《The blood king》


 Chapter 1 Levi crimson

    "Get lost trash!" to this day, those words still ring in his ears. 5 years ago, at the age of 7, levi was kicked out of his clan and stripped of everything he had, even the azure family name. everyday he is bullied, beat up and sneered at. why, you might ask. Because he is trash.


    in the five years after being exiled from his clan, levi struggled to survive. begging for food on the streets, eating from garbage, and this wasn''t even the worst of it. people came to beat him up and bully him every day. and every day, his heart would grow colder. he swore to himself that if he became strong one day, even if he was to become a demon, he would live as he pleased.


    just as he was thinking that, a voice rang out. "You should be sufficient. you are weak and alone. do you seek strength?" a person wearing a black robe, and a hood over his head walked up to him. "Yes!" without any hesitation, levi replied. "even if you become a demon hated by all?" the mysterious person asked again.


    "old man, aren''t i already hated by all?" levi looked up at the person. the person was shocked and then started to laugh. "hahahah! then drink! drink this accursed blood of mine! become strong enough to decide your own fate!"


    The mysterious person lifted levi up and opened his mouth. suddenly the man''s hand started bleeding, he let the blood flow into levi''s mouth. it didn''t taste like blood, in fact it was sweet. at first it was warm, but at time went by the blood in his body became scorching hot.


    "aghhhh!" levi groaned in pain. he was twisting and rolling up on the ground due to the pain. it felt like he was being boiled from the inside out. his bones felt like they were being broken and rebuilt, over and over again. he felt like his organs were being eaten by ants. while levi was rolling around due to pain, the impurities in his body were being pushed out.


    he passed out from the pain. levi was left passed out on the ground, in a puddle of his own filth.


    a few hours later.


    levi''s eyelids twitched as he smelled something putrid. he got up and found himself in a puddle of greenish black grime. he felt the urge to puke, but held it down. he couldn''t afford to puke, who knows if he would get something to eat tomorrow.


    it was night time but a lone figure was stealing water from a well. but no matter how he tried, the smell just wouldn''t dissapear, so the figure jumped in! when he got into the well, he rubbed his skin on the walls until the smell dissapeared, then proceeded to climb out.


    needless to say, that well would need to be sealed from now on. the figure, as you have already guessed, was levi. he scurried off after polluting the well. when running he fell. ''strange. when was i ever that fast?'' levi thought as he got up.


    he felt a burning sensation and looked down at his hand. there was a big cut that was bleeding. for some reason, levi felt the urge to make the blood stop. the second he thought about stopping the blood, it froze, as if receiving an order. levi was shocked when he saw this turn of events, he then thought of calling the blood back into his body.


    as the blood seeped back into his hand, some dirt and stuff was left on his hand. it was like the dirt was filtered out. levi was bewildered when these things happened, then he remembered the mysterious person he met. he thought that meeting that person was a dream, but how else would he able to do these things if not for that person?


    he clenched his fist and felt power that he never felt before. at this moment a voice appeared in his head.


    "this skill is called ''blood evolution skill''. to become stronger, absorb the bloodlines and skills of humans and beast alike. the sole purpose of this skill is to become the strongest! to become stronger, you will have to put your life on the line! you already have the bloodline of the last blood lord inside you, use it as a stepping stone on your path to unrivaled power!"


    the voice shook levi to his core. he wasn''t afraid, he was excited. he finally found a path to strength. even if he were to become a demon, he will gain power. not to get back into his clan, not go get back his friends, not to regain the love of his parents.


    no, he wanted power so that he could do as he pleased, he wanted the power to be able to get what he wants. he didn''t need things as shallow as family and friends. levi laughed out crazily, then ran off. he found a tree and went to sleep in it.


    Morning.


    levi woke up to a bird pecking his face and fell out of the tree. "aghh, fuck!" he looked up at the bird coldly. the bird looked down at the fool who fell out of the tree, this human was snoring throughout the night and kept it''s children up. if he didn''t get revenge, how could he call himself a bird?


    levi got up and dusted off himself. then he thought of something, didn''t that voice say something about absorbing bloodlines of both humans and beast? his lips curled up into a cold grin as he looked at the pesky bird. but he would have to be disappointed, because to absorb the birds bloodline, he would have to catch it first.


    These particular birds were know for their speed. so he could only leave helplessly. he then thought a while before going out of the city. he went into the forest that was just outside of the north city gate. that forest was filled with all kinds of animals.


    as he was looking around, his eyes landed on a wild boar. he picked up a sharp rock and snuck up on it, tip toe style. "haa!" he stabbed down, but, the boar, who was startled, ran off even faster. it seemed to remember something as it turned around and angrily charged at levi.


    levi, who didn''t know any martial arts skills froze for a moment before dodging to the side. the tusk cut his stomach. levi fell to the ground while trembling, the boar however, turned around to face him again. levi held up the sharp stone with trembling hands.


    the boar charged towards him again, levi closed his eyes and stabbed forward with the rock.


    puchi!


    the boars tusk pierced his stomach this time, but he clenched his teeth and stabbed towards the boars eye. another piercing sound rang out as the rock stabbed into the boars eye. the boar Unsteadily walked backward, pulling the tusk out with it. levi winced in pain when the tusk was pulled out. he watched as the boar fell to the ground and breathed it''s last.


    levi struggled to walk towards the boar and sat down beside it. he reached out and touched the boar and suddenly, a warm feeling went through his right hand and into his body. the boar got smaller, then his skin began to itch. the hole in his stomach closed up and it felt like his skin felt smoother and tougher than before.


    "is this the bloodline of the boar? tough skin, huh." he mumbled. he got up and left to find some dry wood. when he got back, he rubbed some sticks together and lit a fire, then used the sharp rock from earlier to skin the boar. Even though he didn''t put any seasonings or salt on it, it tasted damn good!


    probably because he absorbed all the blood from the boar, it wasn''t raw and tasted quite good. after eating, he got up and went back to the city. he was walking when he caught sight of two people, those people also noticed him.


    "oh if it isn''t levi the outcast." the girl sneered. "don''t you know? this guy, wait my apologies, this ''thing'' has the blood of a cockroach, no matter how much you want it do die, it will just keep living!" the boy said. levi looked at the duo coldly, these two were people from the azure clan. during these five years, it was their favorite thing to beat him up until he couldn''t even walk.


    the two of them are twins, blond hair, black eyes, pink lips and pointed noses. they looked exactly the same except one had a third leg and the other had steamed buns on her chest. levi looked at them, his reddish black hair blowing in the wind.


    the twins walked up to levi and stood right in front of him. without a word, levi punched out at the boys face, sending him stumbling back. before the girl could react, he kicked her stomach and sent her flying. although he didn''t know any martial arts skills, after killing the boar and absorbing it''s bloodline, he could at least hit hard.


    levi walked up to the boy who fell from the surprise attack and stomped on his face, then towards his stomach, breaking his dantian. he then proceeded to strip his cloths and slung them over his shoulder. he walked up to the trembling girl, she was looking up to him in fear and anger. he kicked her in the face, knocking out some of her teeth, then proceeded to stomp on her stomach multiple times, breaking her dantian and crushing whatever else was there.


    after doing the deed, he walked off. when the onlookers saw this happen, they looked on in shock. they were shocked because someone actually dared to beat the azure clans children to such a degree. but they were even more shocked because of the one who did it, was the trash that the azure clan discarded, Levi azure!


    after leaving the crime scene, levi changed out of his rags and put on the cloths he robbed from boy that i don''t have the time or patients to name, they fit perfectly. he decided to go back into the forest because he knew the azure clan''s people would come looking for him.


    when he got into the forest, it was already approaching night time. he looked for a suitable tree to sleep in. when he was closing his eyes, he heard steps and voices. he opened his eyes and silently looked for the source of the sounds.


    he found a boy and a girl, they looked about 16 or 17 wearing black robes. they were arguing about being lost and whose fault it was. "i can''t believe we''re lost! this is all your fault! how can it be that you can''t even find a mere star city?!" the girl spat. the boy wore a helpless expression. "isn''t it because you used the map to light a fire?" he asked. "ohhh? so it''s my fault then?!" the girl shouted.


    "sighhh, it''s not your fault. so instead of arguing, why not ask the person up in the tree?" the boy looked up to where levi was. levi was shocked and tensed up, looking warily at the two people. when she saw levi, the girls eyes sparkled. "little brother there! can you tell big sister where i can find star city?"


