, just to make me feel better. *sigh* What a kind and good-hearted fellow he is.'' So with a grateful feeling in his heart, he smiled brightly at Zhen Shi. But Zhen Shi felt none of those kind feelings. He shivered mentally, as all he saw was a powerful senior smile at him after being insulted. FUCK! What is happening? Is this Senior Merlin, masochistic or something? I better not insult him ever again as it might cause his perverted tendencies to develop. Aiya....! I really must help this poor senior as much as possible in the future! So Zhen Shi lightly nodded at Myne with pity in his eyes. But Myne was happier and more satisfied now. He could see the pity in Zhen Shi''s eyes and took it as further evidence for his former conclusion and thought, ''I was right. This boy is truly empathetic about my feelings. We must be brothers from different mothers!'' But this confusion of feelings was left aside for the moment, as the peaceful trickle of water suddenly began to overflow here and there like a stormy sea. The water of the fountain flowed out congealing into a figure of a beautiful yet sadistic looking woman who was giving out a terrifying aura. This was even strong than that of Myne''s. The notification above her read ''HIDDEN''. FUCK! Who is this powerful dominatrix? But Myne shouted out, "Vivienne, so you''re still here? All this time, you could''ve left if you just canceled the formation spell... Do you still hate me so much?" Zhen Shi looked at them in surprise and wondered, ''Fuck, it''s a legend that Merlin loved Vivienne and that she finally sealed him under the earth. But who would have thought their relationship would be like this... A masochist and a sadist, A truly interesting duo!!'' The angry and unhappy voice of Vivienne droned out along with the terrifying pressure, "Huh... It is you, old man. I was only trying to bring in the one who could damage the fountain! I threw your spirit outside but you still came back? Are you that desperate?" Her crazy eyes landed on Zhen Shi for a moment, "And this is the one who attacked my fountain?" AHH! So it was a woman''s ''fountain''. I guess those piss drinkers outside and this old man can die with some semblance of pride now. The two continued their argument oblivious to his thoughts. "Vivienne, leave my brother out of this. But, tell me... All those years we spent together, did it mean nothing to you? I didn''t see through you at first, all my spells showed you truly cared for me. But later, I foresaw that you would betray me. Still, I kept hoping that... just maybe..... I could change how you felt. But alas, you led me here on that moonlit night. And I taught you that spell out of pity but in the end, you sealed me in the earth using it, forcing me to look on as my friends and comrades died. It even trapped so many other innocent people here as well." "So what if I did, Old man? You broke my heart by having another affair and I changed your spell so that it will only affect those unfaithful men. I could get my revenge and your powerful spell, two birds from one stone. But that day, you actually retaliated back, leaving me in this... miserable state!" she shouted out in anger. She gathered a terrifying intent of water law around her. She continued speaking, "And knowing that my power would return, you killed all the powerful cultivators who drank from the fountain, greatly reducing my chances of escaping!" Merlin sighed, "Vivienne, that affair with her..... was not what you thought! As for killing those idiots, after your betrayal, did you truly expect me to just accept it! But now that we''ve lived for so long.... fine, if this is meant to be a tragedy, let it be so. I''ll leave my life in your hands." and lowered his head in despair. Zhen Shi, who had been watching them talk finally shouted out in anger, "Water Lady, are you fucking crazy? Your actions have destroyed the hope of harems in all those innocent men! And now you''re actually blaming the final self-defense of a man who trusted you? If he is an old man to you, aren''t you an old hag to me? And more importantly, this handsome and scholarly self has never been unfaithful but was still trapped in your piss valley!" Vivienne paused for a moment with a hint of sorrow and confusion in her eyes but it disappeared instantly replaced with anger. Seeing her eyes, Merlin grew even more sorrowful."I do not agree with your views boy. But it is indeed true that you have not been unfaithful. Wait..... it seems like you haven''t even had the chance to be faithful yet? Still... you have chaos within you which must have messed up the formation spell. Blame your bad luck for ending up here without even getting the chance to be unfaithful," she said in her maddened and sadistic voice. FUCK! I forgot that this Zhen Shi is still a virgin. So embarrassing... ?????????¡á? System, this is all your fault! System: "....." "Hmpf, Water lady, That must be why you have stopped cultivating after reaching your level. Sacrifices must be made to reach the heavens! Don''t you even get that?" asked Zhen Shi making it up, through gritted teeth. He was mad but realizing that in the end, he wouldn''t be able to even lay a scratch on Vivienne by himself, he spoke, "Hey Merlin, are you truly gonna lower your head like a coward? C''mon get your revenge and beat her up!" But Myne sorrowfully shook his head, seemingly at the depths of despair. FUCK! Is this guy hoping to get her pity by doing this? If this continues we''ll both be killed. But suddenly Zhen Shi''s eyes flashed as he came up with an idea! "Senior Merlin, don''t you think that the fact that your spells initially didn''t show her betrayal is strange? Also, I believe you saw the shift in her emotions just a moment ago. I''m confident that some strange spell must''ve been cast on her!" said Zhen Shi mentally to Myne. Generally, cultivators must reach the soul stage for mental conversation but Zhen Shi had a more powerful soul due to the strengthening by primordial chaos and purification by the vermillion flame. And with every one of his words, the despair in Myne''s face slowly disappeared. "But, since this spell lasted so long and because even you couldn''t figure it out, it must be very powerful. I think we''ll only be able to cancel it if we defeat her!" said Zhen Shi. Myne who was completely out of the depths of sorrow now grinned with hope. In addition, he was extremely confident of this junior brother''s kindness and empathetic nature now. "Kid, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. From now on you are my brother, till death do us part!!" shouted out Myne. "Also who is this Merlin? I''m Myne!" Zhen Shi shook his head but grinned as well. Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 50 OP. His smile widened with the gaining of the reward. However.....This entire time he had been..... bullshitting. He had had his suspicions regarding the event but nothing was concrete facts. Still, he had always felt unhappy with the way Merlin had met his end in legend. So he decided to go all out on this bet rather than waiting for Vivienne to kill them off. And as a bonus.... the Great Mage Merlin had become his sworn brother!! Focusing at reality Myne frowned and said, "Brother, my power is barely at the Soul Deification level right now. But Vivienne is directly using aquatic law; she is Holding the Law and at the Law Holder stage! Thus I''ll need you to stop her with that method of yours, so I can get to my physical body." "Huh? Old man, are you underestimating me? That eyesore of a body, If I had been able to destroy it, I would have done so long ago! But, I''d love to see your pathetic abilities now that my power exceeds yours!" shouted out Vivienne as she crossed her hands on her chest and watched confidently. Ignoring her, Zhen Shi grimaced at what he''ll have to do and said, "Fine. I hope you won''t be too mad, Brother Myne," and walked forwards. "Hmm...? Why would I be mad? Just do it!" said Myne confidently. He looked on confidently as Zhen Shi switched to the familiar form bestial form of as scales covered his body along with the formation of draconic tail and vermillion wings, giving him the familiar bluish-red bestial form. He continued to watch as the bestial Zhen Shi flapped his wings and rose to Vivienne''s level. But his confidence completely disappeared and his eye twitched, ?_? as Zhen Shi lowered his pants and revealed himself to Vivienne. "Shaming the Heavens!!" shouted Zhen Shi shamelessly. Vivienne looked on in surprise as she was completely frozen in place under the full effect of Gold Tier . But Myne could only see Zhen Shi''s winged back. FUCK!! Brother what are you showing my innocent lover?? And why is she so entranced? What? Is he a ''DRAGON'' amongst men, now that it is covered in DRAGON SCALES?? MOTHERFUCKER, we''re not friends any longer!! 14 Kamehameha!!! Still, despite how unhappy he was Myne wasn''t going to throw away this opportunity. He dashed forwards disregarding the distracted Vivienne and reached his body. Just as he touched the body, he glowed with a bright blue light and disappeared. Ding! Target Cultivator has broken free of Vivienne was flabbergasted as she looked at Zhen Shi and said, "Boy, wha-what was that shameless skill? " She turned to look at Myne''s body, "Fuck. The old man will awaken soon and I can do nothing to stop him." ''Still, he seemed to be interested in this boy, so I could use him as a bargaining chip. I''ll capture him and we could even have some ''fun'' together!!'' Vivienne smiled at Zhen Shi while thinking so. Zhen Shi felt a chill run up his spine as he saw this sadistic woman smile at him. SHIET. Why do both of them smile after being acted against?? Those two really are birds of the same feather!! But realizing that Myne will need some time, he immediately brought out the divine bow. He loaded an arrow and pulled it back with the full strength of the body. He utilized the maximum power of the primordial chaos, along with his newly improved wind aether to create three manifestations of himself, this was the best he could manage at the moment. His original self used the divine bow while the other two attacked with the ordinary bow and A terrifying rain of arrows and black fire hailed on to Vivienne''s body. But she simply smiled as she took no action to block. The attacks hit her body and passed right through leaving only ripples on her body. Only the arrow from the divine bow caused that part of her body to explode. But even that grew back. It was like attacking a body of water. She laughed now saying, "Boy... That tickles. " FUCK! Is this the legendary indestructible body type? Zhen Shi was about to use again when suddenly the air around him became denser like water, attempting to restrict his movement. At the same time, Vivienne suddenly appeared in front of him. This was a form of teleportation! "Boy, you were pathetic. Now, see how it is to be on the receiving end!" she said. Now that she had taken the initiative, she was simply too fast. With a terrifying law of water coalescing around her, she struck out with her fist. Zhen Shi felt that this fist was unstoppable and impossible to dodge. But, with his physique trained in liquidized diamond, he could neglect the water like air restricting his movement to a certain extent. So he utilized all the elemental spiritual roots and combined their aether to grant him an instantaneous burst of energy. With his bestial body, he was fully capable of handling this sudden torrent of energy. As such just as the punch landed on his face, he pulled back his head just so that the force of the attack would be greatly reduced. Simultaneously he struck out with the bow, blindly applying the principles of . There was no way in hell, that he''d let himself be hit without retaliating! But just as he felt the divine bow come into contact with the target, Pu! Zhen Shi spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent hurtling backward. He crashed into the stone wall causing his outstretched wings to take the brunt of the force. Crack! His bones had been heavily damaged under the attack and the qi in his dantian was growing unstable. His entire body was covered in blood. Still, he rapidly exerted the Vermillion Soul and bloodline to full effect, which greatly reduced the pain and began to heal his wounds visibly. With the vermillion fire burning over his body, he slowly opened his eyes to be greeted with a vision which made him smile. On the other side of the cavern, Vivienne had similarly been thrown back and had hit the stone walls. But, she quickly got back up with a growing scowl on her face. Although she had not received much damage she had still been thrown backward. After all the divine bow had been made from some of the best divine materials accumulated by Hephaestus. "FUCK! Little boy, that hurt a lot more than expected. What on earth is your bow made out of?" she shouted in anger. Zhen Shi just smiled as he slowly brought himself up. He had to exert both the dragon and bird bloodlines at maximum to be able to move again. With blood slowly seeping from his body, the ever-burning Vermillion flame and his devilish bluish-red draconic body his smile looked like that of a demon. Seeing this, Vivienne''s eyes momentarily gaped in a mixture of slight fear and confusion. She hadn''t felt it too clearly before but now she definitely did. "You... How do you have bloodlines of both the Azure Dragon and Vermillion Bird? They are polar opposites and would never coexist... " said Vivienne with confusion on her sadistic face. But noting that Myne would wake up momentarily she decided to throw her thoughts to the back of her mind and attack immediately. She refused to believe that this core formation kid could survive her law holding attack for a second time, even with that strange bestial body. And in fact, it would be extremely difficult for Zhen Shi to survive a second hit. He had already understood Vivienne''s decision to attack fast to make it difficult for him to use . So he decided to do the only thing he could to gain time. Pretend to be tough! "FUCK! Water Lady, you''ve pushed me this far. I''ll sacrifice my life for this attack. So let us die together!" shouted out Zhen Shi with an ''unbending'' resoluteness in his eyes. He had previously shrunk the bow to fit in his palms, and so with his palms held together in front of him, he shouted out, "O GREAT GOD OF ALL DRAGONS, SHENRON! I SUMMON YOU!" Simultaneously, he used the full force of the dragon blood in his body to create the vague figure of a mighty green dragon with dark red eyes and a golden yellow aura. To do this Zhen Shi had to use up a large amount of Qi while complementing the dragon spirit with the opposing energy of the Vermillion Bird. SHENRON? Why have I never heard of such a Dragon God? Legends do speak of a dragon god named Shen Long. Maybe they are related? Thinking so, Vivienne paused momentarily in suspicion at Zhen Shi''s strange words, but still slowly moved forward, ready to attack the moment she saw Zhen Shi trying to use that shameless skill of his. Seeing her actions Zhen Shi decided to bet everything on his final hope. He moved into a horse-stance like position and brought his two arms back with them holding each other. "KAA--," he shouted slowly releasing the divine aura in the bow as if charging an attack. This time Vivienne felt a hint of fear in her heart as she sensed a godly aura that could even cause her trouble. "--MEE HAA MEEE--," shouted out Zhen Shi while continuously increasing the divine aura. This aura combined with the dragon figure and miraculously created the illusion of a true divine dragon! Zhen Shi was elated at this coincidence while Vivienne had completely paused in fear at this moment. She dared not disturb him as she feared the repercussions of such a ''powerful'' spell at a close range, and thus waited patiently from a distance. "--HAA," Zhen Shi finished his shouting as he pushed his hands forward in ''attack'' and completely let out the divine aura as a concentrated light beam targeted at Vivienne. As luck would have it, the manifestation of the divine dragon coiled around this light beam and moved forwards while letting out a terrifying roar! Feeling the terrifying aura of the attack and the manifestation of the roaring divine dragon charging at her, this time Vivienne decided to take no chances. She immediately switched into a defensive posture and merged terrifying amounts of water law to form a figure of a beautiful lady wielding a sword and a shield in front of her. This was her current strongest defense; the Lady of the Lake. It could even handle the attack of an early stage Law Wielder! At the same time, the terrifying divine dragon crashed into the shield. But the terrifying explosion she expected did not arrive. A silent hissing sound as if a balloon was losing air could be heard. Vivienne''s eyes gawked, ?_? as the ''terrifying divine dragon'' lost all of its majesty in front of her defense and popped like a balloon. After all, it was merely aura and was just a paper tiger. Vivienne started to shout out in anger, "FUCK! Honourless boy, what was that attack? Is that powerless poof, what your life is worth--?" but immediately stopped as she realized that she had been tricked. She attempted to move forward to stop Zhen Shi, but... it was too late!! Zhen Shi had already risen into the air when Vivienne was defending. And with the last of his will, he dropped his pants for the second time. "Shaming the Heavens!!" and... Vivienne was frozen in surprise, again. Zhen Shi was quite happy with himself and was fairly sure that Myne would wake up soon. He was relishing in his victory but... he was suddenly attacked from behind!! FUCK! When did that piss lady get behind me? Zhen Shi was sent hurtling to the ground and he crashed painfully once again. Although he was attacked, this time surprisingly he had not received much damage. He had also healed himself quite well with the Vermillion Flame. Thinking that Vivienne''s attack failed, he laughed out loud with great confidence! "HAHA---," but he stopped midway as he turned around to see his attacker... It was the now old aged Myne with a confused look on his face. Myne had finally awoken with his full power in his old body but what awaited him was the same scene he had to witness when he left. His lover being entranced by his brother... So in a bad mood, he had attacked Zhen Shi to get him to stop. But instead of shouting at him in anger... his sworn brother had... laughed!! Myne was initially confused, but later had a look of pity in his eyes. Could it be.....? That my sworn brother enjoys being hit? Is that why he is covered in blood as well? Ahh... I shouldn''t have hit him and made things worse. He was only helping me after all... As such, "Ahh, I''m sorry Brother. I truly am..." said Myne with a look of guilt on his old face. This young brother of mine, he is so kind-hearted and yet has such a side to him... I must make sure to not edge him on any further! Seeing his guilty and old face Zhen Shi nodded, feeling that Myne had just woken up and had lost control. He too was thinking, This Great Mage of mine is so powerful and yet has a masochistic side to him. I truly can''t be too mad at him! And with great feelings of comradery and confused feelings of pity, they looked at each other and smiled. "Brother Merlin you''re finally awake! I almost died at the hands of this wife of yours!" said Zhen Shi. Myne frantically shook his head and said, "Oi, don''t forget that the name''s Myne! Still, I knew that a brother of mine could survive." Then they turned to look at Vivienne who was grimacing and frowning at this pair of brothers. "Old man, you and that boy are truly peas of a pod. You''re both as shameless as the other," she muttered while again manifesting the figure of that lady wielding the sword and the shield. "Well, our battle was inevitable. I''ve improved over the years. So let us fight," she shouted out while sending the lady of the lake forward in attack. Myne nodded, "Very well, Vivienne let me defeat you and free you from the spell you are under!" and sent forth a terrifying law that formed into an hourglass, easily fending off the attack from the Lady of the Lake. Zhen Shi looked on with great interest and moved forward to help out Myne with his ''godly'' skill. Although formerly embarrassed with using it, he had gotten quite thick-skinned with continuous use. Myne hurriedly turned towards him and said, "Brother what are you doing? Stay back....." But realizing that Zhen Shi had planned to use that skill of his Myne shouted out with great fervor, "Hey, hey! Don''t use that skill anymore. I can take care of this myself. Please..." Zhen Shi was initially confused but soon realized the matter. Ahh! So even this masochistic grand mage doesn''t like to become a cuckold! Yes, I should leave my brother his pride. And thinking so he moved back. Myne nodded in relief and continued his battle. "Vivienne, I was the one who taught you magic. Do you really think that now at full strength while holding law, I can''t take care of you?" shouted out Myne with great confidence. He manifested thousands of hourglasses and clocks and sent them forward in attack. "Old man, you--- I''ll kill you, I''ll slaughter you!!!" shouted out Vivienne while manifesting countless aquatic soldiers herself. But the hourglasses surrounded all the manifestations of water along with Vivienne and began to rotate periodically. Amazingly, Vivienne was completely frozen in place unable to move. This was an abstruse law...the law of time! Next, Myne waved his hand causing the clocks to strike with great power onto Vivienne''s defenseless body. Bang! Bang! Bang! With each attack, her indestructible body wavered and shook. Suddenly a strange knot of energy appeared connecting Vivienne and the fountain of youth which was churning furiously. But under the continuous attacks, this knot finally shattered into countless specks of light. Finally freed from the fountain, Vivienne''s aquatic form disappeared revealing a black-haired and beautiful lady. But her face was a confusing kaleidoscope of feelings as it switched between anger, confusion, sorrow, and grief. Realizing that whatever spell was effecting Vivienne had now weakened, Myne looked at her with pained eyes, wanting to say a million words but unable to... "I...I''m sorry" he finally said. Hearing this Vivienne''s face which had been previously full of confusion paused with a calm look. Vivienne looked at him with a slight smile, "Hush. It was never your fault... I realize that now....." She sighed, "That day... I should have only been suspicious. My actions back then were obviously an over-reaction. Only now do I realize, that my stepmother had been gradually corrupting me with a divine curse. Even you the great mage Merl--Myne, couldn''t have sensed the minute changes under the gradual exposure to a divine curse." SHIET! My bullshit was actually correct!! HAHA, this is what it means to be a true SCHOLAR. System you should learn from yours truly!! System: "...." Still, Zhen Shi listened to this tragedy in silence. He knew that divine curses were the polar opposite of divine blessings. They were a one strike attack that could be used by clans and kingdoms with divine totems of a patron god. The more powerful the divine curse the longer it would take to obtain it. But when used they bring out the terrifying intent of gods which simply cannot be blocked by non-divinities. Even Law Wielders would be powerless in the face of a powerful divine curse. Vivienne coughed and collapsed on to the floor but Myne immediately went and caught her. Vivienne smiled again, "Myne---That name, it suits you," and continued with her tale, "It seems that my mother Diana had positioned me in your kingdom''s court for the express purpose of weakening your king. When she learned of our relationship, she had begun to use the divine curse to slowly plant seeds of doubt in my heart regarding us. And finally led me to seal you here with your own spell... I''m sorry. If only I had believed in you... maybe I could have fought off the divine curse.." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Myne''s old eyes glistened with tears, "No, no... it was never your fault. I too am to blame. Always believing you had simply betrayed me..." But he didn''t get to say much further, as Vivienne now hurriedly freed herself from Myne and shouted out, "Fuck you, old man! You betrayed me. I''ll kill you!" She gathered some law and punched out.....but her fist lost that energy almost immediately as she collapsed on to Merlin''s lap soon after. Myne looked at her with sorrow and whispered, "Brother, Vivienne is still being influenced by the divine curse. I believe I have a chance of healing her. But I will have to give up my Law of time. My cultivation will be damaged--- But for her, I''m willing to do so. I hope you can look over us while I heal her. And if we fail I hope you can be there to witness our final moments." Zhen Shi frowned. He didn''t want his ''grand mage'' to die. No matter what, he had enjoyed his time with Myne and had no wish to say goodbye so soon. As such, "Brother Myne can you spare me a moment? I might be able to help you out," said Zhen Shi. Myne was surprised but nodded with great satisfaction regards this brother of his. Zhen Shi checked his status and noted, Otaku Points: 155. This was his highest collection of OP yet. "System how much for the random divine boon? " he asked. Ding! A random divine boon is set at the general price of 100 OP. "Alright, System how much more if I want to specify something. As in something or anything that could heal Vivienne or increase their chances of survival?" Ding! The user can add that as a single requirement to the random divine boon for 50 OP. "YES!! System do that. Grant me a divine boon with that requirement," Zhen Shi shouted out mentally. Ding! Divine boon gained. Once again that familiar piece of white paper appeared. But this only said, ~IOU~ Zhen Shi paid no heed to it as he immediately said, "System use it up." The piece of paper disappeared. Zhen Shi was worried that this divine boon too would take a long time but he was worrying for no reason. This was because the divine boon arrived almost immediately. As such, he immediately accepted the system''s notification confirming the arrival of his divine boon. But, a multi-colored and square-shaped object appeared within Zhen Shi''s vision causing his face to gawk. He had been hoping to surprise Myne with a godly healing pill or unbelievable skill. But now.... he felt like flipping a table....scratch that, he wanted to flip two tables!!! ©ß©¥©ß ¦à©c(`§¥¡ä)?¦à ©ß©¥©ß FUCK! Zhen Shi once again looked at the item he had received, just to make sure his eyes weren''t being deceived. This item was.... one of those old fashioned and bulky Boom Boxes! To maek things worse it was one of those multi-colored eye-blinding old ones. SHIET!! System, what am I supposed to do with this? Am I supposed to heal Vivienne with a mix-tape of godly music? Or am I supposed to let them dance at the last moments of their life? Ding! Congratulations to the user for obtaining a DIVINE BOOMBOX! 15 Our Revolution Leader... ???????????????????? In the divine realm, there was a bearded old man blind in one eye. He was wearing a broad hat and a dark brown cloak. His attention was completely focused on a table full of various oddities and trinkets. Accompanying him were a pair of dormant wolves each with a crow resting on their heads. Despite his shabby appearance, this old man emanated an unbeatable presence. One of the crows lazily stood up from its position of rest. The old man turned around and asked, "Huginn, has anything interesting happened in the divine realm since last I checked?" The crow nodded and spoke as well, "Yes, there are rumors of a new god that has ascended. Apparently he had Hephaestus make him a divine weapon which he has dubbed, ''the best creation in the countless millennia of blacksmithing''." "Oh! So a new junior has ascended? For even that kid Hephaestus to be so proud of his weapon, I wonder how it matches up with my Gungnir? I suppose I should pay him a visit and grant him some congratulatory gifts. Huginn where is this junior now?" said the old man with a spark in his one eye. The crow Huginn spoke out unhappily, "This..... Lord, I have checked the entire divine realm and even with brother Munnin''s help, we were unable to find him. But we have learned that his Daoist name is ''this handsome and scholarly self'' and that he had contacted Hephaestus via a piece of divine paper. On this paper, it was written...." but stopped immediately as a familiar mystical paper appeared within the room. On it, one could see the words ~IOU~. ''Oh? That junior has decided to contact this old lord himself? The younger generation is truly praiseworthy'', thought the one-eyed old man. But to his surprise, the paper shone a brilliant white light on to his table full of strange items and disappeared immediately with one of them in tow. The old man''s one working eye twitched, ?_?. He roared out in anger, "What handsome and scholarly? He is nothing but a mere thief! He dared to steal from my collection of divine treasures! If I let this go the other gods will think that I, ODIN is a pushover!" But he immediately calmed down and spoke, "Huginn go out with Munnin and personally use every method possible and search for him." Next, he turned to the now awoken wolves, "Geri, Freki have the Valkyrie corps put out a bounty for him and inform this matter to my useless sons as well." As the crows and wolves moved out to carry out his orders, Odin turned to the skies, ''Junior thief let''s see how you handle this, but that white paper and its aura... Interesting...'' and smiled calmly with one excited eye. ???????????????????? Zhen Shi oblivious to this, was hard at work trying to comprehend a way to help Myne with this ''divine boombox'' of his. Completely stupefied he turned to his only hope, the System! Ding! Divine Boombox: The latest technology in music. An item personally crafted and worked on by the All-seeing God Odin. It can be used to play various types of music tapes putting divine musicians such as Orpheus to shame. It also comes with additional features. [The user is truly fortunate to have received a divine boon from such a high tier god.] Shiet! What latest technology? If so where is the Bluetooth functionality? And why is to so huge and bulky like a large rock? Still, Zhen Shi was rather satisfied with this random divine boon. After all, it was an item from Odin and he also had an idea of how to use it to help Myne. As such he turned to him, "Brother Myne while you conduct the ritual I will put on some music for you. It will be of great use." Myne was momentarily flabbergasted but was greatly impressed. Help him with music? Was this brother of his, a cultivator of the dao of music as well? But his impression was immediately broken as Zhen Shi brought out a multi-colored eye-blinding huge block. Fuck! Brother, will you blind me with this monstrosity so much, that I''ll become deaf and unable to listen to your music? Myne was full of disbelief. Indeed, although a divine item the boom box gave off no special aura. Still, Myne decided to go on with the ritual as he thought that his brother had felt powerless and had wanted to do something to help out. But he couldn''t help but feel a hint of displeasure in his heart, as he thought that this item might hinder his chances of success. Still, he nodded at Zhen Shi and summoned a terrifying law of time which manifested as a shadow of a clock face, a faint blue flame was burning on it. The space around Myne started to twist and churn occasionally showing the past and future. Even with the Vermillion Dragon body, Zhen Shi had to retreat quite a bit under the effect of this law. After retreating, he placed the divine boombox on the floor and let the music play. He had decided on some Chinese instrumental music with the effect of calming the mind and improving concentration. As the divine nature inherent to the boom box was mixed in with the amazing sound of the flute, lute, and zither, a gentle sound akin to the sounds of nature slowly spread. This music appeared to be able to penetrate into one''s mind bit by bit and settle in the deepest part of one''s soul. Myne who had been beginning his law sacrifice was immediately spellbound by this amazing music. His worried eyes could not help but slowly shut when this melodious music was heard. His originally tensed body had also completely relaxed. His mind was free of unscrupulous thought as he brought out all the time law he could manage. But just as he was about to begin the sacrifice... Vivienne who had lost consciousness stirred and slowly woke under the effect of this melodious music. She was initially worried and wanted to prevent Myne from his actions. But under the effect of divine music, her mind was extremely clear. Immediately realizing Myne''s feelings she decided against stopping him and instead to support him. Thus, she too summoned every bit of water law she could. But, amazingly this water and time law entwined with each other forming a mesmerizing dual law! The colorless time law and bright blue water law formed a beautiful combination... Myne was initially reluctant to have Vivienne support him, but soon his face broke out in a light smile. Vivienne smiled as well... At this moment under the effect of heavenly music, their minds were free of sorrow and regret regarding the past. Then they began the law sacrifice. A terrifying dark black eery energy appeared which began to greedily absorb their law. Under its effect, the entwined dual law disappeared along with the eery energy. The law was sacrificed! Just as the law sacrifice was finished a golden law shone upon Vivienne''s body causing a dark miasmic aura; the remnant divine curse, to arise from Vivienne''s body and vaporize into the air. Surprisingly, by the time the divine curse was completely removed, Myne and Vivienne both had grown younger and stopped at an age of around mid-30. Although the law sacrifice was successful, both Myne and Vivienne felt a great feeling of sorrow as if something inherent to them was lost. But once they looked at each other, their hearts were once again filled with hope and satisfaction. As for Zhen Shi, after starting the music, he had returned to his normal human self wearing only a pair of pants. But now, he who had been looking on in great satisfaction was dumbfounded. As the owner of the divine item, he could sense the changes the music brought about in the duo. However, all he heard was normal music. It was almost as if the divine aura had no effect on him... HAHA! Of course, the unrefined sounds of a mere boom box cannot cause such changes to the mind of this handsome and scholarly self. I suppose it only affects the minds of those who have not listened to the greatest music. System I''m sure you fall into that category... System: ?_? Zhen Shi looked at this lovey-dovey pair of Myne and Vivienne. He was quite satisfied with the happy ending this couple had gotten despite the legends he knew. The notifications above their heads still read ''HIDDEN''. Ding! Congratulations! The user has had sufficient exposure to strong individuals. As such Level Vision(Minor) has evolved into Level Vision(Major). Zhen Shi was elated. HAHA! This must be a congratulatory gift from the heavens for preventing their tragedy from ever happening. Now the notifications above their heads read (Soul Deified) Nascent Soul Stage Level 5 and 6. This strange title confused Zhen Shi but he forgot it for the moment. He coughed loudly, instantly breaking the reverie of the couple and said, "Seniors, you should get yourselves a room," while smiling happily. Immediately the now younger looking Myne and Vivienne separated in embarrassment. But Myne smiled at Zhen Shi and said, "Brother of mine, that music of yours is truly divine. If it wasn''t for that, I wouldn''t know whether we could have survived! I am truly thankful!" At the same time Myne noted deep in his heart to never forget the generosity this brother had shown him. Zhen Shi grinned proudly, "It''s nothing much. We''re brothers after all aren''t we Merlin?" Myne scowled, "Who the hell is this Merlin? I AM MYNE," but he stopped as a sudden realization hit him. Thus he said, "This... we have already become brothers, but I''m afraid I don''t even know your name?" Zhen Shi grimaced. FUCK! That is indeed true! I didn''t say and he never asked! "Haha, yes... Well, this handsome and scholarly self is Zhen Shi! Don''t you ever forget it!" said Zhen Shi while laughing uncomfortably. With the intention of changing the topic, he turned to Vivienne and said, "But you have to admit Brother Myne, this Sister-in-law of yours is really pretty!" Vivienne smiled with a light red face, "Oh? Brother Zhen Shi but weren''t you shouting out water lady this and piss lady that before, at this big sister of yours?" and said with a playful scowl. Zhen Shi rubbed his head speechless and embarrassed. For the first time, he was truly without words... Because what she said was indeed the truth! Being speechless is such an uncomfortable feeling... Myne who was watching this conversation was slightly displeased. He was fairly okay with this brother of his using that shameless skill, although he was greatly depressed at Vivienne''s reaction to it. But seeing these two act like they were flirting... he couldn''t help but think... This brother Zhen Shi is a kind-hearted soul, troubled with that problem of enjoying being hit. Perhaps he also suffers from a desire to be cuckolded? Still, since he was unhappy he interceded in their conversation, "Brother Zhen Shi, Vivienne we''ve spent a lot of time here. Let''s leave this damned cavern!" and said. Zhen Shi looked at him with thankful eyes and thought, This Grand Mage brother, although suffering from masochistic desires is truly understanding of my feelings. He saved me from that uncomfortable situation of being speechless... But again Myne noted this look and took it as confirmation. Aiya! Then this brother of mine really does seem to suffer from such an ailment as well. He seems so thankful for my help! Vivienne for the first time noted something strange in their looks at each other. But she ignored it and laughed happily. She too was thankful for this brother Zhen Shi''s help and thus said, "Let''s leave. This place is indeed stuffy." But Zhen Shi stopped them, "Wait wait! How is your cultivation now? It feels rather confusing to me.." and said. Myne and Vivienne looked at each other, "Well... We''ve lost our chances of ever completely comprehending the laws of time and water again unless a miracle happens. While our cultivation has fallen to the nascent soul level, our souls remain deified. Thus we are quite capable of handling ordinary soul deification cultivators." They held hands and smiled, "And the sacrifice of the time law had a surprising side effect of giving us the bodies of our middle-aged selves. Still, we''ll have to reach the Law stage with a different law now. " Zhen Shi nodded, "Hey, you should be happy. After all, I am still at the core formation stage!" and said laughing. Myne and Vivienne paused for a moment but joined in the laughter soon after. Now completely free from worries they set back on their journey to the surface. However, it was a pitifully short journey. This was because Vivienne utilized her connection to the valley to destroy the fountain completely, sending them immediately to the surface. ???????????????????????? Back on the surface, the group of cultivators who had decided to pursue the dao of harems was still energetically cursing the valley and the piss fountain while cheering for Zhen Shi and Myne. Over time the senior who had promised to help them had transformed into something more... the creator of a revolution In fact, Carlos who was apparently skilled in the art of scrying had later used the fountain and the water sprayed from it to look at what that senior and Myne were doing. What had awaited them was the vision of a terrifying battle taking place between a water lady and Zhen Shi. Out of good or bad fortune, these cultivators never saw Myne''s sorrowful conversation with Vivienne. All they saw was the fountain lady fighting an awe-inspiring battle with a draconic and demonic Zhen Shi. It wasn''t that Carlos was a genius in the art of scrying. Simply put the medium he used was the fountain itself which was linked with the events in the cavern below. Thus while they could scry, every time Vivienne received damage or made powerful moves they lost signal. Thus the last thing they saw was Zhen Shi utilize a terrifying light beam with a divine green dragon coiling around it. This led to great displeasure among the group and multiple curses at Carlos. Nevertheless, the fact that their revolution leader was fighting the manifestation of the piss fountain filled them with great ardor and satisfaction. They were greatly worried regarding the outcome of the fight but had ultimately decided to give up worrying and continue cheering. As such, some were dancing, and some were singing, as they all showed their support to their revolution leader, that handsome and scholarly self! But... suddenly that accursed fountain exploded in a mist of fog and smoke. Finally, that fountain that had trickled water ever so peacefully was eternally silenced. Moments later, the group of cultivators looked on in awe as the mist cleared revealing the familiar figures of their revolution leader and Myne accompanied by a beautiful black haired lady, who was also strangely familiar. Immediately they started to cheer in happiness. Carlos was laughing out loud as he said, "The leader of the harem revolution has finally arrived to free us from this piss valley just as he promised. Those of us who lost faith should be ashamed. Our revolution leader must have beaten that piss lady! Now, our days of drinking piss are over!" All the others reciprocated his feelings. Hearing their shouts, Vivienne glanced at Zhen Shi meaningfully. Her look said it all. ''Little Brother, we''ll handle this later.....'' Still, she and Myne smiled in amusement at this strange scene that had awaited them. But, Zhen Shi was flabbergasted (???) FUCK! I was just playing around then. When did this turn in to a revolution? Could I be so unbelievably charismatic, to start revolutions with a single speech? SHIET. Either way, my reputation will be destroyed if my name is associated with these fools. I must make sure they never find out... As such," Big sister Vivienne you should release the control over the valley. These pitiful fellows have been here for such a long time now," said Zhen Shi. Vivienne looked at him with a playful smirk, "Pitiful? But aren''t they full of energy now?" still she nodded, "I suppose you are right... But those bastards who have become frozen and unable to move will probably lose some of their cultivation," and waved her hand. The mist slowly cleared finally revealing the valley within the chasm. Seeing this mist that had trapped them for so long disappear, the group of cultivators who were cheering started to shout out in ecstasy. They had lost all hope for so long, but this senior had given it back. They started to kowtow at the floating trio while crying tears of joy. Some thanked the gods but most were thanking the harem revolution leader, ''this handsome and scholarly self''. Having finally gained freedom and with their revolution leader so close, all of them wanted to express their thanks and provide him with gifts. After all, there were quite a large number of cultivators here and they would definitely have many valuables. Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 50 OP! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. But Zhen Shi cared nothing for the points or riches from the cultivator group, as he wanted nothing to do with this fiasco. So he immediately dashed off into the Berthelien forest and disappeared among the tall coniferous trees. Vivienne and Myne looked at each other and laughed, momentarily before dashing after him. The group of cultivators was stupefied and discouraged. NOOOO. Our revolution leader! How can you leave just like that? How can we repay our debt? Our revolution was just starting... Seeing their faces, Dolz shouted out proudly, "You bunch of idiots. Don''t you even understand our revolution leader''s feelings? Isn''t it obvious that it was his great character and humility that led him to hurry away?" Now having grabbed their attention, Dolz the fat middle-aged man strutted out like a proud peacock and continued, "Our revolution leader is such an amazing individual. He completely kept his promise of helping us escape. But, it is impossible to destroy this valley which was against our ideals and have such a blood boiling battle with that piss lady, with cultivation at the core formation stage. Even then we could feel his amazing majesty and awe-inspiring character. As such, I wouldn''t be surprised if he was even an Immortal posing as a weakling." Immediately one shouted out in defiance, "Isn''t that pretty shameless though?" Dolz stared at him in anger, "You fool! Our revolution leader''s every action is full of life lessons. Posing as a weakling is his lesson to us to never be proud and show off one''s power unnecessarily. After all, power can be lost at any time," and said. That cultivator lowered his head in shame as the others nodded in agreement. Dolz continued proudly, "It should be obvious now that he left quickly due to his decision to not accept our gifts and words as thanks. What he wanted in thanks is for us to never forget his teachings. That immortal leader of ours has passed on the dao of harems to us. It would be fine to even consider him to be our master. A MASTER FOR A DAY IS A FATHER FOR LIFE!! As such we should spread his wise words and teachings so that none will ever stand against harems again!!" and finished just as proudly. Having completely sated their worries this group of cultivators decided to follow the guidance of their ''revolution leader''. With the support of the other cultivators, Dolz and Carlos spearheaded a mission to help out those frozen and more powerful cultivators in the valley. They too later came to know of this powerful senior to whom they owed their lives. With the great tales recounted by Dolz, the majority of these survivors came to accept ''this handsome and scholarly self'' as their master and leader. Zhen Shi would have vomited up blood if he realized that he had suddenly gained hundreds of disciples under such a shameless dao, some with cultivation even stronger than him. But he didn''t.... for now... 16 Are we Mammals or Birds? Zhen Shi was floating amidst the green trees of Berthelien forest, awaiting the arrival of Myne and Vivienne. It was now night and the moon was shining brightly. And the duo arrived soon after. "Bro Zhen Shi you ran away pretty fast!!" shouted out Myne in laughter. Vivienne was also playfully smiling. Unable to handle this Zhen Shi spoke out in a last-ditch effort, " Of course I did. I''m a handsome and scholarly person who cares not for words of thanks. Yours truly will find happiness simply in helping others!" while proudly patting his chest. Myne and Vivienne laughed even louder, "Haha! That''s our brother...!" Zhen Shi, who was now quite pleased with himself asked, "You guys, what will you do now that you are free ?" Myne spoke out as if in prior agreement with Vivienne, " It has been countless millennia since we were last out and about in the world. That old hag that tricked us should still be out there, but... the world has changed since our time." "This is the Berthelien forest and we don''t really have any place to go to nearby nor do we have any particular goals. So, if Brother Zhen Shi doesn''t mind, both of us would like to follow you!" while smiling. Myne was also thinking, ''To show my gratitude I''ll also do my best to keep brother free from those tendencies of his!'' while looking at Zhen Shi with pity. "HAHA! How could I mind? Two experts with power at the soul deification stage are willing to follow me!" shouted out Zhen Shi. He was also thinking, ''I''ll have to keep Brother Merlin free from his masochistic tendencies in gratitude for their help...'' while looking at Myne in pity. Vivienne noticed something strange about their looks at each other, but couldn''t quite put a finger on why exactly... Still, Zhen Shi continued, "Okay! Let us head to the Lyonesse kingdom. I have a promise to keep after all..." while smiling in anticipation. But... ............ Wait..! SHIET, I came here to train. Despite having spent more than a week I''m still at Core Formation Stage 5. My skills haven''t improved exponentially either... I have nothing much to show off! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. If any other cultivator heard his thoughts they would cough up blood. As such, "Uhh... Forget what I said. Let''s spend about another week in here. I need to get some training done," said Zhen Shi turning to Myne and Vivienne. Myne and Vivienne shrugged in agreement. They didn''t really mind. So they spent several hours dashing about in the Berthelien forest under the bright moonlight. Zhen Shi intended to find some powerful beasts and kill them to level up. However, Zhen Shi did not encounter a single demonic beast or bug. It was almost as if they were avoiding him. While pondering this question, his eyes fell on Myne and Vivienne for a moment, who too was looking at him. FUCK! No wonder we met no beasts! These two are emanating a subtle aura that would scare off most beasts!! "Ughh... are you guys living demonic beast repellant?" asked Zhen Shi in exasperation. At this rate, he''ll have to go off on his own for a while to level up. Myne and Vivienne were confused, "We thought you were training some special movement skill by rushing about in the forest. As such, our presence would keep beasts from interfering and help you... Or...." and said. ROOOOAAARR! A powerful bestial roar rang out within the forest. The ape beast Zhen Shi met before would be nothing but cannon fodder in the face of this beast. Vivienne continued speaking, "Or maybe you wanted to attract a very powerful beast, like that one, to practice fighting while being under our guard." Zhen Shi was stunned. FUCK! How could I have missed this... System, I was just testing you this entire time but.. you failed to reach up to my expectations. I am disappointed... System: (?©n?) Still, he had to come up with a reason. " Ahh... Of course, I was just trying out a movement technique I learned recently," he said. "And I obviously anticipated the arrival of a powerful beast when we just ran about in the forest. That was my plan for... dinner! Yes, dinner. I had heard that demon beast meat is quite delicious!" Zhen Shi was quite pleased with himself and his foolproof excuse. Vivienne and Myne assented to his ''foolproof'' reasoning. But, the roaring continued as a soul deification stage giant butterfly revealed itself from amidst the trees. FUCK! Where are beasts like this even hiding? More importantly, how do butterflies even roar?? The Butterfly spoke out while roaring, "I can sense the deaths of countless beasts on one of you and the death of one of my kin on the other. As such, I''ll kill you two. But this lady appears to be innocent. So she may leave if she pleases." Its mandibles stretched out whilst it roared, answering Zhen Shi''s question. "FUCK! So that''s how it roared. How ugly..." shouted out Zhen Shi. But inwardly he was happy, for this heaven-sent chance to gain EXP... However, Vivienne spoke out, "Little bro, killing beasts for food must be done carefully." Zhen Shi felt a sliver of suspicion as she said these words. And his suspicions were proved correct, as Vivienne continued to speak, "As such... Let me handle the preparation of this beast for our meal" and launched a terrifying slash of formless light aether. This light shined brightly in the night was almost water-like and lightly passed over the butterfly''s head, neatly decapitating it. Zhen Shi''s eye twitched, ?_? FUCK, Me and my clever mouth... "NOOO! Big Sis what''ve you done?? My EXP points!!" shouted out Zhen Shi in despair. Vivienne was extremely confused at this brother of hers now. Still, Zhen Shi walked over to the corpse of the butterfly with an aching heart, "Aiya! Little beast, at least you were able to become a butterfly in this life. I suppose you can die happily." He then turned to Vivienne and Myne with a forced smile on his face, "I''ll go out to kill some more beasts. You guys prepare the food. I''ll be back in less than a day," and said. Immediately he used the air aether to fly away. In his sorrow of losing the points, he had forgotten to even take the demonic core. Myne and Vivienne looked on as he disappeared. Vivienne sighed, "Myne, did I do something wrong? He ran off so quickly..." and said in confusion. Myne laughed, "He refused it before, but he might be one of those who speak for demon beast rights... That ''exp point'' thing might even be common slang among demon beast right activists!!" Vivienne''s eyes lit up in understanding but immediately frowned, "But wasn''t he the one who proposed to eat it in the first place?" and asked. Myne nodded in agreement, "Even I don''t understand that kid sometimes. Just forget it... He''ll be back after ''killing more beasts'' as he ''supposedly'' said." Vivienne nodded with a smile and started to work on preparing the food... But Myne continued, "More importantly Vivienne I just confirmed something interesting. That butterfly beast accused me of killing one of its kind. But the only beast I killed in the last millennia was that earthworm. I misunderstood what Bro Zhen Shi said before as lies... But, just like he said, in this era, earthworms can apparently become butterflies..." Hmm... I wonder if I misunderstood anything else about this brother of mine. Nah... Not possible... ???????????????????????? Zhen Shi was still slightly unhappy about losing the EXP points but he immediately got over it as he met three beasts who had followed the butterfly. Two of them were huge muscled elephant beasts at the spirit transformation stage. The other was a winged bat beast at the nascent soul stage. Having witnessed the death of the Spirit Deification stage butterfly, these beasts started to flee noticing Zhen Shi pursuing them. But noticing that the pursuer was only at the core formation stage they halted in shame. Zhen Shi was greatly pleased. It would have been difficult to kill them if they focused on escaping. The bat beast started to snicker wildly, "Little core formation boy where''d you find the balls to start chasing us?" and spoke shamelessly forgetting that they had been running away before. The elephant beasts laughed as well. Zhen Shi frowned, "EEHH? Has your inner bat made your brain batty as well? I got the balls from those two next to you of course. Can''t you see that only the penis is left on their faces?" and said calmly holding back the urge to laugh at his own joke. The bat and the elephants frowned angrily with a heavy aura. But Zhen Shi continued, "Back in my home there are tales of a great bat hero. He is exceptionally intelligent and truly powerful. He also had a clown for a nemesis, who is almost always captured in the end...." The bat halted him saying," Oh? Kid, are you trying to beg for forgiveness by speaking about the greatness of bats like me? Well, continue, I might forgive you. But these two definitely won''t..." and pointed at the elephants. Zhen Shi paused, "Huh? Are you crazy? That bat hero was a human dressing up as one. I simply wanted to point out you are the polar opposite of him..." and spoke out snickering. The bat beast was truly angry now and as such attacked whilst roaring, "Go repent in hell you shameless brat!!" He was followed by the roaring elephants as well... FUCK! Even bats and elephants roar now? Zhen Shi who had survived against a law holder wouldn''t be afraid of mere Soul Stage beasts. Zhen Shi transformed into his bestial form with his body covered in azure scales and vermillion feathers, two horns on his head, a draconic tail and a pair of wings. Now in a bluish-red demonic body, he exerted the full force of the divine beast bloodline on these three causing them to halt in fear. The elephants could only sense the divine bestial nature, but the bat was truly frozen in fear. As a flying beast, he could sense the vermillion bird bloodline. It kneeled in fear, "Young master, I hope that you forgive us for our foolishness just now. We were unable to sense your greatness while you were in human form. In your true form, your greatness is unhidden," and spoke out respectfully. "FUCK! Are you saying that I, Zhen Shi, is worse looking than this demonic beast form? Even after trying to kill me, you dare say shit?" Zhen Shi roared a beastly draconic roar and charged towards the bat beast. Realizing he had messed up his words, the bat pushed the elephant beasts forwards using wind aether and started to escape. Those elephant beasts were truly unfortunate, as Zhen Shi whacked his divine bow on to their faces with the full force of his physical body. He had even coated the bow with for good measure. Ever since the battle against Vivienne, Zhen Shi had learned that even his own skills could be used in such a manner. As the attack hit, the ''swords'' on their faces turned in to mush as their heads exploded. Their remaining body burned and turned to ash under the effect of the black fire. Ding! Congratulations to the user for killing a peak soul transformation demonic beast. The user has gained 150,000 exp. x2 Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core Formation Stage 6. But Zhen Shi ignored this as he was completely focused on the escaping bat beast. "Batsy, Batsy! Don''t run away! Mr. J is here to have fun with you!" and shouting so he used the full efforts of his demonic beast body and air aether to chase the bat beast, while occasionally throwing out . The bat was truly panicking now. SHIT! Why''d I have to go and offend Mt. Tai. This young master of the Vermillion Bird clan is a lunatic! Those black fireballs will definitely slow me down if they hit. And as such it meticulously proceeded forward while carefully avoiding these attacks. After a while, the bat had put a distance of several kilometers between it and Zhen shi. Realizing that this Batsy would soon escape, Zhen Shi brought out the divine bow. He utilized all of his spiritual energy in this arrow as he had to shoot a moving Bat, who was particularly sensitive to air aether itself, while dashing forwards himself. His mind was completely focused on this single arrow free of any stray thought. The arrow was released and it silently streaked forwards completely invisible within the night forest. But at the last moment, the Bat dodged it letting the arrow lightly scrape by its wing. However, the missed arrow miraculously swerved back striking straight through the membrane of one of the bat''s wings. At that moment when he had run out of spiritual energy, Zhen Shi had vaguely sensed a unique energy between his intent and the arrow. Noticing the arrow missing the target he exerted his intent with powerfull will power on to it, causing it to return and strike again. However, this was a stroke of luck. And difficult to do again without more comprehension and training. It was an extremely easy task to simply control projectiles with spiritual energy while close to the practitioner. But to exert control at a distance of several kilometers required very powerful cultivation or deep understanding of the related art. Out of luck, Zhen Shi had accidentally trodden on to a path leading him to a deeper understanding of archery. But this didn''t matter for the moment as he was celebrating his success in finally reaching the bat. "HAHA, Batsy. You can''t escape this Mr. J now. Just stop and fight like a man!!" shouted out Zhen Shi as he easily overtook the Bat who was struggling to move with only one working wing. The bat roared in exasperation, "Very well, even we Bats have pride and bravery. Young master pushed me to do this... Face the ultimate attack of the bat clan!!!" "FUCK! What bravery? Don''t bat''s always come out only at night?" shouted out Zhen Shi readying to attack. The bat shook its head, "Didn''t the Vermillion Bird clan inform you about our history? Well, let me inform you in their place then. But, you''ll die as well..." Saying so, the bat opened its mouth and started screeching loudly, while gathering terrifying amounts of God Aether, "WE OF THE BAT CLAN..... ARE WE MAMMALS OR ARE WE BIRDS?? IN THAT GREAT WAR BETWEEN MAMMALS AND BIRDS, WE JOINED NEITHER SIDE AND FOOLISHLY KEPT SHIFTING TO THE MORE FAVOURABLE ONE!!" While shouting out this, it swung its wings and tapped it''s feet in a random pattern mesmerizing all those who heard it, and continued to sing as if it was singing a Heavy-Metal song. The screamed words and beat mixed together under the control of god aether, later being released as deadly sound waves targeted at Zhen Shi. Ding! Target Nascent Soul Demonic beast is utilizing God Aether from the patron minor god, Cama-Zotz [Cama-Zotz is the God of Bats in Aztec Mythology] FUCK! Is this bat actually singing heavy metal? Huh... not bad... for a bat. The bat continued screaming screechingly in tune to the beat, "IN THE END WE WERE THROWN OUT BY BOTH SIDES... THE WAR ENDED WITH PEACE BUT ONLY WE WERE HUNTED BY ALL... FORCING US TO COME OUT AT NIGHT!!" And it continued repeating the lyrics, "WE OF THE BAT CLAN... ARE WE MAMMALS OR BIRDS??"... The god aether empowered sound waves were beginning to cause great damage to Zhen Shi who was entranced in this tale of the Bat clan. Blood was seeping out of his ears and his soul was shaken... The bat was intently looking at Zhen Shi who was receiving great damage with a smile of confidence on its face. "Batsy, how powerful your song is..." muttered Zhen Shi. Now, Zhen Shi was pondering what he should do. He could have an epic battle of music between the divine boom box and Batsy... or... finish it instantly... As such, "SHAMING THE HEAVENS!!" he shouted out while pulling down his pants. The nascent soul stage Batsy was frozen in place. Even with the support of the god aether, under the effect of Gold Tier , he was frozen in place and was unable to release the powerful sound waves. But the Bat could still speak out as Zhen Shi attacked him with a full-powered strengthened with primordial chaos, tetra-elemental spiritual roots and . "Aiya! Who cares about the Bat race. Witnessing this young master''s ''prowess'' in the next life, I wish to be born of this young master''s ''Divine Sword'' race!" the Bat murmured weakly. Hearing this Zhen Shi grimaced as he attacked with even greater ardor, "Go repent in hell you shameless bat!" NOONE ELSE CAN POSSESS A DIVINE SWORD LIKE I!! The bow descended on to the Bat''s body causing it to explode with its last words... Still, after killing this bat Zhen Shi stayed silent for a moment, and spoke out, "Batsy no matter how shameless you were, your skill in being a heavy metal singer was truly top-notch. Batsy, I hope you can meet your Mr.J in hell. *Sigh* Such a shame to see a Bat genius of Heavy Metal die at a young age. System, Is this what they mean by ''geniuses die young''... System: "...." Zhen Shi sighed once more and started to walk away leaving his last words to reverberate in this place, under the moonlight, "Batsy, skilled in the art of Heavy Metal, I hope you *RUST* in peace." 17 Three becomes One While Zhen Shi was cooly walking away after defeating the heavy metal singing Batsy, a series of notifications rang out in his mind. Ding! Congratulations to the user for killing a nascent soul stage demon beast. The user has gained 1M exp points. Ding! The user has gained 30 OP. Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning a useful skill chest. Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core formation Stage 6. Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core formation Stage 7. ... Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Soul Formation Stage. At the same time, sudden changes started to occur within Zhen Shi''s dantian. A white formless energy materialized within it, slowly forming a small figure identical to Zhen Shi meditating in a cross-legged position. This was the formation of the soul! In most ordinary practitioners the dantian would contain their formed soul. In that instance, the formless soul is materialized into a tangible form similar to a second body for a cultivator, greatly assisting in cultivation. However, Zhen Shi''s dantian already contained a planetal skeleton formed from the combination of the tetra elemental spiritual roots within a mass of primordial chaos. As such this formed soul merged with the planetal skeleton and disappeared within it. Along with this, the vague shadow of the bow could be seen in the background. This time however Zhen Shi was unable to observe anything related to Creation. The absorption of the soul caused a strange sheen to appear on the surface of the planetal skeleton, as if the impurities within it were removed and it received a spirit. Finally, it was no longer a skeleton and an actual planet! A very small figure of a man similar to Zhen Shi appeared within the planet. This was his soul spirit! Ordinary cultivator souls are placed within the dantian and are capable of doing nothing besides cultivating and observing the body. However, Zhen Shi''s soul was formed into the planet, allowing him to live a second life within there. Holy Shiet! I feel as if there are two of me. Hmm... compared to ordinary souls mine is capable of moving around within this planet. To maximize profit I''ll have this ''soul me'' explore the planet while cultivating within the mountains. Maybe I could even build houses and buildings within when I''m bored! Now with the cultivation advancement complete, the system continued its notifications. Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning an Easy life chest for cultivation advancement. FUCK! I now already have two chests.! Better open them fast before I get pushed into a situation where I am supposed to get more chests, but don''t because a ''certain system'' is too stingy to keep more than one in the inventory... System: "..." "System open up the useful skill chest," he thought mentally. Ding! Congratulations to the user for gaining the . "Oh? It will indeed be a ''useful skill''. What is a system without an appraisal skill? System, I''m surprised it took this long to actually get it...." Ding! Odin''s Missing eye: Titanium Tier Appraisal skill. Will not make the user omniscient. The eye allows the user to notice aberrations or unique points of various items enabling the user to make calculative decisions based on the user''s knowledge. Crap! It''s a tier better than but I have to ''know'' to ''appraise''? Fuck looks like I''ll have to hit the books for a while. Momentarily ignoring it, "System, open the Easy Life chest." Ding! Congratulations to the user for obtaining "An Introduction to Materials and Item Manufacture for Dummies" skill book. NANI DA FUCK! Haha, system you thought I''ll get mad at this didn''t you? But did you realize you are the one who gave me this? Since you had it in the first place.... who was the dummy first? But... this might make the appraisal skill easier to use. System maybe you aren''t a total dummy after all... System: ?~? Zhen Shi continued to walk away from Batsy''s corpse like a boss, with a satisfied expression but suddenly stopped... He quickly scuttled back towards Batsy''s body, took the demonic core, pocketed it and scuttled back towards his original position. Heaving a sigh he continued to walk away, System... You saw nothing... System: "..." After a while noting that quite some time was left for the day to finish, Zhen Shi continued and stopped near a mountain face. He utilized earthen aether to carve out a cave within it and went inside. Sitting crosslegged he manifested the skill book obtaining a very thick dark red leatherbound book. He had decided to definitely read it since it had come out of an ''easy life'' chest. Soon Zhen Shi''s inner book worm was completely entranced with the vast amount of details in the book. Although titled for ''dummies'' it could be considered a truly complete guide for material identification. The book gave information regarding almost every mineral, herb, and beast material in existence, along with how to identify them, possible locations, their general value, etc. Zhen Shi was surprised to find information regarding many materials even with extra-terrestrial origins. It also provided information regarding pill refining and blacksmithing. Many types of refining techniques and special notes for novice cultivators were available in it. This book contained an utterly incomprehensible amount of information. Even cultivators have a limit on the extent of their memory. But Zhen Shi could completely neglect that with the effect of the title "Scholarly Bookworm." As such, by the time the sun was setting, he had completely memorized all of its contents just by reading it once. In fact, he was itching to try out some pill refining and blacksmithing. But he was lacking the items necessary to do so. Still his rewards this time were bountiful. He began to walk back to Myne and Vivienne now that the day was nearing its end. He didn''t fly because he kept using the appraisal skill on the plants and herbs along the way. Thus by the time he reached the campsite he had gathered a pretty good collection of herbs. He walked into the clearing with a brightly lit fire, above which was a large pot covered with a lid. Myne and Vivienne smiled at his arrival and called out, "Your finally back! Come quick or the food--" but stopped with widened eyes. Zhen Shi was confused at their looks. FUCK! Is there a dong''er on my face? Have I become an elephant? Noticing his confusion Myne said, "Your--your cultivation? How did it improve so fast? Could it be--?" Ahhh! *cough* Aiya! It is indeed difficult for me to hide my brilliance. Now that I won''t be able to fool them anymore, I suppose it''s fine if I tell this brother and sister of mine. Zhen Shi spoke out while proudly slapping his chest, "I suppose I''ll tell you two. I possess a special physique allowing me to improve cultivation by killing enemies." Myne gaped and said, "Shit! Really? How is that possible. I thought you were just hiding your cultivation before..." NANI? ?_? I could''ve gotten away with such a lame excuse? Vivienne, however, wasn''t surprised and said, "When I was connected with your ''piss'' fountain," a deadly light shone in her eyes focused on Zhen Shi, as she continued, "I sensed the primordial chaos within your body. Countless generations of mage cultivators have tried to control chaos, all ending in failure. Thus I found it impossible to believe that your body contains it. So for an impossible situation, impossible reasoning must be applied. In addition to that you possess the opposing bloodlines of the Azure Dragon and the Vermillion Bird!" Myne now nodded in understanding and continued, "Yes. So due to the primordial chaos perhaps you have gained the ability to cultivate by killing. And it is also probably the reason the opposing bloodlines exist as well!" Although Zhen Shi obediently listened to them he was confident that the primordial chaos within his dantian and the system were completely unrelated. Vivienne and Myne continued in a serious tone, "Still... Brother, you should remember to keep the nature of your physique a secret. In fact, it would have been better if you didn''t tell us at all." Zhen Shi nodded smiling, "No worries. It''s just you guys. I won''t go telling every person I meet." Myne laughed out loud while saying, "HAHA. Our brother is a once in a lifetime prodigy. Your physique and comprehension skills are all top-notch. By following brother Zhen Shi maybe we could even regain our cultivation by unconventional means." Vivienne smiled, "Alright. But for now, let''s forget it," while opening up the lid of the pot, "Little bro, I did my best on the demon butterfly" and said. An amazing hunger-inducing aroma wafted out from the pot. Zhen Shi was dumbfounded as he said, "Butterfly can smell this good? Vivienne, you added Clinthorpe, Clutter grass and even... is that... Mara root?" Vivienne was surprised, "Brother Zhen Shi is also familiar with Herbology? This stupid husband of mine despises herbology. It''s good to know you aren''t" and said with a smile. Zhen Shi was puzzled... When did these two become husband and wife? But didn''t dare ask out loud... Myne frowned unhappily, "Herbology is indeed a waste of time unless you refine pills. Let''s just eat now..." and said while taking a bowl of the butterfly meat and eating. Vivienne ignored him as she continued speaking, "Little brother. You should eat as well. Or he''ll finish all of it." Zhen Shi laughed while taking a bowl for himself. He bit into the butterfly meat as an indescribably delicious taste assaulted his mouth. He continued stuffing himself with it... ?(¡ä?`?) "Vivienne! This tastes amazing! This part is spicy, this part is sweeter. I''ll never get tired of it!" he shouted out while stuffing himself in between words. Vivienne laughed and Myne spoke out, "HAHA! Of course. My wife is a top tier divine chef. As long as we follow you, you''ll be never unhappy with the food." But Vivienne pouted while saying, "But still you are unhappy with herbology..." Myne shook his head while smiling. Vivienne turned to Zhen Shi who was continuing to stuff his mouth, "Little bro, now that you have reached Soul formation, have you decided on your titular cultivation?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. This got Zhen Shi to stop as a part of his memory was jogged awake. He was momentarily puzzled as he had neglected the concept of titles before, and as there were several he was interested in. Seeing his face Myne said, "Brother, me and Vivienne are both primarily Mage cultivators. But we also have side professions. For instance, Vivienne is a divine chef. And I''m a formation expert. That formation in your ''anti-harem valley'' was originally my spell! So its fine to follow many side professions, but you should figure a primary title first" Zhen Shi nodded in understanding, and swallowed the last of the food, "Don''t worry. I''ll have myself titled by tomorrow!" Myne and Vivienne and broke out laughing, "HAHA! Who would dare do it so hurriedly? That is indeed like you..." Zhen Shi was however dumfounded as he sensed his cultivation improve slightly after he finished eating. He looked at the duo with a surprised look on his face, "This... can the food actually improve your cultivation?" Vivienne nodded and said, "Of course. Divine chefs don''t just cook for taste. It can improve your cultivation and stabilize your cultivation base. After all, since we can go hungry for so long, there should be a good reason for you to eat, right?" Zhen Shi smiled, "In that case thank you for the food. I''ll go now and let you two get ''reacquainted''," and walked off with a wink. Myne grinned while Vivienne blushed in response. As he left, Vivienne suddenly frowned, "Hey hubby of mine, how come Zhen Shi ate the demon beast meat, if he is one of those people crazy about demon beast rights like you said?" Myne shrugged, "I told you. You can''t understand him easily..." and said with a smile. "More importantly, just like bro said, Vivienne, how about we get ''reacquainted''..." he said while slowly walking towards her. ???????????????? Zhen Shi was wondering about all that Myne and Vivienne had said. He had been aware of the presence of titles. But had needed Vivienne''s reminder to jog his only partially reobtained memory. This was good luck. Because if he had continued improving his cultivation without a title he might have forever been untitled. A title is a type of resonance you obtain with nature as confirmation of the path you would follow in the future. For instance that Xue Yuegui was probably an elemental warrior based on thunder, while Myne and Vivienne were mages. However, ''proclamators'' like Lin Hai did not use titular cultivation. What they followed was a path slightly different from ordinary cultivation and used words to battle. Demonic beasts on the other hand generally had the preset title of warrior. Zhen Shi realized that since he hadn''t known before and since he was too weak none of his enemies had particularly mentioned titles. FUCK! System shouldn''t you have told me before? If it wasn''t for sis Vivienne I would have made a complete fool of myself... System: "..." A title does not provide any special abilities. Simply it makes it easier for a cultivator to improve in that particular art. It was important to decide on a title suitable for you but also something you enjoyed. Many cultivators had reached bottlenecks in their titular cultivation due to them not being talented or being unsatisfied with their titles. Zhen Shi was skilled in Archery, but also due to the system, he could gain skills and spells. He had come to enjoy archery but he also enjoyed punching and throwing out spells. However, this meant being either a Mage, an Archer or a Warrior. He could attempt to get all three, but dual titlists were extremely rare, let alone tri titlists, as it was difficult to get two different titles to resonate simultaneously. So Zhen Shi turned to his only option, "System, how are my chances of getting multiple titles?" Ding! The user can utilize the elemental roots and primordial chaos to stimulate Title: Mage, the Bow shadow to stimulate Title: Archer and the Beast bloodlines to stimulate Title: Warrior. Haha! Yes! I was thinking the same thing. System-nii, Omega good job! System: "..." As such Zhen Shi focused on gathering the soul strength in his dantian. After several hours he simultaneously exerted the soul strength on to his spiritual roots, on to the shadow of the bow and on to the bloodlines of the two divine beasts. Immediately the wind started to blow around him and the moonlight brightened onto his location. At the same time, the soul Zhen Shi''s body became draconic with bird wings and received a bow along with the ability to use spells. While Zhen Shi was basking in this resonance with nature after a while, three plaques appeared behind him namely Mage, Archer and Warrior radiating golden energy that communicated with nature... However, a thread of primordial chaos interfered with these three titles. Miraculously these three titles began to merge and formed a singular title reading "WARRIOR BATTLEMAGE". This too radiated golden energy but that energy was absorbed by the primordial chaos and prohibited from communicating with primordial chaos. Now having successfully begun his path onto titular cultivation, he decided to check his status, User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Soul Formation Stage 5 II Physical Body Level: Core formation Peak Cultivation energy: 100% Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- II Titular- Skills: II II II II Exp points: 0/1,000,000 OP(Otaku Points): 15 Titles: Otherworld Reincarnator{Effect: Instant Spell Casting of most spells Intelligence +10 Charisma +10) Scholarly Bookworm{All user known data and information can be instantaneously viewed at the user''s leisure. Never forget anything ever again!!} Fake Tarzan(-Permanent 2x reaction increase) Status: WarriorBattleMage Hmm... I can''t say much about the status. It is the truth after all. And, SHIET. I''m broke in OP points... Still, Zhen Shi laughed out loud as he opened his eyes. He was extremely happy with the sudden combination of his three titles. But he knew that this was something extremely unprecedented. Dual titles were one thing, and three titles were still manageable but if the higher-ups came to know that he had combined triple titles he would be in great trouble. He realized that he could emanate the aurae of the titles separately or as one. Thus he decided to act as a singlular title Archer. He happily went out to the campsite getting to see Myne and Vivienne chatting. By their body language, he could sense that they had solved most of their ''regrets'' over these years. Thus he laughed, " Oi. You two seem to have become pretty close now..." Myne and Vivienne turned to look at him and smiled. But Myne stood up and shouted, "Shit! Bro I thought you were joking! You actually went and got the title by morning! But an archer? Don''t you just whack your bow everywhere?" Zhen Shi laughed, "Of course not. A mere Mage couldn''t understand the depths of archery, even if you were the Great Merlin!" and said. Myne scowled playfully pushing his shirt sleeves up, "What did you say, bro? And who the fuck is Merlin?" But, Vivienne coughed lightly staring death at both of them, causing both of them to become silent. "HAHA! Let''s be on our way back to the Lyonesse kingdom. It''ll be late otherwise, " said Zhen Shi while awkwardly laughing and quickly walking away. Myne hurriedly followed him. Vivienne lightly shook her head as she too followed the duo. But, Zhen Shi was smiling as he walked away. It''s been a month now. Is that old man dead yet? And I wonder how she is doing... ???????????????????????? Back in the Lyonnesse kingdom, within the main hall of the Brishman Mansion, an overweight man was fondling his beard with an angry frown on his face while seated on the main seat, surrounded by three middle-aged women. In front of him was a familiar young girl with an unhappy look on her face, this was Isolde! She did not have her usual splendor and light, as if she had been under stress and worry for quite some time. Slightly behind her was Butler Alec. The usual smile that was consistently on his face, was completely absent. The overweight man in the seat spoke out with an authoritative voice, "Isolde! You cannot refuse! By associating with the Zhen Clan you have already brought great trouble for me in the king''s court. I did my best to hide this matter, but the court mages were able to determine the spatial transportation to Lyon City from within our mansion. Even if that boy wasn''t of the Zhen Clan, the possibility of spatial transportation to the heart of the Lyonesse kingdom is a great threat to national security! The kingdom''s army has already begun investigating this matter and since we are associated our family''s reputation will be sullied. I was barely able to settle the problem for the moment by saying that the boy was gravely wounded and had spatial traveled by sheer luck. Even still it is only a matter of time before I am summoned to court to explain properly. I can''t believe that I actually allowed you to heal and save that walking disaster. But now it is too late, the only way to solve this is with the Prince''s help!" Isolde frowned and said, "Lord Father, I will indeed take responsibility for that. But how could you decide to sell me out to Prince Tristram just like that? Am I not your daughter? What has happened to you recently?" Count Vir Brishman''s anger lightened slightly. But almost immediately the middle-aged woman standing closest to him spoke out, "Lord Husband, I understand that she is our daughter, but this problem was already caused by giving way to her. The household servants say that she even acted improperly with that Zhen Clan brat. I hope Lord Husband will not make the same mistake twice," with a cunning smile on her face. Instantly, Count Brishman''s face hardened. Noticing this Isolde angrily spoke out at her Step-Mother, "Lady Isabella how can you do this? Zhen Shi told me himself that he is an enemy of the Zhen Clan. Associating with him is not a trouble to the crown at all. I''m sure he did not mean to threaten the security of the Lyonesse kingdom. But you just want me to sell my dignity off to the prince, so you can achieve whatever hidden agendas you have! And must it be the Crown Prince? Everyone knows the type of person he is now..." Immediately, Isabella gasped in horror, but deep within her eyes frothing anger could be seen. She spoke out with a hidden tinge of malice, "My dear daughter, how could you address me so distantly? And accuse me of having agendas? All of my actions are for the good of the Brishman family. Despite the tales regarding the Prince, I''m sure you''ll be able to handle him. I just wanted you to marry him so that you could live a better life as the Queen!" while rubbing tears from her eyes. Noticing Isabella''s tears, Count Brishman grew even angrier, "Isolde! How could you be so uncaring towards your mother''s feelings!" Isolde was boiling in anger and was about to shout out... But noticing this Butler Alec spoke out, "Lord Count. It was I who treated and taught that boy. I solemnly ask of you that you punish me and let the young lady be." Count Brishman smiled lightly, "Alec, you''ve always taken care of Isolde in my place. You have also served the Lyonesse kingdom well. I have always considered your words, but this time, I must refuse!" Alec hurriedly spoke out, "Lord Count--" but he was stopped by an angrily frowning Isabella who shouted out, "A mere Butler is speaking out unnecessarily. The Lord Count has already stated his decision. How dare you be so discourteous. In fact, I believe Isolde must''ve gained her disobedience and problematic nature from your soon to die self!" Isolde now unable to hold out her anger shouted out, "Isabella that''s too much! You''ve never been a mother to me. Grandpa Alec is infinitely more humane and deserving to speak than you. God knows what you do in that room with all those people scream--" but she was stopped by a worried Alec who hurriedly shut her mouth. Immediately pouncing on this chance, Isabella started to weep, "My dear daughter... How could you say such horrendous things? You know that room is only for my medical condition!" Count Brishman had planned on punishing both of them, but seeing his main wife crying he could only bring himself to berate Isolde. As such, "Isolde, shut up. Your mother might have gone too far, but you went even far!" Isabella looked at this situation that Isolde and Alec had fallen into in glee, while the other two ladies had looks of pity on their faces. Count Brishamn continued, "The only reason that boy of the Zhen Clan is still living happily wherever he is, is due to my words on Alec''s part... But that can be changed in an instant." Hearing his words, Isolde who had been planning to shout froze in place... Count Brishman continued to speak angrily, "No matter how much of a genius he is, do you think that that boy can fight against the entire Lyonesse kingdom? If it is truly as you say then, not even the Zhen Clan will not help him. I didn''t want to do this before, but you yourself led me to... If you do not accompany the Prince out today, I''ll make sure to have that boys head on a pike within the week!" The fiery anger in Isolde''s eyes died out as her frail figure shivered and almost collapsed. Alec immediately caught her with a sorrowful look on his face. Seeing this, Count Brishman''s face again contorted in sorrow and almost stood up... but, Isabella held onto the Count''s hand and shook her head at him meaningfully. As a result, the worry on his face was once again hidden under a hardened face, but this time his voice was much lighter, "I am confident that the Prince will control himself with you, you have been childhood friends after all... Just try it out for tomorrow. Isolde, you must do this for the Brishman family..." And in a more severe tone, "This is the last time I ask nicely..." Under the eyes of the brightly smiling Isabella, and completely alone beside the old man who was supporting her from the back, Isolde lowered her head with tears in her eyes and whispered, "Yes... Lord Father." 18 Respected Customer... The sun was just beginning to rise, bringing an end to the darkness of the night. Isolde was in her room staring out of the window at the rising sun. The surroundings were peaceful and silent besides the occasional chirping of birds. Her gaze would occasionally fall on to an empty training ground, where three new targets had replaced the ones previously destroyed. A light knock broke the silence, and Isolde spoke without turning around, "Grandpa Alec, come in..." The door opened and Alec walked in a hurry. Isolde spoke out without turning around, "Grandpa why are you so early today? Did you miss me?" Alec spoke out in a serious tone, "Lady Isolde let us leave the Brishman family... I can''t do much but I promise that I will not let you suffer under my protection. But... I know that you care for your father and is worried what that hag--," he coughed and continued, "--mistress Isabella will do with him completely under her influence, but you can''t let your life be ruined just--" But Isolde interrupted him, "Grandpa Alec, did you know, this was way before you came to take care of me and when I was only 4 years old, that there was a little boy who would occasionally visit the Brishman Mansion. I can remember that he was a kind and cheerful kid. Every morning my father and mother would watch us as he and I happily played around the entire day. On some days, we even sneaked into the Berthelien forest, and when we returned there would always be someone waiting to scold us." She laughed lightly as she continued speaking still facing the window, "I remember that they were peaceful and simple days. But one day in the forest we were attacked by a demon beast, I don''t remember much of it... but he apparently saved my life. However, that boy got gravely wounded as a result and fell into a coma." Isolde let out a sigh, "I was too little. I didn''t even understand the situation enough to feel guilty. All I knew was my friend didn''t come back to play with me again. That boy woke up from his coma five years later. But by the time he woke up and recovered, he wasn''t the same person. That kind and cheerful boy had turned into a self-centered and ruthless kid. This only became worse as he grew up. He trampled on commoners and treated women like trash. Maybe something happened to his mind and soul that day in the forest, or maybe the fact that he missed his childhood affected his psyche. Either way, he didn''t come to meet me and neither did I go to find him. I was afraid that he would hurt me like he often did or even worse, in hatred... That boy was the Crown Prince, Prince Tristram..." and spoke out almost in a whisper. She lightly tucked her blonde hair behind her ear, "When I was old enough to understand this I felt horrible, and as such threw myself into using Goddess Eir''s divine blessings to help the sick and poor. Maybe I wanted to repent? Maybe I felt guilty? Nevertheless, soon after my mother died giving birth to Little Isaac. And he too died in my arms in Cerullia. I isolated myself from father in sorrow and he, in turn, remarried many times maybe to fill his own sorrowful heart. In the end with Isabella''s arrival, life finally became truly unbearable and empty for me. And I couldn''t help but wonder, were the gods punishing me for having given up on Tristram? Was I being punished for not helping my father in his--our time of need? The people of Lyoness called me the ''Healing Goddess'', but I am just a pitiful girl trying to do something good... Grandpa, you were the only person who was truly with me since my childhood. But... on that day, just a few weeks ago, that person crashed into my room bleeding all over the place," this time she laughed genuinely, even Butler Alec couldn''t stop himself from grinning. Isolde continued to speak but in a satisfied tone, "He was like a shining beacon in this pathetic cardboard life of mine. I saved him just because he reminded me of my brother, but he, in turn, gave me life. His grace and character reminded me of my perfect father in my childhood. His talent and capabilities reminded me of Isaac. His kind and cheerful nature reminded me of Tristram. You asked me back then why I cried and hugged him? That was because I had stupidly concluded that he was merely showing off by trying archery. But when he truly showed his talent and ability, I felt that I had given up on him... the same way I did Tristram and Father." The sun was now shining with bright splendor, "Those two weeks I spent with him was the happiest I had been since Isaac passed away. Even Grandpa Alec was happy during that time, right? To an ungrateful woman like me, that bit of happiness is enough. Now to protect my father, and that man who gave light to my dark life and to repent, I''ll handle Prince Tristram myself..." Isolde turned around suddenly, causing her hair to wave and shine brilliantly under the rising sunlight streaking through the window sill. She smiled brightly as she spoke out cheerfully, "Maybe... I might even be able to jog his memory and return the prince to his usual self. Maybe he''ll treat me differently... So Grandpa doesn''t need to worry. Grandpa, you should leave by yourself..." Alec immediately bowed, "How could I live with myself if I left. Since young lady Isolde has decided, I''ll help you to the best of my ability." Isolde smiled lightly now with her hair in the usual position, "I knew this would be your decision. But I hope Grandpa won''t act so as to lose your life in the Prince''s presence, leaving me completely alone..." Alec grimaced but bowed in agreement nonetheless. Isolde turned back to look at the training grounds where three targets lay still, ''Zhen Shi, I''ll never forget your face under the moonlight! But, I hope that you''ll forget me and will never come back to the Lyonesse kingdom..." ???????????????????? Zhen Shi and the group finally left the Berthelien forest as the sun was glowing brightly in the sky. Immediately below them lay a majestic city expanding to a distance of several hundred kilometers. Countless regal buildings and houses were surrounding the awe-inspiring king''s palace. It was visible even from their distance as the palace was several times larger than every other construction and was also placed at an elevation. However, there was one other building with a spherical dome at the top and gleaming like silver under the sunlight, which reached a height similar to the palace despite not being placed on elevated land. Myne and Vivienne were smiling brightly, "I can''t believe we''re finally out! We''ve been trapped in that valley for countless millenniums and now we''re free and looking at civilization..." Myne said, "Good god! There weren''t this many constructions the last time I was at Lyonesse kingdom. Time indeed has changed the world..." Zhen Shi laughed out loud, "Well, Peeps, I can''t believe it took us all night just to leave the Berthelien forest!!" Myne grimaced, "Well I blame it on you two and your blasted herbology! Stopping every few minutes just to be entranced by a random weed or insect and waste time collecting them," and spouted. Vivienne frowned, "Hmph if that''s the case hubby, I suppose it will be fine if only me and little bro eat my herb-based meals from now on!" Myne immediately gasped, "No, no my beautiful lady, please forgive this stupid husband of yours!! How could I live without eating you... *cough* your food" Vivienne frowned even more with a red face, while Myne was contemplating how to hang himself and his stupid mouth. Zhen Shi gaped, SHIET! Did I hear that right? Are brother Merlin''s masochistic tendencies going to come out? As such to ''help'' Zhen Shi spoke out, "Aiya! It''s getting late. C''mon, you slowpokes lets get going!" and dashed forwards. Myne followed immediately while thanking the gods for giving him this kind-hearted brother. Vivienne who was getting used to this happening, lightly sighed before following them. Moments later, Zhen Shi and the duo arrived within the streets of Lyon City the capital of Lyonesse. There were various buildings on either side of the winding cobblestone paths. There were also several positioned guards at the core formation stage. Zhen Shi began to regret the fact that previously, he had only stayed within the Brishman Mansion and later had immediately jumped into the Berthelien forest, without going out to see the city at all. Nevertheless, he spoke to Myne and Vivienne about his intention to buy materials for pill refining and blacksmithing. Vivienne nodded, "Indeed, with little bro''s skills in herbology, pill refining is indeed suitable. But blacksmithing..." Myne laughed out loud, "Bro don''t worry. Blacksmithing is definitely better than pill refining. The reason for that is super simple... it''s because Blacksmithing involves the amazing and wondrous formations, unlike pill refining which needs shitty herbology! I actually had a Mythril Class Furnace back in Camelot, but god knows where it is now..." Zhen Shi jumped at the chance, "Bro what were you doing in this ''Camelot''? I thought you kept saying you weren''t Merlin?" Vivienne who was feeling unhappy at Myne immediately laughed at this situation. Myne frowned, "Shitty Kid! Do you have to be Merlin to be in Camelot? Huh? Huh?" and spoke while poking his finger onto Zhen Shi''s chest. Zhen Shi frowned, FUCK! That is indeed true. How do I answer that? System this is all your fault... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. System: "..." Zhen Shi laughed, "Ahh.. forget it... Let''s just go into the market. Otherwise, the people around will think you''re some sort of weirdo!" and said nonchalantly. Noting that there were indeed many people looking at them Myne stopped. Then the trio got directions from a passerby and wordlessly entered the market area. The market area was a fairly wide winding path leading towards the more lucrative shops. But there still were hundreds of shops selling daily wares for mortals and commoners as well as shops for cultivators on the sides of the cobblestoned path. Some people had even laid down a cloth with various odds and ends, and sat down intending to make a quick coin or two. But the guards took no action to stop these people selling wares without a stall. Myne and Zhen Shi were excitedly going to check out the shops, "C''mon let''s go out on a shopping spree!!" when suddenly Vivienne stopped them by grabbing them from their shirt collars. She spoke out lightly, "You and whose money?" FUCK! We''re broke and inside a market! Oh, wait... "Haha! Sis Vivienne of course, who''d be stupid enough to buy without money. I collected quite a bit of demon beast cores. I was planning on going to sell them first," said Zhen Shi while proudly slapping his hand on his chest. "Oh, then you have my apologies, little bro," said Vivienne letting go of their collars. Zhen Shi grinned satisfactorily and walked into a nearby shop labeled ''Sales Hut''. Inside, there were several small cubicles with dozens of people in line to exchange items. These cubicles were categorized based on the item to be sold. Fortunately for Zhen Shi, it seemed that there wasn''t any who had come to sell beast cores early in the morning. Vivienne mentioned that she''d go sell off some excess herbs and walked away. Myne stayed with Zhen Shi as he walked over to the relevant cubicle. Within it, there was a young man in his teens who was lazily seated in a chair. Noting the arrival of customers he lazily glanced at them, but upon sensing Myne''s cultivation he spoke with a modicum of respect and a polite but lazy smile, "Greetings Respected Customers, I am Seth, what would you like to exchange today?" Zhen Shi was surprised and wondered how this place operated with only a bunch of Core Formation expert salespeople. But he immediately lost his surprise when the air aether showed him several stronger cultivators with one at the Nascent Soul stage inside the building. Still, he wasn''t worried. Zhen Shi nodded at the salesman, "I want to exchange these core formation beast cores, as well as this soul transformation beast core." Seth counted them carefully and nodded, "Respected Customer, there are 6 basic beast cores and one soul transformation core of a dark spiritual nature. We can give either 5 silver coins or one lesser spirit stone for one basic beast core and the dark natured soul transformation core either for 6 gold coins or one ordinary spirit stone with one gold coin. What is the respected customer''s preference?" Zhen Shi had already prepared an answer for this, "Spirit stones for the basic cores and gold coins for the other." Seth nodded immediately handing out the due amount with a polite smile. "Oh yes. I also have two nascent soul stage demonic cores here to sell," said Zhen Shi handing them out. This caused the lazy Seth to immediately perk up and stand up respectfully. Seth was a Sales Hut employee who prided himself on making the best deals and turning out huge amounts of profit. And he was excited at the chance to make a big deal once again. As such, he respectfully took the two beast cores and checked them. Zhen Shi was flabbergasted as he looked at this lazy salesperson switch into a serious employee in a flash. NANI? Isn''t this guy too shameless? Seth''s eyes lightly shone as he checked the first core. He looked at Zhen Shi with calm eyes and a polite smile, "The respected customer can get the general price of 100 gold coins or a middle-grade spiritual stone for each core. What is the respected customer''s preference?" Zhen Shi was about to reply in agreement when suddenly Myne spoke to him mentally, "Bro, that salesman''s eyes lightly lit up when looking at the demonic core from the Bat type beast. I felt that it is from a rare bloodline as well, but I don''t know the exact price it would go for..." Zhen Shi glanced at him and nodded. FUCK! I almost got cheated there because I forgot to use the appraisal skill. System you almost ruined me... System: ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ And he did so, the beast core from the earthworm was a fairly ordinary one besides the long life that earthworm had lived. But the beast core of the bat... Zhen Shi gaped at this and went over his knowledge regarding this species. He gaped, even more, when he realized the price... Now with great confidence, he spoke out to Seth, "Kid, you''re too wet behind the ears to trick yours truly..." This causes Seth to be taken aback as he had previously been confident that he was dealing with a rookie. But he still respectfully asked politely smiling, "Then what is the respected customer''s asking price?" Zhen Shi smiled maliciously, Dare to make a fool out of me? I''ll let you choke on your own foolishness then... "For the earthworm beast core, I am fine with the general price in spirit stones. But for the Bat core, I require... 