The two factions were Faeast's real enemies, and all of the personal grudges plaguing the nation stemmed from them. Some small talk later, the group disbanded. The fleet still had to patrol the waters. Nox and his group would go to a nearby island and take a flight back to Imperia.They went to the flagship's deck. Dominic said, "All good things come to an end. I must return to my faction now. We can deal with our own problems. Just so you know, we might ally with the path of the martial to keep the other faction in check. Be prepared for that."Nox nodded. "I know. You're still our ally deep down.""Naturally. One more thing. Though my faction can handle ourselves well enough, Fiery Ignis' temple is in trouble on Mystia. The Fire Temple is public enemy number one now. The remnants of the temples you took out might band together and attack the Fire Temple. Don't worry, they can still handle the assault for now."First, you must deal with Faeast's problems," said Dominic.Nox had s
Nox heaved a long sigh. Queenie was oversimplifying things, and things were never simple. Aphrodite was combing her hair, and she explained, "It's not that simple. Capwave Island is on international waters. They might plunder passing ships, but if we look into it, what they do is kidnap the ships' crew and demand ransom from their companies."They'd never try to fight any nation's navy.""Wait, so why isn't anyone taking them out?" Queenie was still confused."And who's going to do that? That island is in a special location. You can never kill all the pirates. Before the stateless navy took over, the island was ruled by other pirates. As long as the island stands, some other pirate will take over sooner or later. The only way to curb this problem is to destroy the island itself."The pirate's ransom demands are nothing compared to the amount of sea trade money we see every year. Sending in an army to take them out alone costs more than what they demand every year. Taking the island
"Voltaic, he's been extending his divine sense to you a few times. He must have something to discuss with you. Why are you ignoring him?" Mufasa asked curiously.Voltaic had been healing up. He said, "And it's never anything good. He's trying to make me work for him.""Huh?" Mufasa was stunned, but he snapped out of it and still felt confused. "Work for him? No, he's trying to partner up with you. You're a Faeastian anyway. It's your duty to serve your nation," Mufasa said.Voltaic scoffed. "What do you know? I left my nation so politics wouldn't drag me into their mess. If I go back, I'd run into the very thing I hate. I couldn't care less about fame and status."That answered Mufasa's question. "I know what you're thinking. No one can force you to do what you refuse to do. You want to go back, but you don't want to be seen as a mere worker. You want to be seen as a hero."Voltaic wasn't mad about that. He said slowly, "I've always wanted to help Faeast, but power alone isn't eno
Kirin understood that, but he was still annoyed."If you can't figure it out, stop banging your head against the wall. You're not like everyone else. You're the more dominant type, and everything has to go your way. You'll never convince the older guys to work with you," said Nox.He was making this trip to see if he could make Voltaic work for him. Faeast was at a critical junction, and it would rise to power if it could get through this hurdle. The whole nation couldn't depend on only him. Cassian was right. If they wanted to finish the job, they had to get all the allies they could find.In Faeast, Voltaic was even more famous than Dominic. The people criticized Dominic because he was a Mystian cultivator, Voltaic had a much cleaner history. If Nox could make him an ally, he could unify the martial arts world of Faeast and find a great use out of them.The destroyer was making its way to the island where Voltaic and Mufasa were resting on. Then, a sudden wave of violent energy c
Voltaic sensed the change of course immediately. "So they've changed course.""Man, you're cheeky. I was wondering why you left the Three-Eyed Clan remnant alone. You knew Nox was coming for you, didn't you?" Mufasa finally realized why his friend spared the enemy."Of course. I knew he would come for me. I can lend him a hand if he needs it, but it won't be easy making me his subordinate," said Voltaic coolly. The saintly swordsman was a proud man. Even though Nox was the Nine-State Lord, he wasn't big enough to make a saintly swordsman his subordinate, unless the swordsman himself took a liking to the person."But what can you see from this test anyway? Nox would approach that person, even if they weren't a remnant of the Three-Eyed Clan." Mufasa was confused."What do you know? Just watch." Voltaic curled his lips.The destroyer was making its way to its destination, and a short while later, they'd arrived. However, the waters were calm, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordi
"Who would keep so many ships here? And where'd they come from?" The captain cursed, "Shit. The radar's been acting wonky since we came into these waters."The group had no idea there were so many ships here, but the other team had noticed them a while ago. Their cannons were aimed at the destroyer. Then, the enemy captain spoke through the radio."I command you to surrender immediately, or else!""Surrender?" The Faeast Southern Sea navy would never surrender.Nox asked the captain, "They outnumber and outclass us. What will you do? Maybe surrender?"The captain was furious. "What are you saying, milord? Faeast soldiers never surrender! We either take down the enemy, or we die trying! Surrendering without a fight is humiliating!"Nox laughed. "I knew you would say that. Just leave this to me." He was just cracking a joke. Though the enemy had a lot of ships and firepower, it was useless against him. Just when he was about to attack, the captain came to the deck."Size doesn't m