    ''this kid is so cute!'' she thought. her fellow disciple could only helplessly face palm. ''dammit, i forgot this girl flips out whenever she see''s cute children! she always talks about her cute little sister!''. levi still looked at the pair of clowns warily. he pointed to a certain direction " go that way and you should find star city." he said coldly.


    But the female disciples just found him even cuter because of it. she looked at levi, her eyes basically shooting lasers at this point. "little brother, do you want to come with us?" she asked excitedly, she looked at levi in anticipation. "no." levi''s cold yet childish voice rang out again. "awww, thats too bad. if we pass back here and find you, i will bring you back to the sect no matter what!" she mumbled.


    the male disciple heard what she said and thought ''hey, hey, hey, that''s kidnapping! kid run! this crazy girl has her sights on you!'' then followed behind her.

 Chapter 2 Leaving star city

    "hey, who do you think that kid was? he was soooooo cute!" the girl asked. "how am i supposed to know? his parents probably died or something, leaving him without anyone to rely on. didn''t you hear the coldness in his voice was? just leave the kid alone, that''s what he wants." the boy said dazed, as if remembering something.


    "ehhh? but if he doesn''t have anyone to rely on, shouldn''t i do something? i know! i''ll adopt him as my little brother!" she said excitedly. noah looked at his junior sister and smiled helplessly. "what ever makes you happy, ava." they got out of the forest after a few more minutes.


    when they got into the city they saw a lot of people wearing azure robes, running around looking for something. "find that bastard! an outcast like him dares to beat up someone from the azure clan! find him and beat him to death!" a middle aged man shouted angrily.


    Ava and noah walked up to a stall that had yet to close up. "what''s going on?" noah asked. the stall owner looked at them but said nothing. noah took out few of copper coins and repeated the question. "those people are from the azure clan. they are looking for a boy they exiled a few years ago. apparently the boy beat two twins savagely, now both of them are crippled and the girl can''t even have children anymore." when the stall owner finished, he looked to Noah''s hand expectantly.


    ava and noah walked off. "hey noah, do you think that cute kid we met is the one they are looking for?" ava asked. "it''s a possibility, but i don''t thing that''s the case. and didn''t i tell you to call me senior brother?" he replied. "noah, noah, noah, i will never call you senior brother! stupid noah!" she stuck out her tongue.


    noah sighed helplessly and said nothing more about the matter.


    in the forest.


    levi was sleeping in the tree, when he heard a group of people walking towards his direction. he opened his eyes and hid in the shadows of the night. "do you really think that waste is in this forest? i don''t think he could survive a single day out here!" one man said. "well, he wasn''t in the city, so where else could he be?" another one said.


    "tch! this is so annoying! split up and search! if you find that brat, kill him and bring back his head!" the leader of the group said impatiently. the group of 5 men split up, 4 going in different directions and the last stayed to search the area.


    levi, who was hiding in the tree heard everything the man said. his heart becoming increasingly cold. ''want to kill me? very well then! i will kill all of you first!'' he thought. stalking the man with his eyes, levi was just waiting for an opportunity.


    the man came under the branch that levi was sleeping on and paused before a splashing sound disturbed the quiet forest. levi silently walked across the broad branch, and waited. when the man was putting his third leg back, levi jumped from the branch and landed on the man''s shoulders.


    levi stabbed at the mans head with the sharp rock, but then got thrown off of the mans shoulders. "you bastard! i''m going to kill you!" the man screamed in anger. how could he not be angry? he was almost killed with a sneak attack.


    the man pulled out a dagger that he had around his waist, and rushed at levi. levi dodged to the side and quickly punched the man in his side. "hahaha, you trash think you can hurt me with a punch like that? dream on!" the man sneered, then ran towards levi again.


    this time levi didn''t dodge, he stood still and waited. oh and in case you forgot, this man is swinging around two daggers at the moment. when the knife was about to stab into his chest, he lifted his hand. the knife pierced through his palm.


    "agghhhhh!" levi kicked the mans second dagger with all of his might, which caused him to scream in a high pitched voice. taking this chance, levi pulled the knife out from his palm and stabbed the man in his throat. and just to make sure he would die, he stabbed him in the heart.


    the moment his hand came in contact with the blood of the man, it was absorbed into his body. although he didn''t get a bloodline or a skill, his body was filled with energy. it seems that even if he doesn''t get bloodlines or skills, he would at the very least get some energy and nutrients. the cut on his hand healed at a visible speed.


    levi kept the knife and ran of in the direction of one of the men. just as he left, another man came back. when he saw the body of one of them, he was startled. "which bastard killed him!" he screamed. at this moment, levi was stalking another one. like a beast stalking his prey, his figure flashed and he hid behind trees.


    the unsuspecting man carelessly bent over to check a bush. at this moment, levi struck. stabbing the man in the back multiple times as he screamed from the pain. even after the man fell to the ground, levi kept stabbing. stabbing until the man stopped moving, at this point he was covered in blood. but have no fear, all of the blood was absorbed into his body.


    the mans body shrank when all of his blood was absorbed. levi took the short sword that the man had and his money pouch. he then ran back to the direction he came from. when he got close to where he killed the first man, he slowed down and hid.


    why? because the other 3 were together. ''shit! i should have hid the body!'' he thought. he hurriedly thought about how he would deal with situation, then he had an idea. at this moment a knife flew out and pierced the back of one man''s head. he was still standing but stopped what stopped what he was saying. the other two didn''t even know that he was dead.


    levi''s body flashed as he moved in the darkness and pierced through another man in the back with the short sword. levi pulled out the short sword and ran towards the last one, the leader. before the sword hit him, the man used a weird movement technique. he then attacked by slashing his sword towards levi.


    the impact caused levi to stumble to the side. " You bastard! how dare you kill the people of the azure clan!" the man shouted. he chopped down to wards levi, who barely blocked with the short sword. the man pushed down on his sword, seeing that he couldn''t match the man''s strength, levi jumped back in an attempt to dodge.


    but he was still to slow. a long gash appeared on his left shoulder, blood rushed out before receding back into the wound. "monster! you monster! what demonic technique are you cultivating?! the heavens will punish you!" the man screamed. in fact, the sight of levi''s blood going back into his body caused the man to be scared shitless.


    "the heavens? then let them come!" levi, who was silent, spoke for the first time. sneering at the heavens he thought '' if they annoy me, I''ll kill them too! where were the heavens when i was suffering? and now that i''ve found a road to power, they will appear to take it from me? then let them come but never return!''.


    when the man saw levi''s cold and twisted expression, his heart leaped into his throat. when levi saw the mans legs trembling, he attacked. the man who was startled by the sudden attack couldn''t block in time. the short sword cut through the place where the shoulder meets with the neck, causing blood to spray out.


    the man dropped to his knees and tried to stop the blood from coming out. "you..." he didn''t get to finish his sentence before he fell to the ground, dead. levi fell to the ground in exhaustion, the wound on his shoulder was healing very slowly. he put his hand on the mans neck and the mans body gradually shrank.


    he then did this to the two other bodies that were there. the gash on his shoulder wasn''t completely healed, but it was much better than before. he was feeling rather pissed, the new cloths that he just robbed were gone just like that. he walked up to the corpse with a knife stuck in it''s head and took off the cloths.


    right after putting on his cloths, he heard some more foot steps. he pulled out the knife and picked up the short sword before hiding in the darkness once again. "cute little brother, are you here?" he heard a familiar voice and peeked out, only to see the two clowns from earlier.


    "why are there so many mummies on the ground?!" ava hit noah''s shoulder angrily. noah, who felt wronged asked "how am i supposed to know?!" he was this " close to bending ava over and spanking her ass. you never know she might lik- cough cough, going off topic again, i apologize.


    levi walked out from behind the tree and pointed to the bunch of corpses. "i did that." he said coldly. "so you are the kid that they were looking for? see! i told you so noah!" ava hit noah shoulder again. "in that case, good boy! you shouldn''t let people that want to kill you live!" ava said in a praising tone.


    levi was startled. ''was this how people were supposed to be? or is this girl stupid?'' levi looked over to noah. seeing levi looking at him as if asking for the truth, he answered. "yes, what junior sister said is right. you shouldn''t leave potential risks alive." he said.


    levi felt like the world was going mad. "you two, are not normal are you?becauseif you were, you would spout some righteous nonsense by now." levi said with a strange tone. noah and ava looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "righteous? how can you expect righteousness from disciples of a devil sect?" ava said wiping tears.


