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!"
Logan was looking grim. He was the chamberlord, but if he ran away with his tail between his legs, his chamber of commerce would turn into a laughingstock.If he didn't run, however, he would have to face an alleged Greater Grandmaster who killed all the people he sent in. Logan clenched his fists, musing over his options."We can't afford any hesitation, chamberlord. We have to leave now," said Cashmere again.The Blackdragon warriors were looking at Logan, and even the bluebloods were watching.Some hesitation later, Logan announced, "Fine, we'll go with Cashmere's idea. Everyone, we're leaving this city for now!"The men in black answered, "Yes, chamberlord!"But then screams pierced the air. The screams were horrifying and bloodcurdling.Logan was aghast. "What's going on out there?"Cashmere shivered. He had an ominous feeling about this. And then, a bloodied man in black came trundling in. "Chamberlord… he's here! He's here!"Logan and the men in black were solemn. Logan
"Who are you? Why are you fighting us?"Nox sneered. "Me? I'm Nox Greenshade.""Nox Greenshade?" The mention of that name made Logan shiver again for some reason."Yes. This is your first time hearing my name, and it'll be the last. Tell me, how do you want to die?" Nox asked.Logan roared in laughter, but there was fury in his voice. "You ignorant punk! Just because you know how to fight, you think you can go against me? I've been in this line of work for decades, and I created Blackdragon."Logan shouted, "I have three thousand students, and you think you can kill me alone?"The hundred or so men in black whipped out their weapons. Metal glinted, and the air was filled with murder."And my students are all on their way here." Logan sneered venomously.It was the truth. Since he sniffed danger, Logan's men had called his students to come quickly.Nox didn't care. He stood with both hands behind his back, calm and collected.Jebediah, however, frowned at the news. He quickly
If the altar was not unsealed, Nox wouldn't have enough power to handle the path of the martial and the path of the ancient divine. Even if he was only facing the leader of the path of the martial, he only had a sixty-forty chance of winning, and that wasn't enough to turn things around."We need to do this. At this point, we have no choice. We'll do everything we can and leave everything to fate. We must unseal the altar. Even if someone tries to disturb us, any powerup is good news for us," said Aphrodite."Fine, then we'll unseal the altar. You stay here as well. I think there's going to be a lot of this energy. I'll reach my limit very fast. You can use the energy to train as well. Queenie, you're a phoenix. If someone tries to disturb us, devour all the energy," said Nox."But I'm at my bottleneck. Devouring it won't do me any good. It's a waste." Queenie frowned."Better than letting the enemy take it. At worst, you can use them as energy bombs." Nineve curled her lips.Quee
"Will you shut up already? There's plenty of energy here. The Sea of the Fire God has a whole reserve for you." Nox sent Kirin flying away with a kick. The guy just wanted to take advantage of the situation.Replenishing spiritual energy and devouring it were different things. No matter the quality, replenishment would eventually fill up the user's tanks. Power level, however, was different. Lower-level spiritual energy couldn't be absorbed and refined, but higher-level energy was limited. There was no place to house a large amount of it.The fact that Fiery Ignis knew a place like that was a great help for Nox."Come with me." Fiery Ignis led everyone through the Altar and down to the underground. At the deepest depths was a cavern, where water and fire fused like they were perfect for each other. Weaker ones would die here if they stayed long enough, let alone pass through it.Nox used his Saint power to protect everyone as he went down as per Fiery Ignis' orders. After going thr
"The path of the martial would never destroy the Temple of Fire, but Nox forced their hand. Even though you think this is bad enough, something worse is coming," said Aphrodite.Nox first thought of Faeast, after which he remembered the path of the sword. His guesses were correct. Aphrodite explained, "They will attack Faeast, but we can't get distracted now. People will die, but they can't kill everyone. A few deaths for a long-lasting peace is worth it. What we need to do now is raze Mystia to the ground."For that, we need the path of the sword," said Aphrodite. What came next was simple. Their destination was the path of the sword's grounds."Path of the sword? We can do that, but give me some time. I need to take the Altar off the formation and bring it with me," said Fiery Ignis."Of course, but make it quick. They won't hesitate to attack the path of the sword," said Nox solemnly.Fiery Ignis laughed. "They're not as simple as they look, Nox. The path of the martial might o