1500 gold coins!!" This caused Seth to immediately be dismayed, as he realized that he had underestimated this person. His pride in judging the characters of customers was thrown into the sea along with his hope of making a huge profit. But since this price would only allow them to make a smaller profit than usual his inner-salesman took control and said, "Respected Customer, this is too close to our selling price. How about 700 gold coins?" This got Zhen Shi to wag his index winger side-to-side, "Kid, kid, if you''re unhappy how about I sell this super rare demonic core at some other place. Do you think I''m stupid to think you can''t gain more by auctioning this?" Seth grimaced mentally, if the higher-ups got to know he had let this auction-worthy item out of their grasp he would be in extremely hot water. As such with a polite smile, "Respected Customer how about we settle down at 1000 gold coins? This is indeed the general price." Zhen Shi wagged his index finger again, "Kid, Kid..." Seth was getting really annoyed with this respected customer. Respected customer can you keep that annoying finger out of my face, and whose MOTHER is a kid? Isn''t this respected customer even younger than me? But Seth still faced Zhen Shi with a polite smile as he listened to him. However, Zhen Shi leaned closer to him, "Kid, what do you think will happen if these people here got to know that you tried to cheat me of the item''s actual worth at first? Do you think they''ll leave immediately or leave bad reviews about your organization?" Seth''s polite smile almost died on the spot. But he still held steadfast and spoke neutrally with a polite smile, "Customer that is blackmail. But in the end, it would be my word against yours. Which side does the respected customer believe the Sales Hut will take?" Zhen Shi was pissed. FUCK? Respected Customer my ass! If you respect yours truly so much, just bend over respectfully and let me blackmail your ass respectfully while you smile politely!!! However, Myne who had been silent the entire time spoke out, "Kid, are you sure you want to do that?" and brought out a small piece of crystal. He lightly tapped on it bringing out a blurry mist. An image of Zhen Shi and Seth slowly appeared upon the mist. The entire conversation they had had was played back with audio included. Seth''s eyes widened at the sight of the recording on the scrying crystal. He couldn''t believe that these respected customers of his were actually respected con-artists. More importantly, he was very dissatisfied with the fact that he had dug himself a grave to jump into. Zhen Shi laughed out loud while clapping this awesome brother of his on the back. He proudly wagged his index finger in front of Seth''s face while saying, "Kid, what do you say now?" Seth lowered his head in defeat but still managed his polite smile, "Very Well, Respected Customer the exchange can be done at the aforementioned price of 1500 gold coins." But Zhen Shi wagged his index finger again, "Tsk-tsk. Respected Kid, don''t you know about inflation? Particularly in this respected stall of yours, there is respected inflation... The respected price has risen to a more respected one of 2000!" Myne too responded to this by grinning and menacingly waving the scrying crystal. Seth''s polite smile finally collapsed at this point. But he hurriedly lowered his head in defeat before these respected con-artists raised the price so much that there would be no profit at all. He was unable to comprehend how his usually successful strategy and tactics had led him to this sorry state. With tears of defeat in his eyes he spoke, "Yes, respected customers here is the due amount," and handed out a bag full of coins. Zhen Shi momentarily paused and rather obviously passed his spiritual energy over the bag to confirm the amount. Seeing this Seth almost immediately broke down in tears, Respected customer, do you disbelieve me so and think I''m that much of a liar and robber? Just because of my sales tactics? Zhen Shi laughed happily and wagged his finger in front of Seth''s forlorn face, "Well then respected kid, pleasure doing business with you. I''ll be sure to come back and recommend you to all my friends! But I do hope you''ll treat us and them just the same as today..." and finished with a grin. Myne grinned happily as well as they walked away from Seth''s Cubicle. Seth finally broke down in tears of despair, Respected Customer please never come back! I''ll have to quit if your respected friends are just like you... Zhen Shi, on the other hand, was extremely happy. He even gave a silent prayer and wish of good luck to the passed away Batsy for letting him become rich within a day. They walked over to Vivienne who had watched the entire scenario. She smiled and shook her head, "That kid is actually crying because of you..." Zhen Shi laughed at this and turned around to wave at Seth in the cubicle who immediately ran into the shop crying even harder. "Nah... Sis you''ve got it wrong. He is just so happy about me fixing his calculative ways. He probably ran into the shop to pray to god in thanks for having met us..." Myne laughed at this and patted Zhen Shi on the back as the trio walked out of the Sales hut. But suddenly Zhen Shi asked frowning, "Bro Myne, do you record every single second fo your life with scrying crystals like that? No right?" Myne grinned proudly, "Of course. I always do!" Zhen Shi grimaced, FUCK! Isn''t that pretty perverted? Do you look at those recordings at night as well? 19 The Power of Scrying Crystals Now back in the market street, noticing Zhen Shi''s frown Myne answered, "Idiot Brother of mine, it isn''t like you think. I record everything so if someone ever does something against the law to me or if they blame me unfairly, I will always be ahead of lawsuits whenever I sue someone or someone else sues me!" Zhen Shi spoke out in surprise, "NANI? Lawsuits and Suing? There really is such a thing? But how does that work? Doesn''t power always reign supreme?" Although familiar with this concept, Zhen Shi wasn''t familiar with it being applied in this world. This was because his memories did not contain anything regarding the law, possibly because the old Zhen Shi had always been within the Zhen Clan Mountains. Myne grinned, "Of course there is such a thing. Do you think people are savages?" Vivienne answered with a smile, "Just like little bro said power does reign supreme. Law and Order have been established by the unquestionable power of kingdoms, sects, and other such organizations. Thus most of the time commoners, as well as ordinary cultivators, can get fair results for any incident, as long as the law was broken within the area governed by the particular organization. But of course, even then, the law can be bent." Zhen Shi nodded in understanding, "How interesting... But doesn''t that mean Bro Myne has spent a lot of time in courts?" and said with a smile. Myne frowned and poked him saying, "Shut up... The law system was introduced in our time, and back then it was very fashionable for people to sue left and right. Thus I began to carry scrying crystals with me everywhere and in the end, it became a habit for me..." Zhen Shi laughed at this and patted his brother in the back, while Vivienne giggled as well. Myne who felt uncomfortable said, "C''mon let''s just go buy your stuff without wasting more time." As such, Zhen Shi and the duo began walking about the market by themselves. Zhen Shi handed out some money to Myne when he came over and said he was ''dirt poor''. Now alone, Zhen Shi was using his appraisal skill to full effect while walking about and checking the wares among the poor commoners selling on pieces of cloth. Most of what he saw were everyday items and some were even fake items made to look extraordinary. Any time he questioned the price of some average herbs, those people would ask sky-high prices mentioning crazy tales of how good that item was. These people weren''t fearful of cultivators at all, possibly due to the protection of the kingdom guard. Thus, Zhen Shi had straight out refused these highway robbers. But as Zhen Shi continued to survey the market, his eye fell upon a small flat piece of clay. It wasn''t that the appraisal skill had shown anything special, it was more the fact that it didn''t. This piece of clay did not register as anything on the appraisal skill. This was impossible as he had already seen countless useless items labeled as [Brick], [Stone], [Ordinary Tulip], etc. being marketed for crazy prices. Thus Zhen Shi was rather intrigued. He took the piece of clay onto his hand under the suspicious look of the mortal old man who was selling the clay piece. There were no carvings on it and looked just like an ordinary clay piece. But, Zhen Shi was dumbfounded as this clay piece suddenly resonated with his dantian. As a result, the primordial chaos base surrounding the planet in his dantian shook and expanded, simultaneously, the planet solidified further and formed a stable connection with the primordial chaos. Zhen Shi who realized that this was some divine treasure hiding like a wolf in sheep-skin among the other useless junk immediately asked, "Hey... how much for this piece of clay?" The old man smiled showing off his rotten teeth and raised his hands to show ten fingers, "Young man, you''ve got a good eye. I like you, so I''ll sell it for the cheap price of 10 gold coins." Zhen Shi almost vomited blood at this statement and said, "Are you crazy? For a random clay piece?" The old man shook his head wisely, "I may not be a cultivator and may not know what that is... but my teeth never lies! That thing didn''t break even after being bitten by me!" FUCK! Zhen Shi would''ve dropped the clay piece on the spot if it wasn''t a divine treasure. Still, he took out a piece of cloth from his satchel and used it to hold the clay piece while saying, "How could it be expensive just because your teeth couldn''t break it?" The old man grinned while pointing at his yellowed teeth with brown patches, "These teeth of mine aren''t ordinary. I have even bitten through gold. So I''m sure that clay piece is even more valuable than gold!" and said excitedly. Indeed, Old man, I agree that your teeth are extraordinary! They might fall off on the spot! Still, Zhen Shi sighed, either this man was a genius because he was actually saying the truth or he was a crazy old coot. Zhen Shi shook his head, "How about 5 gold pieces?" and said. The old man contemplated for a moment and nodded his head saying, "Ok, I like you boy, you remind me of my grandson. So sold!" Zhen Shi smiled and handed over the money while happily pocketing the clay piece. He would examine it later on. He got up to leave. But, the old man waved his hand while grinning and showing his decaying teeth, "See you later kiddo. If you have any more need for clay pieces come to me!" and shouted out. Zhen Shi shook his head while smiling and walking away. Now that he had finished surveying the ordinary sellers, he walked over to the actual stalls. He surveyed the items with his appraisal skills. The items on these stalls were all mostly real unlike the fake ones sold by the majority of those peddlers. He noticed some fairly interesting stalls with pills and noticed that Vivienne was conversing with the salesperson of one of them. As such, he walked over to her. Vivienne turned to him as he arrived and smiled saying, "Little Bro, it looks like we''ll have to look for pill furnaces in the Main Market Pavillion. But this place has pills for fair prices. Even if you can make pills, you''re still learning and we probably won''t be able to get the necessary ingredients easily. So it might be a good idea to buy some pills." Zhen Shi nodded and noting that Vivienne probably won''t be able to afford enough pills for all three of them just by the money she had earned from selling herbs, he turned to observe the wares of this pill stall. He spoke out to the salesperson, "I need 30 Qi expanding pills, 20 body strengthening pills, 30 soul pills, and 30 healing pills." The salesperson nodded and mentioned a price of 10 gold coins. Zhen Shi agreed and performed the exchange. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. They walked away from the pill stall and to a side. Zhen Shi pushed the pill bag to Vivienne''s hand saying, "Sis Vivienne, take it." Vivienne frowned while holding out the pill bag back at him and said, "Brother Zhen Shi you bought it with your own money. How could I keep all of it? It''s fine just to get my portion." Zhen Shi laughed, "You''re my sis right? So it''s fine for you to keep it... More importantly, I don''t want to carry it everywhere. That''s the actual reason I gave that bag to you!" and said. Vivienne couldn''t help but laugh at this. She smirked as she waved her other hand over the pill bag causing it to suddenly disappear. Zhen Shi gaped and muttered, "What? Do-Do you have a spatial treasure?" Vivienne''s smirk grew wider as she spoke, "Of course. I and Myne have lived for so long, wouldn''t it be pretty pathetic if we didn''t even have spatial treasures? The problem is they have become pretty empty over those lonesome years in the valley. Thus we''re pretty broke right now, More importantly, where did you think we got the clothes we gave you in the morning?" Zhen Shi frowned in embarrassment. FUCK! System I thought I let you think of that part! You really disappoint me! System: ¡¥\_(¥Ä)_/¡¥ Still, as a result, Zhen Shi looked all over Vivienne''s body greedily, trying to figure out the location of the spatial treasure. But no matter where he looked he was unable to find it, even when he used the appraisal skill. Thus he looked at Vivienne in confusion expecting an answer. But instead of an answer what awaited him was the face of a she-devil. Vivienne was staring at him with great rage in her eyes. Zhen Shi who was completely clueless couldn''t even react when Vivienne suddenly punched him in the stomach. This got him to gasp in surprise. It didn''t particularly hurt, but he hadn''t been expecting such a thing to happen so suddenly. SHIET! I thought Sis Vivienne cured her sadistic side once she got rid of the divine curse, but I suppose not! I pity Myne for the nights they spend together... While thinking so, Zhen Shi was looking at Vivienne as if he had been wronged. But Vivienne hurriedly spoke out, "Little Bro, I''m sorry! But it is improper to look at your big sister''s body like that. I know that you''re a growing kid, but still!" Zhen Shi was even more confused, but immediately his eyes shone in understanding. Thus he pitifully spoke out while ''painfully'' holding his stomach, "No, No, Sis you''ve got it wrong! You''ve truly wronged this poor me this time. I was only trying to find your spatial treasure because I also wanted to get one for myself." Vivienne gaped and said, "Oh no! I am truly sorry Bro." But Zhen Shi continued to act like a hurt puppy while holding onto his stomach in ''pain''. Vivienne who was feeling very guilty hurriedly moved to hold her hurt brother, "I am really really sorry. I misunderstood your intentions." Zhen Shi lightly pushed her off and said, "No, No, it''s fine. Sis, it was my fault as well," while gasping for breath in ''pain''. Vivienne squinted her eyes in suspicion since her punch couldn''t have been that painful and asked, "Okay Little bro, tell me, what can I ''give'' to make you ''feel better''?" while emphasizing the word ''give''. Zhen Shi smiled standing straight without any of the ''pain'', "I might feel better... If I could get my own spatial treasure... Those things are really expensive but I''ve heard they''re really good at healing punches to the gut." Seeing this shameless brother of hers Vivienne laughed out loud unable to stop herself, causing several nearby people to look at them. But as if it did not matter at all, Zhen Shi continued to speak once again with painful gasps while holding his stomach, "Sis Vivienne. How could you laugh after hitting me? Are you actually a sadist?" Vivienne shook her head and smiled while dragging Zhen Shi away from that place. Now away from prying eyes she smiled and said, "Alright, alright. I don''t have any spares but Myne does. So I''ll be sure to get you one from him later today!" Zhen Shi grinned happily while now back in ''healthy'' mode. HAHA! System see that? That''s Oscar-worthy acting. Learn from the master! System: "..." Zhen Shi nodded at Vivienne in agreement. And Vivienne heaved a sigh of relief for ''curing'' her brother. But suddenly they heard loud shouting and thus turned around. What awaited their eyes was Myne facing off against a group of three people in front of an item and material stall. Zhen Shi was about to walk over to help him out when Isolde grabbed him and shook her head with a grin. Zhen Shi frowned but deciding to trust her stayed back and watched the scene. One of the three who were opposing Myne shouted out, "Oi! Do you know who you''re dealing with? I''m the son of Adam Turnbull, Josef Turnbull. Do you dare steal the item I had already paid for?" and at the same time, the other two behind him laughed confidently. Josef Turnbull, although only a core formation cultivator with the two-spirit transformation bodyguards behind him was confident, that he could turn this entire situation around with his reputation. Even in the face of a Nascent Soul cultivator, while within the Lyon City he was completely fearless. Thus while this matter started to gather the attention of a large crowd he continued to shout out confidently, "How daring of you to try to bully me with your cultivation! Do you have no respect for the laws of the Lyonesse kingdom?" At the same time, even the salesperson started to shout, "Yes. What Master Turnbull is saying is indeed the truth. This person is a thief!" These words moved the entire crowd as countless cultivators have tried to bully others with their cultivation even within the kingdom walls. Thus they thought that this middle-aged man had tried to force this young master and in the end, due to his bad luck had kicked an iron plate. By this time the kingdom soldiers had arrived and they hurriedly surrounded Myne. These soldiers were wearing metal armor and they were mostly soul transformation soldiers but there was one Nascent Soul soldier. Josef looked on in confidence at this turn of events while the bodyguards behind him grinning happily. The nascent soul soldier spoke out, "Nascent Soul Cultivator, you are under arrest for attempted stealing. You have the right to remain silent. What you say can and will be used in a court of law," confidently while drawing out his sword. The other soldiers followed his lead and almost as if in practiced synchronicity they unsheathed their swords as well. Zhen Shi gaped at this turn of events. FUCK! Can you say that here? Won''t America sue you for copyright infringement? But Myne wasn''t worried at all as he nonchalantly raised his finger. This caused all the soldiers to tense up as they were wary of him. He was a nascent soul cultivator after all. But Myne put his finger in his nose and started picking it, and slowly spoke out, "What court of law? You didn''t even properly investigate this matter, but like obedient dogs, you followed that idiot''s words and immediately arrested me? Is this the Lyonesse kingdoms justice? Do you even have proof?" The crowd looked in stupefaction. Uhhh, Brother, your words would probably be more striking if you weren''t PICKING YOUR NOSE! Josef was laughing in his inner mind at this ''poser'' as he continued to watch in confidence for his ploy to become successful as usual. But the Nascent Soul soldier spoke out, "Indeed we did so. But that is because Master Turnbull has a record of being an upstanding and law-abiding citizen. Besides, the shop keeper has provided his testimony too. Thus as the outsider, you will be investigated and later released if proved innocent." Myne grinned finally taking his finger out of his nose, "Oh really? Hmm... then what do you think of this?" and brought out a scryer crystal with his other hand. Immediately a mist poured out and showed the vision of Myne initially buying the items only to be barred by Josef and his two lackeys. The scene continued to show how Josef had started to shout out along with the shopkeeper. Immediately, Josef Turnbull''s face turned pale and the crowd gasped at this turn of events. But under the swift orders of the General, the soldiers hurriedly left Myne to surround Josef Turnbull and his lackeys. Myne looked at Josef with a smile and flicked the finger that had been in his nose at him. As the soldiers began to put him in chains and carried him away along with the two unfortunate lackeys, he shouted and struggled, "No. Let me go. That bastard framed me... If you don''t let me go my father will hear of this! *Pu* Did you see that? He threw something into my mouth to poison me..." But his shouts fell on to deaf ears as the soldiers carried him away. The crowd was unable to believe that this young master had tried to twist the law as such. And began to wonder if he had done it this time, then on how many occasions had he gotten away with it? As such, they were rather unsettled. The nascent soul general walked over to Myne and bowed deeply. He spoke out, "I, Liam Burns, am deeply sorry for that mistake. I hope you can forgive me. Josef Turnbull will be punished under the law for this, and our guard will do an immediate review of all punishments handed out with relation to him," this instantly caused the crowd to calm down, and Liam continued, "As an apology, the Lyon City guard will provide your purchase free of charge." Myne laughed and waved his hand saying, "It''s fine. Apology accepted." Liam smiled in gratitude and turned to the shopkeeper who had been fearfully standing at the corner of his stall. Liam grabbed him saying, "And you... You''re under arrest as well." With one last bow at Myne, he left with the shopkeeper in tow. Myne happily turned to the assistant of the stall who had now suddenly been promoted to the post of the shopkeeper and looked at him expectantly. The assistant-turned-shopkeeper understanding his intention smiled and handed out what Myne had paid before with a slight bow. Now with a beaming smile, Myne walked towards Zhen Shi and Isolde. Myne confidently looked at Zhen Shi, "See that Bro? That is the power of scryer crystals! In law upholding organizations, they are more powerful than the strongest attack. So remember to not underestimate them!" Zhen Shi laughed and nodded in agreement saying, "Now I know why Sis Vivienne didn''t want me to help you out." Myne waved his hand showing what he had obtained from the stall. It was a rather large but rusted and dejected-looking furnace. Zhen Shi frowned at it for a moment just before the appraisal skill revealed what it was. Myne spoke out in a satisfied manner, "I can''t believe they were actually selling this. This is a Grade 5 cauldron for furnacing weapons or armor. But it has been damaged and thus can only be used as a Grade 2 cauldron for the moment. It''s perfect for Bro Zhen Shi to learn item crafting and I''ll be able to fix it pretty easily as well. But don''t forget that due to the kindness of Josef Turnbull, I got it for free! And I made sure to ''thank'' him." Zhen Shi and Vivienne couldn''t help but laugh at this. Vivienne smiled at Myne saying, "I guess all those years didn''t change this part of you huh?" Myne grinned while saying, "Of course not, now come and give your hubby a hug!" and stretched his arms. But Vivienne frowned, "No. I don''t hug idiots who shamelessly pick their noses in front of large crowds." Saying so she walked away towards the Main Market Pavillion at the end of the Market Area. Zhen Shi patted Myne on the back with a slight grin and followed her. Myne too followed them after a moment''s pause to put back the item furnace, but rather dejectedly. 20 Crossing the Golden Bridge Zhen Shi walked into the main market area with Myne and Vivienne in tow. This location was completely unlike the market road and was as if they had walked into another place entirely. Zhen Shi stared wide-eyed at the scene that awaited them, as a strange calm washed over him. The main market area was an island placed within a large expanse of blue water, and despite being in the middle of the Lyon city, the island and the peaceful lake perfectly blended into the background. The wind was calmly blowing over the lake causing the occasional tree on the island to rustle peacefully. The lake was completely free of ripples despite the wind and gave off a strange dangerous feeling. However, within this peaceful island, there was a single construction that seemed rather out of place. This was a towering and awe-inspiring golden pagoda with a large signboard floating above it with words written in qi, the Lyon and Turnbull Market Island! Myne suddenly poked Zhen Shi on the chest and laughed saying, "Kid did you just lose yourself in that simple bewildering formation? Tsk-tsk. Disappointing..." Zhen Shi frowned and mumbled, "Of course not, I was simply analyzing the formation..." then with a mischievous grin he pointed out at some stones which were placed unassumingly along the shore, "those are the bewildering formation''s external centers right?" Now it was Myne''s turn to frown, "Fuck. My brother is indeed correct, but I was sure you were bewildered just then... " Zhen Shi continued grinning as he indeed had been effected for a moment, but had later used the knowledge from the skill book and the appraisal skill to turn things around. Myne continued speaking while smiling again, "However... that is not just a simple bewildering formation, it is, in fact, a compound formation and contains a sealing formation along with another formation for attacking and defending. But those formation centers are hidden within some other illusory formations making it more difficult to detect." It was again Zhen Shi''s turn to frown. FUCK! How could I find formation centers with the appraisal skill, if I can''t see them? But now knowing that there was something more to look for, he activated to full effect turning one of his eyes into a deep golden hue. As a result, he was able to notice slight aberrations on some trees on the island as well as from deep within the still lake. Now with a rough idea, he spoke out confidently while pointing out the relevant locations, "Oh no... I sensed them before, but I just didn''t say it because I thought that it was pretty obvious. I can sense formation centers from those trees and something else from the lake..." but he turned to Myne with a devilish grin, "But of course, how can I be more knowledgable regarding formations than the Great Merlin?" And it was once again Myne''s turn to frown, "FUCK! Bro, are you some reincarnated formation master? How on earth could you sense them by just being at the soul formation stage? Even an ordinary Law Holder couldn''t have done it, and the only reason I can do so is because of my knowledge in the dao of formations gained over countless millennia." This caused Zhen Shi to grin proudly and puff up his chest. But almost immediately, Myne frowned at him angrily, "And... Who the fuck is Merlin?" and bunched up a shirt sleeve playfully getting ready to punch Zhen Shi. Vivienne who had been silent the entire time, having noticed some people observing them, grabbed their collars with a light sigh. She whispered, "I think you''ve made enough of a scene in front of the Item Pavillion right?" with a deadly light in her eyes. Immediately, Zhen Shi and Myne went silent. But thankfully for them, one of the observers, an old man with long white hair walked over, causing Vivienne to let them go with a polite smile at the old man. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. This old man who was at the Soul Deification Stage and dressed in a white daoist robe, politely bowed while speaking out, "Greetings fellow daoists, this humble fellow is Hao Lei. I couldn''t help but overhear your conversation and I am pleased to have discovered two talented cultivators of the Dao of Formations," while glancing at Myne and Zhen Shi in particular. Zhen Shi, Myne, and Vivienne bowed in greetings while introducing themselves as well. Now with the formalities completed, Zhen Shi hurriedly shook his hands in dismissal at Hao Lei and said, "Oh no, Senior, I am only a novice in the dao of formations. The real expert is this fellow brother of mine!" while hurriedly pushing Myne forwards. Zhen Shi was sure that he knew nothing regarding the dao of formations besides finding formation centers. So unwilling to embarrass himself he had thrown Myne into the fire. This caused the Hao Lei to raise an eyebrow in surprise. What a humble young fellow! He isn''t acting proud of having reached the soul transformation stage at his age and he even gave up the chance to impress me to his senior brother! With a smile, the Hao Lei spoke out, "Of course not, I''m sure that the junior generation has much to teach us old folks. Still, I wonder what exalted master could bring up such wonderful disciples like you three?" The three of them laughed and in almost practiced motion Myne spoke out, "Our master is a very reclusive character. So I''m not sure if this fellow daoist has heard of him. He goes by the name of Myrden." This caused Zhen Shi to raise an eyebrow and with a smirk, he sent mentally to Myne, "Myrden? Hmm... I wonder what great mage had that name at birth? Could it be... Merlin? Fuck! I can''t believe that my brother was shameless enough to make himself his own master.... along with Sis Vivienne and me!" Myne''s eye twitched ?_? How on earth does this kid even know that? Besides me, only Vivienne knows my true name, and she would never have told him! But the Hao Lei noticed nothing of this as he continued to speak, "Indeed I have not heard of your exalted master. Well as my apology for being unaware, let me personally guide you into our Lyon and Turnbull hall!" Myne and Vivienne spoke out in thanks but Zhen Shi hurriedly said, "Senior, what is that golden bridge?" while pointing at one. There were two bridges leading to the island and while the large wooden bridge was being used by almost everyone, there was one smaller golden bridge leading to the other side. A large number of cultivators at the soul formation stage were seated in front of it. Hao Lei smiled as he spoke, "That is the golden soul bridge set up by our Lyon and Turnbull hall to test young cultivators. Any cultivator below Soul Transformation can attempt to cross it. Anyone who can complete half of it will receive a divine blessing from our hall''s patron god Caishen to strengthen their soul, and anyone who reaches the end will receive a 50% permanent discount from all their purchases from our hall. Would this junior Daoist like to give a try?" But even before Zhen Shi could speak out the Hao Lei continued, "Many geniuses have attempted it but they have all stopped after a few steps beyond the halfway point, and in the last millennia only Prince Tristram reached the end. He is indeed a genius, but his character is..." Hao Lei paused for a moment in thought, but smiled again as he said, "So what is this junior''s decision? I must warn you though, the first half brings out the spiritual pressure of soul transformation, while the latter half leads up to nascent soul and even the soul deification stage in spiritual pressure." Zhen Shi grinned nonchalantly as he pridefully spoke out, "Of course I can complete a task of that level!" After all, he had fought with Vivienne at the Law Holder stage and had held on. But this caused Hao Lei to frown unhappily. Maybe I was mistaken? Braggarts like this fellow won''t make it too far in their cultivation. How could he expect to dismiss such powerful pressure while just being at the first stage of soul formation? Still, he nodded and led the way to the golden bridge. The official in charge of the golden bridge hurriedly bowed seeing the arrival of Hao Lei. There were hundreds of soul formation cultivators in front of the golden bridge. After all, this wasn''t just a chance to save money on purchases. If you could complete this test your reputation would immediately increase and you would receive invitations from all sorts of lucrative organizations! These cultivators turned to look at the new arrivals but stayed silent noticing Hao Lei''s status. But there was another old man wearing a black daoist robe who was looking over the trial. He stared hatefully at Hao Lei for a moment and proceeded to ignore him with an inaudible curse. However, Hao Lei too ignored him and lightly flicked his hand asking the official to continue. The official bowed in agreement and started the test for the examination. Hao Lei could have easily had Zhen Shi take the test first. But had not done so just to test Zhen Shi and his fellow disciple''s patience. Noting Zhen Shi who patiently stood by the side with Myne and Vivienne without a word of complaint, he was impressed once more. I suppose even braggarts can be patient... let''s see how he measures up on the golden bridge! The official led up the soul cultivators but almost every one collapsed just before the tenth step, which was ten more steps away from the halfway point. They all walked away dejectedly but formed into a group of spectators as they continued to watch the other cultivators. Afterward, there were occasional cultivators who walked further than most, but none was able to obtain the divine blessing, much to the displeasure of the spectator group who had now grown substantially. Hao Let shook his head and muttered, "Looks like we won''t have too many successes in this trial either..." After around an hour of failures, a young noble with brown hair and an axe on his back attempted the trial. He had cultivation just on the verge of ascending to the Soul Transformation stage. He walked up the steps slowly but surely and stopped only at the precipice of the half-way mark. After several minutes more of struggling, he was finally able to take a step on to the halfway point immediately falling onto his knees. Even still he had achieved the first objective and under the cheers of the spectators a terrifying black tiger materialized out of pure god aether over the golden bridge, and it roared with its eyes on the noble. The tiger shot a silver aura from its mouth which covered the young noble''s body. Moments later, he slowly stood up as his soul strength improved. After the tiger manifestation dissipated, with renewed confidence, he took one more step forwards but immediately collapsed onto his knees. And as such, he walked back the same way he had climbed. Although he had failed the second objective he was still successful and as such, he returned with a smile of confidence. Hao Lei was considering whether he should go and invite this talented young noble himself, but considering that it would be rude to the guests who he was already accompanying, he decided against it. But almost immediately that black-robed old man who had cursed at Hao Lei walked over to this noble and spoke out, "Young Master Samuel your talent is truly astounding," he smiled satisfactorily while looking at Hao Lei," since the Lyons seem to be considering that your talents are below their ''standards'', will the young master take up my invitation on behalf of the Turnbull family?" Samuel frowned unhappily as he glanced at Hao Lei who in turn smiled at him and spoke out, "My apologies, young master. It was simply that I had to entertain this fellow daoists of mine. Master Samuel has no need to join up with the Turnbulls as I, too, will present an invitation to you on behalf of the Lyon Family." Samuel''s frowned deepened as he felt unsatisfied despite his success. He eyed the trio who were the ''fellow daoists'' in displeasure. He turned around and walked over to the black-robed man and spoke out, "I''ll accept the Turnbull family''s invitation, but I hope that this senior will allow me to witness the remainder of this event?" The black-robed man immediately agreed happily, and he turned to look at Hao Lei with a malicious smirk of self-satisfaction. Hao Lei frowned, ''Damn that Shu Yi! How dare he sully our Lyon Family''s name? Still, that Samuel wasn''t worth much either way... So his support will only give the Turnbulls a momentary gain.'' He glanced at Zhen Shi, ''Now let''s see whether this braggart lives at least up to half of his words...'' The remaining candidates finished up within half an hour but no one was able to go as far as Samuel. Finally, it was Zhen Shi''s turn. Under the watching eyes of the crowd, he walked over to the bridge. Samuel was watching calmly, confident of the fact that this random cultivator would not amount to much. But to his surprise, Zhen Shi calmly walked up the steps as if he was going on a stroll completely neglecting the pressure. He reached the step just before the half-way point. With a mischievous grin, he turned to look at Myne and Vivienne and waved his hand, causing them to struggle to stifle their laughter. Even the old Hao Lei couldn''t help but grin... And under the displeased gazed of Shu Yi and Samuel, Zhen Shi turned back to the bridge and easily took the last step on to the half-way point. Immediately the terrifying figure of the black tiger formed from God Aether appeared. And under the cheers of the spectators, just like before it started to roar sending silver energy on to Zhen Shi. Zhen Shi closed his eyes in expectance of the improvement of his soul, but surprisingly the primordial chaos base in his dantian hurriedly absorbed all of the silver soul energy from the divine blessing, while rapidly growing in size. Zhen Shi was surprised but since the primordial chaos was growing he didn''t complain and sat down in a lotus position. But surprisingly the torrent of soul energy didn''t end as the primordial chaos base continued to forcefully pull the energy from the tiger. As the primordial chaos reached a limit in its expansion it proceeded to contract and continued absorbing more of the energy. Gradually the tiger''s appearance and roar started changing... After a while, the terrifying dark black tiger''s roar had turned into nothing but a high-pitched screech... The manifestation of the tiger seemed to have become a pitiful cat as it stared at Zhen Shi pleading to let it go... but Zhen Shi could only smile awkwardly, as he was unable to control the primordial chaos by himself. He pitifully spoke out with great sorrow, "I am sorry kitty, but I can''t help you." This caused all the cultivators including the two elders to almost cough up blood, but they changed their mind and paused to listen as Zhen Shi kept talking sagely, "Cultivation is an arduous path... It is the duty of those with ability, to teach those who make mistakes. Unlike a certain someone, I have a sense of pride. As such, I am duty-bound to teach you and rid you of this bad habit of spewing your silver-white spit all over everyone." But all the spectators vomited out the blood once he finished the sentence. Fellow Cultivator, can you let Lord Caishen''s manifestation off with some degree of pride? Not only the cultivators even the Black tiger seemed to have become furious as it let out a final powerful roar. Suddenly, a thin yellow figure with a wide golden rod emanating a strong and godly aura manifested by the side of the Black Tiger. He pointed the rod and started to send forth torrents of golden energy towards Zhen Shi while shouting out garbled words. The primordial chaos base continued to greedily guzzle up this energy as Zhen Shi watched on helplessly. The group of cultivators including the two elders watched on in amazement. Such an unprecedented event had not taken place even for Prince Tristram''s trial! Myne and Vivienne were smiling helplessly at this situation. After a while, besides the screeching black cat, there was a yellow figure screaming garbled words while desperately trying to hold on to the golden rod which was being pulled away by the primordial chaos base. The onlooking cultivators watched in stupefaction. Did God Caishen take a break today and leave the god of comedy to take care of his efforts? Now, the yellow figure too seemed to be pleading by screaming garbled words, alongside the screeching black tiger. Zhen Shi was still helpless to do anything and as such he spoke out, "I believe I have finished teaching my lesson to the black kitty..." All the cultivators and the two manifestations seemed to heave a sigh of relief. But, Zhen Shi continued to speak, "But a certain someone is unable to keep his ''golden rod'' where it should be..." the cultivators were confused for a moment as Zhen Shi continued to speak, "And he kept shamelessly spraying this ''yellow liquid'' on me. As such, I''ll have to cure that bad habit as well!" Now, finally, understanding his meaning the spectating cultivators fainted sideways on the spot. Fellow Daoist, do you have some immeasurable grudge with God Caishen? A while later, just when the black tiger and golden rod wielding figure were on the verge of dissipating, and the primordial chaos had gone throught mutiple cycles of expansion and contraction, a blurry figure appeared generating a terrifying aura. The entire market island seemed to vibrate as even Zhen Shi was frozen on the spot. The hundreds of cultivators were stupefied, with the majority fainting on the spot. Samuel was wallowing in self-pity, so wasn''t much affected... Hao Lei and Shu Yi stared with their mouths open struggling to stay standing themselves. Even Myne and Vivienne stared with wide eyes. Because this had to be the figure of A GOD! This figure lightly grabbed the tiger and the golden rod and freed them allowing them to pitifully take their leave. Then lightly gazing at Zhen Shi he pulled the air in his direction and immediately disappeared. Suddenly, the manifestation of the bow which Zhen Shi had formed within his dantian was pulled out and materialized as a large figure of a bow externally. This bow seemed to be growing and improving, but Zhen Shi ignored it as he had to struggle to keep the title of within his body as it too was being pulled out by the force. After a while, the manifestation of the bow returned back to his body, and the force disappeared along with it. Zhen Shi calmly stood up and looked around at the fainted cultivators and the still-standing few. Seeing this situation and how he''d have to eventually deal with it, Zhen Shi did the only thing he could do... "System, this is all your fault..." System: "..." 21 Eyes and Ears everywhere Zhen Shi smiled uncomfortably at this scene and thus just wanted to leave now. So under the eyes of the cultivators who were still managing to stand and the two elders of the Lyon and Turnbull market hall, he easily ran through the remaining half of the bridge. Besides pausing for a moment to activate and push off the pressure of the soul deification stage in the last few steps, the remaining half of the trial was completed easily. But to Zhen Shi''s surprise, almost everyone grimaced as the remaining cultivator''s mental confidence collapsed on the spot. Brother, could you at least pretend that this trial is difficult? It''s okay to destroy god Caishen''s pride but we have our own pride as well, you know? Now realizing his mistake Zhen Shi could only grin as he walked back through the bridge to his group. As he walked over, Hao Lei was thinking, ''So this young fellow wasn''t bragging at all! He was indeed speaking the truth, in fact, he was understating his own capabilities. What a good seedling for our Lyon family.'' Hao Lei was the first to walk over to him with a smile of satisfaction, "Congratulations brother Zhen Shi. Who would''ve thought that besides being a talented formation master you were also a skilled archer gaining the acceptance of the gods? This old daoist feels powerless in the face of your talent. Who would have thought that you were a dragon amongst men?" Myne visibly grimaced at Hao Lei''s choice of words as he was reminded of an unpleasant incident due to a ''dragon'', but thankfully no one else noticed. Hao Lei continued to speak with a laugh, "I am truly lucky to have been able to witness the personal divine blessing of a god! Even God Ciashen''s divine manifestations were," and coughed awkwardly," helpless in front of you!" Zhen Shi didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Divine blessing my ass! He hadn''t received anything, as almost all of it had been gobbled up by the primordial chaos base. And the last gesture from that blurry shadow had only improved his manifestation of the art of archery. Still, he was aware that people who were capable of obtaining personal divine blessings were treated differently than most. This was because such cultivators show rapid growth in their cultivation and in their respective skills. For instance, Isolde who had a personal divine blessing from Eir would be considered an important resource of the kingdom. So no matter what, the kingdom would not allow her life to be endangered. Similarly, he too would be sought after by various organizations now. Hao Lei continued to grin happily while turning his head occasionally to look at Shu Yi with smugness and confidence in his victory. Shu Yi''s face was now the epitome of failure as he kept turning his head between Samuel and Zhen Shi. Samuel who had been wallowing in self-pity shook his head with a smile. After all, when the gap between competitors is insurmountable, that rivalry turns into blind faith and adoration. As such, Samuel and the majority of cultivators got up from the ground and came over to congratulate Zhen Shi. They talked about how Zhen Shi had to take care of them in the future, how his future success was set now, how happy his master would be and so on. Zhen Shi could only mindlessly grin and nod his head in agreement at their words. Next, Samuel walked over and with a genuine smile he spoke out, "Brother Zhen Shi now that you have even exceeded the previous record holder, Prince Tristram, he might turn up to challenge you, honorably or dishonorably. After all, the entire kingdom knows about the prince''s temperament." Zhen Shi nodded his head in thanks and spoke out, "I''ll remember to keep brother Samuel''s words in mind." As Samuel walked away, Hao Lei kept grinning proudly for having discovered this talent. Finally, Shu Yi walked over. He had been planning on inviting Zhen Shi over to the Turnbull family but under the vigilant look of Hao Lei, he could only leave after a few words of congratulations, with Samuel in tow. Hao Lei turned over to Zhen Shi and said, "Fellow Daoists, come let me take you to the actual market hall," while guiding them over the wooden bridge to the island. But while they were going along Myne and Vivienne established a common mental link with Zhen Shi. Myne spoke out worriedly, "Bro you... did you actually get the divine blessing? We didn''t tell you anything before as it was only supposed to be a spiritual blessing, but who would''ve thought that you would actually summon over a god for a divine blessing!" Zhen Shi calmly sent back, "Oh, why what''s the problem? No worries though, the primordial chaos gobbled all of the divine blessing up leaving me nothing... That divine blessing was only a farce!" Myne and Vivienne visibly relaxed and Vivienne sent back cryptically, "That''s good... This is because divine blessings are simply traps laid out for cultivators..." Zhen Shi couldn''t help but frown as Isolde and his sister Zhen Xixi who both had divine blessings came into his mind. "Explain..." he sent back. Myne grimaced and sent back, "Knowing too much isn''t good for anyone. But... since it seems to be important to you, we''ll tell you later tonight, in private." Zhen Shi nodded in acceptance but still was worried in his mind. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. By now they had crossed the bridge and was a single step away from the island in the lake. They took the last step forward. Zhen Shi felt as if he had passed through a light protective membrane and even calmly sensed the formation with his spiritual energy. But he couldn''t learn much from it alone. As such he shifted his concentration on to the island itself. The island lay before them in all it''s glory. The wind passed lightly through the land causing the trees in the forest to rustle about. There were strange unusual trees and plants of various colors, all of which Zhen Shi recognized. The wind broke off the leaves of these trees causing them to colorfully dance about in the wind. Zhen Shi inhaled the smell of the various flowers and walked forwards delighting in this explosion of natural beauty. Behind this forest of wonderment was the awe-inspiring golden pagoda showing off its power to all. But suddenly, *cough*. Myne had coughed with a victorious grin while staring at Zhen Shi. Myne grinned and spoke out, "So, did Bro get enticed by the bewitching formation again? Hmm?" Zhen Shi was speechless but with a light golden hue in his eyes, he immediately began to point out at several locations saying, "The formation centers are--" But Myne hurriedly stopped him, "Geez. Fine. Fine. You don''t have to show off all the time," with an unhappy frown. Zhen Shi grinned in victory and Vivienne unable to hold back finally laughed at this situation, causing Hao Lei who too had been entranced in the beauty of nature to finally wake up. Having just shaken off the formation effects, he embarrassedly looked at the trio who seemed to be completely fine and spoke out, "The junior generation indeed surpasses us of the old. I apologize for inadvertently getting enraptured in our own formation. We put it up to provide a calm and beautiful backdrop for the customers, but it seems it might have been too well done," with a calm laugh. Zhen Shi and the rest hurriedly spoke out saying there was no need for an apology. Hao Lei smiled once again as he led the trio away from the forest and along a clear path towards the entrance to the Item Hall. But suddenly Hao Lei frowned and hurriedly turned to the trio speaking out apologetically, "My apologies. A problem seems to have come up and the elders of the Lyon family are being summoned. Thus I''ll have to leave momentarily." Noticing the inquisitive looks on their faces and considering it a chance to earn their favor he continued speaking in explanation, "The Lyon and Turnbull market hall is jointly managed by the Lyon and Turnbull royal families. The first masters were very good friends and thus started this venture together. But under continuous generations of power struggles, the relationship between the families in each market hall has deteriorated. As such the first masters put forth a competition. Accordingly, the younger generations of the direct descendants of each branch hall will compete in their knowledge of item appraisal and the winning family of each branch hall will hold the monopoly of overall decisions. In fact, our Lyon family could have easily won this time..." He grimaced while tightening his fist, "That Shu Yi and his Turnbull family! Seeing their obvious loss under Josef Turnbull they had him arrested, so they would have a chance at victory! Now they are suggesting bringing in external experts to solve the problem. How ruthless... " Myne''s face went pale when he heard this, while Zhen Shi and Vivienne had to hold back from laughing. Hao Lei, however, continued speaking with ignorance, "Once again I must apologize. But I already notified my niece. She''ll arrive shortly. Now, I''ll be taking my leave, fellow Daoists," and bowed immediately before walking away. Now alone Zhen Shi couldn''t help but rub it in Myne by saying, "So.. bro of mine, I must admit that the scrying crystal is indeed powerful!" and laughing. Myne could only scowl unhappily as Vivienne too spoke out, "Hubby, your old habits seem to have brought troubles in the present time," with a victorious smile. But Myne was saved from this by a hurrying figure of yellow and white. This figure hurriedly grabbed Myne''s hand and spoke out pitifully, "Big brother our Lyon family is troubled because you got Josef Turnbull arrested. So won''t you help us solve this problem to our advantage?" Zhen Shi observed this new arrival. She was a very beautiful young girl with shoulder-length purplish-black hair. She was dressed in an embroidered dress of yellow and white lace which showed off her young figure. However, Vivienne seemed to be about to go into full-on devil mode while Myne was completely frozen in the face of this sudden arrival holding on to his hand. As such, Zhen Shi hurriedly jumped in to save his brother. He grabbed the girl''s hand freeing Myne and spoke out, "Pretty Lady, don''t bother that heartless brother of mine. He isn''t moved by any woman besides his wife beside him. So, I''ll make sure to help you out in his stead!" with a nonchalant grin. The girl''s face instantly reddened in embarrassment. When she first arrived, she had immediately recognized Myne who was responsible for sending Josef into the kingdom jail. As such seeing an opportunity to help out the Lyon family, considering these fellow student''s abilities and their mysterious master about whom she had been informed by Hao Lei, she had jumped without thinking. Now realizing that she had grabbed onto a married man in front of his wife, she was deeply embarrassed. Still, she hurriedly freed herself from Zhen Shi''s hand and bowed elegantly while speaking out, "My deepest apologies, elder brother Myne and big sister Vivienne. I, Laura Lyon, acted without thought. So forgive me... But, this Zhen Shi also grabbed onto my hand!" Now turning onto Zhen Shi with a devilish smile she spoke out, "Will you take responsibility? Or will you pay for mental damages?" Zhen Shi was flabbergasted. FUCK! Is this a gold digger in the guise of a pretty flower? He hurriedly sent out to Myne, "Bro, hand me one of your scryer crystals. I''ll use it to get this girl off my back." But Myne sent out, "Hell no! Vivienne is on MY back! I''m staying out of this matter..." Zhen Shi grimaced as the expected backup failed to deliver, but almost immediately he himself grinned devilishly. He wagged his index finger in the face of Laura confidently and spoke out, "Laura, Laura... You are a bit too young to make us pay. Let''s say that my actions cancel off yours. After all, you grabbed a married man and I have pretty good proof..." while bringing out the scryer crystal he had received from Myne before in the market street. He hadn''t used it to record anything, he was hoping that this girl knew about how Myne had handled Josef and would assume he had done the same. Laura couldn''t help but grimace. She had been brought up as a student of business and as such tried to always make a profit. But she couldn''t help but accept defeat in the face of these fellow students and their scryer crystals. This must be the wise teachings of their master, Myrden! If Zhen Shi had heard that thought he would''ve vomited blood for three days and three nights. Still, he didn''t and so was still celebrating his victory. Laura bowed in defeat and spoke out, "It will be as big brother Zhen Shi says," but she immediately looked up with a smile and shining eyes, "I didn''t expect that the genius archer and formation master who even exceeded Prince Tristram''s record on the golden spirit bridge, to also be talented in item appraisal!" Even though he won his gamble, Zhen Shi could only smile helplessly as he wondered, "Shit. I was almost sued by this lady but I still have to help her?" Myne and Vivienne couldn''t help but grin at his helpless face... Laura ignored all of them as she smiled and spoke out, "Well, fellow brothers and sister before the appraisal event tomorrow, you must''ve come here to purchase some items? Just tell me and I''ll ensure you get the best of the best. No need to peruse the items yourself. Since you''re helping our family I''ll even add an additional 10% discount to your purchases." Immediately, Myne and Vivienne walked forwards and handed out two pieces of paper. Laura quickly went over the lists and spoke to Myne, "We do have all of these materials, but the sap glass is very rare and we have a high demand for it. I suppose we''ll let you have it as thanks for your help," she turned over to Vivienne, "All these ingredients are available even the insects, but why do you need them?" since Vivienne only mysteriously smiled she continued, "As for the pill furnace, it would be best if sister Vivienne came along with me later to chose one." Vivienne spoke out with a smile, "Very well. I''ll expect you to treat me to a meal afterward for trying to steal my husband." Laura couldn''t help but blush in shame at her reply, but she nodded with a grin nevertheless. Now with all their matters handled Laura called out to Zhen Shi, "Big brother, aren''t you going to buy anything?" Zhen Shi shook his head helplessly, "I want to buy something, but I don''t know if I could afford it." Laura frowned, "Well if you tell me, I might be able to help you get it for cheap or even on loan. After all, what organization would refuse to have a genius owe them a favor?" and said. Zhen Shi nodded thankfully causing Laura to smile confidently. But her smile disappeared as Zhen Shi spoke out, "Okay, if little sister is so sure, then I am free of worries. I want to buy... you," pointing at her and continued, "to take home to cook and take care of myself!" Laura was flabbergasted as she realized he was just joking around, and with her face red in anger, she spoke out, "You--you, shameless wolf! Now, you MUST pay me for mental damages!" Zhen Shi continued to grin nonchalantly as he brought out the scryer crystal and played around with it mischievously. Myne and Vivienne couldn''t help but laugh at this ridiculous situation. Laura sighed once again in defeat thinking, ''This master Myrdern is truly peerless'' while eyeing the scryer crystal that Zen Shi had with him. As such she spoke out in an annoyed manner, "Fine... Brother Zhen Shi, you win." But she almost immediately returned to normal and smiled saying, "I suppose you must be tired from your travels. Since the appraisal competition will be held next week, we have arranged rooms for you. If you need anything, just tell us." She led them away from the main item hall and towards the forest which they had previously walked away from. Within a short time, they came across a worn forest path which they followed. Zhen Shi tried to sense the path or the surroundings with his spiritual energy but was unable to do so. Still, he walked closer to Laura and spoke out, "Laura, you''re a Lyon right? So are you the one from the main family who was supposed to go against Josef Turnbull?" Laura was surprised at his sudden question and answered grumpily, "Humph. What? will you regret your actions if I am of the main family?" Still, she shook her head and answered, "No. I''m only a Lyon from the second family. Uncle Hao Lei is my mother''s brother and my father is only from a side family. The one who was supposed to fight against him was sister, Dorothy. She was born of divine birth time and was immediately blessed by the patron god Caishen, like you. In fact, she has never made loss of even a single coin to the Item Hall!" with adoration in her eyes. Zhen Shi nodded in acknowledgment but brought out the scryer crystal and played around it, much to the annoyance of Laura. Thankfully for her, the rest of the journey was short as they soon arrived at a clearing in the forest with a complex of several luxurious pavilions. The blazing midday sun shone relentlessly on the pavilions causing the golden walls and silver roofs to glisten like gems. There were many guards of the soul transformation stage adorned in golden-red armor surrounding the pavilions. But noticing Laura and the rest they immediately moved to the side with a slight bow. Laura showed them to one of the pavillions at the very center of the complex which was much larger than most. Now, with her task complete she left with a promise to deliver the required items and to come back later to take Vivienne for the purchase of the pill furnace. But before she left, she angrily glared at Zhen Shi who was still playing with the scryer crystal... ????????????????????????? The pavilion was rather open and at the very center, there was an open-roof garden. Besides the intricately planted plants and trees, there was a pond to which the water was flowing in and out through a small stream. Moments later, Zhen Shi, Myne, and Vivienne sat down in the main central hall from where they could easily observe the central garden. Zhen Shi was the first to speak, "So will you explain the situation regarding divine blessings?" Myne signaled for him to be quiet and brought out a talisman. He threw it upwards as it formed a spherical dome of qi surrounding the three of them. Immediately, Vivienne moved into a seated position and formed various hand signs while mumbling an incantation which sent out surges of energy that combined with the dome of qi strengthening it. Myne now began to talk hurriedly, "I can''t explain everything to you just yet. None of our cultivations are sufficient right now to completely block out their observation if we mention them directly. In fact," he turned to Vivienne who nodded in support, "we believe that even Vivienne''s mother Diana might have been under their orders when she used the divine curse to trap us. Most probably, they are those that are truly in power in the various organizations of gods. They have eyes and ears everywhere and if it wasn''t for this," he pointed to the dome of qi, "I wouldn''t dare speak. Their weakest members would exceed the law stage in power. All I can say right now is that a divine blessing is most probably just as bad as being attacked by a divine curse, if not worse. So make sure your loved ones stay away from them." He grinned slightly and said, "But you don''t have to worry about it yourself. You might have figured it out already, but it seems that primordial chaos absorbs divine blessings." Zhen Shi frowned and asked in worry, "What about the people who I care about who already have divine blessings! My sister and even Isolde both have divine blessings! How can I save them?" Myne and Vivienne frowned helplessly. Finally, Vivienne smiled lightly, "Little bro, it''s not possible to get rid of divine blessings with mortal power. So, all we can say is, become stronger..." Myne grinned supportively and said, "Yes, just become stronger. You already have never before seen abilities and a primordial chaos base! If someone or any divine blessing gets in your way and your loved ones, just beat them with sheer power!" Zhen Shi nodded in agreement as he fell into silent thought while staring at the central garden. Myne and Vivienne canceled the dome of qi wordlessly as they noticed his desire to be alone. They got up and started to walk away, leaving Zhen Shi alone in the central hall. But Vivienne paused for a moment saying, "Little Bro I know that it''s easier for you to improve your cultivation the way you do, but it might be a good idea to cultivate normally and become more familiar with your own body. After all, you can''t be too sure when treading on paths walked by none before..." Myne also spoke out, "Oh yeah, since you want to learn blacksmithing and..." but strangely paused as he turned to look at Vivienne. She smiled and nodded. Thus Myne continued to speak, "pill refining as well, we''ll be back once we get the materials." Zhen Shi simply nodded once more. As Myne and Vivienne walked away, he stared at the stream of water being bathed by the afternoon sunlight while jumping along the rocks. His eyes glowed and his fists tightened involuntarily... 22 Taming Spirits: A Master Class with Myne Zhen Shi contemplated what Vivienne had told him a moment ago. And so he mentally asked, "System, it''s fine to just cultivate by leveling up, right?" Ding! Cultivation is defined as an improvement of the existence of a person by gathering qi or understanding. Leveling up in the system is simply providing the user the energy needed to improve their cultivation. Thus, it is advised to meditate and cultivate in general. FUCK! What type of system needs the user to cultivate as well? It''s the system''s job to level me up! At the very least, shouldn''t you have told me sooner? What, do you think that by spouting some fancy definition everything will be fine? System: "..." Nevertheless, Zhen Shi heaved a sigh as he shifted into a meditative lotus position. Being bathed by the warm midday sunlight, with the peaceful sound of the trickling stream he slowly closed his eyes and attempted to circle the qi in his body. To his great annoyance, he wasn''t able to make much progress. But immediately a stream of memories washed over his mind and was imprinted onto his soul. Zhen Shi immediately realized that this was the practicing method of the . As he went over this practice method he was immediately dumbstruck. Previously, he hadn''t thought much about the fact that the system is capable of improving his cultivation, as he had believed that it was an ''expected'' function of a ''system''. But now with the in his mind, he could understand that this wasn''t the work of the system alone. Just like the system''s definition, every time he ''leveled up'', he would be forcefully provided with a torrent of qi or energy. This would then be utilized by the system to revolve the energy of his body through his meridians and dantian. So his level ups were basically a type of forced cultivation. Zhen Shi could only imagine what would''ve happened if he hadn''t figured this out due to Vivienne and Myne''s timely advice. But now that he was aware of the matter, he began to familiarize himself with the cultivation art. But his progress was rather slow and was only able to move the qi about at a snail''s pace. In fact, it was extremely difficult and he felt as if he was a mortal trying to walk on a tight rope with a blindfold. Thus he activated the skill he had received ages ago. Immediately, his vision veered off, finally focusing on his own body. He was met by the familiar view of his meridians and qi paths. Now being able to see what he was doing, it was much easier to move the qi along his meridians and qi paths. Even still, Zhen Shi felt like ordinary cultivators might be able to do much better than he was. He could only assume that since he had leveled up so far automatically, it was difficult for his body and mind to get used to doing things manually. FUCK! Why won''t the qi move? It''s like my qi path is the loading bar, while the qi is the amount of progress. But my internet is so slow that the progress just... stopped! After what felt like ages, Zhen Shi was finally able to complete one rotation of qi around his body. It wasn''t that his qi was weak or his meridians were thin, on the contrary, his qi was very rich and his meridians were extremely strong and wide due to the beast bloodlines. But this was simply a foreign act unfamiliar to him, and as such would require some time to master. Zhen Shi heaved an exasperated sigh as he reopened his eyes. Even though he was suffering from a disability to rotate qi, he was feeling rather relaxed after that session of meditation and cultivation. He felt at ease and more familiar with the concept of qi. While he was immersing himself in that wondrous feeling, Myne walked from outside into the pavilion and sat down next to Zhen Shi. Now feeling much better, Zhen Shi turned to a rather exasperated Myne with a grin and spoke out, "What? The wife giving you troubles, grand mage?" Myne scowled and muttered, "Fuck off... I didn''t even do anything! It was all that Laura girl!" Zhen Shi''s grin grew wider as he playfully comforted Myne by patting his back. Myne''s scowl grew worse as he shook off Zhen Shi''s hand and said, ''Kid, do you want me to teach you or not?" Zhen Shi hurriedly stopped the joke and with a salute, he spoke out seriously, " Gomenasai, Sensei!" Myne frowned, "What bullshit are you spouting now?" but with a light sigh, he shook his head in exasperation. He turned his head to look at the peaceful garden and the ever-flowing stream and continued to speak, "You better listen to this old man''s ramblings well... I won''t repeat what I say!" Zhen Shi bent his head sideways with a quizzical look, "No matter how I look, I can''t see the old man in your young face..." Myne ignored him as he continued to speak, "You can ask from the millions of blacksmiths out there... what is the most important for a blacksmith? And they''ll all answer differently, knowledge of materials, the fire used, the blacksmith tools, the artificing techniques, superb control of energy and qi, or even powerful physical strength... And I say they''re all idiots!" He lightly scratched his chin and continues to speak with a grin, "In millennia of experience, I came to realize that the most important thing for a blacksmith, is spirit and will! All of those other things are merely necessities to engage in smithing, but they do not hold the true essence of a blacksmith. Most of the blacksmiths of my time, it''s probably much worse now, got hung up on improving those factors, finally ending with subpar results..." Noticing Zhen Shi''s skeptical face he continued to speak with an even wider grin, " I didn''t use to think so either, but... I once met a boorish blacksmith out in the Ice Lands up north. His feet had been hamstrung and had been made into a cripple by a local Warband chief, simply for not providing his services under their conditions. He had been thrown out of his tribe to die alone in the bone-chilling cold. That was around when I first met him... But when I did, he was simply hammering down on a piece of obsidian, in the terrifying cold with no fire but his weak qi to melt the metal and nothing to maintain and nourish him beside the falling snow. I was impressed by his determination and so offered to help out with... divine fire, more materials, better tools, but he with a toothy almost mad laugh he refused them all. So I stayed to witness his obvious failure and even made a bet with him. After all, he was trying to artifice one of the strongest metals, in the coldest regions known to mankind, without a proper fire and only a simple hammer for a tool. So my victory was assured." Myne''s eyes glowed, "But that was when I witnessed the miracle..." But he didn''t get much further because Zhen Shi suddenly stood up while shouting excitedly, "Let me guess. He made a divine weapon, at the peak of the art of blacksmithing, the likes no-one has seen before! And with his powerful weapon he went and killed off that stupid Warband Chief, despite being crippled and he was hailed as a hero!" Myne slapped his own face and muttered, "Kid are you crazy? What''ve you been learning this entire time? Who''d be hailed as a hero for killing their Warband chief in cold blood?" He continued to speak out, "Also, how on earth could he make a weapon at the peak of blacksmithing with only a small hammer? Are you drunk?" Zhen Shi could only shamelessly laugh, while seriously considering whether he should pretend to be drunk... Myne shook his head helplessly and spoke out, "Well it might not have been a divine weapon but it was indeed miraculous. After years of hammering, he was finally able to carve out a small sharp edge on that stone. And after he did so, he collapsed on the spot." Zhen Shi grimaced completely forgetting his mistake. FUCK! What''s the moral of such a story? Noticing his face Myne laughed and said, "I took him away and helped him to heal. But immediately after waking up he took that piece of carved obsidian and went back to his Warband. I was intrigued and so I followed him as well. He waited until the Warband Chief left on official business and then with his crippled cultivation and only that sharpened piece of obsidian he attacked!" Myne''s eyes glowed with adoration as he continued in speaking, "He killed off the Chief''s sons who were skilled warriors and even kidnapped his daughter. For many years to come, the people spoke how he escaped, laughing, on wings of his own making, boasting that he would father the chief''s grandson! And that crippled boorish fellow won the bet in the end... Wait, FUCK! That''s where my Mythril class furnace went! I lost it to him..." and finished with a sense of great loss. Zhen Shi couldn''t care less about Myne''s Mythril class furnace, because he was still trying to piece the moral of this story, "So... Just hammer stuff and finally use winged flying tools that you made before to run away? Is that the essence of being a blacksmith?" he wondered out loud jokingly. Myne slapped his face again in exasperation and spoke, " Uhh... That''s what you got from that? His wings aren''t the point. Indeed he probably made them before, otherwise, how could he have escaped with his legs hamstrung? But again that''s not the point. The point is that while being a cripple he was able to beat the Warband chief''s sons with that piece of obsidian! Even now I find it hard to believe. By holding on to his will and with great determination he was able to make such a crazy weapon; crude but highly effective. In fact, this tale teaches you many important facts." Zhen Shi frowned with his head bent sideways, "It does??" Myne ignored him and said, "In all my years I have never seen such a unique weapon. I can only assume he ventured into some trance and a higher level of blacksmithing when he crafted it. No matter how much I tried, I was unable to copy his attempts... So the first lesson is that a weapon need only be powerful. Appearance matters less!" Myne continued as Zhen Shi nodded in agreement, "The next lesson is, no matter how suited a weapon is to a person, the one who knows best about it is the blacksmith who created it." He turned to look at Zhen Shi, "In fact, your bow is an amazing piece of weaponry, and the blacksmith who made it is probably even leagues above that fellow in the Ice Lands. I have no idea where you got it from, you lucky bastard. But, obviously, the blacksmith knew nothing about you. I can sense how there are small misfits between you and that bow. Right now you can barely bring out the power of a Grade 2 weapon and the only reason you could handle Vivienne back in that valley was because of the high-quality materials! It''s true that that problem will lessen with time and practice, but if you made the bow by yourself such a problem would''ve never occurred." Myne now proudly patted his chest as he reached the end of his lessons, "And the final lesson... it is impossible for anyone to reach such a level overnight. So forget everything I said and follow the advice given by the ordinary blacksmiths," with a confident and self-satisfied grin. Zhen Shi fainted and collapsed sideways. SHIET! Then why''d you make me listen to all that crap? Myne laughed joyfully seeing this and said, "Don''t misunderstand, just know that the spirit and soul you impart into your weapon or armor is of paramount importance," grinning further at Zhen Shi''s face he continued, "Your bow is a true masterpiece. I doubt you''d be able to reach that type of a level soon, or ever. So try to make slight modifications to make it suit you better." Zhen Shi finally got himself up stared at Myne with dead disappointed eyes. Myne frowned and slapped him out of it, "Fuck off. Do you want to learn from me or not?" causing Zhen Shi to hurriedly sit straight and listened obediently. Myne continued to speak rather seriously, "I noticed you are skilled with materials and appraisal, so I''ll teach you nothing of that..." He manifested a rather thick manuscript and a small book in his hand, "Next, formations are an important part of any weapon or tool. Your skills as a formation master are related to your artificing skill and formation master are powerful in their own right. For instance, the formation of this island is very powerful! It could hold off the attack of anything below the immortal level and even supports distant spiritual communication. But, you''ll have to start from the bottom, so you can use these notes and collection of formations I collected casually," throwing the manuscript at him. Zhen Shi hurriedly caught it. Don''t throw these valuable notes like garbage! Myne was ignorant of his thoughts and threw the other book at him saying, "And this is my personal artificing technique called . It supposedly can manifest a divine cauldron out of pure aether from nature once you reach the highest level. Doubt you''ll reach it because I haven''t either." Zhen Shi hurriedly caught it thinking, FUCK! How did these poor books piss you off? But how could he say that out loud when Myne was actually helping him. Myne ignorantly continued speaking, "As for fire, the Vermillion bird flame of yours should be very suitable." Next, he took out a rolled bundle of parchment and spoke out with great pride on his face, "Alright. For any type of armor or weapon, I have a rather ''clever'' way, of improving the power. I made it when I was inspired by a strange art of divination in the Ice Lands, performed by weaving cloth. I call it , as it involves entering into a trance-like state that the warbands referred to as ''Odr'' and then engraving what you saw or felt on the metal," and threw him that parchment as well. Zhen Shi caught it as well. *sigh* I won''t say anything anymore... Myne ignorantly continued, "Alright. Now I''ll show you how to make a simple weapon." Saying so he lightly flicked his hand causing a dark-black furnace to appear. There was no engraving on its outer surface giving it a rather glossy black finishing. He spoke with a satisfied grin, "This was the broken furnace I got for free from the market. I took the liberty of improving it up to Grade 3. I figured I''ll leave the rest of the fixing to you." Myne flicked his other hand causing that familiar dark blue flame to appear over his hand. He threw it into the furnace causing the entire furnace to be engulfed in the dark blue flame and hiss out with the release of dark black smog. Moments later, the smog formed into a small spherical blob of smog. It cracked like an egg finally revealing a small demonic imp with two horns and a tail. It jumped and danced around the furnace and the blue flames, seeming to giggle and chitter evilly while staring at Zhen Shi and Myne. Zhen Shi stared at it rather curiously as it''s cultivation level was apparently of the Soul Formation Stage 1. But, Myne''s face contorted strangely but he still pointed at it and said, "This is the furnace spirit. They only appear in furnaces at grade 3 or above and only if the blacksmith is skilled enough and has a good enough flame. Furnace spirits are basically helpers for a skilled blacksmith. But they might be more trouble than help if you try to force them." With his free hand, he threw over another book which Zhen Shi caught as well. Sheesh! Throwing books again? Not that I''m complaining though... Myne''s face contorted again as he spoke, "That''s a ''clever'' trick I learned on my travels. Furnace spirits are rather strange creatures and sometimes won''t even give in under greater power and the threat of death, not that it''s easy to kill them. But that skill should help tame any furnace spirit weaker than your cultivation level." Saying so he hurriedly went back to focusing on his task, and materialized a dark block of silver metal, "This is black silver, a special alloy used to make sharp weapons," and threw it into the flaming furnace. Immediately the dark blue flames rose to burn it off, but the demonic imp jumped in front of it and skilfully held off the flames with a giggle. "Most furnace spirits know out of instinct what to do, but controlling it properly is the blacksmith''s job. There have been many incidents of the furnace spirit going out of control, and even killing the owner. So be careful..." Zhen Shi eyed the black horned imp, who in turn eyed him and creepily giggled. Myne grinned now as he continued to speak, "First I''ll remove the impurities. Remember there is no such thing as a naturally occurring pure ore, so always purify the material," and under Myne''s guidance, the chittering demon Imp proceeded to carefully spread the heat of the dark blue flames across the piece of metal while removing the impure slag. Once Myne was satisfied with the quality of the ore he took out an ordinary-looking hammer with a worn head "This is a mallet that I use to prepare the basic structure of the artifact. There are blacksmiths who use their own fists, even large sledgehammers and anvils or sometimes nothing at all. Just find what suits you, but in my opinion, a small hammer is the best," and started to slam the piece of metal while it was held by the black imp. Clang! Clang! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The sound of the hammer clanging metal reverberated across the pavilion. Myne was utilizing his full strength and even then the black demon imp within the dark blue flames seemed to be fine as it went about maintaining the heat of the metal and shaping it with a calm but mischievous look. Myne continued to speak, "Every weapon is going to require a unique refining formula and it is very difficult to figure one on your own. So here you go," and threw out another book which also was caught by Zhen Shi. Yah, Keep it coming. Just keep throwing more skill books!! Myne put away the mallet and broke out the refined and shaped metal into three odd-shaped portions. He intensified the blue flames causing more black smog to form. Under his control, the smog formed into two more black blob eggs which cracked open revealing two more identical black imps chittering mischievously. "You can have as many as 81 furnace spirits but the number will be based on two main factors. The grade of the blacksmith and the grade of the furnace. The number of maximum furnace spirits one can use is the multiple of those two factors." He momentarily let the three imps work by themselves as he patted his own chest saying, "Back then, I could of course use as many as 64 furnace spirits on my grade 8 Mythril furnace. But my cultivation has fallen and this furnace is only at grade 3, while I lost my furnace to that fellow. So right now I can bring out about 15 furnace spirits but you don''t need that many to make a basic knife. Three is more than enough." He turned back to the furnace and simultaneously controlled the three furnace spirits to work on making the three main parts of the knife; the hilt, the bolster in the middle and the blade. He whisked his hands and gathered some blue fire qi causing small blue colored talismans to appear and blend in with the blue flame, "And now I will add a basic strengthening formation on to the blade. I will be using the fire qi of the same fire to make sure they stabilize each other," he said while the three imps got to work on capturing talismans and adding them onto the three components of the knife. Moments later, the three parts were glowing with the finished marks of the formation. Myne clapped his hands loudly, "Alright, basically now the process is over, but since I only used a piece of black silver and that basic formation what we''ll be getting is an ordinary grade 1 weapon. I t should have been a lesser grade 1 weapon but the furnace quality helps. He laughed out loud, "Now I''ll use and show you the power of my self created skill. Soon I''ll enter into an Odr." Just as he finished talking, Myne simply stopped moving and his eyes gave off a vacant look. Zhen Shi found this astounding because he had completely lost track of Myne''s presence. He would have been completely undetectable if his body had been hidden. Zhen Shi''s brow furrowed in deep sorrow (;¡ä??§¥??`), ''FUCK! No! Bro, how can you just die--'' But he didn''t get any further as Myne''s vacant eyes were suddenly filled with life. In fact, he seemed to be overflowing with energy. He clicked both hands and materialized two simple sharp engravers. As if he was possessed he started scratching the surface of the flaming metal while it was held by the three demonic imp spirits, who had suddenly stopped their chittering almost in fear of disturbing Myne. With the ever-burning blue flame, under the eyes of the silent imps, Myne''s hands moved as naturally as the flowing stream next to him, slowly forming a clear and mesmerizing picture. Moments later, just as his hands stopped, the three furnace spirits brought the three components together. They clicked together like the perfect pieces of a puzzle. Myne who had now awakened from his ''Odr'', poured chilling water aether all over the finished knife. But just before the water reached the glowing white knife, the three demonic imps suddenly jumped forward and with mischievous giggles they struck the blade of the knife, easily puncturing the blade and forming three clear holes. HISS! As the water hit the heated metal cooling it, a cloud of steam filled up the main hall. It mystically lingered within the central garden among the rocky stream, before it was blown away by the wind into the afternoon sky. But now Myne was grinning awkwardly and scratching his head as he put away the furnace spirits and held the freshly formed knife forwards for Zhen Shi to see. The blade of the knife had an engraving, of an old hand gripping on to a bow from which a powerful arrow had been shot. Then the engraving extended up to the end of the hilt and showed this arrow cleanly passing through the loops of a dozen axe heads. The carving was present completely identically on both sides, and Zhen Shi couldn''t help but admire the craftsmanship. Seeing the engraving he felt nostalgic about a legend he had read about. But there were three holes on the blade which were rather unfitting and slightly ruined the beauty of the knife. Myne hurriedly wiped the awkward grin off his face, as he said, "See? That skill was able to improve it up to a lesser grade 2 weapon." Zhen Shi nodded in appreciation but still asked, "So why did you put in these three holes? They kind of ruin the engraving..." Myne playfully slapped his head and hurriedly spoke, "Idiot. Did you think I lost control or something? Do you think the furnace spirit taming skill has a side effect?" He paused at his own mistake but kept speaking to cover it up, "Stupid! I only did that to give the knife a more aerodynamic body and make it a throwing knife. This is a weapon, not a ceremonial treasure!" Zhen Shi nodded in agreement but with a hint of suspicion. Myne noted his face and as such quickly spoke out, "Well that''s about the gist of it. You have everything you need, so you can experiment in your leisure," and continued now in a rather relaxed fashion, "You can ask me about any problems you face or don''t. Your choice," and once again in a rather hurried manner, "Now let me show you the power of this knif--throwing knife." Myne gripped the knife from its blade and suddenly pulled back his arm accumulating a terrifying amount of qi. The strengthening formation glowed brightly and one could almost see the arrow passing through the axe handles as the engraving came to life. Immediately he threw his hand forward and the knife left his fingertips. The wind was shredded apart as the knife swept past the rocky stream quickly reaching the other end of the pavilion. Under the eyes of Zhen Shi and Myne, it struck the wall and immediately ripped apart the bronze wall as it shredded forward in great speed. Now, Myne happily turned back to Zhen Shi and spoke out while visibly relaxing, "See there was nothing to worry about. That was the true power of that special technique and that throwing knife! It''s on par with the attacking power of your bow without the incredible materials of course." Zhen Shi too was about to present his agreement-- But suddenly a huge commotion was heard from outside the pavilion. "Argghhh! My butt--" "Oh god, Lance has been attacked!" "Are you sure? It''s still daylight..." "Shut up! Just sound the alarms!" "There are daylight assassins! "Fuck, We''re under attack!" Myne''s eye twitched ?_? as he turned to Zhen Shi shouting, "FUCK!" 23 Becoming an Alchemist: With Vivienne While the commotion outside was growing worse, SLAM! The door to their pavilion opened with a bang as a familiar figure dressed in yellow and white came rushing in with a worried look on her face. Laura ran towards Zhen Shi and Myne with a much calmer Vivienne following her. Noticing that Zhen Shi was fine, and of course, Myne as well, Laura heaved a sigh of relief. Laura and Vivienne had just returned from their trip to the Market Hall, only to find a great commotion outside the pavilion. Fearing the worst Laura had rushed in, despite Vivienne''s attempts to calm her down. Laura had only relaxed when she noticed that they were safe. But noticing Zhen Shi who was in front of a freshly steaming dark black furnace which had obviously been used to artifice some item, her eyes glowed with understanding, as she noted the lack of this artifact. I Immediately her face contorted mischievously as she pointed at Zhen Shi, "Big brother, your actions have caused irreparable mental damages to poor Lance and the rest of the guards of our Lyon and Turnbull Market hall, will you take responsibility or shall we settle this amicably...?" Hearing this, Myne calmly rested his hands behind his back and started to whistle calmly while looking at the central garden, after all this matter was ''completely unrelated'' to him. Vivienne frowned her brows in suspicion and stared at Myne but didn''t say anything. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Zhen Shi had been rather touched by Laura''s worry, but hearing her mischievous words he immediately forgot about it as he calmly brought out that Scryer Crystal. Moreover, he was rather unhappy about this blame-shifting brother of his. Under Laura''s ever-growing frown, he played around with the scrying crystal as he looked at the ''innocent'' Myne. He began to whistle himself copying Myne''s actions. With a devilish grin Zhen Shi began wagging his index finger in front of Laura''s face and spoke out, "Laura, Laura... my dear girl, you jumped to accuse me without any investigation of the matter. I find this unbelievably unfair! What if I ''accidentally'' showed the contents of this scryer crystal to someone, in my sorrow, regarding the unfairness of the world?" Laura was immediately caught by surprise and could only stutter, "You--you, shameles--" Zhen Shi grinned in victory as he continued, "Brother Myne was only showing me his artifact refining to teach me. And he simply threw it out just to show its power. So this matter is completely his fault, and I am the unjustly accused," and finished with a wronged face. Vivienne began to laugh as her suspicions were proved correct, and said, "Sister Laura, I apologize for my husband''s actions. Since Brother Zhen Shi says so, I am now sure of his crime!" She turned to Myne and eyed him dangerously. Myne shivered as he turned to Zhen Shi with a frown and sent mentally, "Bro, how could you do this to me? Aren''t we brothers?" Zhen Shi frowned as well, "Oi, grand mage bro, you let the blame fall on me first! Besides you''re the grand mage, Merlin! ''Master of yourself''! If you can''t take care of a little girl, aren''t you useless?" and finished with a grin. Myne grimaced helplessly but calmly turned to the expectant face of Vivienne and the uncomfortable face of Laura. Laura was willing to accuse that shameless Zhen Shi but was unwilling to do the same to this senior disciple Myne, who she had wronged first. As such, she was planning on putting this entire matter behind her, immediately after Myne explained himself. Myne spoke out with an apologetic face, "I am indeed sorry, sister Laura. But you have to understand that was only a Grade 2 throwing knife." This caused Laura to be astonished. Who the hell throws out grade 2 artifacts? Grade 1 artifacts were mainly used by cultivators below the soul category. While grade 2 artifacts were completely sufficient until one reaches the soul deification stage! As such, Laura''s reaction was rather sensible. Laura gasped in surprise as she had a sudden realization and thought, ''Their master, Lord Myrden, must be truly amazing to have made his disciples think of grade 2 artifacts so poorly!'' Her amazement only improved as she considered the fact that the weapon had been thrown across the pavilion and the refined bronze walls, while still being enough to greatly damage the soul formation stage guard, Lance, outside. And this weapon had been just refined mere moments ago! Myne ignored her amazed face, after all, to him, a grade 2 artifact meant very little. He continued to speak proudly, "As such, I was rather disappointed in the fact that the pavilion walls were unable to handle my artificing lessons. And your soldiers as well, screaming over a mere flash wound. Tsk-tsk. How is this my fault? I simply thought too highly of your market hall..." Laura who had been celebrating her luck for having come across these powerful fellow disciples, who would undoubtedly be helpful to her, couldn''t help but frown at Myne''s words. She couldn''t help but think, ''This is our best guest pavilion! And it wasn''t made to handle people throwing grade 2 artifacts at it. This elder disciple is just as shameless as that Zhen Shi.'' And almost as if on cue, Zhen Shi spoke out, "And don''t forget that the employees here like to accuse people unjustly. Aiya! My innocence, my purity... you have stolen it!" while playing the victim with an innocent and wronged face, but his hand holding the scryer crystal would rather strangely dance about... Laura could only grin helplessly. I have dug my own grave! But to her luck, Vivienne spoke out with a frown, "Do you two enjoy making poor girls feel helpless? It was obviously your fault!" and death raging in her eyes. Immediately Zhen Shi and Myne grew silent. They looked at each other and with an agreeing nod turned to Laura while shamelessly saying, "We just realized, it''s not good to bully the juniors. So let''s just forget this matter..." with a smile. Laura stared at Vivienne with adoration in her eyes. My Angelic Sister! That master Myrden must be disappointed in these disciples while being proud of only you! But suddenly a rather innocent-looking middle-aged guard walked into the doorway of the now open pavilion. Zhen Shi eyed this soul formation fellow who was holding onto the tattered metallic remains of a shield and a familiar-looking knife. His lower body was covered in bloodied bandages. He grimaced in pain as he bowed to Laura and the rest. He spoke out with pain in his voice, "Lady Laura, we have searched everywhere. There were no signs of any intruders..." He gasped suddenly and bit his lips as if he was being impaled by a sword. With sweat falling down his face, he continued speaking, "I apolog--apologize for this failure." Laura silently turned to Myne and Vivienne, letting them know that they could take care of this matter as they wished. Myne smiled and walked forwards while eyeing this guard''s bloodied legs and spoke out, "Brother Lance right? Those daylight assassins are truly heartless. They attacked us within this pavilion and in our retaliation, my knife missed and struck this fellow brother. Aiya! Those daylight assassins are my worst enemies, and thus I am grateful for this brother''s help. Still, I ask for your forgiveness in having dragged you into this matter..." Zhen Shi and Laura gasped at his shamelessness. But Vivienne shooke her head helplessly... The ignorant Lance nodded while holding out the dark silver knife and spoke out, "If I was able to help out this elder brother and fulfill my duty, then I suppose my wounds are not so useless," with a look of genuine conviction and satisfaction. Seeing his innocent and gullible face, even Myne felt guilty at this point. As such while pushing back the knife towards Lance he spoke out, "As a reward, I''ll let this brother keep the dark silver knife. I hope it''ll be sufficien--" But Lance''s eyes teared up making Myne worry that maybe Lance was in horrible pain. But in actuality, this Lance was a rather pitiful fellow with a horrible childhood and had only known deep betrayal and sorrow. He was unable to cultivate beyond the soul formation stage and would spend the rest of his life as a mere guard. As such this simple and ''unconditional'' gift from Myne meant the world to him! Thus to Myne''s relief, Lance started to cry tears of joy saying, "My Elder brother! Thank you! You are the first person to give this useless guard such a valuable gift!" and jumped forwards to hug Myne. However, his wound acted out in an explosion of blood and bandages, causing him to trip over in pain. And in the end, he hugged the surprised Myne''s legs, while rubbing his blood, tears, and snot all over Myne''s trousers and legs while crying loudly. Zhen Shi and Vivienne couldn''t help but start to laugh at this. But under Laura''s strange and condescending look they coughed and calmed down. After all who would laugh in the face of a wounded man? Laura mentally sent out some commands and several awkward moments later, during which Myne had been struggling with the bloody and tightly hugging Lance, while Zhen Shi and Vivienne had been struggling to hold their laughter under the disapproving but still lightly smiling face of Laura, several guards walked in with a stretcher. They pulled apart Lance''s tight hands holding onto the struggling Myne and put him on to the stretcher. Myne heaved a sigh of relief as he hurried to brush off the blood. While still spewing blood all over the stretcher, Lance looked at Myne in adoration and spoke out with painful gasps, "Big brother, thank you for today. I''ll cherish this gift forever. If in the future you need my backside for your use again, just say the word. Next time, I won''t even need a reward. Today was that blissful for me..." while gripping tightly onto the gift; the black silver knife. Myne''s eye twitched ?_? as he worriedly eyed the rest of the guards. FUCK! Brother Lance, could you have worded that differently? Even if I explain now, it''ll only make things worse! Zhen Shi and Vivienne finally broke out in a cacophony of laughter. Even Laura couldn''t help but grin with a smirk seeing Myne''s flabbergasted face. On the other hand, the guards with the stretcher were from a completely different area. As such, they were unaware of the knife attack. All they knew were that there was a fellow guard with a heavily ''wounded'' backside which was literally bleeding, another man who the soldier was thanking for a ''blissful'' time, a valuable grade 2 knife as ''payment'' and spectators who were laughing at this matter. They immediately ''figured'' out the matter and stared at Myne with judging looks, bringing Myne''s worries to reality. However, some of the soldiers seemed to be looking at him with enticing, impressed glances and shining eyes. After all the ''reward'' was pretty good... Seeing this Zhen Shi and Vivienne laughed even louder while wiping off tears from their eyes. Even Laura joined in as Myne palmed his face in exasperation. The stretcher with the grateful Lance who was still speaking out words of thanks, was taken away as the soldiers continued to stare at Myne either with judging or enticing looks. One even winked at him as they left... Myne grimaced and flicked his fingers as he muttered, "Bro, take the furnace and these materials," and materialized several bags. He continued to speak out with gritted teeth, "It''s Vivienne''s turn now. So I''m taking a break," and immediately vanished leaving a lightly sparkling blue flame, which too flickered away momentarily. Even after he disappeared, the laughing trio struggled to stop. But in the end, they did, albeit rather difficultly. Laura turned to look at Zhen Shi with a victorious grin, "Shameless Elder brother, did you see that? That is what happens to people who mess with this missy here! Even your elder brother was unable to escape! Scared yet? Will you apologize and destroy that evidence now?" and shouted with a pleased look. In fact, Laura was obviously completely unrelated to this matter. It was exactly what it seemed to be; A wacky series of random events led by fate. She was simply acting tough to hopefully scare Zhen Shi... But Zhen Shi laughed out loud, "Laura... Laura... Little Sister Laura. How can you keep underestimating us fellow students like this?" He grinned confidently as he wagged his index finger in her face, as he brought out the same Scrying Crystal. He spoke out, "In addition to the previous evidence, I now have another one confirming in your own words that you were responsible for embarrassing my senior brother!" Laura was frozen in place. Uhh... The teachings of this Master Myrden are indeed profound! Laura lowered her head in defeat, "I was just joking Elder Brother. It was just a joke..." Zhen Shi nodded in understanding and confidence, "As long as you understand..." while playing about with that same scryer crystal. Even Zhen Shi was impressed with the power of scryer crystals. He made a mental note to get some actually working ones from Myne! Laura hurriedly shook her head in a helpless grin and spoke out, "Well, I''ll be on my way. Feel free to contact us at any time. I''ll be here later to give you more information regarding the appraisal competition." She waved her hand with a playful grin and walked away from the pavilion. ???????????????? Moments later... Vivienne shook her head with a helpless grin and spoke, "You should let that poor girl get a win sometime. She was worried about you a lot, you know?" Zhen Shi spread his hands helplessly with a slight grin. Vivienne laughed and while eyeing Myne''s furnace and materials said, "So this incident... Let me guess, Myne was nervous about his ''furnace spirit taming skill'' and threw the knife to show it''s power and make you less suspicious?" Zhen Shi nodded with a smile and asked, "So... what is wrong with that skill?" Vivienne smiled mischievously, " I''m not sure myself. You should ask Myne or just figure it out yourself with experience..." Zhen Shi was rather nervous at this cryptic answer but was unable to ask further as Vivienne continued to speak, "Anyways I''m here to teach you pill refining," while sitting down at the previous spot and gesturing Zhen Shi to do the same. Zhen Shi followed suit and pushed aside the Blacksmithing tools and materials to the side to make space. Vivienne noted his actions and said, "You should put away those items first..." and suddenly asked with a frown, "I know I owe you a spatial treasure, but don''t you already have one? I mean where do you put that bow and strange musical box?" Zhen Shi scratched his head helplessly, "Uhh... It''s complicated..." while thinking, ''System this is your fault!'' System: "..." Vivienne nodded with an almost knowing grin, and said, "Well, alright. Let''s just begin the lesson! First off, Little Bro, I suppose that idiot hubby of mine started you off on a simple knife while using furnace spirits and all his refining skills?" Zhen Shi nodded with a confused look. Vivienne shook her head and said, "Well it is almost impossible to get furnace spirits to manifest before you become a Grade 3 blacksmith and some blacksmiths don''t even use them in the refining process. I admit that furnace spirits are important for mastering the furnace, but there are masters who don''t use them at all," and her face grimaced playfully, "but this ''master of ours'' is actually engrossed with taming furnace spirits. Furnace spirits are, in the end, almost the same as using pure spiritual energy. It is just a different way of handling ingredients and the process." Zhen Shi frowned at these words and thought, ''SHIT! Wouldn''t I have been forced to ask Myne for help if I thought that I was unable to manifest furnace spirits? That bastard...'' Vivienne continued to speak, "But furnace spirits come with the advantage of improving your spiritual power,r by increasing the number involved in the process and thus enables you to do more. But it has a disadvantage; The involvement of many manifestations with different spiritual natures and different levels of cultivation will influence the quality of the product causing slight discrepancies. Thus the usage of furnace spirits is looked down upon in the higher tier refining world. But, even while looked down, Myne was a renowned master blacksmith, who stuck to his beliefs. On the other hand, I''m only a washed-up herbalist and a ''fake'' alchemist. So follow his advice, but take his wacky ideas at arm''s length," finishing with a smile, with a hint of regret in her eyes. Zhen Shi eyed her with a concerned look. But stayed silent. Vivienne smiled and continued, "Well my lesson will be slightly different from Myne''s. And don''t expect my lesson to have a wacky ending like his! I was at first a herbalist, who practiced to become an alchemist. And I mean both types. I trained to become the common pill refining alchemist as well as the much less popular type of alchemist, focused on changing the nature of metals and other materials..." Zhen Shi''s eyes gaped at this, he had not been expecting the western version of Alchemists to pop up suddenly. Vivienne heaved a sigh as she looked at the ever-flowing rocky stream under the afternoon sunlight, with water dancing like shining pearls. Vivienne spoke silently with a nostalgic look, "I was born with a body suitable for understanding the law of water. Thus I made quick strides in cultivation and in understanding the law of water. Thus the law I obtained after the soul sacrifice was obviously the Law of Water, as well." "My entire life I had grown up under the care of Mistress Nimue as my Mother, Queen Diane, curse her for trapping me and Myne, was too busy being the Queen. Mistress Nimue was a renowned alchemist, who was able to master dual opposing laws. She mastered both water and fire! When she apprenticed me who had a natural body of water, she had great hope for me and my future, as I would be able to master one of her laws very easily. But the law of water is extremely unsuitable for pill refining. Thus during my entire apprenticeship, I was unable to actually practice or even attempt to refine a pill. Even though she said it did not matter, even though she said that I could master multiple laws that oppose each other, just like her, I was unable to get over the roadblock of Water. And in the end, when I sacrificed the soul and my law descended, it was completely water. There wasn''t a hint of room for another. Even though she said it was fine, I knew that she was disappointed. But now... I have a second chance," finishing in almost a whisper. She hurriedly stopped as she noticed Zhen Shi''s quizzical face and said with a grin, "Forget it. It''s just a lady''s nonsensical ramblings." Zhen Shi stifled his curiosity but nodded in acceptance. Vivienne nodded thankfully and continued with a hint of nervousness, "Initially, I was not planning to refine pills myself, and was only going to instruct you. But now... I feel like maybe I should. Since I lost the water law, I should be able to utilize fire and make pills now. But if I begin, just like that bastard husband of mine, I''ll use all of my refining skills. As such, the lesson would be more difficult for you..." She suddenly paused and spoke out hurriedly, "Or maybe I''ll just postpone my attempt and instruct you?" Zhen Shi hurriedly shook his head. Although he had been unaware of this matter, he could sense that this was an important moment for Vivienne and thus wished to be supportive. So he spoke out, "I usually learn best when its the most complex," with an encouraging look. Vivienne nodded at him thankfully, but nervously... She flicked her hand and manifested a light green cauldron with the engraving of countless trees and vines, "This is a grade 3 alchemist cauldron, with a rather unique build. It enshrouds the law of life and has the added effect of nourishing ingredients. It was extremely expensive and wasn''t even supposed to be sold, but Laura was able to get us an insane discount on top of what you already earned at the Golden Bridge, and I even felt like I was taking advantage of Laura. Granted we''re broke now," and finished with a stifled laugh. She continued, "Since it is based on the element of life, it should be very suitable for your Undying Flame; the symbol of rebirth." She flicked her right hand causing a strange red and white flame to manifest instantly heating up the entire room. Her eyes flickering she spoke out, "This is the Conflicting Dragon Flame," and true to its name the red and white seemed to be in a perpetual war, with red and white flames eating each other but always to be replenished. Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed as he noticed this, and Vivienne continued, "This was a gift from my mistress Nimue. She had mastered the dual laws of fire and water and gifted me this in the hope that I would too. But even in her death, I was unable to use it, due to my Law of water," finishing with a light sigh. "But now... I can," she smiled lightly and continued, "This flame on par with your undying flame in power, but will be more powerful right now due to the difference in our cultivation." She threw the flame on to the green pill cauldron instantly causing a strange mixture of red, white and green to manifest. As the flame rippled the engraving of trees and plants seemed to shake about in the wind. Zhen Shi was sure that this was a very important event for Vivienne, and was worried that maybe Myne should be here to support her. He had tried to mentally contact him but had been unable to sense his aura, leaving him with no choice but to give up. Vivienne heaved a nervous sigh as she flicked her hand causing four herbs to appear. Zhen Shi immediately identified them with his appraisal skill, and so spoke out, "That is Athelas, Bowtruckle, Kelpie and... Crimson Ninroot?" Vivienne looked at him with praise and said, "Indeed. These are the basic ingredient used here in the central plains for the grade 1 healing pill. Knowledge of the herbs and their substitutes are very important as different herbs are present in varying rarities in different areas. After all, pill recipes are important methods discovered through countless attempts of alchemists before us, to minimize the use of ingredients and maximize the efficacy of the pill." Vivienne was gradually calming down, as she spoke about alchemy. She waved her hand covering all the ingredients in the red-white flame, "First we will heat the ingredients and extract their essence. This is a tricky part as you need to use different temperatures for different ingredients to maximize the extracted essence." Zhen Shi nodded in understanding as Vivienne continued, "Pill refining also may involve furnace spirits, but, my mistress didn''t use them. So it''s up to you..." Moments later she extracted the pure essence of the ingredients and gathered them within the cauldron. She flicked both of her hands in a trance-like motion, immediately burning up the remains of the ingredients into fine particles and combining the ingredient essences simultaneously. With another wave of her hand, the fine particles were added into the mixture of essences. She smiled nostalgically, "That was something, my Mistress always instructed me to do. To never waste a single part of any ingredient and to use even the essenceless ingredient husks; which people consider useless." Now, completely free of nervousness and with a light smile she spoke out confidently, "This was her first personal technique, Ashes to Ashes!" and combined her hands in a strange sign. Immediately, the particles of the ingredient husks glowed with a bright aura and the ingredient essences with a darker aura. They beautifully complemented each other as they mixed in a whirlpool of darkness and light, within the purple cauldron. The Conflicting Dragon Flame intensified causing the darkness and light to combine in a mystical way, and the pill cauldron to reverberate. Deep within the flickering conflicting flame one could see the light shadow of an ever-growing endless forest. Vivienne''s face was the picture of happiness and satisfaction as her one regret was washed apart with her success. With a blissful smile and teary eyes, she spoke, "The pill embryo has formed successfully, it is only a matter of time before the pill is formed. During this time, alchemists would generally add their personal touch to signify their creation or a signature if you will. What I will do is rather unorthodox... but extremely effective." Vivienne flicked her free hand causing a strange white caterpillar to appear, "Mistress Nimue was at heart a herbologist and was well-versed in all that had medicinal effects. The use of creatures in pill refining is only practiced distant lands with a lack of basic ingredients. Thus it is looked down upon by most of the benevolent masters as barbaric and demonic. Demonic cultivators use similar practices to improve the grade of their pill by the sacrifice of lives and souls. Thus using this technique is an act of treading the fine line between benevolence and malevolence." With a calm look, she manifested the red-white flame on the body of the white caterpillar. The caterpillar glowed with strange divine light and immediately burned apart into small white particles. A terrifying yet gentle presence was exerted within the pavilion. Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he felt this powerful aura and aether. Vivienne continued speaking with a far-away look in her eyes, "That was a divine silkworm, which was my Mistress''s first gift to this useless disciple. She had hoped that I could use it on my first pill. But I was never able to live up to her expectations... until today!" and with a look of sheer conviction, she moved her hands into another strange sign. This caused the powerful divine particles to swirl about in the daylight, as if they were happy at this turn of events, and surround the almost completed pill. As these particles grew closer to the pill, a strange resonance reverberated throughout the pavilion and the central garden. The stream stopped flowing, the plants in the garden stopped moving, even the sun stopped shining on to the pavilion. Immediately, thousands of these particles appeared within the pavilion, creating a picturesque scene. Zhen Shi was spellbound. The divine particles swirled and dance about happily, as if in celebration of liberation and formed a torrent centering on Vivienne. These particles were slowly pulled into the pill, which formed the strange shadow of a white caterpillar behind it. Vivienne calmly spoke out with her eyes full of tears and satisfaction, "This was her second and final personal technique, Dust to Dust!" 24 Can no one handle their runes? ???????????????????? A light breeze swept past a celestial and mystical garden causing the plants to shiver in ecstasy. This garden was laden with a colorful explosion of flowers and fruits. Within the very middle of this garden, surrounded by the taller trees, there was a small fountain; bubbling and glistening under the sunlight. The tall coniferous trees were shuttling back and forth whispering tales of a forgotten era. Next to this fountain, there was a small wooden platform with a small table, on which two women were seated facing each other. But one of them seemed to melt away into the surroundings as if she was as eternal as the nature that surrounded her. This was the raven-haired beauty dressed in a set of white shirts and pants, who was fiddling with a mystical earthen brown cauldron with great interest and excitement. On the opposite side of this table was a rather familiar young girl in a white dress, with long blue hair and teary eyes. In front of her on that table, was another cauldron; rather ordinary but aquatic blue in appearance. The blue-haired girl was desperately focusing on the cauldron with tears in her eyes while sending streams of qi on to it. For a moment this qi showed the slightest sign of a fiery nature... but disappeared within an overpowering aquatic nature. As such, all the qi sent forth on to the cauldron manifested as drops of water ultimately wetting the cauldron. In the end with tears of defeat, the young girl looked helplessly to the raven-haired lady and spoke out, "Mistress Nimue, this is impossible! It''s the water''s fault! With this cursed aquatic body, how could I ever become an alchemist?" Noticing that the girl''s attempts had stopped, she looked up, momentarily distracted from the earthen cauldron which had grabbed her attention for so long. Putting the cauldron aside, she laughed lightly while grabbing on to the crying girl''s hands, and spoke out in an amused tone, "Silly girl, I believe you are the first person to curse being born with a pure elemental body! Countless people would give up so much to be in your position." But noticing the sorrow in the girl''s eyes, her eyes softened and spoke in a reassuring tone, "Either way, practicing alchemy will be difficult and different for you. You can''t expect to master it in a couple of days, it''ll be a long journey. So until the day that you truly understand... controlling fire, let alone alchemy will be beyond you. But if you''re that unhappy there is a different type of alchemy--" But seeing that the girl was still sniffling and brushing off tears, Nimue stopped her initial strain of words and spoke out with a light smile, "Let me show you something. Let this will be my first formal lesson to you!" She clicked her fingers gathering a monstrous amount of qi and law in front of her. She twirled her hands in a mesmerizing motion, instantly manifesting torrents of fire and water aether. These opposing laws mystically twirled around each other; coming close but never truly in contact. The azure blue cauldron floated up into the center of the torrent of fire and water aether. Nimue smiled lightly and under the awe-struck eyes of the young girl she threw in hundreds upon hundreds of ingredients into the cauldron. Next, she took out a familiar white silkworm and threw it into the air causing it to magically shatter into silvery-white particles. The aura released from these particles was however shadowed by the terrifying aura of the opposing aether of fire and water. As Nimue continued to move her fingers about in a mystical motion the divine particles rushed into the cauldron, while causing torrents of more divine particles to follow suit. Nimue flicked her hands once again causing the opposing fire and water aether to disappear jut as soon as it had appeared. And within mere moments this task was finished and the azure cauldron slowly fell back on to the table. At the same time, a pure white pill flew out from the cauldron and danced about the garden with happiness. Nimue smiled and opened up her palm, instantly the pill flew on to her outstretched hand and, under the eyes of the amazed blue-haired girl, she calmly inspected it and muttered, "Hmm... not my best effort but it''s good enough." The young girl was deaf to her words as she was awe-struck. What she had just witnessed was the legendary art of instantaneous pill refinement, Pills through thought! Simply throwing in the ingredients and obtaining the pill! The lady spoke out with twinkling eyes, "We alchemists are vain creatures, I suppose just like everyone else. Once we create something amazing, we put a sign on it and say ''This was done by me!'' That is why we sign our pills." She paused for a moment and laughed out loud while eyeing the blue-haired girl. By now her tears had dried as she was now simply contemplating the miracles she had witnessed. To her further surprise, the raven-haired lady held out the smooth pearl-like pill to her. She was frozen in place as she was well aware of the monstrous cost that this simple pill would go out for. However the raven-haired lady smiled saying, "Don''t worry, I''m not giving this to you, for now. I simply need you to do something for me..." The young girl paused for a moment in thought, and slowly took the pill into her own hands. The raven-haired lady clapped her hands in excitement and spoke out, "Alright! Vivienne, you are familiar with my insignia, right? When you become an alchemist of your own someday, I hope that your insignia will be this..." She twirled her hand about in the air causing a strange ''?'' sign to appear out of pure water aether. Still bubbling with excitement she pointed at the pearl white pill and spoke out, "Now you try!" But Vivienne frowned and spoke out, "But, Mistress Nimue, this is your best pill! If I sign it, the value will go down..." Nimue frowned and pouted in playful anger, "Idiot girl! Am I the mistress or are you? Since you say you can''t practice refining pills... you might as well practice signing them!" Once again bubbling with excitement Nimue waved her hands while shouting, "Now do it, c''mon do it!" Vivienne shook her head in exasperation but with a light smile waved her hand... ????????????????????????? The afternoon sunlight shone brightly onto the pavilion and the everflowing stream of water. While the white particles were swirling about the room and the shadow of the caterpillar was strengthening, signifying the ending of the pill refinement, Vivienne heaved a sigh with a distant look in her eyes. She gracefully waved her fingers causing the divine white particles to rush into the pill cauldron. At the same time, she lightly pulled out the almost completed pill and let it lay half-in and half-out of the cauldron while bathing in the mystical fire of red, white and green. She muttered almost to herself, "Mistress I know that you bestowed an insignia upon me. But in your memory, let me disobey you just this once. I''ll mark my first pill with both our insignia." As she continued to control the silvery-white particles, they suddenly glowed with a strong force as they rushed towards the yellow pill in the cauldron. The moment these particles touched the pill they disappeared leaving only a light mark on the pill surface. But as more and more particles disappeared into the pill, it slowly formed a faint ''?'' sign. Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed as he once again noticed this type of rune. But he stayed silent with a slight nod of acceptance. Vivienne gave a light smile, as the familiar insignia almost reached out to her in pride of her achievement. She weaved her hands about causing the silvery-white particles to change their motion and rush into the pill in a different path. And thus she highlighted the top part of the initial sign and marked her own insignia ''?''. Vivienne heaved a sigh of satisfaction thinking, "Mistress wherever you are--I hope you can see this... Not the way you hoped but... I finally became an alchemist!" Noticing how Vivienne highlighted the first rune to show another rune Zhen Shi couldn''t keep his mouth shut any longer and so asked, " Sis Vivienne I get why you''d put the first rune, but why''d you highlight it to give the Laguz rune?" Vivienne looked at Zhen Shi in curiosity while still handling the last few touches to the pill and asked, "Wait, these symbols have meaning? Then what does this Laguz rune mean?" Zhen Shi mindlessly nodded and spoke, "Of course they do. In fact, those symbols hold multitudes of meanings. But... if I were to summarize I''d say that the Laguz rune means... running water. Of course, it also refers to the life force that flows to all living beings in the universe--" But Vivienne was oblivious to what he was speaking after that. The only word that was reverberating within her mind was WATER. Tears streaked down her eyes as she started sobbing uncontrollably. Zhen Shi hurriedly stopped speaking as he was wondering what he had said to cause her to cry. But Vivenne''s crying grew on worse, as her struggles to become an alchemist over the years and just now realizing how much her mistress had believed in her ran amok in her mind. While her tears were streaking down her cheeks the pill refinement finished. Just as the white particles completed the absorption process, the pill slowly and unsurely flew out of the cauldron. When Vivienne noticed it through her misty eyes she held her hand forwards reflexively. Vivienne''s mind was still contemplating the meaning of the rune and how it meant ''water'' as the pill flew towards her, but... just as it touched her hand a strange and undetectable energy coalesced around the ''?'' rune. The rune shone with a light sheen of water aether and the pill suddenly glowed with a blue aquatic light as it went through a qualitative change! But simultaneously Vivienne collapsed onto the floor with the pill held tightly in her hand. Zhen Shi finally got out of his disarrayed thoughts as he hurried to help her. But he didn''t get far... WHOOOSSHH! A blue flame appeared and disappeared as Myne ran through the flames into the room while holding a strange cube with the sigils of a formation glowing. This cube was connected to a strange line of powerful qi leading up to the roof of the pavilion. Myne and Zhen Shi shouted out at the same time, "What the hell happened to my wife?" "What the hell is in your hand?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Myne and Zhen Shi paused in contemplation and spoke out simultaneously while pointing at each other, "Alright you first!" "Alright you first!" Myne and Zhen Shi hurriedly spoke out in answer, again... at the same time, "Fine then. You first!" "Fine then. You first!" Zhen Shi immediately realized how long this ridiculous situation might drag on for. So he shut up as he ran towards the fainted Vivienne. But as he knelt next to her Myne spoke out, "She''s fine... She just needs some rest. Her spirit and soul have been subjected to overexertion." Zhen Shi frowned and spoke out, "So you''re just going to leave her here?" Myne grinned and said, "Of course. Do you think I want to be held responsible for her accusations of what I might''ve done while moving her? More importantly, I think she''d want to stay here considering the occasion..." finishing with a light sigh. Zhen Shi nodded in understanding and paused for a moment. But he soon pointed at the formation cube in Myne''s hand and asked again, "So... what is that?" Myne grinned and spoke out while tapping his chest with his free hand, "What? Did you think this grand mage, would be in the dark about his wife''s actions? I set up this formation to seal up this pavilion the moment she started refining the pill... We would''ve been in trouble if anyone else had sensed the convergence of the aether and that heavenly caterpillar," But he suddenly frowned and spoke out in an accusing tone, "Thank you for the heads-up by the way. Would it have killed you to maybe notify me?" Zhen Shi was flabbergasted and spoke out, "But I did and I couldn''t sense you. I''m only at spirit formation, how far did you expect my spiritual sense to extend? And it''s a divine silkworm, not a heavenly caterpillar!" with a wronged look. Myne immediately cringed and spoke out, "FUCK! Are you becoming a herbologist as well?" Still, the feeling of being incorrect gave a bad taste in his mouth and so spoke out in recollection, "Either way aren''t they all the same in this modern world? You did say earthworms can become butterflies... So I figured silkworms could do the same. I mean if fuckin'' earthworms can do so, why not silkworms? Am I right?" Zhen Shi was speechless. SHIT! You were supposed to forget that! So to change the topic he spoke out while grinning forcefully, "Anyways you admitted to being the Grand Mage right?" It was Myne''s turn to be speechless now. But almost in understanding and with a courteous nod at each other, they stopped pursuing the questions that had made each other speechless. As such Myne spoke out with the intention to forget this instance, "So what happened to her? Even with all her pill improvement techniques, she shouldn''t have fainted!" Zhen Shi frowned and spoke out as well, "I''m not sure exactly... she started carving in these old Norse runes into the pill. And she fainted just after she began crying when I began to explain the meaning of the rune." Myne frowned in contemplation, "Norse? Do you mean the people in the Northern Ice Lands? As far as I know, they''re barbarians without a written language. How do you even know it''s Norse?" Zhen Shi hurriedly spoke out with the intention of not answering the last question, "Yes, Yes! It was the Legaz rune which basically means running water, and it looked like this," and started to carve it out of Qi in the air. But just as he started to... he fainted on the spot and collapsed on to the ground in a mindless heap. Myne''s eye twitched... ?_? FUCK! Why can''t you people handle writing a simple rune? But heaved a sigh of helplessness. He wasn''t particularly worried as he could sense that both the fainted would recover within a few hours. But he was rather curios and so pried open Vivienne''s hand to observe the pill. He observed the pill with the ? rune and the highlighted ? rune. He contemplated what Zhen Shi had told him, ''basically means running water.'' And so with curiosity, he started to draw the rune, he was able to draw half of it... but he too fainted on the spot and collapsed on to the ground. Leaving a pavilion of three fainted individuals... ???????????????????? It was now several hours past noon. The sun was only mere moments away from starting to set. Isolde was calmly staring through her window sill, at the training grounds with the lonesome three targets. The wind lightly blew through the grounds and passed by, caressing Isolde''s face and causing her blonde hair to futter by. Inside the room, Butler Alec was seated in a chair on the side of the room. He remained calmly seated in a corner of the room with closed eyes. The two of them were basically alone in the mansion beside very few mortal servants and the tortured people in Isabella''s room. Count Brishman had left for the day along with his wives in tow, lest they get in the way of the Prince. It had been quite some time since the Prince''s intended arrival, but Isolde had not left yet excusing herself by being ''sick''. But this calm and peaceful setting was broken apart as the sound of loud shouts came from outside the room. "Hey, hey... you can''t just go inside like tha--" "Shut up! A mere guard dare bars the way of Lord O''Riley?" The sound of a heavy struggle came from outside the room... The door opened revealing a middle-aged fat man with well-combed dark black hair dressed in dark golden armor. The armor he was wearing was obviously top grade and he walked in confidently while smiling happily. He would have been considered as a noble and refined person had it not been for the two cultivators behind him who continued to kick and punch the unlucky guard who had blocked them. Isolde shouted in horror, "Stop that! Lord O''Riley have you no class? You barge into a lady''s room uninvited and now assault my guard. Hold your hand!" Lord O''Riley smiled and raised his right hand. Immediately the two cultivators behind him stopped and walked over, coming to a stop just behind him. He continued to speak, "Lady Isolde, you are just as beautiful as they say. I truly envy PrinceTristram," with a strange glow in his eyes. He took one step forward and bowed, as much as he could with his overweight stomach while saying, "I apologize for my intrusion. But the Prince has already arrived and is waiting in the main hall. So how could the lady stay shut in her room feigning sickness?" He stood back again while grinning confidently and said, "How could my lady refuse the prince of this nation with such obvious falsehoods? Now... tell me... who is it that has no ''class''?" while savoring every word in his mouth and flipping his tongue about. This caught Isolde by surprise and caused her to be silent. Lord O''Reilly smiled in a satisfied manner and spoke out, "I might be able to get him to forgive you... if you let me have some fun with you..." with lecherous eyes that ran all over Isolde''s body while licking his lips. He grinned while looking at Isolde''s scowling face and said, "So what says the lady? Will she play along? Or will more people like that servant have to pay the price?" while eyeing the apparently ''helpless'' Butler Alec who had been silently watching the entire event. But Isolde stared at Lord O''Reilly with determined and fiery eyes, "I will not play along to your sick games! I require no help from scum like you. I am indeed feeling unwell, it was not a falsehood. So inform the prince that I must refuse his invitation today," and spat out disgusted with this lecherous fat man. Lord O''Riley laughed out loud while holding his large stomach and snarled, "You stupid bitch, that was never a question. You have no choice in the matter." The kind and regal facade he had put up was completely broken as he shouted out like a madman. He flicked one hand saying, "Bring her to me. And don''t let off that old corpse either..." The two cultivators dashed forwards and reached out to grab Isolde. But even before she could shout out in defiance or put up a struggle, an old wizened figure appeared like a blast of wind, blocking them. But this only caused the two guards to stop for a moment in surprise, as they continued dashing forwards while laughing and shouting, "Go to hell, old man. Where you belong!" After all, just a soul formation old man was trying to stop the two of them who were peak soul transformation cultivators. Isolde looked on helplessly unable to get herself to move. They reached Alec within mere moments and immediately punched out while manifesting two fiery demon faces on their fists. They had malicious grins on their faces as they went in for the kill. But Alec was completely calm as he looked at them with emotionless eyes. A dark blue bow suddenly appeared in his hands as he easily slapped the two attacking fists away with the bow an azure blue blur. The attacking cultivators were thrown back as the demonic qi was shattered. The two cultivators stopped in surprise because the old man had simply slapped away their attack even going so far as to make the qi on their fists collapse. This caused Lord O''Reilly to snort and shout out, "Why the fuck are you stopping? Can''t you even take care of one old man?" This caused the two cultivators to grimace but even so, they obeyed, as they prepared to attack with their full ability this time around. Isolde ignored them as she finally got herself to move and said, "Grandpa Alec it''s fine. Please, please just stand aside. I''ll go with them..." causing Lord O''Reilly to laugh happily and shout, "Wise decision bitch, but... It''s too late for regrets now... You two, kill that old man!" However old man Alec just sighed and spoke out, "You two kids, don''t throw away your lives. Just turn around and leave. I''ll forget this matter," and said while looking at the two cultivators. But his words only got them to pause for a moment, as they shouted out, "Fuck you old man! Do you think we''re afraid of you?" Their bodies were enshrouded with a powerful fiery qi which caused the temperature within the room to rise up, as they brought out two short knives. Immediately they dashed forward with a shout, "Flaming fanged serpent!" A terrifying shadow of a fanged serpent appeared behind them as they struck forwards with the two flaming knives. Alec heaved a sigh as he bent his legs to the side and changed to an attacking position. Just when the two knives reached him, a dark azure blue blur appeared in front of him as he rotated the bow in a circular motion at full speed. The two knife strikes collided with the rotating bow causing a small wave of qi to explode within the room. The entire room was thrown asunder as one of the cultivators was thrown away and the fanged serpent shadow shattered apart. Alec swung the bow leaving a deep blue arc in the air as it smashed on to the remaining cultivator''s chest. Pu! That soul transformation cultivator was thrown away and struck the wall, as his chest caved in dying on the spot. Seeing the situation turning around, Lord O''Reilly ran away while barely preventing himself from tripping over his own pot belly. Still, he managed to shout and point at the remaining cultivator," Oi! You better hold him off and protect this lord or your entire clan will have to pay for it!" After all, this Lord O''Reilly was merely of the Core Formation Stage with no special skills to speak of. That cultivator grimaced at his words but still acknowledged the order. Thus he slowly pushed himself up off of the floor and pointed at Alec while shouting with fearful eyes, "You--you-- who are you?" Alec ignored him as he held the bow horizontally on his hand. He instantly brought out a dark black arrow and loaded it on the bow as if it was a crossbow where his own hand was the crutch. He calmly spoke out, "I already gave you your chance..." and let go of the arrow. That cultivator didn''t even get the chance to react as the arrow whisked forwards, a black blur, and passed cleanly through one eye. That cultivator collapsed dead on the spot. Alec calmly put away the azure bow, turning to Isolde. He asked with a worried face, "Young Lady are you alright?" Isolde nodded her head with amazed eyes and asked, "Nevermind that, but how''d you..." and gesturing at the damaged room and the corpses, asked, "do that? I know that you served the king before but... how could you ignore their higher cultivation like that?" Alec smiled with twinkling eyes and said, "You see, I''m simply one hell of a butler." This caused Isolde to playfully pout and frown her eyes in annoyance. But she suddenly stopped as she worriedly spoke out, "Grandpa Alec? That O''Reilly will probably complain to the prince. What will we do if the prince sends the royal guard or even worse... come by himself?" Alec smiled and patted Isolde''s head, "Young lady, don''t worry. This old butler will take care of everything." Isolde was still worried but nodded in compliance nonetheless. But almost immediately Lord O''Reilly ran and arrived back at the doorway with a face full of confidence. Nevertheless, he didn''t dare step into the room, noting the two dead corpses. Still, he laughed out loud and shouted with spittle spurting from his mouth, "Isolde, you bitch... and you old corpse, you''ve done it now! The prince is coming himself!" while continuing to laugh while holding his fat belly. This caused Isolde to look at Alec with a worried face but Alec simply smiled back at her. A light sound of footsteps just barely audible under the sound of Lord O''Reilly''s laughter gradually grew louder. Suddenly, a strong hand that seemed to have gone through the arduous training of a warrior gripped on to the doorsill. 25 Sunburst Cherries Lord O''Reilly who was outside the room could see this person holding on the door sill while Isolde and Alec could not. By now Lord O''Reilly had become silent as he looked at the owner of this hand in reverence and lightly bowed his head in respect. Finally, this person entered into the vision of Isolde and Alec. He had bright blue eyes and well-managed fiery red hair. He seemed to be kind, but there was a sort of hidden ferocity in his eyes highlighted by the deep scar over his right eye. He was dressed in a simple but well-woven pair of black shirts and pants, which were unable to hide his majestic aura. On his hip, there was a sword with a golden hilt sheathed within a scabbard of red and gold. This was Prince Tristram! He calmly looked over the ruined room and the two dead bodies. His eyes fell on Alec and Isolde, lingering on her for just a while longer. Immediately, Alec bowed deeply. Noticing Isolde who was dumbstruck he pushed her down to bow as well and spoke out, "Greetings, your majesty, the prince." Prince Tristam nodded in regard and spoke out calmly, "But I believe, that I should be the one providing you greetings first. After all... you are the Legendary Azure Archer." Alec flinched but listened silently to Prince Tristram who continued to speak, "I can only imagine your great military exploits; The infamous blood valley, saving the queen and even your part in the last war! Nearly, two centuries ago, you were on the verge of becoming a law cultivator and the pride of the kingdom. But you had to betray the kingdom and refuse our orders like that. In the end, you were forced to sacrifice your cultivation and fell to this... level." Isolde listened to this in surprise while occasionally staring at Alec with pride in her eyes. She had always been interested in his past but he had always refused to talk. In the end, she had figured that he was an ordinary general. Never could she have imagined that her grandpa was a war hero! But the news that the kingdom caused Alec to lose his cultivation, couldn''t help but cause her to be disgruntled. Still, Alec lightly bowed again saying, "Some people did indeed call me that. And the prince''s words ring true. But I believe those tales were exaggerated somewhat." Prince Tristram laughed while pointing at Alec with a hint of malice surfacing in his eyes, "Well, honestly... I couldn''t care less whether you are the azure archer, let alone an azure sovereign! You''re just a washed-up relic of the past. I''m just here for a girl to enjoy myself and could care less of some random deaths. But considering your service to the kingdom I''ll let you off... if you walk away." But this caused Lord O''Reilly who had been silent and obedient this entire time to speak out in disagreement, "No! My prince, this old bag didn''t pay any respect to my--your order before. Even if he was a war hero from a forgotten era, he is not worthy of your pardon. Please behead that old corpse!" and bowed. Prince Tristram frowned his eyes in displeasure and suddenly roared while turning around. He grabbed Lord O''Reilly from his shirt cuffs singlehandedly lifting him up and slapped his face with his other hand. He shouted out with his anger raging, "O''Reilly, do you dare order me to do something? Even to take back my royal decree?" Lord O''Reilly lowered his head in fear and compliance with blood tricking from the corner of his mouth, "Please forgive this humble subject, my prince. I spoke out of turn." Prince Tristram grunted and dropped him letting him fall like a heap on to the floor. Lightly clapping his fingers together as if to clear them of dust, he turned back to Isolde who was shivering and looking at him with frightened eyes, and Alec who was still extremely calm. Prince Tristram continued to speak out with rage in his eyes, "Now... where were we? Oh, yes. I suggest you walk away, Azure Archer. Even in your current state, I''ll have to break a sweat to take care of you. I''d rather avoid it if possible, after all, I came here for recreation, not a fight..." Isolde spoke out her voice shivering, "Grandpa Alec... It''s fine. You''ve done enough for me... In the end, I was very lucky to have you by my side." But seeing him remain unmoving in front of her, she pleaded with tears in her eyes, "Grandpa, you must leave. You promised me that you would leave without obstructing the prince! You promised me! Please don''t do this..." Prince Tristram crossed his hands over his chest smugly as he grinned happily at the terrified girl who had already given in to his demands. At the same time, the overweight Lord O''Reilly got himself up from the floor with great difficulty, but couldn''t help but smile at the suffering of the two, who had caused him this trouble. Alec turned to Isolde and spoke out with a light smile, "Young lady, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, as I must break my word. Allow this old butler one last chance to be selfish..." And under the helpless pleas of Isolde, he walked in front of the prince and bowed lightly saying, " I must refuse the prince''s generous offer. I hope the prince won''t punish the young lady for this old butler''s offense." But this caused the prince to scowl as a light of a dangerous fury danced in his eyes. His eyes saw red as he shouted out in rage, "Curse all of you fuckers that get in my way! Do you dare disobey this prince''s words? Do you think I''m some pushover?" while suddenly unsheathing his sword. The golden sword with dark red carvings on it glowed with a bloody light as he continued to shout, "In the name of Curtana, I will act out and bring justice to all your unjust actions!" Alec too materialized the azure bow on his hands as he moved back into an attacking position silently. Instantly, the prince dashed forwards, almost a black blur beside the bloody sword on his hand which glowed red leaving a red streak. Having reached Alec he slashed the sword effortlessly targeting Alec''s wrist, but Alec too calmly lifted his bow and pushed forwards. Clang! An explosion of qi and light surpassing the previous one spread throughout the room, wrecking it further. Both of them lightly jumped backward unhurt. Alec calmly looked on while Prince Tristram sneered saying, "You are indeed the Azure Archer. Even with my spirit transformation cultivation, I can only fight with you to a draw. But, I know you can''t continue to fight in such a state for long. Why do you think I sent in O''Reilly and those two goons in first? It was to weaken you..." Hearing his confident words, Isolde hurriedly grabbed onto Alec''s coat and shouted out, "Grandpa please stop. If it hurts you, please just stop...:" with tears streaking down her cheeks. Alec smiled at her and lightly brushed her hand off his coat. He turned back to the prince and smiled calmly saying, "Will the prince keep on bragging without fighting?" This caused the Prince''s eyes to redden in fury as his sword and his body began to emanate a bloody red-golden aura. "Fuck you, old codger. Die if you''re so impatient." He lightly traced the blade of his sword with his free word muttering some incoherent words. Instantly his aura grew much stronger and he slashed forward with a shout, "Divine Sword of Justice, First Commandment!" and the sword left a bloody gold streak as it arrived at Alec. Even so, Alec calmly lifted the bow to block the attack. Clang! Pu! This time Alec was thrown back on to a wall with a light trickle of blood at his mouth. His bow had even lightly cracked under the force of the attack. Seeing his success, Prince Tristram laughed happily saying, "Old Codger, did you really think, that I would fight you just with my cultivation qi?" Seeing him hurt, Isolde rushed forwards instantly to help up Alec. But in doing so she had to pass by the sneering Prince Tristram. As such, suddenly seeing her, Prince Tristram''s eyes glowed a bloody red as he clawed at her with his free hand, while targeting her clothing. His hand ripped off the top part of her dress, just enough to be indecent, as she was thrown back to a wall by the force of his attack. Her head hit the wall and she coughed out blood as she slid to the floor unconscious. Seeing this, Alec roared angrily as he hurriedly pushed himself to stand up and growled out as he brought out a shimmering pitch-black arrow, "I didn''t use it before, but now, I don''t care if you were made to be heartless by some childhood accident. If I kill you, at the very least she''ll be safe from you!" There was a strange chaotic nature manifested around that arrow as it almost sucked away the remaining light in the room. Alec loaded it into the slightly cracked bow with practiced ease and held it horizontally just like before. He stared at the prince with great rage in his eyes and pulled back the arrow. This time the prince wasn''t as brazen as before as he fearfully muttered, "Is that one of your Bedevilling Chaos Arrows?" Still, he held his sword in a defensive position while shouting out, "Old Codger, it''s just a girl! Do you dare to fight the entire kingdom for her?" Alec smiled with bloody lips and teeth and whispered, "What kingdom? I''ll fight the entire world for her!" as he let go of the arrow. The sun had almost finished setting by the time the arrow was released. And under the pale orange light of the setting sun, the arrow left the bow. The arrow streaked forwards causing all space around it to crack apart as the entire room was destroyed. The walls exploded into smithereens and the entire mansion shook under this explosion, barely holding off from collapsing on the spot. However, strangely enough, none of the damage from the unstable chaos reached where Isolde had collapsed. Meanwhile, Lord O''Reilly had fallen on to his knees in fear of the terrifying aura. The Prince grimaced as he realized he wouldn''t be able to block nor dodge this attack. It was simply too fast. While the walls collapsed and space cracked, he readied himself to defend himself as best he could. But suddenly... CRACK! The azure bow in his hands snapped clearly into two as Alec coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell onto his knees. The arrow which had shattered space disappeared off into streaks of qi as he collapsed... Seeing the sudden turn of events, Prince Tristram started to laugh out loud, "Old Codger. Even the heavens are on my side. In the end, I suppose you hit your limit! Thank god, I sent those goons in first..." He sheathed his sword and calmly walked over to the kneeling Alec and kicked him in the face. Alec was thrown back to the edge of the floor as he coughed up more blood. Prince Tristram continued to punch and kick him while laughing like a kid with a new toy while shouting and cursing occasionally. He only stopped once Alec had completely fainted under the pain. He looked at the now bloodied Alec who was on the verge of death and with a satisfied grin licked off some stray blood that had gotten on to his face. He laughed gleefully as he left Alec and walked over to the still fainted Isolde. He shouted out in satisfaction, "Old Codger, I''ll destroy this girl you were willing to give the world for. But, it''ll be a shame to waste her beauty. As such, I''ll give her lots of tender care, in your place. I''ll let you witness it all before I send your soul off to the underworld," while staring at Isolde in the ripped dress and licking his lips lecherously. He grabbed her with one hand and threw her on to her own bed. He jumped on to the bed himself while loosening his pants. But just as he moved his hand to grab her for the second time... Isolde stirred in her sleep. The fact that she suddenly woke up surprised him and caused him to pause in surprise for a moment. She lightly opened her eyes and saw the calm face of Prince Tristram. However, under the effect of crashing on to the wall, she was still delirious. Seeing a once-familiar face she smiled and whispered, "Tristram? You''re back! Did you bring me any sunburst cherries?" These words were like crashing thunder. Prince Tristram''s eyes shone with tears as he hurriedly pushed himself off the bed and away from Isolde. But by now Isolde had returned to reality noticing the destroyed and wall-less room. As her eyes swept over the ruins of the room she noticed the wounded and bloodied Alec. With the memories and feelings of the previous situation having completely returned she rushed off towards him with a cry. Her hands began to glow with bright golden light as she started to heal him. She stuttered while weeping, "Pl--Please, Grandpa don''t leave me alone! You can''t--You promised me..." Prince Tristram slowly walked back from the bed and passed the kneeling Isolde, with a pale face as if he had seen a ghost. He whispered, "I''m sorry..." just as he entered the doorway out of her room. Lord O''Reilly hurriedly stood up having noticed the arriving prince. He had left the room when the Prince had thrown Isolde on to the bed but had been stealthily spying from the corner of the still-open door with lecherous intent. Now he was shivering with fear as he thought that the prince had noticed him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. But to his surprise, Prince Tristram only lightly glanced at him while whispering, "I''m going back to the palace." This immediately freed O''Reilly from his worries as he heaved a sigh of relief. Now brimming with confidence he brazenly spoke out, "Prince Tristram, since that bitch isn''t worthy of you, pardon this lowly one to enjoy himself," while hurriedly walking into the room with a lecherous grin. Prince Tristram''s eyes burned bloody red as he rushed forward at Lord O''Reilly while unsheathing his sword. SWISH! He sheathed his sword as he eyed Lord O''Reilly''s head which fell on to the ground with a light thud, eternally frozen with that lecherous grin. As the headless corpse followed suit, he glanced back at the room and at Isolde. It was almost as if he expected praise for his act... Isolde was still weeping while desperately healing Alec. She might be able to heal him back to a stable state but would definitely run out of qi before that. But how could she give up without even trying? She began to curse her own helplessness as memories of her brother''s death danced around her mind taunting her. She was truly helpless since she couldn''t leave in search of help because she feared that Alec was unable to hold on without her healing. So noticing the Prince''s gaze with all the conflicting emotions in her heart, she shouted out in anger, "I HATE YOU!" The Prince was speechless as these words struck his heart. He grinned bitterly while lightly brushing off his eyes. Then he threw two bags near Isolde''s legs and said, "Those are holy healing pills and qi replenishing pills." Isolde stared at him in confusion while still continuing to heal Alec. However, whatever change of heart the Prince had had before, disappeared under reddened eyes. As such, he furiously shouted out, "Fuck off! You should be able to heal that old codger by tomorrow. I''ll be sending over a new dress and workers to replace what I damaged. But I don''t care if that old codger lives, neither do I care whether you''re sick or tired. I expect you to accompany me tomorrow. Be ready... or else." And he stormed off slamming the door behind him, leaving only three corpses and a wrecked room. Isolde hurriedly fed some healing pills to Alec while using some from the other bag to replenish her own qi. She wiped off her tears as she resolutely got back to healing Alec. And thus she continued to heal desperately within the wrecked and now wall-less room... with the bright golden light shining off her hands onto the bloodied body of Alec. She didn''t spare a single glance at the training grounds she had stared at so intently before, although it was completely exposed now due to the lack of the wall with the window-sill. She continued on healing, with only the dreary orange light of the setting sun shining through where the wall had been before and the three still corpses to keep her company through the long night that awaited her... 26 Poof! Poof! "Ugh...!" Zhen Shi groaned as he hurriedly stood up in confusion. For a moment he even wondered if everything had been a dream... But then he looked around the empty pavilion with only the green pill cauldron, the pitch-black furnace, the blacksmithing items, and skill books. Throwing aside his idiotic thought and noticing nothing new, he then looked at the sky through the central garden. He noted the waning moon half covered by clouds and bathing the garden in pale silvery light. The dreary lonesome sight of the moonlit garden and the trickling stream created a strange sort of calmness, causing Zhen Shi to feel as if he had missed something important. Thus he couldn''t help but feel stifled... Shaking off these feelings he was just about to call out for Myne and Vivienne when... "BOO!" A loud shout from just behind him. He wasn''t expecting it and was rather surprised. But he had always prided himself in acting calm. So he calmly turned around while saying, "Hello Bro Myne! What did you just say? Is that some sort of ???????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????" with a confident grin. After all, he had instantly used his spiritual energy rather carefully to detect the person behind him. Myne scowled as he spoke up, "Night greeting my ass! Do you have the reflexes of a dead snail? Shouldn''t you have been surprised?" Zhen Shi innocently answered, "How could I be surprised by my own brother?" Myne shook his head his scowl worsening. But... he grinned and suddenly threw two bags at Zhen Shi with great speed; one after the other. It was Zhen Shi''s turn to shake his head as he calmly reached out with his hands covered in draconic scales and vermillion feathers. Boom! Boom! A small explosion sounded out sending waves of air throughout the pavilion causing the plants in the garden to shuffle about. Zhen Shi was awestruck as he had been pushed back and he now had one step in the garden. Still, he calmly put down the two bags while transforming his hands back to normal. He was rather curious with regard to the content and so glanced questioningly at Myne. Myne grinned in satisfaction as he pointed at one while speaking, " Well... That is a bag of books with basically all the techniques Vivienne taught you. She asked me to bring them to you. But surprisingly she also put in a book on herbology. So I was forced to do the same and you''ll find a book on mineralogy as well." He then pointed to another bag, "That contains all the pill refining ingredients she bought from the market hall." Zhen Shi nodded absently as he was now admiring this huge collection of books. Myne grinned as he noticed that familiar glint in Zhen Shi''s eye. Still, he spoke out, "So I suppose you don''t need this other thing she asked me to give you?" Zhen Shi hurriedly changed his focus while turning to look at Myne. He beamed an innocent smile... Myne scowled and brought out a small pouch with familiar symbols on it which Zhen Shi recognized as engraved formation talismans. But before Zhen Shi could appraise it Myne spoke out in answer, "So this is a spatial treasure made by yours truly. Like any other spatial treasure, it is not possible to store living creatures within the treasure. But you can store anything which is not living and kicking. That means corpses are acceptable as long as you don''t exceed the space limit. This is a spare I had but," patting his chest proudly he continued, "It contains as much space as this entire Island and comes with an added bonus of slowing downtime to a millionth of ordinary time! After all, this was something I made before being sealed in that valley." Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he considered the value of this treasure. Myne nodded in agreement and pride while saying, "Indeed. This is a treasure that would be used by sovereign class individuals!" But he frowned while continuing, "Thus treasures like this are extremely dangerous for even law level cultivators. So I have engraved great amounts of hiding formations and undetectable materials." But Zhen Shi frowned as he could easily appraise this item with his skill and so asked, "But I couldn''t detect any treasure on Vivienne while I can detect this very easily?" Myne laughed proudly while speaking, "That is due to one of my cleverest creations! You know how swords have scabbards, blades have sheaths, bows have quivers and so on? Based on that same principle I made another bag with the strict purpose of sheathing the spatial bag and hiding its nature," while bringing out a rather ordinary-looking slightly large leather pouch. Noticing Zhen Shi''s face of disbelief he spoke out confidently, "I have confirmed through tests that even my bag, which is of an even higher grade, will remain hidden even in front of immortals!" Zhen Shi was impressed at this claim but couldn''t help but be intrigued and ask, "So... testing on immortals? Sounds like a pretty interesting tale...? Especially with you thrown into the mix?" Myne grimaced and muttered, "Bah! Do you want this or not?" That got Zhen Shi to shut up as he hurriedly nodded innocently. Myne handed out the two bags which Zhen Shi immediately connected on to his belt with the spatial pouch within the more ordinary leather pouch. Myne nodded in agreement and spoke out with a happy grin, "So I don''t know why Vivienne wanted me to give you that, especially when I figured you already have a spatial treasure." This got Zhen Shi to grimace and almost blame a ''certain someone''. But almost immediately Myne continued speaking, "Either way Vivienne now owes me a favor. I can turn it in for literally anything! Thanks a lot, bro... You''re the best wingman!" while clapping Zhen Shi''s back in happiness. However, Zhen Shi didn''t know whether to laugh or cry! Ignoring Zhen Shi, Myne continued speaking rather seriously, "Vivienne is still contemplating about what just happened, but she''ll probably be fine by tomorrow. As for those runes... it''s better if we know less about them." He turned to Zhen Shi, "Based on the entire event why do you think we fainted?" Zhen Shi paused for a moment and answered, "Well its rather obvious that the fainting was due to complete exhaustion of our minds and spiritual energy. I think the total spiritual exhaustion is linked with the knowledge of its meaning. Vivienne was familiar with the rune but had had no problems before. She only collapsed after I told her it''s meaning. And I already knew the meaning, so my collapse also aligns with that conclusion. While it makes sense, I can''t be sure of it..." Myne nodded and spoke, "Yes. That makes the most sense because many counterfeiters used to copy Nimue''s symbol, back then, quite easily with no problems, which I also believe has some meaning?" while looking at Zhen Shi for an answer. Zhen Shi nodded and said, "Yes. That rune means..." But Myne hurriedly shushed him and spoke out, "Shut up idiot kid. For now, the less we know about these runes the better." Zhen Shi nodded saying, "Fine. But I still feel that the conclusion is half-baked. We''ll need more evidence." Myne shook his head in disagreement and spoke out, "No, I''m sure of it. I''ve tried copying Nimue''s symbol myself and I was completely fine back then. But I fainted as well when I copied Vivienne''s rune after I learned it''s meaning." Zhen Shi gaped. He laughed out loud while saying, "Wait the great mage fainted as well? Why did you join us when you knew what''d happen? Were you feeling lonely? This is too hilarious..." Myne grimaced as he shouted, "Shut up. At least I woke up before you." Still, Zhen Shi struggled to stop laughing. And when he finally did, he suddenly spoke out with his eyes glowing, "Myne. Did you wake up before or after Vivienne?" Myne who was curious answered immediately, "Before her." Zhen Shi nodded wisely and said, "Okay. Then we have two possible reasons for that. I believe you are more powerful than Vivienne. So either the person who was stronger, that is you," pointing at Myne, "woke up sooner or the person with the least understanding of the rune, that is also you," pointing at Myne again, "was affected less by spiritual exhaustion and so woke up sooner. And It''s obvious the actual reason was the latter," finishing with a victorious grin. Myne grimaced and spoke up, "I disagree. Its obviously because I''m more powerful. Don''t get a full head just because you know some symbols." Zhen Shi laughed out loud and answered while wagging his index finger at Myne''s face, "For some reason, I feel that your input regarding that matter is biased." Myne laughed as well while saying, "Well I feel that your input is biased as well!" Zhen Shi grimaced as it was the truth, and so decided to change the topic, "Wait... I also saw a similar rune on the talisman of a girl, her name was Sun Rou," and quickly explained the basic situation he had experienced. With the change of topic, Myne couldn''t be happier as well, so he muttered while in thought, "Well I obviously don''t know this Sun Rou..." and shook his head saying, "And I don''t know this Saint Sun Soul either. Do you remember anything else?" Zhen Shi paused in thought and answered, "Oh yes, her father is the city lord of Solingrad city!" Myne''s eyes glowed in remembrance as he spoke up, "Solingrad! But it''s in the far reaches of the northern Ice Lands. And in my time it was one of the most powerful warbands in the Ice Lands. I suppose they must''ve established the city later... Still, I''m surprised that you''re so well-traveled." Zhen Shi shook his head, "Nope. I met Tsun Rou and that Saint Earth face close by. But they teleported away..." Myne couldn''t help but laugh at ''Earth face'', but he suddenly gaped and spoke, "Teleported? This ''earth face'' must have only been this City Lord''s incarnation... And still, being able to teleport? He must''ve been injured while being close to the sovereign level, at least... Even I couldn''t teleport us to Solingrad. Still, I wonder why he left that soul transformation idiot of that Xue Yue clan alive. He blatantly insulted this Earth faced city lord... but was still allowed to live?" His eyes glowed in sudden understanding and he spoke with a knowing grin, "Let me guess, were you playing around with his daughter? He must''ve been unhappy and so decided to let you die!" Zhen Shi grimaced and shouted, "FUCK! So I was right to be angry at that fucking earth face! He isn''t any Saint, he is a demon. In fact, I think Earth Face is too kind. He will be known as Mud face from now on." Myne laughed out in agreement and said, "Well, anyway let the matter of the runes rest for the moment," while turning around. "I''m going to try to appease Vivienne and you should practice," he muttered while waving his hand. But Zhen Shi hurriedly shouted, "Wait! I have to give a night greeting to your ass... " He looked at Myne''s bottom and shouted, "BOO!" And while Myne was turning around with a scowl on his face, Zhen Shi spoke amidst laughter, "Alright then, I night greeted you. So you can leave now." Myne shook his head and shouted, "Fuck you kid! I was going to help you but you can forget it now! Good luck on mastering anything when both of us used our best techniques in one go and you fainted immediately after!" Myne grinned in satisfaction and walked away like a boss. It was now Zhen Shi''s turn to shake his head. Idiot great mage! That''s where you''re wrong because I have a perfect memory skill, courtesy of the BEST system in the world! System: "..." ???????????????????? With the moonlight to keep him company Zhen Shi sat down in the lotus position and got to work. Zhen Shi had already bound the spatial pouch and so lightly passed his hand over the bags of ingredients. They disappeared immediately and Zhen Shi excitedly focused his spiritual energy on the spatial pouch. He could sense a vast and empty land with only two bags in it. He could easily sense all the ingredients and items within them and could just as easily bring them back. He suddenly remembered the piece of clay he had received from that old man with the strong but unhygienic teeth. He took it out from his ordinary bag and carefully observed it. He tried to send in qi, spiritual energy, all of the elemental energy he could control, but nothing. In the end, he gave up. He figured that since this was a treasure related to the primordial chaos in his dantian, it should be examined later when he could control the spatial chaos. So he sent it into a separate corner in the spatial pouch island. He quickly forgot of that failure as he opened up the bag of books and neatly classified all of them into two piles; for alchemy and blacksmithing. But just before he started to read he felt that some music might liven up the place. So he quickly brought out the divine boombox and rather lazily just hit play. So the previously played traditional Chinese music gracefully spread out within the pavilion. The moonlit garden and the peaceful music created a magical atmosphere and Zhen Shi felt his mind relax. Now with a soundtrack to keep him company, Zhen Shi decided to start with blacksmithing first. He opened up the books. With the help of the system, he was able to quickly learn the skills and , but of course, he was nowhere close to mastering them. And just as easily he learned the unnamed skill of taming the furnace spirit, which was named by the system as . Zhen Shi then got to work on reading the books on mineralogy and formations. He quickly finished up the mineralogy book as he was familiar with all the materials due to the system''s skill book. But it was still rather helpful as he got to learn alternatives for the mentioned ingredients and their uses in-depth. However, the art of formations was a problem. While he finished that book within half an hour, he was unable to set up even the simplest formation and could only condense one formation talisman. But he did sense a strange sort of familiarity with the concept of formations and realized he could probably master the first formation within a few hours of practice. However, he was torn between that and reading the rest of the books. If others got to here his thoughts they would vomit blood for hours. Suddenly Zhen Shi remembered the spiritual incarnation he had left within the planet in his dantian. So he closed his eyes and entered into a meditative trance connecting with his spirit on the planet within the primordial chaos. Now within the planet, he surveyed his surroundings. It had only been one day since he had left the spirit, so there were no new discoveries. On the other hand, the spirit had attempted to cultivate. Strangely there was no visible progress but Zhen Shi felt he had gained some understanding with regards to the spirit. He now got the spirit to attempt the condensing of formation talismans. Amazingly the spirit Zhen Shi was able to condense two formation talismans on the first attempt. However, this was not sufficient to form the most basic formation which required three talismans. So Zhen Shi left the spiritual incarnation letting master the art of formations and condense more formation talismans. Back in the pavilion he happily opened up the books on alchemy. And just as before he quickly read the skill books. And he was quickly able to learn and . He now turned to the book on herbology which was also finished rather quickly due to his familiarity with the subject. He had now finished reading all of the books and had learned all of the skills in under three hours. Zhen Shi happily looked up at the waning moon and the starlit sky trying to find any familiar constellation in a moment of distraction. Having failed to do so he grinned to himself and got back to work. Since he was unable to complete a formation, he was unable to form a properly graded weapon. So he decided to refine a pill. He put the light green pill cauldron in front of him while admiring the lively engraving of the trees and vines. He flicked his fingers instantly causing the light green furnace to be enshrouded in the crimson lively flames of the Vermillion bird. The Undying nature of the flame and the life aether of the pill cauldron resonated sending out a small wave of life qi. The plants in the garden seemed to come to life as they wriggled about in ecstasy as the life qi passed over them. The crimson red flame dulled a bit giving a brick brown color, but was livelier than ever. With another wave of his hands, he brought out the same ingredients that Vivienne had used. He threw them into the flame and began to heat them with the brown flame. He came quite close to failing and burning the ingredients but didn''t, due to the life cauldron enhanced Undying flame which gave the ingredients another chance at survival. With a sigh of relief, Zhen Shi separated the ingredient husks and the ingredient essences. Still, he was sure that he had been unable to extract the maximum essence from the ingredients. With a dissatisfied wave of his hand, he attempted to combine the ingredient essences. But he messed up the timing and the ingredient ratio was also unbalanced... Poof! In a cloud of black smoke, the ingredient essences were burned up. Even the undying flame was helpless to stop this from happening. Zhen Shi coughed while waving his hand to brush away the smoke. Moments later Zhen Shi gritted his teeth in determination as he started to repeat the refining process. Poof! Moments later... Poof! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. One step away from success...Poof! He kept messing up the proper combination of the ingredient essences to form the pill embryo. Zhen Shi contemplated for a moment and canceled the Undying Flames. He manifested a simple flame of qi which burned brighter and hotter due to his fiery spiritual root. He started to melt the ingredients into essence. Moments later he burned up one due to improper flame control. Zhen Shi grinned as he had figured out the problem. Pill refining was a connected process... Since he was unable to extract the essences by himself, using the Undying flame to cheat past that stage assured his failure in the next stage. He resolutely replaced the burnt up ingredient with a fresh one. Still, this was going to be a long night... 27 Of Imps and Knives The moon was lighting up the night sky with only the stars to keep it company. The plants rustled about in the light wind and water from the flowing stream glistened like pearls under the moonlight. The peaceful oriental music from the boom box was still playing gracefully throughout the pavilion. The smell of burnt ingredients wafted about with the slightest hint of the remnants of smoke which dance about, almost as if it was riling up Zhen Shi for his multiple failed attempts at pill refining. But Zhen Shi was too engrossed in his current task to notice any of this. He took a deep breath as he made another attempt. He calmly opened his palm and formed a flame of pure qi burning a dark hue of red-orange. With practiced ease, he threw the flame on to the lively green pill cauldron causing a light hue of green to mix into the fire. With calm eyes, he flicked his fingers and brought out the usual set of ingredients for grade 1 healing pills. And he sent the ingredients into the flaming cauldron. His calm eyes suddenly burned with intense concentration as he carefully handled the ingredients and melted the essences out carefully. His eyes relaxed as he finally separated the ingredient essences and the ingredient husks successfully. Next, he brought his two hands slowly towards each other in order to combine the ingredient essences. He grinned as there were no problems this time. He had performed the essence extraction perfectly and had maintained an almost perfect ingredient to ingredient ratio. Thus by the time he stopped his hand motion the pill embryo was successfully formed. In fact, Zhen Shi had succeeded in this part many times before. But he had always attempted the grade improvement skill and had failed to properly apply it. However, he was unwilling to follow a path against the beliefs of Vivienne''s mistress. And out of respect, he had kept repeating the process. So with the same intention, he once again he flicked his fingers and burnt the ingredient husks into fine particles with the Undying Flame. Now that the pill embryo was formed it was completely fine to use the flame of the Vermillion bird. And with an experienced wave of his hand, he sent the husk particles towards the pill embryo. As the pill embryo combined with the husk particles Zhen Shi formed his hands into a familiar hand sign and whispered, "Ashes to Ashes!" For the first time, Zhen Shi smiled deeply as the pill embryo combined with the husk particles properly improving the pill grade! But his smile disappeared as he realized to carry out the next part of the technique he would have to mark down a rune. But he would undoubtedly faint if he tried that. His brow frowned in contemplation as he tried to find a solution for this conundrum... His eyes suddenly glowed in inspiration as he was reminded of Myne''s . And he decided to take a risk and give that skill a try since he had no intention of carving something nonsensical on to his first pill. In reality, Zhen Shi was familiar with the term ''Ohtur''. It was rather similar to the ancient Norse term for divine inspiration or inspired mental activity; basically an epiphany. Zhen Shi who knew well the value of this had been awed at the ability of this skill to lead cultivators into a trance-like state. He calmed down his breathing and mentally followed the steps of the technique. Immediately his eyes glossed over as his eyes were filled with a vacant look. Zhen Shi lost track of time as his mind was filled with images and visions. These visions passed by his eyes too fast to even register what was going on in any of them. In the end, a singular memory paused in front of him... Zhen Shi''s eyes opened hurriedly as he felt his mind and spirit being filled with strength and vigor. He felt a strong intention to inscribe what he had just witnessed. He materialized a small butterfly-like insect in his hand. With another flick of his hand, he burned it apart into small white particles with the undying flame. With graceful movement, he moved his hands into another familiar posture as he muttered, "Dust to Dust!" The white energy particles rushed towards the pill embryo and were absorbed into it one by one. And with each disappearing particle, a faint picture appeared on the pill surface. If one didn''t look closely at this, all they would see was a pill slightly darker than usual. But if they did, they would be met with the astounding image of a small boy fighting off a powerful and terrifying giant with only a small sling-shot for a weapon. The grit and determination of the brave child and the confident face of the giant were like a painting coming to life! This was ! The fire flickered out as the pill flew into Zhen Shi''s hand. He calmly scrutinized it and was surprised to realize it was a middle Grade 2 Healing Pill! But it did make sense, after all, he had used a total of three grade improvement techniques. But he was very happy with this success after countless failures. But a familiar notification rang out... Ding! Congratulations to the user for unlocking a new status category: professions! The user has gained his first profession, Pill Refining Alchemist- Grade 1! Ding! Profession related quest system active. First Quest Available. Do you accept it? Zhen Shi was frowning as he thought, "System, I''m fine with the Grade 1 Alchemist since I did use several grade improvement techniques. But why do you add in a quest system now? Shouldn''t it have been activated sooner? It''s like you''re making this up as you go!" System: (????) Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of defeat and thought, "Yes." Ding! Grade 1 Quest: Refine 10 pills of grade 1 or higher. Reward: -1 random alchemy ingredient -gift of experience Zhen Shi was confused for a moment, as he wondered why the system would give him a ''gift'' of experience. Discovering that the system was unresponsive to any further questions, in the end, he gave up assuming it would be experience points to improve cultivation and neglected it as such. Although he had required several hours to reach the level of a Grade 1 Alchemist, Zhen Shi was fairly confident of completing this quest as he had finished the previous pill within 10 minutes. So he wasn''t in a hurry and calmly checked his spiritual incarnation that was practicing formations. As his will manifested within his spiritual incarnation on the planet, his mind received its memories. To his delight, he discovered that the incarnation was now capable of manifesting four formation talismans and could easily set up the simple strengthening formation. But Zhen Shi was suddenly inspired as he contemplated these memories. The strange familiarity he had had with formations was solved as he made a huge breakthrough in understanding! With the experience of his spiritual incarnation and his knowledge from Myne''s books, Zhen Shi was able to make a direct connection between the art of formations and programming! In this epiphany, he concluded that a formation was a series of commands given to qi or aether to carry out just like a basic code. In fact, the main difference between using a formation and simply exerting one''s will upon qi would be the sheer complexity of the command. By using a formation talisman one could set several commands upon qi and aether. Then by combining those formation talismans in a specific sequence the power of an individual''s attack, speed, defense and etc. could be multiplied by many folds! Zhen Shi grew excited as he contemplated all the infinite possibilities that could be achieved with formations. Butt for the moment he only had four formation talismans. Leaving the spiritual incarnation to its practice he returned back to the pavilion. Now he manifested the four formation talismans and easily set up the strengthening formation using three of those talismans. He eyed the strengthening formation which was useful for nothing much than a few seconds of defense against another spirit formation cultivator. So Zhen Shi whisked his hand and combined the remaining talisman to it as well in an experiment. Miraculously it glowed with a bright light as the formation defense improved by multiple times. This was miraculous in and of itself since this was an unusual formation not in accordance with the generally accepted ones. It wasn''t that more skilled formation masters of higher grades couldn''t create this formation. It was just that ordinary formation masters of the same grade as Zhen Shi would have difficulty using it. But Zhen Shi shook his head in dissatisfaction. He whisked his hand and rearranged the formation talismans. He kept trying for several minutes while making minute changes to each formation talisman. Luckily he only had to use four talismans and so was able to obtain the desired effect within a short time. The formation glowed with fiery light as a strange globe appeared within the formation. Zhen Shi let out a smile as he held the formation in front of him. In accordance, with his thoughts, it spread out in front of him as a powerful defense and the globe glowed with a bright light as it shot a blast of pure fire qi with power bordering at the peak of spirit formation. In addition, the defense was at least three times better than the basic strengthening formation. Zhen Shi was very satisfied as this would be a useful attack to surprise an enemy even though the power wasn''t as great as his maximum battle capability. In fact, this was a very unique formation since the most basic formation for attacking listed in Myne''s Book required 5 formation talismans. That formation was actually stronger but Zhe Shi''s new formation had dual purposes! But another notification rang out... Ding! Congratulations to the user for unlocking a hidden profession: Unorthodox Formation Master-Grade 1! Ding! You have a new quest, will you accept it? Zhen Shi mentally said, "Yes" while mentally muttering, "Your mother is unorthodox..." System: "..." Ding! Grade 1 Quest: -Create ten original formations (2/10) -Manifest 9 formation talismans(4/9) Reward: -One OP lottery ticket -gift of experience Zhen Shi grimaced as he eyed the rewards and thought, "I don''t believe in the lottery..." However, he was unable to complete this quest by the morning. He could already sense that the spiritual incarnation had slowed down its improvement and realized it would take at least a few days to master 9 formation talismans and complete this quest. Since it was beyond his control Zhen Shi decided to artifice his first weapon as a blacksmith. So he put the pitch-black furnace in front of him and manifested the Undying flame. He was unworried to use it as he had a fair amount of experience from pill refining and the lively nature of the fire had little to no effect on materials for blacksmithing. He threw the flame on to the furnace causing a pitch-black smoke to slowly waft out. Under continuous burning and Zhen Shi''s practice of the the smoke slowly formed into three furnace spirits in the form of demonic imps. They were rather unresponsive and seemed to disregard Zhen Shi as if his very presence was beneath them. Zhen Shi was flabbergasted, Where did these fucking imps get so much attitude? Still, he grinned mischievously as he considered how they''d be obedient under the spirit taming skill and so immediately executed it while muttering, "Taming the Spirits!" Suddenly the imps who had acted with disrespect and disregard turned towards him, causing Zhen Shi to grin from ear to ear in satisfaction. But this grin died down as the demonic imps started chittering and dancing about while eyeing Zhen Shi with great ''evil'' interest. Zhen Shi couldn''t help but shiver as he felt their dead eyes boring into him with their eery smiles... He cleared his head and disregarded this as he materialized and threw a piece of black silver into the burning furnace. With the practice from the extended hours of pill refining, he was able to fairly easily control the imp spirits to melt the metal under the powerful undying flame and he brought out a fairly large hammer. Zhen Shi had opted for a hammer larger than the one that Myne had used because he had always thought that, the bigger the hammer, the cooler one was! Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as Zhen Shi slammed the hammer on to the heated dark silver with the support of the chittering demonic imps. He manifested the power of on his arms and covered them with Azure scales and Vermillion fathers. His divine beast hands roared with every slam as the black silver slowly molded into a flat shape while being gently nudged by Zhen Shi''s spiritual force and the fairly obedient demonic imps. Surprisingly while they seemed evil they were rather obedient when it came to the task at hand. Zhen Shi brushed off some sweat as he returned the hammer into his spatial pouch. Under the control of the furnace spirits he separated the hammered black silver into the three main parts; the blade, bolster and hilt. And the imps continued to laugh with evil intent as Zhen Shi controlled them to fit the three parts together forming the weapon base. Now, Zhen Shi whisked his hand and formed the undying flame qi into four formation talismans which he settled into the malleable dark silver, in the sequence of his dual-purpose formation with both high attack and defense. As the heated metal glowed with the fresh formation symbols, Zhen Shi readied himself to enter into another Ohtur and perform another Dream Engraving. But suddenly his mind filled with unbearable fatigue and exhaustion which sent his soul and spirits reeling. As a result, he lost his concentration and broke off from the Ohtur forcibly. Zhen Shi gasped for breath as he realized he was unable to use the skill and could only conclude that there was a limit to its usage. He paused for a moment allowing his spirit and mind to settle down from the fatigue. In fact, he considered pausing this attempt and taking a rest... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. But his determination burned brightly as he was reminded of ''the eyes and ears everywhere''. With no other choice, he pushed himself to use the same vision he had seen before. So he slowly closed his eyes and imagined the scene he had witnessed before. To his relief, his mind calmed down and the fatigue was washed away as he was reminded of the vision of the boy fighting the giant. Now brimming with renewed inspiration he brought out an engraver and let his thoughts loose on the heated metal components of the knife. His hand was a blur as it danced upon the heated black silver knife as the image slowly grew clear rewarding him for his grit and effort. It was slightly different from before as this image showed the young boy shooting a stone from his slingshot at the ever-confident giant. The young boy was on the blade and the giant was beyond the hilt as the stone lay loaded on the slingshot. But the image was just as life-like as before. Zhen Shi grinned in satisfaction as he admired the craftsmanship of the weapon. With a flick of his hand, he materialized a stream of water qi cooled heavily by his aqua spiritual roots. He immediately poured this water on to the steaming dark silver knife. HISS! A cloud of steam wafted out within the pavilion as the heated dark silver cooled down. Zhen Shi relaxed slightly as he noticed that the demonic imps were still chittering about and had done nothing strange like they had Myne''s knife. So he calmly brushed off the steam while admiring his first artifact without any worry. But his relief was short relieved. Because suddenly the three demonic imps jumped into the air and supported each other as they kicked the fresh dark silver knife with their full power. A powerful wind blew though out the pavilion as the grade 2 knife shot towards Zhen Shi''s head from point-blank range, with the combined power of three soul formation furnace spirits. Zhen Shi was caught off guard and the attack was extremely fast... But he wasn''t going to be killed at the hands of a bunch of imps! His first decision was to activate the unorthodox formation on the knife. The formation activated and blasted off a qi attack to the side immediately causing the knife to slow down and miss his head. Now with ample time to retaliate, he activated Vermillion Dragonifiaction to the extreme maximum on his two arms. Small horns poked out on his scaled and feathered hands and he instantly moved into a defensive posture while positioning his bestial arms against the oncoming knife. Clang! Sparks flew as the fresh dark silver knife collided on to his scaled arm. But the divine beast protection was indeed powerful as the knife dropped on to the ground harmlessly without causing Zhen Shi to take even a single step back. As the wind calmed down, Zhen Shi let out a deep breath while realizing he had escaped from that sudden attack with only a moment to spare. He stared angrily at the demonic imps who proceeded to giggle eerily and disappear in a poof their job now completed. But, Zhen Shi was still angered and could only blame that idiotic Great Mage and a certain system. And he was about to shout out his thoughts... Ding! Congratulations to the user for unlocking a new profession: Blacksmith-Grade 1! Ding! The user has a new quest. Will you accept it? Zhen Shi: "..." 28 A Strange Rain Zhen Shi made a mental note to give a certain great mage a piece of his mind while muttering through gritted teeth, "Yes..." Ding! Grade 1 Quest: -Artifice 10 different equipment -Discover a better way to control the Furnace Spirits Reward: -Random Item -gift of experience Zhen Shi gawked as he read the second expected objective, control the furnace spirits? System, as much as I''d love to give those imps a taste of their own medicine, that is too difficult! Even Myne can''t control them properly... With his ''aerodynamic throwing knife'' who does he think he is fooling? Nevertheless, Zhen Shi heaved a sigh as he decided to get back to training. He decided to start with the pill refining quest since it was much easier to achieve. And in the middle of the night with the refreshing sound of oriental music, he began refining the pills... with a deep crimson undying flame in his left hand and the green cauldron of life in his right. But rather surprisingly it started to rain. There had been no signs of rain clouds and even Zhen Shi was surprised momentarily halting his actions. It was a light rain; no thunder and no lightning. The water dropped down lightly from the skies on to the pavilion roof giving off a melodic sound almost in tune with the boombox music. The central garden seemed to gain new life as it was baptized by the rain and the small stream widened with the addition of raindrops. The water that fell on to the plant leaves were unusually sprinkled back and then blown by the light wind towards the pavilion. A few drops even fell on to his face... but Zhen Shi didn''t notice. The divine music, the rhythmic rainwater, and the sprinkling water drops rendered a mystical sight that had mesmerized him. Despite his continued training ever since he had woken up after that rune fiasco he had felt strangely worried; it had been an almost unscratchable itch. But with this rain, his worries grew worse and better at the same time... He had no idea what was wrong and how to fix it. But at the same time viewing the mesmerizing rain with the mystical music had helped him to stay calm. And so with a light sigh, he continued to refine pills with his eyes on the garden. After all, he couldn''t help what he didn''t know... ???????????????????? At the very center of Lyon City lay the majestic towering abode of the King and the royal family, Tintagel Castle! Within the main hall leading to the throne room, there was a procession of servants and soldiers on both sides. They were either standing or bowing with respect towards a rather familiar duo walking at the very center of the hall. Count Vir Brishman was scratching his neck rather nervously as he spoke out silently, "Isabella are you sure Isolde will be fine with the Prince? I''ve heard many tales of his character and none of them good." Isabella murmured through knit lips, "Tales are just that... tales! I''m sure Isolde will be fine. Prince Tristram might have problems but his actions are quite normal for his stature. Now hush, we''re about to meet the King after all," without betraying the smile plastered on her face. Count Brishman nodded lightly but proceeded to scratch his neck once more as they finally reached the end of the hall. There were two guards adorned in sleek silver armor wielding golden spears, standing regally on each side of the door to the throne room. They bowed slightly in respect as they pushed open the majestic door leading to the throne room. Count Brishman put aside his worries as he walked into the regal throne room in step with Isabella who proceeded to follow him. The throne room was free of guards and soldiers beside a short overweight dwarf-like man who proceeded to shout in a rather experienced voice, "Count Vir Brishman and Lady Isabella have arrived to pay their respects to His Majesty, King Mark of Lyonesse, the Butcher of Cornwall!" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Count Brishman and Lady Isolde proceeded to bow in respect and stood up only as a wizened and royal voice spoke out, "Rise! Count Vir there is no need for any of the pleasantries of the court within the privacy of our walls. If all goes well, we will soon be family," as the doors to the room closed. King Mark was a black-haired middle-aged man who radiated power and authority from every inch of his body. He was seated on an enthralling throne of Mythril and Gold engraved in strangely beautiful carvings of war and terror. He was dressed in loose-fitting royal robes and was holding onto a golden harp while smiling welcomingly at his guests. Count Brishman spoke out with a smile, "Forgive me, your majesty. But old habits do die hard." The King nodded in acceptance and proceeded to speak with a slight frown, "I summoned you here to speak of the matter of that Zhen Clan boy." Count Brishman grimaced as he hurriedly spoke out in defense, "Your Majesty at the time I was not aware that he was a member of the Zhen Clan. And I truly believe that he was merely a lucky survivor of a beast attack!" "Enough!" a powerful shout reverberated throughout the throne room causing everyone including the Count, Lady Isabella and the overweight dwarf-like man who had been silently standing in the corner of the room to fall on to their knees. They all started to struggle visibly as they tried to fight off this overwhelming pressure but thankfully it stopped almost immediately. King Mark spoke out silently, "I apologize Count Vir. That was not intended. I''ve been dealing with some unsuccessful matters..." while pausing his eyes on Isabella who seemed to be the one who had dealt best with the King''s sudden outrage. But his words caused Isabella to frown... Despite his words, the King did not seem apologetic in the least. But Count Brishman wasn''t going to bring it up either. He hurriedly wiped off some sweat off his face as he spoke out respectfully, "My apologies, your majesty, for having reminded you of those matters. But I consider myself lucky for being able to witness the power of his majesty''s Edicts!" King Mark nodded in acceptance as he turned his head towards the harp in his hand. He moved his finger over its lustrous metal surface while speaking, "While I did apologize, honestly, there was no need to repeat your claim for innocence... I''ve heard it many times in court..." Count Brishman moved to speak but grew silent thinking better of it. King Mark continued to speak, "But the problem is not the fact that the boy was of the Zhen Clan. In fact, I recently met with a Clan Patron of the Zhen Clan." He chuckled lightly as he continued, "We have made great strides towards peace." Count Brishman hurriedly spoke up words of flattery, "Congratulations on your success your majesty. Our kingdom can do nothing but improve with you at the helm!" The King barely registered his words as he continued to speak while staring at the golden harp. On rare occasions where he did look up, his eyes would fall on Isabella... The King continued to speak "As I was saying... the Zhen Clan will only be an ally in the future. So the questions regarding the potential invasions through spatial form displacement can be disregarded. The problem is that you kept this matter hidden!" his words ending with a hint of malice. Count Brishman hurriedly spoke but as respectfully as possible with the previous happenings fresh on his mind, "Your majesty I was not aware of the importance of the matter! My full focus was on running the operation for that treasured girl of the Zhen Clan as ordered by your majesty himself!" King Mark raised his head slowly and with his eyes focusing solely on Count Brishman he muttered, "Count Vir... do you mean to say your mistake was my fault?" Count Brishman shivered as he stared into the King''s eyes. He felt like a grain of sand staring at a vast ocean. His spirit deification cultivation was thrown asunder as he lost complete control of his own qi. Helpless he could only mutter, "N-no. Of c-course not, your majesty. I-It was my mistake and I see that now." King Mark suddenly smiled and said, "Ah! As long as you realize your mistake everything will be fine. With our arrangements, forgiving this simple matter is very possible. That was the reason I summoned you. You may leave now," while waving his hand in dismissal. Count Brishman hurriedly bowed and grabbed on to Isabella''s hand as he moved to leave as quickly as possible. His only intention now was to go back home, forget about this matter and make sure that his daughter was fine as he had continued to tell himself. But to his dismay, the King spoke out, "Where are you going, Count Vir? I wish for you to spend the night at Tintagel Castle... You won''t reject my hospitality would you?" Count Brishman''s face hardened but he could only bow once more as the King''s words held no room for discussion. King Mark nodded in satisfaction and spoke turning to the dwarf-like man, "Midge lead the Count to the guest room." This Midge bowed, walked towards Count Brishman and spoke out, "Lord Count if you would follow me please?" "I thank your majesty for his hospitality. Then I will be taking my leave," said Count Brishman as he bowed once last time and walked away with Isabella''s hand gripped tightly in his. But surprisingly the king frowned and spoke out, "Count Brishman leave Lady Isabella. There are some-- things for us to discuss." Count Brishman gathered some courage and spoke out rather sternly this time, "Your majesty with all due respect... she is my wife. I know she is distantly related to the royal family, but this is downright improper!" The King frowned with a sudden heavy aura manifesting around him which caused the Count to flinch. But his frown disappeared along with the heavy aura as he heaved a sigh. He lightly flicked his hand on a string of the harp causing a melodious tone to waft out. Isabella surprisingly smiled as the King continued to speak to the Count, "Count Vir I hope you have a pleasant night along with your wife," and grinned while eyeing Isabella, "who most certainly left with you to your chambers." Count Brishman''s eyes glossed over as they became vacant. The King waved a hand at Midge who proceeded to lead Count Brishman to the guest chambers without blinking an eye at the situation. As the due left and door slammed behind them the King smiled at Isabella and spoke while gesturing her to come forward, "Dear Isabella, it is good to see you in the flesh. Scrying every day grows tedious does it not?" Isabella smiled and slowly walked forward while saying, "Indeed it does, my liege. So why have I not heard of your dealings with the Zhen Clan?" King Mark patted his lap gesturing at her while answering, "It was all thanks to a sudden and unexpected meeting that happened just a few days ago. Some influential nobles that had been missing for several millennia suddenly turned up. They spoke tales of a mythical valley that had trapped them and how a powerful immortal had arrived in the guise of a mortal to set them free!" He laughed out loud as Isabella sat on his lap and spoke, "An immortal? Just to save those idiots? Ridiculous!" But his laughter turned to a strange frown as he spoke, "While it may not have been an immortal... those people were wholeheartedly in awe of their savior. Strangely enough, I almost found myself believing them," with a hint of confusion in his eyes. Isabella frowned and spoke out with a sigh, "Forget that nonsense. When will you tell me about the Zhen Clan?" King Mark grimaced in displeasure but he still spoke out, "Some of those survivors happened to be of the Zhen Clan. And you know that despite our long-standing enmity, our Heaven Palace and the Cyclic Trinity Temple leaves no room for actual conflict. So I had to return those members... and surprisingly Zhen Wudi and I became friends. This conflict had lasted for millennia amongst our ancestors, but with the support of the Divine Organizations, Wudi and I plan to bring peace leading all of us and the Lyonesse Kingdom into a new era!" Isabella looked at him in disbelief, "Will you tell me the real reason or will you keep saying your horrible lies of self-righteousness?" King Mark laughed as he spoke out, "Isabella you truly understand me... In fact, Wudi promised me a share of the Zhen Clan''s treasured girl, as long as I used ''juniors cultivators'' to get it. There would be no need to mount an attack! All he wanted in return was one year with the survivors of that valley who originated from our kingdom. Apparently, they believe in some old legends regarding Berthelien forest. Either way, his terms were simply irresistable! Basically, he promised us a share of celestial stones as long as I used ''juniors cultivators'' and promised no obstruction from anyone of the Zhen Clan!" Isabella grinned as she spoke, "Indeed. It seems like a done deal, who''d dare bar the Lyonesse Kingdom. Congratulations my Liege." King Mark continued to grin in satisfaction but Isabella suddenly frowned as she asked, "But why did you use your Edict on me back then? I understand growing annoyed with that buffoon Brishman but why me as well?" Unknowingly it had begun to rain outside as King Mark''s smile disappeared and he spoke with a frown, "Why do you think I lost control? That matter was actually unsuccessful! I can''t believe I lost control for a moment!" Isabella immediately got off of his lap with her eyes glittering with worry and anger. Her face contorted into a scowl as she raged, "I needed this to work! Those corpses in my room are only treatment to the symptoms! Every day I keep yearning for more death and more blood... Do you know how much I have to suffer? I don''t have much longer... and you''re screwing up!" King Mark scowled as he shouted back, "Do you think I wanted to mess up? I need this to work just as much as you do. But you know that we can''t directly harm any of the chosen!" Isabella grew silent as she considered his words. Nevertheless, she walked away while muttering through gritted teeth, "I understand... But until you get this to work I''ll be with my ''husband''." She opened the door leading to the guest chambers revealing the raining outside. She paused for a moment saying, "I wish you nightmares, Brother of mine," and walked away into the raining porch. But seeing her walking away while leaving those words behind caused King Mark to snap. He stood up, turned around and roared in anger while punching at the throne. His powerful punch raged forwards causing waves of terrifying aura to run amok and utterly eviscerate the throne into dust... And the light rain continued to fall... 29 Is this what piracy feels like? Zhen Shi grinned as he finished refining his last pill. Just to finish the quest sooner he had made sure to refine only that grade 1 divine healing pill. But of course, he had used all the grade improvement skills along with resulting in ten healing pills with the same but slightly changing picture of the little boy fighting off a terrifying giant with only a simple slingshot. Despite his unreasonable worrying previously, how could Zhen Shi not be happy when he is literally only a couple of steps away from receiving the quest rewards! But he was beginning to be rather impatient. Fortunately, the notification rang. Ding! Congratulations to the user for completing the Grade 1 Pill refining quest! Ding! The user has gained one random refining ingredient: ephemeral ghost ashes. Ding! The user has gained a gift of experience. Will you accept it? Zhen Shi was rather intrigued regarding this ephemeral ghost ashes... but since the system was asking so politely just to give him experience points, how could he say no? System: "..." Zhen Shi grinned excitedly with his previous worries thrown into the sea. Even though he knew that forcefully cultivating was not good for him, especially since he had the strange inability to cultivate manually, he was basically an addict to fast cultivation. So he laughed gleefully and mentally thought, "Yes, System. A thousand times yes!" Ding! Granting experience... Zhen Shi''s grin dissipated as he felt no improvement on his cultivation base. Instead, he felt queasy and began to lose his bearings as the entire room began to revolve around him. His vision began to blur as he began to see strange colors and visions... a tree on a hill... a strange man... SHIT! I know I''m an addict for this, but who knew you actually overdose on cultivation like a normal drug? His next action was to blame the system for not warning him of a possible overdose leading to his untimely death. But he collapsed on to the floor and the life left his eyes before he could do so... ???????????????????? Zhen Shi''s vision which was now veering off in a confusing dark space of colors and noises and non-sensical visions began to settle down albeit rather slowly. The colors kept shifting back and forth, the sounds were mind-boggling and the smells even worse. But his sight slowly began to grow clear along with the rest of his senses. But Zhen Shi''s mind was reeling and was being bombarded with heavy nausea. Even as things were returning to normal he felt like barfing blood. But fortunately for him, his senses began to clear slowly. At the same time, the nausea gradually lessened and his mind calmed down. Now that he was not suffering horrendous pain he focused on his eye vision. He was met with the vision of a book on an oak table placed within a strange room. For just a moment he felt as if the letters on it were beyond his level of comprehension... But the letters jumped about with his still stabilizing vision, ultimately revealing a completely readable book. Apparently he was currently being shown the First Chapter: The Essence of Alchemy. Ahh! So the gift of experience was related to the profession. It appears that the system is giving me alchemy experience through a drug-induced haze... System are you a drug dealer as well? System: "..." Nevertheless, Zhen Shi was greatly intrigued and so began to read. As he read he felt his alchemy knowledge gradually deepening and could even vaguely glimpse a mystical but long and arduous path laden with forests and beasts. But he couldn''t quite put his newfound knowledge into words... It was almost as if he was learning but not learning at the same time. Having finished reading the first page, with great anticipations for his rapid improvement as a pill alchemist, Zhen Shi proceeded to move the next page. But he realized that he couldn''t move the page. In fact, he couldn''t even move his body... Basically he couldn''t move and his vision was stuck on one spot. There was no sound, just an uncomfortable pause. System am I lagging? With the lack of a response or a change to his situation, he calmed down and decided to look around the room. But he couldn''t even move his head! So basically he had to look around the room while having his eyes focused on the first page of the Book. He could vaguely see a small room with rough wooden walls just barely lit by glowing orbs of light. There were various herbs and other ingredients hung up on the wall and in jars. But Zhen Shi was unable to identify any of them as he found that he was unable to access the appraisal skill . In the end, using his own memory he was able to identify just one from the plethora of ingredients available. Even that was due to the distinctive yellow cloudy leaves of the herb which was considered to be priceless and hadn''t been seen for hundreds of millennia, Syphilim! Besides the herbs, some small tools could be seen on another much larger table to the side but Zhen Shi couldn''t see much as it was out of his eyesight. But suddenly he could smell again and his nose was hit with the confusing smell of all those different herbs. His sense of touch and hearing came next. He could hear a lightly crackling fire and the sound of early morning birds from outside the hut. But nothing much else. He was also hit with a rather terrifying cold despite being wrapped in bundles of warm fur. He was seated on a chair but surprisingly his legs were not touching the floor. But even with things returning to normal he found that he was unable to move around. But he was moving ''normally'' while shivering within the bundles of fur. Completely at a loss on what to do Zhen Shi was about to blame a certain someone... But suddenly a fairly high-pitched voice rang out. "Uhh... This is boring." Zhen Shi was flabbergasted. Who is speaking? System have you finally gained sentience? But I agree, This IS boring! The reply came almost immediately, "I''m just going to play with Hecabe." Zhen Shi was now completely confused. What? Who is Hecabe? But his confusion was immediately solved, as his head automatically lowered focusing on a slightly warmer part of the furs wrapped around his lap. Apparently... it was a puppy which had basically blended amidst the wide varieties of fur like a wild animal in its natural habitat. His small hairless hands proceeded to furiously rub the head of Hecabe the puppy who in turn looked at him with its puppy dog eyes while furiously wagging its tail. Zhen Shi would have facepalmed if he could''ve. It appeared that the system was completely fine and he was just dreaming of the life of some other person. As concluded by the short legs, high pitched voice and small arms either he was in the body of a child or a female dwarf... with the latter highly unlikely due to the normal size of the furniture. Zhen Shi watched on with faint interest as this kid played around with Hecabe for an entire HOUR. SHIT! I take it back. THIS is boring! Please kid just read the damn book... or at least turn the page. In fact, he had tried to skip or fast forward this ''gift of experience'' but the system was completely unresponsive. So, in the end, he had decided to silently wait while continuing to read the first unopened page over and over again, until the entire thing was over. Since Zhen Shi had a vague feeling that what he had learned might not be easy to remember, even with the status effect, maybe it wasn''t a bad idea to be stuck watching a kid petting a dog... repeatedly.... with nothing else happening. But to his surprise, after another hour of just rubbing the puppy''s head, his lap became unusually warm and strangely wet. And his hands proceeded to lift up the puppy causing the heaps of fur to slide on to the floor, revealing a rather large wet spot on his trousers. The puppy actually peed on me? Shit, this is the worst drug-induced dream ever. System I want a refund! The child proceeded to lift up the dog and shout out in a rather cute voice, "Mummy! Hekabe peed again!" Zhen Shi mentally grimaced as that voice and those words came out of his vocal cords... A hurried shout came from afar, "Little Hex, Mummy''s coming soon!" Zhen Shi was horrified, Is this kid''s name Hex or is he an actual Hex? But he didn''t get to find out as the room started rotating around him again. But before Zhen Shi could complain he was thrown away from this dream... and into a mass of confusing senses. ???????????????????? Zhen Shi hurriedly stood up from the floor with a start while muttering, "I can''t believe that the so-called ''gift of experience'' is a drug-induced dream," and shaking his head to somehow reduce the continuous banging inside his head. Luckily for him, the headache receded rather fast. And with the sound of birds backing up the boom box still playing instrumental Chinese music, he looked around the pavilion to realize that it was already morning! It appeared he had basically dreamed through the rest of the night and now it was only a few moments away from sunrise. But despite the horrendous memories, he had been able to memorize the first page of that divine alchemy book. He stretched his muscles while walking over to the Boombox which he quickly switched off and put away into the system inventory. He heaved a sigh as he relished the early morning environment. Despite the mind-boggling dream he had had, his mind was surprisingly calm and free from the worries of the night before. Feeling that the pavilion itself was a bit stuffy even with the open central garden Zhen Shi walked over to the main entrance door and opened it to get a view of the surroundings... But what awaited him was a huge mob! What the actual mob? There were maids, servants, guards, sales-clerks, and even managers of the Market Hall with most dressed in usual uniform and some even in their night robes. Most of them had their eyes closed as if they were enjoying the beauty of nature together... But they all hurriedly turned towards him with annoyed looks on their faces as he had opened the door rather noisily. Zhen Shi hurriedly closed the door while panicking and thinking, What the hell was that! It obviously can''t be possible that there is some sort of strange hobby where you enjoy the beauty of nature from the front yard of other people''s houses, right? So then did I do some strange things while I was in that drug-induced dream? Zhen Shi decided to just find out. Since the people weren''t shouting and chanting his name with pitchforks and fire he couldn''t have done anything too bad... And so he opened the door. The mob outside was ready this time as they all asked in different ways, "Master are you responsible for the music that was playing?" As these words reached his ears Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed. Aiya! So it was only a case of sound pollution... In that case, I can just turn down the volume from now on. So he smiled happily while answering, "I apologize for the disturbance everyone. Yes, it was indeed my fault." But a maid close by frowned followed by the entire mob. This maid asked, "Master why must you apologize? We all loved your music!" Her words were followed by a cacophony of follow-ups from the entire mob, "Yes! Master musician, I love your music!" "Are you the god of music descended from the heavens?" "Now that I look closely this young master looks truly different from us untalented people!" "Young master I had a horrible backache. But after listening to your music I feel like I''ve gained wings!" "Forget about your back. That divine music helped me to reach the next level of cultivation!" "I agree. I was suffering from a heart demon, but now, the demon has become a baby angel!" "Divine musician you''re also very handsome. Will you marry me?" "You don''t even need to marry me. Just give me a baby to play me music at least as half as good as you!" "I don''t even need the baby. Just play once more!" "I agree. Encore!" "Encore!!!" Zhen Shi grinned uncomfortably... Shit, I didn''t even do anything and was fainted for almost all of last night. Is this what piracy feels like? ???????????????????? The rain that had surprisingly begun to fall within the night had stopped only hours later. But now the night before was a part of the past, as the sun was beginning to rise painting the sky with shades of orange and yellow. The rising sun seemed to grant hope to the world that seemed to have become revitalized by the rain before. But that was not how Isolde would see the world just about now. As the sunlight lit up her wall-less room and granted her light, she paid no attention to the beauty of it. Her entire focus was on completing the healing process while heaving light gasps of breath. Her body was emitting that golden healing light, on to the barely breathing body of Butler Alec who continued to fail to see her suffering through his closed eyes. His body was mostly clear of blood as it had been washed away by the rain of the night before. After all, the room had no walls... However, while the rain had arrived like a blessing and washed away the blood it had in no way helped the smell. It had been around half a day since their death and the corpses of the three dead had already begun to rot giving off an awful smell. Even flies had begun to be attracted... Isolde''s ripped dress was stuck to her body wet with rainwater and the skirt was light red with streaks of washed away blood. The healing light emanating from her palms was only a moment away from disappearing as it flickered weakly; the complete opposite of the rising sun. To Isolde, the smell was the least of her problems. As the night had stretched on with only the moon and the stars to give her light she had been extremely nervous. Despite her intention to save Alec, it was rather normal for a girl especially a noble to be worried about leading an entire night with only three corpses by her side. But to make the entire matter worse it had begun to rain! Under the sudden appearance of rain clouds, she had lost her only source of light. As her body was fraught with the onslaught of raindrops, in that deep dark night, with only herself to look for help and even nature aiming to stop her, in the end, she had had to bite her pleas for help and just DO, with no space for worrying. Her eyes were laden with drowsiness and exhaustion but within lay, a sliver of grit and determination forged through that night of loneliness and suffering, simply refusing to be quelled. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that in the same way that the night rain had baptized the world, she too had been baptized. But for better or worse... only time would tell. Suddenly a light scream came from the doorway just outside her room. Although a scream, it was the blessing that Isolde had been hoping for! Isolde''s room was facing the training grounds and the edges of the Berthelien forest outback. So despite the lack of walls, it was normal for onlookers to have not realized that anything was out of the ordinary from far away. And even if Isolde had shouted out for help, the mansion grounds stretched for many acres there were no people nearby to help. And as the night grew worse if her luck had been truly bad she might''ve even called over demon beasts... or making matters worse, possible bandits. Thus Isolde''s only real hope would have to be those who would return on the next day. Although all of the mansion staff and the guards had been asked to leave the day before, which had led to no one realizing the battle had that had taken place, it was normal for them to return the next day. A light figure rushed into her room. This was the maid that had run into Zhen Shi... Isolde had no energy to speak, after all, she had been utilizing a divine blessing all night. Even if she was dubbed the ''healing goddess'' she was only a mere mortal. She sensed the maid''s arrival but was unable to turn her head. Her only thought was to hold on until Grandpa Alec''s safety was assured... This maid eyed the two corpses and the headless corpse along with the decapitated head nearby. She even got as far as looking at the fainted Alec laying still like a corpse. But maybe this sight along with the smell of rotting flesh was too much, as she collapsed fainting moments after... But to Isolde''s fortune, the maids scream had been heard loud and clear, as many more servants rushed in, proceeding to notify their arrival with screams of their own. Servants were at best qi refining stage cultivators or at best mortals with little to no experience in seeing corpses, fortunate enough to be born within the protective walls of a kingdom. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. But one maid rather young almost the same age as Isolde, with a bun of brown hair and lively eyes rushed in not sparing a glance to the corpses. She immediately made some calculative conclusions and rushed to Isolde''s side. Noticing the glint in her eyes the maid proceeded to check Alec''s status. Immediately, she smiled at Isolde and whispered, "He''s fine. My lady, you''ve done well. He will live!" These words were the blessing she had been hoping for. With a light smile on her lips, she collapsed on to the floor as exhaustion took away her consciousness. But that maid immediately caught her and prevented her from falling on to the floor. She raised her head at the servants who continued to remain dumbstruck and shouted with a frown, "Don''t just stand there then. Go and get help! Call a physician or a healer!" 30 Will ODale Zhen Shi laughed uncomfortably at this undue praise. But with the intention to clear up this matter he spoke out loudly with a forced grin, "Alright everyone. Thank you for your praise. But," and looking at the rising sun, "it''s early morning. Don''t you have work to do?" The entire mob was caught speechless. All of them were employees of the Lyon and Turnbull Market Hall and not being at their posts early in the morning would indeed be problematic. But still, they were slightly reluctant to leave with the prospect of never being able to listen to this master musician''s divine music again! But leaving them aside for a moment, Zhen Shi was greeted with a familiar sound. Ding! The user has gained a total of 50 OP! Zhen Shi''s face broke out into a genuine smile. He wasn''t too happy with being praised for Odin''s skill in making divine music playing devices, but he was happy with earning points! So with a genuine smile, he spoke out, "Fine. My fellow fans, I promise I''ll put on the music tonight as well." Why was he ready to play more music now? That is because the more music he played, the more points he could get! The entire mob cheered with words of happiness and joy as they slowly dispersed back to their morning jobs. But of course, they noted Zhen Shi''s ''genuine'' smile which raised their opinions of this ''divine musician'' who greeted them with familiarity despite his obvious talent. Zhen Shi grinned happily and turned around beginning to walk into the pavilion. He was thinking that he should get to work on figuring out a way to better control the furnace spirits. Maybe Myne might have some ideas? But just as he was about to close the door behind him, something tapped him on his shoulder. Zhen Shi hurriedly turned around like a breeze in the wind. His quick reaction was rather unnecessary, but that was because he was surprised and had been unable to sense a presence behind him. As a result, he was slightly on guard but... wasn''t too worried. After all, someone who wished him harm wouldn''t warn him by tapping on his shoulder beforehand, now would they? Once he turned around what awaited him was a rather young looking nobleman. He had well-combed brown hair and ordinary brown eyes. But the most eye-catching part of him was his clothes. He was dressed elegantly in expensive silk clothes; a crimson red shirt, crimson red pants, crimson red shoes, and a crimson red hat. Everything on him was crimson red! He was smiling rather elegantly while holding on to two swords on his hip sheathed in their scabbards. And yes... they were also crimson red. Zhen Shi grimaced at this noble fellow whose fashion sense was simply eye-blinding! Especially with the morning sunlight falling on to his body and worsening the brightness of his clothes. This noble grinned calmly and extended his right hand while saying, "Good morning fellow daoist. I came early this morning to carry out a rather annoying errand. But that gave me the chance to listen to your amazing music. It was simply divine. My annoyance was truly rewarded!" Uhh... Another fan? I played music once. Just once! Why has it becomes so annoying now? Still, Zhen Shi grinned forcefully as he put his right hand forwards and shook hands with this red-clothed noble. The noble proceeded to grin further as he spoke, "My brother, Alan, is well-known for being a skilled musician. But even he is nothing in the face of your divine music!" Zhen Shi continued to grin forcefully at his words. He was beginning to grow sick of this... But this red-clothed noble seemed to notice his forced grin and lack of speech. Immediately he frowned and said, "What? Fellow Daoist do you dislike my company? Do you have to force yourself so obviously? Or are you trying to mock my praise?" with rising anger. Zhen Shi frowned as well but spoke out with the intention of preventing a fight early in the morning, "Fellow daoist, I apologize if I offended you. But that music is not something that I pride myself on. So I found it rather difficult to listen to your praise!" But his words had the opposite effect as they caused Will Scarlet to frown even more. He shouted while gripping on to his dual swords, "Difficult? Then what was with your happy smile in the face of the praise of others? And you say that you are not proud of your music skills! Are you trying to insult me by hinting that my talents are sub-par? Don''t think that I, William O''Dale, will let you off just because you play good music!" FUCK! I was saying the truth. Is this what I am rewarded with for my honesty? Even Zhen Shi was being annoyed now. But he wasn''t particularly worried since this noble was only of the Soul Formation stage just like him and was only an ordinary warrior. So to hopefully defuse this situation he spoke out jokingly, "Fellow Daoist William, please calm down. I don''t think your rash actions are neither suited to your noble stature nor wise. I''ll have you know that I was in a 1 vs 50 fight once!" William paused since Zhen Shi''s words rang true but also because he was curious about the sudden story being told by this divine musician. Zhen Shi continued to speak in a serious tone, "It was a hard-fought battle and I even had to go all out and use all my martial art skills. I was very close to losing my life. It was a battle with your life on the edge..." He continued to narrate an epic battle that completely caught William''s attention filling him with awe. Zhen Shi grinned lightly as he finished his tale with a simple sentence, "And, in the end, the 50 of us that were still living were able to barely beat that one guy up!" while struggling to hold his laughter. William was confused for a moment but soon realized Zhen Shi''s joke. And he burst out into laughter saying, "Fellow daoist I find that you''re very funny! Your humility speaks of your true nature and your innocence. Thus I apologize for my earlier outburst." Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief while laughing himself. However, to his surprise, William unsheathed one sword and said with a smile, "But since you are not satisfied with your music, let me generously test out your combat skills!" almost expecting Zhen Shi to thank him. Zhen Shi grimaced and shouted, "What? No! I joked so that we won''t--" but his words fell on deaf ears as William dashed towards him with his crimson sword glinting under the early dawn sunlight. He lunged the sword at Zhen Shi''s face at a very fast speed. An ordinary soul formation cultivator perhaps might have been in trouble. But Zhen Shi had a rudimentary understanding of wind aether and had the 2x increase to action and reaction speed! But since he was still in the doorway he wouldn''t be able to dodge to the sides. So he bent his torso backward while manifesting just enough to cover the inside of his palms with dragon scales and feathers. With a devilish grin, he clapped his hands on to the incoming blade... CLAP! The sound of his clap resonated and a powerful wind blew around as the lunging sword was stopped mere millimeters away from his chest. Zhen Shi''s eyes showed the faintest hint of a bestial nature as he realized that despite his successful block, the sword had still hurt his palms through the scales and was now bleeding. He calmed himself as he threw his palms forwards along with William back to the outside of the pavilion. Zhen Shi proceeded to have the Vermillion flames secretively heal his wounds. William was rather surprised that his surprise lunge had been blocked successfully by Zhen Shi. Still, he grinned as he spoke, "You are skilled! But I fail to see how your combat abilities are better than your music. I guess we''ll have to continue to find out." Zhen Shi said nothing as he wasn''t going to back down now either. He was pissed and wanted to teach this guy a lesson for starting a fight for no reason. He flicked his hand bringing out the eery . William''s eyes narrowed but he grinned, as he was getting into the battle as well, and said, "Aren''t you an archer? Shoot some arrows will you?" Zhen Shi sneered and spouted out in the heat of his anger, "Maybe later, Little Red Riding Hood..." William frowned, he didn''t understand the true meaning but he could sense Zhen Shi''s insulting tone. He roared in blazing anger while unsheathing his second sword, "Don''t insult the majestic color of Red!" almost as if Zhen Shi had murdered his wife. He dashed forwards once more but this time his dashing figure was suddenly enshrouded in a cloud of qi. Zhen Shi had been planning on hurling the but William had completely disappeared by the time the smoke cleared. And just like when he had been tapped on the shoulder, Zhen Shi was once again unable to sense his presence. Realizing this, he decided to take this a bit more seriously, since he wasn''t planning on being stabbed early in the morning just for playing some music. Zhen Shi frowned while instantly materializing his bow on to his free hand. Despite his senses being useless, he could feel a vague sense of danger from the aether surrounding him. But even with the bow in his hand strengthened by , the aether continued to give him a sense of growing dread. SHIT! Who is this guy? To make things worse, he couldn''t use out in the open and there was the chance that he might even go berserk, which was the least ideal choice. So he decided to use his newfound skills to the test. He manifested the flames into formation talismans and formed the strengthened unorthodox defense formation. At the same time, he prepped his bow to shoot. With the sense of danger and dread growing worse, he hurriedly activated the defense formation, with the full force of his empowered qi, spreading it out to cover the front of the doorway. CRACK! The sound of splintering rang out as a large crack formed on the black defense formation at a spot very close to Zhen Shi''s neck, causing him to take back several steps into the pavilion in surprise. Fortunately, the formation had held out... Zhen Shi gulped at how close that had been. He was totally incapable of sensing William''s presence and had it not been for the divine formation sealing the front he would be in a very precarious situation. He threw aside all thoughts of holding back as he readied himself to do whatever necessary to win this battle. Instantly he shot his bow at his general estimate of William''s location, and the arrow dashed with powerful force through his formation but hit nothing... SHIT! How can this guy be this crazy! I had an easier time with the Law Holding Vivienne! He activated as much as he could over his chest and torso for extra protection, while leaving the scales and feathers hidden under his clothing. He used up earthen aether to further strengthen his defense. Surprisingly William''s voice rang out, "Since you don''t take kindly to praise maybe you''ll be happier with insults. Your fighting ability is sub-par. You''re completely clueless about what to do without seeing the target... But don''t worry I won''t kill you... I''ll just beat your inflated ego!" Zhen Shi growled, "Great words from Little Red Riding Hood. You just hide and keep striking from your hidey-hole." But he didn''t say elaborate much either, as he was completely focused on the battle. Besides, the means were secondary, in the end, the spoils went to the victor. Crack! Another crack streaked across the defensive formation causing it to shatter apart. Zhen Shi readied himself to defend from the front while taking a few more steps back. But surprisingly no attack came... Zhen Shi remained fully alert and unknowingly he had reached the part of the pavilion with the central garden. He only barely registered his foot lightly touching the pitch-black cauldron. Suddenly his spiritual senses went haywire. He was being attacked from the back! The second attack on the defensive formation had been a distraction. William had somehow made his way into the pavilion possibly from the open roof on top of the central garden. Either way, like a moth to the flame, Zhen Shi had walked right into that trap. To make things worse the wind was completely still and unaffected by William''s attack, making it that much difficult to locate. It was now too late... Even with his doubled reaction speed, he would be unable to dodge this close-range attack. But it was not utterly hopeless either... Zhen Shi grinned maliciously as he activated his spiritual connection with the pitch-black cauldron while applying . Instantly the pitch-black smog formed into the oh-so-familiar furnace spirit imps. But strangely enough, they were completely free of their usual mischievous chittering selves-- instead, they seemed more devilish and more serious... But Zhen Shi paid no attention to that as he put the fate of the entire battle on this gamble. He mentally ordered the imps to go all out in attack in three different directions, focused on his back; One towards the extreme right, another through the very center and the final towards the extreme left. He was hoping that one of them might hit the hiding William and reveal his location. Fortunately for him, William had not been expecting a sudden attack from furnace spirits, especially so suddenly. One of the imps hit onto something solid, causing it to strike out with its full soul formation power. BANG! Zhen Shi''s gamble had paid off! With the sense of dread now gone, he turned around victoriously. Zhen Shi was completely relaxed now. In this entire fight, there hadn''t been a shred of killing intent from either of them and the battle had been only a spar, despite the close shaves and insults to each other. In the end, this had caused a sense of slight respect to form in each other''s hearts. So Zhen Shi wasn''t worried about William not accepting his defeat or of the fight lasting for any longer. William had fallen on to the floor of the pavilion several meters away from Zhen Shi, possibly due to the sudden collision with the imp, and was now sprawled on the floor with his two swords on the floor even further away from him. Despite being slightly winded he seemed altogether fine and was even smiling at his surprising defeat. After all, William was strangely powerful enough to almost cause even Zhen Shi to lose, and the attack had been landed only by a single soul formation imp. Zhen Shi was about to walk over to William and help him up. He was free of his previous anger and was looking forward to a conversation with William explaining his prowess... But suddenly the imps lost their ''strange'' obedience as they seemed to grow crazy and howl in a frenzy. They started snarling and growling monstrously and all of them began converging on the fallen William. Zhen Shi felt a sense of dread and ran forwards while trying to spiritually call off those imps. But they turned a deaf ear to his orders and they seemed to become true devils... as they ripped apart William''s red clothes along with his surface skin and flesh dying his body in scarlet red blood. Not a single scream, word or frown came from William despite the obviously painful attacks. The grin on his face remained... growing eerier by the second... Even though Zhen Shi was running over to stop the imps while cursing them for fucking up everything... AGAIN! It was now too late. William roared with his eyes boiling in rage! Powerful scarlet red energy sprang out of his blood instantly causing the spirit formation imps to melt away... The scraped flesh and blood all over his body seemed to melt into this strange energy, which seemed similar to ordinary qi or aether but... strangely not at the same time, forming a cloak of powerful energy. His eyes and hair gained a tincture of red as his entire body became a simple existence of blood-red... Zhen Shi stopped throwing away any ideas of fixing this mistake. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. SHIT! It was a simple sparring match. How did it turn to this in mere moments! Fuck Myne and his furnace spirits! William was causing the qi and aether of nature to give heavy warnings of danger. He threw aside his confused feelings regarding the sudden turn to this situation as he activated to the maximum while still hiding it as much as possible. Any part of his body covered in clothing was covered by a layer of draconic scales and vermillion feathers. Even his exposed skin gave off a light sheen of draconic scales just barely hidden under his external skin. His eyes gave off a threatening glow rivaling even that of William''s own aura! But he had to struggle to remain calm under the bloodlust... But William paid no attention to the growing threat around Zhen Shi. William grinned with bloodied teeth and said, "Red is the world at dawn. You disappointed my expectations, and unlike the music, your actions reek of spite," causing the aura around him to grow even stronger. Zhen Shi let out a clam breath as lifted the Divine Bow. He put in an arrow and pulled it back with the full strength of his bestial physique. Despite the arising bloodlust, he kept his calm as he applied the wind aether to the arrow to grant speed, along with the water aether to grant ease of travel. William continued to chant his words while grinning in a bloodlust gradually strengthened by the red energy surrounding him, "Red is the world at dusk. You have angered me and I will have you pay." Zhen Shi forcefully shrugged off the bloodlust trying to force him to simply give in to the carnal urge of killing as he added earth aether to strengthen the arrow and fire aether to provide an explosive charge. William spoke out the final words with a murderous grin, "Red is the blood that seeps from the corpse dying under my blade. And pay you shall, twice as what you granted me," and his bloodlust and killing intent was exerted at full force! He silently shifted into an attacking position... like a jaguar poised on its hunt... Zhen Shi''s rationale was lost under the growing bloodlust as well. With a bestial growl and overflowing killing intent, he released his arrow. William dashed forward leaving a simple streak of crimson that proceeded to wreak havoc on the air which shivered in almost fear. He seemed to hold no fear of the oncoming arrow... As the arrow dashed forward like a silent assassin while eviscerating the air in its way, Zhen Shi finally lost his control to the bloodlust and growled in an animalistic frenzy. He dashed forwards only a step behind the dashing arrow. A crimson bloodied jaguar facing a bestial dragon followed by the silent arrow... head towards a collision. 31 Running Interference Within the market area of Lyon City lay the island holding the renowned "Lyon and Turnbull Auction House." The slow sunrise fell upon the island and the ever-still lake blessed by the rain of the night before, barely revealing the mystical fruits and flowers of the trees abound in the various groves. The branches of each tree were spread out as if in pride of the bounty they brought. It was a party of colors, of chaos and order, of a beauty that sprung from simple seeds blessed with mud and rain. But if you glanced at the island at a certain moment, with the perfect lighting you would be able to see the slightest glimpse of a powerful, awe-inspiring formation dome, that lay threateningly, almost as a warning to all would-be criminals and those unfortunate enough to get on the bad side of the Auction House. But just as you see it, it would be hidden again... like a crouching tiger or a hidden dragon... Within the protection of this formation, inside the highest floor of a majestic pagoda of weaving balustrades and silver luster, second only to the main golden pagoda of the auction house, was a bull-like man. He was dressed in a majestic but dark black robe emanating a powerful aura while laughing joyfully. His eyes were on a small but mystical silver platter of water placed on a table. The water was still as it revealed the familiar figures of Zhen Shi and William O''Dale in battle; revealing Zhen Shi struggling to deal with the invisible presence of Wiliam. The man chuckled while clapping his hands joyfully as he spoke out in celebration, "This was a true stroke of luck, a series of coincidences in our favor! To think that the freak of the O''Dales would be attracted to those disciples due to their own music and even pick a fight due to a small misunderstanding. Especially when I was just about to tamper forcefully! Will O''Dale truly is as hotblooded and wilful as they say!" while twidling a small crystal adorned with the barely visible carving of a serpent. He grinned further as he spoke, "Shu Yi continue the report please." The familiar elder Shu Yi in his black robe nodded curtly as he continued his paused task, "Yes, Lord Turnbull. The salesmen reported back to us that the two senior disciples are very skilled in their respective fields of herbology and mineralogy, based simply on their familiarity with ingredients and curt dealings of the staff. In fact, we concluded that they were planning on teaching alchemy and blacksmithing to the other disciple." This caused a slight frown to appear on Lord Turnbull''s face as he muttered, "Since they are even talented enough to teach their fellow disciple, it will be impossible to ensure a clean victory of the competition, despite the skilled friend that I invited for our side. But the Turnbulls only deal with certainties!" But the frown was replaced by a very satisfied grin as he continued, "And the only way to be certain of the victory of the appraisal competition is by getting rid of those annoying fellow disciples while allowing the blame to be graciously accepted by that poor O''Dale kid." His grin grew wider as he continued, "Even the gods are on the side of our Turnbull family. This is an opportunity from the heavens. If I tamper further by using this divine curse totem we can ensure that the competition will be completely out of the game. I don''t believe that a few nascent soul disciples will be able to hold down an enraged Will O''Dale!" while happily eyeing the serpent crystal in his hands. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Lord Turnbull continued to speak in a celebrating tone while watching the battle, "But, of course, once the battle is over and the O''Dale freak loses control and beats those disciples to near-death, make sure to send over some healers. After all, we can''t be too harsh on these fellow disciples, especially since they helped us gain the competing chance by putting that imbecile son of mine into the hold of the kingdom guard!" and ended with joyful laughter. Elder Shu Yi lightly nodded his head while laughing himself and spoke out, "As you wish, Lord Turnbull." With his eyes calmly observing the battle on the platter Lord Turnbull spoke out in a disgruntled manner, "Shu Yi, I can''t believe that this new kid is almost fighting toe-to-toe with the O''Dale freak! The O''Dale kid''s swordsmanship and concealing skills are top-grade... And as for this Zhen Shi, he is using self-created formations superbly despite being only a grade 1 formation master. His archery skills have reached a high level as well. Too bad we couldn''t get him to join our side..." with a hint of regret, causing Shu Yi to visibly grimace. Shu Yi laughed lightly and spoke up reassuringly, "Yes, but no matter how talented this Zhen Shi is, the winner will undoubtedly be our William. After all, he is able to wield that ''scarlet'' energy to fight against even divine blessed geniuses. He is even considered to be one of the potential tabooed!" Lord Turnbull turned his head towards Shu Yi and spoke with a disappointed look, "Shu Yi, I admit that your words are correct. But you''re being too short-sighted. I am well aware that the O''Dale freak is in your employ. But how long do you think the divine organizations will let a possible taboo and aberrant exist right under their noses? Especially since the O''Dales are in a downward spiral of losing power, in my opinion, the O''Dales, and this William kid will be very short-lived!" Shu Yi frowned in displeasure at the possible loss of one of his subordinates but could find no words to rebuke Lord Turnbull. Ignoring Shu Yi, Lord Turnbull turned back to the battle and spoke out with a malicious smile, "Forget that and enjoy this fight. As expected of two geniuses, both of them are using strategy even in the midst of the all-out brawl. And despite struggling, this Zhen Shi is holding out. And both of them have yet to bring out their trump cards," while continuing to handle that serpent crystal in his hand. But suddenly the scene in the silver platter showed the battle turning around in a single instant... Shu Yi''s eyes widened into genuine disappointment and displeasure. Lord Turnbull took it the worst as hurriedly stood up from his seat and shouted out, "Shit! I can''t believe that this kid used the furnace spirits to figure out Will''s location. That is too under-handed!" He frowned in visible disappointment as he shouted, "It''s now time to use the divine curse totem. Shu Yi, you do it. I believe your familiarity with him will strengthen the transfer." Shu Yi was surprised as he had not expected this turn of events. Ultimately, he grimaced at this order but could only obey under the unforgiving gaze of Lord Turnbull. He hurriedly walked closer as he took the serpent crystal from Lord Turnbull''s outstretched hand. Noticing that he was stalling, Lord Turnbull growled out, "Shu Yi! I am well aware that the totem lets the holder know what to do... Are you going to disobey my orders?" Shu Yi flinched under the sudden command but could only accede. As such, he lifted the crystal right on to the top of the silver platter showing the image of Will O''Dale being thrown away by the furnace spirits. He gulped in fear expecting a last moment change, but seeing the rising anger of Lord Turnbull he gritted his teeth and shouted out a single word, "Apep!" Immediately, a terrifying amount of qi was dragged out of his body on to the crystal causing his body to almost shrivel visibly. He seemed to age an entire decade as he dropped down on to the floor with damaged meridians and qi paths, while the gathered energy slowly formed into a dark red serpent, identical to the engraving, surrounding the crystal. The serpent stayed in place above the silver platter while giving out a powerful and undeniable aura... Lord Turnbull spared no glance to the collapsed and injured Shu Yi as he lightly stroked the serpent and whispered, "May the serpent lead the way to a deadly battle." He watched on in trepidation as the serpent turned to look at him for a moment. Lord Turnbull couldn''t help but shiver and take back his hand reflexively under the serpent''s gaze. But the dark red serpent proceeded to dive into the water on the silver platter. Strangely enough, there were no ripples as the serpent disappeared... But Lord Turnbull felt that he saw several streamless colorless energy streams reaching out to Zhen Shi and William O''Dale, but at the same time, he felt as if he might''ve imagined them... But as he continued to watch the battle in the silver platter, he suddenly started laughing uproariously saying, "Heavens are in my favor! I can''t believe that Zhen Shi would cause those furnace spirits to mercilessly attack the O''Dale brat... or is that a result of the divine curse?" and was confused for a moment. But he couldn''t help but forget it, as he continued to watch his plan leading to success, as Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale threw aside all semblances of sparring and threw themselves at each other like angered beasts in blood lust. Lord Turnbull''s eyes glowed as he noticed the powerful energy around Zhen Shi as he muttered, "Is that his divine blessing? But didn''t he obtain the blessing from God Caishen? How could his power increase even rival that of the O''Dale freak?" But fortunately, he was unable to sense any bestial nature since Zhen Shi had hidden it well enough. Nevertheless, Lord Turnbull continued to watch excitedly until suddenly... he began shouting out in great rage, "No! How? ...I wasted the divine curse totem for nothing!" He rushed out of the room while shouting to the guard on duty by his door, "Order every free and idle guard to surround the main guest pavilion!" The guard was frozen in place by the sudden order but spoke out slowly and respectfully, "But Lord Turnbull, Lord Lyon would not be happy with any orders performed in his absence. Especially since he specified to protec--" But the poor guard spoke no more as Lord Turnbull immediately punched him in the chest. A light wave of qi blasted out as the guard was thrown on to the wall with blood seeping from his mouth. Lord Turnbull turned to the other soldier and spoke out seething in rage while emphasizing his bloodied fist, "What about you?" That soldier immediately understood his situation as he bowed in acceptance and ran away to carry out the order. Lord Turnbull paused for a moment and spoke out to some servants that had been nearby while flicking away the blood on his fist, "And you... bring healers and take care of the ''unfortunately'' injured..." The servants nodded as they too ran away to carry his bidding. With those matters taken care of, Lord Turnbull dashed out of the pavilion with enraged eyes... ???????????????????? Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale were dashing towards each other. A dual-sword wielder wielding bloodlust itself and an archer with a trapped beast ready for a hunt... However, William O''Dale had completely lost himself within the crimson murderous intent as he brandished his swords with the desire to dye them in red blood. Zhen Shi, on the other hand, was barely aware of his own actions as he growled like a demonic creature and brandished his bow to descend upon the unsuspecting. And just as they were moments away from colliding... BANG! A sudden explosion went out in the very middle of their collision course. It was followed by a powerful white light causing them to involuntarily close their eyes, especially under the lessened intellect and bloodlust. But a familiar blue flame flickered amidst the blinding white light slowly revealing a familiar figure. But along with his appearance, the blue cool flames formed into an ephemeral formless dome surrounding him and cleanly separating Zhen Shi and William O''Dale. Zhen Shi could vaguely sense that the energy forming the dome was a large number of formation talismans... but was in no state of mind to get an accurate count. CLANG! Two separate waves of qi and air blasted off of the sides of the spherical dome formation. The two scarlet swords, the silent arrow, along with William O''Dale and Zhen Shi seemed to strike a metal plate, as their attacks simply bounced off the impenetrable dome. Both William and Zhen Shi were thrown back by the sudden jarring collision. The dome dimmed lightly revealing the familiar figure of an uncomfortably grinning Myne cloaked in blue flames. Noticing that Zhen Shi and William were still acting with bloodlust and killing intent he gracefully flicked both of his hands. Instantly the dome followed one flick as it wrapped around Will O''Dale and subdued him, while his blue flame passed seamlessly through the demonic Zhen Shi, simultaneously. As the blue flames passed through Zhen Shi the bloodlust gradually receded. When the blue flames came back outside they showed a dark tint of crimson within them, almost as if the bloodlust had been dragged out, before flickering away. Myne left the bloodlust induced Will O''Dale who was still hopelessly struggling against the formation that was binding him and his cultivation and walked to Zhen Shi who was now shaking off the after-effects of going full-on bestial. Under Zhen Shi''s glowering gaze Myne sauntered by and casually spoke out, "So, I see that your training was a resounding success! Didn''t I tell you that you''d have a hard time mastering anything without my help?" Zhen Shi had had a thousand complaints to give out but was instantly caught speechless by this shameless answer. But he wasn''t going to be beaten either and so spoke out, "Actually my training was a resounding success. I refined ten Grade 2 healing pills and a Grade 2 knife with NO HOLES in it, and even combined your Dream Engraving skill with pill refining," finishing with confidence. Myne was caught speechless. SHIT! What is wrong with this kid? Becoming an alchemist and a blacksmith with the application of grade improvement skills, overnight? Despite his desire to enjoy this moment, Zhen Shi hurriedly spouted out the main question that had been burning within his mind this entire time, "Why did you stop our battle? I was winning! Besides this Will O''Dale started it... and your furnace spirits made things worse." Myne grimaced at his reply but spoke out with a mischievous grin, "Oh, sorry. I was just running interference!" but continued more seriously, "Kid I think it would''ve been more likely for the both of you to have been critically injured, especially since you weren''t even using that ability at full." Zhen Shi grimaced but could only silently agree as he himself was not sure of what would''ve happened if Myne hadn''t interfered. Nevertheless, he continued to ask with interest, "So how did you know that you should ''run interference''?" Myne grinned proudly as he spoke out with confidence, "I was watching the entire fight from beginning to end. Loved how it was entirely due to a series of wacky mistakes by the way," struggling to hold his laughter. But, under Zhen Shi''s scowling face, he continued speaking, "I decided to interfere only if things got really bad. Besides, I figured it was the perfect chance for you to battle some actual genius cultivators, especially since you haven''t had a proper battle." Zhen Shi nodded in agreement at this, nevertheless frowned as he asked in honest confusion, "Okay... But Myne why was this more difficult than the battle with Vivienne when she was at the Law Holder stage?" Myne grinned happily as he answered, "Well, let Master Myne explain. I believe Vivienne was actually holding back in that battle! I''m not sure exactly why... maybe, possibly to use you as a hostage, she hadn''t had any intention of going all out and had always attacked with a fair amount of control. But... Now that I think of it... It was pretty weird. For what strange reason could she have exercised control even when under the divine curse?" ending with a playful face of himself being in deep contemplation. Zhen Shi could only grimace as he realized the reason... That shameless skill! Myne continued speaking, quite happy at having put down Zhen Shi by a peg, "But of course the most important thing is that the red guy is fairly innocent. At the last moment, he was influenced by a divine curse causing him to completely lose his rational sense! That is why I can''t calm him down as I did for you..." Zhen Shi frowned in thought but looked at Myne curiously as this brought up a few questions. He immediately asked them, "So you can now sense divine curses?" Myne shook his head regretfully speaking, "I wish... this was only a minor level divine curse from, possibly, a single-use divine totem originating from a far-away source. As a result, I could easily sense the influence of the divine will." But, Myne suddenly grinned as he spoke out, "While the red guy," pointing at the struggling and bound Will O''Dale, "needed a divine curse to go crazy... you," pointing at Zhen Shi, "did it all by yourself!" Zhen Shi grimaced as he spoke out, "Fuck off! You know it''s the fault of the beast skill." Myne shook his head in disagreement, "No, no. It is your weak mind''s fault." Zhen Shi spoke out in defiance, "Fine then. You show me how you can control both a dragon and a vermillion bird at the same time. Go ahead... show me!" Myne was caught speechless. Wha--How? I don''t have any of those bloodlines to do that! Zhen Shi grinned victoriously as he patted his chest proudly and spoke wisely, "Yeah. That''s what I thought. People easily complain but only realize the truth when they try to do it themselves!" Myne scowled in displeasure as he spoke out, "Either way, we should realize that someone used the divine curse for some purpose. Most possibly to take you out of commission. Or maybe even all three of us... if the culprit had enough confidence in this Will O''Dale," while turning to him who was still struggling against the bounds while seething with blood lust. Zhen Shi paused in thought for a moment, but couldn''t decide on any particular person who could be an enemy with access to divine curse totems and even exert their power within the Market Island from the people he had met or insulted. Myne suddenly grinned as he looked at Zhen Shi and spoke, "Oh don''t worry about their identity. It appears the problem will soon be solved." Zhen Shi was about to ask for a more thorough explanation when the entire pavilion was suddenly laid siege by the sounds of marching soldiers, drum beats, clanking weapons. These sounds slowly grew louder as the presence of the soldiers grew stronger and the pavilion area was surrounded by guards moving with formations. Myne''s grin grew wider as he turned to Zhen Shi and said, "What''d I tell you? They''re already here!" Noticing Zhen Shi''s slightly worried look he even sagely spoke out, "Enemies in the open are better than those in the dark!" 33 Sea Fortress A powerful ripple of qi blasted the dust away revealing the bull-like silhouette to be Lord Turnbull! His face was seething of rage, as the metallic qi manifested around him forming the shadow of a powerful bull. He was wearing a strange but unassuming dark purple crystal around his neck. He raised his head as he roared, "Brave Soldiers... stand at attention!" His words were strange, almost as if his words were truth itself; a description of reality... Immediately a powerful war cry of acknowledgment rang out from the forest, from what could only be assumed to be hundreds of soldiers. Lord Turnbull raised his fist into the air shouting, "Advance!" THUMP! THUMP! A pulsating thunderous sound rang through the trees as the army marched forward; a complete turn-about from its previous lackluster arrival and even more abrupt retreat. It was almost as if Lord Turnbull''s words had slashed off their cowardice and replaced it with power and courage, just like he had spoken. Amidst, the ominous marching sounds the soldiers gradually revealed themselves. All of them were wearing eery dark-metallic helmets made of a strange qi extremely similar to that surrounding Lord Turnbull. With their faces covered by the ominous helmets, they gave off an inhuman and fearful presence, completely different from their initial aura. Even Lieutenant John and the few soldiers that had remained previously had joined up with this monstrous army, easily mixing in with ominous metallic helmets of their own. And just like that Zhen Shi and the rest who had just been freed from a siege situation were pushed back into one once more. Seeing the powerful aura and the ominous nature of this army led by a Soul Deification cultivator, Zhen Shi muttered out with a grimace, "Well there goes your attempt at chasing them away. Now they''re back, angrier and creepier..." Myne had been in a rather strange mood since the arrival of Lord Turnbull, with his eyes focused on his neck. But he couldn''t help but grimace at Zhen Shi''s words as he spoke out, "Well, at least you''ll get to see my powers now." But his face grew serious as he mentally sent out, "The fear-inducing effects of the bewildering formation should''ve lasted much longer. It appears that this bull-like fellow has an understanding of W¨¹rds and used it to raise morale and put the soldiers under his strict control." Zhen Shi sent back in curiosity, "W¨¹rds? Is that what proclamators who shout out and use edicts to fight use? In fact, I''ve met one. He was only of the foundation establishment stage and still blocked this flame," as he manifested in one hand. Myne eyed the hellish-fire in curiosity for a moment but grimaced as he replied, "Proclamators? Is that what people call it now? I guess the name is fine, but cultivators cannot exercise the w¨¹rd before reaching Soul Deification." He frowned in thought as he continued, "Perhaps, they form a pact with true-blue W¨¹rd Wielders or maybe even totemic divinities to harness a flicker of the power of the actual W¨¹rd. Otherwise, it''d be impossible..." But their interesting conversation came to an abrupt stop under Vivienne''s stern voice, "Can you two please discuss this some other time? For example, when we aren''t surrounded by a W¨¹rd empowered army?" Myne and Zhen Shi grinned in embarrassment as they focused on the advancing army... But before they could do anything else, Hao Lei shouted out while putting Laura, who had been shaken at the sight of the ominous army, behind him, "Greetings, Lord Turnbull. Forgive me for being blunt, but what are you doing?" He continued while gesturing at the roof, "These fellow disciples are guests of the Lyon family and were accepted by our Lord himself. They will be your competitors in the appraisal competition. Your actions attempting to eliminate them before the competition are very suspicious." Lord Turnbull grunted causing the shadow of the bull behind him to solidify further, but spoke out rather calmly, with a malicious grin, "Of course, I''m aware that these three are the competition of the Turnbull family. But that does not make them privileged to engage in crime. According to Hall Law, I handle these matters in Leslie''s absence. And you... may leave now," finishing with a stern glare. Hao Lei flinched at his powerful gaze. Nevertheless, he walked forwards while speaking out, "Lord Turnbull, I''m afraid that I must disobey your order. Since you wish to exert your influence unjustly, I have to interfere." Lord Turnbull grimaced in displeasure. He wasn''t afraid of Hao Lei despite them being at the same cultivation level. In fact, he could take care of that old man easily. But unlike the three disciples, Hao Lei was an elder of the Market Hall. Attempting to harm or kill him in public would be very difficult and annoying to explain later on. So with a frown, he waved his hand at the pavilion while saying a single word, "COME!" Immediately the door of the pavilion banged open as a red figure was dragged out by a hand of faint silver aether covered in strange inscriptions. The figure that was being dragged out was Will O''Dale. He was still covered in red energy while furiously struggling to escape Myne''s restrictive formation. Seeing this, Myne sneered as he waved his hand causing the formation talismans to glow brightly. Under the power of the glowing formation, the silver hand was melted away... causing Will O''Dale to fall on to the ground just a few steps away from the pavilion door. He continued to struggle against the binding. Seeing his W¨¹rd manifestation broken so easily, Lord Turnbull narrowed his eyes at Myne. Despite this, he pointed at the bound Will O''Dale and said while looking at Elder Hao Lei, "Hao Lei as you well know, Will O''Dale, is a subordinate of the Turnbull family. And yet he is being held captive. These individuals are criminals. Or at the very least I must confirm the truth. Will you stop me from exercising the law? And will you and your family bear the consequences?" with his eyes ending dangerously on Laura. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Hao Lei was speechless. He wanted to help Zhen Shi and the rest, but he couldn''t put Laura and his family at risk. Especially when he wasn''t sure of their innocence... Zhen Shi immediately spoke out in defiance, "What the hell? Will the Red attacked us first! And later he was affected by a divine curse which probably originated from you!" His words caused Hao Lei to frown in confusion and thought. Still, he spoke out, "Lord Turnbull if what they say is true, then the fact that Will O''Dale is your subordinate makes it even more suspicious. Perhaps you sent him over under your orders. So that he would be captured, giving you an excuse to arrest them!" Lord Turnbull ignored Hao Lei and stared at Zhen Shi in anger with a tinge of surprise at his use of the divine curse being found out. But he wasn''t that worried, proving the use of a divine curse was next to impossible. So he confidently spoke out, "Lies! Do you dare slander a manager of the market hall?" while allowing his spiritual pressure to be exerted at full force on this ''annoying'' soul formation cultivator. Zhen Shi pursed his lips in amusement while stealthily activating . With the scales and feathers appearing under his clothes and the additional strengthening of his soul he easily brushed of the spiritual pressure, causing Lord Turnbull to raise an eyebrow in displeasure. Nevertheless, he turned to Hao Lei, "I expect you''ll do the right thing and allow me to arrest these criminals, or else..." This caused Hao Lei to grimace, despite the words from Zhen Shi he couldn''t over-rule a Manager. Nevertheless, he spoke out in his last attempt at defiance, "Very well, Lord Turnbull, but I will be observing the proceedings. I hope you are aware of the problems that would arise if they are harmed without justification," and grew silent unable to stop Lord Turnbull. Lord Turnbull proceeded to ignore his words while gathering power into the shadow of the bull behind him. He sneered in his mind while thinking, "Observe? Fine, go on. But who can blame me for a small but ''deadly'' series of accidents? After all, I am a Turnbull and it would be too late by then..." But Zhen Shi wasn''t going to be silenced and he was about to speak out for their innocence and the unfairness of this situation... He was influenced by the exertion of proper justice back then in the market road and had subconsciously believed that it would always be so. But he was halted by Myne. Myne spoke out grimly, "Lord Turnbull, it appears that despite what we say you''ll attack us... So allowing ourselves to be arrested will be disastrous..." Zhen Shi grew silent, gradually understanding the truth in Myne''s words. He realized very clearly now, that ''justice'' is only exerted by those with power. So he silently manifested his bow and increased while keeping the bestial aura hidden. On the other hand, Lord Turnbull grinned slightly almost as if in agreement with Myne''s words. He hurriedly raised his hands causing a torrent of aether to rush into the shadow of the metallic bull behind him, causing it to grow more and more real. At the same time, this energy empowered the soldiers and the ominous helmets covering their heads. Laura stared at Hao Lei pleading with her eyes to help them. But Hao Lei shook his head helplessly. Laura grimaced but thought out in prayer, "Elder Brother, don''t die! I didn''t get to trick you into taking responsibility yet!" ???????????? Myne flicked his hand sending a ring and a strange package at Zhen Shi. Zhen Shi grabbed the ring with one hand while unwrapping the package with the other. He couldn''t help but grin in excitement at what it contained; it was a quiver of exactly 100 arrows. All of them seemed to be very powerful and Zhen Shi could even sense a strange formation etched on to each of the pitch-black arrowheads. It was very unique and probably would''ve been hidden from his weak senses had it not been for the strange sense of familiarity he felt from it. Even when he used his appraisal skill all he got was . Myne spoke to him mentally with a grin, "A small gift from your big brother. It isn''t much, I just made it for fun... but they are all grade 4 arrows." His grin turned into smug one of deep pride as he continued, "You definitely aren''t strong enough to use them at full power. However, as mages, despite our failure at comprehending primordial chaos we did make some progress in our research. The formation inscribed on them is the result of all the progress we made collected in a single place. If I guessed correctly it... should react very well with you!" finishing rather uncertainly and scratching his head. Zhen Shi had been feeling rather touched at this sudden gift. Despite Myne saying that he made it for fun, he could guess the truth. He was sure that these arrows and the inscription of this formation into each arrowhead would have been extremely hard work, especially when Myne had to complete it within the few weeks since they had met. However, his feelings were ruined by how he finished his words, causing Zhen Shi to hurriedly send back, "What do you mean ''Should''? These won''t end up trying to stab me like your furnace spirits right?" Myne raised an eyebrow as he sent back with great interest, "Wait... so your furnace spirits tried to stab you? Weren''t you acting all high and mighty just because your knife had no holes in it? And now you tell me you were actually attacked by a bunch of imps!" while struggling to hold his laughter. Vivienne who was also listening in couldn''t help but smile. However, the relaxed atmosphere they had going on, caused Laura and Hao Lei to be confused and Lord Turnbull to be extremely angered... Oblivious to this, Zhen Shi grimaced at his slip up while hurriedly asking, "Fine then. What does this ring do?" He could''ve used the appraisal skill to find out but had asked directly just to change the topic. Myne''s smile died down as he calmly answered, "Well, you know how weaker cultivators have a limited range of spiritual sense? That ring will enhance the range of your spiritual sense and even allow mental communication with those who have similar rings over much wider distances," while showing his hand with a similar ring on. Vivienne smiled as she revealed her hand with a similar ring as well. Zhen Shi nodded while eyeing his ring and admiring the powerful formation which would allow the enhancement of the spiritual sense. But of course, he couldn''t make much sense of it, yet! Suddenly, his eyes widened as he felt that he glimpsed something else... indescribable. But despite observing it further he yielded no more results. As such he gave up, calmly putting the ring on his index finger and hung the quiver of arrows on his back. Zhen Shi turned his head at Lord Turnbull but flinched since he suddenly sensed a powerful blast of qi heading towards them. But before he could even react, Myne waved his hand causing a golden dome covered with formation talismans to appear around them. BOOM! A light explosion that sent the pavilion shaking rang out as the formation dome blocked the attack. The formation was littered with cracks as it exploded. Despite this Myne grinned calmly while eyeing Lord Turnbull and spoke out, "Why would you attack so suddenly? Were you afraid of being unable to beat us... or did the COW just lose her patience?" Despite the ominous situation, Zhen Shi and Vivienne couldn''t help but grin. Even Laura smiled lightly. Lord Turnbull grimaced at the insult to the bull apparition behind him. He had only sent that attack as a warning since he was unhappy with the dismissive attitude of these three disciples. But now he was truly angered as he roared out, "FIRE!" Immediately the hundreds of soldiers surrounding the pavilion obeyed his command. They unsheathed and brought out different weapons ranging from swords to axes and lifted them simultaneously in a rather ominous and inhuman manner. Powerful globes of multi-colored energy formed at the tips of each of their weapons, pausing for just a single moment, to gather power. Instantly, each of these globes exploded in fiery light and were propelled sky-wards at rapid speed leaving streaks of different colors up in the sky. Suddenly Lord Turnbull clapped his hands together causing the globes to explode in another burst of light which instantly empowered them. The powerful globes of power reached the maximum height of their projection in a single instant. And in the next instant, they swerved downwards under the effect of gravity leaving a magnificent arch of hundreds of colored streaks up in the sky... like a stunning mystical rainbow. In a few instants, beauty was painted upon the sky. But to Zhen Shi and the rest, it brought a terrifying sense of danger and urgency. The rainbow had a strange mesmerizing effect that had brought Zhen Shi into its thrall, leaving him defenseless for just a moment. Fortunately, during those few instants, Myne had been unaffected and had been throwing out tens of strange bronze globes into the air. Each of the globes exploded, bringing out formation talismans, formed from a strange colorless qi as if they had been stored within each globe. Strangely these talismans were formed from a qi rather similar to Myne''s original time law. Instantly they linked up in a complex manner that even Zhen Shi, who had hurriedly escaped the mesmerizing effect due to the sense of danger, had difficulty comprehending. The majority of the talismans surrounded the three of them up on the pavilion roof. Instantly the formation talismans combined, forming into a series of thick powerful walls, revealing a majestic fort built from silver-grey bricks. It should''ve been out of place with the golden pavilion just below it, but strangely enough, it wasn''t. The remaining formation talismans settled at a level below the top of the fort. Suddenly Vivienne who had been silently standing behind Myne smiled happily. She was unaffected by the mesmerizing rainbow of colors above. Under the amazed eyes of many, she calmly stretched her hands forwards and placed them on Myne''s back. He couldn''t help but grin as he felt her reassuring hands on his back, sending forth her thoughts and understanding. Just as her hands touched his back, the remaining formation talismans linked together in a complex manner and stabilized forming a mysterious sea. The sea surrounded the fort forming the image of a sea-fortress! An old fort standing the effects of time in solitude as a lifeless sea rolled in timeless waves below it. A heart-wrenching image appeared amidst this formation, causing all the onlookers, even the soldiers under the effect of Lord Turnbull''s w¨¹rd, to stare at it in awe and surprise. A powerful wave of qi spread out, as the image settled down and the formation was fully formed. The colorful orbs of death descending from the sky collided with this wave, but only moved slightly as if it moved through a sea-wave. Nevertheless, the small movement caused a huge blemish on the curving arch forming the rainbow; as it now had a small bump which was rather out of place. Zhen Shi stared on in amazement while trying to comprehend this amazing formation from within the fort. Almost immediately, the colorful orbs landed onto the grey-brick walls. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out as each orb exploded in a blast of color, just below the even more colorful but crooked rainbow, which was still rather odd-looking due to the sudden bump in the arch. On the other hand, despite the ongoing bombardment, besides the occasional shake, the grey fort was completely fine. The sea-fortress bravely stood on against the colorful explosions, just like it had survived the trials of time... 34 A Red Targe By now, the guests in the remaining pavilions and servants had become aware of Lord Turnbull''s attempt to arrest some pavilion guests and the battle it had led to. Along with the sounds of explosions, they had hurriedly come out expecting a battle where three lone disciples desperately fought against Lord Turnbull and his army. They had expected a pitiful and one-sided battle that would end within a few moments. And the few who realized that their ''divine musician'' was one of these three disciples couldn''t help but run over in worry and fear. But on the contrary, they had been awe-struck at the sight of the majestic sea-fortress defending against the attacks of a crooked rainbow. Their jaws had hit the floor when they realized that the sea-fortress was a formation set up by the three disciples. To their further surprise, this formation continued to hold on against their Market Hall Manager renowned for his power in commanding armies. The fans of the ''divine musician'' couldn''t help but rejoice at this surprising turn of events! They had also come to know that Lord Turnbull was exercising his power to apprehend these fellow disciples, who were expected to compete for the sake of the Lyon Family, on the unfair claims of having attacked Will O''Dale. This was undoubtedly a suspicious event. However, they wouldn''t dare complain or protest. Nevertheless, they continued to watch on this battle with great pity for the unlucky disciples, while the fans of ''the divine musician'' held out hope for the survival of their idol. But deep down all the spectators thought that the current stalemate between the two parties would be short-lived. Lord Turnbull had yet to go all out or even use the resources available to him as a Manager. As such, in their minds, the defeat of these three disciples was a definite result. Unless, of course, Lord Leslie was to return earlier than expected... Disregarding the new spectators, the rainbow globes continued to descend upon the fortress walls and explode in clouds of colorful qi. And yet, the grey fortress stood undamaged at the very center of the explosions. However, with each explosion wreaking havoc on the walls, the silver-grey walls of the sea fortress began to glow brighter. Boom! Boom! The colorful explosions continued to rain damage upon the fortress. With each explosion, the sea fortress glowed brighter and brighter. Within a few moments, the fortress was extremely bright; enough to momentarily blind anyone who stared too long. Zhen Shi who was standing within the very center of the fortress formation was barely able to discern that the fortress was gathering energy and had now reached a tipping point... And then, just one more colored globe exploded upon the fortress causing the bright glow to reach a threshold. Seeing this, Myne grinned as he pushed forward with two hands. Instantly the glowing energy of the fortress was dragged out and gathered into a single white sphere radiating a dangerous qi. Myne''s grin grew wider as he flicked his out-stretched hands. Instantly, a shadow of a grey cannon appeared and the white sphere was loaded in like a cannon-ball. Kaboom! A loud explosion rang out as the cannon fired. The white cannon-ball dashed forwards leaving behind a single white streak. Instantly, the cannonball ripped the crooked rainbow apart as it shot towards Lord Turnbull and his army. Seeing this sudden and unexpected attack Lord Turnbull frowned as he shouted out, "Shield!" Instantly every soldier brought out their weapons and lifted them in a defensive position. Their perfect synchronized movements instantly caused small shields of multi-colored qi to appear above them. In an instant, these small shields combined together forming a single giant shield composed of multiple patched shields of different colors. In fact, it looked rather strange with all the different colors patched together. However, it was completely sufficient to defend against the incoming attack. Bang! The white cannon-ball struck against the multi-colored shield with a loud explosion. For a few moments, nothing happened as they pushed against each other trying to gain the upper hand. Suddenly a few cracks appeared on the multi-colored shield, but at the same time, the intensity of the cannonball lessened. This struggle continued for a while longer. Suddenly, with the sound of glass splintering, the shield cracked apart. However, the cannonball dissipated at the same time. With the initial conflict over, silence reigned over the battlefield for a few moments, while the shadows of the rainbow and the white streak dissipated. Lord Turnbull was about to speak out in confidence but the impatient Zhen Shi beat him to it. He shouted out, "Turnbull, when will you stop hiding behind your army and fight like a real man?" Lord Turnbull''s veins throbbed in anger as he scowled at the Sea-Fortress. He could not see through the walls of the sea-fortress and thus could not figure out who it was that had spoken, and so stayed silent for a few moments... On the other hand, the crowd viewing the battle couldn''t help but nod their heads in agreement. Despite Lord Turnbull''s ability and power, they couldn''t help but agree with this logic. After all, it made perfect sense for the formation master of the sea-fortress to say this to Lord Turnbull who was leading an entire army! But, of course, they would''ve vomited blood if they knew that the shout had come from Zhen Shi who was hiding within the formation himself. Myne stared at Zhen Shi in disbelief and sent mentally, "How can you be so shameless? You''re doing the same thing!" Zhen Shi had realized the flaw in his logic moments immediately after having shouted. Nevertheless, he shrugged as he said, "If it''s such a big problem to you, just think I said it in your place!" Vivienne who still had her hands on Myne''s back, couldn''t help but laugh lightly, while Myne stared on in disbelief at this shameless brother of his. But this moment was short-lived as Lord Turnbull who had been unable to handle his anger when he had seen the agreeing faces of the spectators and roared out, "Edict: BULL-CHARGE!" He had been directly applying the energy of the army in all of his previous attacks. Since that had been insufficient to destroy the fortress formation, he now channeled the energy through himself and into the apparition of the metallic-bull behind him. Instantly a torrent of qi was pulled out of the soldiers of the army, causing their skin to visibly pale. These qi torrents combined with the shadow of the bull that had been behind Lord Turnbull this entire time, causing that shadow to grow stronger and more life-like. Within a few moments, a terrifying metallic black bull with pearl-white horns and eyes filled with rage was floating above Lord Turnbull and his army. It pawed the air with its hooves in a manner that would have kicked up dust had it been on the ground. It lowered its head allowing it''s white horn to glint dangerously under the morning sunlight and snorted out clouds of smoke from its nostrils menacingly. Without a moment''s notice, it dashed forwards causing a wave of qi and wind to blast out. Meanwhile, Myne hurriedly communicated, "It appears that I overestimated this Lord Turnbull. He can only call upon the true W¨¹rd to a limited extent. Just now he used some sort of external blessing or pact to summon the bull and send forth this attack... Nevertheless, I don''t think my formation can survive more than a few blows from the bull. So unless you have an idea, I''ll have to go all out to end this..." with a hint of hesitation. Vivienne furrowed her brow in worry, but couldn''t come up with any ideas of her own. On the other hand, Zhen Shi frowned in thought and sent out, "This bull... It acted very realistically, despite being formed from qi. Why?" Myne hurriedly answered, "That is due to the influence of the mind. All the practices of magic are closely tied with the thoughts of the caster and his beliefs. Especially the way of the W¨¹rd. A W¨¹rd only holds power as long as the meaning is known. Just then the manifestation of the bull was influenced by the thoughts and beliefs of Turnbull and the entire army that supplied him with energy, causing it to act as it did..." Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed brightly as he hurriedly interrupted Myne and asked, "Last question. Do W¨¹rd Wielders have complete control over their qi manifestations?" Myne frowned for a moment eyeing the bull that was rapidly charging forwards. He resolutely shook his head, "Usually, yes. However, unlike the previous attacks, this has been strengthened with some form of divine support. Thus Turnbull should have lost control the moment he launched the attack. In fact, I think he should''ve used a more direct attack than using an animate figure to do the attacking..." Zhen Shi grinned confidently as he interrupted Myne once more and spoke out, "Now... give me a device that grants control of your formations!" He knew that this was a rather sudden request which might be difficult to be satisfied under normal circumstances. However, he had noticed how Myne had used those bronze globes to bring out formation talismans previously as if they had been stored away for later use, rather than creating them on the spot... He could only conclude that it was a special device to bring out more formation talismans than one could under normal circumstances. Thus he had held out hope that Myne might have a similar device for controlling formations. Myne was confused by this request for a moment but nodded his head deciding to believe in Zhen Shi. With only a few moments before the Bull reached them, he manifested a golden disc. This was a tool that was commonly used by formation masters to allow control of formations in their absence. He threw it at Zhen Shi while mentally saying, "Just send your thoughts into the control disc." Zhen Shi nodded absently and hurriedly followed suit commanding the formations as he deemed fit. Myne and Vivienne stared rather blankly expecting some change to take place in the sea-fortress. But nothing happened... Instead, a sudden and powerful roar came out from below the sea-fortress. Instead of controlling the Sea-Fortress with the amulet, Zhen Shi had used the Amulet to free Will O''Dale who was now just in front of their pavilion. Instantly, the formation restraining him retreated and formed a single amulet talisman attached just behind his neck. Under the influence of that Divine Curse, Will O''Dale was still seething in rage and a deep desire for battle. The moment he had been freed he had roared out in rage and murderous-intent while searching for battle On one side all he could see was a golden pavilion and a calm sea-fortress within a floating sea of qi. On the other, he could see an army and a charging angry bull. So as on who to attack and start a battle, he made the obvious choice. Immediately he let out a roar causing that strange red energy to manifest around him and dashed towards the raging bull while brandishing his unarmed fists. Previously, the restrained Will O''Dale had been ignored by everyone, but now, his sudden roar had made him the central focus. All the spectators including Laura and Hao Lei gawked at this sudden attacker who was dressed from head to toe in blood-red clothes and was even bathed in terrifying scarlet energy. Lord Turnbull''s face frowned in disbelief, while even the thoughtless army behind him paused in surprise for a moment. Myne and Vivienne were confused as to why Zhen Shi had released Will O''Dale sending him to an obvious and purposeless death. On the other hand, the manifestation of the Black Bull had been innocently and happily charging to destroy the fortress just like it had been commanded. But suddenly it''s vision had fallen on to a person who was roaring at it in a challenge. To make matters worse, this attacker was completely covered in RED! The bull could have chosen between attacking a silent fortress that was minding its own business or... this arrogant human covered in red and was obviously attempting to threaten and irritate it. And so, just like Will O''Dale before, the Bull who was enraged at the sight of the color red made the obvious choice... With a snort of a cloud of smoke, the Bull changed course and charged towards the red target, innocently and happily. Zhen Shi grinned confidently as he watched on with eyes filled with pride at his own intellect...But everyone else was confused. Myne and Vivienne stared with widened eyes at this strange event. Lord Turnbull almost coughed blood at his own attack charging towards ''his victim''. This turn of events was a slap in his own face! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The silent spectators were even more confused, "Why on earth is the Lord attacking his own subordinate? Didn''t he come to save that kid? Has he lost control of his own bull?" However, the most confused was Will O''Dale. The sight of the raging bull charging towards him had jarred his sub-conscious slightly awake from the effects of the divine curse. He had immediately realized that colliding with this monstrous beast would spell certain death for him. But with only his sub-conscious he was unable to make his body run away or dodge. Helpless to change the situation he could only curse in his thoughts. An innocent and happy bull facing a red target that continues to curse mentally... head towards a collision. 36 An Arrow for a Comrade The wind shivered as the arrow dashed towards the army behind Lord Turnbull. The strange red and black flame flickered weakly upon the arrowhead. Zhen Shi had aimed at one of those eery metallic helmets on the head of one soldier. But just when the arrow was a few meters away from reaching its target... Lord Turnbull flicked his hand calmly whispering, "Dodge." Instantly the soldier who was wearing that helmet lightly bent his head to the side. And just like that, the arrow missed its target. The soldier had only made a slight motion, but that had been more than sufficient to dodge Zhen Shi''s arrow. It was almost as if the soldier had witnessed the movement of the arrow from multiple perspectives and then made the simplest motion to achieve his objective. Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he witnessed this minor soldier dodge his arrow with such ease. The arrowhead flickered with the weak black and red flame as the arrow streaked through the air like a silent assassin. His eyes widened even further as he watched this arrow continue past its actual target... and instead strike a different target. The arrow that had missed its target dashed through the air and struck a new target, the qi manifestation of the Bull! Even during this battle, the Bull had continued to ''innocently'' chase the screaming Will O''Dale around the battlefield. But unfortunately for the Bull and fortunately for Will O''Dale, the Bull had just happened to be behind the soldier that had dodged the arrow. As such, the arrow struck the body of the Bull manifestation with the full force of Zhen Shi''s bestial physique. A mournful roar rang out through the battlefield as the arrow struck the Bull cleanly on its exposed torso. Even with the full power of Zhen Shi''s bestial physique the arrow only penetrated a few centimeters into the bull''s hide, after all, it was powerful enough to threaten Myne''s sea-fortress formation. As such, it should have only been a flesh wound... Nevertheless, the Bull continued to roar painfully as the arrow continued to slowly submerge into its torso; almost like a stone falling into quicksand. It stood in place while roaring and shivering amidst this ''great pain'' as the arrow and the strange flame disappeared into the body of the Bull. Zhen Shi stared in disbelief as the Bull suddenly turned its head and stared at him with wronged eyes. Zhen Shi scratched his head in embarrassment while mumbling, "Why are you staring at me like I''ve murdered a puppy? It''s only a flesh wound so can you please not scream so embarrassingly?" The Bull''s painful roars increased in intensity almost as if it had heard Zhen Shi. With one last glance at Zhen Shi, it suddenly began to run away. It continued to whimper in pain as it dashed into the island forest and finally disappeared among the trees. Silence reigned within the battlefield as the spectators stared wordlessly at this strange turn of events. Myne immediately sent mentally, "Ugh... Why did you do that?" Zhen Shi grimaced and sent back, "Bull Shit! That Bull manifestation was just playing victim just for receiving a minor flesh wound." "Huh? What are you talking about? I meant the Grade 4 arrow that you just lost forever!" Zhen Shi''s grimace grew worse as he realized that he had just lost a valuable weapon for the sake of a ridiculous bull. Nevertheless, Myne continued with a sigh, "Either way, put the arrows aside for a moment. Since Turnbull has manifested his W¨¹rd as helmets upon his army he can see through their eyes and easily dodge any obvious attacks. I suggest you jump in and fight in an unpredictable manner. He won''t have time to focus on you after I attack..." Zhen Shi nodded wordlessly still mourning the loss of his arrow. He could only hope that the Bull would dissipate in a nearby place making it easier to find the arrow. After all, it was only a manifestation of qi and aether and not a real bull... Despite, Zhen Shi''s misfortune, Will O''Dale was celebrating his fortune. He had just been freed from the terrifying chase of a crazy Bull and it was all thanks to that Zhen Shi! As such, William stared at Zhen Shi with grateful eyes while thinking, ''Aiya! I misunderstood this fellow. I regret nothing as much as deciding to attack this divine musician.'' Tears rose in his eyes as he contemplated his unfortunate life, ''In my entire life, besides my little brother and my family, everyone else came to me for their own purposes. This is the first time... that someone truly helped me!'' The tears streaked down his face, ''When everyone else had forgotten about me and left my life to fate, he was the only one who helped! He even decided to leave the protection of his formation and attack that devilish bull at the risk of losing his own life. How heroic! How valiant! This is a dragon amongst men! A true comrade!'' With these thoughts, William dashed forwards and jumped upon the unsuspecting Zhen Shi. He hugged Zhen Shi''s body tightly while sobbing and shouting "Comrade I owe you my life! From now on, we are brothers!" Zhen Shi who was still wallowing in his loss couldn''t help but think, ''Is this compensation for the lost arrow? I suppose it''s fine now,'' and consoled himself as such. Nevertheless, he grimaced and hurriedly pushed William off saying, "Get off! You''re rubbing your snot all over me. It''s one thing for pretty girls to hug me and cry, but grown men definitely can''t!" William smiled while rubbing off his tears and snot and spoke reassuringly, "I agree. I''ll fight off any grown man that dares hug and cry on my brother!" Zhen Shi was about to comment on how shameless he was being, but suddenly, an angry shout rang out. It was Lord Turnbull. Witnessing how his powerful ''attack'' of a bull had played around ridiculously and finally run away into the forest while howling like a dying cat and then how these two fellows played around in a relaxed manner despite his presence, had enraged him beyond measure. But most of all he was getting impatient. Now that Will O''Dale had freed himself from the divine curse, it was only a matter of time before he stated that Zhen Shi and his fellow disciples were innocent. As a result, he needed to finish this quickly. He had performed the previous attacks while keeping the well-being of the soldiers in mind. But now he threw that thought away. As such, he roared out, "Edict: Rain of spears!" Torrents of qi were pulled out from the soldiers causing them to visibly pale and weaken. Few even fainted on the spot; instantly causing the eery metallic helmets upon their heads to fade away. Nevertheless, the multi-colored qi combined into hundreds of pitch-black spears that were instantly grabbed by the standing soldiers and hurled with terrifying strength right at the grey fortress. These spears were weaker and slower than the previous spears. However, the quantity made up for the lack of quality. At the same time, Myne and Vivienne retaliated causing the sea-fortress to rearrange its grey bricks defensively into certain points and the ocean water formed into dozens of giant arms. However, Myne realized that this would not be sufficient to survive the attack and manifested a silver globe. He hurriedly threw it into the air causing it to explode in a burst of colorless qi which manifested as hundreds of formation talismans. They merged into the sea-fortress in an intricate pattern causing it to glow brightly and radiate a powerful aura. Seeing the spears dashing towards the sea-fortress, Zhen Shi and William hurriedly dodged to the side to make sure that they wouldn''t be caught in the cross-fire. While Zhen Shi stared wordlessly at the confrontation, William strangely dashed back into the pavilion... Whoosh! Whoosh! The wind whistled as the countless spears struck the walls of the sea-fortress causing it to shake lightly. Nevertheless, the sea-fortress stood strong as the spears got stuck on the walls resulting in only some light cracks. Meanwhile, the giant arms of ocean water formed fists that retaliated with furious punches causing Lord Turnbull to hurriedly shout out, "Shield!" Instantly different types of qi were dragged out from the soldiers and formed into multiples shields. Just before the punching water fists reached the army, the multiple colored shields combined into that single giant shield of patchwork. Boom! Boom! A wave of explosions and qi bursts rang out across the battlefield as Lord Turnbull''s giant patchwork shield easily defended against this flurry of punches. Myne''s voice rang out in Zhen Shi''s mind, "Go now! Even corpses can hold qi, so killing them will be useless! Focus on the W¨¹rd helmets." Zhen Shi nodded wordlessly as he silently dashed into the unsuspecting army. With a slight grin, he bashed the helmet of a nearby soldier with his bow and the skill . Crack! Under the power of the divine bow, the helmet cracked into two pieces. But the complete strength of the attack was used up in destroying the W¨¹rd helmet causing the soldier to collapse unconsciously. Zhen Shi was rather unhappy about not being able to gain experience points but was in too much of a hurry to complain. But at the same time, Will O''Dale dashed out of the pavilion brandishing his dual swords. With a scream, "You dare trouble my brother''s friends? I don''t care if you''re my employer, I''ll fuck you to death!" and launched a flurry of slashes on to the helmet of a nearby soldier. Under the onslaught of sword attacks, the helmet broke into pieces causing another soldier to collapse. Zhen Shi shook his head in disbelief but nevertheless jumped right back into bashing helmets off of soldiers with a grin. But this time with Will O''Dale followed him to do the same. The spectators were completely speechless at this point, "Since when does the victim turn on the savior? Even going so far as to call the ''criminal'' his brother?" Even Hao Lei was beginning to grow skeptical about Lord Turnbull''s claims and was considering interfering. But forcefully held back when he saw the terrifying attacks being dished out by both sides. Laura continued to watch with worried eyes, too engrossed to notice her uncle''s actions. Lord Turnbull could immediately sense the loss of the soldiers in his army but before he could react, Myne flicked his hands. He instantly attacked with much greater power than before since it was important to keep Lord Turnbull distracted. Instantly the spears in the walls of the sea-fortress were dragged out and crushed into pitch-black cannonballs. With another flick, the cannonballs were loaded into dozens of shadows of cannons. Kaboom! Each cannon exploded at the same time in a single terrifying explosion. At the same time, the giant water hands formed into fists and launched out a flurry of punches. Lord Turnbull hurriedly shouted out, "Edict: Defend" causing terrifying torrents of qi to be dragged out of the soldiers causing all of them to weaken and a few more to faint and collapse. Nevertheless, the qi combined together to form a hemispherical dome of pitch-black qi. This was a defense much stronger than the shield used before. Unfortunately for him, however, this defensive dome trapped Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale with the soldiers. The soldiers began to shout helplessly as Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale dashed like the wind amidst them. Each time Zhen Shi''s crazy hard bow smashed down, a helmet cracked. And each time William launched a flurry of sword slashes, another helmet cracked. But Will was much slower than Zhen Shi... Either way, within a few moments, they had taken down a good chunk of the soldiers. Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin despite his displeasure in being unable to earn Exp points, while thinking, "This is fun... Like playing Whack-a-mole!" Lord Turnbull was itching to attack them, but the incoming attack left him too distracted. The wind whistled as the rain of spears fell upon the metallic shield being maintained by Lord Turnbull. Clang! Clang! The sound of metal striking metal rang out as the spears struck against the metal dome causing very light cracks to appear. However, the intensity of the cracks gradually increased as Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale continued to knock out more and more soldiers. William even activated his stealth ability and dashed about much easier than before. Lord Turnbull stared in disbelief as Zhen Shi continued to dash about the battlefield while bashing helmets with his bow. And since Will O''Dale was invisible all he could see of him were helmets being ''magically'' destroyed and soldiers ''magically'' collapsing down. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The soldiers were struggling and shouting while fighting back. But they were only ordinary cultivators with weak abilities. In addition to that, they had been greatly weakened by the continuous usage of their qi. As such, they posed little to no challenge to Zhen Shi and the invisible Will O''Dale. However, as a result, Lord Turnbull continued to struggle to maintain the metallic dome amidst the rain of spears especially with the ever-increasing cracks on its surface. In the end, he resigned himself to extracting more qi from the remaining soldiers and strengthened the metallic dome. But as a result, the remaining soldiers grew even weaker making it much easier for Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale to knock them out. Several minutes passed as this stalemate between the metallic dome and the rain of spears continued. On the other hand, as a result of launching such a powerful attack, the sea-fortress shimmered faintly as if it would fade away. In the end, Myne flicked his hand with a grimace causing half of the talisman formations in the ocean water to return and combine with the sea-fortress. Only then did the fortress stabilize; nevertheless it seemed much fainter than usual. Despite the onslaught of spears and loss of soldiers, Lord Turnbull''s metallic dome had continued to hold on despite being covered in cracks. But just then the last spear struck the surface of the metallic dome causing it to finally shatter apart. As the metallic black qi dissipated it revealed a Lord Turnbull that was gasping in tiredness with only a few dozen soldiers remaining. And even they were gasping in fatigue and over-use of qi. Even though Lord Turnbull had survived the attack, he had already lost. This was because the remaining soldiers were not sufficient to even barely perform on the level that they had before. But making matters worse for him, Zhen Shi and William knocked even them out in a few moments. Now having knocked out the army of hundreds, Zhen Shi and the now visible Will O''Dale proceeded to stare at the gasping Lord Turnbull with confidence and satisfaction. Even Myne and Vivienne jumped onto the wall of the sea-fortress. However, their faces were riddled in worry and suspicion. Lord Turnbull turned his head at Will O''Dale, "It appears that you''ve fallen under their mesmerism. Do not fret for I will deal out justice." Honestly, he wasn''t sure about this but he stating this publicly helped him keep the troublesome fellows like Hao Lei in control. Finally, he stared at Zhen Shi, Myne, and Vivienne and growled out, "I guess I underestimated you. But that''s all the more reason to go all out!" and manifested a shimmering a golden medallion with the symbol of Bull horns on it. And a giant formation covering the entire island shimmered faintly under the mid-day sunlight... 37 Feeling Stifled Lord Turnbull hesitated for a single moment as his eyes alternated between the golden medallion with the symbol of Bull''s horns and the mystical formation barely visible in the sun-lit sky. Initially, he had not planned to use the island formation just to take care of a few minor disciples. After all, this medallion was a single-use item that granted limited control of the island formation; stated by many formation masters to be second only to the legendary protective formation of the Lyonnesse Kingdom itself! But despite his intention, those disciples had revealed themselves to be a hard metal plate that he couldn''t take care of by himself. This was extremely unusual especially considering that his own cultivation was superior to all three of them. He could only assume that all three of them were abnormal geniuses strengthened by an equally abnormal Master, especially considering that sea-fortress formation. He had previously neglected their Master but now he was definitely wary of him. But it was now too late to back down and his only choice to get rid of them easily was using the Island Formation. However, this means that the Turnbull family would lose the ability to wield the formation for themselves and hence lose a fraction of their authority. On the other hand, Lord Turnbull was confident that if he didn''t take care of these three disciples there was a very high chance that the Turnbull family would lose the appraisal competition. Although the appraisal competition was only a competition between the junior members it would decide the family that owned the monopoly of trade decisions for the next several years. Since the Turnbull family lost the last time, losing once more would be disastrous for the future expansion of their power. Even the founding families will be present and the results of the competition will greatly influence their decisions on who to support for the post of chief manager. Thus with no other way to ensure the prosperity of his family, he threw aside his uncertainties and instantly crushed the golden medallion. Instantly the island formation within the sky became tangible and more visible while exerting and oppressive aura upon the entire island, with the focus being the battlefield where Lord Turnbull was facing off against Zhen Shi and the others. Instantly, the entire crowd who were merely spectating lost control of their body and collapsed on to their knees while struggling for control. Laura would''ve followed in their footsteps had it not been for Hao Lei who prevented her from falling while sweating under the pressure himself. Even Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale had to exert great effort to remain standing. On the other hand, Myne and Vivienne seemed completely fine while standing on the sea-fortress walls. However, both their faces were painted in worry and concern. Lord Turnbull stared at Myne who had revealed himself only a few moments earlier and spoke angrily, "So you must be the one who actually insulted me..." Myne grimaced at this misunderstanding while staring at Zhen Shi in accusation. Zhen Shi, however, proceeded to ignore his accusing stare and calmly whistled a tune, after all this matter was ''completely unrelated to him''. Seein Zhen Shi do the exact same thing that he had done before, Myne almost collapsed on the spot thinking, ''Where did he learn to be so shameless?'' Ignorantly Lord Turnbull continued speaking with a cunning glint in his eyes, "I will deal out the necessary punishment for you unruly fellows. However, even I might have trouble controlling the power of this formation. As such, even though you are criminals, I implore you to be careful." This was a clever statement. He could now get away with injuring or even killing them with only minor punishment. Hearing his words and glancing at the formation above Myne heaved a sigh and spoke mentally to Zhen Shi, "I had hoped that he wouldn''t resort to using the formation. But I guess this Turnbull is determined to win the competition. My sea-fortress formation is the only a lower grade 3 formation based on some personal conceptual magic, but this is a Grade 6 formation that is based on a unique type of Island Magic. Fortunately, this guy is too weak and hopefully will only be able to bring out the strength of a lower Grade 4 formation." Zhen Shi was intrigued by all the sudden mentions of magic and formations. But remained silent allowing Myne to talk first. Myne continued hurriedly, "I''m going to go all out now. I''ll leave you to take care of the matters that''ll arise after..." and finished as such. Just when Myne was about to step forward after his speech, Vivienne grabbed onto his shirt and held him back while chewing her lips in reluctance and worry. ???????????? Zhen Shi, on the other hand, was suddenly reminded of the fact that he had accumulated enough points for another divine boon. Excited at the prospect of helping Myne he hurriedly checked the system status and noted, Otaku Points: 215. "System grants me a divine boon with the added requirement of being as helpful to Myne as possible," he shouted mentally. Ding! Divine Boon gained. Once again that familiar piece of white paper with the word ~IOU~ appeared along with the deduction of 150 OP from his total. Zhen Shi paid no heed to this as he immediately used up the divine boon. Zhen Shi might''ve been worried about this taking too long but with his experience from the previous instance of obtaining a divine boon, he definitely was not. However, time passed by with no news from the system. Zhen Shi began to worry as valuable moments passed by with no notification or even a reply to his questions on how long it''d take. He grimaced as he mentally complained and threatened, "System, this is really bad customer service... Answer me or I''ll put in a complaint with your manager!" System: ?_? In the end, despite his words, he had to continue to be patient and wait until the system notified him... ???????????? Myne turned to look at Vivienne and spoke with a single raised eyebrow, "Wife, don''t worry. You know of my capabilities the best. I''m sure you know that this tiny formation can''t kill me." Vivienne stared at him with indignant eyes and whispered, "But it''ll come very close..." Myne shook his head with a reassuring smile, "Don''t worry. Just trust me, this time." Vivienne''s eyes widened at his words and let go with a slight nod. Myne nodded back and turned towards Lord Turnbull who was suddenly covered and protected in a surge of black qi from the formation that was gathering energy from nature ravenously. Ignoring the odds stacked against him, with unrelenting eyes, he brought out a golden globe and threw it into the air allowing it to explode in a surge of colorless qi forming an uncountable number of formation talismans. In addition, the sea-fortress formation dissipated into even more formation talismans. With the sea-fortress gone, Vivienne dropped down gracefully and joined Zhen Shi and Will O''Dale on the sidelines. With a flick of his fingers, Myne made the formation talismans dash into his own body one by one. He gritted his teeth as sweat began to fall profusely and veins popped visibly all over his body. But the formation talismans continued to disappear into his body leaving barely glowing marks on his skin. Zhen Shi''s meager understanding of formations could only allow him to conclude that these formation talismans formed an extremely complex strengthening formation; but instead of being used to defend or produce an artifact, it was being used to forcefully improve Myne''s strength and physique. A biological application of something that was not meant to be used for that purpose... Moments later, Myne''s body was completely covered in glowing white tattoos that inexplicably linked together to form an unbelievable body strengthening formation. Fortunately, besides Zhen Shi who barely sensed the profound nature of this formation, no one else in the crowd thought too much of it and assumed it to just be a random body strengthening art. Myne calmly raised his hands and lightly whispered, "Falcon Cloak." Instantly a pitch-black deadly aether manifested into a dark black feather cloak covering his body. With his grim eyes revealing killing intent and the falcon cloak leaking death aura, his body radiated the aura of a predator. Nevertheless, Myne ran his hands through his hair with heavy breaths, almost as if he was over-stressing his body. Almost immediately the formation finished gathering energy forming a clear glass-like dome. All the people within the market area would notice the sudden activation of the Island formation and stare at this rare sight in awe and dread. Lord Turnbull raised a fist with a sneer from within the protection of the defensive energy and shouted, "Island Eradication!" Instantly dark black clouds gathered above the island and the sound of thunder rang about. For the first time, the peaceful lake surrounding the island was in turmoil. The water broiled and raged as if it was waging war with itself. The trees rustled and creaked under strong gusts of wind. Despite the nature surrounding the island signaling the arrival of a storm not a single raindrop fell on to the ground. But lightning flickered ominously in the sky... Lord Turnbull continued to gaze upon the ''final moments'' of these poor fellows who had made the mistake of angering him and calmly flicked his fingers delivering their ''sentence''. Crack! Suddenly spikes made of jagged rocks struck out from the earth just below where all four of them had standing. Myne was the first to react and his black cloak flapped like the wings of a bird as he easily disappeared and reappeared in another location. But his eyes were focused on how the others were faring. The moment the attack had begun Zhen Shi had sensed the distress of the aether and hence easily dodged with plenty of time to spare. Vivienne too easily moved aside with movements as graceful as flowing water. However, Will O''Dale had been completely ignorant of the attack and had stayed rooted to the spot. Had it not been for Zhen Shi who had hurriedly pulled him aside he definitely would''ve been skewered on the spot. Will O''Dale stared at the earth spike that was now occupying his previous location and gulped in fear. He turned to Zhen Shi with eyes filled with gratitude and respect and hugged him for the second time while thinking, "Ai, I truly regret getting angry at this wonderful person. His character is a miracle of humanity. This must be the true trust between humans!" On the other hand, Zhen Shi had just casually pulled Will O''Dale to the side and saved him. But now noticing that Will O''Dale was hugging him while staring with the eyes of a suspicious uncle, he hurriedly broke free of the hug and pushed William away. Vivienne couldn''t help but smile at this ridiculous situation despite her worries. Even so, Will O''Dale continued to stare at him while singing his praises. In the end, Zhen Shi decided to ignore this idiot and sent out mentally to them, "Be careful. Who knows when that shameless cow will decide to sneak attack us again." Only a single moment passed since he said this... Crack! Golden yellow light flashed within the dark sky and struck down lightning at all four of them. But due to Zhen Shi''s warning, Will O''Dale was not caught off guard this time. Hence all of them easily dodged the initial lightning strikes. Despite this, the lightning continued to rain down mercilessly from among the dark stormy clouds. Myriads of lightning arcs crackling and writhing like serpents dashed down towards them; making it impossible to dodge. Each of them would definitely be struck down now... Immediately, Myne jumped to the very center of the formation of lightning and proceeded to dodge and weave about. He thrust his arm forwards causing the vague black shadow of a falcon to appear and swallow the lightning bolts; like a bird swallowing worms. Since Myne was closer, the majority of the lightning bolts focused on him mercilessly considering him to be easy prey. But every lightning strike disappeared soon after into the beak of the falcon shadow, and so the prey became the predator. Even with his help Zhen Shi and the rest had a difficult time dodging the lightning strikes. After all, Myne was being empowered by both his strange body-strengthening formation and the falconic magic spell. Under Lord Turnbull''s control, the lightning struck down only at the four of them while leaving the crowd and the spectators completely unscathed. The crowd continued to stare in wonderment at the power of the legendary island formation. Even more unbelievable was how four young fellows were continuing to hold on against it! Although they were fine for the most part, there were multiple instances where Will O''Dale came close to being struck down by lightning and only barely survived with lightly singed hair. Even so, he continued to stare deeply at Zhen Shi with eyes filled with gratitude and ardor. Why? This was because he would''ve been caught off guard by this lightning just like that earthen spike, had it not been for Zhen Shi''s timely warning. As such, the respect and gratitude in his heart towards Zhen Shi only grew even further. Zhen Shi sensed eyes staring at him causing him to pause in wonderment and look around, ''Hmm? Have my suave and heroic actions garnered the attention of the ladies in the crowd?''.But fortunately, before he could realize the truth of this matter and vomit blood... he was distracted by the ongoing battle. Myne suddenly thrust both hands towards Lord Turnbull and shouted, "Falconic Death!" Instantly the cloak on his back partially dissipated into streams of terrifying pitch-black qi that rearranged to form a herd of falcon-like birds that flew around him like a tornado. In the next instant, these black falcons screeched in an ominous manner and slashed towards Lord Turnbull like the scythe of the grim reaper. Slash! Slash! The sound of beaks tearing apart the defensive qi rang about as the falcons ran amok destroying the energy protecting Lord Turnbull, causing him to grimace in displeasure. Each time the falcons dived in, a part of his defense was lost. Nevertheless, he flicked his fingers causing the defensive qi to gradually reform. Even if Lord Turnbull was still fighting, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin at the sight of Myne gaining the upper hand. But suddenly his grin grew even wider as he heard a familiar sound... Ding! Divine Boon received. Do you accept it? Of course! Instantly the item appeared and dropped down into Zhen Shi''s hands radiating an ancient and mystical aura. Strange enough no one else paid any attention. Zhen Shi eyed the unassuming appearance of this item and at the same time a system notification rang out introducing it. Instantly his eyes widened as he gawked while thinking, "This-- It can''t be... It looks like I truly hit the jackpot this time!" ???????????? In the divine realm, there was a towering and majestic pyramid mystically floating thousands of kilometers above the ground. Countless creatures were entering and leaving through a grand opening at the base of the pyramid. This entrance was guarded by two terrifying baboons wielding spears and radiating incredible auras giving rise to respect and order in all those who passed by. And completely disregarding the nature of the surrounding area within a radius that extended thousands of kilometers and the space of a sphere of the same radius, the land was completely covered in perpetual darkness. The only source of natural light was a moon roughly a tenth of the size of the pyramid. Strangely enough, this moon was not in the sky and instead was rotating at the edges of the dark sphere with the pyramid at the center. At the very peak of the pyramid was a brightly lit room with an impossibly wide space compared to the dimensions when observed from the outside. The room was filled with books, strange trinkets, and other items. But the most eye-catching was the area filled with test tubes and beakers filled with mystical energies in various forms, complex machinery with various types of materials, herbs, and creatures in them, and even multiple floating screens showing scenes of various instances ranging from people sleeping to actual wars along with tables and charts filled with ineligible readings. All of this machinery was being carefully utilized by strange chimeric creatures with the bodies of humans and the heads of animals. But among them was an individual who stood out like a sore thumb. He was a middle-aged man dressed in only a pair of pants while revealing his bare chest, and upon his head was a head-dress of an Ibis with beak, feathers and all. Despite his strange appearance, his every motion was mystical, like the strokes of a master painter. However, in such a scenario, only the world would be worthy of being his canvas. Currently, his eyes were resting upon a strange device composed of two distinct glass-like spheres connected to each other by a narrow tube. In one sphere was a type of lively aether manifesting itself in the form of lush trees, mystical creatures, and beautiful sceneries, and in the other was a terrifying aether manifesting as unstable cracks in space. Suddenly the device lit up with purple sparks of lightning causing these two types of aether to meet at the central tube. Instantly the two different aether combined to form a single fiery aether; it manifested with a vision of a world in chaos and burning in fire. Instantly the middle-aged man observed this new aether for a moment and tapped a small but fairly thick book placed on a nearby table. This book seemed rather old with yellowed pages and a faded red leather cover with only the barely visible symbol of a vertical rectangle within a circle. But suddenly the book began to flip its pages by itself and stopped at a page that revealed words which were shifting around in an incomprehensible manner. However, the middle-aged man with the Ibis head-dress easily read through its contents and spoke with a hint of awe, "Amazing! Old Man Heka has outdone himself again! Unlike before the book can now give detailed information about any type of magic. Even this random destruction magic formed by the combination of nature magic and unstable spatial magic is clearly explained here." Just as he finished his words, the fiery aether within the glass equipment and manifesting visions of a world of chaos began to show signs of destabilization. Instantly it expanded and exploded out with a terrifying release of energy that spread throughout the entire room. Space itself cracked apart unable to withstand this power leaving unstable spatial nodes all over the wide room. As the energy gradually cleared, the room was revealed to be in tatters and filled with items eviscerated to dust along with the occasional chunk of chimera corpses here and there. On the other hand, the man with the Ibis head-dress was completely unscathed; without a single piece of dust or even a misplaced hair. Ignoring the explosion he continued to go over the contents of the book. Only moments later did he finish and finally raise his head to notice the destruction of the room. Seeing this he heaved a disappointed sigh whispering, "This is why I hate Destruction Magic." Nevertheless, he placed the book aside and drew a circle of white energy in the air. Instantly the world shook and nature obeyed; the room seemed to pass through a rewind of time causing the destroyed items, books and even the dead corpses to reform. In an instant, everything returned to exactly how it had been, minus the glass device with the destructive magic aether that exploded. Strangely enough, that was not reformed... The moment they were reformed the chimeric creatures got back to what they had been doing. But suddenly the middle-aged man twisted his head towards where the red leather-bound book had been placed with a growl of anger, only to see that it was being covered in mystical white energy. He snorted in annoyance and flicked his finger covered in white energy, causing nature to heed his command once more. But nature ignored his command as the white energy immediately disappeared with the leather-bound book in tow. Despite this event, he paused in contemplation for several more moments while staring at the spot where the book and the strange energy had been. He was reminded of some interesting news that he had come across recently; a certain new god going by ''this handsome and scholarly self'' that had received a weapon from Hephaestus and even stolen from Lord Odin. ''Could it be that I am a victim of that junior thief as well? His ability is praise-worthy... but I will make him regret messing with me.'' Suddenly, he shouted out, "Prepare to visit Lord Heka. I have some important matters to discuss with him!" Instantly a dozen of the chimeric creatures walked forwards and bowed deeply simultaneously speaking out, "Yes, Lord Thoth," and began to follow his order. Thoth raised his right hand revealing a single minuscule spark of the mystical white energy that he had captured by accident when it was stealing the book. This energy spark was still struggling to escape from his grasp but was failing to do so. While observing it, he fell into thought, "I was fortunate enough to capture this... But what is this magic? A sub-category of creation? No, it seems much more complex, but also strangely familiar. Either way that old man Heka will definitely know, and the thief who dares steal from me will be caught red-handed..." ???????????? Zhen Shi was still staring in awe at the mystical item that was within his hands, this was the Book of Thoth! A Legendary Item mentioned in mythology rumored tp contained divine knowledge of the gods. Excitedly he grasped the cover and flipped the page. But... he couldn''t. He momentarily gave up his attempt to question the system. But unlike the last divine boon, the system wasn''t even willing to explain the item and remained silent. While holding back himself from complaining about the horrible customer service once more he noticed that the battle was continuing. He hurriedly checked if the book would react to his qi or any of the different types of aether. Having failed in that attempt, next he activated and continued to attempt to pry apart the book with his full power while growling in rage... While Myne and Lord Turnbull continued to battle with death hawks and lightning serpents at the edges of death, Zhen Shi was working just as hard... to flip open a book! After all, he had a chance to help Myne with an actual divine mythological object sitting in his hands. So how could he just give up? He even noticed that several people in the crowd were staring at him strangely, but ignored them since it was possible that they had sensed the divine aura of this item. So he dived right back into his attempts of opening the book. Moments passed yielding no results to his effort. By now he had reached the limits of that he could exert in public but was still unable to open the book. Under the eyes of the crowd, he halted for a moment and instantly shifted to a horse stance like position while holding the book in both hands raised to chest level. With a new posture, he continued to exert his full strength and even strained his body with his full strength while growling out in rage. He even began to sweat profusely and his face grew red under the effort... More and more people turned to stare at him with strange looks even going so far as to whisper amongst themselves. However, Zhen Shi proceeded to ignore them. So what if they realized some of the power of this divine item? How could he give up on Myne just to protect a treasure? But on the contrary, Zhen Shi''s conclusion couldn''t be further from the truth. In fact, no one besides Zhen Shi had even seen the Book of Thoth or even sensed a speck of its aura. In other words, only Zhen Shi could see it. But instead of the book, the crowd had definitely seen something else... They had seen Zhen Shi growling and straining with great effort. After doing so for a while he had then proceeded to move into a half-squatting position and continue his previous efforts. His effort was so serious that he even began to sweat and his face grew red! But without the book in his hands in their eyes, Zhen Shi''s actions were open for interpretation. The crowd continued to stare and whisper, "What is he doing? Is he trying to force himself through hardship to cheer on his senior fellow disciple who his still battling Lord Turnbull?" "No, that doesn''t make much sense. Perhaps he is on the verge of breaking through a bottleneck in his cultivation?" "Are you crazy? Who breaks through bottlenecks like that? I think he is suffering from some sort of sickness..." "Yes, you''re right. I have worked for several years helping a healer. If I''m not mistaken, he seems to be suffering from a severe case of constipation!" "That makes perfect sense considering the half squatting posture, the excessive grunting and growling, the sweating and the reddened face. The only problem is why is he doing it right now while standing in public?" "That''s why I mentioned that it was a severe case. Perhaps the stifling feeling was too much and he decided to throw away his face and decided to do this shameless act even in public just to make himself feel better..." And the more the crowd thought of this conclusion, the more they found themselves agreeing. After all, it made a fair amount of sense... But if Zhen Shi hadn''t been totally focused on opening the book and had heard their whispers he would cough up blood and faint on the spot. By now even Vivienne and Will O''Dale had noticed his strange actions and had even heard the whispers of the crowd. Vivienne frowned and asked mentally in confusion, "Little Bro what are you doing?" Zhen Shi mentally replied on his topic of ''opening a book'' with a sad smile, "I''m just embarrassed at being unable to do even this everyday task. I''d continued to feel stifled if I couldn''t even do this simple task and help out Myne!" Vivienne gasped but nodded in understanding. However, the way that she had heard those words were completely different. Phrases like ''Embarrassed'', ''Everyday task'', and ''Stifled feeling'' completely made her ''sure'' of the situation. Even if she wasn''t sure how this would help Myne she now ''understood'' the matter. She herself was feeling helpless in being unable to help Myne and was sure that Zhen Shi was feeling the same. She could only imagine how horrible it would feel if one had annoying ailments such as constipation at the same time. As such, she answered back kindly, "Little Bro I have a spell that can help you out. Would you like me to try?" Zhen Shi was overjoyed at the prospect of making the job easier and was about to agree when Will O''Dale who had also been listening in spoke out suddenly, "Forget the spell. I have a special medicine that is passed down in my family and I guarantee that the moment you drink it, any type of constipation will run away in fear!" Zhen Shi gawked in disbelief and muttered, "What constipation?