    "devil sect?" levi was shocked. he knew that they were from a sect but what he didn''t expect was that they were from a devil sect. "ah, i remember telling you that if i pass back here and find you, that i would take you hom-" before she could finish, noah''s hand met the back of her head. "No, you didn''t! you said you would take him to the sect!"


    "alright, ok? i will take him to the sect. jeez noah, this is why you don''t have a girlfriend even at your age!" ava pouted. "what "at your age" are you talking about!? i''m only 20!" noah retorted angrily. "hahaha, ok. whatever you say noah!" ava laughed.


    levi couldn''t help but to smile when seeing this silly scene. "ahh! he''s smiling! so cute!!!" of course ava wouldn''t miss the smile of a cute child. levi blushed then turned expressionless. "little brother, what''s your name? do you want to come back to the sect with us? no, scrath that! if you don''t want to, i''ll just kidnap you!" ava said.


    "no, i''ll go. i don''t have any reason to remain here. my name is levi, no last name." levi said. "ehh? no last name? well, why not call yourself levi crimson. your hair is blood red after all." ava said. levi looked at his hair, it was indeed blood red. "levi crimson." he mumbled.


    "alright, from now on, you are going to be my adopted little brother." ava said, eyes sparkling. levi''s eyes frosted over. "family has no meaning to me." he said coldly. "i know that you were abandoned by your clan at a young age, but don''t worry! i will spoil and pamper you enough to change your views on family!" ava said happily, completely disregarding levi''s cold tone.


    "alright you two, lets rest first. if we want to get back to the sect in under 4 days, we''ll have to wake up early tomorrow!" noah said. "ok!" ava shouted. she seemed to always be happy and energetic, noah looked at her like a father would look at their child.

 Chapter 3 heaven city

    2 days later.


    when Ava, Noah and Levi arrived at heaven city, the sun was already going down. they found an inn to stay in for the night and went to sleep. levi got up once he was sure that both ava and noah were sleeping. he left the inn and walked around the city in the dead of night.


    he climbed up a tall tree and sat in it. the cold of the night caused him to fold his arms. he sat in the tree, looking into the distance as if remembering something. " i will become the strongest, that way, no one can ever abandon me." he mumbled.


    his eyes gradually closed, he fell asleep in the tree. noah who followed him out sighed. he took levi down from the tree and took him back to the inn. he looked at levi in a daze, before going back to his own room.


    next morning.


    levi opened his eyes, but the scene of clouds in the sky didn''t greet him. instead, he was in a room, on a bed with a blanket covering him, the short sword and knife beside his bed. he got up and went to clean himself up. when he went downstairs, he saw ava and noah shoveling down breakfast.


    "little levi, come down and eat something!" ava waved happily. levi walked down and sat beside them and picked up a spoon. there was a bowl of soup with an alluring smell. ava watched in anticipation. levi lifted the spoon into his mouth, then his eyes lit up. "isn''t it really good?" ava asked.


    levi nodded while shoving food into his mouth. when he finished he let out a sigh of satisfaction. when he looked up, he saw ava looking at him with a smile. he wanted to pay for his own food but ava insisted that she pay instead. then they left the inn. "where are we going?" levi asked.


    "we are going to pick up a cute young master that we recruited before going to star city. oh, speaking of which, both of you should be about the same age, so get along, k!" ava walking while humming a tune. after a while the arrived at a gate, it read ***** clan.


    two guards were at the gate, when they saw ava and noah, their faces showed disgust. but they didn''t dare say anything. " seems like these people don''t like you two." levi said, glancing at their expressions. noah was indifferent while ava still had her signature smile.


    they walked toward a courtyard. there was a stone bench under a big tree, with 2 people under it. one was sitting on the bench while the other was standing, one was shouting while the other was ignoring. the boy sitting on the bench had long silky black hair, watery black eyes and pink lips. he could even be mistaken for a woman.


    the person shouting was a middle aged man with short black hair and a sturdy looking body. he had a sword scar over his left eye."What were you thinking!? deciding to go to a devil sect?!" the middle aged man shouted. the boy however just sat with his eyes half closed, ignoring everything said by his father.


    uddenly he caught sight of 3 figures walking in his direction. his eyes sparkled when he saw who they were. disregarding his old man, he got up and ran towards the 3 figures. "senior brother, senior sister." he said, then looked toward levi. noah was nodding while looking at ava as if saying ''call me senior brother!''.


    ava, completely ignoring noah''s pleading gaze and introduced levi to the boy. " Ryan, this is levi, he will also be joining the sect. levi, this is ryan." she explained. "nice to meet you." ryan said with a slight smile. levi merely nodded. "don''t mind him, he''s like this with everyone." noah explained.


    Ryan looked at levi again before nodding. just as they were about to leave, ryan''s father shouted. " You damned brat! don''t come crying to me if you die!" he then stomped off in a huff. ryan was still ignoring him. that old man of his was too overprotective, if not, would he look even more delicate than a girl?!


    just thinking about it pissed him off. they walked back to the city gate were leaving when they say a group of 3 people, two senior brothers and what looked to be a new disciple they recruited. "well if it isn''t the demonic god sect!" one of them shouted. the other one and the new disciple didn''t say anything, eyes flashing with disdain.


    "oh? the sun sect? what do you clowns want?" noah said indifferently. from the 3 days of being with these people, levi found that noah was always carefree and just went along with whatever ava wanted. but his reaction just now was nothing like that, this caused levi to be slightly startled.


    "oh brother noah, don''t be like that now! you trash from the devil sect kidnapped more children i see? a pity." the sun sect disciple spoke with a smile. the smile was dripping viciousness and bloodlust, with a touch of disdain. "what a bunch of hypocrites." levi''s cold voice rang out, startling everyone.


    the sun sect disciples looked at levi coldly, radiating killing intent. he also looked at them coldly. " you are angry because i told the truth? want to kill me? come and try!" levi didn''t notice but his body was emitting a sparse blood mist, this mist gave off a murderous feeling.


    "little demon''s like you should die early!" the sun sect''s disciple struck out with his palm. ava and noah didn''t think that he would attack, but still reacted. "ughh!" they still reacted a little to late, levi was hit by the palm strike and spat out a mouthful of blood, but it froze in the air and went back into his mouth.


    levi stood up straight and looked coldly at the stupefied sun sect disciple.


    boom!


    at this moment a loud crashing sound rang out and the sun sect desciple stumbled back a few steps. ava, with her hand coated in a vast amount of qi attacked. "You bastard! what the hell do you think you''re doing!?!" the current ava was nothing like her regular self.


    veins on her forehead were showing and she was releasing a terrifying amount of killing intent! she was like a tigress that got her cubs stolen, absolutely frightening. as she was about to attack again, the silent sun sect disciple appeared in front of the other one.


    "Enough." he said one word. ava who was like a beast at the moment couldn''t evenprocess human language, she struck out! seeing this, the sun sect disciple sneered as he slashed out with his sword, he wasn''t beating around the bush, he was going for the kill!


    boom! clank!


    a deafening boom rang out along with a metallic clanking sound. noah appeared between them and stopped both attacks, a palm to stop a palm, a fist to stop a sword. the sword cracked as noah looked at the sun sect disciple, eyes literally spitting fire!


    noah used his other had to punch out, knocking the sun sect disciple backward, making him vomit blood. "piss off!" noah shouted coldly. "You! you''ll regret this!" the disciple that vomited blood shouted before Unsteadily walking away with his fellow disciples. the girl that they recruited looked at them one more time as if trying to remember their faces.


    when they left, ava, who calmed down quite a bit, said happily. "Yay! noah you''re so stron-" before she could finish, a loud slapping sound was heard. ava turned to look at noah in disbelieve, what she saw shocked her,noah was angrily looking at her. "what the hell do you think you''re doing?! just now he could have killed you! do you think this is a joke!?." ava, along with levi and ryan were shocked.


