"Don't change the subject. Just tell me what I should do." Nox snorted."Easy. Let me come with you. Your fate is stronger than mine, and my fate is one that can easily kill anyone. Anyone who tries to plot against me will suffer backfire and get themselves killed. When everyone's killed, the crisis is averted," said Aphrodite.Nox was speechless. He couldn't believe someone as smart as Aphrodite would come up with something so stupid. "If that plan works, all I have to do is ask you to go to them, and the crisis is over," Nox argued."No. I wouldn't dare go back. White Tiger came up with the nonsense of you planting a soul technique in me. They would kill me." Aphrodite shook her head quickly."I thought you didn't fear death. Just tell me what I should do," Nox said, a little irritated."It's simple, but I can't tell you. It's a secret that must be kept safe. Take me with you, and you won't regret it," said Aphrodite confidently."So, in the end, we're going to the Temple of Fi
Aphrodite settled in at the old place. This was the best sleep she'd had since the last few years. The next morning, Black Tortoise and his motorcade came to pick her up. He wasn't happy picking up an ex-traitor, but Faeast's safety was on the line, and the Great General had no choice."Get in." Black Tortoise picked Aphrodite up, and the motorcade made its way to an underground fortress in Imperia. The top brass of Faeast was already in the conference hall. The governors of the nine states and commanders of the military were waiting online.When Aphrodite showed up, they frowned. Some of these people were forced to submit to her. Some were set up and imprisoned. They were only saved when Nox came back. Some straight up had a grudge against her.Tension was rife in the conference hall, but Aphrodite didn't panic. She took the main seat and scanned everyone. One of the military's representatives couldn't hold back. Then, a general who just became a Legend Realm slammed the table."I
Aphrodite finally said something reasonable, and the people got the promise they needed. An elderly general on the screen said, "Very well. As long as you don't deny your crimes. What we have to do now is keep Faeast safe and make sure the fires of war do not touch this land. I'm sure you'll do your best."Even if we're going to come after you after all is done, we'll make it quick. But if this land falls and Mystia invades, death will be a luxury for you."Everyone nodded and tacitly agreed to Aphrodite being the head of defense. She'd crossed everyone on both sides. She had to do her best. If she were to stay, she'd have to be trapped in Imperia, and escape was impossible for her.Aphrodite wanted this. She sneered. "You're united. It wasn't like this back then. A meeting could be dragged out for the whole day. I guess I killed the right people, then.""Why you…" The attendees were furious, and they were black as thunder.Black Tortoise, however, agreed with Aphrodite. She did k
Once the meeting was over, Aphrodite went back to the Greenshades' immediately. She had her breakfast in the car and finished right when she was about to go out. The Greenshades were already waiting for her at the entrance.They praised her for her incredible mind but lamented the fact that she couldn't be together with Nox. Daniel had gotten over what she did to the clan. Even he was forced to kill his own son, and Aphrodite was in the same spot."Daniel." Aphrodite got out of the car and looked at Daniel, her eyes twinkling.Daniel joked, "You look healthy. Even though your name's cursed right now, I can sense that you feel a lot lighter. Your family was a heavier weight than the curse on your name, I wager?""You jest. You too had a weight lifted off your shoulders, didn't you?" Aphrodite asked."Yes. If it weren't for Nox, my father would still be missing. If Faeast is relying on me now, I'd be depressed. Come. Nox and my father are waiting for you."Daniel led Aphrodite all
Penelope handed the book to Aphrodite. She quickly scanned the names and flipped the pages so fast, they almost left afterimages. A few moments later, she finished one book. The record spanned for a thousand years, and there were a lot of books. Aphrodite didn't find the name she was looking for in the most recent ancestors.Penelope led her to the room of records. Cassian asked Nox telepathically, "Do you think she might just give us a random name?""Not sure, but I know her enough to know that's beneath her. Still, finding a name through the books? That's ridiculous. She's not that smart yet. I think she knows the guy's name. All she wants is his history," said Nox."Why didn't she tell us, then? We could've helped," Cassian asked, confused."Don't know. Maybe she's interested in that person. She won't let anyone get in the way of her search."They waited for two whole hours, and Aphrodite came out looking disappointed. Frowning, she said, "Odd. There's no way it's not there."