All the enemy attacks were stopped by the destroyer's defense system. Meanwhile, the missiles crashed into the enemy ships, and none of them missed. Though the battleships were big, they were ripped in two nonetheless. The smaller ones were blasted into smithereens.All the enemy ships were sunk. Winds howled, and the fires roared. One Faeastian destroyer took down the enemy ships. The explosion of the enemy ships sent off fireworks into the air."Huh, magnificent show. Nice welcome party for me, I'd say." Cassian was watching the burning flames and shattered ships with glee.Queenie and Nineve were stunned. They didn't know Faeast's ships were already this powerful. Aphrodite watched the husks of the enemy ships sink."We are no longer a nation where foreigners can attack whenever they want. We are one of the top countries in the world. We used to think things were hard for Faeast and took a step back every time we had to because the whole world was our enemy."No, the whole worl
Anything that caught Nox's eye was no ordinary item. Cassian and his team of soldiers had gotten a few sacks of herbs themselves. "Hey, these are expensive herbs, and they're everywhere. Wonder if the real treasure's at the center of the violent energy, just like in Celestial Domain," said Cassian curiously."I told you the formation is just a fraction of the real deal, Grandpa. If this place does have rare herbs everywhere, they'd be harvested a long time ago. The mystery guy isn't using them because he doesn't have to. At some point, elixirs do nothing for a cultivator, let alone herbs," said Nox.Cassian got the message. "I see. Everyone says the guy's hiding in this place, but he's actually trapped. He's waiting for the day he gets a breakthrough." Cassian narrowed his eyes. Anything that had ties to the Three-Eyed Clan must be culled.The soldiers found signs of people living here a while later, and the Marines were on high alert. They went down a path, and the light bouncing o
They waited and waited, but there was no movement. "Nox, it looks like Master Zeller doesn't plan to come out. Since he's so rude, I'll force him out!"Cassian began to set Saint power ablaze. With the energy precisely aimed at the hidden talisman hiding in the fortress, he burned the talisman. The ghosts imprisoned within the fortress came pouring out. Millions of ghosts appeared. It was an exceedingly rare sight. The number of ghosts was enough to instantly overwhelm a cultivator at Pinnacle Realm. If it were just Aphrodite, Queenie, and Nineve, they would not have been able to control that many souls. Cassian wanted to help out, but he was too powerful. He would kill the ghosts, and that was not the effect he wanted. "Leave it to me, Grandpa."Nox stepped forward. In an instant, the aura of a Human Sovereign surged from him, welcoming a righteous and natural energy. The agitated ghosts swiftly calmed down. "Everyone, I am Lord Nox of Faeast. Today, I will ensure ju
In some ways, Cassian's fame far surpassed Nox's. Nox was tasked with stabilizing the nation. While even distant countries beyond Faeast’s borders had heard of him, their knowledge was limited to a few of his victories. Cassian, on the other hand, gained his fame through bloodshed. He roamed the world, leaving chaos in his wake across numerous nations. Even now, the mere mention of his name struck fear into many. For example, Cassian was the one to depose Spiajan's king, along with the entire royal family. Once the king was killed, Spiajan no longer had a monarchy. When the middle-aged man learned that the old git who had split his body into half was none other than Cassian, the man who had slaughtered through his country, he fell silent, gripped by fear. "Speak! Keep boasting. Why are you all silent now? What happened to the threats?" Cassian loftily stared at the group of elites. In his eyes, they were just trash. "Whether you're Cassian Greenshade or Lord Nox, you can't ju
The elites were all panic-stricken, and they immediately ordered their bodyguards to come forward to protect them.Accepting their fates, hundreds of bodyguards rushed forward, took out their submachine guns, aimed them at Nox and his group, and pulled the triggers.Gunshots were being fired wildly. However, Cassian blocked all the bullets off with his bronze-red fiery momentum.Presently, Cassian's hair had turned bronze-red, and the muscles all over his body were pumped.Upon witnessing this sight before their very eyes, the elites all thought that Cassian resembled a real Super Saiyan who emerged straight out of an animated series."Die!"As Cassian pressed his palm down, an unparalleled force descended from the sky. Instantly, hundreds of bodyguards were all crushed into a pulp. As a matter of fact, the momentum flattened their bodies even more than it did if a car ran over them.The elites gasped in shock. In their mind, they couldn't help but wonder if Cassian was actually