    "no-noah..." she tried to say something. "Enough! we are going back to the sect now! and i expect you to behave yourself on the way!" he turned around and started walking. levi, waking up from his stupor and followed behind him without a word. ryan pulled a dazed ava and caught up.


    night time.


    noah was still angry and his face was definitely showing it. he didn''t say anything as he sat by the fire. ava went up to him. "u..um, noah, i know i was wrong, so can you please forgive me?" noah glanced at her but said nothing. in fact, he wasn''t angry anymore, but if he forgave her so easily, wouldn''t she just do that same kind of nonsense again?


    so he just ignored her apology and kept looking into the fire. at that moment ava said something that made him fall over. "if you forgive me, i''ll become your girlfriend for a week!" lying on the ground, noah was cursing in his heart ''did she get kicked in the head by a donkey?!''


    levi was leaning against a rock while trying to go to sleep. "hey, how about we become friends?" at this moment, ryan''s voice rang out, bring him back from wonderland. levi looked at this female looking male. "i''m not interested in making friends. now piss off, i''m trying to sleep." he closed his eyes again.


    ryan''s voice rang out again. "but I''M interested in you." levi opened his eyes and looked at ryan strangely, while inching further away from him. "ah, not like that! i mean i want to become your friend." ryan explained. "if i become your friend, will you shut up?" levi asked. "yes." ryan instantly answered. "fine, but the word ''friend'' holds no meaning for me." levi went back to his rock and closed his eyes again.


    ryan tied his long hair and then spread a cloth on the ground before closing his eyes. ''why does he have to sleep so close to me?'' levi peeked through his eyelid.

 Chapter 4 Demonic God Sec

    morning.


    levi got up early early and began exercising. although he absorbed the bloodline of the boar, his body strenght was still lacking. after exercising, he found a small spring and washed himself. when he got back everyone else was having breakfast.


    noah finally decided to stop ignoring ava and ryan was happily shoveling food into his mouth. of course, none of this had anything to do with levi. he wouldn''t care if they killed each other if not for the fact that he needed them to take him to the demonic god sect.


    he walked up and silently started to eat. all the while, ryan was talking to him but, levi ignored him like he was air. after trying for a while he finally gave up. they set off after breakfast.


    a few hours later.


    after a few hours, they arrived at a fairly large city. this city was called demonic city because it was in the demonic god sect''s territory. although the demonic god sect was a demon sect, they don''t do anything to the citizens. at one point there was a beast wave and the demonic god sect defended the city,though that might be because the sect was close to it.


    on a foggy piece of land, where trees were withered and grass doesn''t dare grow, a large sect sat, unmoving. after walking for a while longer, they arrived in front of a thin fog. apparently, anyone who is not wearing the demonic god sect''s robe or are with people from the demonic god sect, would be poisoned to death by this fog.


    "welcome to the demonic god sect. i''ll take you guys to where you''ll be staying." noah led them into the sect. after walking for a while, they arrived in front of a large building with a lot of windows. "this building is where the normal outer sect disciples stay. when you go into your rooms, change into your sect robes." after talking, noah left with ava in tow.


    "hey, why don''t we live beside each other?" ryan asked. levi didn''t respond. he was treating ryan like air the whole trip, but this guy didn''t seem to get the message. levi walked up to a room and opened the door. inside was a hard bed, a small dresser and a window.


    levi closed the door and changed his cloths. the demonic god sect robe was all black, it fit him quite well. after changing his cloths, levi went outside. he saw a lot of disciples walking around. after walking for a while he appeared at the front of a tall pagoda. the pagoda had a name plate hung over the door that read ''skill library''.


    out of curiosity levi walked in. inside there were a lot of disciples reading through books or bring them up to the old lady behind the counter. levi walked around and picked up a book. it was a low grade cultivation manual. it taught beginners how to sense and absorb qi into their bodies.


    since he had nothing better to do, along with the fact that he didn''t posses any qi whatsoever, he decided to borrow the book. "low grade qi control manual. you do know that you only have one chance every month to borrow a manual, right? are you sure that you want this skill?" the woman asked. "yes." levi''s cold voice rang out.


    to be honest he didn''t know that, he just borrowed the book out of curiosity. since he had the ''blood evolution skill'' he didn''t really care about these manuals. he could just absorb peoples skills along with their bloodlines. but since he had to be strong enough to kill them to absorb their bloodline he decided to get this qi manual.


    he walked out of the pagoda and went in another direction. he found himself in a hall filled with herbs that gave off a delicate scent. outside the hall hung a name plate ''herb hall''. inside of this herb hall were also some rooms with giant cauldrons where people would go to make pills, however he wasn''t interested so he left.


    after walking around for a while more, he found himself in a strange place. because of the poison fog, trees and grass cannot grow in the demonic god sect. but for some reason, there was a patch of large trees in this area and he didn''t see anyone else coming here.


    he thought nothing of it, he sat down under one of the trees and crossed his legs. he closed his eyes and calmed his heart. he tried to feel the qi in the air, but failed. tried again, failed. again and again and again, but still failing in the end. this time, instead of trying to feel and absorb the qi in the atmosphere, he had another thought.


    he decided to use circulate the bit of energy that he absorbed from those people he killed around his body. surprisingly, the energy moved to his command, it was almost like his blood. he circulated the energy around his body in attempt to draw the qi to him.


    1 time


    2 times


    3


    4


    5


    6


    6


    8


    9


    10


    at this point, he was sweating a lot. the energy was speeding through his body, causing it to heat up. finally after the tenth loop, he felt like a tread of something was seeping into his body. it was neither hot nor cold, it didn''t have color but wasn''t colorless. when it went into his body, he felt a satisfied feeling.


    the thread went in trough his skin and into his dantian. it left his dantian as went all around his body, as if looking for something. ''BOOM!'' levi''s body shook as a loud boom resounded from his body. it seems the strand of qi was trying to break something in his body.


    feeling that it wasn''t strong enough, the strand of qi circulated itself and drew more qi in. the qi which was now the size of a pinky finger, after feeling like it was strong enough, attacked once more.


    BOOM!


    CRACK!


    a loud cracking sound was heard as levi''s body shook. after the qi broke what was blocking the path to his meridians, it happily went into his meridians as if exploring new lands. after going into his meridians, it seemed to loose it''s intelligence as it just kept circulating, drawing more qi in and sending it to his dantian.


    "ughh!" levi vomited a mouthful of black blood. as soon as the blood left his moutth, it solidified. it looked like some kind of glass. "hmmm? it seems the enlightend qi cleared your meridians of quite an amount impurities. but how did you manage to survive cultivating here?" at this moment an aged voice rang out.


    levi jumped back and looked around in shock. he saw a man with white hair, wearing a black robe. although this man had white hair, his skin was a rosy red color. his back was straight, with a air of supremacy, it felt like he looked down on the world. the man had pitch black eyes and a pointed nose.


    "who are you?" levi asked coldly. he looked at the man warily. "me? that''s not important. what i want to know is how you are still alive and sane aftercultivating in this enlightenment forest. and you even somehow got it to help you purge the impurities from your meridians." the man said.


    "enlightenment forest? what?" levi was confused. "this place is called the enlightenment forest. it is said that this land once had a huge forest of sentient trees. the founder of the demonic god found the forest in his younger years, he cultivated there and his cultivation skyrocketed, he called it the enlightenment forest. after going out into the world for a few years he came back to the forest, but found that most of the trees were killed by the poisonous gas. he built the demonic god sect around this last set of trees and set up an array to keep the poison gas away from the last surviving trees. from that point on, a lot of people, hearing how the forest could help their cultivation, tried to cultivate in it, but all of them either went insane or died." the man explained.


    "so that is why i asked why you are still alive." he said. "i was just walking around the sect and found this place." levi said. "that isn''t possible. this forest has an array sat up so that people can''t get in, unless..." the man paused. "unless the trees wanted you to come here." he continued.


    "why would they want me to come here?" levi asked. "who knows. maybe they think you can do something for them? or maybe they just felt bored." the man said as he turned around and walked away. levi followed the mad with his eyes, he finally sighed in relief when the man dissapeared from from his view.


    "who was that man?" levi mumbled, he looked down at his trembling hand. after regaining his senses, he realised that the sun already went down, it was night time. he left the little forest. walking down the street, he saw a few disciples walking with each other while flirting, you already know what''s going to happen when they got home. he just ignored these people and went back to his room.


    when he reached his door he saw ryan waiting by it. "hey, senior sist-" before ryan could finish his sentence, the sound of the door slammingcut him off. levi sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes. he found that the qi was still circulating in his meridians and drawing in more qi. ''that man said the black bloood that i spat out was blocking my meridians. is that why i was trash? whatever, that doesn''t matter anymore.'' he thought.

