Choice could be a luxury sometimes. The Mousses betrayed Faeast because they had to survive. Not everyone could pick loyalty in the face of death. Dominic and Nox could do it, but that didn't mean everyone else could."Even saints commit errors sometimes, let alone mortals." Dominic sighed. Sadness filled him up, and he took a big swig, then he lit up a cigarette.Queenie had no idea what Aphrodite had gone through, but she would never leave Nox. "I am just a regular girl, Mr. Edge. I'm not as smart as Aphrodite. I can't predict the future. I care about the present. I'll fight by his side." Queenie had made up her mind. She had the courage to see her love through, even to the bitter end."Really? If Nox is gone, so will you. If you're gone, he will still have to live on, even if it means unending agony. He must press on until he finds someone who can take his place, that is the price of being a Sovereign. It's not easy finding a successor. No one like him will be born in this genera
"You're right, Queenie. You are the Mousses' only hope at victory. If I were you, I'd take my own life, and Nox would be invincible, but there's one flaw in that plan. Nox cultivates the path of humanity. He doesn't care how the world sees him. He can live if you die, but he might turn to the path of darkness."There's too much at stake here, and I cannot risk you. Like Nox, you cultivate the path of humanity as well. You can decide your fate."Queenie was stunned. She had no idea she was so important to Nox. If she were to die, he would go mad with grief."It won't be long until they're here. A few days, give and take. They've planned for this from the moment Fiery Ignis went back to Mystia. Aphrodite used what remained of her lifespan and turned the skies into her chessboard, and the stars her pieces. We're all pawns in her game. This is her last ploy. She will do anything to win."If she sees no hope for victory, she might kill you to crush Nox's heart, but she cultivates the H
"That is the kind of person you are. This is the fate you share with him. Fate arranged this meeting. Aphrodite and Nox shared a bond. Part of his achievement is thanks to her. They broke up not because fate wanted them to, but because she wanted too much."Greed blinded her. She turned what was supposed to be a perfect match into a disaster. The moment she turned her back on Nox, she lost the right to be a Sovereign's woman, but your fate says otherwise, and that's because you acted. You now have the power to carry that fate. You have changed your own destiny."It is time for your trial. Pass, and you can stay with Nox for life."Queenie didn't understand anything, save for the last part. 'Okay, okay. I need to pass this. I got to!' She had her own desire as well. She wanted to be Nox's woman. She wanted to live the rest of his life with him."Tell me what I should do, Mr. Edge," said Queenie solemnly. She knew a battle might be waiting for her, so she was nervous."Run. Run as f
Mystia was up to something again. "All Twelve Halls? No, the path of the martial is forcing them to." Nox didn't make his move right away. Half of the Twelve Halls were on his side. Mystia was making this move to get his attention."My word, Aphrodite. This again? You've really lost your touch, haven't you?" Nox mused over it a little and came up with a plan. "Send a message to Mount Prison. Summon Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise. They, along with White Tiger, will go to Eropa. Azure Dragon and the Nox army will remain in Imperia. The city is part of their goal," said Nox.Azure Dragon came to the mourning hall, confused. If they were staying in Faeast, where would Nox go?""Don't tell me you're doing this alone again. This might be a trap," Azure Dragon said."Doesn't matter. This is just a hail mary attempt from Aphrodite. I'll handle anything that comes my way. Nineve, stay with Quilo. I'll deal with whatever comes our way. Don't go anywhere," Nox told Nineve.Nineve held bac
Every time she had to make a choice, she would be hit with agony, but not this time. "I will die soon. You are mine, Nox. While we live, I cannot be with you. I must think for my family, and you only think about the country. But if we both die, then our problems will be solved. Only death can free us from our suffering."If we cannot be together when we live, then we shall die together. Nothing can separate us anymore." Aphrodite set up her final ploy with what remained of her life. She wanted to kill Nox.Aphrodite stared at an island far, far away. Compared to the Mousses' island, this one was undeveloped. Natural energy was abundant there, and it was a perfect spot for cultivation. It was dawn, and the power of light should be at its thickest. Life was about to wake up, but a sea of dark clouds came flying in, and a thunderstorm roared.The seas churned, and the waves ate up the island. "Mr. Edge!" Queenie had changed into the armor Fiery Ignis made for her. She approached Domini
Queenie was their target. She could've tried to run as fast as she could, and Dominic would try to hold everyone back. However, Queenie cast divine sense right away. That was stupid.Queenie was stunned, and her aura went awry. She fell into the seas, but Dominic quickly flew over and fished a drenched Queenie out of the waters. "Run and don't turn back. Don't use your divine sense either!" Dominic pushed Queenie away again. She had learnt her lesson, so she quickly flew toward the mainland.Dominic saw her off and turned around, and his enemy was already in front of him. He wore green robes and had twin swords on his back. He hovered over the sea, and his aura was powerful."Ah, the Western Sea's Saintly Swordsman." Dominic narrowed his eyes.Saintly Swordsmen were all Saints. This man became a Saint with his body intact. He was one of the pinnacle warriors in the world. The man nodded. "Dominic Edge, Master of Swords. You are a Saintly Swordsman as well, but you're not free from
