"Damn, this ce is freezing," us muttered, gazing at therge expanse of frozen ice. The domain of the Four-Tail Ice Scorpion Demon Queen was nothing less than a fortress of ice.


    "On second thought, I''ll add all points to Agility. Speed is important," us said, quickly allocating the points, instantly making him feel more confident. His speed is on the next level now...


    He began flying toward the area where the ice seemed thicker and denser. After a few seconds of flying, he arrives in a rather majestic setting...


    "A demon with style. Not bad," us mused as he gazed at the majestic mountain made of ice in the distance. The sight was breathtaking, but it would soon be dyed with blood.


    For that was the only oue of this battle—blood mixing with the bluish ice.


    "You are trespassing here, human." Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire


    Just as us was 300 meters away from the ice fortress, a chilling tone echoed, instantly halting his advance.


    His eyes turned red, activating the eye of malevolence... that was when he saw the beauty he was about to kill.


    ''Such a pity,'' he thought.


    She had long blue hair and a slender figure, yet heavy on the chest. Her eyes were a striking blue, and, well, who said beast demons were monsters? No, this one could easily bring the fall of a nation.


    She was d in form-fitting armour that seemed to expose some sensitive parts of her body spitefully. She was practically tempting us.


    ''Such a pity,'' us thought again, and then he made up his mind.


    "I am here to kill you, so I guess my trespassing should be the least of your worries," us said with a smug grin.


    Laughter rang out from the ice fortress as the blue-haireddy fanned herself with the most lethal yet elegant weapon. The fan looked deadly and refined, but ''such a pity'' indeed.


    Such a beauty would have to die so he could live.


    "I don''t think what I said was funny... did I?" us asked teasingly.


    "You, a mere fragile human, think you can handle me?" Ember, the Ice Queen of Anarchy and Death, asked with an amused smirk.


    It was the funniest thing she had heard in her long life of carnage and destruction.


    "I don''t know about fragile, but back in my world, I''m known for handling my fair share of dangerous women. Too bad your handling will be... different," us said, his tone growing serious as he felt the shift in his surroundings.


    He was caught inside her domain. His stats dropped significantly, but he didn''t panic. Instead, a sword materialized in his grip, and he struck backwards, deflecting a metal fan that had nearly severed his head.


    "Not bad, but you can forget about killing me. Of course, I won''t kill you now; I need to taste you first." Her scorpion-like tongue licked her buttery lips as she lunged at him again.


    us smirked, and then four versions of himself appeared, making the scorpiondy frown and halt in her flight. She gazed down at the four versions of us, her frown deepening.


    Why?


    Because the four were us in both blood and spirit, they were different at the same time—a bizarre sight that would undoubtedly catch anyone by surprise.


    One was d in dark pyjamas, holding a painting brush. The smirk on his face suggested he wasn''t taking the battle seriously.


    Another wore the regal garment of a king, a crown resting on his head. In his hand was a wand, signifying he was a mage.@@novelbin@@


    The third was shirtless, disying a ripped physique that could steal anydy''s heart. His gaze on the scorpiondy was filled with lustful intent.


    But the menace was the fourth. He was a mummy, holding a sign that read, "Remember how you died."


    Suddenly, the shirtless one dashed away, and the others followed with equally peculiar behaviour. They ran in different directions, deepening the scorpiondy''s frown further.


    "Trying to run and leave the domain? In your dreams," she sneered, dashing after the mummy. But her body froze mid-air as she felt her soul struck by a powerful soul attack.


    For a moment, she was paralyzed in the air—just enough time to hear thest words she would ever hear.


    "Skybound Bow Art: Void Piercing Arrow."


    us, now 200 meters away in the air, released one of the two arrows tempered with the [God-Killing Arrow Runic Tempering Art].


    The arrow vanished, leaving no trace of its presence. The next instant, it pierced through the heart of the scorpiondy, who didn''t even realize what had happened until it was toote.


    She fell to the ground, lifeless. Blood oozed from her chest wound, soaking the blue ice as us had envisioned.


    "Ha," us sighed.


    His brain had gone into overdrive for a second, but his n had worked. And as always, a good n is only perfect when executed wlessly.


    us had done just that. He had killed an Ascendent rather easily and effortlessly...


    The n was rather dangerous, and he knew it from the start.


    He nned to use the [Poison Damage] form of the [Reality Check] illusion technique to create four tangible versions of himself.


    The illusions could not be discerned from the real him unless the opponent''s mental strength was exceptionally strong.


    Even then, superior mental strength wouldn''t be enough without oveing the Star Qi coating the illusion clones.


    That couldn''t be done in an instant, and a single second was all us needed to make his hasty retreat using the [Vanishing Step] movement technique and take to the sky.


    The rest would depend on how engaged the opponent became with his illusion clones.


    Thankfully, us''s sense of humour was rather wild, and he was able to catch her off guard for three seconds—one more second than he had initially estimated.


    This was thanks to the [Mummy] clone that was disying the sign. us needed that to make her spend another second of dy.


    Then, his decision to add 10,600 points to agility was spot on. He managed to move quickly and with precision. With the [Skybound Bow Art], he was confident she would die for sure.


    But even if she managed to defend against the arrow, she would still be injured, giving him the chance to fire a second one.


    But that wasn''t the only surprise us had in store.


    As someone who was an expert with every weapon, he knew how to use them well. He had hidden the [Void Piercing Needles] in the [Mummy] and the [Mage King].


    us was always prepared because he knew he had to bring his A-game. The current him had no business defeating Ascendants.


    But he had to, and that meant using his brain.


    ''I guess I''ll have to add more points to intelligence after absorbing the core and forming the 8th core. I''m almost there,'' us thought beforending softly beside therge scorpion body that had appeared.


    ''I can''t take this body too,'' us sighed. He had tried taking Zarok''s body before but wasn''t able to. This was the same.


    He sat down as pain coursed through his body when the three items were absorbed into him.


    ___________


    Alida looked at Lissa, and the two smiled. They had witnessed the short yet decisive battle, and in their eyes, their master was a monster.


    "I guess he has the spirit of a Paragon in him after all. I wonder if he already realizes that his intelligence is his greatest strength.


    Ah, well."