 Chapter 5 Giant purple snake

    morning.


    levi got up early again today. while exercising, he saw noah. when noah saw levi he was pretty shocked, because yesterday when he brought levi to the sect, the latter didn''t have any qi at all. but today when he saw him, levi was at the qi absorption 1st level.


    during these few days of exercising, levi''s body went from weak and frail, to sturdy and tough. the thick skin he got from the boars bloodline made his skin tough. exercising caused his body to use the nutrients he got from the blood he absorbed. so right now he had a fairly sturdy body for a 12 year old child.


    after washing himself up, levi started to walk around the sect, again. he went to the skill library to return the cultivation manual he got yesterday. since it didn''t work no matter how many times he tried it and the fact that the enlightenment forest helped him come up with that idea, he no longer needed the manual. even when walking around, the qi was still circulating.


    after leaving the skill library he walked around aimlessly. after a while he found himself in the ''mission hall''. as the name suggest, disciples come to the mission hall to take missions in return for a reward, if completed successfully. the mission hall was filled with disciples.


    after looking around for a while, levi decided to take a mission. "Grade c mission, find a bone cleansing grass. do you want this mission?" the old man behind the counter asked. "yes." levi replied. "fine. failure to complete this mission within 3 days will result in you being banned from the mission hall for 2 months. next." the old man said.


    levi took the mission and left the mission hall. he walked in the direction of the sect gates. two senior disciples were guarding the gate. "without a reason, you are not allowed to leave the sect! go back!" one of them shouted. levi said nothing as he raised the mission in his hand for them to see.


    after leaving the sect, levi just walked around aimlessly. honestly, he just wanted to get out of the sect for a while. you might want to know how he would find a plant like the bone cleansing grass in this poisonous hell. bone clensing grass is a herb that is naturally poisonous, it also needs an extremely poisonous environment to grow.


    walking around the forest of withered trees, levi kept his head down, looking for the bone cleansing grass. after searching for a while he stumbled upon a cave. the cave was spewing out poison gas at an alarming rate. he tried to go in, but the poison coming out of the cave was way more concentrated than the fog outside. although the sect robe could keep the disciples from being killed by the fog, the poison coming out of the cave was just too much.


    just as he turned around, ready to leave, he heard a slow and heavy slithering sound. he turned back around to face the cave and what he saw shook him to his core.


    A giant scaly purple head popped out from the cave. it slithered out while spitting out it''s forked tongue. a pair of golden eyes with black slits going down the middle stared at levi. the first thought levi had was to run. run as fast as he can!


    levi turned around and ran at full speed. but the question is, would the giant snake let it''s lunch get away so easily? of course not! the snake appeared beside him in the next second. the snake lashed out with its tail, sending levi crashing through the dead trees.


    "ughhh!" levi spat out a mouthful of blood. he looked down and saw a long bloody line across his stomach. the gash already began to turn purple from the snakes venom. levi tried to use his blood to filter out the poison but failed, then he had an idea. "if i absorb the snakes bloodline, the poison might not affect me anymore!" his eyes became vicious.


    he slowly pulled out the short sword and pointed it to the snake. seeing it''s lunch dared to resist, the snake spat out it''s tongue in disdain as if saying ''an ant like you wants to fight your snake here? dream on! your lord snake here will definitely eat you up for lunch!''.


    the snake rushed to levi and sent him flying once again. levi got up and glared at the snake before running towards it. levi chopped towards the snake, nothing at all happened. the snake looked at levi like he was a fool, then sent him soaring once more. levi spat out a mouthful of blood as the sword fell from his hand, he also dropped to the ground.


    the snake slithered up to levi and used it''s tongue to pull him into it''s mouth. is stared into the distance with a satisfied look on it''s scaly face. all of a sudden, the snake started to thrash around while screaming in pain and anger. yes, the lunch it just at gave it a tummy ache.


    levi, who was swallowed whole by the snake, pulled out his knife and repeatedly stabbed the snake viciously. the snakes stomach acid was eating away at his skin, which made him look horrifying. he didn''t even care about his skin being melted off, he just wanted to kill this damn snake.


    after a while of stabbing the snake, it finally stopped moving. with a lot of difficulty, levi cut a hole in the side of the snake and crawled out. he was covered in foul smelling stomach acid and the skin on his face and body was partially melted off.


    he walked Unsteadily up to the snakes head and stabbed one of its eyes, a purple colored blood started to flow. levi absorbed the snakes blood which caused it to deflated like balloon. he felt a warm sensation coursing through his body and repairing his skin. after absorbing the snakes blood, he passed out.


    evening.


    "hey, look at this giant snake! if we take the skin back with us, it could sell for a good price!" levi who was slowly waking up heard a voice. he slightly opened his eyes but didn''t move. right now, his eyes were golden with black slits down the middle. he felt like he could see at least 10 times better than before. he could also somehow feel a strong poison flowing through his veins along with his blood.


    "hey, isn''t that dead guy wearing our sect''s robes?" one asked. "who cares? we should also check to see if he has anything valuable!" the last one said. once levi heard this, his eyes became colder before he closed them again. step....step...step...step.


    levi waited, hearing step after step becoming louder before finally coming to a stop in front of him. the unsuspecting disciples bent over, getting ready to search for valuables. at this moment levi struck out, stabbing the disciple in his throat with the knife. he coated the knife in his venom.


    the disciple tried to say something but the only sound that was coming out, was that of gargling blood.


    thump!


    the other two disciples heard a thump but didn''t pay it any mind, they thought it was just their friend flipping the body over to search. levi started to walk in their direction calmly. "hey, did you find anything good on that dead guy?" they didn''t even look around to see who was walking towards them, they just kept skinning the snake.


    crack!


    a light cracking sound resounded out as levi stabbed the disciple in his head. the last one, who heard the crack looked over and saw the scene. "yo-you! how can you kill people from the same sect?!" he shouted with a trembling voice. "didn''t you guys want to steal my snake and take my valuables? stealing from a dead sect member isn''t wrong, but killing fellow disciples is? i don''t understand your reasoning." levi''s cold voice and gold eyes shook the disciple to his core. he started to walk toward the disciple.


    "if-if you kill me, you won''t get away with it!" the disciple tried to scared levi into letting him live. "if i kill you here, who will know i was the one that did it? now if i let you live, that would be the real problem." levi coldly said. seeing that he didn''t have a way out, the disciple attacked.


    he sent out a palm strike filled with qi. he was actually stronger than levi, but being stared at with those golden eyes caused him to be scared for some reason. levi dodged to the side, the way he dodged looked strange. after dodging, he stabbed out, stabbing the last disciple in his heart.


    "it seems the bloodline of that snake not only increased my sight and gave me the ability to produce poison, but also altered my body. i feel more flexible than before." he mumbled. looking around, he found the short sword. he then proceeded to strip the cloths of all three disciples and changed out of his dirty torn up rags. he then took their money pouches along with a strange looking ring.


    he found a pretty decent saber on one of them and decided to keep it instead of the short sword. as he was about to leave he remembered some things. ''since i have the bloodline of that snake i should be able to go into that cave now. i''ll go find the bone cleansing grass later.'' he thought.


    he walked into the cave and found that rather than being bothered by the poison, he was actually enjoying inhaling it. "i guess that snake was absorbing the poison coming from this cave to make it''s own venom stronger." he mumbled. after walking for a few minutes, he found himself inside a natural dome.


    inside the dome was a plant that was growing in the wall with what looked like some kind of fruit. the fruit was purple in color while radiating a strong poisonous aura. "don''t tell me that an entire forest died because of one little fruit." he said doubtfully.


    "why didn''t the snake eat it? was the fruit to poisonous for it? or was it waiting for the fruit to ripen?" he reached out his hand to pick the fruit. before he could touch it, the poisonous aura went into his fingers, causing no little amount of pain. it felt like his fingers were going to rot off. luckily his own poison fought it off, otherwise he would probably have to cut off his own fingers. and although he could probably grow them back, he didn''t want to take that kind of risk.


    this time he took a different approach, he pulled the whole plant from the wall and was ready to take his leave. while walking out, a spiky while thing caught his attention. "bone cleansing grass." he went and picked that too. all of a sudden, both the purple fruit and the bone cleansing grass dissapeared.


    levi was shocked. he looked all around but couldn''t find them. he looked at his hands and saw that strange ring on his finger. "could it be this thing?" he poked the ring, when all of a sudden both items appeared. "is this a spatial ring?" he mumbled. he thought for a while before putting them back in the ring along with the snake skin. since that weird fruit keeps spewing out such a poisonous aura, a lot of people would probably want to take it from me.


    the snake skin also looks like it would be pretty valuable. after putting everything in the spatial ring, he decided to head back to the sect.