Not many people who became Saints had their bodies intact, but they still existed. However, even fewer practiced the path of the sword like Dominic and Voltaic. They were the strongest swordsmen in the world."I am not trying to be the number one swordsman here, Dominic. I wish to go beyond and reach the High Heavens. Don't let me down now," gushed Voltaic."I'm not even letting you go back alive." Dominic sneered, and a powerful will-of-the-sword shot out of Heaven's Fountain. The roaring wave on will-of-the-sword attacked Voltaic, and the battle wa sunderway.Queenie was far away from the battlefield, and yet she could still sense their aura. She had learnt her lesson, so she didn't use her divine sense. She kept flying onward until she saw a Faeastian naval fleet near the mainland.This was the Southern Sea's fleet. They had their orders to attack, and their commanding officer was Fergus, Nox's erstwhile superior. A Master from Magic Mountain was with them just in case. He was m
There was a team of special forces on the aircraft, and it belonged to the navy. The FD Special Forces. They quickly went into high alert and were prepared for battle.Once the aircraft landed, Nox got out first, while the special forces searched for good spots for battle. Before they arrived, Nox scanned the island with his divine sense, but there was no one in the base. There should be a company maintaining the place, but they were absent. Something was off.Then, the Nox Army came with the latest news. "Milord, the Mousses asked R&D to develop a mecha suit that can block any cultivator's divine sense. Development ended all of a sudden, but we think they must've created a prototype, but they wanted it hidden, so they told everyone the project failed."Nox sighed. Technology was powerful, alright. The scientists solved a problem the cultivators couldn't. Then the weather changed. Winds howled, and a storm turned the ground into mud and sludge.Nox's divine sense found the aura of
'What? Griffin was a sworn brother to Magic Mountain's founder?!'"That's right," confirmed the formation master. "He only told us recently."As the first to learn of this connection, he had shared it with the Saints of the Five Elements, ensuring they wouldn't betray their alliance. Using the promise of ascension as leverage, he managed to secure their cooperation. After all, the Great Saint of Fire had already reached the threshold for ascension.The risks were minimal, and upon ascending to the Transcendent Firmament, the Magic Mountain's founder would surely offer his guidance. For that reason alone, the five mentors had rallied to aid Nox.With such mighty forces gathered, morale on Nox's side soared. Meanwhile, the Whitefield family's spirits plummeted, crashing from the heights of hope to the depths of despair in mere moments. The mental strain caused several of their weaker-willed members to break completely.With dread settling over them, the Whitefields could only place
The Whitefields were getting cocky, but then they realized the powerhouses that came weren't responding. The aura was powerful, but there was no life in it. On closer inspection, they noticed that the leader of the group only had half a body left. His soul was missing. The quartet behind him was nothing but a pile of mincemeat.The portal buzzed again, and seven silhouettes came out. Five of them felt domineering, and they looked prideful. It almost felt like they were peerless. These people were none other than the Saints of the Five Elements.Four of them were Pinnacle Minor Saints. While one had an aura so strong, this place couldn't handle it."A Great Saint! Great Saint of Fire!" Fiery Ignis, Dominic, and Achille couldn't believe their eyes.It had been too long since Mystia saw a Great Saint, and he was Nox's mentor."So, he's the one who broke through first. But now he's already hit his bottleneck. The other four's power isn't enough. If the Sacred Beast Seal isn't upgraded
The Montgomerys and the Byrds decided to see Nox together, but they were refused. They were cursing Nox and calling him disrespectful, but then they saw Nox and his team taking a portal to the path of the ancient divine."What? He went right to them? Why? He's going to fight the Celestial Lord now?" The representatives were shocked.'How dare they!' they thought.Nox and his team went through the portal quickly and appeared right over the Whitefields' place. The Whitefield family was the newest member of the divine four and the real mastermind behind the Inkdarks' demise."Kirin, I told you I'd take you back here someday. I told you that when we come back, the Whitefields will be no more. If you can't do it, I can wipe them out for you." Nox looked at Kirin."Don't look down on me, milord. You don't need to dirty your hands for them. I'll do it!" Kirin summoned his avatar, and with Saint power infused, the avatar turned into a real beast. The sacred beast itself descended upon the
