Louis and the bigshots coldly scanned the estate."The bastard knows how to live. Not a bad place.""Yes, but it's a pity it has to experience bloodshed tonight."An icy voice descended upon them. "Is that so?"Louis and his comrades shook, as if they had heard a god's voice."Who goes there?" Louis harrumphed and looked ahead.A powerful silhouette came flitting down from the estate. The moment he landed, an invisible force shot out everywhere around him.The group of bigshots looked at Nox warily, their pupils contracted."Who are you, punk?"Nox smirked. "You're here on behalf of Blackdragon, aren't you? You should know who I am."Mr. Goats spoke first. "You insolent, ignorant punk. You killed Mr. Royal's son?""That is correct," said Nox."Good. You're going nowhere.""Are you implying I'd run? Do I look like I'm going to run?" Nox put his hands behind his back and stood tall.Louis and his comrades felt pressure crashing over them. Louis was a Half Grandmaster, but f
"Stop arguing, you maggots. Just attack me all at once. I don't want to waste my time."Mr. Goats roared, "Damn you, punk!" He darted at Nox like an arrow, his hands extended like claws. Winds howled around his hands. Mr. Goats was at least a Greater Combatant with inner strength.Nox harrumphed, and he didn't even look at his enemy. "You alone aren't worthy of my time. Now scram!" Nox stomped the ground, and winds swirled around him. Debris flew, and shockwaves shot everywhere.The shockwave hit Mr. Goats' hands, and he grunted in pain. Nox's inner energy sent him scrambling backward, and every step Mr. Goats took smashed the ground underneath.Blood trickled from his mouth, and his hands were bloodied. He was shivering. With a single blow, Nox tore Mr. Goats down, and the people who wanted to fight earlier shut up.Mr. Goats was in shock. He was a sect leader, and that blow just now was nearly his full strength, but Nox injured him heavily without lifting a finger. If he hadn't
Nox wasn't fazed at all. He easily dodged, and the saber cut through air. John swung his saber again, this time horizontally. Another gust of wind was stirred.But before the saber could hit Nox, Nox dodged again. Once again, John missed his target. His face fell. He clawed his way to fame with the Tiger Saber Technique, but he missed his enemy two times in a row.John yelled, "You punk! Dodging's no way to fight! Face me head-on!"Nox sneered. "Very well.""You're dead!" John held his saber with both hands and infused all of his inner energy into the weapon. The saber started to buzz.John swung his weapon down on Nox's head, and the edge carried the power of lightning.Nox didn't move. When the weapon was a few inches away, Nox held up his right hand and grabbed the edge with his fingers.Everyone was petrified, but none was more shocked than John. His weapon was more than a hundred pounds heavy, and he infused it with all his inner energy, only for Nox to stop it with two fin
He had already made a promise to Logan, so he had to step up."He's right. If we take him four on one, we can kill him!"Finally, everyone was working together to take Nox down.Nox smirked. "Good, at least you know your place. Killing you one by one will be boring.""Shut your mouth, cur!""We'll show you what we can do!"Mr. Zard shot ahead, barreling his fists at Nox. Mr. Goats and Louis attacked as well. A combined attack from three powerful martial artists proved to be different. Fists and palms rained down on Nox.But Nox sneered. "That's more like it, but you're still weak." He waved his hand, and a palm struck Mr. Goats and Mr. Zard.The two of them staggered backward before Nox leaped and lashed his right leg at Louis' palm. The attacks crashed, and a thud thundered in the air. Louis staggered backward as well."He's strong." Louis was shocked, and he quickly ran his inner energy around his body. Nox was like a god. Even though the men were not weak, they were nothing
The moment Nox killed two of his comrades, Louis finally felt terrified. Jebediah was ashen as well."Mr. West, he's too strong. What should we do?" Jebediah kept making hand seals and cast his phantom spells.Louis was in a rut, too. He thought this would be an easy job and easy bounty, but Nox was a far more terrifying opponent than he could imagine.'Dammit, Logan! You're going to get me killed!' Louis cursed in his mind, but he kept on attacking.Being the leader of the River Tri-State Martial Alliance, Louis was a decent fighter. Air currents swirled around him, and his shirt billowed in the air.His palm techniques were both gentle and tough, and they rained on Nox. However, Nox easily dodged them all."Out of all the maggots, you're the best of them, but still, you aided evil, so you have to die."Nox turned into a blur, and he reappeared before Louis like a phantom.Shocked, Louis quickly unleashed all his inner energy. "Firepalm!"Flames appeared on his palms. This wa
"Please, have mercy on me! Spare me! I'll do anything! Anything!" Jebediah groveled and begged for mercy. Everyone feared death, including Jebediah.Nox looked at the sorcerer. "Too late for apologies now.""Please, I'm sorry! The Blackdragon bastards lied to me! They tricked me, I swear! I'm a student of the Regal Path in Dragon-Tiger Peak! I only came out to travel! Please, have mercy on me!" Jebediah kept groveling.Nox arched his eyebrow. "You're a student of the Regal Path?"Jebediah paused for a moment, then he said, "Yes, I am! I'm one of the 14th-generation students of the Regal Path!"Nox mused in silence. He asked, "Do you know Cypher Sparrow, then?"Jebediah's heart skipped a beat. "You know of our patriarch?"Nox sneered. "The old git owes me ten jars of Dragonwine. Course I know him!"Ten years ago, when Nox was still training with his master in Mystia, he came to know the patriarch of the Regal Path.The old man came to Mystia to find the higher realm, but young
Cashmere and his warriors were still waiting for Louis and his team at the mountain base. One hour had gone by, but none came back with news. Cashmere was getting worried.A man in black asked, "Enlightened, they've been in there for an hour."Cashmere looked at the estate and said nothing for a moment. "You guys stay here. I'll go check things out.""Yes, Enlightened."Cashmere ran up the mountains. Nothing was stopping him, but the air felt eerily silent. Cashmere became increasingly worried.Right before he came to the estate, he saw a pile of bloody corpses lying before him, and his eyes went wide.The first corpse was Louis, but the body was sliced in two. Even in death, Louis' eyes were bulging. He was dismayed. Piled with Louis' corpse were the bodies of his comrades."They're all dead." Cashmere's legs buckled, and he almost fell, but he composed himself and galloped down the mountain, running for his life.…After Jebediah piled up the corpses, he took out a talisman.