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. 38 The Book of Thoth Chapter 38: Book of Thoth As the battle between Myne and Lord Turnbull''s lightning continued amidst the terrifying stormy weather, Will O''Dale stared at Zhen Shi in confusion and asked quizzically, "Weren''t you suffering from constipation just now?" Zhen Shi almost fainted sideways at his strange answer. He was confused for a moment at his nonsensical statement. But looking around he immediately noted that while many people were looking at him, not a single one was staring at the Book in his hands. Instantly he realized that he was probably the only one who could see the book. And in the next instant, he realized how ridiculous he must''ve looked if everyone had just seen him straining in a great effort for no reason... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. ''Fuck! It definitely should''ve looked like a severe case of constipation.'' But he couldn''t focus too much on this embarrassment, especially since he needed to help Myne. As such, he spoke out with thick skin, "Oh no... I think you misunderstood. That was a special technique-- to... find a way to help Myne! Yes, that''s it," and finally made up a solution. Immediately, he ignored them and left them to their thoughts. He began to contemplate on how to open the Book of Thoth. However, the majority of the crowd along with Vivienne didn''t believe his words at all. His words were obviously made up on the spot, and Vivienne was confident that he had not used any type of ''special technique''. Nevertheless, she had faith in Zhen Shi and figured that he had his reasons for acting as he had, and so remained silent with a slight smile. But while the majority didn''t believe him, there were a few that did. Will O''Dale who had been ''saved'' by Zhen Shi on multiple occasions had complete faith in his savior. Then the rest would be the audience of his ''divine music''. Initially, they had found it unbelievable that a divine musician of his caliber would do something appalling as trying to relieve himself of constipation in public. And now learning that it was a special technique, they had believed his words. Either way, all of them completely forgot about this battle when the battle in the sky suddenly reached a new peak. More and more pitch-black storm clouds gathered in the sky with the thrum of thunder and ominous flashes of lightning. As the lightning raged amidst the storm clouds, carnage ensued on the Island. The trees were writhing and flailing, their groans of pain carried away by the merciless gusts of wind. The wind screamed like a banshee, uprooting weeds and shrubs in a fit of ever-consuming rage. But Myne was within the very center of this terrifying mass of lightning. His figure would disappear and appear with each flap of his cloak followed by the shadow of the hawk that continued to gobble up the lightning. Every time he moved, the cloak would flutter in the wind and reveal his bare skin riddled with popped veins and burnt marks reminiscent of the absorbed formation talismans... At the same time, he was also directing a tornado of screeching shadow falcons to rip apart the defensive energy protecting Lord Turnbull. Despite the torrents of screeching hawks, Lord Turnbull was completely safe within the defensive energy of the formation. But, the fact that he was unable to defeat these troublesome ''juniors'' even while using the legendary island formation was rather embarrassing. As such he roared with anger and tried to forcibly activate the next level of the formation. Pu! He coughed up some blood due to the back-lash and fell onto his knees. Nevertheless, his bloodied mouth cracked into a grin, as the pitch-black storm clouds gathered together and reared up like a cobra readying itself for an attack. Instantly, it spat out an immense torrent of lightning at Myne who was preoccupied with defending against the mass of lightning strikes. This was a very fast and sudden attack launched from point-blank range. Even so, Myne who was being empowered by the falconic magic should''ve been able to react to it easily. But, the size of the lightning torrent was simply too large, making it impossible for Myne to leave its range fast enough. As such, he would definitely be hit by the attack despite his superior speed. Instantly realizing this Myne completely gave up on trying to dodge, and flicked his hand manifesting a lively green aether... But at the same time, the torrent of lightning seared through the sky like burning venom before crashing onto Myne''s body. Boom! A small explosion rang out as Myne''s aether in the falcon cloak fought desperately against the overwhelming lightning aether. Even though the amount of lightning was simply incomprehensible, the black aether continued to hold on... The black aether seemed to hold an intrinsic eerie nature; that could absorb the lightning aether even without Myne''s control. Nevertheless, the sheer volume of lightning was simply too much for the black aether to handle. As such- Pu! Myne coughed blood himself as he crashed onto the ground in a cloud of dust. The falcon cloak was in tatters and the black aether was on the verge of dissipation. The dust cleared revealing Myne''s heavily wounded and burned body; which should have only been a step away from death. Zhen Shi and Vivienne simply had had no time to react. That attack had been too sudden and too powerful. Nevertheless, they rushed towards the fallen Myne to make sure that he was okay. William followed their lead with only a moment''s hesitation. But even before they could get close and help, a strange lively green qi appeared and streaked to and fro over his wounds. And while they watched, the burns and wounds healed instantly under its miraculous effects. Zhen Shi who had been rather worried, relaxed when he realized that Myne would be fine. However, Vivienne continued to be concerned... Myne wiped off some blood from his mouth and stood up slowly while holding on to Vivienne for support. Zhen Shi was rather intrigued about the nature of this healing magic which seemed to be even better than his own undying flame but remained silent. Then they all turned to Lord Turnbull and stared warily. Unlike them, Lord Turnbull was in high spirits, despite having been wounded. Without the constant attack of the swarm of shadow hawks, the defensive energy from the Island formation covering him was now completely stable. His defense was still perfect, while the other party was injured. As such, Lord Turnbull couldn''t help but bask in his definite victory while preparing the finishing attack. And so while the storm raged on, another terrifying mass of lightning began to gather in the sky. With his weakened body, Myne struggled to stay standing up. He turned to look at Vivienne and Zhen Shi while muttering, "That bastard forcibly activated the formation bringing out the strength of a pinnacle Grade 4 formation." He heaved a sigh as he continued to speak while looking at Vivienne, "I didn''t think we''d be forced this far so soon... How unfortunate to have to resort to this..." and raised his left hand positioning it to give a knife strike. With a sharp qi slowly manifesting around his raised hand, he decisively stabbed his hand into his right shoulder. Blood seeped into his shirt from his self-inflicted wound. Despite the pain that he should''ve been in, his face cracked up in an eerie grin. At the same time, his aura changed. As if a terrifying sleeping beast was being awoken... His entire body began to radiate with powerful killing intent as he pulled back his hand from his shoulder. Flicking off the blood on his left hand he readied his right hand to do the same. All the while with his eerie grin growing even wider... Zhen Shi, who had been unable to find a solution for the Book of Thoth, was appalled at the sight of Myne grinning after self-infliction of pain, ''What the hell? Was Myne hit so hard that his masochistic tendencies are acting up again?'' But Vivienne grabbed on to him and replied hurriedly, "No. Myne, you don''t need to do this. I think Zhen Shi might have a solution..." She wasn''t too sure of this. But seeing Myne going through this again... she couldn''t help but say so. Myne''s killing intent and eerie grin lessened slightly as he turned to Zhen Shi expectantly and asked, "Bro, is this true?" Zhen Shi was relieved as he realized that his initial conclusion had been incorrect and that Myne was only performing some sort of technique. But at the same time, he couldn''t bring himself to tell Myne that he was helpless as well. As such, he racked his brain trying to figure out a solution for this matter. Fortunately, he was suddenly reminded of a fact that he had overlooked. If he remembered correctly, the Book of Thoth was an item that was not meant for the ''eyes'' of mortals. Since he was a mortal... the fact that he was unable to open it made some sense. But at the same time, there were tales of how misfortune fell upon the mortals who read it. So why was he unable to open it...? Were things different here? Either way, this meant that the only way to open the book would be to be a god. But that was impossible. However, while he couldn''t complete this condition perfectly, he did have a solution to try! And that was using his appraisal skill . Zhen Shi had realized that every time he activated this skill, the nature of his eyes changed. And as mentioned in the name, he hoped that they were divine eyes with some influence from Odin''s missing one. Therefore if he limited the skill to a single eye, there might be a chance of his eye becoming that of a god, ultimately allowing him to open the book. After all, if one of his eyes were that of a god, the phrase ''not meant for mortal eyes'' would be literally inapplicable for him! As such, with new-found hope, he hurriedly activated the skill limiting it to his right eye only while staring at the Book in his hands. Instantly, the pupil in his right eye shifted into a golden color. The appraisal label with the name [Book of Thoth] appeared instantly. But nothing new happened and he was still unable to open the Book. Realizing that this was probably not sufficient, Zhen Shi focused his complete attention on exerting the skill on his eye. His qi began to drain at a rapid rate, and he continued to use the skill despite being faced with heavy tiredness and fatigue... Even then, there were no new changes... So he decided to close his ''mortal'' left eye for good measure as well. With his mortal eye closed, the only eye being used would be non-mortal! And just as he did this, a familiar sound rang out followed by a familiar voice. Ding! Since the user has finally realized a solution, the seal on Divine Item: [Book of Thoth] will be lifted. Zhen Shi felt like flipping a table in rage when he realized that it was the system that had made a fool of himself in public, ''Why the hell couldn''t you just tell me? System, I get that you don''t talk much, because you are shy... but this is just too much!'' System: ?_? Nevertheless, Zhen Shi consoled himself with the thought that the system had probably saved him from those curses that had plagued those other unlucky mortals. Ding! [Book of Thoth]: A Book written by Thoth a God of knowledge and writing, later enhanced with powerful magic used by God Heka. Current use:- Identification of any non-divine Magic with complete and detailed information. Usage only allowed during activation of the divine eye. Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed with excitement as he realized the capability of this item. But realizing that he had wasted enough time and that Myne was waiting for his answer, he hurriedly focused his divine right eye on the formation covering the Island and touched the Book of Thoth. Immediately, the Book began to flip through pages by itself before stopping at a single page. Strangely enough, some of the words seemed to be in constant flux. Zhen Shi hurriedly read through the information, especially since the eye was leeching off a large amount of energy and he was slowly nearing his limit. But his eyes continued to widen in disbelief as he read through the information written here. ???? Lyon and Turnbull Formation: A crude recreation of the original formation used by the original founders of the Market Hall. Limited to Grade 7 even with the infusion of Island Magic, a subcategory of Location Magic. The formation can be used for both external and internal battle purposes. Individuals with control over the formation are----- The formation talismans related to the task of internal offense and defense are hidden within the formation dome itself. Those related to external offense is buried deep within the lake----- The internal offensive capabilities are linked to manipulation of the Terrain and Weather of the Island. This is completely reliant on three continuously moving formation centers. Current Location of formation center 1: Three inches left of the Silver-wood tree with----- ----- Next Predicted Location of formation center 3: 1 meter above----- The internal defensive capabilities are limited to a mass of qi that will cover and protect the user and is constantly regenerated by Island Magic. Linked with the usage of offensive capabilities. If either stops the other will stop as well-- ???? Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin as he read through the information. While Lord Turnbull continued to prepare the ''killing blow'', he raised his head at Myne who was still waiting expectantly but rather confused as to why Zhen Shi was closing one of his eyes. Disregarding Myne''s confused look Zhen Shi spoke out confidently, "Of course I do! Who the hell do you think I am?" 1 If I dont get a system who will? "Ughhh", Zhen Shi groaned as he opened his eyes. His mind a blank, he stared at the star-filled sky with a huge crescent moon. "Eh? Isn''t that moon a bit too large" he shouted as he quickly stood up. "...." Or tried to, as he fell down back on to the ground, on his face. "Your mother... Shiet my whole body hurts" he growled as he endured nerve-wracking pain. The pain was like a bucket of water hurled on his head, "Shiet, Shiet. I actually died while I was leaning on a guard rail next to a cliff trying to act cool, when a truck randomly drove off the cliff with me plastered to the windshield? What useless idiot made that guard rail? It couldn''t even hold off that truck?!!!? That poor truck!!!" "...." "So this is the afterlife? What afterlife is so painful?" he grimaced and lay down for some time till the pain decreased. "Hold on a minute, maybe I reincarnated?", Zhen Shi completely forgot about the pain as he slowly stood up and looked at his surroundings. He noted the overly large moon and the completely new pattern of stars in the sky. "Holy Shiet, looks like I did come to another world! Mwahahaha!!!!" he laughed joyfully. Still grinning with a huge smile he looked at a nearby pond, as he felt his legs were more breezy than usual and saw his reflection of a noble,refined-looking young man in a loincloth. "I look devilishly handsome and outrageously scholarly in this new body, but whose mother made me wear a loincloth. Nevermind I''m still handsome". His grin grew even wider if that''s even possible. He stood there grinning like an idiot. "Whoosh" a light wind blew past him and reformed into a girl. His face froze ... ??? as he stared at this girl that appeared as if by teleportation. She had long luxurious silver hair tied up in a ponytail shining under the moonlight. Dressed up in dark red robes which were tightly wound around her petite body, her cute face was scrunched up in worry as she stared back from where she came. "Whoosh" Several more figure formed into a group of men dressed in similar black robes. "Zou Rou you better obediently hand back the pill if you know what''s good for you and come back with us to enjoy ourselves", shouted one of the black-robed men. Zhen Shi''s eyes widened, still not having gotten over the girl''s beauty, Holy Shiet! Are these martial artists?? Could it be I have reincarnated in a cultivation world with spells and magical weapons? Zhen Shi was secretly dancing wildly in joy in his heart. As an Otaku, this was a lifelong dream of his. Flying on a sword with the wind blowing on his body with his hands behind his back, fighting monsters and saving girls. Now all I need is a system to make everything perfect. Which bastard even dares to reincarnate without a system?!!? Every time he read or saw a story based on reincarnation he pitied all those main characters that did not have a system. Thus, he quickly focused his efforts on trying to turn a system by mentally shouting random commands. None of them paid any attention to Zhen Shi nor did they notice him. After all, as far as they were concerned this was a mere mortal. "You bastards of Xue Yue clan, you''ll have to take it back over my dead body. Lets fight" shouted Zou Rou as she grimaced. "Well you asked for it..." all the black-robed men rushed towards her swords outstretched and a dark black miasma wafting over them. The girl grimaced again and lifted her sword in defense,with a bright yellow light bursting out. The swords clashed violently generating a gush of wind. The girl was thrown back like a broken kite, blood spewing from her mouth and she collapsed momentarily fainting. Zhen Shi having faced multiple failures in his attempt to activate a system, seeing the pretty girl get hurt immediately jumped in front of her shouting "You shameless bunch of pigskins. Do you think you can gang up on an innocent girl when I am here???" Zhen Shi was thinking Didn''t that Xu-something bastard get his awesome system after shamelessly acting tough. Hmmppff, so I will too. He waited quietly for the system to activate. ....Silence... The black-robed men looked at him their energies furiously rising. They had ignored him before but not any longer. "A non-cultivator dares to talk back at us of the Xue Yue clan, with such a foul mouth? Dressed in a dirty loincloth no less? If you crawl down and beg for mercy we''ll give you a clean death". But surprisingly they didn''t attack. They were with confident faces as the only thing between them and their goal was a mere mortal. Temporarily ignoring them Zhen Shi was thinking, Shiet where''s my system? Is it in my loincloth? But he didn''t feel anything in his lower abdomen, so probably no! Why? He felt like flipping a table (¨s¡ã¡õ¡ã£©¨s¦à ©ß©¥©ß. He refused to believe he could be in the same situation as some of those main characters he pitied. If I don''t get a system jumping in front of these men will mean that I truly have sought death!!! -If it fails once just try again!- He gritted himself to brag again. With a calm and aloof expression as if the entire world was beneath him he serenely said, "I have witnessed countless legends being born and countless men reaching the sky with their effort. The heavens were sealed, flames were conquered, otherworldly aliens were beaten, peace was established between warring nations, entire universes were branded and controlled, gods were slaughtered." The black-robed men of the Xue Yue clan were truly stunned with the mention of these awe-inspiring actions. Still, they grinned and one said "Shameless braggart, your words are truly amazing. Come along entertain us more!" Alas in a way Zhen Shi had truly witnessed these events. He was rapidly bragging about all the movies, novels, and anime where he had witnessed heaven-defying main characters. He knew that they were fiction, but somewhere deep in his heart, he had a belief! That they were actually true!! Along with his words, his own spirit was being stirred. A spirit to lead an awe-inspiring life. Even as the black-robed men of the Xue Yue eyed him as prey already on their plate, Xue Yue changed topics. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Besides these, there was one other thing he truly loved to throw himself into. He was a bookworm who loved to read books of all sorts. Be it fiction, non-fiction, thesis, history, business, etc. But even then, a topic he truly loved was mythology!!! The tales of gods in different parts of the world and their struggles for power, their abilities & powers, origins, their lifestyles and the possibility that they truly existed in the past, excited him beyond measure!! Seeing that he''ll die here, he figured he might as well die with the things he loved and enjoyed. "Zeus of Greek mythology and Jupiter of Roman, the gods of Lightning and Thunder, the leader of the pantheon originating from none-other than CHAOS!!!! The lesser-known but undoubtedly powerful Heka of Egyptian mythology, who viewed the creation of the universe itself, the personification of magic!!!! The World tree, Yggdrasil of Norse Mythology, which bears the nine worlds of existence!!! The Jade Emperor of Eastern mythology, who rules the entire universe with the Taoist and Buddhist faction beneath him!!! Brahma, the one who creates. Vishnu, the one who preserves. Shiva, the one who destroys. All of Eastern Mythology!! Sakyamuni, the most recent Buddha, who overcame worldly attachment, bringing peace to the masses!!!!" The black-robed men stared on stupefied in surprise and horror as this random mortal shouted out those all too familiar names. As if death was looming over them, they hurriedly shot off towards him brandishing their swords!! That moment was a mere instant, but to Zhen Shi, it was more comparable to a lifetime!! Zhen Shi grew calm as his mind and heart settled down! His passion for knowledge, the things he had enjoyed in his past life, combined with the desire to grow stronger in this new world using this rare opportunity resonated with his personal heart and soul. Although he could see death looming over him he continued on, in his mind, with his deep attachment for systems aroused, "The path to the top is difficult, riddled with countless obstacles. The only thing which makes that path easier is a SYSTEM!!! I have reincarnated and I refuse to die a useless death!!!! IF I DON''T GET A SYSTEM, WHO WILL??????" DING..... 2 Birth of a Genius? Ding! Zhen Shi who had been preparing for death, couldn''t help but doubt that he was imagining this sound. Nevertheless, his doubts were washed away as a monotonous and lifeless robot-like voice rang out within his head. He couldn''t say for sure, but the voice seemed a tad bit feminine. System Activated! Congratulations to the user for witnessing the descent of the Godly Otaku Divine System. The Godly Otaku System is a legendary existence that would be sought after by the gods themselves! Zhen Shi was elated at receiving this chance at survival and becoming the owner of a system. Yet he calmed himself down while contemplating this message... Since the system clearly mentioned that it would be sought after even by gods, it would be best if he kept the existence of the system to himself. However, his thoughts were distracted by the notifications of the system. Ding! The user''s current body is crippled, unstable and devoid of all potential. Physical and Spiritual Assimilation of the host body incomplete. Destroyed Primordial Chaos base detected. Repairing... Soul root nodes detected. Addition of optimal soul roots initiated... Zhen Shi could vaguely sense some parts within his body shifting and changing. As this continued he could feel his body grow lighter and stronger. It was almost as if he had been wearing weights the entire time and they were suddenly removed. He felt free and liberated, better than he had felt ever before. Despite the threat to his life, Zhen Shi''s body and mind were celebrating this newfound freedom. However, the system notification rang and the monotonous voice spoke out once more, causing him to pause. Ding! Primordial Chaos Base repaired. Soul Roots of four elements- Fiery, Earthen, Aqua, and Aerial successfully formed. Ding! Detected cultivators in the vicinity and trace amounts of qi. Since the user body is currently incapable of holding qi, Physical Assimilation to the new body initiated... And completed! Suddenly Zhen Shi began to feel some strange yellow energy entering into his body with every breath, and even through the pores on his skin. This energy would enter and subsequently leave in the same manner. It was as if Zhen Shi had been blind this entire time and he had just gained vision. Surprisingly this process continued to repeat again and again. After contemplating this process for a while and with his own knowledge, Zhen Shi could only conclude that this energy was the legendary Qi! The cyclic process of qi entering and leaving was strange, but natural at the same time as if he was merely breathing. With each cycle of qi entering and leaving his body, his body slowly grew stronger. His blood vessels, organs and bones improved while his muscles strengthened. But suddenly he sensed a strong burning sensation around his stomach along with several gentle sensations. He could only assume that this was due to some process taking place in the dantian, which he knew was a cultivation related energy center located around the stomach area. And he was correct. Within his body just behind the stomach was a large egg-like node that had not been there before, the Dantian! However unknown to even Zhen Shi, within his dantian was a vast almost limitless space. And at the very center of this space was a sphere of pitch-black chaotic energy. There was something ancient and undoubtedly savage about it... This energy was unruly and unstable causing even the vast space within the dantian to show small cracks under its fearsome power. Occasionally a strand of chaotic energy would leak out of the globe and writhe about like a serpent before returning back to the energy sphere. This sphere of energy could only be the primordial chaos base! Surrounding the primordial chaos base were four crystals of different colors; a greenish-white crystal with the clear imprint of a tornado, an aquamarine blue crystal with the faint imprint of a sea, an earthen brown crystal with the faint imprint of a mountain range, and finally a fiery orange crystal with the faint imprint of a flaming volcano. These were the embryonic forms of the four soul roots, the soul root nodes! With the inner-view of the dantian, one could see how the absorbed qi was being rapidly pulled into the primordial chaos base, never to be seen again. The small amount of qi that did leave his body was released through the four soul root crystals... However, Zhen Shi could see none of this, and despite being blessed with these gifts that would cause any other cultivator to drool in jealousy, he was still unable to use them to thwart the incoming attack of the Xue Yue cultivators. Even with his newly enhanced body, he was like a strand of grass attempting to block a river. Fortunately for him, the formation of the four spiritual root nodes caused a strange resonance with nature and sent out a strange but weak wave of energy. This wave of energy immediately caused the attacking Xue Yue cultivators to stop in wariness and go on the defensive. They hurriedly began to look at their own bodies and fearfully inspected their own cultivation. It wasn''t that this energy was particularly powerful, it was simply strange and unique. Besides having been fearful of a ''divine prophet'' who spoke of gods, it made sense for them to be fearful of the sudden manifestation of a unique ''attacking'' energy. After all, divine prophets were a rare class of cultivators famous for their god-like prowess and unusual attacks. Now that the attack had stopped for a moment, Zhen Shi could let out a breath of relief. But at the same time, the system rang out in his head in its monotonous voice. Ding! The Godly Otaku System has been activated. Zhen Shi who should''ve been celebrating his newfound abilities and system was rather calm. Perhaps it was the qi running in his veins or the strange connection he had with nature. Either way, he calmly thought what anyone with a system should think, \"Status!\" Instantly a status screen containing information popped up in his mind. User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Mere mortal [Next Level-Elementary Qi Stage 1] Cultivation energy: None Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base-Pending Selection EXP points: 0/100 OP(Otaku Points): 0 Titles: -Otherworld Reincarnator {Effect: Instant casting of learned spells one grade below. Intelligence +40 and Charisma +40) Zhen Shi had been happily going over the interesting details when suddenly his face froze and his eye twitched ?_?, as all his ''calmness'' was thrown out of the window. Despite the effects of qi and nature, he was still a mortal... Thus he couldn''t help but shout out at the system, \"FUCK! Making me question my humanity and even calling me a naked monkey, system, do you have a grudge against me or something?\" System: \"...\" The moment he shouted he realized that he had complained blatantly without thinking the matter through. Although the system had insulted him, at the same time it was what had given him a chance at life in the face of certain death. With his thoughts dwelling further on this matter, he grew silent as he realized that he had bit the hand that had fed him. As such he thought, ''Aiya! Never mind, you''re MY system, so I''ll let you play around a bit.'' On the other hand, the cultivators of the Xue Yue sect were staring at this crazy mortal who had first chanted a spell of the gods like a divine prophet and had even forced them to go on the defensive with that strange wave of energy. But now that mortal was shouting out nonsense at ''them''. They were rather stunned at these ridiculous actions by a target they had actually been cautious of. ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? o??o ? They stared with blank eyes while thinking, ''What the hell? Weren''t you preparing some divine spell to attack? Did it fail resulting in the collapse of your brain? And are you so unsure of your humanity even beginning to consider yourself a monkey? And what the hell is a system? Can you eat it?'' Noticing their strange reaction Zhen Shi suddenly realized that he had shouted his thoughts by accident. As such he proceeded to ignore them and focused his efforts on the system. With continued attempts, he realized that the system did not respond to most of his questions or commands, and only responded to certain phrases and words. He continued experimenting, determined to find some new mechanic of the system. After all, he definitely wasn''t strong enough to survive against these cultivators should they attack again, and running away was an impossible task bound to get him killed even sooner. A few moments later, the cultivators of the Xue Yue sect freed themselves from their blank-eyed stupor and thoughts. It was almost as if an unexplainable force was forcing them to be influenced by Zhen Shi''s words... One of the cultivators who was dressed and acted like a scholar was the first to clear his mind of those thoughts. Thus he spoke out while laughing confidently, \"This mortal must''ve had the innate potential to be a divine prophet. In the face of our attack, he must''ve gained some minor insight, but failed to complete the summoning due to his weak cultivation base and finally lost his sanity. Come on, let''s just put him out of his misery!\" The other cultivators nodded in agreement to this idea which made a fair amount of sense. Thus, they dashed forward once more with their dark blades glinting dangerously under the moonlight. Despite having noticed this attack, Zhen Shi was powerless to stop them or even dodge with his mortal body. Thus he ignored what he couldn''t change and focused entirely on the system, knowing very well that it was his only chance at survival. Fortunately for him, the system rang out with another notification. Ding! The user is currently very weak. Considering his recent ascent into the new world, the user has earned a beginner power up bag! Do you wish to open it? Zhen Shi hurriedly agreed and thought, \"Open it!\" Ding! Congratulations to the user for obtaining a Legendary Cultivation Path Chest! Congratulations to the user for obtaining a minor experience pill! Congratulations to the user for obtaining Skill- Congratulations to the user for gaining 20 free Otaku Points. Before Zhen Shi could even admire his new gifts the system rang out once more. Ding! The user has yet to choose a cultivation path. Opening of the Legendary Chest recommended. Zhen Shi agreed with this as well and so thought, \"System, open that chest.\" He was acting in a hurried manner due to the oncoming attack, but a part of him that was ''well-learned'' of cultivation matters knew that he had to be careful in this choice that would decide his entire future potential. Ding! Please choose one of the three available cultivation paths. - [Platinum Tier. Cultivation technique used by Zeus to reach true godhood in the Heavenly Realm. Personally crafted by him when he was a mere spark of lightning born from the primordial chaos. Guaranteed to reach Zeus''s level] ''Guaranteed to reach Zeus''s Level! This should mean that I''d definitely end up as a god! However... Zeus is a God who reached the apex of power by killing anyone he deemed a threat, even his own blood and family. So, I''d rather have nothing to do with this. Besides this says that Zeus was born from primordial chaos? Isn''t that the thing in my dantian? Then why should I care about a mere Zeus?'' And so with newfound confidence, he moved to the next choice. - [Scheming tier. Cultivation technique used by a certain someone to EXPLODE the heavens. Added due to the user''s failed attempts at acting tough. Requires 5 elemental spiritual roots to cultivate] \"Holy Shit! But this belongs to another bastard who already used it. Besides, I don''t have spiritual roots of 5 elements. So, next choice.\" - [¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ tier. Complete information not available. A path tread by no mortal, cultivator or god since the dawn of creation! Requires a Primordial Chaos base and supplementary four elemental soul roots for progression.] \"Interesting... A path tread by no other. This cultivation art even has a hidden tier and incomplete information. Obviously, it''s giving out some flags! Besides, since I perfectly complement the requirements it is an obvious choice... Choose Primordial Chaos Arts!\" Ding! Primordial Chaos Arts learned. Immediately Zhen Shi''s mind was subjected to a torrent of information on how to practice the Primordial Chaos Art. But at the same time, a strange memory surfaced in his mind... ???????????? He was a child within a small training ground surrounded by clear white walls covered with red tiles at the top. There were a few trees with blooming flowers and rich fruits, along with birds singing tales of the beauty of spring. The ground was covered in an even layer of lively grass fresh with morning dew. But just a few steps in front of him there was a powerful, strong man at least twice as tall as him and dressed in dark green robes. These robes were rather unique, with a coiling serpent on one side and a hissing black turtle on the other, set in perpetual combat. Despite being able to see the robes, Zhen Shi couldn''t even see this man''s face since he was too small. He was confident that he had never met this man before, but at the same time, he couldn''t help but feel strangely familiar with this person... The man walked forward and spoke in a serious tone, \"Xiao Shi, today you will take your first step into the world of cultivation. Once you begin, there will be no other chances to go back. You''re only seven years old, you can still wait a few more years if you wish. Are you sure about this?\" Zhen Shi spoke out in a child-like voice, \"Yes, elder sister is already busy with her practice! Besides, if I want to be as amazing as you, I have to become stronger!\" while making a fist with tiny hands. The man paused for a moment. Although Zhen Shi couldn''t see above this man''s face he could sense that he was in a happy mood. The man continued to speak in his serious tone, \"Listen carefully then; Cultivation is the art of understanding and improving the body, mind, and soul. For us mortals, it is the best path to grow stronger and ascend into higher levels of existence. To do this we follow the cultivation arts discovered through trial-and-error by our ancestors or even the more modern ones popularized by the Divine Organizations. But... before you begin your cultivation practice, you need to know the basics. The world and nature around us are brimming with incredible amounts of powerful energy. As creatures born of nature, we are unable to create such energy by ourselves. But what we can do is borrow power from mother nature. And cultivation is the method to do this! Through cultivation, we gather and store nature''s energy for our own use, be it fighting, alchemy, artifact refining, formations or any other such practice. Generally, the energy obtained from nature is referred to as aether and the aether stored within our body is referred to as qi. However, it is very difficult to distinguish them apart, so the terms aether and qi tend to blend together in practice.\" The man paused for a moment and bent down to sit cross-legged on the ground while gesturing Zhen Shi to do the same. Zhen Shi hurriedly followed suit. Finally, he could see this man''s face. He was middle-aged with a rough beard and had a face that seemed to have toughened amidst indescribable war and battle. However, his eyes were twinkling brightly while his lips were raised in a light smile. Zhen Shi couldn''t help but feel happy once he saw this strangely familiar face. The man continued to speak, \"Now before cultivating, there are certain factors that determine a person''s talent. Besides the divine blessings that are granted by the totemic gods of the divine organizations at birth--\" Zhen Shi spoke out happily with a raised hand, \"Ooh! Like Elder Sister!\" The man smiled and spoke with a nod, \"Yes. Just like Xiao Xixi. However, you should remember to not disturb your elders while they''re talking...\" finishing his words rather sternly. Zhen Shi obediently grew silent while lowering his hand. The man smiled lightly as he continued, \"Besides divine blessings, and those special body types, another special factor that affects talent would be elemental soul roots. The presence of any of these factors is very rare. For instance, I and your mother are some of the very few who were born with dual soul roots within the central plains in the last few millennia!\" He paused for a moment and smiled proudly, \"But you have something even better! It is so rare, that even the clan elders were unable to discover what it was. We were only able to figure it out once we went over some of the oldest clan records. Even then we had to bring down an expert of the divine church to confirm this matter!\" Immediately, he poked his index finger lightly on Zhen Shi''s stomach saying, \"Considering its nature, it is called a Chaotic Dantian and they say that through it you''ll be able to cultivate at a very fast pace!\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin proudly at the praise. The man nodded curtly but spoke rather sternly, \"However, Xiao Shi, don''t be too proud. Even some of the most talented geniuses have been lost over time due to their over-confidence. Thus, above all, what is most important is hard work and determination! Do you understand?\" Zhen Shi hurriedly rubbed away his grin and nodded obediently. The man smiled again and spoke out, \"Before you begin practicing for real, just for today, try to get a sense of the natural aether and the qi within you.\" Noticing Zhen Shi''s hesitation, he nodded reassuringly and said, \"Go on, close your eyes and focus.\" Zhen Shi obediently closed his eyes. He concentrated his mind tried to sense something around him or even inside his body but... failed terribly. He was unable to calm his mind down... But almost immediately a soothing voice spoke out, \"Shi''er, calm down. Just practice breathing and focus on my voice.\" Saying so the voice began to hum a slow, calm and peaceful tune. Zhen Shi felt as if he had heard this somewhere before, but couldn''t quite place it. Nevertheless, listening to the familiar sound calmed him down. He felt as if he was a baby again, within his mother''s embrace and the familiar song humming in the background. With the familiar song in his ears and the reassuring presence by his side, his mind quickly calmed down allowing him to completely focus on his body. As such, he gained a sudden epiphany! His senses exploded causing streams of yellow energy to appear around him. It was as if he had been blind at one moment, only to be given his vision in the next. He could feel thin streams of this yellow qi entering into his body with each breath and also through the pores on his skin. These streams of qi were then dragged into his dantian and finally absorbed by the primordial chaos base hidden within. But Zhen Shi didn''t know this and all he saw was that the absorbed yellow qi never returned back outside, almost as if the dantian was a black-hole for qi. In addition to this, not a single speck of qi was present in his exhaled breaths. He also couldn''t sense a speck of energy outside of his body... But as a child, he didn''t see any reason to be worried and continued to focus on the qi that was automatically being pulled into his dantian. Suddenly a small amount of qi was separated from the streams of qi being absorbed by the primordial chaos. Instantly this qi formed into a rather thick strand of pure golden-yellow near his dantian. In an instant, Zhen Shi felt his body grow stronger and lighter by many times. He could also sense that he had gained a degree of control over the qi in his body... By now the humming tune had stopped and Zhen Shi hurriedly opened his eyes surprised at the sudden change that had occurred within his body. The moment he opened his eyes, he could see that the man outside was staring at him with widened eyes and great surprise as he slowly muttered in disbelief, \"D-Did you just reach the first stage of the Elementary Qi stage?\" ???????????? The strange memory ended at that point, and Zhen Shi was still trying to wrap his head around this realistic memory that had suddenly popped within his head. But, unseen by Zhen Shi, his current body continued its improvement. The four elemental soul root crystals around the primordial chaos were slowly nourished by the qi that entered and left his body. Within a few seconds, the crystals slowly began to crack like a seed beginning to germinate or an egg about to give birth. Moments later root-like tendrils stretched out from within the cracks in each of the spiritual roots and gathered around the primordial chaos base. Instantly these tendrils pierced the ball of chaotic energy, ventured deep into it and settled within. As this process took place, another change occurred... Previously the primordial chaos had been gobbling up the absorbed qi without pause, not allowing even a single speck to leave back to nature. In other words, Zhen Shi''s body was taking from nature without giving back. This could only have posed problems for him in the future... But now remnant strands of the absorbed qi traveled from within the primordial chaos base, through the tendrils, and finally into the spiritual root crystals. And then, this energy would be released into the body and finally back into nature. As such the one-way absorption of energy ended. And with the support of the soul roots, a balance was established with nature... The moment this change occurred, Zhen Shi''s cultivation increased, just like in that memory. And at the same time, a familiar voice rang out in his mind, Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Elementary Qi Stage 1! 3 Memories-1 Zhen Shi marveled at the changes that had taken place in his body, along with the increase of his cultivation. His body was now much stronger and lighter than it had been before. He could even sense the strand of golden yellow qi; with bright tinges of green, and slight hints of red, blue and brown, placed near his dantian. Zhen Shi had to admit that the system, regardless of how insulting and annoying it had been, was indeed impressive having made him into a cultivator within a few short moments. He had also come to realize that when he had been conversing with the system previously, the Xue Yue cultivators had only made small progress in their attack; almost as if his mind worked at much faster speeds when in contact with the system... But, regardless of how powerful the system was, he could sense that being in the first Elementary Qi Stage was completely insufficient to handle these ten cultivators. Most of all, he had no idea how to fight as a cultivator... was randomly punching enough? Or did he have to shout out the name of some type of skill? But reminded of the other contents in the system''s gift pack he mentally said, \"System, consume minor experience pill,\" while hoping that improving his cultivation would be sufficient to beat his opponents. Ding! 8000 EXP points earned. Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Elementary Qi Stage 2! Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Elementary Qi Stage 3! -------------- Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Elementary Qi Stage 6! A series of notifications began to ring out in succession and Zhen Shi realized that he was even subconsciously manipulating the qi in his body in accordance with the primordial chaos arts, without any intention of doing it! But before he could focus more on this, a series of memories arose in his mind. ?????? Zhen Shi was back as a child in that peaceful training courtyard. A light breeze blew by causing the trees laden with fruits and flowers to rustle peacefully. He was once again seated on the grass but several dozen meters away from him, standing under the shade of a tree were two figures engaged in a heated conversation. One was the middle-aged man with the robe of the battling Serpent and Turtle and the other was a beautiful lady dressed in a shimmering light green robe. He couldn''t hear what they were seeing but he could see that they were worried about something. The lady was anxious while the man seemed to be calm, as they conversed for a few more moments. But, finally, they seemed to have reached a conclusion as they hugged each other. Suddenly, the man clicked his fingers causing a colorless veil to become visible around them and instantly dissipate. He then turned to Zhen Shi and spoke, his words completely audible now, \"Xiao Shi, I''m going away now. Your mother will teach you about some of the basics of cultivation. Learn well.\" Saying so he turned around and walked a few steps forward, instantly disappearing like a gust of wind. Smiling at his leaving figure the lady walked towards Zhen Shi and said reassuringly, \"Shi, child, your father will come back with a suitable cultivation technique for you. Until then you can learn from me...\" She sat down on the ground close to him and patted her lap with a kind smile. Immediately, Zhen Shi stood up ecstatically and jumped onto her lap. His mother laughed at his actions and hugged his small body from behind. Nevertheless, she placed her head on his right shoulder reassuringly and began to whisper in a serious tone, \"The Elementary Qi stage is a very important stage. If your cultivation is to be a majestic and towering construction, this stage can be similarized to the materials that you will use to build it. As a result, not a single child is allowed to practice cultivation without a cultivation technique leading up to at least the first stage of foundation establishment. And there is a very important reason why this is so. When a cultivator is in the Elementary Qi stage, if one doesn''t practice cultivation for at least six hours each day, their cultivation will automatically regress...\" She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she continued decisively, \"That is also why we generally wait until a child is older so that they will be able to practice frequently without being easily bored. For a cultivator of the first stage of the Elementary Qi stage, it will only take one week of lessened practice to completely lose their cultivation. And afterward, cultivating for the second time will be a very slow process and their bodies might even be unable to handle the strain resulting in them becoming crippled. Although your father started your practice, he had no intention of allowing you to cultivate without a proper cultivation technique. But now it is too late... Even with your amazing rate of improvement, we can''t take risks. That is why your father left in a hurry to bring that cultivation art for you. But, since we can''t cry over spilled milk--- When he returns you''ll have to grit through the boredom and persevere in your cultivation. Shi''er, do you understand?\" Zhen Shi immediately nodded and answered, \"Yes, Mother.\" She lightly smiled and continued speaking, \"Alright then, let me teach you about the Elementary Qi stage. It can be divided into three major stages; Qi Formation, Qi refining, and Qi stabilization, each containing three minor stages.\" She freed her right hand from the hug and twirled it in the air creating a visible strand of golden yellow-qi. Pointing towards it she began to explain, \"This unassuming qi strand formed when you reach the first Elementary Qi stage will determine the extent of your future success. The first three stages under Qi formation will basically involve gathering aether from nature and infusing it into the Qi strand. The goal is to improve and strengthen it as much as possible until you reach its limit and form the largest Qi strand you possibly can. But of course, simply following those instructions is difficult. You will definitely need a proper cultivation art...\" But while she had been speaking Zhen Shi had closed his eyes and had focused on the strand of golden qi near his dantian. With her comforting presence nearby he could easily focus his mind. Besides he had been feeling guilty of the fact that he had made a mistake and put his parents in a tough spot. After all, even if he was just a child and even if his parents talked in secret, he could still make logical assumptions on the true nature of the situation. As such, he was brimming with the desire to succeed and make things easier for his parents. He breathed deeply a few times and calmly exerted control on some of the qi being dragged into his dantian by the primordial chaos base. This was by no means an easy task to complete on the first try, especially for a child. But he was determined, and most importantly, the amount of qi being absorbed by the ''chaotic dantian'' was tremendous. Even if he was unskilled he should be able to direct a small amount of it even with a rough level of control. Even though he only exerted his control on a small amount of the qi being absorbed by the dantian, it was a rather large amount when compared to the qi that an ordinary person could gather. Next, he calmly guided this energy towards the qi strand near his dantian. Instantly, this large amount of qi combined with the golden-yellow strand of qi causing it to double in thickness and power. In a single moment, the strand of qi had doubled its energy! As a result of this, Zhen Shi''s body became much stronger and lighter. Nevertheless, he continued to take in deep breaths and focused on separating more qi from what was being dragged into his dantian. Within a few seconds, he had collected an even larger amount of qi. Instantly, he directed this torrent of qi, towards the qi strand near his dantian and allowed them to assimilate together. Boom! A burst of qi surged through his body as Zhen Shi''s qi strand reached the limit of its capacity, instantly enriching his flesh, tendons, meridians and qi paths. At the center of this surge of qi, lay the majestic strand of qi that had reached it''s maximum potential and was now radiating great power and energy. Having felt the sudden change Zhen Shi hurriedly opened his eyes and turned around to look at his mother''s face in sur[irse. But her eyes were widened in a familiar manner as well as she whispered in disbelief, \"S-Shi''er, did you just pass through the second stage and even reached the peak of the Elementary Qi third stage? You actually completed the Qi formation stage within a few hours since you began cultivating... and all of this without a proper cultivation art?\" ---------------------- A light breeze blew by causing the fruits and flowers in the trees nearby to wave enticingly in the air. Two days had passed by since his accidental ascension to the peak of the Qi formation stage. And Zhen Shi was once again in the training ground seated on the lush grass. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see two other figures seated close by; his mother and father. However, his focus was on a thin book placed within his small lap. As he continued to turn the pages and read this book, he realized that this was a cultivation art tailored to his primordial chaos base, or as referred to here incorrectly as the ''chaotic dantian''. It contained information and details on the practice method up to the peak of the Core Formation stage along with miscellaneous details and conclusions about his ''chaotic dantian''. It mentioned that the chaotic dantian was basically an ordinary dantian but was containing an inborn mass of chaotic space; similar to that which is created when space becomes unstable. And that it had the basic function of continuously absorbing large amounts of aether from nature. As a result, the cultivator would be able to obtain the necessary amount of energy for his cultivation easily without extended hours of meditation like other cultivators. Furthermore, it mentioned that his chaotic dantian would bring no adverse effects on his cultivation as long as he perfectly followed this cultivation technique. Nevertheless, he noticed that there were distinct differences and even major contradictions between this technique and his current causing him to be concerned... However, he was unable to change his actions within the memories of the past... Within two more hours of worry-filled contemplation, he finished reading through the book and raised his head with excitement to look at his parents seated nearby. Seeing that he had finished reading through the book, his father spoke out with a smile, \"Xiao Shi, have you memorized the contents of the book? Even if you haven''t, it''ll be fine as long as you look through it frequently and grow more familiar with it. Since you were able to complete the Qi Formation stage even though you didn''t cultivate during the last two days, there will be no adverse effects.\" Zhen Shi nodded happily. At the same time, his mother began to speak with a satisfied smile, \"We went to great extents to invite an Elder of the Divine Church to visit us. This technique was created only after a thorough examination of your physique and your aptitude. He even confirmed that the High Decan had a hand in preparing this cultivation technique as a favor for your grandfather. So you''re fortunate enough to have a technique created by a grandmaster in the field of cultivation, completely suited to yourself!\" However, hearing her words his father frowned lightly and spoke up, \"Li, don''t entice him to have so much faith in that cultivation technique. Even if my father believes in them, you know very well that I don''t trust these divine organizations...\" Li heaved an exasperated sigh and replied anxiously \"Wei, he is still a child, he doesn''t need to know--\" But half-way through her words, he motioned her to be silent and spoke decisively, \"Shi''er, you need to know the truth of the situation. Your physique is both a blessing and a curse. Even though it allows you to show unbelievable speeds of cultivation, there are no proper cultivation techniques to follow for you. Under the frowning eyes of his mother, Zhen Wei continued to speak, \"Most importantly, even if the current world is in a state of peace and conforms to ''justice'', there will be people who will try to take advantage of you and steal your gifts. Be wary and follow your heart. Don''t trust anyone easily... don''t even believe in this cultivation technique. Know that I wouldn''t even have allowed you to use this technique had there been any other choice...\" and heaved a powerless sigh. But almost immediately he stood up with a slightly excited face. He smiled at Zhen Shi and began to walk away. With his figure vanishing into the wind, he left behind a few words, \"I was just reminded of a certain old fellow who might be able to solve this problem. If I could just get that fellow to come over, he should be able to confirm if the cultivation technique is flawed or not... But the problem is, I haven''t heard from him in a while...? Until then, Shi''er you should learn well from your mother.\" His mother heaved an exasperated sigh and muttered, \"That man---\" Nevertheless, she turned to Zhen Shi and spoke with the hints of a slight smile, \"Alright then. Let''s begin the lesson,\" and stood up gesturing him to do the same. As soon as he got up, she smiled and said, \"It is important to remember that as long as you are in the Elementary Qi stage you can only use the qi directly absorbed from nature. Using the energy in your qi strand is not only a waste of time but it will also damage your fundamentals.\" Confirming that he had understood her warning, she continued, \"Now that you''ve reached the peak of Qi formation you should be ready to learn how to use qi to empower your movement and attacks. You should''ve been taught this before you reached this much of a level,\" and laughed as she continued, \"But this situation should also make things easier and faster. Now close your eyes...\" Zhen Shi closed his eyes as ordered, while his mother''s voice continued to speak, \"Focus on the aether that is naturally entering into your body with every breath. Focus on how it is then converted into qi which even you can control. While in the Qi formation stage you should''ve sensed that a portion of this qi naturally enters into the qi paths within your body. To empower your actions with qi, the qi paths in your body are essential. For instance, if you need to make a powerful punch what you need to do is collect qi into the qi paths on your fist and simply punch out. Go on... try it.\" Zhen Shi took a deep breath as he focused on the vague sense of the qi paths in his body. He immediately realized that Qi paths were intangible veins similar to blood veins except for the fact that qi flowed through them, and instead of the heart the qi paths were connected to the dantian; it might as well be called the Qi Circulatory System! There were qi paths all over his body but they were undetectable and the only way to sense them was through the presence of the qi within them. With the practice of having reached the peak of qi formation and the support of his powerful qi strand, he was able to easily direct some qi towards his fist. Instantly he punched out and a light wave of wind washed out under the power of his fist. But he felt that he had not completely succeeded... As such, he repeated his previous actions and directed his intent on to some of the qi being dragged into his ''chaotic dantian'', and hurriedly directed it towards the qi paths in his fist. Instantly he punched out just as before. Pah! The sound of exploding wind rang out under the power of his fist. Zhen Shi grinned happily at his success and turned to his mother happily. But she only nodded with a light smile and said, \"Now try to do the same with knife strikes, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and kicking. I''m sure you''ve seen these moves before, so it shouldn''t be too difficult. Once you succeed in that, try to infuse qi into your movement and enhance your speed as well. And then repeat all of it until I tell you to stop.\" Without even a hint of disappointment, Zhen Shi nodded resolutely as he began to do as she had said¡­ ---------------------- The night wind blew by causing the trees to whisper the tales of a forgotten time. The starlight was the only source of light on this moonless night. Pah! Pah! Pah! The air exploded repeatedly under Zhen Shi''s continuous attacks. He punched, kicked, and struck, ending each repetition with several fast side steps, lunges, and dashes. Despite his impressive attacks and movement, he was breathing haggardly with sweat dripping down his tired body. After all, he was only a child. A determined and perseverant child, but a child nonetheless. He was pushing his body to the limit while waiting for the voice that had spoken out on so many times before signaling the end of his suffering. \"Enough!\" an emotionless voice finally rang out moments later. Immediately, Zhen Shi collapsed onto the floor while heaving heavy breaths and looking at his mother, who had just spoken out, with accusing eyes. Almost immediately she dashed forwards and held him in concern asking, \"Shi, child, you''re fine right? Did I push you too far?\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile at Xie Li''s sudden shift in character from a merciless trainer to a worried mother. Nevertheless, he nodded his head with a light smile. Seeing that he was fine enough to smile his mother visibly relaxed and sat down next to him while staring at the sky. She began to speak while absently stroking his wet hair, \"Since your father hasn''t come back yet, let me tell you about the next minor stage of the Elementary Qi Stage; the Qi refining stage.\" Now with both of them admiring the beauty of the stars, she continued, \"The Qi refining stage is basically as it sounds. The basic purpose is to refine the Qi strand that you already formed. To refine the qi strand you have to remove impure qi. Impure qi refers to a mixture consisting of qi of almost every type. While it might not sound bad, on the contrary, since it contains every type of qi, it is next to impossible to use impure qi for any complex purpose besides minor strengthening. Furthermore, it is particularly heavy and thus clogs up the qi paths. Once you retain the qi that is pure and suited for you while removing the impure qi, you will be able to gain a qualitative increase in power. Even elemental manipulation would be possible for certain geniuses...\" But she paused for a moment and looked at him expectantly. Zhen Shi stared at her in confusion as well. Noticing his confused face she laughed merrily and explained, \"I was expecting your cultivation to improve magically again...\" ---------------------- 4 Memories-2 ---------------------- The early morning sun had already risen and the lively grass shone with a gentle glow from within. As the birds danced among the laden trees and sang sweet melodies of a new day, Zhen Shi realized that he was once more in that training courtyard. It was only yesterday that he had begun his training to practice the utilization of qi through the qi paths in his body. But just like before he was once again determined to work hard on his training. His mother, Xie Li, was standing in front of him with her hair fluttering in the light morning breeze. She smiled saying, \"Shi, child, your father informed me that the search for his friend has been unsuccessful so far and that his return will take longer. So until he returns, I''ll be taking care of your training... But since I have another student under my tutelage, they''ll be joining us as well,\" and gestured towards the entrance of the training courtyard. Almost immediately, a figure dashed through the entrance and charged towards him with great speed. This figure was extremely fast and Zhen Shi was unable to compare to this speed even with his Elementary Qi stage 3 cultivation and the training from yesterday. As such, he was tackled down on to the ground with him giving out a childish squeal of surprise. Nevertheless, he glared up at the all too familiar culprit who was now sitting on top of his stomach. This culprit was his sister, Zhen Xixi, a young girl with straight black hair tied up in a bun and dressed in fiery orange robes. She smiled haughtily down at him almost as if she was celebrating her victory. Slightly bending down to get closer, she whispered playfully to him, \"Hey little brother. Do you know that you going around and cultivating so fast makes things difficult for me? They say that I''m skilled too... and even though I''ve reached the foundation establishment stage in three years, that can''t compare to your stunt of completing qi formation in a couple of hours!\" and finished with a pout. Zhen Shi cheekily whispered back, \"Of course, the only reason I cultivated so fast was to make things difficult for you!\" Hearing his mischievous reply, Zhen Xixi was speechless for a moment. On the other hand, Xie Li couldn''t help but smile at the sight of her two children playing around. Nevertheless, she coughed loudly and spoke sternly, \"That''s enough. Shi''er, Xixi''er stand up and prepare for training.\" Hearing her voice, as if the world was about to end, Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi hurriedly stood up with their backs straight ready to follow her instructions. Observing their actions Xie Li nodded in satisfaction and walked up to Zhen Shi. She placed her index finger on his forehead and said, \"This is a mortal tier grade 4 punching skill of the Zhen Clan. It has rather limited use in battle, but it is very useful for practitioners of the mortal realm to become more familiar with their qi paths, purify and train the use of qi. Your sister has been practicing it for a while now, and even now this skill is still useful for her.\" Instantly, the punching skill was transferred to Zhen Shi''s mind through her finger and appeared within his memory. Zhen Shi excitedly read through it, only to realize that it was a rather simple skill based on the repetition of the same identical punch. The only special fact was that there was a unique and complex method of directing the qi through the fist qi paths. But the fact that skills were imparted like this made him wonder why he had received his cultivation technique in a book... Almost as if she understood his thoughts, his mother spoke up, \"This punching skill can be easily shared through memory because it is rather simple, especially when compared to a complete cultivation technique. As such there will be no problems with the transference process. Besides, instantly gaining memory of a cultivation technique will interfere with the understanding that you would normally get when you have to manually read and understand in order to remember.\" Zhen Shi contemplated her words for a moment and finally nodded in understanding. Seeing that Zhen Shi understood the truth behind the matter, Xie Li smiled lightly. Then she took a single step back, clapped her hands and shouted, \"Begin. Do not stop until I tell you.\" And so Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi obeyed her command and began to execute the punching skill. While his sister executed each punch with practiced ease and immense power, Zhen Shi struggled terribly, with extremely weak punches. While her terrifying punches caused the wind to explode, his weak punches barely caused a light breeze. In fact, his punches weren''t even as strong as those of the night before. This was because this skill required the execution of an extremely complex method of utilizing fist qi paths. But at the same time, he could feel himself improving, with each punch. And so with determined eyes, Zhen Shi continued... ---------------------- A light wind blew by causing the lush tree leaves to rustle in the midday sunlight. At the same time, a strange clapping sound repeated over and over. Pah! Pah! The air exploded under the punches which combined the strength of the two siblings. Zhen Shi''s face was contorted in pain and covered in sweat as he continued to force himself to execute the technique. On the other hand, his sister looked totally relaxed as she continued to punch with ease. Despite the terrible pain and fatigue he was suffering from, Zhen Shi had improved quite a bit over the hours of practice and he now had better control over qi. However, his punches were obviously much weaker than that of his sister''s. But that was to be expected... he had a much lower cultivation level and less training. Seeing her brother going through so much pain, Zhen Xixi finally broke the silence and spoke out, \"Little brother, let''s take a break...\" Zhen Shi shook his head resolutely and with determined eyes said, \"No, I can''t stop. Mother asked us to stop only when we collapsed onto the ground!\" and continued to punch out. Despite his strong words, his hands shivered in pain with each strike... Unable to continue watching her little brother suffering, Zhen Xixi grimaced and muttered, \"Fine then have it your way...\" Immediately, she turned to the side and pushed Zhen Shi to the ground, making sure to control her strength. Thud! In his tired state, Zhen Shi was unable to dodge or even exert any strength. As such he was easily pushed down and fell on to the grass which softened the fall. Despite the fact that his muscles were celebrating being able to rest, he raised his head and glared angrily at his sister. On the contrary, Zhen Xixi began to laugh and spoke amidst bouts of laughter, \"There you go. Since you ''collapsed onto the floor'', you can stop now right?\" It was now Zhen Shi''s turn to be speechless at her mischievous reply. Nevertheless, he found himself joining in with her infectious laughter and it was only minutes later that they stopped. Immediately, Zhen Xixi plopped down on to the ground next to her brother. For the next few seconds, they both admired the laden trees and the soft relaxing wind in silence, with smiles on their faces... However, staring at the ground, Zhen Xixi traced her index finger along the petals of a wild and ordinary violet flower growing in a patch of grass nearby. With her eyes on the violet, she whispered, \"Little brother, why are you training so hard? You barely started yesterday...\" Zhen Shi turned to her in surprise wondering why she posed the sudden question. But before he could even think of a reply, she shook her head derisively and whispered, \"Shine!\" Instantly, she clicked her fingers causing a magical and lively energy to appear around her fingers. With a flick of her hand, the energy rushed towards the violet and began to combine with it. Zhen Shi stared in awe at this familiar but mystical sight of his sister''s divine blessing. As the lively energy slowly infused into the violet, it began to shine like a jewel under the sun. At the same time, streams of pure multi-elemental aether began to manifest out of nature. Almost as if the aether was attracted to the shining violet, the aether rushed forth and nourished the flower. As the violet continued to absorb the aether, a miniature whirlpool of energy formed around it. In fact, as they watched, the flower began to transform. Like a caterpillar breaking out of a cocoon, the violet evolved. The petals opened, the color of the petals intensified, the stem strengthened and the violet simply became... more real. Moments later, by the time the energy whirlpool died down, the flower was glowing with bright splendor and spirituality. With its stem a lively green and it''s fresh petals a deep purple, the violet exuded a refreshing fragrance of life. Even the earth and the grass around it were nourished by its aura. Just like that, Zhen Xixi had transformed an ordinary flower into a spiritual treasure! She curtly plucked the flower off the ground. While admiring it, she whispered with a radiant smile, \"Is your goal to become stronger? My goal is to create beautiful things and make people smile...\" Zhen Shi hurriedly spoke up with a proud tap on his chest, \"In that case, elder sister can work on creating beautiful treasures. You won''t have anything to worry about... since I''ll protect you!\" Zhen Xixi giggled at her brother''s words. Shaking her head she grabbed onto his shirt, surprising Zhen Shi, and curtly pinned the violet onto his shirt. With the flower touching his body and it''s fragrance reaching his nose, Zhen Shi''s body felt refreshed. Even his fatigue and tiredness reduced greatly. In fact, even the rate of absorption of qi of his body increased. These were the results of just being close to a spiritual treasure! Smiling at him she spoke up, \"Then I''ll be waiting until you become strong enough to back up your claim.\" Pointing at the violet she said, \"And that... should help.\" Zhen Xixi''s smile grew even wider as she suddenly spoke out with excited eyes, \"Little Brother shall we play spirit hunters again? It''s the most fun game that you came up with!\" But just when Zhen Shi was about to agree to his sister''s idea, suddenly the sound of loud footsteps was heard from the entrance. Zhen Xixi gaped in fear and whispered, \"It''s mother!\" with all thoughts of playing thrown away. As the sound of footsteps grew closer, she hurriedly stood up and pulled Zhen Shi up as well. And just as they had expected, their mother entered through the doorway. But, despite their worrying, she only lightly glanced at them. And the fact that they weren''t still practicing seemed to have eluded her... She smiled at them and turning to Zhen Xixi she said, \"Xixi''er, it''s time for your sword training. Master Wu Dang is waiting for you.\" Zhen Xixi hurriedly said, \"Wu-shi has returned? I''ll be going then!\" and excitedly ran away. She turned around for a moment and playfully stuck out her tongue at Zhen Shi. Leaving no time for Zhen Shi to retaliate, her figure immediately disappeared through the doorway... But suddenly his mother loudly clapped her hands bringing him out of his thoughts. She shouted in a serious and angry tone, \"Shi''er, why are you resting? Continue the punching routine!\" ---------------------- The wind blew through the courtyard causing the laden trees to rustle peacefully. The sun had just begun to set, and as such, the sky was a beautiful mix of orange and red. Pah! Pah! The wind clapped as Zhen Shi continued to execute the punching routine. While he could sense qi much better than before, it was only a small improvement. And to make matters worse he was very tired and even his breathing had become erratic. But the violet flower in his shirt scattered a calming scent and energized him with each breath. As such, despite having trained for hours, he was nowhere close to reaching a level of fatigue as he had on any of the previous times. Suddenly, his mother''s voice rang out, \"Alright, that''s enough. Shi''er you may sit down now.\" Despite the fact that he wasn''t as tired as he was last time, the moment Zhen Shi heard her voice, he plopped down on to the floor and began to rest. At the same time, his mother walked over and sat down next to him. Giving him a moment to rest, she softly caressed his wet hair in silence. But suddenly, Zhen Shi turned to her and asked curiously, \"Mother, Elder Sister is doing her swordsmanship training... When can I begin mine?\" Xie Li smiled lightly and answered, \"It is way too early for you. To begin your specialized training, we need to check your affinity first. And to do that, you need to at least reach the foundation establishment stage!\" Then she continued in a rather serious tone, \"On that note, while resting is extremely important, for today you will not be allowed to rest completely. Cultivating immediately after strenuous exercise of muscles and qi control is rather effective. Thus you''ll attempt to cultivate after we go over the steps you have to follow. You should listen very carefully, especially since your special physique is apparently unable to enhance your cultivation as easily as before.\" Zhen Shi nodded with determined eyes. He was definitely going to work hard to catch up with his elder sister! His mother continued speaking, \"Just like I mentioned before, the main objective of the qi refining stage is to refine the qi strand. That means removing any impure or unsuitable qi and leaving only the pure qi suitable for you. This is very important since the presence of impure qi will bog down your body preventing you from further progress,\" and finished rather sternly. \"But since you''ve already gone through your cultivation technique you should have already understood what you need to do. So explain to me what you know,\" she said looking at him expectantly. Zhen Shi immediately answered from memory, \"The qi refining stage is much more difficult than the qi formation stage. This is due to the inherent absorbing nature of the qi strand. A qi strand can be defined as a mass of gaseous qi which tends to attract more qi towards itself in order to become even more stable. While this is useful in the qi formation stage, it makes the qi refining stage very difficult. To even separate a small amount of impure qi we will have to exert a lot of effort and energy. The solution to this problem is similar to fighting fire with fire; to prevent the qi strand from attracting more qi, we have to use the power of qi as well! Every time we gather aether from nature and pass it through our qi paths to strengthen attacks or practice fighting techniques, we generate power. By doing the same process, closer to the dantian, we can use the created power to destabilize the qi strand. And once it becomes unstable, removing the impure and unsuitable qi will be much easier.\" Xie Li nodded in satisfaction at her son''s accurate description and spoke, \"That is completely correct. But also remember that by refining the qi strand, the purity of the qi within your body will automatically increase. Since the qi refining stage generally takes a longer period of time to complete... you will only be able to sense your progress with small changes like that...\" She continued in a serious tone, \"Keep in mind that great patience will be required to progress. And even if you are still a child... you''ll have to work hard!\" with emphasis on the word ''patience''. Xie Li then spoke with a reassuring smile, \"Go on and give it a try.\" Zhen Shi obediently closed his eyes while moving into a meditative position. By last night, Zhen Shi only had a vague understanding of the qi refining stage. But following his mother''s advice, he had read through the cultivation technique several times and had even asked many questions from her. Thus by the time the morning dawned, he had a much better understanding. His hard work followed by his mother''s enlightening explanations and teaching gave Zhen Shi a very clear idea of what he had to do. And so with closed eyes, Zhen Shi heaved light breaths as he slowly began to practice his cultivation technique. With every cycle of qi flowing in his qi paths he felt energized and refreshed. With the reassuring presence of his mother close by and the spiritual scent of the spiritual violet, his mind calmed down even further... He began to direct the qi towards the qi paths close to his dantian, and the moment some energy gathered, he hurriedly attempted to destabilize the qi strand. But failed... resulting in the momentary loss of his focus. Almost as if she recognized his problem, Xie Li began to hum a beautiful relaxing tune. As the song passed by his ears, Zhen Shi realized that this was the very same tune that his father had hummed last time... Zhen Shi took a deep breath as he calmed his mind once more. With the spiritual violet refreshing his body and mind and the beautiful tune in his ears, he steeled himself and with great determination tried once more. His mind was now free of restricting thoughts... And so he calmly allowed the qi to remain in the dantian qi paths while generating a considerable amount of power. Then he carefully directed this power towards the qi strand. Thrum! A slight vibration of energy washed out as the qi strand destabilized. Zhen Shi immediately made use of this situation to identify a speck of impure qi. Impure qi was much darker than any type of ordinary qi and appeared as strange black specks. This fact became particularly obvious the moment the qi strand became unstable, making it very easy to identify the impure qi. He then directed the impure speck of black qi away from the qi strand and finally made it leave his body... Or at least tried to... Because at the same time, a sudden change occurred. Unseen by Zhen Shi, the primordial chaos base within his dantian exerted an attractive force on to the impure speck of qi. So just when the impure qi speck was about to leave his body, to Zhen Shi''s surprise, the impure qi was dragged back towards the dantian and finally disappeared inside. And almost as if the primordial chaos base had just become aware of the presence of impure qi, it began to automatically drag out all the impure qi from his qi strand. And so as Zhen Shi watched on in surprise, all the impure qi in his qi strand was dragged towards his ''chaotic dantian'' and finally disappeared within. Unseen by Zhen Shi, the moment the impure qi reached the mass of primordial chaos, it greedily gobbled all of it up, in the same way, that a cat would gobble up a mouse. But the primordial chaos didn''t stop there. It suddenly began to attract all the impure qi in his body. This included the impure qi that had seeped into his qi paths and even the impure qi that had merged with his body over time. And just like before, the moment this huge amount of impure qi entered the dantian, the primordial chaos gobbled all of it up. In general, impure qi is something that plagues many cultivators. In fact, the removal of impure qi is a long process that continues throughout the entire mortal realm. But in Zhen Shi''s case, the primordial chaos base had completely removed all of it in a few moments, instantly giving him a head start and an easier path to tread compared to all of his competitors! But as a child, he wasn''t totally aware of this fact just yet. Nevertheless, he could sense the phenomenal change that had taken place within his body. With the removal of impure qi, Zhen Shi could now control qi and sense his qi paths much easier than before. At the same time, he could feel that his body had lightened and strengthened by many folds. In addition to this, his qi strand which had completed the refining process was now shining brightly with a beautiful light green color... By now his mother''s humming tune had stopped. As such, Zhen Shi quickly opened his eyes and turned to his mother in the same way he had done on the few occasions before. Xie Li''s eyes were widened as she finally stammered out, \"D-Did you just complete the qi refining stage and breakthrough into the Qi Refining 6th Stage? And I can''t even sense a speck of impure qi within you...\" She finally broke out in laughter while Zhen Shi stared at her in confusion. Shaking her head she caressed his hair with pride in her eyes and spoke out, \"Shi''er, were you waiting to embarrass your mother like this? Cultivating to this stage in a few moments, especially after I advised that you''d have to be patient...\" ?????? The series of memories stopped at this point. Zhen Shi was confused for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just learned. These memories were incomparable to a simple transfer of knowledge like the punching skill, and Zhen Shi couldn''t help but feel that these were his own memories... Nevertheless, seeing his cultivation rise up in a few moments he couldn''t help but celebrate in his mind, ''Now this is what you call cultivating!\" With new-found power to back him up, Zhen Shi raised his head to ''confidently'' stare at the ten Xue Yue cultivators. But the moment he sensed their powerful aura exceeding his own power, he couldn''t help but gulp audibly. ''In fear? Of course not... there was just something stuck in my throat!'' Nevertheless, Zhen Shi stared warily at these cultivators who were much stronger than he was... 5 Am I in trouble? Unknown to Zhen Shi, the improvement in his cultivation had brought about some major changes. With an inner view of his dantian, one could see that just like before the tendrils from the spiritual root crystals remained merged with the primordial chaos base. Previously the spiritual roots had established balance in the cyclic transfer of qi and ended the one-way qi absorption of the primordial chaos base. As such, during every single moment, qi was released back to nature through Zhen Shi''s body. And now... this qi had suddenly gained elemental properties! The released qi had properties corresponding to the element of the spiritual root it originated from; fire aether from the fiery spiritual root, wind aether from the aerial spiritual root, water aether from the aqua spiritual root and, earth aether from the earthen spiritual root. This change had no adverse effects and continued to maintain the balance... but it did slowly improve Zhen Shi''s affinity with the four elements. In addition to this, while the primordial chaos had only absorbed the qi from nature before, it now also absorbed any speck of impure qi that appeared within Zhen Shi''s body, leaving his qi purity at an almost perfect level. And the moment Zhen Shi''s qi purity approached the level of perfection, a miraculous change occurred. The four spiritual roots releasing four types of elemental qi of perfect purity, resonated with nature and radiated a mystical energy. The moment this mystical energy passed throughout Zhen Shi''s body, his vision blurred. But almost immediately his vision slowly grew clear... Ding! The user has gained a new title: Acquainted with aether! Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he stared in surprise at what he could see now. If he concentrated well enough, he could see streaks of beautiful energy dashing everywhere; the dark black aether surrounding the majority of the Xue Yue cultivators, with the exception of the scholar-like cultivator, who was instead surrounded by a strange golden aether occasionally forming random words, some readable and some not... Ignoring them, when he turned to the sky there were sparks of silver-white aether and specks of cool blue water aether from the moon, within the wind and the air there was light-green wind aether, among the trees and the forest there was an aether of life, and amidst the rocks and the sand of the ground, there was a rocky-brown earth aether. Everywhere was filled with beautiful aether... It was almost as if color had suddenly been added to a dreary black and white painting! With his blurry memories of the ''Zhen Shi'' that had been in this body in the past, Zhen Shi was confident that this was not an ability that ordinary cultivators possessed. Nevertheless, he was too entranced by the beauty of what he could see, to dwell too much on this problem. While Zhen Shi was engrossed in what he could see, the Xue Yue cultivators were in a dilemma. Seeing the cultivation of this ''mortal'' continue to increase rapidly, the Xue Yue cultivators had become extremely worried... They had heard tales of monster-like cultivators who pretended to be weak and lowered their cultivation, just because they indulged in the hobby of preying upon those who were unfortunate enough to insult them... And this strange mortal fit all the necessary criteria for that; despite being weak he wasn''t afraid of them, he activated a divine blessing limited to divine prophets, immediately after he released a burst of unusual qi, and just moments after that his cultivation began to increase! If these weren''t the signs of a powerful monster cultivator pretending to be weak, they didn''t know what was! On the other hand, Zhen Shi was just as fearful of the Xue Yue cultivators... He could sense their powerful cultivation and was confident that all of them had at least reached the foundation establishment stage! But, at the same time, he was rather distracted by the colorful aether he could see everywhere, so his attention was completely misplaced. In other words, his attention was on the aether surrounding him and not the deadly opponents nearby... Nevertheless, the Xue Yue cultivators continued to stare at him warily while Zhen Shi moved his head randomly focusing on the different types of aether that could be found everywhere. This resulted in a very unusual stare off; the worried Xue Yue cultivators staring in fear... at a half-naked guy who was randomly staring at random places with widened eyes. As moments passed in silence, the Xue Yue cultivators gradually began to doubt the truth of the matter. The more time passed, the more doubtful they became. This ''monster cultivator''s'' strength seemed to have stopped once it reached the Elementary Qi 6th Stage. In fact, something seemed to be wrong with his head. Instead of staring at them, he would stare at random trees, rocks, and even the air, with great amazement as if he was entranced by beauties with large chests or expensive treasure! The moment they realized this, the Xue Yue cultivators couldn''t help but become embarrassed. They had actually been afraid of a half-naked cultivator with a screw-loose! Immediately, the one dressed in scholar robes and surrounded by golden words, pointed at Zhen Shi in anger and shame, \"You... you are only at the Elementary Qi stage? How dare you trick us?\" The moment his shout rang out, Zhen Shi''s vision was distracted away from the aether. With his vision gradually returning to normal, Zhen Shi tried to understand how he had ''tricked'' these cultivators, and ended up confused thinking, ''What the hell did I do?'' Seeing his confused face, the Xue Yue cultivators felt even more ashamed and almost coughed up blood, ''To think we misunderstood that this clueless guy was a monster-like cultivator!'' Nevertheless, the cultivator who appeared to be the strongest of the group coughed loudly and began to speak as if nothing had happened, \"Although we overestimated him, it was just a small mistake on our part. Anyone would have thought the same, considering that it was he himself that pretended to be a divine prophet!\" Nodding in agreement to his words, the scholarly cultivator turned to Zhen Shi and spoke with malice in his eyes, \"Pathetic. Why would you even hide your cultivation? Is it because you are too ashamed to show off your weak cultivation?\" Hearing his word''s Zhen Shi grew slightly angry, but at the same time, he realized that these cultivators thought he had been hiding his cultivation... But if they knew that he had reached his current cultivation within the few seconds during which they had been staring at him, he figured that they would probably vomit blood! Ignorant of his thoughts, the strongest cultivator in the group, who also seemed to be acting as the leader turned to the scholarly cultivator and said, \"Brother Lin Wei is indeed correct. This brat is too weak... So this time let''s attack to the very end. I refuse to believe that he has any more hidden strength...\" With the silent agreement of the rest of the cultivators, he raised his blade in an attacking position that was copied immediately by the rest. Instantly their blades and bodies were covered in that pitch-black miasmic aura once more. While the terrifying black miasma shivered eerily in the night wind, one could just barely see a terrifying monster within. At the same time, they stared at Zhen Shi with unhidden killing intent... and instantly slashed their raised blades down, in sync with each other. Slash! Each slash combined together to form a terrifying and gigantic slash; much more powerful than the one that had struck Zou Rou before. As the slash dashed forwards, launching powerful gusts of wind and qi everywhere, the monster within the slash growled menacingly... Despite having reached the Elementary Qi 6th Stage with abnormally purified qi, Zhen Shi was completely powerless against the combined attack of ten foundation establishment cultivators who were using a battle formation. But at the same time, the aether manifested around him again, and this time it actually spoke! Well, it was more like a transfer of intent rather than a direct conversation. Either way, it warned him that he should dodge this attack or he would die... However, Zhen Shi was too weak in comparison to the Xue Yue cultivators and would definitely be slashed into two before he could even begin dodging. Thus hearing the ''helpful'' advice of the aether, Zhen Shi didn''t know whether to laugh or cry! But, fortunately for him, the silver-haired girl, Zou Rou began to wake up at that very moment. Despite the fact that she was behind him, Zhen Shi could vaguely sense her motion due to the aether that was affected due to her movements. As such, he was elated when he realized that she was waking up! As a foundation establishment cultivator, even if she was unable to handle the ten Xue Yue cultivators, with her help, Zhen Shi might be able to live longer. Thus Zhen Shi celebrated while thinking, ''This is what they mean by good deeds beget good deeds! This girl will save me from this plight just as I saved her before. When it comes to living, even if you''re saved by a beautiful lady it''s nothing to be ashamed of!'' Unaware of his thoughts, Zou Rou slowly opened her eyes. Having been knocked out, she was a bit delirious, and the moment she stared forwards, what her eyes saw assaulted her mind... Zhen Shi was standing in front only a few steps away from her. And since he was facing the front, the loincloth covering his dignity was only active in the front, giving the silver-haired beauty an eye-blinding view of his backside. So what lay facing her less than a meter away, just as she woke up, were two bare buttocks glistening brightly in the moonlight. \"PERVERT!\" she shouted as she hurriedly struck forwards with her sword covered in golden qi. She had been fearing what the Xue Yue cultivators might have done when she had been unconscious. As such seeing a naked man''s backside the moment she had woken up, had immediately scared her into attacking in ''self-defense''. But despite the fact that her actions were fairly justified, it was still unfair for poor Zhen Shi. And his mouth twitched as he cursed mentally, ''WHAT THE HELL?'' With enemies attacking from the front, and the victim he had saved attacking from the back, he could only await death. And even the aether once again emphasized how his death was fast arriving... ''SHIT! Who made me wear this cursed piece of cloth in the first place? Am I really going to be killed just because of a stupid loincloth?'' Nevertheless, he refused to give in, and so with an unwavering will he thought, ''No! I won''t give up. I already died due to a rolling tractor brought forth by footwear in my last life. You can all go to hell if you think I''ll be dying ridiculously again due to a poor fashion choice!'' But what can just a strong will do in the face of sheer power? Realizing this fact, Zhen Shi relaxed his mind as he made peace with the possibility of death once more. But this didn''t mean he was willing to allow himself to be killed easily... Either way, he understood that he was too weak to change his fate. And so he decided to take a risk and rely on the only thing he could at this moment, THE SYSTEM! ''When all else fails and everything seems dark and bleak... When life seems hopeless ... With great determination and will power, one should... Leave everything to the system, kick back and relax! Maybe even dance to a jolly tune with no worries?'' (~???)~ System: \"...\" Ding! But before he could even comprehend this new system notification, another memory appeared in his mind. ?????? A cool breeze blew by causing the barren trees covered in specks of bleak white snow to rustle as if they were shivering in the cold. Zhen Shi was confused as to where this place was until he realized that this was the same training courtyard where he had been before... except it was now winter. And since it was the middle of winter, despite the fact that it was noon, it was extremely cold. Cold enough to adversely affect all cultivators of the Mortal Primary Stage. But Zhen Shi was completely ignoring the cold despite being shirtless and only wearing a pair of pants. The season wasn''t the only thing that had changed. Zhen Shi was now quite a bit taller and much stronger than he had been before, as revealed by the faint lines of muscles on his body and torso. In fact, he could sense that he had surpassed the Elementary Qi Stage and was now in the Foundation Establishment 4th Stage! This made some sense. After all, this memory took place nearly a year after the last memory he remembered. But despite only being an eight-year-old child, his face had lost all traces of the innocence of childhood and had instead been replaced with a mature grim look that was out of place on the face of a child... Zhen Shi heaved a heavy breath, and with a determined face dashed forwards. Instantly his figure blurred as he dashed about the snow-covered courtyard. He would jump on to the trees, rocks, walls and even run up them for a short distance. And he would also occasionally stop... Pah! Pah! And every single time he did, he would execute a multitude of powerful attacks that caused the air to explode and powerful gusts of wind to blow over the courtyard. Each of these attacks contained a particularly complex method of driving qi through qi paths, making this an extremely difficult feat. It was difficult because he had to apply that complex method of utilizing qi; on to his elbow when he performed an elbow strike, on to his knee when he performed a knee strike and so on, immediately after having dashed around the courtyard. In fact, he was even using this very same method on his feet to increase his speed. In other words, he had to maintain a strict balance of qi throughout his entire body, every single moment. Even a momentary lapse in concentration will cause this method to end in failure. However, he had trained this technique for an entire year. And so, he could maintain the current level quite easily... What Zhen Shi was doing, was a specialized training based cultivation technique that built upon the concept of maintaining a balanced use of qi over his entire body for extended periods of time. This was something that his father, Zhen Wei, had asked him to do. And as long as he continued to maintain this state, his cultivation would increase by an extremely minute amount. Nevertheless, Zhen Shi took this training very seriously. After all, this was the only way he could currently cultivate... Crazily enough, in every single moment that passed, his speed and strength gradually increased. In fact, within a few hours of continued training, he had reached a speed that was so great that even the snow beneath his feet had begun to melt, and a strength so powerful that the trees were shaking due to the residual wind and qi of his attacks! But even having reached this level, Zhen Shi was unsatisfied with the current rate of cultivation. As such, he pushed on ignoring the pain in his body. Unfortunately, within a few moments, his strength and speed stopped increasing. It was almost as if he had reached his current limit... Putong! Almost immediately, Zhen Shi who had neared the limits of his body finally lost all energy and slipped on the melted snow water, collapsing backwards onto the snow-covered ground. Now lying down on the ground and annoyed at his failure, Zhen Shi growled as he punched the snow repeatedly to appease his anger. But beyond that, he found that his body was too fatigued to even make himself stand up. And so with an unhappy grimace, he slowly reached into his trouser pocket and brought out a silvery-white healing pill. Zhen Shi immediately popped it into his mouth, and while the pill began its healing process he stared up at the bleak sky, with the wet snow slowly wetting his clothes. To master this training regime, he had to drive the qi all over his body by the same amount and reach a balanced state of improvement in all aspects. But this was much easier said than done... and his chaotic dantian didn''t seem to be interested in helping either... Nevertheless, within a few minutes due to the effects of that pill, his fatigue had lessened greatly. As such Zhen Shi slowly pushed himself off the ground and stood up. With a slight twist of his neck to warm himself up for the rest of his training, he walked towards a nearby weapon stand filled with all sorts of weapons ranging from short swords to spears, from bows and arrows to heavy clubs... and reached towards one of them... But, suddenly, Zhen Shi heard the slight sound of footsteps which caused him to hurriedly halt his actions. Immediately he dashed towards a nearby wooden bench on which a set of folded clothes was placed. On top of these clothes was a single flower; it seemed that the spirit violet which he had before had been replaced by a spirit daffodil. And it lay beautifully with its yellow petals shimmering faintly in the bleak sunlight. Zhen Shi hurriedly donned his shirt and a thick coat as well. Brushing off the snow that remained visible on his pants and body, he fixed the lone daffodil on to his shirt. With the spiritual scent of the daffodil lessening his fatigue almost as much as that pill had, he sat down on the bench and ''innocently'' admired the surroundings. Within a few seconds, a familiar figure slowly walked into the courtyard, and Zhen Shi turned to greet this person in ''surprise''. Despite Zhen Shi''s attempts at hiding his intentions for being here, seeing this familiar figure he couldn''t help but allow a truly genuine smile to slowly creep on to his face. This was because the new arrival was his mother, Xie Li. While she looked almost exactly the same as she had last year, the slight lines of worry at the edges of her eyes and the slight weakness in her movements didn''t go unnoticed by Zhen Shi. Nevertheless, Zhen Shi walked forwards and said casually, \"Mother! What are you doing out here in the cold snow?