Augustus roared as he swung Dragonflight.Sword energy swished through the air and charged toward the invisible enemy's direction. The energy exploded one after another when they hit surfaces.Nox raised his hand to stop Augustus before the young man could take further action. "Stand down, little one."A hint of unwillingness flashed across Augustus' youthful face, but he obeyed.Nox scanned his surroundings confidently, golden light gleaming in his eyes. "I'm not going to repeat myself, so listen carefully. Reveal yourself right now, or I'll make you regret it."At that, he took a step forward. His aura shook the earth under their feet."I expected nothing less from the Great Lord of Faeast," a sinister and husky voice teased.At that moment, the ground below them split, and eight people, all dressed in black robes, emerged from the crack.Their intimidating aura indicated they were Legend Realms. Yet, their black robes covered their faces, hiding their appearance from Nox's g
It seemed that no one had expected that Nox would kill someone, let alone a master in the Legend Realm.Nox stood firm, and his gaze was icy as he declared, "Anyone who dares to blatantly divide Faeast's territory deserves to be annihilated!"Realization struck the others.Indeed, the lanky man who Nox had just killed did hint at the desire to cause division earlier by saying that Nox could separate one part of the land and keep on with his status as a lord and marquis as long as he left Imperia.Therefore, as the Great Lord of Faeast, Nox undoubtedly would kill him after hearing his statement.Now that the other seven masters had witnessed their comrade getting killed by Nox, they all trembled in fear."Lord Nox, we respect and look up to you, but we are compelled by the power of the emperor's order to stop you! Please leave Imperia for the sake of Faeast's 5,000-year-old reign and Four Great Powers!" Another elderly man came forth and spoke.Nox burst out laughing."You're su
In the blink of an eye, two of these eight Legend Realm masters who came to stop Nox from entering Imperia perished.The remaining six masters were all petrified.After all, a martial arts practitioner would be known to have achieved divinity once they entered the Legend Realm.Divinity was the peak of cultivation, and it could only be attained after decades and even hundreds of years of practice.But now, two of the Legend Realm masters were killed by Nox and Augustus in a snap. Although they were merely Beginner Legend Realms, they were still masters."Lord Nox, could it be that you want to defy the emperor's order and betray Faeast?" Another elder questioned Nox."Betray?" Nox scoffed."You think you have the right to mention that word? I am a Faeastian. I am and will always be a part of Faeast. I have been guarding the lands of Faeast all my life! How dare a bunch of insignificant lots like you mention betrayal in front of me?"As Nox spoke, an unparalleled murderous intent
At the end of the art lay the climax of the source.Such was the Technique of Arts, one of the Eight Techniques Nox had mastered.Gazing at the large pit before him and the Legend Realm masters who had perished, Bear exclaimed, "Milord, your cultivation has finally returned to its peak!""Oh, what do you know? Nox has yet to wield the last two techniques! Besides, everyone on earth will die if he unleashes all eight techniques."Augustus' eyes gleamed with admiration as he looked at Nox ardently.As someone who looked up to Nox the most, he had regarded Nox as his lifelong hero since childhood.That was also the reason why he had been following Nox."You're right, kid. No one can stop Lord Nox if he unleashes all his eight techniques!"Crowned as a lord in Mystia, Nox had shocked the world with his Crowning Eight Techniques.He had unified the families, sects, and countless clans that had been scattered for thousands of years.Unexpectedly, all forces in Imperia came to stop
Aphrodite resembled an ancient empress, clad in a majestic golden robe and crowned with a phoenix coronet.Her breathtakingly beautiful face made her even more of an empress.A flame emblem at the center of her brow added an eerie touch to her appearance."He has come to Imperia?" Aphrodite asked slowly."Yes. And our three families have already dispatched eight Legend Realms to intercept him..." the silver-haired elder from the Mullers, who was leading the group, replied."Eight? You three families underestimate the former Great Lord of Faeast too much! Forget eight. Even if you sent eighty, it would still be courting death!" Aphrodite chuckled.At these words, the faces of the three people from the Mullers, the Heffersons, and the Geoffreys, respectively, darkened."Lady, what should we do now?"Aphrodite replied coldly, "You acted on your own to stop him from entering Imperia, but now you're asking me?"The three people immediately apologized. "We are sorry. We were mistake
When Aphrodite uttered these words, a trace of worry appeared on her face.Back then, Nox was unrivaled in Imperia as the Great Lord of Faeast. Though he was currently in a "fallen" state, he still had a large number of followers.It was simply unrealistic to eliminate all of his followers! Once they discovered that the renowned Lord Nox was still alive, it would be like a spark that would spread like wildfire.Cardinale Mousse smirked sinisterly. "Don't worry. He won't dare!"Aphrodite was puzzled. "Why?""Because he's the Great Lord of Faeast! Therefore, he would never provoke civil unrest in Faeast! If he were to rebel, he would have returned to Imperia with an army on the day you ascended to the throne instead of waiting until now!"Cardinale chuckled mysteriously as he spoke.Upon hearing this, Aphrodite seemed to understand something.Back then, she had poisoned him, and she had also seized his throne. If he didn't retaliate then, how could he now?"But regardless, his r
Upon hearing Nox suddenly express a desire to "go home" and take a look, Bear stood up in surprise and asked, "Milord, didn't you say before that home was meaningless? Why do you suddenly want to go back now?"Ever since Nox left home at the age of five, he had never returned to the Greenshade estate.Even after becoming the foremost figure in Faeast, Nox had never returned.He harbored hatred in his heart. He resented his father's heartlessness. Even more, he resented them for driving his mother out of the family.Nox's sworn brothers knew that he and his mother depended on each other after being driven out of the Greenshade estate.His mother, frail and often ill, ultimately worked herself to death.From the age of eight, Nox began wandering and became a beggar. It wasn't until he was nine that his master took him to Mystia.A chill emanated from Nox as he reflected on the past."I want to go home just to see my grandmother," Nox said softly while looking into the distance.
The child who was singing was about five to six years old. Her eyes shimmered with life, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. She wore an adorable yellow dress, and she swung back and forth on the park's swing as she hummed a tune."Do you think it was nice, Grandma?" A few more rounds of singing later, the girl stared at the crone beside her and asked.The crone was about ninety years old, her hair pallid and wilted like hay. Her face was rough from the torment of elements, and wrinkles punctured every inch of her skin. She was blind in one eye, and the other was not better off either.She was hunkered down behind the girl, pushing her swing. "Your singing is beautiful, Gina," she muttered."Really? So, who is better? Me or the boy?" the girl asked.The mention of the boy made the crone shiver, and even her good eye twitched. "You're both good."The girl beamed, and the swing rocked again, but the crone was taken back to a time more than ten years ago. Just like what she was doi
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