Penelope mulled over it for a while and said, "This happened when I was still a kid. Rumors claimed that a young man called Griffin fell in love with the eldest daughter of the Girards, a family on the path of the ancient divine. I do not know the details, but I heard the family accepted the outsider."Griffin left the clan, despite their best efforts to keep him around."Nox's eyes shone. "Whoa, that's something. The Girard family is the strongest divine family in the path of the ancient divine. The Celestial Lord is part of that family. To keep their blood pure, they rarely married their people to other divine families, let alone mortals. That's why the enemy faction can't unite even now."That meant they set a precedent of marrying mortals, and the clan didn't punish Griffin. He was something."Aphrodite said, "Yes, talented, I'm sure, but what I want to know is if he's the one I'm looking for.""What?"The trio was stunned. Cassian frowned. "I thought you knew his name.""I
"The previous Celestial Lord came from the Byrds, and the Girards slayed him to take his place. The Byrds and Girards are at odds, so I think you can get an answer out of them," said Penelope. She told him to go to the Montgomerys if he had to.The Montgomerys were the divine family Penelope came from. Like the Girards and Montgomerys, they were part of the Divine Four. The Inkdarks were part of it as well, but they were replaced by the Whitefields."Are you sure the Montgomerys are going to help me?" Nox didn't think so. He'd rather trust the Byrds. Their mistress was in his hands, after all."Don't worry. I know exactly what they're thinking. Family is nothing to them. They only think about benefits and advantages," said Penelope confidently.Aphrodite nodded. "The Divine Four has bad blood that runs deeper than you can imagine. Even though you're literally public enemy number one for them, they still can't work together as one to take you down. The Celestial Lord is their common
The team was gathered. The people going to Mystia were Aphrodite, Queenie, Nineve, Katherine, Kirin, and Nox. Six people. Cassian and Voltaic would remain at home to hold the fort down."Everyone's here. We should leave now." Nox and his team boarded a military aircraft and flew toward the western part of Faeast. The aircraft landed at what used to be the western domain, but now it was desert as far as the eye could see.They stood in the ruins of an ancient city. A thousand years ago, this place was an oasis. Nox, most of the ancient city was buried underneath the yellow sands. This was where the Temple of Fire came from. There was a formation here that led to Mystia. Through that formation, they could head straight to the Temple of Fire."Odd. The Temple of Fire's guards should be patrolling the ruins, but I don't see anyone here. Even if they're attacked, they shouldn't have gone so far." Nox frowned.The temple's guardians were just regular humans. People of the ruins. Though t
Kirin happily flew toward the path of the sword's grounds. Fiery Ignis, however, was worried about Nox. "Be careful, boy. The path of the martial didn't send anyone after you. That can only mean one thing: almost all of their forces are attacking the path of the sword. If you go there, they will attack you as well.""Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," said Nox.Fiery Ignis led his temple's cultivators and the Ice Temple guys toward the path of the sword as well. After the group was gone, Nox kept sending messages everywhere. If any of his mentors were coming his way, they would be redirected to the path of the sword.Then, Nox and the ladies went to the path of the sword. At the same time, the path of the sword had set up defensive formations at every entrance, but they had all fallen. The path of the martial's people was in a melee with the swordsmen.The swordsmen were stretched thin, and it was a matter of time before they were annihilated. Some of them were defending the entr
Jonah came closer and told Nox everything. Nox nodded. "Saints of the Five Elements. They responded to my call first."Fiery Ignis said, "And they're very fickle people. You can't trust them.""Don't worry. They like me, and I know exactly what they want. Only I can help them with their path. No one else can. They must be hitting their bottlenecks, so they're in a hurry to help me out. Only when I grow in power can they use the Sacred Beast Seal to devour sacred beast bones and go further."Back then, he taught the five of them the Sacred Beast Seal, and they taught him the secret arts of the five elements. Back then, Nox was not as powerful. They were already at a bottleneck, and the seal's level wasn't up there yet.Nox had become more powerful, and once he taught them the leveled-up version of the seal, they could continue their training."I see. That's a relief." Fiery Ignis felt better. He looked at Jonah. The guy might be craven and servile, but his luck was great.Nox's me