\" while hugging her in her outstretched hands. Xie Li laughed as she ruffled her son''s hair and spoke accusingly, \"Shi''er I could ask the same of you...\" 6 Draconic Wind Steps Xie Li''s eyes lingered on the slightly visible footsteps amidst the snow on the training ground, and the slight traces of unnaturally melted water. That combined with the vague presence of used qi in the air, she could easily assume what he had truly been doing here. But with only a shake of her head, she walked in step with Zhen Shi towards the wooden bench. Having noticed her actions, Zhen Shi who realized that there was a good chance that his mother had realized the truth was slightly embarrassed. But ignoring that, he shamelessly brushed off the specks of snow on the bench and sat down a moment after his mother did. Xie Li put her arm over Zhen Shi''s small shoulders, which was unusually powerful for his small age. Without a single trace of the previous smile, she began to speak sternly, \"Shi, child, I''ve told you many times to allow your body to rest amidst training! I know that you''ve made amazing progress in your cultivation and training due to hard work, but the overexertion of your body may very well result in multiple problems in the future.\" Hearing her all too familiar lecture, Zhen Shi remained silent patiently allowing her to berate him. Seeing her eight-year-old son acting so unnaturally mature, Xie Li''s face softened. Turning to face him, she spoke reassuringly, \"Shi''er, that matter was not your fault, it was ours! We should''ve confirmed it''s authenticity before giving it to you... But even so, you can''t put yourself at risk like this!\" Zhen Shi replied with a slight nod of agreement. But the fact that he had no intention of following her instructions was extremely obvious. Seeing how he continued to be disobedient, Xie Li heaved a powerless sigh. But suddenly her face was adorned with an unusual smile lightly as she continued, \"You''re just like him, stubborn to the bone... but oh, so, idiotic.\" She continued with a slight shake of her head, \"Forget it, I didn''t come today to give you another lecture. I came because I would like to suggest a compromise.\" For the first time, Zhen Shi turned to her with genuine interest. Seeing that she had his attention, Xie Li continued, \"And that would be a movement technique of a very high level. Unlike the skills available for your current level in the clan, this technique will require an immense amount of meditation and comprehension to practice. Currently, the only time you stop training is for cultivation, and that cannot be considered as genuine rest for the body. On the other hand, simple contemplation and meditation on a skill will allow your body to truly rest while giving you the opportunity to progress even further.\" Zhen Shi was rather skeptical as he listened to his mother. If the skill was this difficult to practice and required a long time to bear fruit, it wouldn''t suit his requirements at all. And there was also the question of why she hadn''t taught it to him earlier... Seeing his disbelief and confusion, Xie Lie smiled once more, curtly pinched his cheek until it grew red, and let go almost immediately. This was a very fast and unexpected movement, that had caught Zhen Shi off-guard. Realizing that his mother had treated him like a small child, Zhen Shi''s small face reddened at her embarrassing actions. But before he could even begin complaining, she continued speaking, \"Even if you are unable to master the skill, it should be rather helpful for your progress, as you will soon realize. As for why I didn''t teach it to you sooner, that is because it has extremely strict requirements of high affinity with the wind element. I wasn''t sure that you would be able to even understand the technique as a small child. Even your father, with his wind spiritual root, was just barely able to reach a novice level of this skill. Despite being unable to make much progress, due to this technique, his speed is undefeated by others at the same cultivation level!\" Xie Li smiled bitterly as she continued, \"On the other hand, my spiritual roots were completely incompatible with this skill, making it very difficult for me to train in it.\" But with hopeful eyes, she continued once more, \"Shi''er, even though you don''t have a top-notch affinity with the wind... your warrior class has a very close relationship with the wind element. And considering your talent and the fact that you have made outstanding improvements in that field, you might just be able to comprehend the wind element as well... And of course, you have his wind spiritual root as well... Even if the skill might have no practical use to you in the short term, it should be helpful in comprehending the wind element. And most importantly, it''ll give your body a chance to rest! What do you think?\" Zhen Shi nodded in excitement and said, \"I''d be honored to learn mother''s technique!\" He knew very well that even barely comprehending the wind element would be invaluable to his warrior training. Thus he was agreeing whole-heartedly. But of course, he was happy that he would be able to set his mother''s worried mind at ease as well. Xie Li smiled at her son, but continued seriously, \"This skill only exists in my and your father''s memory. So I''ll have to transfer it to your mind directly. Rest assured, it has been arranged in a manner that will be suitable for the cultivator it is given to. But since it is a very complex skill, I fear that it''ll be too much for your mind and you might even faint due to its sheer size...\" Zhen Shi answered with determined eyes, \"That''s completely fine. I''ll manage.\" Xie Li hesitated for just a moment, but with a deep breath, she raised her right hand and placed it on Zhen Shi''s forehead. Instantly a torrent of knowledge rushed into Zhen Shi''s mind, causing an ear-splitting headache. But at the same time, Xie Li''s face grew pale. It was obvious that this process was much more dangerous to her than himself. And seeing how his mother was suffering, Zhen Shi couldn''t bring himself to complain. As the process continued steadily, Zhen Shi gradually grew used to the headache. But, suddenly, his mother''s state grew worse as she even began to cough painfully with blood seeping down her mouth and nose. Despite her lectures to Zhen Shi, it was she who had over-exerted her soul power in the end... Nevertheless, she grit her teeth through the pain and forcefully continued the transfer process. Seeing his mother in a much worse condition than before and reminiscent of that other time, Zhen Shi grew frantic and was just about to make her stop and push her hand away... But at that exact moment, the headache grew worse by many folds causing him to freeze in pain. It was so painful that he was unable to even get himself to open his mouth, let alone ask her to stop... and he had to use sheer will to even stay conscious. With blood seeping from her mouth and nostrils, Xie Li smiled reassuringly at him with a pale face. Within just a few moments more, unable to handle it any longer, Zhen Shi finally lost his grip. As he lost consciousness, he couldn''t help but wonder if this was so painful for him, how was his mother managing... ?????? Within Zhen Shi''s memory, the information related to the new technique slowly appeared as a book. It had an ordinary green leather cover but written upon it like a terrifying rising dragon was a single phrase, [Draconic Wind Steps]! Although he was rather worried about the matters that had taken place during those three years in his memories, Zhen Shi was mostly excited as he mentally opened the book and began to read. \"Draconic Wind Steps is the most powerful technique of the Xie Clan. It is not to be transferred to outsiders!\" Upon opening the book, this was the very first sentence that Zhen Shi saw. Immediately dismissing it, he continued to read through the beginning that seemed to provide information on the origin and history of the skill. \"The founder of the Xie Clan, Xie Yi had been an ordinary mortal from a rather poor family. But due to hard work and good fortune, he was able to become a famed, powerful warrior archer and finally settled down with the love of his life. However, misfortune struck in the form of the War of Ice and Fire; the terrifying war between the powers of the Northern Ice-lands and the Southern desert-lands. And under a full moon, his wife was killed by the strange other-worldly creatures that unusually spawned all over the world during this same war. In his rage, Xie Yi rallied many other similarly angered cultivators seeking revenge and spear-headed attacks against the other-worldly creatures. Within just six-hundred years of beginning his crusade, he was successfully able to exceed the Sovereign level of power! The war was still ongoing, and under the threat of the other-worldly creatures, the Northern Ice-Lands and the Southern Desert-lands reached a temporary truce and combined their strength to fight off the invaders. But with his rage quelled over the years of slaughter, Xie Yi decided to stop his current actions and instead search for a method to revive his wife in the other realms. And he was definitely powerful enough to do so now... And it was in the divine realm, that Xie Yi chanced upon an injured baby dragon who had also lost its family due to the attack of the other-worldly creatures. Seeing how it had suffered the same injustice he had, Xie Yi saved the baby dragon out of pity and took him under his wing granting him the name of Xie Feng. Xie Feng would later become Xie Yi''s sworn brother... [Draconic Wind steps] was a technique that Xie Feng created with Xie Yi''s help and later transferred to the Xie Clan of the Human Realm upon completion!\" ----------------------- ''War of Ice and Fire? Sovereign Level? Dragons? Divine Realm?'' Zhen Shi was shocked as he read through the book. ''Does the Xie Clan have such an amazing history?'' Leaving that matter aside for a moment, Zhen Shi continued reading the rest of the page with great interest. \"Draconic Wind Steps is a divine movement technique, not only does it grant the practitioner with speed beyond their current level, but it also guides them along the path of comprehending the Law of Wind. As such, it has very high requirements for practice. Requirements:- The practitioner must comprehend the Law of Wind at least to the Basic Stage. But practitioners with Wind Spiritual Roots or similarly blessed physiques will be able to begin training, as well. However, without comprehending the Law of Wind further progress will be impossible.\" Zhen Shi had no knowledge of the concept of laws. But he had heard of it from his past life, so he did have a very rough idea of what it was. But before he could ponder more on this matter, he suddenly sensed that although the complete knowledge of the skill was within his mind, the majority of it seemed to be locked away from his reach. And as such, through the book in his hands, he would be only able to access a small part of it... ''Perhaps I have to master the available part to access the rest of it?'' Thinking so and dismissing this matter, he flipped to the next page. Immediately, Zhen Shi''s eyes widened in surprise. Or they would''ve had he not been within his own mind. The next page had a hint of stellar light and contained an engraved description. Zhen Shi''s mind relaxed with just a single glance at this page... [First Step: Gentle Breeze Even if it is a dragon that dashes, the first wind that blows will be a gentle breeze. Move like a breeze, with a mind free of worry and distraction, relaxed and calm. A single step can breeze past all dangers, no matter the severity. The mind is the key; the greater the calm, the faster the breeze!] While these words did seem to contain some secrets, that was not what had caught Zhen Shi''s attention. What truly had him entranced was a series of moving images, just below those words. The image was that of a man with an upright appearance and a small serpent-like creature with deer antlers on his shoulders. With a relaxed smile on his face, he would calmly take only a single step. But his figure would vanish and reappear at a distance tens of meters away as if he was teleporting! And as he continued to walk forwards, torrents of arrows, roaring monsters, exploding fires, hordes of fanged and monster-liked creatures, all sorts of monstrous attacks rained down on him. But even so, he continued to take a single step each time, with an unfazed expression, and easily dodged everything! While the man seemed to be rather ordinary, every single movement of his seemed to comprehend boundless truths and immeasurably deep secrets. Zhen Shi couldn''t help but be affected by this diagram. He felt like he was on the verge of understanding something, but before he could dwell on it more, the nearing attacks reminded him of his current situation... He was still being attacked by the Xue Yue clan and the silver-haired girl, Zou Rou! The only reason he had been able to think so much, was probably due to the system amplifying his thought process. And while he might be able to use [Draconic Wind Steps] to survive, he had never actually practiced it. As such, there was still a very high chance he would die... But fortunately for him, the previous system notification continued on, Ding! Conditions for status effect activation has been met. Congratulations to the user for achieving Fake Tarzan via near-death situation! Status effect:- User action and reaction speed will be increased by double permanently. An additional 10x multiplier to action and reaction speed while wearing loincloth [Warning: Washing it will permanently remove effects] Ignoring the notification for a moment, Zhen Shi calmly thought about the manner in which that man had been moving. Instantly, his vision veered off and focused only on the breezy green wind aether flowing around him. Relaxing his mind as much as possible, with the wind aether surrounding him, he took only a single step... Whoosh! Zhen Shi''s figure disappeared and instantly reappeared like a light breeze, around ten meters from his previous location, completely dodging the two attacks. This sudden movement caused both attacking sides to stop in disbelief. While they continued to stare in surprise as their two slashes of qi slowly dissipated, Zhen Shi glanced in surprise at his own two feet. He couldn''t believe that he had actually succeeded in using the technique! But he slowly realized that he had only barely applied [Draconic Wind Steps] into his movement. Instead, the major reason he had been able to survive was due to the system''s status affect. But at the same time, if he had just dashed forwards relying on speed, the gigantic slash launched by the Xue Yue clan would''ve at least struck a part of his body. As such, the slight application of [Draconic Wind Steps] had definitely saved him from being wounded... Even though he had survived, Zhen Shi only allowed himself to relax partially. This was because he realized that if he was a system-less bastard, he definitely would have been slashed apart by weapons from both sides! Nevertheless, now that he had survived, he was free to rant at his own savior, ''Whew, what type of shameless status effect is that? Oh well, at least it saved my life!'' ''Even so, almost achieving death due to a loincloth only to be saved by the loincloth? Isn''t that ridiculous? And what''s up with this much focus on a loincloth? System is that your fetish?'' System: \"...\" Next, he turned to the other wrong party, the silver-haired girl who had attacked him and spoke with a hint of anger, \"Pretty girl, what the hell is wrong with you? I was the one who saved you from these heartless idiots. But instead of thanking me, you almost killed me!\" Hearing the truth, Zou Rou bit her lip in embarrassment. But she immediately spoke up in defiance, \"W-Who asked to be saved by a mere Elementary Qi stage practitioner? I admit that I made a mistake by attacking you, but what else would you expect when you go around revealing yourself to innocent girls like that?\" pointing at his loincloth. She continued hurriedly, \"A-And who''s pretty? I''ll kill these goons as the main course and finish you as dessert!\" while ''cutely'' frowning in anger as well. All the anger in Zhen Shi jumped into the river as he thought with widened eyes, ''Holy Shit! I''ve hit the jackpot! Isn''t this the legendary TSUNDERE? Near-death situations truly do change your fortune!'' 7 Hels Flare The entire group of Xue Yue cultivators including the leader and that scholarly cultivator were rather flabbergasted at this moment. They had attacked that loin-clothed barbarian with the combined strength of ten foundation establishment stage experts. And in addition to their attack, Zou Rou, the one who Zhen Shi had saved had attacked him as well. So logically speaking, under the attack of nearly a dozen experts with greater cultivation than his, the loin-clothed weakling''s death should''ve been inevitable! But then... what the hell was this? How did this ''loin-clothed weakling'' move even faster than some elders of their clan... and dodge their combined attack with a single step? Having witnessed this impossible speed, the Xue Yue cultivators began to doubt his strength once more. A hint of fear began to grow in their minds once more... Then was this loin-clothed freak actually a monstrous cultivator? But his cultivation was so weak... Perhaps it was a limited use secret technique, or maybe only a stroke of luck? Thus, the Xue Yue cultivators could only guess the truth of the matter and hope for the best. Without proper confirmation of his true power, they could only wait patiently and carefully decide on their next action. ?????? However, unlike the Xue Yue cultivators, Zou Rou had no intention of waiting. The only reason the Xue Yue cultivators had been able to knock her unconscious before was since she had been unwilling to use everything she had at her disposal. But not anymore! As such, she harrumphed angrily and brought out a circular gold plate that was the size of her palm. The moment it was brought out it radiated a powerful aura and presence. One side of the gold plate was clear but the other side, that was pointed forwards, was adorned with intricate carvings and embedded spirit crystals around a single engraved word... SUN! Zhen Shi observed the strange gold plate with great interest. If he wasn''t assuming wrong, this must be some sort of magical amulet! With the amulet in one hand, Zou Rou turned to Zhen Shi and spoke with a confident grin while having her free hand dismissively, \"Loin-clothed idiot, I appreciate you saving me. But with such weak cultivation, you shouldn''t get involved in a fight between Foundation Establishment Stage practitioners. You should leave and let this lady take care of this matter!\" Zou Rou was honestly thankful to Zhen Shi for saving her life, but her words were rather insulting. Zou Rou was thinking, ''Since you saved me once, I doubt that you would let me fight alone... But even if you are unbelievably fast, a single strike could definitely kill you... By insulting you, I hope to make you refrain from this battle!'' But despite her good intentions, Zou Rou made a small mistake... Zhen Shi was not an ordinary cultivator of this world! So when he heard Zou Rou''s words, he couldn''t help but agree. After all, he was indeed not strong enough to defeat these cultivators. In fact, he thought that Zou Rou was speaking out of concern for him... Thinking so, he slightly smiled at Zou Rou and remained silent. But at the same time, he had no intention of running away. It was almost as if a strangely stubborn part of his mind was completely against the choice of giving up the chance for battle. However, his actions had completely surprised Zou Rou. She had been expecting some sort of outburst for ''insulting him'', but had not expected him to not care at all. Seeing his calm demeanor, as if the entire situation was under his control, even though he was half-naked in a dirty loin-cloth, she couldn''t help but be impressed. But Zhen Shi was ignorant of her thoughts and instead calmly going over the system status while thinking on how he could increase his attacking ability quickly... User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Qi Refining 6th stage Cultivation energy: 99% Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: [Draconic Wind Steps-meager understanding] Exp points: 0/2200 OP(Otaku Points):20 -Fake Tarzan ([Bestial Instincts]-Permanent 2x action and reaction speed increase) Ignoring some of the details in the system status, Zhen She contemplated his next action. But suddenly, his eyes glowed as he was reminded of the remaining contents of the Beginner Gift Pack. He still had that skill left! And so, he mentally said, \"System, learn the skill !\" Ding! Material Skill: [Perfect Mortal Grade. Grants the user control over a spark of lesser Hel-Fire from the Underworld. Lesser Hel-fire can instantly burn anything that has no imbued soul energy, into ashes. The spark of Hel-fire has to always be in contact with the user''s body, but with experience, this should be changeable...] ''Perfect Mortal Grade? I wonder what that means...'' Nevertheless, the system continued the notification distracting him from his thoughts. Ding! Material Skill- learned The moment that notification rang out within Zhen Shi''s mind, he suddenly sensed a small spark of black eerie flame that appeared within a corner of his dantian. Previously, he had been unable to sense anything within the dantian, but now, due to the presence of the Hel-fire spark, he could just barely sense inside the dantian. But if Zhen Shi could''ve seen completely clearly, he would''ve noticed that the Hel-Fire spark was present on top of the Fiery Spiritual Root Crystal and slowly consuming his fire aether. In fact, his own fire aether was slowly gaining a hellish eerie nature due to its presence... At the same time, Zhen Shi gained a rudimentary understanding of the skill. Based on his current understanding, he would be able to combine the Hel-Fire with his attacks and easily burn these cultivators to ashes... Now that he had the power necessary to handle this matter, he turned to Zou Rou and spoke with a grin filled with confidence, \"Pretty little girl, don''t underestimate this handsome and scholarly self. As you will see soon realize, my power causes heaven itself to shake!\" Zou Rou frowned in disappointment. ''Does this person not care that I insulted him before? But most importantly, does he truly have power or is he just a braggart? No matter what, he did save my life... So I should try to stop him from interfering!'' As such, she replied cutely, \"Hmpf. I agree. You definitely can cause the heavens to shake! But... it will be shaking in embarrassment... of your loin-cloth!\" Hearing her savage words, Zhen Shi''s eye twitched. ?_? Nevertheless, he shook his head and replied with shining eyes that encompassed the totality of his knowledge on the tsundere, \"Geez, ease up on the loin-cloth, do you think I wanted to wear this damn thing? But most importantly, where did a girl with such blinding beauty learn to be so savage?\" Zou Rou immediately grew flustered and embarrassed as she retorted back, \"Wh-Whose beauty is blinding? Your loin-cloth is what''s blinding!\" Zhen Shi''s eye twitched once more ?_?. But he couldn''t help but heave a sigh and mutter, \"Tsunderes...\" while thinking, ''So this tsundere has a loin-cloth fetish as well? Then perhaps the system is a tsundere as well!'' System: \"...\" At the same time, Zou Rou who had now given up on trying to stop Zhen Shi from interfering held the talisman with both hands and lifted it up to her shoulder level. Instantly, she directed some golden yellow qi causing some strange runic symbols to appear amidst the word ''Sun''. But what caught Zhen Shi''s attention was a lightning-like symbol, ?! Seeing that familiar symbol, Zhen Shi was intrigued. The fact that it was appearing amidst the word ''Sun'' intrigued him even more. And as he focused on it further, he suddenly saw a terrifying amount of sun-fire aether gathering around it... but the strangest part was, it was still the night with a full moon! But as the rune shimmered weakly, ultimately leaving only the word ''Sun'' surrounded by sun-fire aether, lead Zhen Shi to doubt whether he had actually even seen it. Thus he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and instead focused on the problem at hand. Zhen Shi flicked his right hand causing some of the eery Hel-fire to cover his hand and spoke to the Xue Yue cultivators in a condescending tone, \"You black pieces of shit, how could you have the heart to chase this poor girl for no reason? Where is humanity''s love for beauty? Are you fellow''s not ashamed of such shameless conduct?\" Although the Xue Yue cultivators were rather unsure of Zhen Shi''s origins and were fairly cautious, deep in their heart''s they had confidence in their own power. After all, they had far greater cultivation than him! As such, they were almost angered into attacking by the ''righteous'' words of this loin-clothed wearing man. But the leader of the Xue Yue group thoughtfully signaled them to hold back. The rest of the cultivators initially showed a hint of disagreement, but when the scholarly-looking cultivator who seemed to respected almost much as the leader agreed as well, they settled down. The reason for the leader of the Xue Yue cultivators to do so was because he was apprehensive of Zhen Shi''s flame qi and Zou Rou''s amulet. Both of them seemed to be holding extremely powerful attack power... But most importantly, only those who reached the Core Formation stage can materialize elemental energies externally. Anyone capable of performing this at earlier stages is either a true genius with a deep understanding of elemental laws or had been granted a personal divine blessing. And none of those were easy to deal with... As such, the leader of the group and the scholarly cultivator was sure that this seemingly crazy cultivator was more than what he appeared to be... But unlike that, while Zou Rou''s amulet seemed to be powerful as well, it was not as threatening... Hence, the leader of the group''s attitude grew rather respectful as he spoke to Zhen Shi with one palm and one fist placed together, \"Little Brother, my name is Xue Yuehai and my father is an elder of our sect,\" next he gestured towards the scholarly cultivator and continued in a threatening tone, \"And this is the genius proclaimer from our sect, Lin Hai! He might only be an apprentice proclaimer but he has undergone training in the Divine Church and is definitely capable of using edicts!\" Zhen Shi''s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lin Hai for a moment. ''A proclaimer? That must be related to the golden words of aether that I saw around him before... And from the Divine Church...?'' Seeing Zhen Shi staring at him, Lin Hai stared back as well with condescending eyes filled with self-pride. But at the same time Zou Rou spoke worriedly causing Zhen Shi to shift his focus, \"Loin clothed bastard, you have to be careful of this Lin Hai. If he truly is a proclaimer, and I believe he is, he will be the most dangerous. While I too have only heard of their power, if he can truly use edicts, he should be capable of attacks that transcend his cultivation!\" But almost as if she realized that she had misspoken, Zou Rou continued with a flustered face, \"Hmpf. It''s not like I care what happens to you... That was only friendly advice.\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile at the sight of Zou Rou acting like a true tsundere. Nevertheless, he wasn''t too worried about this proclaimer. ''After all, whatever-proclaimers can only be mere garbage in front of a true level transcending power, The System!'' Ignoring their conversation, Xue Yuehai continued to speak out confidently while maintaining some respect for Zhen Shi, \"Little Brother, I suggest you forget about this matter. In fact, we are in the right in this matter! That girl stole our pill from us!\" Hearing his words, Zhen Shi frowned in embarrassment while thinking, ''Fuck! Couldn''t you have told me about this before I declared such suave words? Are you trying to make a fool out of me?'' Still, he turned to Zou Rou with a questioning look. Zou Rou''s flustered face grew normal as she lowered her head and lightly muttered, \"That pill... might be able to help my father. I was willing to purchase it for a fair price...\" Then she raised her head with flames of fury in her eyes, \"But these fellows refused to sell it to me. Even going so far as to say that they might change their minds if I ''satisfied'' them. In the end, they were begging me to steal their stuff!\" Ignoring Zou Rou who was staring daggers at him while preparing the talisman, Xue Yuehai turned to Zhen Shi and continued, \"Little Brother, even if you are talented, you cannot beat all ten of us. Especially with brother Lin Hai on our side. After all, everyone knows that the classes of Proclaimers and Divine Prophets are extremely powerful, especially within the Mortal Primary Stage... And judging from your...\" he struggled to find the correct word, \"unique style of clothing, I doubt that you have any power behind you. As such, we would like to invite you to join our sect. Our Xue Yue sect worships the Goddess Ammit. And seeing that little brother does not seem to possess a divine blessing yet, providing a divine blessing to you will only be a simple matter.\" However, hearing his words Lin Hai and the other eight cultivators of the Xue Yue clan frowned and looked at Xue Yuehai in displeasure. There would be no immediate benefit to themselves for introducing a new-cultivator to their sect, even if he was a genius. Most importantly, they were feeling rather stifled at being forced back by a weak cultivator who continued to remain fearless while insulting them. If it was possible, they would rather prefer to relieve themselves of their anger by killing Zhen Shi, rather than serve their sect... But Xue Yuehai turned to Lin Hai and gave him a meaningful glance causing Lin Hai to immediately lose his displeasure. He now understood his fellow brother''s meaning. By ''taking'' Zhen Shi to their clan it would be very easy to relieve themselves of their anger, under the protection of the elders. And since the matters of his divine prophetic spell, cultivation hiding technique, and extreme speed were still unexplained, they might even be able to get their hands on some treasures or valuable techniques! And so with the support of the entire group, Xue Yuehai continued, \"Little brother is extremely talented and you should be able to easily become a core disciple. Moreover, we never planned on returning this pill to the sect. Let us share it between ourselves and have fun with this feisty girl as well. What do you say, little brother?\" Zhen Shi was rather oblivious to their scheme and silent exchange. But he was much more interested in the Xue Yue patron goddess, Ammit. And he needed some way to confirm his thoughts... As such he laughed condescendingly and spoke loudly, \"Eh? Little Brother, Little brother, Little Brother! Are you repeating that so much to compensate for your own little ''brother'' down below? Zou Rou couldn''t help but laugh out loud at Zhen Shi''s words while staring at Xue Yuehai in pity. Nevertheless, she was still preparing the magical amulet. As such, she struggled to stop her laughter as it might affect her attack power. Zhen Shi continued with a suave grin, \"I might have considered if your Patron God was Osiris... But without such power, do you really think I would join a sect that has nothing but weaklings and ''little brothers''?\" Zhen Shi was currently thinking, ''Even if they did have a better patron god, there is no way that I would team up with these idiots. Especially when I could instead team up with a beautiful tsundere. *cough* I mean... do the right thing and support justice!'' Xue Yuehai was now seething in a murderous rage, but also rather confused, ''How does this loin-clothed bastard know about my brother? Did he peep?'' Not that he had a ''little brother'' or anything...'' Clearing his head, Xue Yuehai retorted back with a calm rage, \"Very well. You do not know what is good for you! Just because you have some ability in elemental handling and good speed do you really think that you are invincible and capable of exceeding cultivation levels like a proclaimer? And even expecting a divine blessing from God Osiris? Do you think that you are a genius exalted by the heavens?\" Hearing his last words, Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed in excitement while thinking, ''So I assumed correctly...'' But at the same time, Lin Hai roared with an expectant grin, \"Fellow brothers, attack!\" While he had been fairly satisfied with Xue Yeuahai''s plot, in his opinion, that could not compare to beating this loin-clothed braggart physically and alleviating his rage. As such, the Xue Yue cultivators began to exert the complete might of their battle formation. Despite being rather fearful of Zhen Shi''s black fire and Zou Rou''s amulet, they had confidence in their own power as well. Ignoring the cultivators who were threateningly preparing their onslaught, Zou Rou turned to Zhen Shi. She was truly thankful for this stranger that had saved her life and continued to help her again and again. Even going so far as to refuse an offer to join a sect... While he did act brashly and dress embarrassingly, he seemed to have no fear and instead had complete confidence in himself. But at the same time, she had no words to direct her gratitude. Thus she could only smile brightly at him for his genuine support. Seeing that smile... Zhen Shi felt that everything was worth it! But at the same time, he stared with a hint of trepidation at the eery Hel-fire in his hand. If this touched any of those cultivators, their death was definite. For all of his confidence and fearless manner that arose strangely from his own mind, at his core he was still a normal kid that had suddenly died. Even if these cultivators had tried to kill him on many occasions, he wasn''t sure if he could do the same. But at the same time, another memory arose in his mind... ?????? A light warm breeze blew past Zhen Shi causing the laden trees to rustle peacefully. He was once more back in the training pavilion, however, this was the day after he had reached the 6th Elementary Qi Stage. And that would be one year before he received [Draconic Wind Steps]... This time, it appeared that his father had returned! Zhen Wei seemed to be completely fine and radiated a sense of unbeatable strength while wearing that robe of the combatting serpent and turtle. However, Zhen Wei and Xie Li seemed to be engaged in a heated argument under the shade of a nearby tree. As usual, Zhen Shi could hear nothing and he remained silent obediently. A few moments later, when it appeared that Xie Li had finally given in to the other''s demands, she slowly nodded powerlessly... And so Zhen Wei calmly flicked his finger causing that veil to be lifted away once more. Instantly, Xie Li dashed towards Zhen Shi and hugged him extremely tightly. While Zhen Shi stayed still in surprise, she whispered into his ear, \"Shi''er, Mother will be leaving for a while. Your father has decided to teach you some important things, and while I don''t completely agree... I can''t disagree either.\" She raised her head and stared at him with slightly moist eyes. While tightly holding his small shoulders she continued with firm eyes, \"But, if you ever feel like stopping, simply call out to me. Even if your father disagrees, I''ll make him let you be... Okay?\" Zhen Shi smiled confidently, \"Don''t worry mother. I''ll be fine and learn all of it!\" Xie Li ruffled his hair with loving eyes and with one last glance at him stood up and walked away. But while she did, she continued to stare at Zhen Wei with a murderous stare... Zhen Wei coughed uncomfortably under her gaze but walked towards Zhen Shi with a shake of his head. While Xie Li''s figure disappeared through the entrance to the training pavilion, he began to speak in a worried tone, almost to himself, \"I was not able to find that old fellow. It''s almost as if he had mysteriously disappeared... But considering his power, very few people can even dream of harming him, so I am not particularly worried. So let''s forget about this matter for the moment. Today I''ll be having you go through an important trial, which might be a bit too early for you, but I feel that we don''t have much of a choice on that, especially since you''re cultivating so fast. But before that, you need to know some of the more general knowledge. This is some of what you should''ve learned even before reaching the Elementary Qi stage... Tell me, Shi''er, do you know what it means to reach the highest level of our current realm, and become a Sovereign?\" 8 A Lesson Zhen Shi shook his head with a genuine curiosity to find out the answer. As if he had been expecting this, Zhen Wei began to speak almost immediately, \"A Sovereign is a cultivator that has reached the very peak of cultivation capable within this realm! Within the Central Plains, they are exalted and powerful beings, perhaps second in power only to those mysterious divine apostles... But, their numbers are a testament to how difficult it is to reach the level of a Sovereign. In fact, from the countless cultivators and geniuses in the Central Plains, there should only be around twenty peerless cultivators who have reached the power of true Sovereigns. The Strongest Kingdoms, the most powerful Clans, and the most formidable Sects wield such a level of power simply due to the presence of Sovereigns or those that are close to that level of power!\" Zhen Shi unable to handle his curiosity, finally cracked as he asked, \"Father, then since Grandfather Zhen Wudi is the patriarch of our Zhen Clan, is he also a powerful Sovereign?\" Zhen Wei nodded without reprimanding him and answered curtly, \"Of course, the Clan Head is one of the few genuine Sovereigns.\" At the same time, Zhen Wei flicked his hand causing a strand of pure qi to appear floating above his hand; one half of it was formed of fiery orange qi and the other of airy green qi. He pointed at the qi strand and said, \"But becoming a sovereign is no easy feat. To reach such a level one has to surpass the three primary stages of cultivation.\" At the same time, the strand of orange and green qi coagulated to form a single drop of orange and green liquid. But this drop gradually multiplied to form a mystical floating lake of fire and air. But the lake of qi did not remain still, as it quickly expanded as well... In fact, within just a few moments, the lake became a sea, cleanly divided in the middle; one part consisting of small floating flames and the other of a raging wind. His father continued calmly, \"The first primary stage consisting of three stages, the Mortal Primary Stage!\" Suddenly, the sea of fire and air coagulated once again to form a single speck of solid orange and green dust. But this speck also multiplied to form a globe of solidified air and fire qi which was radiating immense power. Clap! While Zhen Shi stared in awe, his father suddenly clapped his hands making that mystical globe of aerial fire disappear. But as Zhen Wei slowly opened his hands, it was revealed that the globe remained completely unaffected. In fact, it seemed to have undergone a qualitative change, almost as if it had gained sentience... Slowly, the globe of aerial fire grew transparent revealing a blurry apparition that was seated in a meditative position within. Strangely, this figure was rather similar to Zhen Shi''s father, Zhen Wei in appearance... Observing the strange figure within the globe, Zhen Shi could only assume that this was some manner of spiritual manifestation. As he watched, this small ghost-like figure rapidly absorbed aether from the surroundings while meditating and slowly grew more and more realistic. But the moment this ghost achieved a level of similarity that was on par with the real Zhen Wei, a crack suddenly appeared across its body. The cracks quickly spread forming a web until the ghost finally shattered and split apart into three main parts; a long-sword, a gust of strong wind that was physically visible, and a spark of blazing flame. As if nothing extraordinary had happened, his father continued calmly, \"The second primary stage consisting of four stages...\" While his voice trailed off, the long-sword, the gust of wind and the flame slowly floated closer and began to merge with each other, forming a mixed lump of white, green and yellow qi. The mixture remained within the globe but began to struggle as if it was on the verge of a transformation... and suddenly it did! The unassuming lump of qi began to rearrange itself... slowly forming a single ethereal long-sword with intricate engravings, that put the previous one to shame. Its blade was cloaked in blazing divine flames and upon its hilt were miniature tornado-like gusts of wind, which altogether created a tremendous sight. And at that same moment, his father finally finished the previous sentence, \"...the Soul Primary Stage!\" Instantly, he raised his hands and slammed down on to the magnificent sword of fire and wind placed within the globe. Clap! A strong gale of wind blew throughout the courtyard as the long-sword was shattered and destroyed into minute specks under the powerful clap. But Zhen Wei slowly pulled his hands apart, revealing once again that the globe of aerial fire was undamaged. But the ethereal long-sword with the divine flames and raging tornadoes had definitely been annihilated... However, almost immediately, the scattered specks of qi began to reform within the globe of aerial fire. The specks of energy slowly formed into a single but unusual word, Sword! As Zhen Shi observed this word with great interest, he could sense a sort of indomitable will that contained the intent to slash the world apart if necessary! In a few moments, the word Sword melted to form a stream of colorless liquid that floated around inside the aerial fire globe. The faint shadows of moving swords could be barely glimpsed within this floating river... His father spoke calmly once more, \"The third primary stage consisting of three stages, the Law Primary Stage!\" Instantly, the colorless sword liquid slowly infused itself into the aerial fire globe and disappeared within, leaving only the faint traces of that unbeatable sword. But at the same time, Zhen Shi could sense that the power of that sword, even though hidden, was even more profound and immense than before... Clap! Another strong gust of wind blew out as Zhen Wei clapped the globe with both hands. But this time, it finally cracked and shattered into specks of dust that floated away... leaving nothing... But, suddenly, a faint hint of a unique aura that seemed to blend in with nature appeared at that very same place. Even though he could vaguely sense it, Zhen Shi wasn''t sure if it was really there or if it was a figment of his imagination. However, at the same time, his father''s face paled greatly, and that aura vanished... Zhen Wei brushed his forehead lightly as he turned to Zhen Shi, who was currently gawking in amazement while ruminating on what he had seen. With a slight smile, his father spoke, \"To gain the title of a sovereign one has to surpass these three primary stages. But of course, merely cultivating without paying attention to the classes and laws that you choose will be sheer foolery as well. Thus, reaching such a level will not be an easy task... In fact, some might call it impossible!\" Zhen Shi nodded while carefully contemplating these words. His father continued seriously, \"But while cultivating to the peak is not easy, it does become that much easier when you have a reason. If something difficult to do, or difficult to achieve, can be your goal, that single thought could make all the difference! In my opinion, cultivators should target the highest levels possible... Thus not even Sovereign is a sufficient goal. They say that there are far more powerful, monstrous cultivators in the Northern Ice Lands and Southern Desert Lands, who could destroy even Sovereigns without breaking a sweat. Perhaps they''d make a better goal? But, of course, everything is up to you... What do YOU think your goal should be?\" Zhen Shi paused thoughtfully, but almost immediately his eyes brightened as he answered, \"Doesn''t the entire clan including Grand Father worship gods and their divine organizations? They say that these gods can destroy our realm with a single sigh. I think even those monstrous cultivators in the North and South are nothing compared to them... So, I''ll become a Go-- No... I''ll become even stronger than the gods!\" Zhen Wei''s eyes widened as he stared at his son in surprise. But a few moments later, he began to laugh heartily while ruffling Zhen Shi''s hair and said, \"That''s my son, well said!\" -------------------- Zhen Wei spoke seriously with a glint of distress in his eyes, \"Shi''er, it''s time...\" While Zhen Shi stared at his father in confusion, Zhen Wei grabbed on to Zhen Shi''s shoulder and took a single step forward. Whoosh! A light breeze carrying a few leaves blew past, as their figures suddenly disappeared. Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he tried to comprehend what was happening. He could see that he was blazing past towering trees, the majestic buildings of the clan, even some familiar and unfamiliar fellow clan-members... but before he could even think further he realized that he was gradually ascending into the sky! Having reached a height that was a few dozen meters above the highest peak, he could see the majestic buildings sprawled across a picturesque mountain range covered by an expansive forest and cloaked by a mysterious mist. In fact, he could even vaguely see some areas around the mountains that were mystically shimmering, providing a rather mysterious charm... There were thousands of small figures dashing about and even flying around within the visible clan grounds, but all of them were below their current height. Suddenly realizing that he was actually flying at a terrifying height that no one else was in, Zhen Shi turned to his father. Despite being slightly afraid, seeing that his father was holding tightly onto him while casually taking large strides through the air, he couldn''t help but calm down. Now that he had calmed down while observing his father''s movements Zhen Shi vaguely sensed something familiar in his motion... His eyes widened even further when he realized that Zhen Wei was using [Draconic Wind Steps]! As such, Zhen Shi made full use of this opportunity by observing and memorizing Zhen Wei''s movements, that is whenever he wasn''t being distracted by the mesmerizing bird''s eye view... As such time passed and within a few moments, they had blazed past a few dozen kilometers and reached a fairly unpopulated area with only a few buildings littered around a lofty tower that reached towards the sky. Having slowed down, Zhen Wei took a few short steps and began to descend down on to the ground. Now that he was closer, Zhen Shi realized that while there were only a few dozen people, they were all clan-guards donning armor and helmets while radiating powerful auras. However, the moment they saw Zhen Wei''s figure they immediately grew respectful and bowed down. A harmonious shout rang out as all the guards spoke out as one, \"Respectful Greetings to Elder Zhen Wei!\" Zhen Shi turned to look at his father in surprise, but with a hint of pride as well. While he knew that his father was well-respected, he had no idea that it was to this extent. Zhen Wei nodded in answer to the guards and called out, \"Bring out the criminal that I have prepared for my son''s Duel of Justice.\" Two of the guards bowed once more and walked away into a nearby building. Turning to Zhen Shi, Zhen Wei heaved a desolate sigh and spoke with a slightly wavering voice, \"Shi''er, I''m sorry that you won''t be able to live with the innocence of a child for longer. But, this is for your own good...\" At the same moment, the two guards returned while dragging a thin man dressed in rags. His body and clothes were covered in dust and blood, evidence of the suffering that he had gone through. While his appearance made one feel that he could be defeated even by a single gust of wind, his blood-shot eyes were bubbling with a murderous inhuman rage. In fact, if he wasn''t gagged it was certain that he would be screaming insults and obscenities... That man was dragged a bit further and thrown sprawling on to the ground. Zhen Wei glanced at the man with merciless eyes and continued in a serious commanding tone, \"This man before you is named Ubel Raven. He has been deemed guilty of multiple counts of unsolicited murder, pillaging and raping of the mortal villages and towns under the protection of our Zhen Clan. Once a cultivator of the Soul Transformation Stage, but now only a crippled mortal. Zhen Shi, as a member of our prestigious Zhen Clan, you are hereby commanded to punish this remorseless criminal with death in a Duel of Justice. Do you accept it?\" Zhen Shi was momentarily speechless. He had definitely not expected this sudden trip to end up with him having to kill a man. But remembering the impossible goal that he had set for himself a few minutes ago and under the gaze of his father''s hopeful eyes, he spoke with determination, \"I accept!\" Zhen Wei nodded calmly but his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise. Nevertheless, he signaled all the soldiers to move back. Instantly, every other person besides Zhen Shi and Ubel Raven retreated to a distance of a few dozen meters. Zhen Shi stared warily at his opponent while shifting into an attacking position. He had only been training for a few days, but he had made rapid progress in his cultivation giving him a fairly good idea about the weak points of the human body. In addition, he had practiced all sorts of general martial skills in addition to that punching art. Thus while he was rather nervous, he wasn''t particularly worried about battling a person who had already lost his cultivation. But just when he was about to dash forwards in attack... Ubel hurriedly ripped off his gag and kneeled down on the ground while sobbing uncontrollably. He began to wail pitifully and screamed, \"Young master, please let me live! I, Ubel, was forced into doing all those crimes by a much more powerful cultivator. I had no intention of harming the innocents, but he used my family to threaten me!\" Zhen Shi who had been planning on ending this matter as quickly as possible was overwhelmed by the words of the other party. Unaware of what to do he turned to his father... But Zhen Wei remained impassive, with his stern face betraying nothing. All the soldiers remained still as well, with their faces covered by helmets revealing nothing. As such, Zhen Shi who realized that he would be receiving no outside help, turned back towards the sobbing pathetic man. But, at the same time, a single soldier who had a rather thin and lithe figure in comparison to the remaining soldiers, and was only wearing a hood unlike the helmets of the others, took a single step forwards... but almost immediately retreated back... While Zhen Shi remained confused about what he should do, Ubel continued to sob pitifully as he slowly crawled forwards. He finally reached Zhen Shi and continued to wail while grabbing on to his trouser leg, \"Young master, please let me off! Please let me go and see if my family is safe. You''re a young child, so you must have a family as well right? I have a daughter about your age... What do you think she would feel if I never went back home?\" If Zhen Shi had been confused before, he completely lost any intention of killing this man in this instance. He couldn''t even bear to imagine how his sister or even himself would take it if his father was killed... But the moment he was distracted, Ubel pounced forwards like a tiger that had its prey within its sight. Having been at Zhen Shi''s feet, he could strike within a very short time. To make matters worse, Ubel even brought out a small dagger from the depths of his tattered robe sleeve and slashed forwards with immense might. After all, even if he was crippled, his martial prowess still remained... Slash! Zhen Shi only realized that he was about to be stabbed when the wind that was unsettled due to the knife strike hit his face. However, by then it was too late, and the knife was only a second away from his throat. But at the same time, the strange hooded soldier that had stepped forward before dashed forth decisively. He took only a single step but he mystically slid across the earth as if it was frozen ice and immediately reached the sight of the battle. And the moment he did, he selflessly grabbed on to the slashing knife with his bare hands. Slice! The sound of metal ripping apart flesh hit Zhen Shi''s ears. At the same time, the soldier winced in pain and let go of the knife letting it drop a few steps away from Zhen Shi''s feet. Staring at the hands of the soldier that were now covered in dripping blood, Zhen Shi could barely see that a strange blackish-purple hue was rippling through his savior''s skin. He had been poisoned! With shame at having believed the lies of that criminal brewing in his heart, Zhen Shi raised his head to look at the soldier that had saved him. By now the hood that was covering his face had fallen back and his face was visible for all to see. But Zhen Shi''s eyes widened when he realized who this person was. It wasn''t a man... in fact, with that familiar black hair falling down her back, he instantly realized that this was his mother, Xie Li. Despite the fact that she was poisoned, she smiled at Zhen Shi as if to say he had nothing to worry about. But regardless of her intentions, Zhen Shi''s mind was a mess at this moment. While staring at the discrepancy between his mother''s poisoned hands and the relaxed smile on her face, he was reminded of what she had said before... ''If you ever feel like stopping, simply call out to me. Even if your father disagrees, I''ll make him let you be. And as long as I''m around, I won''t allow even a hair on your head to be harmed!'' And just like she had said, she had protected him and saved his life... Zhen Shi felt great shame at having caused his mother''s injuries by believing the words of a heartless criminal. Staring at the Ubel Raven''s face that was now grinning in glee as if he had earned a heavenly treasure, Zhen Shi felt a monstrous rage building up within him. A simple, simple rage to bring hell upon the one who had dared poison his mother... Instantly, he dashed towards the fallen poisoned knife and grabbed it. Not giving Ubel even a moment to react, Zhen Shi utilized the full power of the qi paths within his arms to strengthen the knife and stabbed forth. Whoosh! A powerful wind blew about as Zhen Shi accidentally used up the entirety of his gathered energy on this single stab. As a result, while this strike lacked martial skill, it was much more powerful than Ubel''s ordinary attack. While the knife stabbed forth towards Ubel''s heart, Zhen Shi stared at this criminal with eyes brimming with pure killing intent. Staring at this child''s eery eyes, Ubel couldn''t help but shiver in fear, like a prey staring at a predator. But before he could free himself of this fear, or do anything else, the knife pierced his chest and burst through his mortal body. Pah! The sound of a muffled explosion rang out as the majority of Ubel''s internal organs exploded under the power of the excessive stream of qi in Zhen Shi''s knife strike. Zhen Shi let go of the knife and stood straight while calmly observing the sight of Ubel Raven''s lifeless corpse collapsing on to the cold, hard earth. Due to the sheer power of the attack, Ubel had died even before the poison had taken effect. But judging by the contorted look on his face, his death not been easy. Zhen Shi continued to stare in satisfaction at Ubel''s face that was contorted in immense pain; a huge change from his previous gleeful smile. But at that same moment, Zhen Shi felt a great sense of weakness come over his body as if he had over-utilized his energy. As such, he weakly collapsed on to the ground. But before his body could strike the hard earth, he felt a soft presence that cushioned his fall. From the position he was in and with his blurred vision, he couldn''t clearly see who had caught him but he could vaguely sense that it was his mother. At the same time, he heard his father''s voice speaking curtly, \"While interference from external forces is not allowed, considering that the convicted wielded a poisoned knife, I conclude that the interference is pardonable in this event. The Duel of Justice is hereby deemed completed!\" Before losing consciousness, the last thing Zhen Shi saw were two familiar hands reaching towards him; covered in blood, but free of poison... ?????? 9 A Single Tear The memory ended at that point, allowing Zhen Shi to return to reality. As he stared at the Hel-fire in his hand and the Xue Yue cultivators preparing to attack, he realized that he no longer had any trepidations about attacking them. ''Heh. Trying to kill this handsome and scholarly self? Well, say your prayers... and rejoice! I''m going to gift you one-way tickets to hell!'' Having gained some understanding of the true nature of this world, Zhen Shi was ready to kill if necessary. In fact, he found that he was rather excited at the prospect of battle. Utilizing the concepts of [Draconic Wind Steps] and copying how Zhen Wei had moved in his most recent memory, Zhen Shi took a single step forward... Whoosh! Only a light wind remained as evidence of his previous presence. After all, with the combination of a powerful movement skill, [Draconic Wind Steps], and the 20x speed boost granted by the system, Zhen Shi wielded a near-impossible speed. Having disappeared for a moment, his blurred figure suddenly reappeared amidst the attacking Xue Yue cultivators. His sudden appearance caused surprise and disarray among the Xue Yue cultivators ... But at this moment, Zhen Shi was ignoring them and formulating a battle strategy extremely fast... Considering the fact that Lin Hai and Xue Yuehai were the strongest, Zhen Shi decided to leave them for last, just in case they had any special attacks. At the same time, he contemplated on his understanding of the lesser Hel-fire. Since each attack would require around 10% of his cultivation energy, he had to make each attack count. While the Hel-fire was an eternal flame that would not disappear under normal circumstances, if he only struck the clothes or miscellaneous limbs of a body, the enemy could decisively remove the clothes or cut off that limb, rendering his attack next to useless. Thus he had to target specific locations that were much more difficult to cut-off... And so with a grim smile, Zhen Shi calmly slapped the nearest Xue Yue cultivator in the face with a hand covered in Hel-fire. Instantly, a hellish scream that caused one''s hair to stand on end rose out of the throat of that unfortunate cultivator. As the Hel-fire that originated on his face quickly spread throughout his body, he finally burned into grey ashes that were scattered in the night wind. The sudden death of one of their members caused fear to arise in the remaining cultivators. But this was exactly what Zhen Shi had hoped for. While the Xue Yue cultivators could be easily picked off using his Hel-Fire, if they were to band together and utilize their battle formation, the difficulty would rise by many levels. But now that the majority were fearful of that hellish death, their battle formation fell apart leaving them vulnerable for a single moment. And before they could react, Zhen Shi had disappeared and reappeared next to another unfortunate cultivator. One second later another terrifying scream rang out as another cultivator was scattered in the air as grey ashes. Continuing to make use of the fear and confusion, Zhen Shi disappeared and reappeared several times like a grim-reaper leaving another two blood-curdling screams of hellish death in his wake. And how could he make such accurate decisions on combat despite having been reincarnated for only a single day? It strangely seemed to arise from his own battle-instincts... Zou Rou stared in surprise at Zhen Shi who was easily slaughtering cultivators an entire major realm above his! Not willing to be beaten by that loin-clothed bastard, she stared at her targets while holding the Sun talisman with both hands and grinned devilishly while shouting, \"Sky Sun Bone Sword talisman, Three Swords Descend!\" The moment she finished her words three swords composed of a strange but beautiful mixture of star-light and sun-light appeared in front of her and streaked forwards leaving traces of a star-filled sky. Just when the remaining five Xue Yue cultivators were ready to attack the devil amidst them, three terrifying celestial swords appeared as reinforcements catching them off guard once more. But just before they could strike, Lin Hai gathered Xue Yuehai and another cultivator towards him and roared, \"Edict: Armor!\" Instantly, Lin Hai''s body was surrounded in a majestic divine glow that solidified into an awe-inspiring armor with engravings of terrifying lightning and thunder. His armor suddenly glowed causing a dome of golden light to appear and protect the three of them... Meanwhile, the three swords diverged into three paths with different targets; two swords at two of the unfortunate cultivators outside and the other at the dome of golden defense. At the same time, Zhen Shi had re-appeared and punched the face of another cultivator causing another blood-curdling scream, as he too burned into specks of grey ashes. Noticing the sudden attack of the celestial swords, Zhen Shi decisively decided to leave the remaining two cultivators to Zou Rou and instead appeared next to the golden dome of defense. At the same time, the two celestial swords struck the two remaining cultivators cleanly on their chests. And they too were eviscerated into dust in a burst of star-light and sun-light. Now that the only survivors were those within Lin Hai''s edict armor, Zhen Shi fell into deep thought. Having used quite a bit now, Zhen Shi had been feeling that he just might be able to use it to launch a long-range attack. Just that it would take up four times the consumption of energy for a normal attack... Seeing the solid defense of the Proclaimer Lin Hai and considering that he still had 49% of cultivation energy remaining, he decided to use it. Instantly he manifested a flaming ball of Hel-Fire in his right hand and threw it at the golden dome with a roar, \"Hel''s Flare!\" Unfortunately, however, his ball of Hel-Fire just so happened to meet Zou Rou''s celestial sword that was targeting the golden dome as well, in mid-flight. And the moment they met, owing to the opposing natures of the Celestial Light of the Sun and the Stars, and the horrifying fires of Hell, a huge explosion occurred. Boom! A terrifying shock wave of qi and wind expanded out while the source of the explosion was covered in a cloud of energy flames and smoke. Fortunately for Zhen Shi, he had still been using [Draconic Wind Steps], and the aether had suddenly screamed to him about the imminent danger just a moment before the actual explosion... And so, with his impossible speed, he was able to dash back to safety just barely surviving from that ordeal. Having returned back to Zou Rou''s side with his life still intact, Zhen Shi realized that a series of System notifications were ringing out. But before he could focus on it, another set of memories arose in his mind once more... ?????? Zhen Shi realized that his eyes were closed and that he was lying down, presumably on a bed. At the same time, he realized that he could hear some hushed but familiar voices... they were from his mother and father! While they were rather silent, he could still make out what they were saying if he focused... \"Wei, I can''t believe you would do that! You actually knew that scum had a poisoned knife with him?\" asked Xie Li in a blazing tone. A heavy sigh rang out and Zhen Wei answered, \"Li, understand this. Xiao Shi is still a child. Even if he carried out my command and completed the Duel of Justice, he wouldn''t have learned much. So I decided to use that chance to make him learn a hard lesson.\" A stifled laugh later his voice continued, \"Knowing you, I knew that you would interfere in such an instance and possibly get lightly injured. But, of course, a poison of that mediocre level is nothing much for you... But that allowed Shi''er to understand the harsh nature of our world and complete the Duel to maximum effect. Even if you are mad, I know that I did what was for the best...\" Xie Li harrumphed angrily but remained silent. At that same instant, Zhen Shi opened his eyes and slowly sat up on the bed. Seeing that he had woken up, Xie Li''s angry face disappeared as she hurriedly dashed towards him. Immediately she enclosed in a tight bear hug and whispered through stifled sobs, \"Shi''er, it''s good that you''re awake. It''s good that you''re awake.\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but feel warm in his heart, but immediately frowned as he asked, \"Mother, how is your wound? Are you alright?\" Xie Li stared at him in surprise but wiped off her tears as she answered with a simple smile, \"Of course I''m fine. Poison at that level can only dream of harming your mother!\" Zhen Wei who was only a few steps behind her was about to walk forwards as well, when suddenly a blurred figure of fiery orange dashed through the open door and jumped onto the bed. Almost immediately, this figure of fiery orange hugged him in another bear hug alongside his mother and shouted, \"Little Brother, you''re fine! Good! Now we can play again. I''ve been bored in the last two days...\" Of course, it was his sister, Zhen Xixi, smiling brightly in expectation of his answer. Xie Li laughed and flicked her on the forehead saying, \"Cheeky girl. Let your brother rest a bit more...\" Zhen Wei didn''t walk any further and instead stayed back while staring at his family with a bright smile. Suddenly he spoke in a satisfied tone, \"Shi''er you did well in the Duel of Justice.\" Xie Li''s face turned awful at its mention. Even Zhen Xixi frowned and spoke questioningly, \"Duel of Justice? Did Little Brother already complete his? No fair! Even mine is supposed to be next month!\" finishing with an unhappy pout. Hearing how he had beaten his sister, Zhen Shi smiled gleefully while sticking his tongue out his sister. Xie Li smiled as well and playfully flicked Zhen Xixi''s forehead once more. While everyone else was happy, Zhen Xixi continued to pout unhappily. Zhen Wei continued in a serious tone that sounded rather strange with the smile on his face, \"Shi''er you haven''t cultivated in two days. Rest a bit more and meet me back in the training courtyard. Otherwise, your cultivation may regress...\" With one last glance at them and a smile, he took a single step towards the open door and disappeared in a familiar gust of wind. Seeing her father leave, Zhen Xixi grew excited and shouted again, \"Little Brother now that we have some free time, let''s play!\" This time both Zhen Shi and Xie Li flicked her on her forehead at the same time, causing Zhen Xixi to shout in indignation, \"No fair! How can little brother be allowed to do that as well? I''m supposed to be the elder sister!\" ------------------------ A light breeze blew by causing the familiar laden trees to rustle peacefully. Zhen Shi was in the training courtyard once more and his father was seated just a bit further from him. He smiled lightly as he spoke, \"Now that you have reached the Elementary Qi 6th stage and completed the Qi formation and Qi refining stages, the final three stages will be Qi Stabilizing. Exactly as it is named, you are expected to stabilize the formed qi strand by infusing more and more of the pure qi until it reaches its limit. In that aspect, Qi Stabilizing is not much different from Qi formation, so it should be rather easy. The difference between the two is that, once you reach the peak of Qi stabilizing, a bridge of connection will be formed between the cultivator''s dantian and his qi strand. But you have to make sure that the Qi Strand remains stable at all times... Go ahead and try. I''ll stay to make sure that you have comprehended it properly.\" Zhen Shi nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes and heaved a light breath. Considering the matters that he had gone through in the last few days he realized that it was much easier to calm his mind. But his father started to hum that familiar tune once more... calming his mind even further. However, unseen by Zhen Shi, there was a small tear of destabilized qi on the qi strand that had not been there before... But it was too small to be noticed... Ignorant of this, he calmly began to direct the specks of pure qi in his qi paths towards the Qi strand and began to fuse them together, strengthening the strand of qi even further. But just when he was about to do the same with another speck of pure qi, the suction speed of the primordial chaos base suddenly increased exponentially causing torrents of pure aether to be dragged in. Immediately Zhen Shi made use of this opportunity by directing a portion of that aether into his own qi strand while making sure that it remained stable. Owing to the sheer amount of pure qi he had access to, in just a few minutes, Zhen Shi''s qi strand extended, grew stronger and became much more stable while revealing a whispy green color. In fact, in another couple of moments, a tendril of qi reached towards the nearby dantian and connected forming the bridge of connection! Zhen Shi''s qi strand had reached its maximum potential! At the same time, Zhen Shi felt his body grow stronger and lighter by many folds. But that small tear of destabilized qi still remained... Ignorant of that matter, Zhen Shi opened his eyes after having meditated only for a few minutes. What awaited him was a rather familiar sight. His father was staring at him with widened eyes. But at the same time, Zhen Wei shook his head with a smile and said, \"I really should get used to you cultivating like this... Shi''er congratulations on reaching the peak of the Elementary Qi stage!\" ?????? As the memories ended at that point, the system notifications continued... Ding! Congratulations to the user for eviscerating a foundation establishment stage cultivator! 1000 exp earned. For defeating the first foundation establishment practitioner, the user has fortunately earned a major gift box! Ding! Congratulations to the user for successfully eviscerating four foundation establishment stage cultivators! 4000 exp earned. Ding! Congratulations to the user for obtaining the essence of the Sky Sun Bone Sword Talisman. Peak Soul Grade uncommon material Sky Sun Bone with assimilated runic energy earned! Ding! The user has earned 5 OP. Ding! The user has reached the Elementary Qi 7th stage! The user has reached the Elementary Qi 8th stage! .... The user has reached Elementary Qi Stage Completion! Zhen Shi could sense that the Qi strand placed nearby his dantian was gradually becoming stronger and more powerful by rapidly gathering torrents of pure qi from his qi paths and even directly from nature. Within a few moments, his qi strand had reached its maximum limit and formed a familiar tendril of connection with his dantian, resulting in his body becoming much stronger and lighter. But in the real world, there was a noticeable lack of that destabilized tear... Looking over his body, Zhen Shi realized that he was capable of utilizing qi much more easily than before and owing to his sudden progress, his cultivation energy had replenished back to 100%. Zhen Shi was rather interested in the sudden rise of notifications, and the fact that he could grow stronger just by killing some bad guys, but he momentarily ignored it as he thought about the power of Zou Rou''s talisman. To think that it could cancel out his Hel''s Flare which was supposedly authentic fire from hell was amazing! He was once more reminded of that strange rune he had seen... Nevertheless, he went back to the most important matter at hand, and said mentally, \"Open Major Gift Box!\" Ding! Major Gift Box opened. Congratulations to the user Zhen Shi for obtaining a Spatial Tear Sword! ''Hmm? Have I earned a godly weapon then?'' Consumable Item: [Spatial Tear Sword]- Grants two attacks containing the strength of the Peak Nascent Soul Stage and Space Law to tear a hole in local space. While the attack power is only mediocre, it''s true value lies in the possibility of Teleportation. The user, and only the user, will be capable of using this spatial tear to be teleported to a random location within a radius of 500 km. As such the suggested use: Teleportation. Nani? Even if the power is ''mediocre'', do you really expect me to use a cultivation transcending weapon for fleeing? System, do you have a screw-loose? System: ?_? Zhen Shi heaved a heavy sigh that carried the weight of his many problems as he smiled lightly. ''Nevertheless, I have profited.'' Meanwhile, the source of the explosion remained covered in the flames of the explosion and smoke for a few more moments. At the same time, the Sun Talisman in Zou Rou''s hands cracked and dissipated into dust. Zhen Shi turned to Zou Rou and asked inquisitively, \"Good Talisman. Who made it?\" But Zou Rou ignored his question and instead shouted while pointing at him, \"Loin-clothed bastard, what sort of attack was that? Aren''t you at the Elementary Qi stage? Did you use some sort of special flame? Or was that a divine blessing?\" But her eyes widened as she asked once more, \"Wait-- When the hell did you reach the peak of the Elementary Qi stage?\" But seeing how he remained silent she continued grumpily, \"More importantly, why''d you hit my attack? I could''ve taken that defense down...\" Zhen Shi responded with a clever grin, \"Tsun Rou, Tsun Rou, I told you that I shake the heavens! Besides I killed five of them and you only got two...\" Zou Rou frowned while crossing her arms over her ample chest and spoke, \"You cheated you bastard! I hate you, both you and your loincloth!!\" On the other hand, Zhen Shi wasn''t unhappy at all. Especially since that accident had granted him a rare material. And his smile grew even wider at the sight of her actions while thinking ''Grumpy Tsun Rou is cute as well!'' Nevertheless, he answered mysteriously, \"Besides... don''t underestimate me so much. Do you really think that I hit your sword by accident?\" while staring at the sight of the explosion. At the same time, the dust and flames cleared revealing the sight of three cultivators who seemed to have gone through the sufferings of hell and the trials to heaven at the same time. There were no signs of the golden defensive dome... and while Xue Yuehai and the other cultivator had burned clothes and some injuries, Lin Hai was the worst off. His majestic golden lightning armor and helm had a web of cracks upon them as pieces of it continued to scatter down onto the ground. His body was covered in horrible and grotesque burn marks save for his torso and head which was guarded by his armor. And he continued to stare in horror as his powerful armor continued to shatter apart... Zhen Shi spoke to Zou Rou with the aura of an expert that had peered through the countless mysteries of the universe but had been misunderstood by the ignorant masses, \"As you can see, the opposing forces of our attacks caused a terrifying explosion that damaged that proclaimer! I, Zhen Shi only allowed our attacks to collide to cause such a result. After all, our individual attacks weren''t sufficient to destroy that defense...\" His face contorted in sorrow to show his pain due to his ''clever'' plan being misunderstood... But of course, the entire matter had been a total accident! Zhen Shi was, fortunately, able to realize the truth of the matter early on with a little help from his acquaintance, the Aether, who spoke to him about the truth of the matter and thus decided to use his knowledge to earn some brownie points from Zou Rou. And just as he had hoped, she stared at him with widened eyes and answered, \"A-Amazing! I have truly misunderstood your capability. Good Work, Loin Shi!\" Reeling at the unexpected insult, Zhen Shi''s face twitched at this new nickname. ''Could this be divine retaliation for my ''Tsun Rou''?'' Meanwhile, Xue Yuehai the leader of the remnants of his group of cultivators shouted in rage while nursing his wounds, \"You bastards you''ll pay for this!!\" Zhen Shi turned to him, rather happy at not having to focus on that embarrassing nickname. But, of course, could he stay silent after being insulted? As such, he calmly prepared another fireball of Hel-fire in his right hand and stared condescendingly at the surviving trio. Zhen Shi realized to his surprise that with his improvement in cultivation, the cultivation energy required for a Hel''s Flare fireball had dropped to 30%. Seeing that fearsome fireball, Lin Hai and the other fortunate survivor began to escape in a hurry. But at the same time, Xue Yuehai shouted with a satisfied laugh, \"My father is an elder at the peak of Soul Transformation! He''ll definitely capture you lot and flay you alive...\" Immediately he brought out a black talisman and crushed it into pieces. 10 Spirit Hunters Xue Yuehai couldn''t believe that the worst possible outcome had come true. That loin-clothed bastard was actually an expert! He had strung them along the entire time by acting as a random fool, and they had fallen into his trap... Nevertheless, he had complete confidence in his father who he had called over. After all, he was a respected and powerful elder of the Xue Yue clan who had reached the Soul Transformation Stage! And as the shattered black talisman pieces fell down onto the ground, Zhen Shi grew apprehensive at the sudden possibility of the arrival of a Soul Stage expert. At the same time, Lin Hai who was already in the act of running away roared in a great hurry as if he was being chased by a demon, \"Edict: Speed!\" Instantly, a set of majestic white wings appeared on his back. In Lin Hai''s mind, even if Xue Yuehai''s father was arriving soon, that time would be more than sufficient for him to lose his own life many times over... As such, without even turning back, his wings flapped powerfully as he dashed into the nearby forest, with his figure disappearing among the trees. Seeing him run-away so shamelessly, the other cultivator who was running away as well, was truly stifled and helpless. But powerless as he was, he could only keep running at his current pace while cursing his own weakness. Fortunately for him, Zhen Shi was distracted at the moment, giving him precious time to escape into the forest as well. However, the most helpless person was Xue Yuehai. Seeing the ''genius proclaimer of his sect'' and his other comrade run away he could only lament his poor choice of friends. But with the belief that his father''s arrival was imminent, he continued to stare at Zhen Shi and Zou Rou haughtily. Meanwhile, Zhen Shi who had been worrying before was completely relaxed now. This was because the aether had whispered some important details to him once more, making him realize that he had worried for nothing... Besides he still had the Spatial Tear Sword! Considering Xue Yuehai''s father''s cultivation he should be one-shotted into the after-life under the power of that sword! As such Zhen Shi grinned nonchalantly and spoke, \"Brother Yuehai, I understand that your ''little brother'' is short, especially since you made it so clear before... But why is your temper so short as well? You didn''t have to go crawling to your father, now did you? We could''ve solved this small matter amicably like fellow cultivators that tread on the same path. Now, now, calm down and reform that broken talisman so that your father won''t waste his time. And after that, let us settle this matter in a fair duel between the two of us. I''ll even give myself a handicap, despite my lower cultivation... and only use that fire attack once!\" Hearing this fellow''s shameless words, Xue Yuehai''s face twitched as he was suffering from a seizure, ''Small matter my ass! This became irreconcilable the moment you slaughtered more than half of my loyal *cough* comrades. And what fair duel? Only one slap and I''ll die in a pitiful scream under that horrid flame of yours! But most importantly, why the hell do you have such a great interest in my little brother?'' Despite his thoughts which he could not bring himself to say, Xue Yuehai shouted out with great confidence, \"Just shut your trap. My father will be here in a breath''s time to gift you the end of your pathetic life!\" while laughing gleefully. But his laughter died rather fast as he was reminded of the fact that he was the only one remaining from his entire group... Zou Rou suddenly shook her head as well and spoke beratingly, \"Loin Shi, did you use up all of your intelligence in that last move? Do you really think that just because the talisman is re-formed, that bastard''s father won''t come? Is your brain in your loin-cloth? I suggest we leave now and come up with a plan on how to escape!\" Zhen Shi stared at her for a moment. But instead of worrying as she had expected, Zhen Shi calmly grinned and replied, \"My dear Tsun Rou. It appears you still underestimate this humble and scholarly self... Let me show you the true extent of my heaven-shaking abilities!\" Whoosh! In a gust of wind, Zhen Shi appeared close to Xue Yuehai''s location causing the latter to hurriedly retreat in fear. Ignoring Xue Yuehai, he picked up the randomly scattered talisman pieces and hurriedly reconstructed it. This was a very easy task, because he found out to his great surprise, that he could easily remember the original structure of the talisman. And once it was reformed he applied some ordinary fire aether to melt and combine the shards once more. And just like that, the talisman was reformed! While Zou Rou waited impatiently and skeptically, unable to escape by herself and leave her savior to fend for himself, several moments passed without the arrival of the so-called expert. Xue Yuehai''s expression was becoming uglier by the second, but Zhen Shi was smiling with the confidence of a powerful expert while Zou Rou''s eyes were gradually widening in surprise. As a few more moments passed, Zou Rou had to truly accept that Zhen Shi had succeeded and Xue Yuehai''s father was truly not coming. As such, she spoke with an impressed face, \"Loin Shi, it looks like I underestimated you once more. But... How did you do this? Are you perhaps a fellow talisman master? Or did you inherit some special technique? Or is this the power of the divine blessings that the Central Plains is so well-known for?\" Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 10 OP! Zhen Shi was extremely pleased with this turn of events, not only had he impressed the girl, he had even gained a reward. Still, he was wearing nothing but a dirty loin-cloth that was lightly flapping in the wind. He had gotten rather thick-skinned and forgotten about it. But how did he do this? Simple. He actually did nothing. But... the aether had told him that Xue Yuehai''s talisman did not release any aura and that it would not send out any message. And all Zhen Shi had done was make up a story to gain all the credit! As for the real reason, he could only assume that the explosion of the opposing Hel-Fire and Celestial Light had somehow damaged the talisman when Xue Yuehai had been injured back then. Xue Yuehai''s face had turned horrible at this moment. But he still fearlessly shouted out, \"Little Brot--I mean, you bastard. Consider yourself lucky. If you had been unfortunate enough to meet my father, let alone your stupid self, even your own pathetic father would''ve died a thousand times over!\" Zhen Shi was about to reply back, but a sudden series of memories arose once more in his mind. ?????? A light breeze blew by causing the trees in the familiar training courtyard to rustle in the peaceful evening wind. It was only earlier today that Zhen Shi had reached the Elementary Qi Stage Completion, but... what the hell was this? Zhen Shi''s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the beautiful vision ahead of him. Dozens of transparent spirit-like animals of beautiful colors were dashing around the courtyard; white bunnies that hid amidst the tree trunks, majestic golden stags that grazed peacefully, singing parrots that flew around the treetops, roaring tigers that stared around threateningly, and even some mystical beasts ranging from dragons to phoenixes! This vision was almost as amazing as the sight of the aether that Zhen Shi could see now, but it was even more astounding! Suddenly Zhen Shi noticed that amidst all these animals, a familiar fiery orange figure was chasing after a pack of silver wolves... Surprisingly, it was his sister Zhen Xixi, and while the sight of a little girl, chasing down wolves that were running away from her in fear was rather weird, it was reality! As Zhen Shi continued to watch in interest, she quickly caught up to the wolves. And instantly she threw out three black stones at three of the wolves. Poof! The silver wolves disappeared in a puff of smoke the moment those stones came into contact with their bodies. Zhen Xixi cheered loudly as she gathered the three black stones that were now glowing in a mystical white light. Noticing that Zhen Shi was staring at her, she showcased the glowing black stones like war-trophies, and spoke haughtily, \"Little Brother, what are you doing standing there? Have you already given up under my amazing spirit hunter skills? If you beg for mercy, as your elder sister, I just might go easy on you!\" Zhen Shi calmly retorted back, \"What nonsense are you even saying? I came up with this game! Watch the master at work...\" Instantly he threw a single one of those stones towards a direction that was completely free of spirit animals. However, the sudden threat of one of those stones caused a ripple effect of fear among the nearby spirit animals throwing them into disarray. As such, two wolves and two stags ended up dashing towards the direction that Zhen Shi was in. The moment they grew close enough, with a calm smile, Zhen Shi threw out four black stones. Poof! Exactly four puffs of smoke appeared around Zhen Shi as the stones hit the pairs of confused wolves and stags. Zhen Shi calmly picked up the glowing black stones and turned to Zhen Xixi with a challenging grin. After all, he had beaten her score without taking a single step! With a displeased harrumph Zhen Xixi stuck out her tongue and ran after some other spirits, unwilling to be beaten by her little brother. Zhen Shi grinned at her leaving figure but turned away soon after, eyeing some more prey himself. An hour passed as Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi rapidly captured all of the spirit animals. While Zhen Shi made use of various tricks to capture the spirits, Zhen Xixi made full use of her Foundation Establishment speed and strength making their scores rather close... And they finally gathered together to count the scores. Zhen Xixi laughed proudly as she showed off a bundle of glowing black stones and spoke, \"I''ve beaten you Little Brother. I have 52 Black Stones!\" Zhen Shi grinned calmly as he showed another bundle of glowing black stones, \"Well... so do I!\" Zhen Xixi''s face turned awful as she realized that they were actually tied in the score! Indignant at this turn of events, she hurriedly turned to the side and shouted, \"Father, Mother, this game is a draw! We have to try again!\" Xie Li and Zhen Wei that had apparently been watching the entire time laughed out together. Nevertheless, Zhen Wei spoke sternly, \"Alright, but it''s getting late, so this will be the last time!\" Zhen Shi spoke out as well, \"Father, this time, make the spirits into the ghosts that we used last week.\" His sister turned to him with a frown, \"Ghosts? I think that beasts and animals are much better.\" Zhen Shi laughed and muttered, \"Elder Sister, could you be afraid of ghosts then?\" Zhen Xixi scowled and grumbled, \"Don''t think that I''ve forgotten the rules that you told me about. Like you said... I ain''t afraid of no ghost!\" Beginning the process, Xie Li smiled as she flicked her hand causing floating bubbles of water and globes of mud to form. Zhen Wei too flicked a hand causing spheres of rotating wind and balls of fire to form in the air. With another flick of his hand, a colorless spiritual energy combined with the globes of water, mud, wind, and fire. And as they watched each globe split apart into twenty smaller globes... that slowly re-arranged themselves to form various spiritual figures; hooded figures wielding scythes, head-less soldiers, fat eery snowmen, demonic fire dogs, creatures formed of slimy liquid... Instantly, the eighty ghosts dashed forwards towards various areas of the courtyard. Zhen Xixi grabbed a handful of black stones and ran off with an excited shout, \"Spirit Hunters!\" Zhen Shi too followed her while analyzing the various spirits with a grin... Watching their children play peacefully, Zhen Wei smiled and spoke, \"Our son has truly come up with an interesting game. I wonder what inspired him to make this.\" Xie Li smiled in response while admiring the sight of her children playing happily. Zhen Wei suddenly turned to Xie Li and whispered, \"Li, is this truly fine? Xiao Shi can already be considered an adult having completed his duel of justice. Don''t you think that he should continue to work hard on his training, especially considering our suspicions?\" Xie Li frowned and replied back, \"It was entirely due to your suggestion that he completed the Duel of Justice. And that is not a reason for him to be treated like an adult! Even if our suspicions are true... I don''t want our son''s childhood to be nothing but training. He''s only five for god''s sake! Besides, since the cultivation technique came from them as well, it''s probably for the best if Shi''er can hold out on practicing for a while...\" Zhen Wei shook his head and spoke grimly, \"Even so, we can''t ruin his future just because we wish a peaceful childhood for him. But like you said, I truly hope they didn''t purposefully tamper with our son''s cultivation technique... As we don''t have any other choices either, he can only practice that technique for the moment. The cultivation technique related to the Chaotic Dantian is simply too complex! Even my Father incapable of comprehending the inner workings beyond the basic method of practice... As soon as Shi''er reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage, we should have him switch over to the [Martial Cultivation Technique]. That should give me sufficient time for me to find that old fellow and have him look over it. If even he can''t make sense of it, I don''t think anyone can... But if they truly trampled with the cultivation technique, even if they are a divine organization, we''ll show that the respected Zhen Clan aren''t a bunch of pushovers!\" Xie Li nodded in agreement with fierce eyes. But her eyes softened almost immediately as she continued to spectate her children being ''spirit hunters''. Noticing his wive''s actions, even Zhen Wei gradually grew silent as he continued to observe the game with a slight smile. --------------------------- 11 Say that again! It was a beautiful morning, the birds were singing melodic tunes while dancing amidst the trees and the morning sun had just begun to rise lighting up the world. Zhen Shi was surprised to find that he was no longer within that training courtyard. Instead, he was in front of a two-storied house with intricate architecture and stunning jade walls, This house was placed on a hill that overlooked myriads of houses and buildings in the valley below. But what truly caught his attention was the amazing view beyond the Zhen Clan Mountain Range. Seeing this view, for the first time, Zhen Shi could truly believe that the Zhen Clan was separated from the rest of the world. Amidst the magical mist that was partially obscuring the view, one could see the vast world that stretched out as far as the eye could see. There were occasional glimpses of kingdoms built around majestic castles, beautiful bodies of water, luscious forests and even some towering demonic beasts that walked unchallenged for the most part. And at two opposing corners he could even vaguely glimpse a land of pure white and land of pure yellow... Shifting his attention from this mind-numbing view to the populated community below, Zhen Shi could see that it truly was the beginning of a new day. There were hundreds of people bustling about among the myriads of houses below, busy with their daily work. The valley seemed to be divided in a rather organized manner. There was a market area selling general wares and services, along with a higher-tier market area consisting of a variety of majestic market pavilions, and even an official clan area that only allowed access for Clan members. But amidst every corner of every street, there were pairs of familiar Zhen Clan soldiers positioned to ensure security and enforce the law. Jiya! While Zhen Shi was observing the various comings and goings in the valley with great interest, the door of the two-storied building nearby suddenly opened up. Zhen Shi turned around to see two familiar figures, his father dressed in his official Zhen Clan robe with the battling Serpent and Turtle, and his sister dressed in another set of her fiery orange robes. Seeing that his brother was nearby, Zhen Xixi immediately dashed forwards with a smile intending to tackle him as she had done before. But this time, Zhen Shi had reached the Elementary Qi Stage Completion. Even if he couldn''t beat a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator yet, he wasn''t as powerless as he had been before. As such, with a calm grin, Zhen Shi side-stepped her easily. Putong! Not expecting her brother to dodge so agilely, Zhen Xixi was caught off guard and fell down onto the ground in a cloud of dust. Zhen Xixi felt extremely annoyed at this turn of events. As such she got up and was just about to retaliate with her full power, but what she saw the moment she raised her head caught her off guard. It was Zhen Shi''s finger bent in a strangely familiar arc. Flick! Before she could react, Zhen Shi had flicked her forehead! And at the same time, a stern voice rang out, \"That''s enough. We have much to do today. Move on to the training courtyard.\" Both Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi replied obediently, not daring to do anything else, \"Yes, Father.\" Nevertheless, Zhen Xixi stuck out her tongue at Zhen Shi while brushing off the dust on her clothes and immediately dashed in the direction of the training courtyard. Zhen Shi shook his head with a grin and immediately chased after his sister as well. -------------------- As expected, Zhen Shi was now within the familiar training courtyard. But at the moment his father was talking to a very excited Zhen Xixi, \"Xixi''er, the sword that I''ve prepared for you has arrived.\" Instantly he stretched out his hand causing a sword with a fiery red hilt sheathed in a dark black scabbard to appear within. Zhen Xixi hurriedly grabbed the sword from her father''s hands and immediately unsheathed it resulting in a sudden increase in the surrounding temperature. The sword was a little less than a meter in length, the blade was fiery orange with the engravings of blazing flames that seemed to crackle and burn mystically, and there was even a bright red jewel with an actual lit flame placed perfectly at the center of the hilt. Zhen Shi stared with widened eyes. This was the most powerful weapon that he had ever seen! But the fact that made him feel most unhappy was the fact that it was given by his father himself. As such, he couldn''t help but feel slightly unhappy about the fact that his sister was worthy and he wasn''t... Nevertheless, he understood that he wasn''t as strong as his sister yet. Thus he could only determine himself to work harder and make himself worthy in the eyes of his father. Zhen Wei spoke out to Zhen Xixi with a smile, \"That is the Blazing Inferno Sword, and it is a Soul Tier Grade 5 Weapon. It is very much above your current cultivation, but training with such a sword from a young age will be nothing but advantageous. Go on and get familiar with it, while your brother continues his training,\" and gestured towards one side of the training courtyard. As Zhen Xixi walked away excitedly while hugging her sword tightly, she turned around momentarily to wave goodbye to Zhen Shi. As Zhen Shi reciprocated her gesture with a forced smile, Zhen Wei spoke out with an understanding grin, \"Shi''er, if you wish to earn a weapon on par with your sister''s, you will have to work hard. She didn''t earn that for simply reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage 2, but for having already condensed a sliver of sword intent! That is by no means an easy task, and yet she accomplished it at such a young age. But of course, your cultivation talent is much greater than her... However, if you too reach a level on par with her accomplishment, Father will definitely reward you. Understood?\" Zhen Shi nodded obediently with a strong determination to work harder and make his father acknowledge him. Zhen Wei continued with satisfied eyes, \"Moving on to the matter at hand, you have already reached the Elementary Qi Stage Completion, and while most cultivators begin practicing martial arts only after reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, it still might be better for you to train early on.\" Saying so, Zhen Wei flicked his hand causing a series of books to appear on the ground. He continued speaking, \"As such, today you''ll select a martial art from these and try to comprehend it. Remember, it is fine even if you can''t understand it immediately. After all, you''ve only been training for a little over a week now and you''re still very young.\" Zhen Shi nodded and began to read through the various techniques with great interest. There were exactly a dozen techniques here with all sorts of formidable names ranging from Sky Splitting Slash to Malicious Devil''s eye. However, reading through them Zhen Shi found that he wasn''t particularly interested in most of them. The only martial art which truly caught his attention was one with a rather unassuming name, Unarmed Water Style. While the name was rather unusual, Zhen Shi found that he couldn''t help but agree with its descriptions. The Unarmed Water Style was a style of martial art that didn''t specify any particular type of style or strike as the most powerful. Instead, it went on to mention that every style and every type of strike had its own advantages and disadvantages. As such, the Unarmed Water Style was based on mastering a bit of everything, to produce a style that was as adaptive and fluid as water itself, but still as explosive as a raging wave... Now that a fair amount of time had passed, Zhen Wei spoke out, \"So, what do you choose?\" Zhen Shi immediately lifted the book of Unarmed Water Style and replied, \"This.\" Zhen Wei''s eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Nevertheless, he continued calmly, \"Alright. However, I hope that you are aware that while all the other martial arts have reached the Soul Tier, that one alone is at Mortal Grade 8.\" Zhen Shi frowned thoughtfully for a moment but replied decisively, \"It''s fine. I like this one better.\" Zhen Wei''s lips curled into an amused grin. Even so, he replied, \"Fine then. I''ll give you two hours... try to comprehend and practice it.\" -------------------- Exactly two hours later, Zhen Shi''s brow was furrowed in contemplation as he tried in vain to understand the essence of the technique. While he could easily exert the moves mentioned, he was unable to gain more than a 5% increase in power, when the technique mentioned more than a two-fold increase at the initiate level of understanding alone! To Zhen Shi who had gotten used to cultivating with extreme ease, this failure was similar to an unsurpassable mountain. As such, he turned to Zhen Wei with a dismayed and helpless expression. Zhen Wei smiled and spoke calmly, \"The Unarmed Water Style happens to be created by a friend of mine. It is overwhelmingly powerful in his hands, but very few people besides him have been able to master it. To reach the pinnacle of this skill one needs a rather high comprehension of the element of water. But, of course, it can be a powerful art even without deep understanding. However, due to the small increase in power that it grants to the general majority of practitioners, it has been graded at the Mortal Stage.\" Zhen Shi spoke derisively, \"Then... should I give up and choose another one?\" Zhen Wei smiled once more and replied calmly, \"That''s your choice. But... didn''t you pick up that Martial Art for a reason? Even when I told you that it had a lower grade than the others, you still chose it decisively. I believe that there were some concepts in that martial art, that you innately agreed with. If so, follow your heart! Besides, you''ve only been practicing for a meager two hours. Don''t give up so easily!\" Barely understanding the truth in his father''s words, Zhen Shi nodded resolutely. Zhen Wei smiled once more and gestured at Zhen Shi to stand up, \"Come on then. Let your father give you some personal pointers.\" Zhen Shi immediately stood up with great excitement. In his mind, his father was a peerless expert. As such, seeing him in action was a great source of interest and a valuable learning experience. Zhen Wei raised his right hand and formed a fist. Instantly he punched out, but for some strange reason, it seemed to be extremely slow. Boom! But before Zhen Shi could even comprehend what was happening, that slow punch had caused a powerful gale that spread throughout the entire courtyard. Boom! And with extremely fluid movement reminiscent of flowing water, that punch smoothly shifted into an elbow strike that caused another powerful gust of wind. While Zhen Shi stared in awe, Zhen Wei began to speak, \"As you can see, the essence of the Unarmed Water Style is adaptability. Its power lies in gathering the strength of the initial strike and combining it with the next strike... and so on. The greater the strikes you can manage, the greater the power of the final one. Even if you don''t have any understanding about the element of water, you can still emulate the flow of water you see in day to day life--\" And as such, several hours passed with Zhen Shi making rapid progress in the Unarmed Water Style under Zhen Wei''s skillful guidance. As the evening sun was setting, dying the sky in crimson red, Zhen Shi calmly mimicked his father''s movements... Pah! And launched a punch that shifted into an elbow strike, which caused a small explosion in the air. Zhen Shi analyzed his progress with great satisfaction. While he was nowhere close to his father''s level of power, he had definitely made some solid progress. And considering the unorthodox nature of the Unarmed Water Style, he should be capable of catching most people off-guard. Realizing that none of this would''ve been possible without his father''s advice, Zhen Shi felt extremely thankful. But almost immediately, the familiar fiery orange figure of Zhen Xixi came dashing in with her similarly fiery sword hung on her back. She excitedly spoke to both Zhen Wei and Zhen Shi, \"We''ve been training all day. And I''m tired... Can we play now? Maybe Spirit Hunters again?\" Zhen Wei smiled and nodded in response, \"Sure. Have fun.\" However, Zhen Xixi smiled cutely and spoke up, \"No, no. Father has also been training us all day as well. Today you have to play with us too!\" Zhen Wei frowned and shook his head, \"Me? No, No. The two of you can have fun...\" Zhen Xixi and Zhen Shi nodded at each other with a total understanding of the other''s thoughts and grabbed at Zhen Wei''s hands simultaneously. While both of them pulled at him resolutely, Zhen Xixi spoke up cutely, \"No! Father has to play with us today!\" Even Zhen Shi smirked and spoke up, \"Besides we''ve only been trying for a few seconds. And considering father''s teachings earlier today, how can we give up so easily?\" Zhen Wei stared flabbergasted at his son''s choice of words. But ultimately he gave in under their unceasing request. And on that evening, the courtyard was filled with the sounds of whimpering spirit ghosts and the laughter of children... --------------------- In the next moment, Zhen Shi realized that for this memory, he was in the familiar training courtyard once more. But this time, it was only him and his father. The bountiful weather that had persisted so far seemed to have receded, as the morning sun was now hidden amidst a dark and grey sky that had brought out a dreary atmosphere. Even the birds seemed to have retreated into their nests... Zhen Wei smiled at Zhen Shi and spoke calmly, \"Shi''er, it is now time for you to attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. But let me explain some things first. Exactly as it has been named, this stage refers to building a foundation for the entirety of your future cultivation. As the saying goes, the loftier the building to be constructed, the stronger and deeper the foundation required. Thus, this stage is extremely important. Not only will it determine how far you can reach, but any problems that arise during this stage will also be much more dangerous than usual... Moving on, as I''ve said before, Aether or Qi is simply energy. But when its quantity increases, it tends to manifest in different states. The Foundation Establishment Stage requires such a change of state. The qi strand of the Elementary Qi stage contains energy in a gaseous state. To reach the next stage, the energy in the qi strand must be compressed to form a drop of liquid qi. And through the bridge of connection formed with the dantian, this drop will automatically be dragged inside. This is only the first step and to truly reach the next stage, one has to form even more liquid qi until it is sufficient to form a qi lake within the dantian. This qi lake will be the foundation! The foundation establishment stage is considered to be a turning point of cultivation, and this is because this is also the point that you can determine your class talent and begin training accordingly. But that is a different matter entirely... Now, I believe you have gone through the contents of the cultivation technique and learned much more from the books we gave you last night. Go ahead and give it a try.