 Chapter 6 Become my disciple

    when levi reached the sect gate, he saw two people walking out with grim expressions. a middle age man along with one of the sun sect''s disciples he saw at heaven city. it looked like they came to complain about what happened at that time, but things didn''t go how they would''ve liked.


    just as he walked pass them, the disciple shouted. "ah! he was there too! he''s that little demon!" he pointed to levi. the middle aged man turned and looked at levi as if trying to remember his face. levi didn''t even stop to look at them, he just kept walking.


    lev went to his room to get a clean sect robe and left to take a bath. when he got out of his room, he saw ryan talking to ava. they also saw him. "liam! why didn''t you come when i called?!" ava said as she pouted. levi stopped and turned around. when they saw his eyes they froze. golden with black slits down the middle.


    "i think you people are misunderstanding something. i traveled and interacted with you so that i would be able to get into this sect, otherwise i wouldn''t have associated myself with the likes of you. i have no interest in playing family or making friends. so when you see me, don''t talk to me." his voice cold, he turned around and left.


    ava and ryan were both shaking. ''it seems the eyes i got from the snake bloodline has a intimidation effect?'' he thought. after bathing, he went straight towards the mission hall. as it was evening, not a lot of people were inside. he walked up to the counter and took out the mission.


    "did you fail the mission?" the old man asked. silently, levi took out the bone cleansing grass. when the man saw it, his eyes sparkled. "where did you get this bone tempering grass from?" he asked excitedly. "bone tempering grass?"levi''s cold voice had a hint of confusion. "after a few hundred years of growing in an extremely poisonous location, bone cleansing grass would turn into bone tempering grass!" the man explained.


    "so does that mean i fail the mission?" levi asked calmly. he didn''t really care about taking these missions anyway. "what? why would you fail? you will be rewarded with the amount mentioned on the mission and the actual price of this bone tempering grass! so in total, it will be 1,100 silver coins! you can buy things for cultivation within the sect, the sect can''t provide you disciples with everything for free after all!" the man explained.


    "then i''ll take the money now." levi said. thunk! a pouch of silver coins were dropped on the table. levi picked it up and counted the money before putting it into his pocket. he didn''t want to use the spatial ring in front of people, it might cause problems.


    "then i''ll be taking my leave." levi turned around and walked out of the mission hall. the man seemed to remember something as he facepalmed. " i forgot to ask where he got the bone tempering grass from! and why did he look so weird when walking out? almost like a snake!" he mumbled.


    levi was going back to his room when he remembered the poison fruit that was still in his possession. he thought for a while before deciding to go back to the enlightenment forest. that man might be able to identify this fruit. although he was still worried about whether or not the man would want to take it for himself, if he didn''t know the fruit''s purpose, what would be the point of keeping it?


    after a while of walking, he found himself in the little forest once again. all of a sudden, little balls of light began rising out of the trees. "thank....you.." a soothing voice made it''s way to his ears. when he came back to his senses the lights were already gone. "thank you? what does that mean? whatever, it doesn''tlook like that old man is here, so i''ll just go back."


    "oh? you were looking for me?" just as he turned around, a voice rang out. "old man, is it fun to appear out of nowhere like that?" levi turned around. "hahaha, doesn''t it make me seem mysterious?" he laughed. "no. it just makes you more annoying." levi said coldly.


    "so, what did you want?" the man asked. " i found a fruit in a cave and wanted to see if you knew what it was." levi replied calmly. "oh? is that all? take it out then." the man looked at levi. "i can''t take it out here, it will kill the trees." he said. "oh?" the man lightly wave his hand.


    in the next instant, they were inside of a large, dimly lit hall. "can you take it out here then?" the man asked. levi said nothing as he put his hand into his robes and touched the ring, he didn''t want people to know about the spatial ring. he pulled out the whole plant with a purple fruit.


    "oh? is that...." the man''s eyes widened in surprise. "divine poison fruit?" he continued. "what''s that?" levi asked. "it was said that once upon a time there was a divine poison master. his poison was so strong that even the gods didn''t dare to fight him. when he died, surprisingly, a plant grew from his poisonous body. the plant grew a purple fruit that gave off an extremely powerful poisonous aura. it was so strong that the kingdom that it grew in was completely wiped out from just the aura alone."


    levi listened without saying anything, his expression didn''t change either. " that fruit in you hands is probably a divine poison fruit. wait, does that mean that-" before he could continue, someone came running into the hall. "sect master! something has happened!" it looked like an elder of the sect.


    "what''s the matter?" the man asked. levi was shocked, ''this old man is the sect master?!'' he thought. " the poison fog has dissapeared!" the elder said, voice trembling. "what!? what do you mean?" the sect master was shocked. he turned and looked at the fruit in levi''s hand. "so it is..." he mumbled.


    "this is good! that pesky poison is gone!" the elder shouted happily. "don''t get excited to quickly. although the poison gas was a nuisance, it also kept the sect safe for a long time." the sect master suddenly said. "huh?" the elder looked at him strangely.


    " the demonic god sect has a lot of enemies. those ''righteous'' sects wanted to get rid of us for a while. we also had a few disputes with other sects in the past, but even though they wanted to attack us, the poison gas prevented it. but now that it''s gone, we''re probably going to see those sects soon." the sect master said while looking at the divine poison fruit.


    the elder had a shocked expression on his face. "this..." he couldn''t say anything else. the sect master looked at levi, his lips curling into a smile. "why..." he paused for a while. "don''t you become my disciple?" he asked. the elder was shocked once more, he finally realised there was someone else in the room.


    "i refuse." levi''s cold voice rang out instantly. "you replied pretty fast. why? most people would jump at the chance to become my disciple." the sect master asked. " if i become the disciple of a sect master, i would have to be forever loyal to this sect. if the sect dies, i die with it. but the only person i''m forever loyal to is myself, i don''t care about anyone other than myself." levi said coldly.


    the elder was shocked and angry. "you ungrateful brat! how can you call yourself a disciple of the sect?" he shouted. levi''s golden eyes locked on to the elder, which made the latter stiffen a little. " what i have right now is a result of my own work. what does it have to do with this sect?" levi questioned.


    "you..." the elder couldn''t find anything to say. " i also don''t do things without getting something in return. and if i become your disciple and something happens to this sect, i will be the first person to leave. the only person worth risking my life for, is myself." levi turned toward the sect master.


    surprisingly the sect master''s expression didn''t change. "you don''t have to worry about those things. if you become my disciple, you will get the benefits without any of the restrictions." he said smilingly. "fine then, master." levi cupped his fist, but he didn''t bow.


    the elder saw this and the vein on his forehead almost burst. "sect master, you.." just as he was saying something levi threw the divine poison fruit to the sect master and walked out of the hall. the sect master sealed the poisonous aura and held the fruit in his hand while looking in the direction levi dissapeared in.


    "sect master, how can you let someone like that become your disciple?! he.." he was cut off. "what kind of skill do you think he cultivates?" the sect master suddenly asked. "this.. i don''t know..." the elder replied truthfully. "i don''t know either. yesterday i found him cultivating in the enlightenment forest and yet he is still sane." he said.


    "what?! that''s imp-" the elder was cut off once again. "also, yesterday when i saw him, his eyes were black. but now, they''re golden. he also walks in a weird way, almost like a snake." he continued. the elder was silent with shock, so the sect master continued. "also with his cold personality, if something were to happen to the demonic god sect, at least he would survive. even if he doesn''t get revenge for the sect, at least the demonic god sect wouldn''t die out completely. so in my opinion, he is the most worthy person to become my disciple." he explained.


    "i-i understand. i didn''t think about it like that..." the elder said. the sect master went to sit. " he is also the person that found this divine poison fruit. his luck is good, though i wonder how he got close enough to pick it." the sect master mumbled.