As the underground ruler of the River Tri-State area, Logan had absolute power, and the bluebloods were proud they could see him."Mr. Royal, I'm Xavier Coulson. It's an honor to meet you. I have something to give you, as a token of respect for you and your chamber of commerce."Xavier was one of the top ten richest men in Riverton, and he started his empire with the hotel business. In Riverton alone, Xavier owned six high-class hotels.Xavier gave Logan a pair of jade scepters, and they were expensive."Mr. Royal, I'm from Supply Corp.""Mr. Royal, I'm from Path Estate."The bluebloods were all trying to suck up to Logan, presenting him with expensive gifts.Blackdragon was too famous, and Logan was an ambitious man. Of course they had to pay him some respect.Logan laughed. "Thank you, but I'm here to take care of some pests. You should be on your way back home now."The bluebloods took their leave, but before they could, a panicked voice echoed in the air."Chamberlord!"
"Oh, for fuck's sake. If you want to die, then die. What in hell was that speech for? You know you deserve that, don't you?" Kirin knew Aphrodite was trying to manipulate Nox again. He was worried his lord would fall for her trick and rekindle his flame for her."Don't fall for her lies, milord. Once a traitor, always a traitor!" Kirin quickly said. He didn't want Nox to trip again."No one knows your name, Kirin, but I do. Nox told me about it. Inkdark, that's your family. You're a prodigy of the path of the ancient divine. You're feral, untameable. Threatened by the path of the ancient divine, your family tried to strip you of your divine bones, so you slaughtered them all and went to Mystia."Someone like you can never understand love! Love doesn't mean you have to control a person! Even if you'll never grasp them, you can still love them! The path of cultivation is a path of no return, but love is not!"Nox will never forget this day, I swear! I will make sure he remembers that
Nox gave her a guarantee, but that wasn't what Aphrodite wanted to hear. She wanted Nox's first promise to her. She wanted him to stay with her no matter what came their way. She stared at Nox, and there was determination in his eyes, but she didn't see the emotion she wanted to.Aphrodite smiled bitterly. Nox had done what he promised her. Looking into his eyes, she said, "The Generals work for you. Though they carry out my orders, they are loyal to you. Vermilion Bird looked into my case behind your back before the battle at the Ocean of Death. You must know something about it."The look in Nox's eyes changed. "What are you trying to say?""You know I'd betray you even before the battle, didn't you? No, you had enough intel, and you had a feeling it was coming," said Aphrodite.Without hesitation, Nox nodded. "Even so, you kept the promise you made to me. Maybe you were prepared to abandon me, and you were just waiting for me to break my oath.""Yes," said Nox honestly. "I alway
"They had a reason. From what I know, the most ancient form of words was created to commemorate an event. Like sacrificial rituals, the ancestors believed that words carry mysterious power. They connect us to the world and the gods themselves," said Queenie. One word carried a lot of information within, so it was natural they would be complex.Aphrodite solved another surface in the meantime. Everyone could guess the meaning behind that rune. "Loads of sacrificial ritual items. Sacrifice?" Nineve pointed at the rune.Queenie was speechless. "Not that simple. Ceremony, I think.""Ceremony? Human? Compassion?" Nox muttered. Whether their guess was right, no one knew. They needed Aphrodite's explanation. She was going faster and faster. Not too long after that, she'd solved five out of six sides, but she slowed down on the final side.Nox knew her enough to see her confusion. "She's starting to doubt her judgment. I knew it. There's more to this cube."Though Aphrodite doubted her ju
"I don't know, but it's worth a shot," said Aphrodite. She then tried to solve the thing like it was a Rubix cube. Every surface had three hundred squares. Solving it was a huge project. Patience alone wasn't enough. They need brains. No one in the team but Aphrodite could do this.Nox used to play standard Rubix cube when he was a kid. That thing had a formula to it. Master the technique, and it could be solved easily, but unless someone took the time to learn it, solving it without any help would be hard. If Nox had to do it, they could never solve the puzzle.He didn't even memorize the runes' arrangements. He could spend his whole life solving the cube, and he would still fail. Everyone knew how difficult this thing was, so no one pushed Aphrodite."Good thing you saved her, milord. No one could have solved this cube otherwise," Kirin said telepathically.Nox answered, "Perhaps, but if she wasn't around, I'd brute force my way through. Anything man-made can be destroyed through