\" Zhen Wei paused thoughtfully and spoke with a smile, \"Considering your actions before, while this is a rather difficult obstacle for most individuals, you might be able to cultivate very easily...\" His smile died down as he continued sternly, \"However don''t be complacent. It is the geniuses that fall the hardest. Be thoughtful and never overconfident!\" Zhen Shi nodded resolutely and closed his eyes after moving into a meditative position. Driving the qi in his qi paths in accordance with the cultivation technique, he began to condense the qi strand into a single drop. But that destabilized tear upon it remained hidden within... To Zhen Shi''s surprise, he found that the task of condensing the qi strand was extremely easy and completely unlike the records which mentioned that it would be difficult. As such, he easily formed a drop of qi which was immediately absorbed into his dantian through the bridge of connection. But unseen by Zhen Shi the drop of qi shivered as if something within it was growing unstable... Ignorantly, Zhen Shi was just about to continue when the primordial chaos suddenly began to absorb torrents of energy. Excited at the repetition of the situation that had given him rich rewards on previous occasions, Zhen Shi excitedly began to compress this qi into more and more drops rapidly forming a small pond of qi within his dantian. In his mind, it was only a matter of time before he reached the next stage! And just as expected with a few moments of hard work, the small pond formed a large pond, and finally a small lake. At that moment, Zhen Shi realized that he had truly reached the foundation establishment stage! But... that was also the moment everything went wrong. That shivering unstable drop of qi suddenly shattered apart causing a chain reaction throughout the entire qi lake causing a large scale internal explosion! Even the primordial chaos base that had been invincible, savage and caused many miracles so far, was jarred by that explosion as well. Almost as if its own foundation had been weakened... Pu! Unable to handle the destruction taking place within his dantian, Zhen Shi coughed up a mouthful of blood as he collapsed onto the ground in pain. Zhen Shi grew fearful as he realized that he could no longer move... or see... And the only thing that reduced his fear was the reassuring presence of his father nearby. Zhen Wei had been expecting his son to gain another miraculous rise in cultivation. But seeing this unexpected turn of events instead, he dashed forwards in worry. Analyzing Zhen Shi''s condition his face contorted in a series of emotions. -:- Zhen Wei could sense the presence of the Chaotic Dantian that had been jarred loose as if it was a ripening fruit that would soon be ready to be harvested by someone... Realizing that the cultivation technique had definitely been tampered with in order to prepare Zhen Shi''s Chaotic Dantian for extraction and that his former suspicions were completely true, fiery rage arose in him. But what had caused the sudden change before the Chaotic Dantian was truly ready to be harvested? Has there been some mistake in the cultivation technique? Analyzing further... Zhen Wei noticed strangely destabilized drops of qi causing him to frown in contemplation. But what could cause such a powerful destabilization? Thinking further he concluded that this had probably occurred due to the Duel of Justice where Zhen Shi had over-exerted the power of his cultivation. While that wouldn''t have been a reason to destabilize the qi strand under normal conditions, since Zhen Shi''s cultivation technique was inherently focused on weakening the Chaotic Dantian, this wasn''t impossible... Guilt struck him deeply as he realized that he himself had played a part in forcing this result on to his son. But at the same time, Zhen Wei was relieved that he had been able to find out about this matter before it was truly too late. Directing powerful energy into Zhen Shi''s dantian to maintain a stable condition, Zhen Wei brought out an aquamarine talisman with 18 different weapons engraved around its rim. Staring at it he whispered, \"Old Friend, you said that I should only contact shatter this in a matter of life and death. And it is indeed so now. Wherever you are, I hope you get this message. I''ll have to leave the majority of matters in your hands...\" and decisively crushed it into smithereens. While the talisman shards scattered down while releasing a vague aura, he turned back to Zhen Shi who was in a semi-coma state and heaved a heavy sigh. Even with the immense power of the Zhen Clan, Zhen Wei could only think of one method that he could try within the short time remaining. And this method just so happened to be one that could be particularly executed by him... But at the same time, he knew the price it required... He didn''t want to leave his son and his family alone to fend the storm that they''d undoubtedly have to face... Nevertheless, he decisively brought out a piece of paper and lightly tapped on it. Instantly the paper glowed in a fiery red light as several words were burned on to it. Bringing out an Ivory White talisman as well, he calmly placed the two items in his son''s pocket. With a slight smile, he whispered into Zhen Shi''s ears, \"Shi''er, I''ve done everything I can. As long as you live following your heart without giving up in the face of adversity, your father will be proud of you. Take good care of your mother and sister...\" Despite the horrible pain that his body was suffering from, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but become worried upon hearing his father''s words. But he couldn''t get himself to move. Zhen Wei breathed deeply and raised two fingers. An amused grin crept on to his face as he whispered almost to himself, \"To think that it would actually be this technique that saves my son...\" Almost immediately an abstruse energy that seemed to slash apart space itself manifested around his fingers. Slash! Slash! Slash! In a single curving movement, Zhen Wei brought down the two fingers, deeply stabbing his own two shoulders and stomach instantly. As blood seeped out from his heavily wounded shoulders, the two fingers remained stabbed deep into his stomach. Next, Zhen Wei calmly placed his free hand on Zhen Shi''s stomach. Instantly an awe-inspiring golden law that seemed to arise from nature itself, manifested around the pair of father and the son. As the golden energy of the law swiveled around the duo, Zhen Wei''s face grew pale and his figure weakened greatly. At the same time, he calmly took out the two fingers stabbed in his stomach causing even more blood to seep out. But out of this wound, two majestic shining crystals floated out... A fiery orange crystal with the faint imprint of a flaming volcano and a greenish-white crystal with the faint imprint of a tornado. Wu Wu! However, the two crystals remained floating and whimpering almost as if they were unsatisfied with having to leave their original holder. Zhen Wei smiled lightly, \"You two have followed me since the day I was born... And I could never have reached my current level without your support. Today I only have one selfish request, please save my son!\" The moment he finished his words, Zhen Wei finally lost all energy. Unable to persevere under the terrifying pain and loss of spiritual roots, he had given in and finally closed his eyes. But his mouth was curved in a satisfied smile. The two crystals seemed to give in to his request. But they bent down, almost in respect and goodbye. The two crystals floated towards Zhen Shi and disappeared into his stomach leaving only a slight ripple in space... -:- As the two spiritual root crystals established themselves within his dantian, Zhen Shi who had been suffering unspeakable pain, felt a sudden explosion of spiritual energy that alleviated his pain and slowly healed his wounds. At the same time, he could feel that the energy was even gradually strengthening his loosened primordial chaos base and re-establishing his destroyed qi lake. While the energy continued to heal him, he hurriedly woke up from his unconscious state. As long as he rested for a few days, he would be able to make a full recovery. Excited at the fact that there were no drawbacks to that unexpected accident and that he had even reached the foundation establishment stage, Zhen Shi excitedly surveyed the training courtyard looking for his father to share the good news with. Instead, what he met with was the sight of his father''s terribly weakened body riddled with three horrifying stab wounds. It was only then that Zhen Shi truly understood the sacrifice his father had made. Tears began to stream down his face unceasingly, as he stared at the familiar powerful figure that had been by his side since his birth. But now, Zhen Wei''s figure remained deathly still, with his eyes closed and a gentle smile on his face. Even in such an instance, his father had remained in a seated position, refusing to allow himself to collapse down to the ground out of sheer pride. Stifling the sobs that were rising in his throat, Zhen Shi dashed forwards towards his father''s body. Staring at his father''s pale face he couldn''t help but feel indignant. Unable to stop himself, Zhen Shi spouted out while shaking Zhen Wei''s weakened body, \"Father, you''re just sleeping right? You''ll wake up soon, right? You''ll be able to play with us like yesterday right? H-How can I tell mother? And Elder Sister...? She''ll be devastated! Dad... you have to wake up!\" Even so, Zhen Shi refused to give up and accept his father''s death jut like that. As such, he placed his finger near his father''s nose. Zhen Shi immediately grew ecstatic as he sensed faint breathing; extremely weak, but breathing nonetheless. A light smile crept on to his lips as he whispered, \"Dad, you better wake up soon. I''m going to reach the level of weapon intent, and you''ll definitely owe me a weapon!\" Immediately, Zhen Shi stood up excitedly and began to shout out for help... ?????? The series of memories ended at this point. But with those recent memories still fresh in Zhen Shi''s mind, Xue Yuehai''s latest words echoed in his mind, \"Your pathetic father would''ve died a thousand times over!\" Murderous rage arose in Zhen Shi as he stared at Xue Yuehai with killing intent seeping out from every pore. As both Xue Yuehai and Zou Rou reflexively retreated back in fear, Zhen Shi dashed forwards with horrifying balls of Hel-Fire in each hand while roaring, \"SAY THAT AGAIN!\" 12 A Sudden Name change! At the moment, Zhen Shi''s mind was filled with murderous rage and he had no other objective besides killing the one who had dared to insult Zhen Wei. As such, Zhen Shi was unable to maintain a calm state of mind making it impossible to use . Even so, he still had the 20x speed boost granted by the system. Thus, before Xue Yuehai could even begin to react, Zhen Shi had already arrived next to him. Instantly, Zhen Shi struck down with his two hands armed with Hel''s Flare fireballs. Seeing this Zhou Rou hurriedly shouted, \"No! Wai-\" But it was too late. Zhen Shi had already attacked and Xue Yuehai was only a moment away from dissipating into ashes. But at the same time, a strange purple dome with a miasmic aura appeared surrounding Xue Yuehai. Boom! A small explosion rang out as the Hel''s Flare struck against the miasmic dome. While the purple dome was damaged by a fair amount due to the power of the Hel-Fire, it still remained strong. Seeing this Xue Yuehai started laughing maniacally, \"Bastard, you just made the biggest mistake of your life. Regardless of how you canceled my talisman before, my father will definitely arrive now. No amount of petty tricks can change that and all the treasures you hold will be ours!\" However, his laughter immediately dissipated as he felt the indomitable murderous intent coming off of Zhen Shi... Completely ignoring the failure of his initial attack, Zhen Shi immediately raised his fists covered in once more and punched down with both hands. But just a moment before his fists struck the black dome, like calmly flowing water, the two punches smoothly shifted into two elbow strikes. This was the Unarmed Water Style! Along with this shift of attack, even the Hel-Fire vanished from his fists and reappeared on his elbows. Crack! Unable to handle the nearly two-fold increase in power due to the Unarmed Water Style, the miasmic dome that had already been damaged before, shattered into pieces under the power of the two simultaneous elbow strikes. However, the major reason for Zhen Shi''s success was the intrinsic destructive nature of Hel-Fire. Having broken through the other party''s defense, Zhen Shi''s elbows moved on to strike the indignant Xue Yuehai. However, Xue Yuehai reacted quickly and raised his hands easily defending against the power of the strike. After all, he was the strongest Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the entire group of Xue Yue cultivators, and even with the Unarmed Water Style, Zhen Shi was still in the Elementary Qi stage. However, Zhen Shi''s attack was not based on power... it depended on the power of . As such, the moment the Hel-Fire came into contact with Xue Yuehai''s hands, they began to burn and sizzle his flesh. Hel-Fire is used to torture those who were unfortunate enough to end up in hell. So how could the pain that arose when burned by it be ordinary? As such, Xue Yuehai began to scream horrendously under the torturous pain of the Hel-Fire, and he was even beginning to consider severing his arms. However, before he could do anything else, a palm covered with even more Hel-Fire slapped him in the face. Unable to accept this turn of events he screamed once more, \"No, not like thi--\" But before he could finish his words, the Hel-Fire burned his entire body into grey ashes that were scattered in the night wind. And Zhen Shi watched calmly with his loin-cloth fluttering in the wind as well. Just like that Xue Yuehai had died! Ding! Congratulations to the user for utterly incinerating a foundation establishment stage cultivator protected by a Mortal Tier Grade 8 life protecting artifact! Even if that artifact is only at a mere mortal tier, it boasts a defensive ability equivalent to a Core Formation Stage practitioner. As such, the user will gain 2000 exp! The user has gained 10 OP! Zhen Shi whose murderous rage had been quelled with Xue Yuehai''s death paused thoughtfully. Since a Mortal Tier Grade 8 Artifact possessed power at the Core Formation Stage, this could only mean that anything referred to as ''Mortal'' Tier contained power in between the Elementary Qi stage and the Core Formation Stage, which were cultivation stages within the ''Mortal'' Primary Stage. Following the same logic, Soul Tier items should have power limited to the Soul Primary Stage, and Law Tier items should have power limited to the Law Primary Stage... As to why he could defeat Xue Yuehai even in such an instance, Zhen Shi could only assume that this was due to Hel''s Flare. After all, it was supposed to be ''Perfect Mortal Grade'', which Zhen Shi assumed meant that it was at the most powerful level possible within the Mortal Primary Stage. While Zhen Shi was busy thinking about this matter, the aether suddenly manifested around him and told him of a trying matter... It seemed that the life protecting artifact was connected to a much more powerful cultivator who had already been notified of Xue Yuehai''s death. In other words, a big boss was on its way... Zhen Shi could only shake his head bitterly at this sudden turn of events. With the memories of Zhen Wei''s sacrifice, he had been unable to handle Xue Yuehai insulting him. In a way, one could only pity Xue Yuehai choosing those particular words that led him to his untimely death... It could even be said to be the System''s fault for giving him that particular set of memories. Or perhaps it was the fault of fate. Nevertheless, what happened has happened. Zhen Shi could only shake his head and determine himself to face the oncoming battle. Ding! From the destroyed remnants of the life-saving artifact, the user has gained Mortal Grade 8 Miasmic Metal. Zhen Shi''s bitter face immediately turned much better, he had not made a total loss after all, ''I suppose the system and fate aren''t completely heartless!'' System: \"...\" However, Tsun Rou was thinking differently and shouted in anger, \"Loin Shi, you imbecile, what have you done? Since that fellow was important enough to have a message talisman, it is only logical to assume that he would have a life protection talisman as well. And even if you did kill him in the end, that Spirit Transformation Expert will still arrive. Zhen Shi could understand the truth in her words. But there was nothing he could do to change what had happened either. As such he spoke with a calm grin, \"Tsun Rou, don''t worry so much. If I hadn''t killed him, how long do you think he would stay without reporting this matter. By then the Xue Yue sect will definitely send some people to apprehend us. At least, this way, there will only be one expert and everything will take place under our own terms!\" while patting his chest proudly. While what Zhen Shi said had some truth to it, it didn''t make complete sense, especially considering that the arriving big-boss had much greater power than them. However, Zhen Shi still had the Spatial Tear Sword. As such, he wasn''t worried at all! At this moment, the System notification continued, completely alleviating any of Zhen Shi''s remaining regret. Ding! Congratulations to the user for finally reaching the next stage. The user is now at Foundation Establishment Stage 1! To celebrate this joyous occasion, the user is granted a special locked chest! The moment the notification rang out, Zhen Shi could feel his cultivation increasing. Focusing on his qi strand that had already formed the bridge of connection with his dantian, he could sense that it was automatically being compressed into a drop of liquid qi. Instantly the qi drop disappeared into his dantian. At the same time, Zhen Shi''s primordial chaos base began to absorb another torrent of aether, and parts of this aether were automatically compressed into more liquid qi that was added to the liquid qi drop. As he watched, this liquid qi gradually collected to form a small pond which soon turned into a large pond. And within a few more moments, it had turned into a small lake of qi. The lake of qi was separated into four sections; a deep green airy section, and three faint sections of aqua blue, fiery red and earthen brown. This was his foundation, his qi lake! And unlike in his memory, there were no unexpected explosions either. With the formation of the qi lake, Zhen Shi could now peer into his dantian which he had been unable to do clearly before. And he could now see that the qi lake consisting of liquid qi was placed right below the Primordial Chaos Base; a sphere of chaotic, savage energy, surrounded by four spiritual roots connected through root-like tendrils. In fact, as he watched the spiritual root crystals slowly grew closer to the primordial chaos base as if it would combine soon... At the same time, the speck of Hel-fire within Zhen Shi''s dantian dashed into the fiery red portion of the qi lake, causing the color to become much darker and eerie, as if it had gained the properties of Hel''s Fire. Moving on from this matter to contemplating his strength, Zhen Shi realized that along with his elevation into the Foundation Establishment Stage, he was now several times stronger and faster than he had been before. He could even see and sense the aether even more easily now! Tsun Rou''s eyes widened as she asked once more, \"W-wait, when did you reach the foundation establishment stage? Weren''t you at the Elementary Qi Stage pinnacle a few seconds ago?\" But before Zhen Shi could reply, a terrifying roar exploded from far-away, \"WHO DARES TO KILL THE OFF-SPRING OF THE XUE YUE SECT!\" At the same time, a terrifying spiritual pressure descended down on them. Under the effect of this spiritual pressure, Zhen Shi felt stifled as if he had waded into a pit of thick mud. This could only be the legendary act of pressuring others with spiritual power of higher cultivation levels! Nevertheless, he couldn''t help but agree, that this was... true power! He was unable to react at all... At this rate, he might not even be able to use the Spatial Tear Sword. Fortunately for him, the system rang out in help. Ding! Spiritual Pressure of a higher-tier cultivator detected. Resolving of pressure completed! Finally, Zhen Shi felt that he could move normally. However, he was growing more and more apprehensive about the situation. This was because even if he could use the Spatial Tear Sword to rip apart space and leave, that would mean that Tsun Rou was left alone in danger. However, turning around, he was surprised to see that just like him, Zou Rou was unaffected by the Spiritual Pressure... But he ignored this matter as a terrifying figure suddenly appeared in the star-lit sky. The terrifying figure was surrounded by a poisonous miasmic aura that seemed to melt the air itself. And most importantly, he was actually flying! Even Zhen Shi with his foundation establishment cultivation was still incapable of flight. And as far as he knew, only those who had reached the Soul Primary Stage at the very least possessed the ability to fly. In fact, through , Zhen Shi could just barely discern this fellows cultivation, and it was at Soul Transformation Pinnacle! If he remembered correctly, the Soul Primary Stage consisted of four cultivation stages, with Soul Transformation being the second... Meanwhile, the terrifying figure slowly flew down like a god descending from the skies. He lowered his head and stared at Zhen Shi and Zou Rou with great malice. Xue Yuegui was truly enraged. Partially out of sorrow for the death of his son, but mostly for being forced to end his cultivation seclusion in a hurry. He had been making preparations to enter into the Nascent Soul stage, but this matter had completely ruined his plans. He was also enraged about the fact that his son, who had reached the Foundation Establishment 6th Stage, had been killed by a random loin-clothed barbarian who had just barely reached the foundation establishment stage... Nevertheless, to maintain his good reputation and to prevent any blemishes in his cultivation heart, he had decided to kill these two! Instantly, Xue Yuegui manifested a purple scepter with an evil poisonous aura and immediately struck down, targeting Zou Rou first. He had no intention of wasting time on words. He would finish this up as soon as possible and return to his cultivation seclusion. However, his attack was simply too fast! He had arrived in a flash and attacked even faster! Even Zhen Shi could barely react with his 20X reaction speed. But just when Zhen Shi was about to act out to save her, Zou Rou''s body suddenly glowed in a golden celestial light that immediately attracted a pile of sand from the ground towards her. And while Zhen Shi stared in surprise he saw a terrifying earth aether condensing this ordinary sand into a powerful earthen dome around her body. Clang! When the poison scepter hit the earthen dome, the sound of metal striking metal rang out, as if the dome was formed out hardened metal instead of sand. And just like that, the attack from that Soul Transformation Pinnacle Cultivator was stopped! But what caught Zhen Shi''s attention was the faint runic symbol, ?, that remained visible amidst the golden aether surrounding Zou Rou''s body. Seeing this for the second time, Zhen Shi could confirm that he had definitely not imagined it on the previous occasion. But this also posed another problem. What did this familiar rune mean to Zou Rou? However, Zhen Shi was distracted by the matters taking place at the same time. That terrifying aether of earth manifested a few feet away from Zou Rou and gathered another pile of sand to form a giant earthen face! Instantly, Xue Yuehai grew wary as he spoke out, \"Hoh? Another Soul Transformation Expert--No, you''re aura is much much stronger! But it also appears that you are wounded...\" However, Xue Yuehai''s brow wrinkled in worry as he suddenly shifted to a more respectful tone, \"Ah, It''s the renowned Lord of the Northern Plains. Despite the distance, your illustrious name echoes throughout the world. However... if you intend to make me give up on this matter, I''m afraid we''ll have a problem. Even if you could annihilate me with your true body, you are currently too far away. Besides, everyone knows that you were heavily injured... Thus I don''t believe you can stop me with a mere incarnation...\" At the same time, Zou Rou shouted in worry, ''F-father? Why''d you come here? D-did that talisman hold a portion of your soul? But this will worsen your state even further!\" Analyzing the aether surrounding this Earthen Face, Zhen Shi could sense an aura much stronger than that of Xue Yuehai. However, the threat level seemed to only be a bit higher... The Large Earthen Face turned to Zou Rou and spoke beratingly, \"Stupid Girl, what were you thinking by running over here? Did you do all of this simply due to the words of that seer? You could''ve died today!\" While Zou Rou lowered her head in guilt, the Earthen Face turned to Xue Yuehai and spoke with veiled ferocity, \"Fellow Daoist, your words ring true. At this moment, you do hold slightly greater power. And you are taking revenge for your fallen son. I can indeed respect that.\" A powerful aura that caused the surrounding space itself to shiver emanated from him as he continued, \"But this is my daughter! Even in this state, I''m confident in making you suffer quite a bit. And once I return here by myself, I can assure that the days of you and your sect will definitely be numbered! If you lay a finger on her, I will hunt you down to the ends of the World! Judging from your aura, your sect must be allied with the Holy Pyramid. But I assure you, they will not support you and fall out with Solingrad instead. I dare you to make your choice!\" Xue Yuegui frowned in displeasure, nevertheless, he conceded as he spoke out, \"Very Well, I, Xue Yuegui will naturally give the Lord of Solingrad some face. The girl didn''t execute the killing blow after all. However, if you think that I''ll allow this undignified scoundrel parading around in his undergarments to escape as well, you''ve got another thing coming!\" Hearing his words, Zou Rou''s brow contorted in worry, She didn''t wish to be ungrateful and leave Zhen Shi to fend for himself, but at the same time, she couldn''t bring herself to ask her father to interfere and worsen his injuries either... Nevertheless, she immediately spoke out, \"No father! This loin-clothed basta-- I mean, valiant fellow interfered in the attack of the Xue Yue sect and saved me! I can''t let him die.\" Hearing her words, Zhen Shi felt warm in his heart, even though she almost called him a ''loin-clothed bastard''. The Large earthen face turned to Zhen Shi as if he was sizing him up. In the end, he frowned with a displeased look on his face. Nevertheless, he spoke out in a ''kind'' tone, \"Little friend, what on earth are you wearing?\" and continued with a smile, \"Even so, you saved my daughter and I am indeed thankful.\" His face contorted in ''embarrassment'', \"However, I am afraid that I am unable to help you at the moment...\" But suddenly his eyes glowed as he spoke in a serious tone, \"Still, you should remember that this is a tribulation of your own doing! If you can''t take responsibility for your own actions, why even cultivate?\" Hearing the words of this Large Earthen Face, Zhen Shi frowned. ''Take responsibility? Take responsibility for your mud face!'' Zhen Shi could vaguely infer that this Earth Faced Lord wasn''t being completely honest... and was merely speaking out to show that he wasn''t ungrateful. Even so, he respected this fellow for protecting his daughter despite his injuries... At the same time, the Large Earthen Face who was ignorant of Zhen Shi''s thoughts grabbed onto Zou Rou with the intention to leave and said to Zhen Shi once more, \"As the savior of my daughter, we will naturally reward you. Come meet us at Solingrad at any time!\" However, Xue Yuegui obstructed his leaving figure and said, \"Lord Sun Soul of Solingrad, this entire matter was due to your daughter stealing some of my Clan''s property! You should do well to return it!\" Xue Yuegui was rather intrigued about why a random pill in their sect could grab the attention of Lord Sun Soul''s daughter. And most importantly, he had even mentioned something about a seer... As such, he was worried that they were allowing the fish already captured in their net to escape! A powerful aura emanated once more as Lord Sun Soul roared out in rage, \"Yuegui, you go too far! I''ve already given you an opportunity for your revenge! Do you think I''ll give you a mile when I agreed to an inch?\" Immediately, Xue Yuegui conceded in fear once more, sensing the powerful aura. Even if he was confident in putting up a good battle, he wasn''t confident of emerging uninjured. And most importantly, he was unwilling to court disaster for himself and his clan! Zhen Shi who was watching this verbal confrontation was completely angered at this point. While he did respect this Lord Sun Soul for his intention to protect Zou Rou, he was extremely unhappy about the fact that a pill would be more valuable than saving his life in return for saving Zou Rou''s life. After all, if he was an ordinary cultivator, leaving him here was as good as giving him a death sentence. As such he spoke out without a hint of respect, \"Oi, Oi, you pair of old fogeys who do you think you are? Arguing with each other as if I am some sort of bargaining piece? Is this how a Lord treats those who help them?\" Lord Sun Soul''s face grew awful as he heard Zhen Shi''s words. After all, they were true! And he had no way to refute him. As such, he could only remain silent, as if he was ignorant and deaf. Zhen Shi turned to Zou Rou and spoke with a smile, \"Tsun Rou, is this shameless fellow really your father? No offense, but don''t learn any manners from him. Otherwise, you might end up being as ungrateful as him one day!\" Zou Rou''s face flushed in embarrassment, as well as rage as she scowled at her father. She was torn between the two parties. She could see the truth in Zhen Shi''s words, but she couldn''t ask her father to interfere either... Lord Sun Soul was becoming extremely angry. But with his daughter here, he could not bring himself to attack... Satisfied with having given the other party a piece of his mind, Zhen Shi continued with a confident smile, \"Well, Tsun Rou, and Shameless Sun ''Mud Face'' Soul, I''ll definitely come to visit you in Solingrad to take my reward! Don''t worry about that!\" Xue Yuegui was becoming even more enraged as he heard how Zhen Shi was dismissing his presence as if he could easily beat him. Nevertheless, he grinned maliciously while thinking, ''We''ll see what happens to your confidence when you''re alone with me little kiddo!\" Having decided to leave this annoying fellow to die at the hands of Xue Yuegui, Lord Sun Soul began to leave. And this act caused the space surrounding him and Zou Rou to vibrate unstably as if it would tear apart soon. At the same time, Zou Rou spoke out worriedly, \"Loin Shi, how can you be so confident? But... you''ll indeed be fine right?\" She continued with a harrumph, \"Remember that, I won''t forgive you if you die! Also, I know that you''re an idiot and so you still think that my name is Zou Rou right?\" Zou Rou continued with a proud grin, \"My real name is Sun Rou! What... are you impressed that I''m from the esteemed Sun clan? Also, if you survive I''ll promise to gift you some proper clothes!\" However, Instead of being impressed, Zhen Shi began to laugh in amusement and spoke out, \"You''re Sun Rou? Damn, that''s hilarious. I was really getting attached to calling you Tsun Rou. But the two names are basically the same! Sun Rou, you were born to be Tsun Rou!\" Sun Rou retorted in disbelief, \"Y-you... Loin Shi, is this what you should be thinking of before facing a Soul Transformation Expert, especially when you''re so weak? Nevertheless, she couldn''t stop an amused grin from appearing on her face. Zhen Shi just shook his head and continued to smile in response. Meanwhile, Xue Yuegui had been silent and complacent since a few moments ago. Realizing that this Lord Sun Soul was actually capable of bending space for spatial transference, he thanked the gods for not provoking him too far! Still, he felt rather stifled... But now that they were on the verge of leaving, Xue Yuegui decided to unleash all his anger and frustration on this little proud foundation establishment stage genius. Hence he immediately struck out with his purple scepter with a poisonous miasma sizzling about his body. Although Zhen Shi was distracted by the conversation with Tsun Rou, he wasn''t caught off guard. This was because the aether had immediately warned him about the oncoming attack. As such, Zhen Shi calmly activated and easily dodged to the side. However, the moment he dodged, a poison serpent emerged out from the scepter and pounced towards him in attack. This counter-attack was simply too sudden and Zhen Shi did not have sufficient time to use draconic wind steps again. Fortunately for him, at that same moment, some memories stirred from deep within his mind instantly granting him some insights on the ability to utilize aether. As such, he quickly gathered some earth aether forming a solid chest plate on his chest. Most importantly, due to [Acquaintace of Aether] he found it much easier to utilize Aether than most. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to do this so quickly without any practice. Pu! Even so, the poison serpent easily weakened the earthen chest plate by eroding it with poison and struck with powerful strength that caused Zhen Shi to spit a mouthful of blood while being thrown down onto the ground. The gap in cultivation was too immense! ''Motherfucker! That hurts!'' However, the pain was still within a bearable level. As such, he turned to look at where Tsun Rou had been. But it appeared that they had already left, and space showed no sign of their presence... Xue Yuegui roared out haughtily, \"Little bastard where''s your cocky attitude now? Aren''t you supposed to be a genius? If you continue to fight me with this little bit of ability, I can promise that you won''t even know how you died!\" Ignoring his words, Zhen Shi slowly crawled up to a standing position. Wiping off the blood at the corner of his mouth, he sharply stared at Xue Yuegui with an indomitable will surging in his eyes! 13 The most terrifying support skill... is double edged! In that instance, Zhen Shi truly looked heroic, with his hair blowing in the light breeze, the light streak of blood at the corner of his chin, and the sheer look of unbendable determination in his eyes! Well, at least he would have, if not for the front-only covering dirty loincloth wrapped around his legs and fluttering innocently in the wind... It truly ruined his heroic image! Still, Zhen Shi neither knew nor paid any attention to his appearance, especially since he was completely focused on the big boss in front of him. Since his opponent was much stronger than him, he figured that he should try to keep it safe and attack from long-range... Instantly, Zhen Shi flicked his hand forming a ball of Hel Fire emanating a fearsome aura. Since reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage and the combination of the Hel-Fire with his qi lake, the energy needed for a Hel''s Flare fireball had dropped down to 10%! As such, he could afford to use this skill quite a bit now and immediately threw it at Xue Yuegui. However, with the poison aura around his body, he easily side-stepped and dodged the attack. Xue Yuegui was more than happy to see Zhen Shi throwing out fireballs. This was because he was aware that Zhen Shi had an astounding speed almost on par with him. And so to make things easier for himself, he was planning on exhausting Zhen Shi of his energy. However, Zhen Shi realized this matter as well. If he allowed this to turn into a war of attrition, his defeat was definite! As such, he decided to try opening that special locked chest he had gained before. He could only hope that it was not actually locked... But at that very moment, a well-placed gust of wind, or for Zhen Shi and Xue Yuegui a horribly placed gust of wind, blew silently through the clearing and easily flipped over the front flap of the loin-cloth. This sudden turn of events was a source of great embarrassment for Zhen Shi and provided an eye-blinding view for poor Xue Yuegui! ???????????? Zhen Shi was feeling extremely stifled at this point, ''Where the hell did common sense and logic run off to? I''ve been dashing here and there this entire time, but this frapping loincloth never moved nor gave a peep. But when I was standing completely still, you suddenly decide on a whim to reveal me for all to see!'' System this is your fault, right? This time you''ve even teamed up with the wind to drag my dignity through the mud! System: \"...\" Ding! Congratulations to the user for comprehending the Upgradeable skill Support Skill: [ System Grade 1. The simple act of revealing oneself will cause feelings of shame to arise in all those who are fortunate/unfortunate enough to witness the ''divine revelation'', even the heavens themselves are unable to escape! The sheer difference in size will cause all witnesses to be stupefied at their own inferiority! All those successfully affected by the skill, will lose a portion of their rationality and act as if they have been blinded. The effects of the skill will be lessened on enemies with higher cultivation. The system withholds the right to be liable for certain side-effects...] Ding! The user has gained 100 exp for The skill has reached System Grade 2. Reading through the first few lines, Zhen Shi''s face was twitching as if he was suffering from a seizure and cursed mentally, ''FUCK! System, what type of shameless and moral-less skill is this? When other people fight with swords and skills do you expect me to strip and reveal myself? Maybe even follow that up with a dance? What type of evil path are you trying to lead this pure and humble person along?'' System: (???) However, reading the rest of the description, Zhen Shi was rather intrigued. Raising his head, the sight that awaited him caused Zhen Shi to tremble in excitement while forgetting all about the lack of morals and shamelessness. This was because the Soul Transformation Pinnacle Xue Yuehai was standing still in a daze, with his face twitching between expressions of great sorrow and great happiness. Zhen Shi happily thought, ''Good fortune indeed lies within misfortune! If this skill can even affect this soul transformation fellow while it is still at Level 1, I can only imagine how overpowered it could get in the future! But... am I truly destined to overthrow the world while acting as a male stripper?'' and ended in a rather self-pitying tone. Ignoring this matter and continuing to read, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but feel a chill run up his spine at the last few words of the skill description, \"The system will not be liable for certain side-effects...\" At the same time, a heavily repeating panting sound was heard. Warily raising his head, Zhen Shi was met with the sight of Xue Yuegui panting like a beast with reddened eyes. The previous conflict of happiness and sorrow had disappeared, and instead, he stared at Zhen Shi like a beast eyeing a slab of meat! \"Little Boy, what have you done to me? Have you bewitched me? Hmm... looks like I''ll have to use you to relieve myself. And after playing with you, I''ll kill you. Honestly, it''s a much happier ending than you deserve. Now be a good boy and COME TO DADDY!\" roared Xue Yuegui while dashing forwards with the full force of his cultivation. Hearing these horrifying words Zhen Shi grew extremely fearful which sent his mind into a state unsuitable for using [Draconic Wind Steps]. As such, he hurriedly utilized a torrent of wind and fire aether to propel him away. Adding his 20x speed boost on top of that, Zhen Shi was easily able to dodge Xue Yuegui who currently had the mental faculties of a beast in heat. And for some reason, Xue Yuegui didn''t attack with that poison serpent either... Nevertheless, Xue Yuegui had completely underestimated his speed resulting in him missing Zhen Shi and even being propelled forth for a distance of several kilometers. Now with room to breath, Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief having dodged that ''fatal'' bullet and thought, ''Looks like this overpowered skill is a double-edged blade! But why did this happen? Does this Xue Yuegui have some repressed tendencies? Or is this something else altogether? Looks like I''ll have to be careful when I use this skill in the future... System, explain this side-effect in detail. And also why the hell aren''t you liable for your own skill?'' Ding! Skill Analysis: To cause the effects of temporary blindness and reduced mental faculties, this skill performs soul and spirit based attacks on the minds of the targets. However, Spirit Primary Tier cultivators have considerable control over their soul manifestation greatly reducing the skill''s effects. This is also why the affected party is not blinded in this instance. It is at this point, that the fortune/misfortune aspect comes into play. Depending on the target, the user, and certain other conditions, various other results or emotions may be triggered to affect the mentality of the target. In this way, even with the user''s lesser cultivation, the skill will be able to lower the mental faculties of even those with much higher cultivations.] Zhen Shi contemplated this information silently. While the current situation was rather embarrassing, he had to admit that Xue Yuegui was much easier to handle with lessened mental faculties. ''No wonder this skill can shame even the heavens!'' But suddenly these conclusions were thrown into the sea as his face contorted lecherously, ''I wonder what effects this skill will have when used on women! *cough* Not that a handsome and scholarly gentleman like myself will ever use this skill for such menial purposes...'' Ding! More information has arisen upon further analysis. Zhen Shi was surprised, ''Oh? Could it be that I was mistaken and that the system is actually a good fellow? It''s being seriously helpful right now.'' Ding! To exercise the maximum might of the user must personally act and reveal themselves. Zhen Shi almost coughed up blood reading this, ''Nani? System I take it all back. You''re a fucking monster! I was hoping to maintain some dignity by using the wind to reveal myself, but at this rate... Hais... Wait, could it be that the system got mad when I thought of using this skill on women? Could the system be a feminist then?'' System: \"...\" Realizing that complaining would give no useful results, Zhen Shi hurriedly turned to Xue Yuegui who was panting like a beast in heat and staying still in one place. Immediately deciding to make use of this chance, Zhen Shi began manifesting Hel''s Flare fireballs and chucked them at the poor fellow like he was throwing stones. Boom! Boom! Not having realized the danger until the last second, Xue Yuegui was unable to dodge the attack and was assaulted by the horde of fireballs that exploded upon contact. Under the horrifying pain of the torturous fire of the underworld, Xue Yuegui began to roar like a beast that was suffering from grievous wounds. Ding! The user has gained 5 OP! Seeing that he had gained no experience and that Xue Yuegui''s figure was still visible within the hell-fire, Zhen Shi grew apprehensive. Observing further, he could see that Xue Yuegui looked life a half-burnt corpse, however, the Hel-Fire remained on his skin going no further, as if it was being held back... Activating [Aether Sight] Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he saw a translucent white energy that was easily holding back the Hel-Fire. Putting two and two together, Zhen Shi instantly realized the crux of the situation. was supposed to be able to burn anything... but only if there was no imbued soul energy. When he had read about this previously in the skill description, he had been slightly confused. But now seeing Xue Yuegui, a Soul Transformation Pinnacle expert, holding the Hel-fire off with that colorless energy, he could only conclude that it was the so-called ''imbued soul energy''. Nevertheless, that did not mean that being burned by the fearsome Hel-Fire would be any less painful. And judging by Xue Yuegui''s burnt skin and tattered robes, that were still being burned by the inextinguishable Hel-fire, it had obviously been a horrendous and torturous experience for him. Instantly, his face or what was left of it, contorted in rage as he roared out loud having lost all semblance of sanity under the sheer pain. Although he had been disfigured, he was nowhere near dying. But the desire to slaughter the one who had dealt him this pain and suffering burned brightly... Suddenly the pressure exerted by him intensified by many folds and an eerie miasma that was almost on par with the Hel-fire wafted out from his body. Instantly, the remnant Hel-flames on his body flickered out as if they had been faced with an entity that they dared not go against. Even the Aether seemed to steer clear away from this strange miasma... Ding! The target Soul Transformation cultivator has successfully sacrificed his remaining life force to forcefully activate his divine blessing and has gained an Ammit persona! The target cultivator has reached a pseudo-Nascent Soul stage! The target cultivator has broken free of Shaming the Heavens! As Zhen Shi looked on, the miasma disappeared into Xue Yuegui''s body. Instantly his burnt body began to shuffle about like worms in mud, his flesh shuffled about and his bones cracked as he shifted into a terrifying monster; with the head of a crocodile, torso of a leopard and the hindquarters of a hippo. His figure was hideous to look at but his body emanated an almost god-like presence. Staring at this hideous body Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he finally recognized this monster, ''T-This is Ammit, the Chimeric Goddess of the Egyptian Underworld. No wonder the Hel-Fire flickered out in her presence... Then could this be the power of a divine blessing?'' Nevertheless, his eyes twitched as he wondered, ''Who the hell would want to become a Chimeric Goddess just for revenge? Is this fellow even a man anymore?'' Ignorant of his thoughts, Ammit-Xue Yuegui roared out like a fearsome beast and dashed towards Zhen Shi with his/her claws outstretched for the kill. Instantly, he/she slashed out launching a terrifying claw strike of qi towards him... The sheer might of the claw-strike seemed to freeze Zhen Shi in one place, he was unable to move! As such, he immediately threw away his dignity and shamelessly lifted the front-flap of his loin-cloth. This was the full-powered attack of the System Grade 2 Shaming the Heavens! Ding! The target has temporarily lost control over their mental faculties, and hence the God Aether! Ding! The user has gained 200 exp! Ammit-Xue Yuegui paused in a daze with their face shifting between happiness and sorrow. Strangely enough, the skill seemed to be even more effective... Regardless of his success, Zhen Shi was still in grave danger as the full-powered claw strike was still coming over to lop his poor head off. Deciding to take no more risks, Zhen Shi decisively took the Spatial Tear Sword out of his System Inventory. Instantly, he slashed it down with his full-power, in the direction of the claw-strike and Xue Yuegui. As the sword slashed down, space itself seemed to tremble in fear as it was ripped apart like a piece of paper. And from the tip of the sword, a terrifying sword slash that threatened to tear apart all those who dared to obstruct it was launched out! And as the sword slash streaked forwards the surrounding space was fraught with spatial waves that roiled about. Trees, Plants, Rocks, Air, basically anything and everything that came into contact with these waves disintegrated into nothing. Finally, this terrifying spatial sword slash reached Ammit-Xue Yuegui who continued to remain in a daze, just barely recognizing that he was being attacked. As such, the full power of a pinnacle Nascent Soul cultivator and the law of space instantly ripped apart his/her monstrous body into nothing... And just like that, under the power of the spatial tear, he died! Zhen Shi continued to stare in amazement at the terrifying power of the sword strike. However, due to the spatial turbulence, the area surrounding him was rather blurry... Ding! Congratulations to the user for slashing apart a peak soul transformation expert! Zhen Shi finally heaved a sigh of relief at the system''s confirmation. Now that this matter was over, he could finally relax. In fact, he was even filled with a sense of satisfaction. Not for beating that monstrous fellow, but for having beaten the system! After all, he used the Spatial Tear Sword as a weapon, instead of fleeing with teleportation as the system had suggested! ''Haha! System, I told you I''ll definitely use it as a weapon!'' System: \"...\" Even so, thinking about the matters of today, Zhen Shi felt that his luck was rather bad. Although he got reincarnated in an interesting world, and even though he got a system, since the moment he has arrived he had been facing enemy after enemy! He had also been falling into the most ridiculous situations! There was even the problem regarding those memories... Well, his luck just got worse. As the spatial turbulence lessened and the area grew clear, Zhen Shi was faced with a dangerous sight. Apparently, the spatial sword slash had phased through Ammit-Xue Yuegui''s claw strike without causing it to dissipate. And instead of dissipating, the claw strike had simply slowed down under the spatial turbulence. And now that space was stabilizing once again and reverting back to its ordinary state, the claw-strike dashed forwards and struck Zhen Shi''s body at full-force! ???????????? Just a few moments ago... Deep within the forest that surrounded the clearing where Zhen Shi was facing Xue Yuegui, there was a mysterious valley. Hidden by a magical mist, it lay unseen and hidden from all those who were not fated to visit. At the very center of this valley was a fountain trickling out pure water peacefully, with the tinkle of water sounding out like beautiful music. Surrounding this mystical fountain were hundreds of vague figures... Most of them were lifeless and seemed no different from corpses, but they would occasionally shuffle towards the fountain for a drink... Moving away from this dreary sight, at the precipice of the towering rocks and hills surrounding the valley, and overlooking those vague figures, there was a middle-aged man. He was clean-shaven and rather ordinary looking... were it not for his eyes. His eyes were sharp, sharper than an eagle''s as if they could peer into the essence of the world itself. Suddenly he hurriedly turned towards a certain direction. Just barely visible through the thick mist one could only see a few trees, but this man seemed to see so much more... His eyes glowed in surprise as he hurriedly flicked his hand causing a flat tray of water to appear. Instantly, he poked the water with a finger causing it to shiver with the ripples that spread out. As the ripples cleared and the water calmed down, a vague vision rose within the tray. This image displayed a young man dressed in a loin-cloth who was slashing down a powerful sword that ripped the space apart as he attacked a terrifying and grotesque monstrosity! The middle-aged man watched on with meager interest and muttered, \"Where did this little foundation establishment fellow find such an interesting treasure? To think that it even harnesses the might of space law... That other monstrous fellow, seems to have used a divine blessing... perhaps from the Holy Pyramid? Either way, it seems like the two will kill each other off...\" But suddenly his eyes transformed, and the darkness of his pupils spread out covering his entire eyes, resulting in a rather eery set of pitch-black eyes. Almost instantly, his eyes reverted back to normal, but his figure was now trembling in agitation and excitement. But, he spoke out in disbelief, \"If this little fellow dies, I''ll never be able to escape from this place? How could that be? He''s only a foundation establishment stage kid... How would his life allow me to escape? But I guess I''ll have to risk it. Anything is better than being stuck here for all eternity. Besides, fate is seldom wrong...\" The man suddenly began to shift his hands into a series of mystical signs. And as he continued, a powerful grey law manifested around his body. As this law swerved and twisted around his body, his figure blurred and began to mysteriously shift between that of a wise old man with a long snowy beard wielding a wooden staff, and a small child with a fearsome presence and completely black eyes that seemed to pierce through reality. The blurry figure spoke out, \"It seems that I''ll have to use all of the energy that I gathered over the last ten millenniums... It''s not like I could''ve escaped with it anyways... Even so, Little Kid, you better not disappoint me...\" and flicked his hand towards the water tray. Instantly, the grey law dashed towards the tray of water and vanished within... But suddenly, the middle-aged man shouted in agitation, \"What the hell? Is this Kid seeking death? ............... Wait... but how?\" ???????????? Back in the present... Completely unprepared to face a surprise attack, Zhen Shi had no chance to dodge, and the full-powered strike of the pseudo-nascent soul Ammit-Xue Yuegui struck his body and began to rip his body apart. But before his body was completely ravaged, a strange grey energy that was worlds apart from the ordinary aether that he had seen with manifested around him. And as the claw-strike continued to rip him apart, he could feel this law slowly healing his wounds. But more than healing... it felt like his body was being reverted back to its original state... However, this powerful grey energy that had saved him was being slowly used up and ultimately disappeared. But quite a bit of the power of the claw strike still remained... Pu! Zhen Shi coughed up a mouthful of blood, as the remaining power of the claw-strike struck his chest. A terrifying claw mark appeared on his chest and slashed his flesh apart up to his bones. Blood splattered everywhere and the pain was unspeakable. Zhen Shi felt himself losing consciousness, but could also vaguely sense the aether warning him about the arrival of some other experts. Unwilling to allow his wounded self to be captured, or even worse, bleed to death, with the last of his strength Zhen Shi pushed himself towards the spatial tear that still remained. As his injured body entered into the spatial tear, the chaotic space attempted to rip him to shreds worsening his injuries. But, almost immediately, the primordial chaos base sent out a wisp of energy that miraculously caused the chaotic space to calm down... However, this caused further strain on Zhen Shi''s consciousness causing him to finally pass out. But just before he did, his final thought, ''FUCK! I bragged like a king, but in the end, I was forced to use the sword to flee... System, this was your plan along wasn''t it?'' System: \"...\" 14 Memories-3 Once Zhen Shi''s wounded figure retreated into the unknown primordial space, the spatial tear disappeared as well. The still stabilizing space and the 100-meter area completely devoid of any sort of existence were the only remaining evidence of the devastating battle that had taken place. But within a few short moments, a familiar earthen face suddenly formed itself out of the sand on the ground. The Earth face carefully scrutinized the vestiges of the battle. Seeing the unbelievable level of damage and the damaged space, he seemed to be rather confused. However, observing a splatter of blood and the vague aura of death, the Earth face broke into a smug smile. Almost instantly, the Earth face scattered into lifeless grains of sand that were blown away by the night wind... ---------------------- Opening his eyes, Zhen Shi was surprised to realize that he was still conscious. But seeing the overwhelming darkness that surrounded him, he couldn''t help but feel fear, having been reminded of the desolate darkness that had trapped him for god knows how long... But refusing to believe that he had died once more, Zhen Shi shouted mentally, \"System! Are you there?\" Ding! The user has not died yet. As such, how could the System cease to exist? Zhen Shi would''ve danced joyfully if could''ve, and responded mentally, \"Damn. I don''t believe I''ll say this ever again, but am I glad to hear your annoying voice!\" System: \"...\" Ding! The user has received a greater random loot chest for killing their first Soul Transformation Cultivator. But before Zhen Shi could even comprehend this message, he felt a throbbing headache as a flood of memories assaulted his poor brain. ?????? Back in the Zhen Clan mountain range, Zhen Shi was sitting on his bed, while he stared at the piece of paper within his hands and thought about the recent occurrences since his father fell into a comatose state... His mother had shown no significant emotions. But upon ensuring that Zhen Shi was fine she had left promising to arrive shortly to instruct him on his training. However, Xixi had definitely taken it harshly. She didn''t blame him or anything, on the contrary, she had halted her playfulness and had acted extremely sensibly. She had even given him three more spirit items to help him cultivate, and left with a ''normal smile'' saying that she was going to train. But these actions spoke louder than words could ... However, their biggest problem was the Zhen clan. While Zhen Wei was only an Elder, as the Eldest Son of the Clan head, he had many important affairs to handle. And as the most talented expert closest to reaching the Sovereign Stage, he was also an important source of power to the clan. But his sudden sacrifice to save Zhen Shi, while selfless, had caused ripples of unhappiness and protests throughout the entire clan. Specifically, those who were eyeing the seat of the clan head for themselves, such as Zhen Shi''s uncles had stated that Zhen Wei had acted irresponsibly without considering the welfare of the clan. However, the Clan head and their grandfather, Zhen Wudi, had hurriedly put a stop to the matter... But it was apparent that he was troubled as well... Putting these matters aside, Zhen Shi began to read the piece of paper with letters that seemed to have been burned in and had been left in his pocket alongside an ivory talisman. \"Shi''er, I cannot say much within the short time available. First of all, within a year or two, a friend of mine, Grand Master Zhou Tong, will visit to look over your cultivation technique and fix it. In case you''re doubting his capability, he is a fellow on par with the Clan Head, if not stronger. He is also the creator of the [Unarmed Water Style]. I was unable to find him before since he seemed to have disappeared... but he will definitely arrive to solve your problem. Until then, do not practice your cultivation technique. I am quite certain that the Divine Church has tampered with it... But that does not concern you for the moment. You should focus on growing stronger. Instead of this technique, you should practice the [Martial Cultivation Technique]. This technique was originally introduced to allow cultivators to build a strong connection between their cultivation, martial prowess, and warrior class, by practicing it in place of their ordinary cultivation technique. It allows the foundation establishment stage cultivator to continue until they reach the Core Formation Stage. As such, it should be the perfect solution for your current situation and should suffice until that old fellow arrives. The downside to this technique is, if your martial talent and weapon talent is low, the cultivation speed will be slow as well. Truthfully, even if you possess a high level of martial and warrior talent, I don''t expect that your cultivation speed with this technique will match up with your former speed. But you have no other choice besides this... This technique is written down below, and if you have any problems, your mother should be able to answer them. Shi''er, when you grow stronger you will also be able to sense the two-spirit roots of fire and wind in your dantian. I hope that you can use them wisely and treat them with respect. As for the white ivory talisman, it should be useful for both you and your sister for your future cultivation from Soul Formation onwards. It contains quite a bit of the Zhen Clan heritage on Laws and Cultivation including some of my personal contributions. To Xixi''er; Your high-tier warrior talent combined with your current training method and cultivation technique will be more than sufficient to reach the Law Primary Stage within two or three decades. But, if that is insufficient, your mother should also have several books containing my heritage on Sword Cultivation. That should provide some more sword techniques for your use. I am confident that you can surpass me as a Sword Wielder someday... To Li; I''m not sure when I''ll be able to wake up. As such, you can freely use the golden essence and the rest of the stash I had saved up, and strive for the next realm of your cultivation. Any problems that arise in the clan should be lessened once you grow stronger. Take care.\" Zhen Shi stared silently at the letter and the ivory talisman in his hand. But with a determined face, he suddenly stood up and dashed out of his room. He was going to pass this letter to his sister and mother as fast as possible, and then... train like a mad man! ----------------------- A couple of hours later, Zhen Shi was within the familiar training courtyard once more. He was sending a stream of qi into a strange rainbow crystal in his hand. Instantly, it glowed with a vague light and the rainbow crystal shifted to a wispy white green color. Zhen Shi stared at this turn of events with a disappointed face... However, Xie Li spoke up with a light-hearted laugh, \"Shi''er don''t worry. It would have honestly been unusual if you had more than an average talent as a mage. In fact, your current talent is already too much. Now, instead of the Magus Crystal try this,\" and handed over another crystal. Zhen Shi grasped this colorless amorous crystal, and as his mother looked on with a calm smile, he passed some of his qi into the crystal. Instantly, the crystal lit up and a colorless smog appeared within. As he watched, faint shadows of weapons began to flicker within the smog; spears, axes, a pair of fists, chains, pole picks, swords, all sorts of weapons passed by. But the flickering slowed down and the shadow finally formed a single weapon; A Bow and Arrow! And the moment it appeared, the crystal glowed with divine golden light and radiated an immense heat causing Zhen Shi to drop the crystal with a gasp. Xie Li exclaimed in stupefaction, \"T-This is Supreme Archery Talent? The talent that signifies that the wielder is born to be a Divine Archer? The crystal of Myriad weapons is seldom wrong! This... Considering your potential, given time to grow you could very easily become a Sovereign of Archery! Shi''er, from today onwards, your warrior class will be that of an Archer!\" While Zhen Shi was elated at this surprising turn of events, Xie Li suddenly frowned in worry and continued, \"However, no one can get to know of this matter. Especially them... If they find out that you have such astounding capability, they will do everything in their power to slaughter you before you can grow...\" Turning to Zhen Shi she spoke seriously, \"From now on you can never touch a Crystal of Myriad weapons. You also cannot tell anyone about your true talent. If anyone asks, simply say that you have a High Level of Archery Talent. Can you promise me this?\" Zhen Shi having understood the majority of the meaning behind her words, decisively nodded his head, \"I promise!\" ------------------------- An hour later, reading through the various books on archery that his mother had handed over to him, Zhen Shi had realized that most of these contents were things that he could understand extremely easily. Perhaps this was because the highest technique was only at Mortal Tier Grade 9? But why was the quality so unsatisfactory? Could the heritage left in the Zhen Clan with regards to the field of Archery be mediocre? Ignoring this matter for the moment, Zhen Shi continued to read the various archery techniques and records. However, to his surprise, he immediately realized that almost every technique available had quite a bit of contradictory concepts. And some concepts downright didn''t make any sense, in fact, they were sheer idiocy! As such, he was unable to bring himself to practice any of these techniques. Nevertheless, he seemed to be able to reflexively sense that certain concepts and theories made perfect sense, and so he hurriedly memorized those parts individually. In this manner, within a few hours, Zhen Shi memorized and assimilated all the concepts that he could agree with. But he suddenly realized that it didn''t make sense for him to be able to see through the faults of archery so easily... Could this be due to the Supreme Archery Talent? Standing up with newfound excitement, Zhen Shi grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows from the nearby weapon stand. There was only one way to find out if his conclusions were correct! He had to try it out for himself! Eyeing the target that had been placed a few hundred meters away, for his training, Zhen Shi raised the bow with one hand and took an arrow with the other. Feeling his body reflexively holding the bow, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but feel at ease; as if he had returned to his natural habitat, or as if archery was as simple as breathing... Putting an arrow into the bow, Zhen Shi calmly pulled the string back. With a calm demeanor, he went over the concepts that he had recently memorized. Consider the flow of the wind, the effect of gravity, the posture of the body and the bow. Next, infuse qi through into the arrow, and finally, with one''s eye firmly placed on the target, let go! TWANG! A melodic sound rang out as the bowstring vibrated and the arrow dashed forwards through the air, cleanly striking the center of the target! Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin as he reached for another arrow... ---------------------- Half a day later... Putong! Zhen Shi collapsed onto the floor with a completely fatigued body. He had been training all day, without a moment''s rest. Considering this, it was obvious as to why he was so tired. Nevertheless, he took out Xixi''s spirit violet and inhaled it''s spiritual essence to gain some energy. Laying down on the ground, he stared up at the darkening sky. It was evening and the sun had already set. Even the first star of the night had come out... While Zhen Shi watched the night sky and energized himself through the Spirit Violet, a familiar figure slowly walked towards him and sat down close by. Even without turning to look, Zhen Shi could tell that this was his mother. She spoke out almost immediately, in a berating tone, \"Shi''er have you been doing nothing but training all day? I understand your feelings, but training too much is counter-productive!\" Zhen Shi nodded in understanding, but mentally ignored her words and asked, \"Mother, how''s Father doing?\" Xie Li caressed her son''s wet hair and spoke out with a sigh, \"His condition is fairly stable, but the physicians and the healers aren''t confident as to when he would wake up...\" Zhen Shi continued, \"Then where''s Elder Sister?\" Xie Li smiled grimly and replied, \"Due to the loss of his Spiritual Roots, your father''s body has fallen into a state of qi malnourishment. Thus he needs quite a bit of spiritual energy to survive and ultimately recover. Since the entire guild of Zhen Clan elders only built a qi gathering formation and refused to provide any spiritual treasures, your sister has been working hard all day and using her divine blessing to produce Soul Tier treasures. She was too tired and went to rest.\" Zhen Shi stiffened and formed fists with both hands. He was guilty, at himself, and angry, at the clan, but ultimately powerless to change things... Xie Li stared at her son''s actions for a moment, but with a powerless sigh, she continued to caress his hair. -------------------- Just like that, two months passed. At the moment, Zhen Shi was practicing the [Martial Cultivation Technique]. This technique was based on utilizing a balanced state of qi throughout the entire body to cause a natural increase in one''s cultivation technique. Since it was a natural process of cultivation, practitioners of the [Martial Cultivation Technique] generally possess stronger foundations and find it much easier to use their Warrior Abilities. However, since it was rather complex, most warriors would only use it along with their basic cultivation technique to ensure that their cultivation speed won''t slow down. Even Zhen Shi with his Superior Archery Talent had found it to be rather difficult, being unable to execute more than two attacks the first time around. However, Zhen Shi had pushed himself to his limit in the last two months and had made great progress. Even at this moment, he was dashing about the training courtyard leaving a blurry figure everywhere he passed. But he would occasionally pause... Pah! Pah! And immediately strike out with all sorts of martial attacks sometimes even using the [Unarmed Water Style], while maintaining a careful balance of qi. Suddenly, Zhen Shi felt a strange and sudden rise in the energy within his dantian. As such, with an excited glint in his eyes, he hurriedly stopped his training and sat down in a meditative position. And following the training technique, he calmly directed this energy towards the qi lake in his dantian. Expand! With the energy rushing into his qi lake, Zhen Shi''s qi lake began to expand at a fast rate. Immediately his cultivation soared and his power increased by many folds! He had finally reached the Foundation Establishment second stage! Zhen Shi who had gotten used to his former fast cultivation speed had been having doubts due to being unable to improve his cultivation despite practicing for two months. However, these worries receded the moment he gained the fruits of his hard work. Nevertheless, Zhen Shi calmly stayed in a meditative state for a while longer and consolidated his cultivation based on the Martial Cultivation Technique. Releasing a breath of turbid air, Zhen Shi stood up wit satisfaction and turned to the other side of the training courtyard. He could see that his sister was training with her sword, and there was a formless intent around her sword... that shattered apart the air with every strike! Zhen Xixi suddenly turned around as if he had sensed his gaze, and spoke out excitedly, \"Bro, did you reach the next stage? At this rate won''t you catch up to me soon? Damn, I should work harder!\" Despite her words, Zhen Xixi had made great progress in the last two months as well. She had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage 5, and had made even greater progress in mastering Sword Intent. All of this, while she spent the majority of her time producing Spiritual Treasures for Zhen Wei! Of course, she had the Sword Grandmaster Wu Dang to train her, and unlike Zhen Shi, she also had a proper cultivation technique. As such, it made sense for her speed of progress to be above his. Zhen Shi shook his head with a grin and replied, \"If you work any harder, you''ll definitely overwork yourself. Don''t forget that Mother will be pretty angry...\" Zhen Xixi''s face immediately turned awful. But, after a short worried pause, she continued with a smile, \"Oh yeah, do you need me to make you any more spirit treasures?\" Zhen Shi glanced at the flower in his shirt, and the Spirit Rock and Statue by the side. As such, he replied with a grin, \"Are you crazy? I''ve barely scratched the surface of what you gave me last month!\" Zhen Xixi laughed, \"Okay then. Tell me if you have any problems,\" and began to continue her training. Zhen Shi watched her training for a moment, but with a shake of his head he turned to the nearby weapon stand and grabbed a bow, ''I should continue practicing my Archery now...'' -------------------- ?????????????????? And just like that, two whole years passed by, filling Zhen Shi''s poor brain with an overload of memories. It was only the year before that Zhen Shi had received [Draconic Wind Steps] through memory transference... and thankfully, Xie Li seemed to be fine despite the injured state that he saw her last in. As the wind blew past, the tree leaves that had taken on a vibrant orange hue rustled peacefully. It was autumn now, a time of rebirth... Zhen Shi who was seated in a meditative position beneath a familiar tree in the training courtyard brought his mind out of the past and heaved a breath of turbid air. Peering into his dantian, he could see that the previously small qi lake had widened by many times, transforming into a vast qi sea! Since the cultivation within the Foundation Establishment Stage simply consisted of converting qi into liquid energy and widening the qi lake or qi sea, it wasn''t complex or hard to comprehend. As long as he kept training, he could definitely progress. And after nearly two years of hard work, his Qi Sea had reached the maximum state! This meant that his cultivation was currently at Foundation Establishment Stage pinnacle! At the age of nine years, he wielded the power that most teenagers did! But while his cultivation speed was well above the general populace and even the majority of the Zhen Clan making him a genius that could walk about with his head raised high, Zhen Shi had never been proud. On the contrary, he was always unsatisfied and motivated to work even harder... Putting this matter aside, Zhen Shi opened his eyes turning towards the other side of the training courtyard. But surprisingly, it was empty... Immediately, Zhen Shi stood up and moved into a defensive position warily eyeing the surroundings. It was almost as if he had faced this situation quite a number of times... As another gust of wind blew through the courtyard, Zhen Shi''s senses perked up as his affinity with the element of wind immediately allowed him to sense the danger. Above him, and only one meter behind! Instantly, Zhen Shi took a step forward and his figure vanished in a light wind. This was the first Draconic Wind Step: A Gentle Breeze! Having meditated on this skill for nearly two years and with the support of the Wind Spiritual Root, Zhen Shi had made substantial progress in the Element of Wind. Crack! A fiery light flashed as a flaming figure dropped down from the tree. Under the blow of the blazing flame falling upon it, the earth shattered apart at the spot where Zhen Shi had been, just a moment before. Even without turning around, Zhen Shi already knew the culprit who had attacked him. And he knew very well, that he would stand no chance without a weapon. As such, he instantly dashed towards the closest weapon stand and grabbed his bow and a quiver of arrows. In a single practice motion, he loaded in three arrows and launched them towards the familiar figure cloaked in blazing flames. As the arrows shot forwards, he observed the attacker... The attacker was Zhen Xixi who had actually reached Core Formation Stage 5, leaving Zhen Shi''s cultivation speed in the dust! Whoosh! As the air shivered under the onslaught of three powerful arrows, Xixi calmly raised a sword cloaked in blazing flames. Clang! Clang! Clang! In three graceful movements, she easily blocked all three arrows with her Blazing Inferno Sword. But Zhen Shi wasn''t done just yet. With a devilish grin, he disappeared in a gust of wind. But almost instantly, he re-appeared in the form of four blurry figures that surrounded Xixi. And without giving her a moment to react, the four Zhen Shi''s raised their bows and launched an arrow each! Zhen Xixi grinned at the sight of this attack. She knew that her brother had been trying to master this attack for quite a while, but he had failed due to his low comprehension of the wind... As such, she called out challengingly, \"Ha! It''s finally ready! Let me see what you can do with it!\" This attack was an application of Zhen Shi''s understanding of the element of Wind, used in combination with the immense speed of [Draconic Wind Steps]... Wind Clones! As powerful as it was, if the cultivator was above the Mortal Primary Stage, they would be able to easily sense Zhen Shi''s true location and figure out all sorts of methods to counter-attack... Whoosh! The four arrows dashed through the air shooting towards Zhen Xixi from all four cardinal directions. It was a perfect attack, with no room to dodge! Nevertheless, she calmly raised her sword and waited... And the moment that the time was right, she slashed her flaming sword in a perfect circle around her. '' Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The Sword flames formed a mystical ring of blazing fire around her body and perfectly struck down each arrow just a moment before they touched her. It was like an impeccable ring of defense that seemed to shout out in pride, None Shall Pass! Zhen Shi who was still dashing around was slightly disappointed. The power of that attack would''ve injured her if her weapon was not at Soul Tier. But before he could launch another attack, Xixi smiled mischievously and flicked her fingers at the ring of fire and whispered a single word, \"Shine!\" Instantly, the ring of fire glowed mystically and was infused with a familiar spiritual energy. And As if it had gained sentience, the flames in the ring of fire crackled threateningly and began to mystically expand! It was no longer a ring of fire, but a circular wall of flames! Whoosh! With a speed that was almost on par with Zhen Shi, the circular wall of flames expanded out causing the air to sizzle under the immense heat. To make things worse, the flames even grew taller. And just like that, with a single word, Xixi had shifted the tides of the battle. In all the battles before, even if Zhen Shi was weaker in power, he had been able to easily survive owing to his superior speed... But now, since the wall of flames with the power of a core formation expert was continuously expanding he could not continue to use his speed. If he retreated he would be allowing himself to be cornered. In other words, the only possible option was to jump above the flames. And it was obvious that this was what Zhen Xixi wanted... to make him jump and make him an easier target to attack while he was air-borne. After all, a person couldn''t move much once they were in the air... But Zhen Shi who had already realized her plan, smirked confidently and... did exactly that! He jumped over the fiery wall of flames! Zhen Xixi grinned in satisfaction and immediately launched a full-powered fire slash, even infusing some spirit into it for good measure. With the infusion of spirituality, the fire slash re-formed into a fiery demonic face that dashed towards Zhen Shi with a roar. But Zhen Shi was completely calm in the face of this attack, even though it could heavily damage him if it hit. And when the fire demon was only a step away from striking his body, Zhen Shi calmly summoned some wind aether. Using the wind he easily propelled himself to the side completely dodging the fire demon! Having survived the consecutive attacks, he floated down onto the ground, gracefully and unhurt. With Zhen Shi''s recent breakthrough in the comprehension of wind, while he was still incapable of flight, he was more than capable of altering his course in the air! Although she was caught by surprise, Zhen Xixi reacted instantly and dashed forwards. With a skillful sword plunge that stopped at Zhen Shi''s throat, she replied with a prideful smirk, \"I win!\" Zhen Shi shook his head derisively and raised his right hand to point at her own neck. Xixi lowered her gaze curiously and gasped. Just a breath away from her own throat was a sharp arrow held by Zhen Shi''s other hand! In the short moment that she had attacked, he had as well! Unable to be satisfied with a draw, she was just about to complain... But when she raised her head to do so, what lay a few centimeters from her face was a familiar curved finger. Flick! And Zhen Shi flicked her forehead once more while saying, \"Older than me, but too naive...\" Xixi pouted in annoyance and replied, \"Again! How do you keep doing this? I''m at the Core Formation Stage you hear me? The Core Formation Stage!\" Zhen Shi grinned and replied proudly, \"Hah! You''ll never understand! This is the mystical power of fellow brothers everywhere!\" Zhen Xixi scowled and replied, \"Just so you know, I didn''t use my sword intent... In other words, I held back or you would have definitely lost!\" Zhen Shi grinned, raised his index finger and swayed it from left to right. And with a prideful tone, he continued, \"Well... so did I!\" Xixi''s face turned awful, \"What? When did--\" Clap! Clap! Clap! A resounding sound of a person clapping rang out within the training courtyard causing Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi to turn around in surprise. The person who was clapping was an old but middle-aged man with a generous belly and a long beard. His hair and beard were unkempt with grey hairs strewn randomly... However, there was a powerful and respectful aura, almost divine, that seemed rather out of place with his appearance. Just a few steps behind this old man was their mother, Xie Li. Seeing her, both Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi broke out in smiles. In the last two years, they had seen less and less of her. Having successfully increased her cultivation, she had to work in place of both Zhen Wei and her own self, while doing her best to keep the guild of elders, who were unnaturally interested in Zhen Xixi''s treasure creation Divine blessing, off of their backs. As such, she had very little free time... and even on the occasions that they did get to see her, she looked extremely weak and was too tired to do anything besides rest. To make things worse, their Grandfather Zhen Wudi had retreated for a cultivation seclusion, as he was on the verge of a breakthrough, and had left all the power to the elders... But now her stress and worries seemed to have been replaced with a hopeful smile as she spoke out, \"Children, this is Grandmaster Zhou Tong!\" ?????????????????? 15 Memories-4 Grandmaster Zhou Tong smiled amiably and spoke, \"That Zhen Wei should be proud to have such talented offspring. If I''m not mistaken the two of you must have High-tier talents in your warrior classes, right?\" Zhen Xixi nodded respectfully, but Zhen Shi paused for a moment and shifted his eyes over to his mother. Seeing her expression he immediately nodded as well. Grandmaster Zhou Tong turned to Zhen Xixi, \"And while this young lady''s movements are composed of a variety of schools of swordsmanship, I can see that you have been taught by some talented Sword Masters. I believe you are on the precipice of awakening your sword intent...?\" Xixi was impressed and replied curtly, \"That is correct, Grandmaster Zhou Tong.\" Zhou Tong frowned and spoke in annoyance, \"Pish-posh with the grandmaster. Your father and I were good friends. Call me Uncle!\" but for a short moment, he focused on her Blazing Inferno Sword thoughtfully... Nevertheless, he turned to Zhen Shi, \"On the other hand, you... I can sense the hints of a variety of Archery Schools, but your archery is much more refined and formidable. You have condensed several slivers of intent and will soon reach the precipice, however... I don''t see the hints of a teacher. Are you self taught?\" Zhen Shi''s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn''t told anyone about the fact that he had begun condensing intent... but this old fellow knew it instantly! This must be the true capability of a powerhouse at the Sovereign level! Nevertheless, he quickly covered his surprise with a smile and replied, \"Yes, Grandmas-- Uncle Zhou Tong.\" At the same time, Zhou Tong turned to Xie Li and spoke silently, \"I''ll look over the child''s cultivation technique in a moment. Can you take me to see Zhen Wei?\" Xie Li''s face froze in surprise for a moment, but she nodded almost immediately and gestured him towards the exit of the training courtyard. As Xie Li and Zhou Tong walked away from the training courtyard, Zhen Xixi turned to Zhen Shi and spoke with a smile, \"So you weren''t lying. You have actually condensed silvers of intent! But... I am on the precipice of awakening! So I still think I can beat you easily!\" Zhen Shi turned to her with a proud smile, \"Archery Intent... isn''t ordinary. In return for the difficulty in progression... It grants greater power. So, I sincerely doubt it.\" Xixi frowned unhappily and was about to reply with an indignant face, when Zhen Shi spoke seriously causing her to grow silent, \"Forget about that. Shall we go see father as well? I haven''t visited him since yesterday...\" Zhen Xixi paused thoughtfully and nodded, \"Alright. I didn''t go today either.\" With a nod at his sister, Zhen Shi smiled mischievously and took a single step forwards, immediately disappearing in a gust of wind. Xixi was speechless as she shouted, \"Oi! Did you actually leave your cute elder sister? And why do you have to blow through everything? I hate your wind!\" But already aware that there will be no reply, she shouted one final time, \"This is not how you''re supposed to treat your elders!\" and blazed out of the training courtyard in chase of her annoying younger brother. ----------------------- ???????????? A light breeze blew through the courtyard causing the trees to rustle and orange leaves to float in the wind. Zhen Shi was seated in the pale grass a few meters in front of Grandmaster Zhou Tong, who was pouring through the book on his cultivation technique. Xie Li and Zhen Xixi were also waiting nearby expectantly. Finally, Zhou Tong raised his head from the cultivation technique and spoke with a smile, \"This cultivation technique is extremely complex. For the moment I can only see through some parts of it. As such, safely correcting it will take some time. Nevertheless, I am confident in correcting it within three to four years!\" Zhen Shi, Xie Li, and Zhen Xixi were immediately filled with joy as they laughed out in celebration. Things were finally going to turn around for them! Zhou Tong nodded and spoke to Zhen Shi, \"Until then I''ll be personally overseeing your training--\" But before he could finish, a powerful shout was suddenly heard from outside the courtyard, \"Xie Li! Where the hell have you been?\" Almost instantly a figure wrapped in a blazing white light streaked and continued, \"So you were here? Playing around with your children and some random old man? Do you know how long I''ve been searching for you? Do you know how much trouble you have caused?\" Xie Li stared at the middle-aged man cloaked in glowing light and spoke through grit teeth, \"Zhen Ji who the hell gave you the right to dash into our family''s courtyard? Besides I''ve only been gone for a few hours! Having worked nonstop for nearly two years, surely I''ve earned the right to take a break?\" Zhen Ji sneered and spoke, \"No wonder my brother decided to cripple himself. If I had a woman who played around with old men... I just might do the same!\" Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi immediately stood up with blazing auras and roared, \"Uncle, what the fuck did you say?\" Zhen Ji continued with a scowling face, \"Even the children are the same! Not respecting their elders. Tsk-tsk, no wonder my dear brother harmed himself...\" Both Zhen Shi and Xixi nearly attacked at that point. They knew that this fellow was one of the major reasons as to why their mother had to work so much and why the clan had refused to give spiritual treasures for their father''s treatment. Hearing him insult their parents, they were unable to keep their tempers in check... But Grandmaster Zhou Tong who had been observing the ongoings calmly, suddenly spoke with a smile, \"Children, Children, simmer down. There is no need to be so angered,\" and gestured to the two of them to sit down. Seeing how the old man was acting suitably in his majestic presence, Zhen Ji raised his chest proudly, \"Good to see that at least the old man knows how he should act--\" But before he could finish his words, Zhou Tong continued with a smirk, \"When bitches bark, they are vying for attention. Ignoring the barking might just make it leave...\" Unable to fathom that his words would take such a sharp turn, Zhen Ji was speechless for a moment. But almost immediately he dashed forwards in rage while leaving a sparking light streak in the air, \"Old man, you sure look like you want to die here!\" Kaboom! Instantly he manifested a sword of pure light and stabbed forth causing a small sonic boom to ravage the courtyard. Half of the walls were torn down and the nearby trees were uprooted! While Xie Li watched calmly with an expectant gaze, both Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi were frozen in fear and relief. If they had attacked, they probably wouldn''t even know how they had lost! But too bad that their idiot of an uncle messed with Grandmaster Zhou Tong! Looking at the enraged Zhen Ji, Zhou Tong simply snorted dismissively and flicked a finger. Putong! Like a balloon that was pathetically squeaking out air, Zhen Ji''s attack lost all momentum as he collapsed onto the ground in a cloud of dust. Rumble! But the force of his collapse was even more powerful than Zhen Ji''s previous attack! As such, the moment he crashed into the earth he spewed a mouthful of blood and caused a powerful earthquake to shake the earth! And that destroyed the rest of the courtyard completely destroying it... Unable to fathom the pain and the pressure he was currently facing, Zhen Ji shivered in fear and barely squeaked out, \"S-Sovereign?\" Staring at the fearful man who was down on the ground with no evidence of his previous power, both Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi couldn''t help but grin happily. Seeing Zhen Ji who would frequently bring trouble to them, getting beaten up so embarrassingly, Zhen Shi''s opinion of their mysterious ''uncle'' Zhou Tong grew much better... While he was still fearful, Zhen Ji slowly grew calm and squeaked out, \"So what? My father is a sovereign as well! If this were any other place, I might be helpless. But you are in the Zhen Clan right now! I dare you to make trouble!\" After all, even if he was powerless in the face of a sovereign, he was still a powerful cultivator of the law stage! And almost on cue, a large mass of water aether gathered from the air and formed a domineering face. Just like Saint Sun Soul''s face of the earth, this was a face formed of water! The face observed the ravaged courtyard for a while and spoke with a powerful voice that caused Zhen Shi''s entire body to shake, \"Are you that Zhou Tong? You actually reached the title of a sovereign before Zhen Wei? Your aura seems a bit different, but I suppose congratulations are in order... However, I won''t be able to come in person, of course.\" Grandmaster Zhou Tong frowned for a moment but replied quickly, \"Ahh! It''s Senior Zhen Wudi! It seems that you''re on the verge of a breakthrough... So it makes sense why you can''t come.\" Zhen Shi''s eyes widened in surprise. This was his grandfather Zhen Wudi? He had never seen his grandfather in person and had just barely glimpsed his back on one occasion. All he knew was that his grandfather was the most esteemed person in the Zhen clan and one of the legendary Sovereigns! However, ever since they had been left to fend for themselves after his father''s injury, his opinion on Zhen Wudi had grown extremely sour... The Water face, Zhen Wudi nodded, \"Indeed,\" turning his head to the shivering Zhen Ji he continued, \"As for this stupid son of mine, for the crime of attacking a sovereign, you may deal with him as you see fit. But I hope that you will give me some face and won''t kill him.\" Raising his head back at Zhou Tong he paused for a moment and continued, \"I think you''ve already checked up on Zhen Wei... What do you think of his situation?\" Zhou Tong shook his head powerlessly and replied, \"Since he had siphoned out the Spiritual Roots within a short amount of time, his body is suffering from acute qi malnourishment. If only he had a few months of time, he could''ve used a safer method to extract it... Alas, what happened has happened. Let''s just forget about that. I suppose it was an untimely accident... Besides considering his high level of cultivation that was almost on the verge of reaching the Sovereign tier, the energy required to cure his qi malnourishment is impossibly immense. I doubt that even all of the Spirit Stones in the Central Plains will be sufficient... And even if that problem is solved, there is still no guarantee that he will wake up...\" The Water face Zhen Wudi seemed to be disappointed, \"It is as I had determined myself...\" Turning to stare at Zhen Shi, the Water face continued, \"Zhou Tong you have always been talented in perfecting cultivation and martial techniques... I hope you can solve my grandson''s problem and make his sacrifice worth it.\" While Zhen Shi was surprised at the fact that his grandfather actually knew him, Zhou Tong nodded and replied, \"Of course. I am confident of at least that!\" Zhen Wudi nodded his head in thanks and scattered into drops of water that disappeared into the air. Zhou Tong stayed silent for a few more moments, but soon lowered his head at Zhen Ji, and whispered menacingly, \"Now... how to deal with you. You better remember that these three are under my protection from now on. I''m even going to have to waste a few minutes to repair their training courtyard. How the hell will you repay me? And what did you say last? ''Make trouble if I dare''? Well... kid, I more than dare!\" and Zhen Ji''s pants were magically lowered along with the raising of Zhou Tong''s vicious hand... Immediately, Xie Li closed Zhen Xixi''s eyes causing her to pout indignantly, \"Why can''t I look when my little brother can? I''m the elder sister alright? Me!\" But before she could say anything else... Thwack! Thwack! A resounding sound rang out in the courtyard, followed soon after by the whimpering of a poor man. ------------------------- Several enjoyable hours later, Zhen Shi was back in the familiar training courtyard, which appeared to have been mystically repaired... But this time he was alone with Zhou Tong, who was hard at work analyzing the cultivation technique and would occasionally write down notes composed of golden letters in the air. Zhen Shi heaved a heavy breath as he recuperated from his recent practice of the [Martial Cultivation Technique]. Having stopped for a while he turned to Zhou Tong and asked quizzically, \"Uncle, can you explain why it is difficult to shoot arrows accurately beyond a distance of 9 km?\" Zhou Tong stopped his work and raised a surprised face, \"Wait... so not only will you reach intent within a few months, but you have also reached the first threshold of archery?\" Seeing Zhen Shi''s confusion he continued, \"Every class including warriors and mages have certain limits closely related to their cultivation level. You have already reached the peak combat capability of a novice archer. If you wish to surpass that obstacle and reach the level of a true archer you will have to complete two objectives; the first will be to reach the Soul Stage.\" Zhen Shi asked with interest, \"And the second?\" Zhou Tong smiled and replied, \"The second objective is impossible to achieve without reaching the Soul Stage. Knowing about it will only be a hindrance to your regular training. After all, the only ones that have ever completed it before the Soul Stage were those who commanded Supreme Archery Talent! But those are mere legends,\" but his eyes remained expectantly on Zhen Shi... ''Ignorantly'' Zhen Shi nodded. Reminding himself of his promise to his mother he decided to remain silent. As such he posed a different question, \"Alright. Then can you explain why it is difficult to make progress beyond the level of average competency in the [Unarmed Water Style]? Must I comprehend the element of water for further progress?\" Zhou Tong appeared to be caught off guard as he asked in confusion, \"The [Unarmed Water Style]? What''s that?\" Zhen Shi frowned in thought as he answered, \"Wasn''t Uncle Zhou Tong the one who created this technique?\" Immediately Zhou Tong replied with a hearty laugh, \"Of course. Of course. But I''m sure you''ve already understood how difficult it is right? I can assure you that you can progress even without much understanding of water. If it had such a strict requirement, it wouldn''t be much of a proper martial art now would it? But such a highly graded martial art must be understood through one''s own comprehension. My explanations will only make things more difficult for you.\" Zhen Shi nodded calmly but was deep in thought, ''Father said that I could indeed progress without much understanding of the element of water, and Uncle Zhou Tong is saying the same thing. But since when was Mortal Tier Grade 8 a high grade? Could it be that Uncle Zhou Tong doesn''t know that his technique has been given such a low grade by the general public? Or could it be that there is a deeper meaning in his words...?\" However, Zhou Tong obstructed his train of thought as he spoke hurriedly, \"You know what? You''re Zhen Wei''s son, so I''m sure you''ll be able to make sense of what must be done. Let me tell you the second requirement for being recognized as a true archer.\" Calmly he raised his hand causing a transparent bow made of pure wind to appear. As he pulled back the bowstring, a transparent arrow of wid was formed as well. And just like that, he released the arrow without a single sound... It was almost as if the bow, the bowstring, and the arrows were part of the wind itself. And as such, they wouldn''t obstruct each other, and there would be no sound either... However, before the first arrow had even traveled halfway to the target, Zhou Tong pulled back the bowstring a total of two more times, subsequently releasing another two arrows! These arrows were almost mystical as if they existed, but didn''t exist at the same time... And even before Zhen Shi could make sense of what was happening, three transparent wind arrows had struck the center of the target, which was more than 9 km away! Zhou Tong flicked his hand causing the bow to disappear and spoke, \"Only when you can do this, can you call yourself a true archer! Of course, you can do it with ordinary arrows. Forming weapons out of the wind is completely unrelated to this. It''s just a simple application of Wind Aether... Going back to topic, once an archer becomes a true archer, their capability will be classified from the point onwards depending on their mastery of intent. Do you understand?\" Zhen Shi nodded while keeping this in mind and thought, ''Since I have the Superior Archery Talent I should be able to do this before I reach the Soul Stage, and I can practice when Uncle Zhou Tong isn''t around. Either way, this Uncle of mine is truly powerful! He was supposed to be a Sovereign of Water, but his archery and comprehension of wind are top-notch as well. No wonder even grandfather treated him with respect!'' While he was thinking so, Uncle Zhou Tong snapped grumpily, \"What are you dozing around for? If that''s all the questions you have, continue practicing. You need to reach the Core Formation Stage within this year!\" Zhen Shi nodded with a smile and prepared himself for some more training. --------------------- And just like that another six months passed by peacefully. Zhen Shi released a breath of turbid air as he sensed his cultivation grow extremely close to reaching the Core Formation Stage. Even during such a long time, he was unable to make a breakthrough. It would seem that this will take a long time... But before he could think more on this matter, a familiar old man with a wide belly approached him. Zhen Shi hurriedly got up and spoke respectfully, \"Uncle Zhou Tong, what brings you here?\" Zhou Tong smiled as he answered, \"Well I''ve been mostly busy with fixing the cultivation technique but, this old man isn''t too much of a bad blacksmith and I also had some free time. It is tradition for the teacher to give their students a proper weapon once they are of age, and I just happened to create this...\" Saying so he flicked his hand, causing a verdant greenwood bow with the sleek engraving of a blazing storm to appear in his hand. Handing it over to Zhen Shi who stared in speechless surprise, Zhou Tong continued, \"It''s a Soul Tier grade 7 weapon based on the element of wind... But I didn''t have enough time to make any arrows... Is it suitable?\" Zhen Shi laughed with glistening eyes while continuing to admire the bow, \"Yes, yes. It''s enough. Thank you, Uncle Zhou Tong.\" Zhou Tong smiled with a pleased expression, but before he could say anything Zhen Shi ran out while calling out, \"I haven''t had a duel with Elder Sister in a while. So I''ll be taking my leave!\" Staring at Zhen Shi''s leaving figure, Zhou Tong smiled in satisfaction, \"Good! This child is improving rapidly. Now that troublesome fellow will have to get off my back!\" --------------------- And before he knew it, another two years passed by, causing another terrifying headache to descend upon Zhen Shi''s poor brain! However, these two years had been extremely peaceful. With a Sovereign to back them up, not a single elder of the Zhen Clan dared make trouble. Thus while Zhen Shi and Zhen Xixi''s days were still filled with training, it was relaxed and enjoyable. They had their mother around and even Uncle Zhou Tong. It was truly blissful. Zhen Shi had finally been able to reach the Core Formation Stage a couple of weeks ago and had spent the remaining time stabilizing his cultivation. But it was already obvious that his cultivation was beginning to stagnate... On the other hand, Zhen Xixi was already at Core Formation Stage 8! However, Zhen Shi''s greatest progress had been in the field of archery and mastering intent... Especially the training he had conducted in secret... Nevertheless, in the middle of another peaceful day, under a blazing sun, Zhou Tong spoke to the trio with a grim face, \"As you can all see, I''ve been able to solve the cultivation technique...\" He continued with a smile, \"I really don''t know if Zhen Wei knew what he was doing or just wanted to save Zhen Shi''s cultivation and accidentally realized it... Because what he did, was the method to fixing the cultivation technique! In other words, while I have fixed all the problems, in theory, to ensure that there will be no problems Zhen Shi will need to have the spiritual roots of four elements. In other words, he needs to have two more; earthen and aqua are missing.\" Xie Li smiled at this and spoke calmly, \"That won''t be a problem. Shi''er can have mine.\" Zhen Shi hurriedly stood up and shouted, \"No! I won''t! No way!\" Xie Li smiled in a reassuring tone, \"Shi''er you don''t have to worry. As long as I perform the extraction technique at a slow rate, there will be no adverse effects. I''ll take care of it, so don''t worry. All right?\" Zhen Shi shook his head, \"No! It''s not alright. Uncle Zhou Tong, there must be some other way, right?\" Zhou Tong paused thoughtfully, \"Well... sure. But it''ll take some time...\" Xie Li stood up with a smile but spoke sternly, \"Alright. Grandmaster Zhou Tong I can give you one more week. It''s already apparent that Xiao Shi''s cultivation is stagnating. If you can''t find a solution by then, I''ll extract the Spiritual Roots.\" Saying so she walked away with a worried Zhen Xixi in tow. Nevertheless, Xixi paused for a moment and turned around to wave at Zhen Shi. While Zhen Shi reciprocated his sister''s gesture, his focus was on Uncle Zhou Tong. Once the duo of mother and daughter had completely left the courtyard, Zhou Tong spoke with a heavy sigh, \"Little Shi, despite what I said to your mother, there is no other way beyond infusing two spiritual roots.\" Zhen Shi frowned in disappointment and spoke through grit teeth, \"Father asked me to protect them. How can I cultivate with peace of mind knowing that I made my mother harm herself? I can''t! Once is already bad enough...\" Zhou Tong continued while in thought, \"Well... if you are that adamant about this, there may be a solution.\" Seeing that he had captured Zhen Shi''s attention he continued, \"I''m sure you have heard about the other realms or other worlds right? Even considering the boundless Northern Ice Lands or the fearsome Southern Desert, they are simply parts of our own realm. The other realms are completely different from ours and inhabited by amazing creatures. There are naturally some magical treasures that can create Spiritual Roots within you. I can find a water spiritual root relatively easily, from the Northern Icelands, but the Earth Spiritual Root will definitely take a lot of time and involve some visits to other realms. But the majority of these treasures have to be used as soon as they are harvested...\" Zhen Shi spoke thoughtfully, \"So... that means that I''d have to leave the Zhen Clan? How long would this take?\" Zhou Tong replied curtly, \"Honestly, I''m not sure. The Water Spiritual Root can probably be harvested in another two years... but the other one will take longer. So... at the very least, and if nothing goes wrong, a decade.\" Zhen Shi''s eyes widened in surprise, but finally, he heaved a heavy sigh. Having spent nearly three years with Uncle Zhou Tong who had protected the three of them from the higher-ups of the clan, and had even treated them almost as well as a father would, Zhen Shi, trusted this old uncle of his. Besides he had no intention of bringing trouble upon his mother. As such, he nodded decisively, and simply asked, \"When are we leaving?