On the bustling streets of Imperia, a lithe figure in a red dress appeared. She was as beautiful as a celebrity, and her dress clung to her tightly, showing off her perfect curves. Though she had no makeup on, she was more gorgeous than any woman.Two golden bells hung on her wrists, and they clanged every time she walked. Her eyes twinkled with life, and they could captivate anyone who stared at them for too long. When she smiled, dimples formed on her cheeks, and it lent to her allure.The appearance of this lady attracted the attention of many men. Some even took out their phones to take a picture, but none dared go close.Beside the woman were two bizarre men. One was bald and had muscles as tall as mountains, while the other was a dwarfish old man with eyes that gleamed darkly."Redsleeve, Mr. Claude said we're to work for the lord. I can't believe the legend is still alive. This is unexpected," said the dwarfish old man. He was smoking through a black pipe."I don't care if
While Nox and Bear were talking, Augustus' eyes turned icy, and a murderous aura swirled around him. "Who dares skulk around? Show yourselves!" He raised his hand, and a blast of sword energy hurtled toward the space outside the courtyard.Something clanged, and three silhouettes appeared. The one in the lead was a fair and gorgeous lady in a red dress, with golden bells hanging from her wrists. One of her companions was a muscled bald guy, while the other was a dwarfish old man with a smoke pipe in his hand.These people were the powerful warriors Daniel raised: Redsleeve, Steely, and Oldsmoke.Augustus stepped forth. "How dare you trespass upon this land? Do you have a death wish?" He was a murderous guy, and he surrounded the intruders with his will-of-the-sword.If he so wished, he could kill these three easily.Feeling the lad's icy, murderous aura, Oldsmoke quickly said, "Lad, calm down. We're here to swear fealty to Master Nox!"Augustus' eyes gleamed, and he looked at Nox
Oldsmoke's eyes glowed blue all of a sudden. He tried to use Prying Eye to see how powerful Nox really was, but the moment he laid eyes on Nox, a wave of ice-cold sensation assailed his eyes. He tried to pull back his power, but it was too late.Oldsmoke saw piles of corpses and the sea of blood around Nox. He saw the mountains of skeletons under his feet, and finally, he saw Nox standing tall atop a mountain of carnage, and behind him was a world of dead bodies."Dear gods!" Oldsmoke gasped. He staggered backward and shivered violently as if he'd seen the most horrifying thing on earth."What's wrong, old man?" asked Redsleeve quickly, seeing an Origin Realm sorcerer getting spooked so much.Oldsmoke didn't answer. Instead, he opened his eyes with fear. Then he went down on his knees before Nox. "I curse myself! I should never have used the Prying Eye to… to peer at you, my liege! Please, spare me!"Redsleeve and Steely were flabbergasted seeing Oldsmoke so scared. They had no id
"You're not the heir to the Greenshade clan?" Steely was stunned.Nox shook his head while Steely rubbed his head in confusion. "Fine, since you're not the heir, I won't make things hard for you." He backed off and returned to Redsleeve's side. "Redsleeve, he's not the heir. Did we get the wrong person?" asked Steely naively.Redsleeve shot him a glare. "Shut it, you oaf!" She turned to Nox. "Greetings, Master Nox. I am Redsleeve, in your service.""Greetings, Master Nox. I am Dave Bleat, in your service." Oldsmoke went on his knees as well.Steely was stunned upon witnessing this scene. He was utterly befuddled. Before he could say anything, Nox said, "I told you, I'm not the heir. You got the wrong person.""No. You are the Great Lord of Faeast. We didn't get the wrong person," said Redsleeve quickly."Red's right. You're not just the Great Lord of Faeast, but you're also the pride and joy of the clan. We'd never get the wrong person," said Oldsmoke.Bear was surprised. "Milor
Back in the room, Nox looked thunderous, especially after knowing that the trio was the suicide squad his father trained for him. After Daniel kicked him and his mother out of the clan, Nox swore he wanted to have nothing to do with the Greenshades.He never talked about his lineage, even after he became the Great Lord of Faeast. All everyone knew was his sheer unbeatable strength, but few knew of his background. Eighteen years went by, and Daniel suddenly sent his suicide squad to swear fealty to him? There was no way he would accept them.Nox remained seated for a long while. After a moment, Bear and Bard came in. Nox asked. "Are they gone?""No. They're still in the courtyard," said Bear."Fine, they can stay. Let's see how long they can hold on to their composure," said Nox heartlessly.Bear mused over it for a while. "Milord, they seem sincere, and they're strong. Why don't you keep them around?"Nox shot him a murderous glare, and Bear shut up immediately."Don't forget. A
While Oldsmoke and Steely were talking, Bear and Bard came out. Redsleeve quickly walked up to them. "Hey, you two. Can you put in a good word with Master Nox? We really want to work for him."Redsleeve was smart enough to see that Bear and Bard were close to Nox, so she hoped they would do her a favor. Alas, Bear smiled bitterly. "Sorry, lass, but no one can control the lord. Just listen to me and leave.""Leave? We can't. Mr. Greenshade said we either swear our fealty to Master Nox, or we die." Redsleeve put on an aggrieved look.Bear sighed. "Sorry, but I can't do anything about it."Redsleeve was a little frustrated. 'What now?' Since Nox refused to take them in, the trio was a little miffed. They were Legend Realms who wanted to work for Nox, but he refused to take them in."What now, old man?" Redsleeve was out of ideas.Oldsmoke heaved a sigh. "What else? Mr. Claude made it clear. If we fail to swear fealty to Master Nox, we're dead meat. We have to wait.""Fine."In the
"Come, talk with me." Claude walked out of the courtyard, and Nox followed. Although Nox hated the clan and Daniel, he would never despise Claude.Claude adored him since he was little. He loved to carry Nox around on his shoulders and ran around pretending to be his horse. Eighteen years had gone by, and Claude was now old and gray. He even had wrinkles. Regardless, Nox recognized him immediately.They arrived at a bamboo copse, and Claude stared at the nephew he hadn't seen for eighteen years. "You're all grown up. More handsome, too. Why, you're taller than me now." Claude smiled.Nox stood in silence."I saw you when you were crowned lord on Mystia. All eyes were on you. You were astonishing." The memories of what happened six years ago made Claude tear up again.Although Nox and his mother were banished, the clan still kept its eye on him. However, Nox had no idea about it. Claude looked at Nox lovingly. "Nox, tell me, has life treated you well?""Yes, Uncle Claude." Nox smi
"I'm here to tell you that no matter what you do, the clan will always have your back. Even if you're going to fight the most powerful thing around, we'll help you out." Claude looked into the darkness. "Come out."Redsleeve, Steely, and Oldsmoke appeared like phantoms. "Greetings, Mr. Claude." They bowed to Claude."You have seen Nox, I presume?"The trio nodded. Claude continued, "Then you know what you must do?""Yes. From this moment onward, our lives are Master Nox's. If he wants us to live, then we shall. If he wants us to give our lives, then we shall do that as well."Claude nodded with satisfaction and turned to Nox. "Nox, these people are trained by Daniel, and their job is to protect you. You will manage them from now on."Nox then said, "Uncle Claude, I don't want them.""Why?" Claude asked."Because I don't want anything from him." He was talking about Daniel.Claude quickly said, "I know you hate Daniel, but these people are loyal to you. Plus, we spent a fortune
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