Something inside the cube rang out. The explosion didn't even make it do anything, but Nineve's kick got a response out of it. Everyone wondered why, but then the sounds of gears turning came from the cube.Kirin gasped. "Maybe the empress is hiding inside. Or maybe the cultivators locked her in there." No one knew the real reason. Not even Nox's divine sense could see what was inside the cube."No idea, but the cube's big enough to hold one person," said Nox."A prison. That's the best you can come up with. She did not lose the battle, you know. To an extent, her spell worked. If she spreads it across the world, she'll be its one and only ruler, but I don't believe a spell that perfect exists. An unimaginable price must be paid for it, and it's a price we cannot afford," said Aphrodite.Kirin was about to bristle, but Aphrodite approached the cube and touched it. Blinding light reflected from its surface. The light rippled outward, and crisscrossing lines split the cube's surface
"Even if you're the Nine-State Lord's woman, your treason is still punishable by death!" Voltaic glared at Aphrodite. If it weren't for the founder's order and her connection to Nox, Voltaic would've killed her.Aphrodite did not look happy either. Power meant everything. Voltaic was a powerful man, and he had nothing to worry about. Even during her family's zenith, she wouldn't dare cross him."Just go, Voltaic. I have my reasons. If you want to stay, then you and Mufasa get out of Celestial Domain and wait for me outside. When I get through this, the path of the ancient divine's coming after me. You can help me when that happens," said Nox.Voltaic gnashed his teeth but eventually decided to do as Nox told him to. "Fine, if you say so. But be careful. We don't get a Sovereign every day. Your life is not just yours. Faeast's people depend on you." He then hollered a Mufasa and left.Mufasa bowed to Kirin. "I shall take my leave now, sir." And he left with Voltaic. No one stopped t
Kirin grabbed the ladies and regrouped with Nox. Not too long after that, Voltaic and Mufasa arrived. Voltaic wasn't in his best condition. Fending off the aftershock of that Saintly technique took too much of his life essence. Mufasa was in so deep a shock, his pupils dilated."I thought you'd leave Mystia's bastards to me, lad! But you took them all out!" Voltaic complained.Mufasa bristled. "Will you shut up? If he hadn't used that Saintly technique, I would've died!" Mystia's cultivators were handing his ass to him. He almost died.Nox said, "That wasn't me, but it doesn't matter now. The true test begins now. You can't do anything beyond this point. You can leave now," said Nox."What? But I haven't had fun!" Voltaic swung his swords. He was far from his limits. Since he was here, might as well see the empress. Better yet, he wanted to fight her."Leave. No one knows what's going to happen. Besides, the founder only told us to come. He didn't ask anyone else to. You can't han
The power of a technique created by the sacrifice of a dozen Saints had terrifying strength. The rampaging sacred energy swept through Celestial Domain. Not even a single blade of grass could escape it. Nineve thought it felt like a whole warehouse of forbidden items were launched.Everything around them shook, and waves three hundred feet tall raged on the seas outside. The ships sent by the surrounding nations sank into the waters beneath. The waves swept White Tiger, and seawater filled up his mouth.Fortunately, Southern Sea's fleet came in time and fished him out of the waters. Fergus watched as shards of foreign nations' ships surfaced, and he was shocked. The distant waters were enveloped in storm clouds. "What happened here? Someone's testing a new weapon they developed?"That was Fergus' guess. He couldn't understand what was going on."That isn't a weapon! Someone's fighting in there! Cultivators!" White Tiger struggled to get up, foam circling his lips."Cultivators are
With unyielding will, Nox marched toward the final bottleneck. At the same time, his aura became unstable, yet it started to rise. Once it reached a certain point, even Pinnacle Legend Realms could challenge Saints. His aura was far stronger than any Pinnacle Legend Realm. With his near-infinite energy, he shoved the Saintly techniques away.The Saintly techniques shattered, and a rampaging shockwave came crashing back to the Saints. They used their last resort and cast ancient spells, sacrificing themselves to conjure a gigantic wave of sacred energy.Like a falling star, the sacred energy suppressed Nox's aura, and it kept falling like a meteor. If Nox couldn't stop this, he would die. Kirin could smell the scent of death coming from Nox. His lord was in danger."No. I can't leave this to fate. I have sworn my loyalty to him, and I will not watch him die." Kirin would not leave this to chance, not even if their chances of winning were close to a hundred percent.Luck would eventu