"Time to finish this. My lord's going to the path of the ancient divine next. You should decide who's going to take over after the Celestial Lord is taken down. That's all. Now let's talk about our personal business. Listen up, anyone who had a part in attacking my family, tell your clans that I'm coming for them. I'm killing all of you!"Bloodlust filled the air, and the representatives were shocked. "You killed your own family. Yes, we made them attack you, but we never wanted to wipe it out!" the Whitefields' representative said.Kirin flew into a rage. "How low can you go? You forced them to kill me, or you would wipe us out instead! You think I'm stupid? You'd have killed my family either way! I know how you guys function. You're crueler than any beast out there. Listen up, there's still time to plan for your funeral. You'd better make a good plan."Kirin chased everyone away. The families were going back to prepare for battle, but two remained behind. One was the Byrds' repres
Nox's Magick Sword crushed the enemy leader's soul. "I said I would cut you down, and I did. Now do you see who's the ignorant one?"The enemy leader realized that Nox was the man at the pinnacle. Perhaps the moment Nox became a faux Saint, he was already no match for him. "So what if you can kill me? You are Faeast's Sovereign, and you have a duty to push Faeast to power. But the Celestial Lord still exists. As long as he is around, your wish will never be fulfilled." He sneered."Is that so? Well, he's next on the list to be culled. If anyone tries to make an enemy out of me, I will destroy them and their families, even if they are from the path of the ancient divine!"Nox shattered the remains of the soul, and the path of the martial's leader was no more. The problem harassing Faeast for millennia could be solved at long last. Achille was stunned. It hadn't been that long, but Nox had surpassed him.Nox was better than him in every way. He was an even better swordsman than Achil
The enemy leader was waiting. One technique broken wasn't enough to take Nox out. He wanted to wait until Nox had cast all he knew and find an opening to take him down, but Nox wanted to take him down with the power of the sword."You're stubborn. Very well, this makes things easier for me. I'll kill you, or at the very least, wound you!" He'd be stupid not to take advantage of this. The enemy leader's avatar morphed into a gigantic fist and slammed into Nox's chest.The impact shot through his body and reached his soul. Nox spat blood, and his soul was injured.Achille couldn't stand by anymore. Nox just told him not to push himself, but he wasn't taking his own advice. Then, Nox's weak will-of-the-sword shone blindingly, and then Unto the Origin appeared once more."Even under my pressure, you can use this technique? You're strong, but you're as stubborn as your mentor. You've lost your chance! Die! You'll never get here in time, Achille! Shadowkill!"The enemy leader's avatar t
"He couldn't even kill Nameless, and he only became an Ascendant through the Heavenly Dao's blessing. However, I can already summon the High Heavens' spiritual energy! How will you cut me down now?" With the spiritual energy he summoned, the enemy leader stirred the clouds, and Nox's will-of-the-sword was getting haywire.Nox scoffed. "The Heavenly Dao's blessing? You think he managed that because of a blessing? And you call yourself the leader of the path of the martial. You know nothing.""And why do you say so?" the enemy leader asked solemnly.Nox took a deep breath and stared at the enemy leader. "The heavens gave me glory, and not even I would say I am blessed by the Heavenly Dao. The founder ascended to save Faeast's people. He wanted someone from the High Heavens to kill Nameless. Answer me this: if you don't have enough power, would you challenge the Heavenly Dao for your faction?"Nox challenged, "If you fail an ascension, you will be destroyed, and that includes your sou
"So, your student's here. If he was one moment later, you'd be dead," the black-robed man said, sneering.Achille did not look happy at all. He looked at Nox with chastise in his eyes. Nox was worried about him. If he didn't show up, Achille would die."This is no sparring session, master. This is about the people of the world. If you want to spar with someone, Dominic and Voltaic are your real rivals. If you want to fight them after this, I won't stop you," said Nox.That managed to calm Achille down. He felt ashamed. "Heavens, my mindset was a mess just now. I thought I could face death calmly, but…""Every living being will try their best to survive, you told me that. We only sacrifice ourselves if the outcome is worth it. Now that I'm here, sacrificing yourself is just being stupid," said Nox.Achille sighed, but he was glad that his student could be so understanding about so many things. It was his honor. "Very well, then we shall kill this leader. You're right. This is no sp
Black Tortoise was stunned. 'So, they're serious?'He stared at the enemies and asked coldly, "Is this offer serious? You'd better not be lying to me.""You think we'd lie? We could trample you easily if we wanted to, but your damn lord is on his way back here!" The captains wanted to surrender immediately, or they might actually die.Black Tortoise was a little hesitant. If Nox was on his way back, he'd never give these people a chance to surrender. That could only mean one thing. The battle was inconclusive, but Aphrodite's plan worked. At least the powerhouses were taken down.The ten powerhouses were the path of the martial's true pillars. The enemies were surrendering without any one of them here, however. That could only mean that something had happened to them."Very well, I accept your terms and offer to surrender. But you'll have to tear down your defenses while the sacred beasts set up a formation," said Black Tortoise.The captains hesitated, but the powerhouses urged