Silas saw his father and uncle off. Then, he turned his dark gaze to the SS Empire. "You're not going anywhere, bitch," he hissed. Silas then made a call.…Back in the hall, Queenie was still dealing with all the guests toasting her. She didn't want to drink, but with everyone raising a toast, she had to keep taking sips. Eventually, her cheeks were red, and her mind was fuzzy.She said, "Sorry, everyone. Please excuse me." She ran into the restroom and looked into the mirror. A reflection of her, red as an apple, stared back. Queenie splashed her face with ice-cold water."I can't stay here any longer. Gotta scoot," she said. "But what about Alexander? I don't get to meet him every day. I can't let this misunderstanding go on any longer. He even gave me this diamond."She took out Bluetear, but Queenie wasn't happy at all. A frown furrowed her brows, her eyes still fixed on the gemstone. She sighed. "This doesn't belong to me. I cannot take it."Queenie stuffed the diamond back
"So, you do remember me, bitch," said Silas poisonously."W-What do you want?" Queenie scrambled backward in fear."What do I want? You cheated on me and hooked up with that old git, didn't you? Think I'd chicken out just because of that? Well, you thought wrong. And you aren't going anywhere."He ordered, "You lot, get her!"The men charged at Queenie. Queenie screamed at the top of her lungs, screeching for help as she tried to struggle free of the men, but she was no match for a group of strongmen.One of the men covered her with a kerchief laced with chloroform, and it knocked Queenie out. They took her into the SUV and slammed the door shut. Just like that, Silas abducted Queenie.…Back on the cruise ship, Nox was still in his parlor, but then Alexander came rushing in."Milord."Nox calmly asked, "How's the event doing? And where's the girl?""I apologize, milord. Ms. Sanders has left. It seems I did not take adequate care of her." Alexander bowed."She left? Before t
Nox wasted no time in the search.The stall owner looked at Nox. "And you are?""Her boyfriend," Nox answered.The owner answered, "Then you're too late. A bunch of guys kidnapped your girlfriend."Nox's face fell. "Can you tell me who her abductors were, mister?"The owner told Nox all about the abduction, and in the end, he told Nox that Queenie was taken into a black SUV.An air of murder burst forth and swirled around Nox. He'd barely taken his eyes off Queenie for minutes, and she was taken away. "Thank you, mister."Nox galloped back to the spot where Queenie was abducted. The air around him was freezing, and he scanned the surroundings sharply. He noticed the surveillance cameras hanging around, and he called Alexander."Milord."With murder in his voice, Nox said, "Alex, I want you to mobilize all your connections in the traffic department and find all you can about an SUV that stopped by the pier moments ago. Right now!"Alexander was surprised by the urgency. He ask
Silas had no idea that Nox had found where his car was going.A bald guy turned around, grinning. "Where are you taking her, Silas?""Royal Hotel." Silas smiled venomously at the unconscious Queenie. "You're mine for the night, bitch. I'll torture you. Dawg, did you get me the red pill like I told you to?"Dawg snickered and grinned toothily. His teeth were coal-black, however. "Ready for you. Here you go." He produced a bottle of red pill.Silas took the bottle and leered at Queenie. "You're going to have a nice night, bitch. Dawg, when I'm done with her, do with her however you want. Just don't kill her. And make sure you take a lot of photos."Dawg licked his lips happily. "Thank you, Silas."They took Queenie to Royal Hotel and went straight to the 23rd story. Silas took her into a room and tossed her onto a bed. Already there were cameras around the bed. Silas told his lackeys to stand guard at the door, and after they left, he slammed the door shut.He turned his venomous
Dawg raised his head, and he saw a man standing at the elevator's entrance. He was aloof, icy, and dashing, but more importantly, he radiated the air of a king. One look, and the thugs were already quivering."Who the hell is that guy? When did he show up?" the man with a scar asked.Dawg said nothing, but alarm bells were ringing in his head. He felt danger incoming.Yes, the man who came was Nox himself. The moment he knew where the SUV was going, he came after it. And he finally arrived. He scanned the thugs coldly and recognized who they were—Queenie's kidnappers.Nox strode over quietly. The thugs stood, alarmed and on guard. Dawg even secretly took out the dagger he'd been hiding. He glared at the incoming Nox, questioning, "Who are you?"Nox ignored him."Hey, we're talking to you! Who the heck are you?" The man with the scar stepped ahead, trying to shove Nox away, but before he could do much, something lashed out at him, and he found Nox's hand around his throat.Nox cr
"Queenie!" Nox called out to her, but Queenie did not respond. He darted over to her and checked her pulse. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Just a regular drug."And then someone opened the bathroom door. Out came Silas, draped in nothing but a towel. He was drying his hair, humming a tune happily, but that was cut short when he saw a stranger standing in the room.He glared at Nox and demanded, "Who are you? How did you get in?"Nox slowly got up and turned around."God—" When Silas saw who he was facing, he slipped and almost fell. "Y-You?" He couldn't believe Nox would show up.Nox looked at Silas coolly. He hissed, "I distinctly remember our last meeting. I told you if you tried to hurt Queenie again, I will kill you myself. That time is now."Silas felt fear settling in. He knew how powerful this man was. "Guards? Guards, come in!" Silas shouted at the door.Nox interrupted icily, "Save your breath. I've slaughtered your thugs."'What?' Silas wondered in fear. 'Dawg an
Nox didn't even look at Silas' body. He turned around and approached Queenie. Carefully, he picked her up and put his hands on her back. He injected slivers of energy into Queenie, and not too long after, Queenie spat the drug out.Still, she needed rest before she could wake up. Nox looked at her again and took her away from the hotel.…It was eleven at night. George and Yvette were in the courtyard, waiting for Queenie."Why isn't she home yet, honey?" George was pacing around, looking at the entrance with worry."Oh, what's the rush? It's only eleven. Rich people's parties always take a long time," answered Yvette."You have a point, but I wonder how far she's gone with Mr. Weeks," George muttered."Don't you worry. Queenie is a nice and pretty lady. I bet Alexander is going to reward us well."And then someone opened the door. George and Yvette watched Nox coming in, bringing their unconscious daughter. They wondered what happened."What? Queenie? What did you do to my da
And George left. Nox didn't take what he said to heart. Just like that, the night came to an end, but the aftermath was just beginning to take place.The next morning, Silas' death was exposed, and it sent ripples throughout the city. Centersea's heir's death was bound to do that. However, Queenie was still peacefully asleep in her house. But eventually, she was woken up by some noise.Her eyes snapped open, and she shouted, "Help!"Yvette was holding a cup of honeyed tea. Shocked by her daughter's scream for help, she asked, "What's wrong, Queenie?"Queenie was surprised to hear her mother's voice, and she stared at Yvette, wide-eyed. "Mom? Why are you here?""Where else would I be, child?" Yvette handed the tea to Queenie. "Did you have too much to drink last night? You're not even a drinker. Why'd you drink so much?"'I had too much to drink?' Queenie wondered in confusion. She massaged her head and stared at the room around her. It looked familiar. 'I'm at home? But didn't Si
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