 Chapter 7 Tomb

    a few days passed since he became the sect masters disciple. because he didn''t want the attention, he told his master not to announce it. during these few days, his master sent some things to his room. about 20,000 silver coins along with a good sword.


    what made him like the sword even more was the fact that, the blade was blood red. when he held it, it felt like part of his body. he kept the saber that he ''obtained'' in the spatial ring as a back up weapon. he was still exercising these past days, although it seems like the nutrients were almost gone.


    although he absorbed the snakes blood, all of it went into changing his eyes and body. he was regretting not absorbing the blood of those 3 that were trying to steal the snake skin. during these days his body became stronger, while his red hair grew longer.


    the strand of qi was still circulating, which caused him to breakthrough to the 2nd level of qi absorption. he only had 3 more levels before he got into the qi refining levels. since his master called him over, he left his room. when he went out he saw ryan again, but the latter didn''t try to talk to him. he left and headed to the sect masters hall.


    after a while, he arrived in a large hall. there were 10 elders in the hall this time, one of them being the elder from the last time. 5 inner sect elders and 5 outer sect elders. "master." levi cupped his fists and greeted. one of the elders face scrunched up. "is your master the only one in your eyes here!?" he shouted.


    levi''s cold face didn''t change, he didn''t even look in the elder''s direction. some of the elders were impressed with how he handled the situation, while others were unhappy. "come now, greet the elders." the sect master said with a slight smile. levi then said. "elders." some humphed while others found levi interesting.


    "why did you call for me today?" one would think that levi would at least try to sound respectful when in the presence of the elders, but they would be wrong. when the elders heard how he talked, some obviously weren''t happy. "how can you speak to your master, the sect master, like that?!" levi looked at the annoying person before turning back towards the sect master.


    "do you have a problem with how i talk to you?" levi asked. "you can talk how you like. the reason i called for you today was to first, let the elders know who you were and second was to find out if you were interested in a certain thing." the sect master said with a slight smile.


    "a certain thing?" levi asked. "yes. since the poison fog cleared up, a tomb was found." he said. "why would i be interested in a tomb?" levi asked. "you don''t even know what a tomb is? what a fool!" the elder said again. levi was annoyed, he turned his head to look at the elder. "what right do you have to interrupt this conversation? you are just an outer sect elder!" he said in a cold tone.


    the elder stood up. "you!" he wanted to attack, but felt a strong pressure envelop his body. "enough." the smile on the sect masters face dissapeared as his eyes became sharp. "don''t go to far." he said. "this isn''t an ordinary tomb, it''s the tomb of a legendary practitioner. it will probably have a lot of priceless items. a few disciples will be going there later this evening, are you interested in going?" the sect master asked.


    "will i be able to keep what i find?"levi asked. some of the elders faces were ugly. "hmm." the sect master nodded. "fine." levi said. "then be ready and go to the sect gate this evening." the sect master said. levi nodded then turned around and left.


    after he left, the elder that was pressured stomped away angrily. "sect master, don''t you think he was a little too much?" one of the elders asked. "he won''t start trouble as long as people don''t go looking for it." the sect master glanced at the elder. what he meant was clear, ''if you leave him alone, he won''t even look in your direction.''


    ...


    after levi left, he went back to his room. he went up to his bed and fell onto it. he was feeling a little uncomfortable for a few days. crack! crack! crack! his bones were moving around and making cracking sounds.


    after a while, he woke up. it was already evening, as the sun was on the horizon. he got up from the bed. his body felt even more flexible than before, it seems his body was still absorbing the snake bloodline. he felt like he could bend his limbs in impossible directions.


    he left his room and leisurely walked towards the sect gates. when he got there he saw 10 other people standing there, as if waiting for something. they seemed to be the disciples of the 10 elders. "are you the sect masters disciple? why are you so late?" one of them asked coldly. he was the disciple of the outer sect elder from earlier.


    some of the other disciples also wore unhappy expressions. "i was sleeping." levi said calmly. the disciple''s face turned ugly. "humph! you better watch yourself when we are outside of the sect! we are not going to protect you just because you are the sect master''s disciple!" the disciple humphed. levi looked at the disciple coldly. "did i ever ask any of you to protect me? stop speaking nonsense and lets get to the tomb." he started walking.


    most the disciples were fairly upset with levi''s behavior, but he didn''t care. after walking for a while they decided to rest for a while. they lit a fire and sat down in a group. some of them were talking in hushed voices. levi was the only one alone, sitting in one of the withered trees with his eyes closed.


    "didn''t you see how arrogant he was?! just because he is the sect master''s disciple?! i say we should kill him in that tomb if we have the chance!" the disciple from earlier had a vicious expression. "i agree." another one said.


    about 4 of the 10 disciples decided to kill levi in the tomb. these were, of course, the disciples of the elders that didn''t like levi. the other 6 disciples didn''t really have anything against levi so they didn''t want to kill him, but that didn''t mean that they would warn him about the danger coming his way.


    after resting for a while they started to walk again. a while later, they arrived in front of a large cave. they walked in warily, while peeking at levi. after walking for a while, they arrived in front of a large stone door. as if sensing the arrival of people, the door automatically opened, causing a wave of stale air to escape outward.


    behind the door was a room filled with gold. a disciple who couldn''t hold himself back ran into the room. but before he could put his hand on any of the gold, a light flashed. "huh?" the disciple froze. splat! his hand from the wrist down slid off and land on the ground with a splat.


    "ahhhhhhhh!!!" the disciple screamed in agony and horror. he turned around in attempt to run out, but it really wasn''t his day. right as soon as he turned and attempted to run, both of his legs were cut off. he started to crawl with his remaining hand but to no avail.


    shing!!


    some spikes shot up from the ground and pierced his body, one of them went through his mouth and through the back of his head. his eyes rolled up as he stopped moving, dead. some of the disciple turned their heads away. levi looked at the room calmly, without looking at the dead disciple.


    he started walking. seeing levi walking into the room, some of the disciples sneered. levi calmly and at a steady pace, walked into the room without even glancing at the gold. he came to a stop at the back of the room and put his hand on an unusual looking part of the wall.


    boom!


    the room shook, scaring the disciples outside. all of a sudden levi turned his body to the side. boom! boom! boom! 3 arrows shot out from the now opened secret door a embedded themselves deeply into the wall. a line of blood started to appear on his left cheek.


    his heart was racing as cold sweat ran down his face. he calmed himself down and walked into the secret passage. after walking for a minute or so, he found himself in a large room. there was a throne with a skeleton sitting on it. on the ground around the skeleton, was gold and silver coins. in the skeleton''s hand, was a glass bottle filled with a blue liquid.


    levi walked up and took the bottle from the skeleton. as he was about to go and stuff the gold and silver into the spatial ring, he felt something grab his arm. he looked around in shock and saw the skeleton had a dim fire in it''s eye sockets. "to you, who have found my tomb, i have a request. when you take everything from here, collapse this cave so that no one will be able to disturb my sleep again." after it said this, the skeleton fell apart.


    levi picked up a bone to see if there was any blood left to absorb, but obviously that wasn''t the case. he went and shoved gold and silver along with some herbs that looked to be in good condition into the ring. it was unfortunate but he couldn''t fit all of the gold inside the spatial ring. he got less than half of everything that was in the room.


    he just left the room and walked back through the secret passage. when he got back to the first room, the disciples were still just standing there. when they saw him, a few disciples looked at each other and smiled coldly. "hand over everything you got from inside there and maybe we''ll let you live!" one of them shouted.


    levi ignored them and kept walking. just as he was about to pass the disciple, he felt a large amount of qi headed straight for his head. he hurriedly jumped back. his eyes frosted over as he stared at the disciple, just as he was about to attack, he felt another wave of qi coming towards him.


    again, he barely dodged in time. he pulled out his sword and released some poison on it. at full speed, he attacked! he chopped down towards the disciple''s head, but was only able to crack his defensive qi slightly. dodging another attack from the side, he took a different approach.


    puchi! crack!


    he stabbed the disciple through his eye, the sword went straight through his head. he then cut sideways which caused blood and some chunks of brain flying out. a disciple backed away in fear. levi''s eyes were cold and vicious. before the body fell to the ground, he grabbed it by the head.


    seeing the body shrivel up before their eyes some of the disciples started trembling. they were so happy that they didn''t attacked him. levi looked at the other 3 coldly. "since you want to kill me, don''t expect to get out of here alive." his voice was frosty.


    levi''s body flashed as he chopped out. "we have to fight him together!" the 3 attacked at the same time, sending all of their qi into one attack. levi was sent crashing into the cave wall. he spat out a mouthful of blood as he went limp. his sword dropped from his hand and stuck into the ground.