"That's right! We must severely punish these traitors once Master Zeller kills this group of Faeastians!" a group of elites cursed in unison. As they spoke, a near-rabid desire surfaced in their scarlet eyes.Up to this very moment, they were still thinking of eliminating the insiders. After all, only after getting rid of the insiders could they easily conduct restructuring and divide their shares of power again.Presently, politicians from the neighboring nations also informed everyone that their country's fleet was on their way and would arrive shortly to provide assistance."Damn these Faeastians! We can't spare them like this! Let's kill them and refine violent energy using their spirits!""Agree! These guys are so powerful, so refining violent energy with their souls definitely will be a great supplement for us!"Once again, one by one, the eyes of these elites turned rapacious as they gazed at the gradually approaching group of people like a group of hungry hyenas staring at
The group crossed the battlefield and arrived at a resort built on the island. Everywhere they looked, luxury cars filled the place, and grand mansions lined the area.At the center of these private residences stood their target. The air was thick with violent energy, and dark clouds loomed ominously above. The moment Cassian arrived, he could sense the presence of vengeful spirits."There were many innocent lives that died here," Cassian said to Nox. "That's strange. Why didn't that cultivator cleanse this place when he had such huge power?"Nox thought for a moment before replying, "Perhaps leaving these vengeful spirits here is part of their plan too."Cassian took in a sharp breath as he realized what Nox was implying."If my guess is correct, this person is deliberately feeding the spirits to sustain the elites. While it may grant them eternal youth and extend their lifespans, the cost is that they will become inhumane. What a cruel method. He enslaved the elites, allowing hi
As Nox and Cassian exchanged glances, they both got the same idea."It looks like that mastermind is an evil cultivator.""There are many sinister cultivation techniques that can grant ordinary people eternal youth, immortality, or even cultivation. However, such things are not obtained out of thin air. They are stolen from the others. During the internal turmoil in Faeast, evil cultivators were everywhere. It took me, Sariel, and Magic Mountain a huge effort to get rid of most of them. When they were unable to find a foothold in Faeast, they fled to Southsea."Nox added, "Even so, they continued to target Faeast, wreaking havoc along the coastal regions. The situation grew so dire that His Majesty had to personally deal with them. After I took over, I utilized Vermilion Bird's intelligence network to eliminate almost all of the evil cultivators. It seems that the surviving ones have fled even further to cause trouble."Faeast was a righteous country, so there was no room for evil
Just like that, an entire army was completely wiped out by two people! Moreover, the duo didn't seem to be using any effort either.This was a massacre.Nox toyed with the artifact in his hand. The palm-sized, black object caused the temperature of the island to drop, yet Nox didn't seem to be affected at all.However, the commander was almost frozen to death.Cassian walked over and took the artifact from Nox's hand. After examining it closely, he frowned and said, "This is the legendary Black Ice Stone, a thing that had long been thought to be extinct.""Indeed. This is remarkable. Without the use of any technique, it can disrupt one's senses just by placing it on the ground. Once it comes into contact with positive energy, it'll release Yin energy. What a fascinating item," said Nox."True. It's a pity that it can't be combined with other materials though. Otherwise, it could have been a sacred artifact." Cassian nodded.Nox shook his head in exasperation. "Even if it could b
The enemy commander waved his hand to give an order.In that split second, dozens of men raised their swords and charged toward Nox.Cassian was too intimidating to them, and he would wipe out the entire army by himself. Thus, they decided to capture Nox in order to threaten Cassian."Raise your hands and surrender immediately!" the enemy commander said in broken Faeastian.However, what unsettled the enemy commander was that neither Cassian nor the group of spectators in the distance seemed to care about Nox's current situation.Seeing that Nox didn't respond, one of the enemy leaders shouted, "Why are you not moving? Are you scared? I told you to raise your hands and surrender now!"Nox tilted his head and glanced at him with disdain. Then, he slowly raised one of his hands."Are you deaf? I said two hands!" the enemy leader roared.`Buzz!At that moment, an invisible force swept through everyone, causing hundreds of people to be lifted into the air over three thousand fee
Nineve was shocked, but Aphrodite was used to it. "He rose to fame during the latest crisis of Faeast. You have to be crueler than everyone else if you want to live during that era," she said.It was a dog-eat-dog world back then, and every cultivator was a beast. The team eventually arrived at the spot, and the Marines were already interrogating the captives."Milord, these are units from the coastal nations nearby. They're not to be underestimated," a soldier reported to Nox. Even if these people were not remnants of the Three-Eyed Clan, this was still a national issue.The soldiers tried to ask the captives about the Three-Eyed Clan, but they knew nothing about it. Nox said, "Don't waste your time. They're not big enough to know that kind of intel.""What should we do with these people?" The Marines wondered if they should take the captives back to the ship. Cassian used his soul technique to check the captives' memories and killed them all."Yeah, they might be official units,