\" Zhou Tong laughed out loud in glee while clapping Zhen Shi''s back and said, \"You are truly his son! But... that old grandfather of yours has been paying close attention and has been staying alert for anything out of the ordinary. I suppose he is suspicious of me and wants to protect you or something... However, in the last few days, his focus has lessened as he seems to have reached a decisive point in his breakthrough. I doubt we''ll have another chance like this, so we must leave today.\" Zhen Shi nodded once more and began to walk away, \"Alright, Uncle Zhou Tong, I''ll be back soon.\" -------------------- Approximately two hours later, Zhen Shi was leisurely observing the familiar figure of his sister using her divine blessing. Her figure was barely visible as she was surrounded by a whirlpool of spiritual energy. Instantly, this energy was infused into multiple objects that were around her, ranging from random rocks to majestic statues... And as if all of those objects had gained sentience, they glowed momentarily before radiating a refreshing aura of spiritual aether. Observing the newly created spiritual treasures around her, Zhen Xixi heaved a breath of turbid air and nodded in satisfaction. She turned to Zhen Shi and said with a smile, \"What do you think? Not bad right? Now, I can manage 50 of these in three hours!\" Zhen Shi nodded at her question but stuttered as he struggled to speak, \"S-Sis, I have something to--\" Xixi smiled once more as she lifted a hand signaling him to stop. She calmly grabbed a handful of spiritual items and pushed them into Zhen Shi''s arms. While Zhen Shi stared at her in surprise, she spoke calmly, \"Little Bor, you don''t need to explain. I''m seventeen this year. I already figured out that you''d do something to make sure that mother won''t have to suffer anymore... So what ARE you doing? Attacking a nearby clan and stealing some valuable treasure? Or maybe stealing from our own treasury? Or perhaps you have to go away for a while to search for some miracle medicine or hunt a powerful beast?\" Zhen Shi nodded and grinned forcefully, \"The last one is fairly correct. I''m going to leave with Uncle Zhou Tong...\" Seeing his face, Xixi frowned, \"Why are you acting so weird? What? Will you be gone for a couple of months? Don''t be a baby, aren''t you fourteen? You can handle it,\" and clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder. Zhen Shi shook his head derisively, \"No... it won''t be a couple of months. According to Uncle Zhou Tong, it''ll take a decade at the very least...\" Xixi''s face immediately turned awful as well, \"A-Atleast a decade?\" But seeing her brother''s face, she quickly grew calm and smiled forcefully. Stretching out her arms she wrapped him in a bear hug and spoke, \"Well, that''s fine too. Maybe in your adventure, you''ll grow strong enough to beat your elder sister and win properly!\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile as he hugged her back, \"Che. I almost won last time...\" But suddenly, he could sense her figure shake as she spoke through stifled sobs, \"A-Almost... isn''t a victory...\" Zhen Shi broke off the hug and grabbed her reassuringly and with a smile, he continued, \"Sis, you''re being the baby now!\" As Xixi struggled to wipe off her tears, she muttered in embarrassment, \"N-no, your clothes are dusty and some dirt got into my eyes.\" Zhen Shi couldn''t help but laugh at her reply and spoke reassuringly, \"Don''t worry! With my heavenly capabilities, I''ll probably be back before you know it! And then we can teach those stuck up Elder grandpas a proper lesson like Uncle Zhou Tong did to poor Uncle Zhen Ji.\" Zhen Xixi laughed at that memory, but paused momentarily and said fearfully, \"B-but you promise that you''ll be safe right? You''ll come back to us?\" Zhen Shi smiled and spoke confidently while clapping his chest, \"Of course! Who the hell do you think I am?\" Zhen Xixi nodded in relief with a satisfied smile. But as if she had suddenly realized she asked hurriedly, \"Wait, w-what about Mother? She''ll probably be upset...\" Smiling once more, Zhen Shi handed her a small yellow crystal and answered, \"If I told her in person she might do something drastic. I used the weird recording spirit treasure you gave me last year.\" Xixi nodded while lowering her head to stare at the crystal, but frowned, \"Wait... then won''t I be the one who has to face her divine wrath? No, No way! Do it yourself!\" and raised her head indignantly. But what lay waiting for her was a familiar finger bent in an equally familiar arc. Flick! And before she could even react, Zhen Shi had flicked her once more! As his figure disappeared in a gust of wind, his words rang out, \"Aren''t you always saying you''re the elder sibling? Figure something out!\" Unable to accept this she shouted in annoyance, \"Bastard brother! When you get back, I''m going to teach you a proper lesson on how to respect your elders!\" Nevertheless, she smiled and continued in a silent whisper, \"Little Bro, you better come back...\" -------------------- 16 The End of the Beginning Zhen Shi looked at the training courtyard, where he had basically spent the majority of his life... The familiar trees dancing in the blowing wind, the violets and daffodils growing amidst the wild grass, the weapon stands scattered about, the bench where his mother had passed over [Draconic Wind Steps], the ground where he had practiced his martial arts, and even the worn-out archery targets. As he continued to watch, he could almost see familiar shadows shuffling back and forth, training, teaching, dueling, playing... *Cough* But suddenly a loud cough rang out causing Zhen Shi to break out from his nostalgia. Turning around he could see an impatient and frowning Zhou Tong, speaking with crossed arms, \"Child, you should better make your choice soon... If I''m correct, your grandfather will complete his breakthrough in a few minutes. By then, it would be too late...\" while emphasizing the lack of time. Zhen Shi smiled calmly and stared at the training courtyard for a few more seconds. But almost instantly, with a decisive turn around he spoke confidently, \"Alright. Let''s go then!\" Zhou Tong heaved a sigh of relief and spoke while grabbing on to Zhen Shi, \"Good. Hold on tight then. Your Zhen Clan has a pretty powerful formation set across the mountains, so this spatial transference might be a little disorienting.\" Whoosh! Zhen Shi could feel space shiver as a dark whirlpool formed around their bodies. And as the whirlpool rotated with a mystical thrum of aether, their figures disappeared in an instant... A few moments after the two had teleported away, a familiar figure dressed in a shimmering light green robe walked in with an excited face. But noticing the strange absence of Grandmaster Zhou Tong and her son, Xie Li looked around a bit more in confusion. Having performed a fruitless search, her brow frowned in worry as she walked back to see if Xixi knew anything about this... ??? In a location roughly a few dozen thousand kilometers away, a crack appeared in space as two familiar figures appeared out, floating in the air. With Uncle Zhou Tong holding tightly onto him, Zhen Shi stared down in awe at the majestic sight that sprawled below him. Having flown before with his father, he wasn''t particularly afraid... What lay below him was a majestic cathedral of pure white, shining purely amidst the shadows as if it was the only spark of light in a world of darkness. But what caught Zhen Shi''s attention was not this cathedral... Instead, it was a series of exactly twelve gigantic statues surrounding the cathedral in two semi-circles, and much larger than the cathedral itself. Based on the people moving to and fro down below, it seemed that these statues were buildings of sorts... And something about them was strangely familiar, like a vague sense of deja vu... On one side were six statues; A bearded man with the aura of a ruler and surrounded by a sea of lightning, a second man wielding a trident and riding a horse-like creature amidst a turbulent ocean, a younger man surrounded by the divine halo of the celestial sun and riding a flaming chariot, a taller, stoic man surrounded by an aura of brutality and killing intent while wielding weapons as if he would attack at a moments notice, and the fifth statue, strangely blurry, but of a man wielding a staff with two coiling serpents and wearing shimmering shoes with wings. However, the sixth statue seemed strangely out of place, since the man was a far cry from the handsome appearance of the previous ones... A deformed, burly giant with a huge hammer while he was surrounded by various mechanical marvels. Directly opposite to the first set of statues were six more, but of women; a woman with a kind, generous and motherly aura but also giving out a sense of grave danger, a second woman with a wise, worldly aura, but with her eyes focusing on a thick book within her hands as if nothing was as important as continuing to read, another woman surrounded by writhing plants and crops laden with fruits and flowers while giving out a deep aura of life, a younger woman who, unlike the other statues was, dressed in armor and wielding a bow while surrounded by the divine halo of a celestial moon, the fifth statue was a homely lady with a strong sense of solidness and a flaming hearth surrounding her, and finally a half-naked woman with her curvaceous chest bare, and a seductive aura that immediately grabbed the attention of all onlookers. Since Zhen Shi was entranced by these statues, he barely recognized that the two of them were suddenly surrounded by dozens of floating soldiers dressed in golden tunics and visored helmets. But Zhen Shi did finally break out of his trance, as he heard Zhou Tong speaking out, \"Just because the damned formation in the mountains was too strong, I had to waste three years... But it''s finally over! That troublesome fellow should be satisfied now!\" Hearing his Uncle''s strange words, Zhen Shi grew confused as slowly asked, \"Uncle Zhou Tong, who are these people? Where are we? What are you talking about?\" While looking at the confused Zhen Shi, Zhou Tong smiled calmly. But unlike before, his smile caused Zhen Shi to shiver in fear. He no longer sensed any warmth from his uncle and instead, only a merciless cold... Raising his index finger, Zhou Tong spoke coldly, \"Shh! Shh! No need to ask any questions. All you have to do is remain silent... Kid, I don''t have anything against you personally, but I guess you''re just too unlucky to have been born with such a physique!\" and laughed eerily. Pausing for a moment he continued, \"However, I do have basic manners, so as a good host, let me welcome you to the Divine Church!\" And even before he finished his words he slowly moved to grab Zhen Shi. But, having heard those fearsome words and almost on instinct, Zhen Shi used a mass of wind aether to dodge away from Zhou Tong''s grasp and stepped into the air disregarding the fact that there was a fall of a few thousand meters below him. Even if he used the wind to slow his fall, he would be grievously injured. Especially since he couldn''t use the Wind to fly just yet... Seeing his actions, Zhou Tong growled out in anger, \"Stupid! Won''t you fall down now?\" Wu! Wu! But unexpectedly the shadow of two familiar crystals manifested around Zhen Shi and called out supportingly. One was fiery red and the other a wispy green. And before he could begin to fall down under the effect of gravity, the wispy green crystal shone on Zhen Shi causing him to remain floating in the air. Boom! At the same time, the fiery red crystal shadow blazed in a flaming heat and exploded out burning all the soldiers in golden tunics into crisps. Before the fire even began to clear out, Zhen Shi immediately dashed out while using the wind aether of the green crystal. Even if he was greatly troubled by Uncle Zhou Tong''s betrayal, he hadn''t spent his childhood sleeping. He could easily analyze the current situation and decide the best action... run away! But the moment he took his first step, an eerie cackle rang out, \"The Spiritual Roots are actually out! And even before the procedure! I''m sure they won''t mind that this falls into my hands. How lucky!\" Clasp! Instantly, Zhen Shi felt a terrifying spiritual pressure as his body freeze, as if he was stuck in once place. And while he lay frozen, helpless and fearful, from amidst the blazing fire, Zhou Tong walked out with a grim smile and not a single burn on him... Lookin at Zhen Shi like a merciless predator Zhou Tong spoke with a calm smile, \"Even if they are Spiritual Roots, they are currently attacking by their own volition. Without a strong warrior to wield them, even the most powerful weapon is useless!\" Saying so he slowly reached out to grab the helpless Zhen Shi. But instantly the two crystals dashed forth unaffected by Zhou Tong''s spiritual pressure and formed a defensive dome combining wind and fire, which blocked him easily! Boom! Boom! Quickly growing infuriated, Zhou Tong rained down devastating attack upon attack over the defensive globe. However, despite his efforts, the dome of the spiritual roots held strong. Just when Zhen Shi was growing relieved that he would be safe for a while, eleven figures dressed in similar white robes and engraved golden wreaths appeared surrounding him. One of the robed men spoke out with a pleased laugh, \"Hehe. Idiot Randall, This is what you get for trying to steal without sharing!\" causing ''Zhou Tong'' or Randall to scowl in displeasure... But the man at the very center, wearing a tall hat-like garb spoke roughly, \"Silence! Grab the child. The Apostle is growing impatient.\" Instantly, the remaining eleven obediently fell silent and focused on Zhen Shi. Sensing their combined aurae, he immediately grew apprehensive. This was because all twelve of them were Sovereigns! Without sharing a single word more, the dozen sovereigns grabbed out with twelve golden claws, in complete unison. Ka-cha! And the moment the claws struck the wind-fire defensive globe, it shattered apart under the combined might of twelve Sovereigns. Before Zhen Shi could do anything else, everything went completely dark, as if all his senses were sealed... To Zhen Shi who had reincarnated and lived through the primordial darkness upon his first ''shameful'' death, having his senses sealed was nothing much. But for the former Zhen Shi who was simply a fourteen-year-old child, this was a huge source of fear. Especially after the sudden betrayal by a person he had trusted unconditionally, and the emotional turmoil that came with it... As time passed in the darkness sensing nothing, Zhen Shi would occasionally fall into restless sleep. But upon waking up, what he met was the same darkness... as if he had never woken up. Unable to discern between times of sleeping and staying awake, unable to communicate or entertain himself, unable to do anything at all, Zhen Shi almost went insane. But fortunately, after a few weeks of darkness, Zhen Shi would occasionally gain control of his senses. Sometimes glimpsing at emotionless faces looking down on him from within a cold, dark room, the rotten smell of garbage and waste, the sound of secretive whispers and the clanking of tools. But before he could see or sense much more he would faint soon after, under terrifying, hellish pain that made it feel as if his body was being ripped apart from the inside. In a situation where he literally had nothing, and the only thing he had to look forward to was pain, a lesser man would have fallen into insanity and hopelessness. But a strange, familiar part of him held on with tenacious grit... And as even more time passed, hatred towards this church was festered deep within his heart. Not only had the Divine Church put his father in a coma putting his entire family into trouble, but they had also ripped apart the trust he had placed in Uncle Zhou Tong. And finally, they had captured him and begun torturing him! He would probably be unable to keep his promise to Xixi as well... Even if he was barely a teen, being forced through this traumatic experience that spanned through years, Zhen Shi barely kept his sanity through his hatred and desire for vengeance. And of course, the mysterious tenacity within him helped greatly... ''If I ever survive this, I will grow strong enough to bring down this false church! I will find those responsible and fuck them all to death!'' And with this thought, he continued to hold on... ??? Finally, after four more years of silent, arduous pain, filled with partial memories, Zhen Shi woke up. The first thing that he noticed was the pleasurable lack of pain. It remained around him like a comforting blanket, granting him a relief that he could only have dreamed of in the last four years. And the next was the refreshing feeling of a cool breeze upon his wounded body... Thump! But before he could recognize anything else, he felt himself falling down. A familiar wave of pain, that was much like what he had experienced frequently, rang throughout his body as his injuries grew even more severe due to the collision. But he was too weak to move or shout out. And as such, he lay alone on the ground within a small pool of his own blood... Under the pain and injury, despite his tenacity, Zhen Shi could feel himself falling into a deep abyss. But as he grew weaker and weaker, he suddenly felt a familiar presence awakening within his body. A presence that felt so familiar... as if they had been by his side since the day he was born! This was the same presence that had granted him unwavering tenacity and had helped him during the last four years of torture... And as he felt his consciousness dying out, he called out fondly to this presence, \"You... whoever you are... if you can make it through this, can you look after my family?\" A strangely familiar and prideful voice rang out within his mind, \"Sure! Why not? I''ve lain dormant within you as you lived through your life and only woke up recently... It''s honestly a pretty strange after-life... Besides, if I''m to inherit your life, how can I not? They are basically my family as well! So no worries. You can rest in peace, bro.\" Zhen Shi felt a huge surge of relief wash over him as he heard these words. Nevertheless, he called out once more, \"I won''t ask you to take vengeance on my part, but can you try to help my father?\" The prideful voice rang out again, \"Of course, I''ll help our father! That isn''t even a question! And why won''t I take vengeance? I felt that shit as well and it was damn painful! If I ever meet any religious crooks of the Divine Church I''ll slaughter them all!\" Hearing these words, Zhen Shi felt another surge of relief wash over him. But with a forced effort, he called out once more, \"I don''t want to leave just yet. But, thank you for giving me this relief. Maybe, I''m going crazy, and you don''t even exist... But, who exactly are you?\" The prideful voice spoke once more, \"Pish posh. If you''re crazy, that means I''m crazy as well. But since that is impossible, this is as real as anything else! As Zhen Shi felt the abyss beckoning him over, he heard the voice speak out thoughtfully, \"I believe we have similar names, but, you can remember me as this handsome and scholarly self!\" As his consciousness dissipated, Zhen Shi whispered one last time, \"Alright. A strange name, but thank you.\" As Zhen Shi carried on with his unwilling departure, the prideful voice stayed silent respectfully for a few more moments. But almost immediately, the voice spoke out in excitement, \"Awesome! Something is healing this body!\" But the excited voice shifted to a worried one as a golden, warm light came over, \"Wait... why is it coming? And what strong pressure! I might even lose my memory if this continues...\" As the pressure intensified, \"Wait. Does that mean that I''ll have to go through the, ''I reincarnated in another body'' scenario all over again? No! This is unfa--\" And silence reigned in Zhen Shi''s mind... ?????? Coming out of the depths of his memories, Zhen Shi stayed silent for a few moments. \"So that''s how the story of I ended up in this body? Damn! So I had lived inside this other Zhen Shi and couldn''t wake up until he was grievously injured? So, basically, the Divine Church woke me up by killing the other Zhen Shi? Hehe! They''ll regret digging their own grave! And that golden light... it seems rather similar to the light that saved me at the very beginning. Could it be related to the System...?\" Moving on from this matter Zhen Shi continued, \"While my story is pretty weird... Looking back, the former Zhen Shi''s backstory is pretty cliche. I mean I''ll fight against the Divine Church in a heartbeat, but still... And the Zhou Tong fellow! He was actually a part of the Divine Church! I guess it was a plot twist? But I wonder why he taught me--no, the former Zhen Shi. His lessons were pretty helpful and accurate... Perhaps Grandfather Zhen Wudi was listening in and he had to teach properly to keep up appearances? Could Grandfather have actually been suspicious of Zhou Tong''s intentions from the beginning itself? Wait... then that Verdant Storm Bow was gifted to trick me and grasp my trust? So this fellow somehow found out about Zhen Wei''s promise to give me a weapon and gifted one himself... How cunning! And that part where he forgot about [Undying Water Style], his own technique, and mentioning some incorrect details about it... Maybe it wasn''t intentional as I thought...? It was pretty strange that he had such high achievements in the element of Wind as well¡­ And that other fellow did call him Randall... Damn it! Whatever name he goes by, he is a cunning shameless asshole! He''ll be the first to be fucked to death!\" But, at that very moment, the System Notifications continued causing Zhen Shi to become silent. Ding! For defeating a pseudo-Nascent Soul Cultivator that utilized a divine blessing, while the user was barely at the Foundation Establishment Stage, the user gains a whopping total of 80,000 exp! Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 2! Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 3! ------------------- Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 5! At that point, Zhen Shi who focused on his dantian could sense his qi lake growing wider and wider under a rapid influx of liquid qi. And his qi lake finally grew into a wide qi sea! Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 6! Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 7! Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage 8! ------------------ Congratulations to the user for reaching Foundation Establishment Stage-Completion! The qi sea continued to expand miraculously as it finally grew into a boundless ocean! It was divided into four seas; a sea covered in blazing flames with a hint of fearsome black Hel-fire, a sea covered in typhoons, tornadoes and wind storms, a sea composed of a pile of thick mud, huge boulders, and steady mountains, and finally a pure blue sea with shimmering water as pure as the moonlight. Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core Formation Stage 1! As the notification rang out, Zhen Shi felt his body automatically practicing a deep cultivation method similar to the [Martial Cultivation Technique], but much more complex! He could just barely observe the method of practice and try to memorize it, but not too successfully... And along with this, the ocean of qi began to separate into the four seas. The four elemental seas floated away towards the corresponding spiritual root; the fire sea around the fiery spiritual root, the stormy sea around the aerial spiritual root and so on... At the same time, each of these seas was infused into the spiritual root crystals, nourishing them, like water for a parched plant. Instantly, with the nourishment of the elemental seas, the spiritual root crystals rumbled and shook as if they were under an earthquake. As they rumbled, the cracks on the spirit crystals widened and the root-like tendrils grew closer and closer towards the primordial chaos base. The spiritual root crystals grew close until they were basically touching the chaotic energy. And at that moment, the primordial chaos base finally acted out. While the spiritual roots melted and mixed together forming a brown sludge like matter, the primordial chaos began to expand rapidly until it completely filled the entire dantian. Even though the primordial chaos expanded, it remained the same... as if it had simply changed size, while the quantity was the same. In the end, Zhen Shi''s dantian contained a ball of unsightly mud floating within pitch-black chaotic darkness... But before he could complain, the brown sludge glowed in four distinct colors; a fiery red, an aqua blue, a wispy green, and an earthen brown. Those colors floated out and formed into terrifying maelstroms of aether as they wreaked havoc all over the surface of the globe of brown goop. While the brown matter was utterly eviscerated by the aether maelstroms, there was a strange beauty hidden within... As brown speck after brown speck was destroyed, a minute but strange energy replaced it. And with the emergence of this energy, miraculous changes occurred! From within the earthen globe, a terrifying fiery energy composed of leave and magma rose out. This fire energy formed into a magma core at the very center of the globe creating a force similar to gravity. At the same time, a powerful wind-storm blew through the surface of the globe removing any remnant specks of dust while randomly shaping the Earthen surface into valleys, ridges, mountains, plateaus and etc. With the end of the wind-storm, pure white clouds began to form until they finally covered the entire surface of the earthen globe. These clouds soon grew heavy and dark and within a few moments rained down like a heavy downpour! After a while, the rain stopped. But the clouds and the water remained to form lakes and even a wide sea. At this moment, approximately three-quarters of this earthen globe was exposed to land, while the remaining quarter was filled with water! As such, the planet could be divided into four regions as well... There was one region of searing flames, covered in smoking volcanos and pools of flaming lava. The second region was completely flat land, filled with raging tornadoes, typhoons, and thunderstorms. The third region was a vast desert land with jagged mountain ranges scattered about everywhere. And the final region was the vast lake of shimmering water... Zhen Shi who had been in denial for a moment had to finally conclude the obvious. His dantian now contained the skeleton of a planet! A mini-earth of sorts! At the same time, the notifications continued under the addition of his experience. Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core Formation Stage-2! ------------------ Ding! Congratulations to the user for reaching the Core Formation Stage-4! But Zhen Shi ignored the remaining notifications, as his attention was completely focused on the planet that was gradually growing even stronger and more stabilized with each new notification. And as if in a trance, he continued to observe this miraculous event, while trying to make some sense of it... 17 A healing beauty? Zhen Shi was completely entranced as he continued to stare at the skeletal planet within his dantian. This was a process that was next to impossible! Creating something from nothing! Not a bit of his science and physical knowledge could help him make sense of this process that kicked the theory of conservation of energy in the balls... As such, he decisively gave up on his prejudiced thoughts and observed the process from a fresh point of view. Continuing to observe the growing planet, Zhen Shi got a vague feeling... A vague feeling that he had begun to comprehend the basic laws of what had taken place. But, after a few more moments, Zhen Shi concluded that he would be unable to figure out anything else and gave up. Nevertheless, his cultivation had risen to Core Formation Stage-4, greatly increasing his strength, speed, and usage of qi. Since this was the actual cultivation stage where one could use elemental energies, his elemental control should''ve increased by quite a bit as well. Temporarily putting this matter aside, Zhen Shi focused his attention upon his body. Since the time he had realized that he hadn''t died for a second time and had faced that overwhelming throb of memories, he had felt a warm energy pulsing through his body and rapidly healing his wounds. Even going so far as to heal all of his internal wounds! While he was still unable to use qi for a while, he was no longer in a critical state! Although he had neglected it before, he now realized that someone had probably healed him! Zhen Shi thought hopefully, ''Could it be that like a true hero, after being severely wounded, I was discovered by a beautiful maiden? Seeing my handsome visage, she must''ve instantly fallen in love and nursed me to good health! Yes! That is the only possible explanation!'' ???????????? At the same time, Zhen Shi''s darkened vision cleared as he instantaneously gained back control of his body and came out of his internal world into the real world. He could also feel that he was in the hands of the blurry figure. He could also feel soft and tender hands applying bandages on his wounds that were mostly healed and only gave a dull ache now and then. Imagining the beauty that was treating him, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile. Unable to wait any longer, he groggily opened his eyes unable to wait any longer. And what awaited him was the ''beautiful, stunning and utterly-bewitching'' face... ...of an old man. The old man was dressed in an old-fashioned black and white butler uniform. His face was full of wrinkles showcasing the wisdom he had obtained over the years, and his hair and beard were as white as snow. Realizing that he had misunderstood the situation, Zhen Shi''s eye twitched, ?_?, as he complained mentally, \"FUCK! System where''s my promised beauty? I don''t want to make love to a wrinkled old butler! And how are their butler''s anyway? Wasn''t this supposed to be a world based on easter martial arts, where everyone wears Taoist robes?\" System: \"...\" However, regardless of how much he ranted mentally, Zhen Shi dared not complain to the old man holding him. After all, no matter what, this old man must''ve played a role in healing him. Of course, it had nothing to do with the aether around the old man showing his strength to be at, ''Soul Transformation- Pinnacle!'' Besides, Zhen Shi had a personal golden rule, ''Never mess with old-men, especially those with hidden expert vibes!'' Unaware of his patient''s thoughts, the old man calmly raised his head and smiled at Zhen Shi. Nevertheless, he lowered his head and once more continued to wrap the fresh bandages, while Zhen Shi looked on. Moments later, the old man finished wrapping up the bandages, stood up straight and spoke in a wizened voice, \"Young man, care to tell me how you ended up in the young lady''s room? Suddenly appearing while heavily injured and on the verge of death? Even if you had entered the city with such grievous injuries, it is impossible to directly transport here bypassing the mansion formations. So care to tell me how you managed this?\" The moment the old man had begun to speak, Zhen Shi''s mind worked rapidly to make up a suitable cover story. A good lie shouldn''t be too far from the truth... As such he spoke out calmly, \"Well... it''s a long story...\" Seeing that the old man was waiting expectantly, Zhen Shi continued, \"I was out hunting in the forest when I accidentally stumbled upon some strange ruins. But before I could explore it, I was suddenly attacked by a law-tier beast! The Beast''s attack happened to rip apart space, and deciding to leave things to fate instead of facing sure death, I jumped into the spatial tear.\" Zhen Shi finished with a pleased smile, \"And it looks like my gamble paid off.!\" The old man paused in thought for a moment and asked carefully, \"I''m sure that you are aware that surviving through turbulent space is impossible for non-sovereigns. So how did you?\" Zhen Shi thought quickly, ''I know how I survived... It''s due to the primordial chaos base. But I can''t say that... Might as well feign ignorance and hope this old man takes the bait...\" As such, he frowned and replied, \"I''m not too sure... Perhaps I was lucky?\" The old man paused in thought again and replied, \"Luck didn''t save the countless poor idiots that were ripped apart by turbulent spatial chaos before you. Maybe the space within the region of those strange ruins is exceptionally stable and saved you. There are some unique magical enchantments... Where were these ruins?\" ''Yes! The old man took the bait and blamed it all on the ''strange ruins''! As for the next question, since I have no idea where I am right now, might as well mention a real place from my fragmented memories...'' Thinking so, Zhen Shi answered thoughtfully, \"It was within the Berthlien forest close to Hubei city, which is close to where I''m from.\" He wasn''t lying, the Zhen mountain range was very close to this Hubei city... The Old man nodded while in thought, \"The Berthelien Forest is the largest forest in the Central Plains, separating the plain into two roughly equal parts... Its southern edge is close by, while the edge closer to your Hubei city is also within the southern edge, but still roughly around 100,000 km straight through the forest! This means that you''ve been transported through such a great distance! You''re a long way from home, young man!\" Zhen Shi fell into thought, \"In that case, I must''ve initially been pretty close to this place... After all, I was nowhere near that Hubei city...\" Ignorant of Zhen Shi''s thoughts, the old man continued, \"And there are indeed rumors of ruins within the forest closer to the Zhen Clan, but they are under their guard along with hordes of demonic beasts... How the hell did you end up there?\" Zhen Shi was flabbergasted, ''There were actual ruins there? Damn! And it''s common knowledge? How unlucky...'' Nevertheless, he shrugged innocently and replied, \"I have no idea. Maybe I was lucky?\" The old man seemed to accept this and smiled as if he was satisfied with Zhen Shi''s answers. While Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief at successfully tricking the old man, the old man continued with a bright smile, \"Either way, you sure did give our young lady a startling surprise. Oh! And you have to thank her for healing you! I doubt you could''ve survived those wounds if you had ended anywhere else within the Lyonesse Kingdom. Our young lady was blessed at birth by goddess Eir of the Heaven palace, granting her unparalleled healing prowess! While I usually consider forces such as luck with a grain of salt, if you had ended anywhere else, your death is pretty much certain! And yet you ended up within the bedroom of the only person with the capability to save you! It''s almost as if you''re blessed by the gods and have someone watching over you!\" Zhen Shi had already pinned the coincidences that led to him surviving on the mysterious system. As such, he ignored that part and focused on this ''young lady'' and thought, ''Oh well! I was right in the end! It WAS a beauty that healed me!\" The old man shook his head with an ignorant smile and continued, \"Even so, I''m sure it was only a coincidence. And I suppose this old butler should leave you to your recovery.\" And as if to reassure Zhen Shi, \"Don''t worry. Our Lord, Count Brishman is well known for being kind-hearted. He is already aware of this matter, and you should be safe here.\" Saying so, the old man turned around and took a step to leave... However, Zhen Shi looked down at his body and noticed that besides his bandages he was wearing only a pair of black pants. As such he spoke out with a tinge of worry and shame, \"Old man, what did you do with-- No, I mean-- Was there a piece of cloth on my person?\" The old man paused and frowned in thought, ''A piece of cloth? The only thing on this child''s body besides blood was that...'' Immediately, the old man began to laugh out loud! Wiping tears of laughter off of his eyes, \"Young man, do you mean that filthy loincloth? I suppose it must have,\" the old man paused as he struggled to find the right words, \"sentimental value to you? Thank god we didn''t throw it away since it was your only belonging. It''s probably been washed by now... But don''t worry, I''ll have the maids return it to you!\" Zhen Shi began to weep mentally, ''Noo! My 10x action and reaction speed cheat! Washed just like that!\" He stared on with dead eyes, ?_?. Almost as if his soul was on it''s way to the afterlife, while his dreams of utterly shattering people with his godly speed collapsed all around him. ''Even if it was shameless, power is power! But now... Alas!'' While Zhen Shi continued to lament the death of his cheat, the old man turned around and asked, \"Oh yes, young man, I didn''t quite catch your name?\" Zhen Shi spoke thoughtlessly with his mind still on the tragic loss, \"Zhen Shi.\" \"Zhen?\" A look of worry arose in the old man''s face. But he quickly returned to normal with a shake of his head and left quietly, with the door closing behind him. Now left alone in the room, Zhen Shi spent a few more minutes wallowing in sorrow before he put that matter aside and thought mentally, \"Status!\" He could sense that he was currently unable to utilize his cultivation and was rather worried... User: Zhen Shi Cultivation Level: Core Formation Stage 4(Currently Injured and Recuperating) Cultivation energy: Unreachable Race: Probably Human Cultivation Path: Base- Skills: [Draconic Wind Steps(Movement Technique)-First Step-Minor comprehension] II II [Unarmed Water Style(Martial Art)-Initiate] II II Exp points: 400/20,000 OP(Otaku Points): 45 -Fake Tarzan ([Bestial Instincts]-Permanent 2x action and reaction speed increase) Zhen Shi almost puked blood at the insulting status, but deciding to be the bigger person, he remained silent. But the main reason for being silent was because he was slightly confused. ''When did reach almost completion of Grade 2? Based on my understanding, it shouldn''t have improved this much! Wait... could it be that while my clothes were being changed, the skill was activated automatically? SHIT! Was it that old man? Was that why he was smiling so much?'' Zhen Shi shook his head, ''No! No! It was the young lady who healed me. It has to be her. Or at least some maid...'' and consoled himself as such. Looking for a distraction, Zhen Shi was reminded of his unopened chests. As such, he thought out, \"System show me the available chests.\" Ding! A small box with 5 squared opened up in front of him. One was a special unlocked chest and another was a Greater Random Loot Chest. Zhen Shi raised an eyebrow at the fact that the locked chest was unlocked now. Nevertheless, he calmly thought of opening them. Ding! Greater Random Loot Chest opened! Set of 4 Law Tier Grade-9 Arachnid corpses corresponding to the 4 elements! ''Eh? Not one dead spider, but four of them? And for the four elements...? Most importantly, they are grade 9 Law tier! These spider corpses are now the most powerful items I own! Such a valuable reward must''ve been given since I skipped nearly 4 cultivation stages to kill that Ammit-Xue Yuegui! Does this mean that the rewards would be greater if the opponent is of a much higher level than me?'' Ding! Special Unlocked Chest opened! Ding! Congratulations to the user for gaining the unique skill ! Material based Transformation Skill: [Upgradeable. Currently consists of two of the four auspicious beasts; the Azure Dragon of the East and the Vermillion Bird of the South. Through the integration of one true azure dragon scale, and one true vermillion bird feather, the user will be able to gain power on par with pure-blooded demonic beasts! The Azure Dragon will grant ferocious attack power, clawed attacks, a draconic tail, and scaled defense. The Vermillion Beast will grant great agility, and control over a speck of regenerative Vermillion flame. To upgrade, it is necessary to discover materials related to the other two auspicious beasts. Possible Side-effect: Overexerting the skill to gain greater power while the user is still weak might cause a bestial bloodlust...] Seeing this next to overpowered skill, even considering the side-effect, Zhen Shi was extremely excited! But he couldn''t help but feel that something was off... As such, he fell into deep thought until he finally realized the matter! \"System... Ignoring the first power-up bag, so far I have been granted Loot Chests and Skill Chests for each kill of a cultivator at a particular cultivation level and also for reaching a new stage. So why have I not received another chest for reaching the Core Formation stage, and only have the unlocked chest that I got for reaching foundation establishment?\" System: \"...\" 18 The Scholarly Library Ding! Life Lesson: Too much of something is never good. System Rule: Chests- Only a single type of chest can be held by the user at any given time. Since the user already possessed the initial chest from reaching the foundation establishment stage, the second chest for reaching the core formation stage was skipped. Reading the System''s notification, Zhen Shi despaired at having missed a chance for growing stronger. But after a while, he fell into deep thought, ''While the system did mention a so-called ''System Rule'' and even went so far as to quote a ''life lesson'', the kind that one might find in fortune cookies, it was strange to hold back a chest and break a rule for such a stupid reason... Could there be some other reason that the System is holding back the chest? But then again, I have no proper idea about how systems work in reality... So maybe I''m overthinking?\" Shaking his head to clear his mind, Zhen Shi quickly gave up on that strain of thought. He knew too little to make any useful conclusions. As such, spending time on this matter right now will be a waste of time. Deciding to first solve the matter of his injuries, Zhen Shi thought clearly, \"System, learn the skill !\" Ding! Is the user sure about this choice? \"Yes! Sheesh! Didn''t I say it already? Why are you so slow--?\" But before he could think any further, a terrifying searing pain ran throughout his body. It was as if his flesh and blood were being boiled at one second, and then cooled down to freezing temperatures in the next. And this back and forth process continued repeatedly... As the pain surpassed the level he could handle, Zhen Shi almost let out a scream. But as a person with memories of spending four years being tortured, he could still think fairly clearly. As such, he hurriedly turned around on the bed and bit into the pillow. As he struggled to handle the pain, his skin began to glow, a searing orange vermillion and a cooling azure blue. And finally unable to hold on any longer, Zhen Shi lost consciousness. Just as well, because the moment he did, under the guidance of the opposing energies his flesh and bones started writhing like worms in muddy soil. Thick black turbid blood seeped out of his pores as his skeleton gradually rearranged into a more powerful form. Azure Blue scales slowly and painfully gnawed out of his skin, as two curving horns horns emerged out of the head and a writhing whipping draconic spiked tail emerged out of his back. His hands curved into terrifying claws, still humanoid enough to wield a weapon, but much more bestial... At the same instant, a searing light red flame splurged out his skin and spread out to cover his entire body. While it looked like the flame was extremely hot, not a single bit of heat was emanated out. Even the bed he was lying on was completely unaffected and did not burn... Instead, the flame converged on the areas of his injuries and began to rapidly heal him. As the turbid blood on his body was evaporated away, his cultivation was slowly healing... The flames spread out and began to burn through everything, causing Zhen Shi to struggle in even more pain. But as the flames continued to linger, almost mystically, the dantian became larger and more robust, his meridians were widened and strengthened, and even his bones grew stronger. A turbid black vapor was released from his body as the light red flames finished purifying his constitution... It could be said that his body was now extremely suited for cultivation! This was the power of the Undying Flame of the Vermillion Bird! As the fire continued to burn on, his physical cultivation slowly rose up as well. Within an hour, his body had reached the maximum level possible for his current cultivation level. He was now a core formation expert by the physical body alone. Meaning that he could punch foundation establishment experts to death with his body alone and could easily take the full-powered attack of an ordinary core formation stage cultivator head-on. As if he was a phoenix reborn of flames, his body had undergone a complete change! Soon after, the flames retreated into his body. His horns, tail, and claws also reverted back to normal along with the retreat of the dragon scales. --------------------- A few moments later, Zhen Shi woke up groggily and calmly checked over the condition of his body. A satisfied smile broke out, as he realized that the pain had been worth it and his cultivation had returned to normal now. But checking the internal condition of his dantian, he could sense two objects that had not been there before had settled upon his skeletal planet. A single azure dragon scale that hat settled deep within the vast shimmering blue lake, and a single vermillion bird feather that was settled at the heart of the largest active volcano. There was also the speck of the Hel-fire that had disappeared during his cultivation to the core formation stage. It seems to have settled down in the region of flames and volcanos. But, for some reason, it has retreated to the very edge, bordering the region of mountains and valleys, almost as if it was fearful of something... Zhen Shi only paid a cursory glance at that and focused on the vermillion bird feather and the dragon scale. As his mind passed over them, the two objects radiated an aura of kinship as if they were now one with him. And the assimilation with the azure scale and the vermilion feather seems to have improved his control over fire and water as well! With a satisfied nod, Zhen Shi returned back outside and slowly stood up from the bed. Zhen Shi''s body had already been at a fairly high level of strength. But now with the undying flames, his body seems to has been purged of all impurities and he had also made great progress in physical cultivation! As such, his power muscles could be seen clearly from outside. He looked and felt like a leopard that was on the poise of shooting off to hunt! Zhen Shi happily walked over to a mirror placed at a corner of the room and started to admire himself. ''Holy Shit! I look like a professional model!'' He even started to pose to show off his muscles better. ?(????)? Jiya! But suddenly the door opened and a maid with brown hair tied up in a bun and lively eyes walked in! She was dressed in a western black and white maid dress and was holding onto a set of clothes. Zhen Shi froze in his pose in embarrassment, as he looked at her through the mirror... But seeing Zhen Shi in a strange pose, her face gawked in surprise as she bowed saying, \"I-I''m sorry young master. I thought you were still recovering and asleep.\" She raised her head and continued with a slightly red face, \"Butler Alec sent me over to leave a fresh pair of clothes and also... to return something of sentimental value...?\" Zhen Shi''s face froze for a moment, ''THAT OLD MAN? Well, isn''t he quite crafty... He must be having the time of his life, with that kind smile plastered on his face and imagining what''s happening here! And something of sentimental value? Old man, don''t you think some jokes get old after a while?'' *Cough* But with a light cough, Zhen Shi calmly returned to an ordinary posture, as if posing in front of the mirror and checking himself out was completely normal... He lightly smiled in a way that he felt was charming and spoke, \"It''s fine. You can leave it by the side.\" The maid nodded with an even redder face and proceeded to place the clothes on the bed. Finishing her job, she raised her head to look at Zhen Shi. And with a blushing face, she bowed once more and proceeded to leave in a hurry. As the door closed behind her hurriedly retreating figure, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin, ''That was exhilarating! Did you see that cute blush?'' Dropping back on to the bed in satisfaction, Zhen Shi calmly looked around the room. Suddenly his eyes fell on a shelf full of dusty old books. Unable to hold back his inner bookworm, Zhen Shi grabbed a handful of books and began to read them. But the first couple he read through was basically useless and rather uninteresting for him. As such, he simply flipped through the bring books ranging from, \"Making the perfect Bean Curd\" to \"Textures of the Soil. What does it mean?\" But he finally happened upon a book that grabbed his interest, \"Mysteries of the Berthelien Forest. By: Armedius Hawthorne.\" Reading through the book properly this time, Zhen Shi was greatly intrigued. There were quite a bit of local legends and stories mentioned in the book. While some of them caused Zhen Shi to raise an eyebrow in surprise, most of it felt like hearsay and not entirely true. Either way, to his surprise, he was able to finish the book of a few hundred pages in a little less than two hours! As a cultivator, his mind seemed to work much faster than an ordinary mortal. So it was to be expected. But, suddenly, Zhen Shi felt a thrum of aether within his mind causing a stifling headache. ???????????? As the headache cleared up, Zhen Shi blinked in pain for a moment. But as he opened his eyes, he was no longer within that room. He could sense that he was within his mind, but he was at the entrance to a grand one-storied building that stretched as far as his eye could see. And at the top of the building, there was a name plaque written with shimmering caligraphy, \"The Scholarly Library!\" At the same time, a system notification rang out. Ding! Conditions for complete activation of Status effect: Scholarly Bookworm has been met. As promised, the user will never forget anything ever again! Status effect: Scholarly Bookworm has evolved into Scholarly Librarian! Welcome to the Scholarly Library! Zhen Shi gawked as he stared at the building and those words, ''What the hell? I''ve heard of many people who have Systems! Even one fellow with a library in his head... But both? Is this even fair to other people?\" But with great excitement, he stepped into the library. His eyes widened as he stared at the shelves full of books stretching out as far as his eyes could see. While some bookshelves were stacked with books, some others were almost completely empty... And at the top of random areas, there were plaques with titles referring to each and every subject he had barely even glanced through. There were subjects ranging from [Jokes and Riddles] to [Physics]! But, Zhen Shi''s attention was caught by an area named [The Central Plains]. Whoosh! Before he knew it, he was within that area close to a mostly empty bookshelf. Out of the six books placed on that bookshelf, only one book that looked strangely familiar had a title. Grabbing on to that book, Zhen Shi realized that it was the book he had read just a few moments ago, \"The Mysteries of Berthelien Forest. By-Armedius Hawthorne\"! Flipping through those other books, he soon realized that they contained the little bit of information he had gained about the Central Plains through the former Zhen Shi''s memories. As such, most of the information was centered around the Zhen Clan and the Divine Church and were things he already knew. And to his great regret, he soon realized that \"The Mysteries of Berthelien Forest\" book was an exact copy of what he had read before. He had felt that certain aspects of that book were simply fictional local stories, and had been hoping that only the correct information would be stored in this \"Scholarly Library\"... But exactly like the Status Effect promised, ''he will never forget anything ever again!'' Whether the information was correct or false was irrelevant. Everything will be stored here. While Zhen Shi was feeling unhappy that this \"Scholarly Library\" wasn''t as good as ''that library'', he had to admit that this wasn''t exactly useless. And just to make sure, he decided to test it out. Whoosh! Focusing his mind on one of the books he had simply flicked through, Zhen Shi suddenly appeared at the [Cooking] area of the Library. Not even looking at the books that contained information on cooking from his previous life, Zhen Shi grabbed that familiar book, \"Making the perfect Bean Curd.\" Flipping through the book, his mouth slowly curved into a satisfied grin as he realized that the entire book was available here! In other words, as long as he saw something, whether he read it or not was unimportant, it would simply be stored in his \"Scholarly Library!\" Zhen Shi who had been unsatisfied before began to grow excited again, as he began to imagine how he''d steal the techniques of other poor fellows... ''Even if my library isn''t as strong as that fellow''s, it still has some useful capabilities!'' At that moment, Zhen Shi was reminded of all the strange experiences he had experienced on the last day and decided it was time he analyzed what all of it meant... Whoosh! Focusing his mind on his knowledge of Mythology, he suddenly appeared in the relevant area. Looking through the bookshelves he saw various familiar books he had read before, ranging from \"Influence of Mythology on Regional Culture\" to \"How much of Mythology can we actually believe?\" But he paid no attention to them because he was distracted by a simply huge book, placed on a table instead of the bookshelves. It was titled \"The Mythologue.\" The strangest part was, he had never read such a book... As Zhen Shi read through it, he realized that this book contained complete information on almost every god and aspect of mythology he knew about! This was exactly what he needed! While he did remember quite a bit, he couldn''t be completely sure whether he had missed or forgotten something. As such, this book will undoubtedly be useful. He quickly found the necessary information and cross-referenced it with all that he had experienced. As time passed, he was able to arrive at a set of pretty interesting conclusions... ???????????? Zhen Shi heaved a satisfied sigh as he returned back from the \"Scholarly Library.\" Looking at the Sun outside, he could see that a few hours had passed... Zhen Shi stared at the remaining books in the bookshelf with greedy eyes. As a completionist, he couldn''t help but spend another hour as he flipped through them and added them to his collection as well. Having gained an ability that spoke to his true nature, Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile in satisfaction... but suddenly his smile turned into a frown, as he sensed something strange within his body. ''Has someone cursed this handsome and scholarly self?'' With the baptism of the vermillion flames, his body had become extremely pure. As such, he was extremely sensitive to anything that trespassed within his body... Instantly looking inside, he carefully analyzed the area where he had sensed the movement until he finally found the culprit. It was a globe of white transparent energy that seemed to have settled within a corner of his body. The globe was being burned by a strand of vermillion flames and looked like it would disappear in a while... Even if the danger will be solved soon, Zhen Shi grew worried as he realized that this globe was next to indiscernible! If it hadn''t moved before he would never have sensed it! And strangely enough, the transparent globe seemed to be at home within his body, and even felt familiar to himself... Zhen Shi''s eyes finally glowed in understanding as he realized the truth of the matter. As such he asked from his thoughts, \"System, could this be what is left of the soul of the original Zhen Shi?\" Ding! The user has finally realized it! Even though the former Zhen Shi passed away, his determination is strong. As such, he has survived in this weakened soul form. The Undying flames awakened the soul... but if the user does nothing, the soul will be automatically destroyed by the flames in a few hours. However, the user can also assimilate with this soul. Will you? Reading the notification, Zhen Shi fell into thought for a moment. Although he had already experienced some memories of the other Zhen Shi since it was only a few, the effect on him had been little. But if he assimilated this soul, it was bound to give him the complete memories of another life and maybe even change his personality a bit. But... he also couldn''t steal the life of another person with a clear conscience. If he did, it would definitely leave a bad taste in his mouth. Besides, this should also be helpful to him. As such, he thought decisively, \"Yes! I''ll assimilate with the soul.\" Ding! Soul Assimilation started. Since the user will be gaining the memories of another lifetime, the user will pass out for one day. ''Wait, what? Passing out for one whole day? SYSTEM, YOU SHOULD''VE WARNED ME FIRS--'' And he collapsed on to the bed passing out... System: \"...\" 19 The Goddess beneath the moon One day later... Zhen Shi opened his eyes and sat up on the bed with a thoughtful sigh. Even though he now had memories of another life, he didn''t feel particularly different or that his personality had changed. The only major change was that he now had complete memories of the other Zhen Shi; all eighteen years! The first few years were blurry, but this was expected. After all, they were memories of childhood. But everything after that, up to the point of his death, was complete. Zhen Shi looked down at his body as he fell into thought. With all the memories complete, he now remembered every single second of the training he had undergone. He had the muscle memory, the training, and even a much stronger body. This meant that he should be able to make full use of his training! Due to the memories, his understanding of [Draconic Wind Steps], [Unarmed Water Style] and even archery had improved by a great amount! After all, he now remembered spending months of training in each skill! Seeing that his decision to complete Soul Assimilation had only brought about advantages, Zhen Shi smiled in relief. Next, Zhen Shi proceeded to look through his memories for any information about this world but didn''t find too much that was useful. After all, the former Zhen Shi had spent the majority of his life within the Zhen Clan... But he was able to find an answer as to why there were western maids and butlers in a world with eastern cultivation. Apparently, in this world, just like Earth, there were people who followed various cultures and traditions. But no matter what culture it was, it definitely included cultivation! So even if he met a wandering knight on horseback or an old man versed in the way of the Mages, chances were that both of them were accomplished cultivators! Nevertheless, Zhen Shi made a mental note to gather some books and find more information about this world. After all, asking about it will only cause problems and unnecessary questions. As such, he had to do it himself. Suddenly remembering the system, Zhen Shi asked a question that had been in his mind for a while, ''System, what is the use of Otaku Points? And what are the conditions to gain more?'' Ding! System Information[Otaku Points]: Otaku Points(OP) are generally gained when the user makes use of the system granted skills. However, after earning a certain number of points, designated by the system, that particular skill will stop yielding points. Earning the trust and admiration of people may also yield some OP. Certain other methods may be revealed in the future. Finally, the user can utilize those points to purchase divine boons. ''Oh? That actually seems pretty reasonable for the troublesome GOD System... By the way, what exactly do you mean by a divine boon?'' Ding! Divine Boon: The user can exchange a certain amount of otaku points for a favor from any god. The god whose favor you gain and what they owe you will depend on the luck. But of course, the user can pay extra to specify the god and what needs to be done. ''What Favor? You might as well call this an IOU(I OWE YOU)! Holy Shit! IOU''s from the Gods! Isn''t that too OP? Not that I''m complaining though!'' ''But wait... if it depends on luck, how is this different from gambling? System, don''t you know that gambling isn''t good for the family? And pay more to specify what I need? Is this the legendary pay-to-win?'' System: \"...\" Nevertheless, Zhen Shi was greatly pleased as he asked again, \"Alright then. System, how much for a divine boon from the top tier gods... let''s say, Zeus, Odin, Atum-Ra or one of the three pure ones?\" Ding! For the moment, the user is not strong enough for IOU''s from the highest tier gods. Zhen Shi''s face stiffened, ''Damn! I should''ve figured that nothing could be that perfect... Oh, well. It would''ve been too OP(Overpowered) for my lack of OP(Otaku Points) anyways.'' Consoling himself as such, Zhen Shi fell into thought, ''Now what should I get for my first divine boon? Gamble and hope for the best? Or maybe something specific? Such as... A personal divine beast pet? A divine army? A strong old man to guide me? A portable treasure house? Or maybe even a Harem?'' Pushing aside those ridiculous thoughts, Zhen Shi began to think in line with reality. Reminded of the fact that he had quite a bit of material on hand and that he was lacking a proper weapon, he asked mentally, \"System, how much to get... let''s say Hephaestus to make a weapon for me?\" Ding! Hephaestus is a high-tier god in the field of blacksmithing. The price is generally 1000 OP, but the user will be given a discount as it is his first time. As such, the price is 100 OP! Zhen Shi couldn''t help but smile at having received such a huge discount, ''Although I only have 45 OP, I do have an idea on how to earn a bit more. But wait... System, what would''ve happened if I gambled on the first try? Then I wouldn''t have gotten such a massive discount, RIGHT?'' System: \"...\" Praising his luck for not having missed such a good chance, Zhen Shi proceeded to activate , but only partially. Instantly, a small pair of horns emerged out of the sides of his head but they remained hidden within his hair. Some azure scales appeared around his torso and chest, and his eyes gained a slight hint of red. But those were not the only changes. Zhen Shi also felt a slight but strong killing intent stirring within him. But it wasn''t strong enough to affect him since he had only activated the skill partially. And then he proceeded to maintain this state for about half an hour... Ding! The user has earned 1 OP for using Zhen Shi grinned in satisfaction, ''Yes! It worked! This means that I can earn enough points for that weapon by tomorrow!'' He would''ve used Hel''s flare as well, but a count''s mansion seemed like a rather inappropriate place to do so. Realizing that he shouldn''t reveal his ability to transform into a beast and cause unnecessary misunderstanding that might cause others to hunt him, Zhen Shi proceeded to put on the clothes that the maid had left for him. As he donned that black shirt and trousers, completely covering his scales, his hand touched a familiar clean but still dirty looking loincloth. *Sigh* His heart ached as he pocketed the loincloth for old times sake. But, suddenly a loud voice was heard from outside his room, \"Lady Isolde, the daughter of Count Anguish Brishman has arrived.\" Realizing that his elusive savior had come over to pay a visit, Zhen Shi calmly stood up and made himself look presentable. Simultaneously, a light sonorous voice was heard from outside, \"Jacque, you know it is unnecessary to be so formal with me. You can be more relaxed here than your former employment.\" This ''Jacque'' replied, \"My lady, forgive me. But it is only proper. How could I dare to be disrespectful in the presence of the healing princess?\" A light sigh, \"Fine. Just remember to be more relaxed then,\" and the door opened. A blonde-haired girl dressed in a shimmering light pink dress walked in. Her blonde hair cascaded down like waves of water, and her face the picture of innocence was curved up in a slight regal smile. However, her wide eyes glowed in a mysterious way reflecting that she wasn''t a simple lady that knew nothing of life. The aether also revealed that she was one single step away from reaching the Core Formation Stage! This meant that she was much stronger than Sun Rou and the idiots of the Xue Yue clan! Zhen Shi stared wordlessly at this beautiful girl for a moment, but almost instantly gained his bearings. To his surprise, he found that he wasn''t particularly affected by her beauty and could control himself with ease. As such, he calmly bowed in a way he knew that western nobles would and spoke thankfully, \"Lady Isolde, it is a pleasure to meet my savior. I am indebted to you for saving my life.\" Realizing that this girl was obviously well brought up and believed in class, Zhen Shi decided to act appropriately. Isolde smiled brightly and spoke, \"It''s fine. Don''t worry about it. I''ve helped many people and I suppose you are one of many,\" while gracefully sitting down on a nearby chair. She nodded at Jacque to leave, and he did, but only after giving Zhen Shi a long hard stare. Having realized this fellow''s Core Formation Stage cultivation through the aether, Zhen Shi fearlessly returned back his stare, while simultaneously talking to Isolde, \"That may be the case for the Lady, but the fact that you saved my life is a simple truth.\" As Jacque closed the door behind him he felt a slight sweat trickle down his back as if he had just stared at a beast in human skin. Isolde seemed to notice the stare off and raised a surprised eyebrow. Nevertheless, she replied with an explaining smile, \"Ever since I saved Jacque from his injuries, he has been a tad bit overprotective... Young master Zhen Shi, I hope that you can pardon him.\" Zhen Shi turned to her in surprise and replied with a smile, \"A minor matter. He didn''t do anything wrong either way.\" Her eyes glimmered with curiosity as she asked, \"So, young master Zhen Shi care to explain how and why you suddenly appeared in my room?\" Zhen Shi laughed as he re-explained the story of the ''mysterious ruins'', how he had been attacked by a ''powerful beast'' and how he had jumped into a spatial tear. Isolde nodded thoughtfully. Having heard the story from Butler Alec, she had to conclude that everything made sense. Zhen Shi had been injured from a claw attack after all, and only spatial transference could explain his sudden appearance. But the matter of how he was able to bypass the Kingdom''s protective formation, even if by accident, was a cause for worry... Nevertheless, she moved on to analyze his body and asked with thinly veiled curiosity, \"But I''m surprised that you healed so fast! As far as I can see, you''re completely fine. But I''m confident that it would''ve taken a few more weeks to completely heal your injuries and cultivation. Perhaps you made use of a special skill and it caused you to pass out for an entire day?\" Zhen Shi''s eyes glowed as he realized that she was aware of the fact that he had passed out for a day. But then again it was expected to keep tabs on a stranger within one''s home... As such, he laughed and replied, \"Something like that. But if I were to explain my healing, I''d say it''s because I''m a bit too thick-skinned.\" Isolde smiled and nodded, but her smile died down rather fast... She silently stood up from her seat and walked over to the open balcony. The sun was already setting, and the orange sunlight fell upon her, causing her to glow in a sorrowful light. She began to speak in whispers with her back to Zhen Shi, \"Honestly, my guards were about to have you killed. No matter how kind we are, we wouldn''t just save some random man who appeared suspiciously within the room of a noble lady. But I begged them and father to let you live... All because you reminded me of my brother, and I couldn''t bear to fail anyone again.\" The evening wind blew through the balcony, ruffling her hair as if to comfort her. Zhen Shi had been unaware that such a situation had arisen because of his actions. Nevertheless, he remained silent allowing Isolde to continue... \"Isaac was a very playful kid, always spouting ridiculous tales. But the way he told them always made me believe in him, no matter how impossible they sounded... When he was only 12 years old, the King gave an order for the Brishman family to lead a diplomatic expedition to the allied Kingdom of Cerulea. My father had me attend first and arrange the matters there for his arrival. But, little Isaac was unwilling to leave my side and followed me. I didn''t stop him either, I figured I would enjoy his company... It was only supposed to be some random political courtesy! But on the day we left, just when we were close to reaching our destination and neared the edge of the Berthelien forest, a powerful beast attacked. The Beast was extremely strong and could shatter space with each attack, perhaps on par with the one that attacked you. Under that attack, almost all of the guards died. The only reason the two of us survived was because the Cerulean kingdom sent some experts to investigate the unstable space. But my brother was gravely wounded. And that wound... was almost identical to yours. But I wasn''t able to save him. He wasn''t as fortunate as you... \" Isolde''s shoulders seemed to shiver as she continued to whisper, \"I, who was blessed with the strongest divine blessing of healing, from Eir, the strongest goddess of healing, was unable to save my own brother! How pathetic is that?\" A sorrowful laugh rang out as she continued, \"Seeing you wounded just like him-- I realized that I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself if I let you die under the same circumstances!\" Isolde raised a hand and proceeded to rub her eyes. But, suddenly, as if she had just realized the place where she was in, Isolde turned around. Her lips were curved up in a smile... no signs of tears in her eyes, just a simple, but sorrowful smile. \"I''m sorry Young Master Zhen Shi. I don''t know what came over me. I''m not so open with strangers... Either way, I must''ve bored you with my nonsense. I''ll be leaving then,\" and started to walk away. Standing in a hurry, Zhen Shi spoke out, \"She isn''t the greatest you know...\" \"What?\" Isolde paused in surprise. If it had been anything else, she would''ve simply left. But the complete irrelevance of his words to the current situation caused her to stop. Zhen Shi continued in a matter-of-fact tone, \"Eir. She was--I mean, is, a Norse Goddess of healing. But she was only a handmaiden to Freya, the Queen of the Vanir Gods. In my opinion, the Sun God Apollo, the Eastern Emperor Yan Di, and even the Imhotep are leagues above her. After all, they were not only gods of medicine, but were also greater gods! In fact, there are some demigods with even more amazing achievements...\" Isolde was intrigued, but frowned as she asked accusingly, \"Young Master Zhen Shi, are you saying that my healing ability is inferior?\" Zhen Shi shook his head and spoke, \"Not at all. Lady Isolde, I simply mentioned that the Goddess Eir is inferior to those that I mentioned, even compared to demi-gods like Asclepius. Your ability has no relation to the abilities of the god that gave you your divine blessing. Divine blessings, Spiritual Roots, Special Physiques, whatever it is that you are born with, only provides one with a stronger starting point. In the end, you are the one that can decide whether you are useless or not!\" Zhen Shi''s final words resonated like thunder within Isolde''s mind. She had never had strong combat abilities and had made use of her divine blessing at all times. Hearing Zhen Shi''s words, she realized that she had been relying on the divine blessing too much and not on herself! And in that instance of epiphany, she actually overcame her bottleneck and reached the Core Formation Stage! Isolde raised her head and stared at Zhen Shi in amazement. It wasn''t that she had a lack of skilled and talented masters to train her. But no one, not even Sovereigns, dared to criticize the Gods and say such blasphemous words! She was extremely intrigued as to how this core formation fellow had the guts to do what he did, and, most importantly, why she found herself subconsciously agreeing with him... Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief at her reaction. In reality, he had been immensely thankful and been moved by Isolde''s story. When she was leaving, he had wanted to comfort her, but the words that came out of his mouth was something else entirely! Almost accidentally insulting her! Thankfully, he was thick-skinned and had turned the matter around successfully... Isolde asked with curious eyes, \"Young master Zhen Shi, there are almost no written historical records about the gods. Nor has anyone seen a god ''properly'' in the flesh. Besides the information that the divine organizations hand out to their followers, we know nothing! How can you be so confident? How can you be so quick to criticize the gods that the masses worship with great ardor?\" Zhen Shi smiled and replied, \"In my opinion, as powerful as the gods are, they are ultimately individuals. They make mistakes just as much as a weak human might. So why should I be afraid to criticize them? Especially when what I say, is my truth? As to whether or not you believe it, that is up to you.\" Zhen Shi jumped into the Scholarly Library and opened up the \"Mythologue\" to the relevant section. Having found the part he was searching for, he continued calmly, \"Hmm... let me tell you some legends about Gods and Medicine. Let''s start with Asclepius, whom I mentioned before... Well, did you know that he was so skilled in the field of medicine that he had the ability to make any man immortal? Zeus, who was fearful of his capabilities, had him kille--\" And as such, he continued to speak, checking the \"Mythologue\" whenever he drew a blank. Recounting tale after tale, only pausing to answer Isolde''s occasional questions. As time passed on, listening to his tales, Isolde couldn''t help but be amazed. No matter how much she tried to question him, Zhen Shi always had a perfect answer ready! As such, she found it hard to not believe him. And most importantly, each of his stories connected to each other in impossible ways... They perfectly fit, like the missing piece of a puzzle, giving a completely realistic and humane description of the gods! ???????????? Night had fallen and the crescent moon was illuminating the balcony. The moonlight was falling mystically upon a duo, who were entranced by each other. Isolde continued to stare at Zhen Shi, lost in a world with only one other person, and mystical and magical tales that were impossible yet strangely believable. Zhen Shi was speaking passionately with the moonlight lighting up his face. His eyes had a faint hint of red, and he moved in a charismatic way as he spoke of these tales; as if he would never grow tired. Isolde felt herself being drawn in by his words, and couldn''t help but wish that things would remain like this... simple and beautiful. Suddenly, Zhen Shi stopped and looked up at the moonlit sky. Realizing that he had lost himself, he smiled as he spoke to Isolde, \"Lady Isolde, it''s getting late and you should rest. Don''t you think that it''s improper for you to remain in a room alone with me? People like Jacque might get the wrong idea...\" Isolde was surprised as she too raised her head to look up at the moon. She hadn''t felt the time pass. But realizing Zhen Shi''s meaning, she couldn''t help but blush. Nevertheless, she replied with a slight smile, \"I will. But only if you call me ''Isolde'' from now on. Do you agree?\" Zhen Shi grinned as he took a step closer, \"I mean... I could agree, but...\" Taking another step forwards, he spoke in a half-hearted whisper, \"Why would I want you to leave?\" Hearing his blatant speech, Isolde blushed even harder. But she frowned in mock anger and displeasure. Immediately Zhen Shi retreated and waved his hands in mock fear, \"Geez. Fine Fine. Forgive me. I''ll call you Isolde from now! But only if you drop the young master?\" Hearing that he had agreed, Isolde''s lips reflexively curled up in a bright smile. Seeing her bright smile, with a slight tinge of red still visible on her cheeks, and under the silver moonlight, she looked like a goddess descended from the heavens. It was as if Chang''e (The Chinese Moon Goddess) had reincarnated and returned from the moon! This time, Zhen Shi was truly stunned... As such, he barely noticed Isolde cover the remaining distance between them, whisper \"Deal!\" in his ear, kiss him on the cheek and run out of the room. When Zhen Shi finally came to his senses, \"Shit! I missed such a great opportunity!\" But a slight smile remained on his face as he looked on at the closed door. Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 15 OP! ''What? Could Isolde have fallen for this handsome and scholarly self? Or did I just gain her trust and admiration? Wait... combined with 15 OP I''ve gained so far by maintaining doesn''t this mean that I can get my godly weapon by tomorrow morning? System, I''ve said it many times and I''ll say it again, YOU ARE THE BEST!'' System: \"...\" Zhen Shi continued, \"Is this what they mean by, ''when it rains, it pours''? WAIT... That isn''t right. Don''t they use that statement for bad luck? SYSTEM, you made this scholarly self make a MISTAKE! I always did say you were a bad influence!\" System: \"...\" 20 The Woes of a God and a Mortal The sunlight falling onto Zhen Shi''s eyes caused him to open his eyes in annoyance. He was leaning against the balcony and staring at his status screen with an annoyed look in his eyes. Since he had been unable to sleep last night, he had tried out some training. Not that one sleepless night would effect a cultivator of the Core Formation stage. As he could cultivate by the system, Zhen Shi had instead spent several hours analyzing and meditating upon the elemental aether and had made some decent progress owing to and his new memories. He had also tried to meditate on the primordial chaos but failed to reap any tangible results... As for the situation of OP; His plan to use to earn OP had been a roaring success... at first. Within the first 10 hours, he had been able to earn 20 OP at the initial rate and successfully bring his grand total up to 95 OP! But after that, the rate of OP gain dropped steeply... Even Isolde had arrived early in the morning, asking for him, and since he didn''t have anything in particular to do besides waiting, Zhen Shi decided to spend some more time chatting with her. He had cited some more mythological stories through the \"Mythologue\" and had even presented some movies and anime as stories made by himself... mentally cursing all those who dared to accuse him of ''plagiarism''! Either way, spending time with her had helped pass the time, and before he knew it his OP had hit 99. As such, Zhen Shi had excused himself saying that he still had to recover from his injuries. But that was more than 3 hours ago! [Otaku Points(OP): 99] *Sigh* ''System why the hell did the rate of OP gain slow down so much? Is this the legendary cliffhanger?'' Ding! The user has reached the current threshold for . As such, the rate of OP gain has been reduced. But almost instantly, Ding! Congratulations to the user for earning 1 OP! Zhen Shi who had been bored out of his mind immediately perked up and mentally said, \"Alright! System go get me a divine boon for a weapon from Hephaestus!\" Ding! Divine Boon request acknowledged! Divine boon gained! Instantly, a mass of white silvery particles, that was nothing like the aether that Zhen Shi had seen appeared in front of him... These white particles slowly combined and coalesced to form a mystical piece of paper. On it was the following words, ~IOU~ God Hephaestus owes ''this handsome and scholarly self'' a divine weapon. Zhen Shi stared at the paper with a pale face and facepalmed himself, (>?) ''Don''t tell me that all that was for a stupid piece of paper? Is this entire thing supposed to be some sort of BAD JOKE? And how the hell am I supposed to find Hephaestus? And even if I did, how do you expect a core formation fellow to get a GOD to pay up!? But... I do agree with how you referred to me. Looks like my good influence is rubbing off on you. System-nii, OMEGA GOOD JOB!'' ???? Ding! There is no need to worry. The user can activate the divine boon at any time. What is promised will definitely be received. Zhen Shi heaved a sigh of relief, ''Damn, shouldn''t you have started with that? I got flustered and shouted for no reason. Don''t you know that shouting is bad for blood pressure?'' System: \"...\" Zhen Shi continued with a smile, ''Alright then! Use up the divine boon! Get me a divine weapon!'' Ding! Request not acknowledged. Materials must be supplied. Zhen Shi grimaced, ''Fine. It''s Highway robbery... but I couldn''t have done much with it anyway.'' Consoling himself as such, Zhen Shi opened the System inventory. He threw the Sky Sun Bone, Miasmic Metal, and the set of tetra-elemental Arachnid Corpses at the piece of white paper. His heart ached as he threw away his spoils of victory so far... The piece of paper absorbed the materials and disappeared, scattering into white particles. ??????????????? In the divine realm, inside a cave hidden within a blazing volcano, there was a muscular and bearded man dressed in a light leather overall, pacing back and forth with a frown on his face. His face and body were covered in grime while one leg was horribly misshapen causing him to walk with a rather obvious limp. The ground was covered in nuts and bolts and all sorts of various scrap metal shards, but the man walked over them without so much as a wince of pain... In fact, it was the scrap shards that were shattered into dust by his feet. The cave was extremely large and appeared to have been fashioned into the guise of a crude room. There were a variety of furnaces, a variety of anvils and even some unidentifiable tools. At the very center of the cave room was a large pool of lava. The color of the lava changed from place to place, as if the pool mystically maintained the lava at a variety of temperatures. But the most surprising objects within the cave were none of this, it was legions of metal automatons! They had the appearance of metallic spheres and walked about with tripod-like limbs. There were thousands of metal automatons and they were engaged in all sorts of activities; some forged weapons and armor, some tended to the instruments and tools, some maintained the lava pool, and some proceeded to forge even more metal automatons. But none of this caught the attention of the bearded limping man. The only thing that caught his attention, on the rare occasion was a set of ordinary-looking anvil and furnace. This fellow was Hephaestus! He was frowning over the fact that he had fallen into a slump in the last few centuries and had not been inspired on his craft in a while. But, honestly, he was madder over the fact that his wife, Aphrodite( The Goddes of Love and Beauty) had been caught cheating on him with his brother, Ares( The God of War)! To make matters worse, the goddess he actually liked, Athena (The Goddess of Wisdom and Intelligence) had pushed him off when they were having ''fun'' together, resulting in him falling down to the Earth and accidentally ''impregnating'' the Earth Primordial Gaia! Now, not only was he heartbroken, but he would also soon have to take care of an illegitimate child. And the worst part... Gaia was basically his Great-Grandmother! While Hephaestus continued to bask himself in his woes, suddenly, a white piece of paper appeared in front of him, causing him to pause. He was surprised that something had been able to get through all of his defenses, but he wasn''t afraid... After all, he was a GOD! Reading through the paper, his first thoughts were, ''What the hell is an IOU? Can you eat it? And who the hell is this ''handsome and scholarly self''? Has some talented fellow Daoist succeeded in shedding his mortality? But since when did he owe this fellow Daoist anything?'' Immediately he scoffed derisively, \"Bah! What makes some little godling think that he deserves a weapon from your''s truly--?\" However, his words were caught in his throat, and his eyes widened in surprise, as he suddenly felt a great surge of inspiration! Tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks as he felt that feeling that he feared he had lost... he could finally craft another masterpiece! Hurriedly wiping off his tears, he roared with incomparable excitement, \"Now to find some good materials!\" As if in reply, the piece of paper glowed and supplied a set of materials. Hephaestus observed the materials with some interest, \"Oh?\" but his face soon turned into a disgusted frown, \"Ugh... What am I supposed to do with all this junk?\" If Zhen Shi had heard this, he probably would''ve cried himself to sleep. Raising the four arachnid corpses, Hephaestus continued, \"I guess... this stuff is barely sufficient to make some low-quality god string.\" \"Hmm... Perhaps these materials have some sentimental value to fellow daiost ''this handsome and scholarly self''? In that case, I should respect his wishes and try to incorporate them into this weapon.\" Thinking so, Hephaestus flicked his right hand. Instantly, a set of metallic automatons clanked over to him. Ka-cha! The spheres on the automatons opened up revealing a horde of valuable materials. Hephaestus began to whisper to himself, \"What to use? Some of the strange meteorites that I discovered in the last millennia... A block of Mythril, some Obsidian... A bit of Spatial Rock and Liquid Chaos... Ah! Can''t forget some Divinity,\" and began to chuck blocks of valuable materials like rocks. If any of these materials appeared within the mortal planes it would cause a huge commotion and countless cultivators would claw each other to death for it. \"Hmm... I wonder if the fellow cultivator is in a hurry. Well, better safe than sorry,\" and clicked his fingers. Suddenly, a magical dome appeared around surrounding him. The strangest part was that the automatons outside this dome seemed to not be moving at all, and even when they did, they were extremely slow... It was almost as if the time within the dome had been sped up or the time outside had been slowed down... With his preparations complete, Hephaestus waved away the material automatons and limped over to his furnace and anvil. With the heat of the lava, he easily purified the materials in a single fluid motion and began forming a basic skeleton. As the process continued, his fingers danced in the air like those of a skilled musician playing his best piece. A thrum of energy washed out as another set of arms grew out of his body, and instantly wielded a pair of gigantic hammers. Clang! Clang! Divine sparks flew as he molded the weapon and forged it; both at the same time! A repetitive clang rang out within the dome as the hammers struck metal. Hephaestus continued to work with a pleased grin on his face. A year passed within the dome, and soon a hundred! It hadn''t been longer than a few hours outside. Either way, a hundred years was nothing much for a god! Hephaestus finally stopped, reverting his arms back to normal and deactivating the dome. Boom! The entire volcano and the cave shook, as the total sum of the sound of hammering for 100 years washed out in a single instant! Hephaestus easily brushed it off and calmly admired the weapon that was just finished within his furnace. He was extremely satisfied with this weapon which bore the apex of his ability. Moreover, he was relaxed as he had forgotten his worries regarding love by throwing himself into work. Thus he heartily laughed while saying, \"This must be the best weapon I have ever created! Even the one that I was forced to forge for little Eros is much weaker than this. I truly owe ''this handsome and scholarly self'' a debt for giving me the inspiration to forget my woes... Staring at a small artifact he continued, \"However I was unable to bring myself to ruin this masterpiece with the worst of those materials... As such, I forged them into another simple artifact. I hope that the fellow Daoist will forgive me...\" \"Whoever ''this handsome and scholarly self'' is, he is truly skilled to be able to inspire me! He was even able to predict that I would be in his debt! However, I hope that he is skilled enough to wield this. I don''t see anyone besides ancestor Chaos being capable of wielding this weapon... Either way, that''s not my problem. I just need to find him and gift this... but how?\" Almost in response, the piece of paper that had been silent this entire time glowed mystical light onto the artifacts within Hephaestus''s hands and instantaneously disappeared with them in tow. Hephaestus was speechless. ''Fellow Daoist shouldn''t we at least meet up? What happened to the basic etiquette between gods?'' But at the same time, a loud booming commotion was heard from outside the volcano, followed by a shout, \"Hephy! Open up! It''s me!\" Another voice, \"Old hag, give the child to me! There is no need to bring in that perverted weaponsmith into this matter! It was my fault, so I''ll take responsibility!\" \"Shut up, little girl. Go and take care of your libraries and books. I and cute little Hephy will take of our child! By the way, you should learn to show some respect to your Great-Grandmother!\" Hearing the voices and the drama that would soon follow, it was now Hephaestus''s turn to cry himself to sleep. ??????????????? Back in the mortal realm, only one hour had passed. But Zhen Shi was pacing back and forth impatiently. Suddenly he realized something that he had forgotten, ''Wait a minute! I never mentioned what my weapon should be... and this damned system never asked! Shit! What will I do if I get a musical instrument for a weapon? Will I play my enemies to death? Or something even more ridiculous like a pen? Will I write my enemies to death then?'' \"System, quickly make my weapon into a sword! I may have memories of archery, but my first weapon has to be a sword! So bring me a sword!\" After all, it was a man''s romance to wield swords and fly on their blades! Ding! The request has already been processed and will be arriving shortly. Specifying the weapon would''ve increased the cost. ''Fuck! Since the bed has been laid I might as well sleep on it. But please, let it be a sword!'' Ding! Divine Boone received. Will the user receive it? ''Of course, I will!'' Instantly a bright golden light appeared within the room almost blinding his eyes. The light was followed by a terrifying pressure, the strongest Zhen Shi had ever experienced, and it increased the gravity within the room by many folds. Even the aether within the room retreated in fear... It was simply DIVINE! And within this light lay a bow! It was completely unlike anything he had wielded in his memories. Rather than a bow, it looked more like a gracefully curved laurel wreath. Every edge and crevice seemed to have been crafted intricately and it shone with a divine finishing. Zhen Shi who was stupefied by this sight completely forgot to complain about the fact that he had not received a sword! ''Well, at least it wasn''t anything too weird. Even if the dream of wielding a sword goes further away, this is the most practical decision, especially since I already have memories of archery.'' He wordlessly walked forwards and grabbed the bow, but soon realized that he was unable to budge it. A few minutes later, Zhen Shi was heaving heavy breaths unable to budge the bow by even an inch. Ding! Since the weapon has surpassed the divine tier, the user should bind the weapon first and be acknowledged by it. ''Oh? *Cough*, Of course, I knew that! I was just testing you...'' So as most weapons were supposed to be bound, Zhen Shi bit his finger and dropped a pinch of blood onto the bow. With excited eyes, Zhen Shi waited patiently... Some more minutes passed and nothing happened. ''What the hell! Is this the legendary instance of weapon not acknowledging the master?'' Zhen Shi grabbed on to the bow once more while asking, \"System, now wha--?\" He asked no further because the moment his hand touched the bow, a streak of chaos was dragged out from his primordial chaos base and merged with the bow, completely subduing it. Zhen Shi gawked in surprise as he now felt a strong sense of connection with the bow... as if it was an extension of his own body! He could also sense an unfathomable power that lay dormant within the bow. Even if he was only able to use a fraction of it, that would already grant him a great power boost! But, just when he was about to celebrate, he noticed a glaring problem. Staring at the glowing golden bow, he fell into thought, ''How the hell can I take this thing outside? It is so attention-grabbing that it would probably be stolen before I can even fart!'' Almost in reply, a surge of information washed into Zhen Shi''s mind from the bow. This information told him that he could easily mold the bow into the form of any object and that he also had free control of its spiritual pressure! Zhen Shi couldn''t help but grin as he imagined the possibilities of this ability... He could maybe even satisfy his fantasy by reforming the bow into a sword... and then make use of his archery intent to attack! After all, there were like-minded men who were fans of swords like himself and were shameless enough to wield swords with saber intent... His actions would simply be similar to that. But for the moment, he wanted to test the power of the bow. As such he sealed away the pressure and the golden light, reforming the bow into the form of a simple pitch-black bow with some light gold carvings on it. He almost chose the form of the Verdant Storm Bow gifted by ''Zhou Tong'', but changed his mind at the last moment and went with something simple. But, just when he was about to leave, another system notification rang out. Ding! The user has also received a bonus defensive artifact. Instantly, a small necklace like artifact appeared in front of Zhen Shi. The necklace looked rather ordinary with a barely acceptable appearance. Zhen Shi grabbed and examined the necklace in surprise. He hadn''t been expecting another item to be suddenly gifted for no reason. As such, \"System, what is this? And why did I get it? Not that I''m complaining...\" Ding! Certain excess materials were crafted into an additional artifact. This artifact is a one-time defensive artifact bordering on the semi-law tier. Zhen Shi immediately grinned in satisfaction. As one who was well-versed in Mythology, Zhen Shi could easily list several talented Blacksmith Gods. He had even been skeptical about asking for a divine boon from Hephaestus because he was a god of the Divine Church. But this result completely blew away his worries! ''Awesome! To think that I was even given a complimentary gift! Old Hephaestus is definitely getting a 5-star review from ''this handsome and scholarly self''! What superb Customer Service! If I ever need any more artifacts crafted, I''ll be sure to get them from him!'' But if Zhen Shi knew that most of his ''valuable materials'' were called ''junk'', and were mainly used for the necklace, which was forged as an apology... what would he think? Nevertheless, he ignorantly stored the necklace within his system inventory. Having made his preparations, Zhen Shi grabbed the bow and excitedly walked out of the room. Still admiring the wonderful customer service of this world... 21 TWANG! Zhen Shi barely took a single step outside of the room when he surprisingly ran into the old Butler. \"Oh? Young man, I thought that you weren''t feeling well?\" he said with a relaxed smile. Zhen Shi was caught off guard for a moment before he quickly replied, \"Huh? No, No, I''m feeling much better after resting for a bit. I was just about to go stretch my legs a bit.\" The Old Butler nodded and glanced at the bow in Zhen Shi''s hand, \"Hmm... Good Bow! But where''d you get it from? You didn''t have it on you when you ''dropped in''...\" Zhen Shi promptly ignored the question and asked back, \"Old Man, I just realized that you haven''t told me your name yet.\" \"Ah! Yes, pardon me. This old butler''s name is Alec, Alec Strauss,\" he replied while bowing lightly. Zhen Shi nodded, \"Old man Alec, do you have someplace where I can shoot some arrows?\" Butler Alec smiled lightly, \"Of course! This is the mansion of a Count after all. Follow me, young man,\" and began to walk away. Just as Zhen Shi began to follow him, Butler Alec spoke, \"Young man, how''d you like to face off against this poor butler in a bout of archery? Of course, we won''t be using any qi, and let''s put up the targets at a distance of let''s say 10 km? Of course, we can reduce the distance if you wish, and even give this old man a handicap--\" Zhen Shi stopped him with a raised hand, \"No problem. Just don''t go complaining about your old age when you undoubtedly lose,\" and said laughingly. The Old Butler laughed as well, as they continued onwards. ???????????? Isolde was in her balcony looking down at the familiar but desolate training courtyard with three lonesome archery targets. She was just about to walk to her room when suddenly, she heard a pair of familiar voices. She was surprised to see two familiar figures; Grandpa Alec and Zhen Shi! As she watched, Grandpa Alec and Zhen Shi positioned themselves exactly 10 km away from the targets. These were fairly strong wooden targets with strength at the foundation establishment stage for the lowest grade of soldiers. Grandpa Alec turned to Zhen Shi and spoke with a laugh, \"Let''s begin. And kid, it''s fine to cry when you lose!\" Zhen Shi grinned back and retorted, \"Right back at you, old man!\" Watching on, Isolde was rather surprised. Considering Zhen Shi''s knowledge she had come to believe that he was a well-learned and powerful scholar. As such, she found it hard to believe that he was an archer... On the other hand, she also knew that Butler Alec was an extremely skilled archer who had even served in his majesty''s army back in the day. As such seeing him interested in a young person was a rather rare sight. Thus, she was also slightly unhappy at Zhen Shi''s insulting and dismissive attitude towards Grandpa Alec... Ignorant of her thoughts, Butler Alec grabbed a bow and arrow from the side. The arrow was loaded in, pulled back and immediately let loose! The arrow swam through the air like a fish in the sea and stealthily struck the center of the target! Zhen Shi''s eyes widened as he continued to observe the arrow. He had actually been unable to sense that arrow, and since it made use of no aether his was useless as well! This meant that he wouldn''t have been able to dodge it if it had been hidden! It was obvious that the old man was not simple! Nevertheless, Zhen Shi calmly loaded an arrow into his own bow and pulled back the string. But to his surprise, he only succeeded in pulling it back halfway... Immediately realizing that his bow was unlike ordinary weapons, Zhen Shi stealthily activated on his arms alone, causing azure scales to form upon his skin. And fortunately, they were hidden by his shirt sleeves. Calmly ignoring the sliver of killing intent that arose, Zhen Shi pulled back the bowstring completely this time. However, to spectators, the halfway pause was visually similar to the blunder of a novice archer. As such, both Isolde and Butler Alec began to doubt his skill... Zhen Shi calmly let the arrow loose with old memories swerving within his mind. But just as the arrow left the bow, a minute sliver of chaotic energy was stealthily added onto the arrow. The arrow shot forwards many times faster than Alec''s and struck the bare edge of the target causing it to explode in a rain of wooden splinters! Zhen Shi was confused. He had simply pulled back the bowstring and shot the arrow... There was no reason for it to be so powerful without any qi! Butler Alec shook his head disapprovingly. He was thinking that Zhen Shi had added qi into his arrow in order to hide his poor archery skills. And since the targets were made for the foundation establishment stage, it was not difficult for a core formation stage cultivator to destroy them. Zhen Shi as a skilled archer easily understood what the old Butler was thinking, but... ''I really didn''t use any qi! Will you believe me if I say that I''ve been framed?'' Isolde too had arrived at a similar conclusion to the old butler and continued to watch with a disappointed face, ''Was he really just bragging? Is he really the same as the annoying nobles who always brag but never act?'' Ignorant of the secret spectator, Zhen Shi laughed the matter off, \"Sorry old man. I guess I''m a bit rusty and have some problems controlling my power.\" Alec nodded silently, but a seed of doubt still existed. Nevertheless, Zhen Shi calmly drew another arrow. With his memories of archery, he attempted to imitate Alec''s arrow and also carefully reduced the strength imparted onto the arrow. He even focused on the formless wind aether and analyzed the nature of the wind. With the training of [Draconic Wind Steps] and through he was able to accomplish this easily. Having made the necessary changes, the arrow was let loose once more! This time the arrow flew cleanly and stealthily through the air. But due to the stealthy addition of that silver of chaotic energy, the arrow dashed through the air and the target exploded in another shower of wooden splinters! Nevertheless, Butler Alec was not disappointed this time around. He could see that Zhen Shi''s arrow had almost completely mimicked the stealthiness of his own, on his first try! As such he was beginning to believe that maybe, Zhen Shi was indeed a talented archer having some trouble controlling his power. On the other hand, Isolde, who knew little of archery, only saw Zhen Shi repeating the same mistake and completely lost faith in him. She even began to doubt his tales of Gods and Legends. After all, if he could brag about his skills so shamelessly to Alec, it was completely possible that he had done so before. As such, she began to walk away in disappointment but stopped for a single hopeful moment, as Zhen Shi pulled back another arrow. Zhen Shi who was unaware of Isolde''s thoughts was contemplating the matter of his bow. The last time he had used the bow, he had sensed a vague energy being transmitted to the arrow from the bow. It had to be the reason that caused an unnecessary increase in the power of his arrows... As such, he vaguely exerted his will upon the bow and tried to lessen that energy. However, just as he did so, the chaotic energy instantly followed back the stream of his will and jumped into his dantian! Zhen Shi was so surprised by this sudden event that he accidentally dropped the bow. Seeing Zhen Shi ''drop'' the bow in ''defeat'', Isolde was completely disgusted and started to walk away in disgust... but she was feeling a deep sense of loss... Butlerly Alec, on the other hand, smiled with an impressed face. He could easily see that Zhen Shi was in the process of gaining a sudden epiphany. Zhen Shi was oblivious to their thoughts as he observed the gradual formation of a vague shadow of a bow within his dantian. At the same time, Zhen Shi could feel his memories of archery passing by in his mind. This time, he could easily see several mistakes and errors in his actions... Finally, the vague shadow of a bow finished forming and Zhen Shi calmly opened his eyes, shinning mysteriously... He bent down and picked up his bow, brushing off any residual specks of dust. He calmly loaded a bow and pulled back the bowstring. Since two of the three training targets had already been destroyed, Zhen Shi could only target the remaining one, which still had Butler Alec''s arrow struck at its center. With perfect strength and control, Zhen Shi eyed the center of the target nearly 10 km away. He took a deep breath and calmly let it out. TWANG!!! The bowstring strung a loud note and the arrow was set loose. The chaotic energy was added with perfect control and the arrow breezed through the air even faster than before! But almost as if the arrow was an extension of the wind itself, the arrow stealthily swam through the air. This time around, the arrow almost seemed to gently follow the guidance of the wind rather than oppose it... TWANG! TWANG! TWANG! --------- And that sound resounded for a total of nine times... echoing throughout the desolate training ground. ???????????? Isolde, who had begun to walk away in disappointment, couldn''t help but freeze as she heard the sound. Hearing this loud, repeating sound her heart shook in trepidation. She hurriedly walked back and stared down through her balcony. And what she saw caused her to gasp in surprise! Zhen Shi''s first arrow had partially cut Butler Alec''s first arrow in half as it too had struck the dead center. And every arrow after that had partially cut through each arrow before it. One arrow vertical and then the next horizontal, leaving a strange but beautiful pattern of splintered arrows. The resounding sound of the bowstring echoed throughout the training grounds, and each felt like an arrow striking her heart. As Isolde realized that she had wrongly given up on an honest man, old memories washed through Isolde''s mind. A fearless boy that dashed forwards to save her, but was never seen again... A father who gave her everything, but melded with the shadows as she looked from the light... And a child dying within her arms... Tears started to flow down her eyes as her heart was filled with one feeling... guilt. She whispered in a cracking voice, almost to herself, \"I-I''m sorry!!\" and jumped down the balcony. Safely touching the ground she dashed into a pair of surprised yet warm arms... and felt that sense of loss disappear, just by a bit. ???????????? Zhen Shi who had been reveling in his success and achievement, turned back in surprise to see a familiar figure drop down from above and dash forwards into his arms. As this figure hugged him tightly and sobbed lightly, Zhen Shi looked down to see that it was Isolde! He was rather confused... After all, just a moment before he was practicing archery and now he was being hugged by a damsel in distress. Zhen Shi didn''t know whether to laugh or cry!