"With the phoenix's bloodline, she can live for ten thousand years, at least. That's more than enough time to become a Great Saint," said Fiery Ignis. Technically speaking, talent didn't matter as long as a cultivator had enough time and resources. Those alone could make anyone a Great Saint.However, reality was often… different. Cultivators would run into a lot of things beyond their control. Even if they didn't, lifespan was a problem. They would usually die of old age if they couldn't get to the next level.With the phoenix bloodline, Queenie didn't have to worry about her lifespan. With Nox's power, he could easily get her a place to train until she became a Great Saint. After Queenie came out, it was Nox's turn.Fiery Ignis couldn't sense his aura. His divine sense didn't even sense his presence at all. "What is this… Oh, right, if the gap between us is too big, divine sense can't sense them. I wonder how powerful he is now."They came back to the surface, and Fiery Ignis ask
Fiery Ignis would not leave anything to chance. If he made the wrong choice, the effects would be disastrous.Jonah had no choice but to wait outside the temple. If the path of the martial assaulted them, the Ice Temple people would be cannon fodder.Days went by. Nox had been in isolation for more than a week. The altar, after a long silence, finally reacted. Fiery Ignis' divine sense had been keeping an eye on it."Finally!" He was excited. After more than a month, Nox was finally coming out.Everyone was waiting with bated breath, and then Nineve came out. Fiery Ignis sensed her power level immediately. She was Pinnacle Legend Realm and nearly a faux Saint. "Not much difference. She was about the same level before going in. Her talent is limited. Though she has a Sovereign bloodline, her own talent is lacking."Fiery Ignis guessed that she'd finished training a while ago and had been waiting for everyone else. As he guessed, Nineve had finished training a while ago. Though the
'He's improving fast.'"Temple Lord, you told me that Mr. Nox has taken the Ice Temple for himself. Do you think they've turned their backs on him?" a cultivator from the Temple of Fire asked."Not sure, but a Three-ring can't impact anything," said Fiery Ignis.Though the Ice Temple had a lot of people, if they thought they could stop Nox, they would be underestimating the Temple of Fire's power.Jonah noticed the fighting spirit rising in Fiery Ignis, and he quickly said telepathically, "We're here to help you. Nox is my lord. I have sworn my loyalty to him. I would never turn my back on him."Fiery Ignis was one of the oldest people in Mystia. He didn't believe Jonah at all. "Give me a reason. Why should I trust you? Who sent you here?" Fiery Ignis asked back telepathically. He refused to let these Ice Temple people go further.The scout could sense something was wrong, and he turned on the Ice Temple guys. Jonah finally told Fiery Ignis who sent him. "Saints of the Five Eleme
Katherine was being docile here because Nox possessed the Nine-State Crucible. Only people from her faction knew how powerful that item was. They only managed to rise to power because the crucible went missing.Nox said nothing more. He infused his Saint power into the altar, and it woke up. The moment it did, a small space opened up, isolated from the world. Through the altar's entrance, everyone saw the ancient energy within. It was huge. Enough for Nox's use.Then, the energy started to leak. Not even Nox could stop that. "This thing is connected to the island. The whole place is radiating energy. Pick up the pace, people," Nox said.Everyone went into the altar's chamber and quickly took in the energy.Fiery Ignis was on the island, taking the Altar back. He sensed the spilling energy, and he knew Nox had begun. "Get ready, people. If Nox breaks through smoothly, we'll fight with the path of the sword. If he fails… be prepared to fight to the death," he said to the survivors te
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