"Carrying out orders? No beef with the Temple of Fire, you say?" Nox laughed. "But I have a beef with you! Naturally, I will kill you!"Nox swung his hand, and the Minor Saints exploded. Their souls flew out, and they cursed Nox as much as they could. "You're cursing me? Fine, guess you want a slow and painful death, then."They could've died a quick death, but once Nox used his Blazing Holy Eyes, they had to suffer a slow burn. The Minor Saints' screams filled the air. The survivors gleaned grim satisfaction from the enemies' suffering.Nox descended on the altar. The Temple of Fire was only standing thanks to this ancient artifact. It'd have fallen a long time ago otherwise."Mr. Nox!" The Temple of Fire survivors saw Nox as chief of them all, second only to the temple lord."Sorry, I was late." Nox nodded. He came in the nick of time. If he'd been a moment later, these people would be dead.Fiery Ignis wasn't in good shape either, but the Altar was more important. He extracted
William could finally relax a little with Nox in the mix. He told Nox that the remnants of the enemies' temples attacked him because he was friends with the guy. His pavilion was destroyed, and his mentor died in battle. A lot of his fellow students died as well.Fortunately, the Temple of Fire saved him. Before he could even take revenge, the enemies attacked the Temple of Fire. Fortunately, Nox appeared in his darkest hour.Nox cursed, "The bastard! William and I aren't even that close! Why'd you attack him? You're not leaving here alive!"Furious, Nox put the island on lockdown. No one was going to leave this place alive. Thanks to the team's efforts, a group of survivors were saved. The remnants were all cleaned up, and Aphrodite was scouring the leaders' minds with her soul technique for intel.At the same time, Kirin had arrived at the island's center and fought the leader of the invaders. The path of the martial sent out a dozen Saints to destroy the Temple of Fire. Most of
The mocked god was furious, and he wanted to see who the bastard was. However, when he realized who it was, he froze. The woman was the mistress of the Byrds. Then, his eyes shone. This woman was a prodigy among prodigies."Save me, Celestial Goddess! I'll give you everything I have," pleaded the god. He would be her slave if it came to it. The other cultivators asked for Katherine's help as well."The decision lies not with me." Katherine shook her head and looked at Nox.The cultivators were stunned, and they turned their attention to Nox. They thought the young man was unimpressive, and they wondered why Katherine would listen to him.The god of thievery threatened, "I don't care who you are, boy. Tell Celestial Goddess to help us, or I will kill you!"Bloodlust filled Nox's eyes. "You don't care who I am? How dare you! Open your eyes and take a good look. I know you know me."The god of thievery cursed and pushed through the pain of the flames. He focused on Nox's face, and w
Nox unleashed his divine sense and noticed the Temple of Fire standing in the distance. It was in shambles. Mystia's factions had attacked it. "Get to the temple right away, Kirin. I'll stay here and contact my mentors. We'll regroup in a minute," Nox ordered. He sensed cultivators fighting in the distance."Thought you'd never ask. Finally, you're not asking me to act as a guard." The trip to Celestial Domain annoyed Kirin to no end. He almost got killed without a fight, and now he wanted to fight as much as he wanted to.Kirin activated his bloodline and hurtled ahead like a meteor. Nox cast a secret art and sealed his message in talismans, then he sent them flying in all directions. Nox then kept everyone covered with his Saint power and flew ahead to where Kirin was.They flew out of the Sea of the Fire God, and they saw the Temple of Fire. It was located on an island. It was obvious the island used to have a lot of grand buildings, but now it was ravaged by the fires of war, an
If modern language wasn't of any use, Kirin tried ancient Faeastian, but the scorpion only shivered. Left with no choice, Kirin spoke in beast tongue, even though he didn't like it. The scorpion finally gave a response.Aphrodite noticed this, and she could guess the answer. If the mystery person knew Kirin would be here, they must've cleaned up their tracks. As she expected, a short while later, Kirin smacked the scorpion angrily."No wonder it's so stupid. Someone tampered with its brain. It's useless!" Not even the best soul technique users could change memories that easily. Even if they did it, it would hurt the brain of the target.Not everyone had Aphrodite's patience. The mystery person wasn't going to waste their time on a mere beast. They destroyed most of its nerves. The scorpion only survived this long thanks to its power.A while later, Nox unraveled the runes, and the formation was activated. The golden gates leading to Mystia were opened. "Done. You can come in now. K
"They still have saint power in their bodies, and their insides are intact. So are their bodies. Someone destroyed their souls immediately. They couldn't even cast their spells, so that would explain why there are remnants of their energy inside them," said Nox.Everyone was horrified. That meant this mystery person was incredibly powerful. Queenie asked quietly, "Can you deal with them if you run into them, Nono?"Nox frowned. "If my divine sense can't see them, they might be able to stage an ambush and injure me. Even if we get into a fight, they would be a formidable foe. This person alone can keep me busy." He looked solemn.Everyone, however, heaved a sigh of relief. Nox pointed at the pile of bodies on the ground. "What? You think the enemy could kill me as easily as they did these people?"Everyone but Kirin was wondering who the mystery person was. He cursed, "Damn that bastard. I can't believe they set me up! They'd better pray I never find out who they are, or else!"Tho