    "hahaha! we killed him! all of that talk and now he''s dead!" one of them started walking up to him. "eh?" suddenly, the world started to spin. thump! the disciple''s head fell to the ground with a thump, as he looked at his headless body in horror for one last time.


    levi got out of the wall and the blood on his mouth seeped back into his skin. even the blood he spat on the ground floated in the air before going back into his body. the last two disciples looked at this scene in horror. suddenly a pitter patter sound disturbed the quiet cave.


    one of the disciples was trembling while pissing himself. he fell to the ground and looked at levi with a horrified expression. "mo-monster!! demon! yo-you are not human!! devil! hahahahah" he started laughing crazily, it seems he went insane from fear.


    levi looked at the two, before his figure flashed. he appeared in front of the disciple who was still standing and stabbed through his heart. the disciple looked at levi with hatred and said. "you.. will-" before he could say anymore, levi twisted the blade which destroyed his heart, shutting him up for eternity.


    levi looked at the now insane disciple and slashed out. he would not allow anyone that tried to kill him to live. after killing the last one he went and took all of their valuables, except for the one that pissed himself. surprisingly though, none of them had any spatial rings. he found that strange.


    he got up and looked at the remaining disciples coldly, which caused them to stiffen. he said nothing as he walked out of the cave.

 Chapter 8 so?

    levi walked back to the sect alone, his robes torn but no blood to be found on them. he went to his room and changed out of his torn up cloths. his body had yet to recover from the combined attack from earlier, which made him pant lightly. as soon as he was about to get on his bed to go to sleep, a knock on the door was heard.


    "the sect master requests your presence." behind the door, a disciple with an expressionless face stood. levi left his room and headed for the sect masters hall. before he could reach it, he heard shouts coming from inside. "didn''t you hear what they said!? he killed our disciples! my disciple! he should be crippled and locked in a cell for life!"


    as he walked in, he saw an elder shouting with a grim expression. step... step, when everyone heard these light steps they quieted down and looked toward the door. the disciples stiffened and swallowed their saliva as cold sweat flowed from their foreheads.


    levi walked into the room, slightly panting. he looked at everyone in the room before his eyes rested on a single person. "why did you call for me?" his voice was cold with a tinge of tiredness. "the disciples that came back reported that you killed 4 disciples. for what reason did you kill them?" the sect masters voice was calm, but there was a hidden sharpness.


    "what difference would it make if i told you the reason? those four will still want me dead anyway." levi turned to look at the four elders, who were also looking back at him with scrunched up faces. "Audacious! you have no respect! you should die!" without saying anymore, one of the inner sect elders attacked.


    levi tried to dodge, but it felt like the palm strike was sucking him in. BOOM! levi was sent crashing into a pillar, leaving it completely destroyed. "cough cough!" his eyes widened as he coughed out a few mouthful''s of blood. what made his eyes widen was the fact that the blood didn''t come back no matter how much he called.


    he looked up. ''it seems that if i''m weaker than my enemy by too much that my blood will die. i have to be more careful in the future.'' he thought. levi pulled out his sword and dissapeared, in the next instant he was sent flying again. but this time, he used the sword to block which prevented him from taking too much damage.


    he released some of his poison onto the sword and attacked once more. ting! he stabbed out to the elders heart from his back, but when the tip was about to pierce through, it was stopped by the elders defensive qi. "you think a weakling like you can kill me!? dream on! now die!" he shouted as he sent another devastating palm strike towards levi.


    crack!


    crack!


    crack!


    as soon as the palm strike his his body, levi dislocated his joints to reduce the impact. he wasn''t sent flying as far this time as he reconnected his joints, ready to attack once more. at this moment a huge pressure enveloped the whole hall, causing the stone table to crack.


    the sect master finally regained his senses as he released his aura, crushing everything beneath it. "who gave you such guts! to attack my disciple right to my face!?" his voice boomed. it no longer had it''s usual calm, it was instead cold and sharp. "se-sect master! he killed his fellow disciples and disrespected the elders! he deserves death!" the elder explained.


    the pressure in the room became heavier. "who gave you the right to decide whether he lives or dies?!" the sect masters body was releasing a thick and dark aura as his eyes turned bright red. the elder under the scrutinizing gase of those red eyes started to tremble.


    "take this elder and lock him in the land of the dead for 4 months!" the sect master ordered coldly. "sect master! noooo! don''t do this!! you''ll regret this!!!" as he was being dragged away the elder shouted with resentment. after this happened, the hall was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.


    the sect master looked towards levi, who was looking back at him coldly. "why did you kill the disciples?" he asked. "i killed them. so? do you think that i will let anyone that tries to kill me live?" levi asked coldly. "even that elder from before. when i become stronger, i will definitely kill him!" he shouted, his voice dripping bloodlust.


    the elders that heard this were shocked. ''how could a 12 year old child have such a huge amount of killing intent?''. some decided to not provoke him, while others were thinking of ways to kill him before he gets stronger. those were, of course, the remaining 3 elders. since they wanted to kill him and their disciples even died, they couldn''t turn back even if they wanted to.


    "what did you get from the tomb?" the sect master suddenly asked. "what does that have to do with you?" levi replied coldly. "sigh, i just wanted to identify the items. do you have to be so hostile?" the sect master sighed with a helpless expression. levi said nothing as he took out the glass bottle filled with blue liquid.


    "that''s!..." the sect master opened his eyes widely. " an elixer!" he said excitedly. the other elders turned their heads, almost breaking their necks in the process. they stared at the bottle in levi''s hand with sparkling eyes. "elixer?" levi asked. " there was a legend of beasts that once terrorized the lands! those beasts were fierce and cruel, they ate, toyed with and killed humans as they pleased. but one day a mysterious man appeared and killed some of them. the kingdom that was being attacked, out of anger, ate the beasts flesh! when they did this, something happened. they found that their cultivation''s skyrocketed. from then on, instead of eating the beast they refined them into elixirs which were more efficient! i suspect that what you have in you hands is one such elixir!" he explained.


    "oh." levi put the elixir back into the ring and turned to leave. "wa-wait!" the sect master shouted. levi stopped and looked back. "what?" he asked coldly. "can''t you let your master have a better look?" he asked with a pleading gaze. the elders all nodded their heads like pecking chickens. "there''s no need! since this belongs to me, you need not take a better look." he dissapeared from their sight.


    "sigh, this disciple of mine really..." the sect master sighed, he went back to his seat. the 3 elders left after giving excuses to the sect master. "so, let me hear the whole story. now." his voice was once again calm, but this calmness caused the people present to shiver.


    "wh-when we went to the tomb, a-a outer disciple that was allowed to go along with us couldn''t hold himself back and rushed in, but was brutally killed by traps! w-when everyone saw this, they didn''t want to go in anymore. but, sect masters disciple walked into the room calmly and found a secret room. whe-when he came out, those 4 threatened to kill him if he didn''t hand over what he had. he ignored them at first, but then they attacked, so he killed them all. after killing them, he just left." the six remaining disciples took turns explaining.


    "i see." the sect masters face was clam but his voice was frosty. he had an idea of what happened and why, but didn''t say anything. "you may go." he waved his hand to dismiss the elders and their disciples. after they left, he sat alone in contemplation.

 Chapter 9 Do you want to go?

    after levi left, he went back to his room. when he got inside, he started to cough uncontrollably. blood along with bits and pieces of his organs was coughed up. without any thought, he took out the elixir and drank it. after drinking it, a warmth spread throughout his body.


    it went from warm then got hotter and hotter, making him wince in pain. unbeknownst to him, some black tattoo''s appeared on his chest and arms before fading away. after a while his body cooled down, leaving him sprawled on the ground. he couldn''t even muster the strength crawl onto the bed.


    next day. morning.


    levi woke up and found that his cloths were soaked with sweat. he got up and went to bathe. just as he was about to walk through the door, a voice boomed in his head.


    "Blood flame! the blood flame is one of the most powerful flames in existence! if compared to true dragon flames, it wouldn''t loose out!" the voice gave him a headache. "what blood flame? fucking hell, now voices in my head are saying random things." levi sighed.


    since he was already covered in sweat, levi decided to exercise first. after bathing, he got something to eat and then started to walk around the sect aimlessly. then he had a thought. "that old man always has something for me to do." so he headed towards the sect master''s hall.


    when he got there the sect master was sitting in his chair with his eyes closed. he heard someone come in but didn''t open them. "oh, my dear disciple, do you need something?" he asked with his eyes now slightly opened. "old man, give me something to do." levi said. "hey, hey, hey, shouldn''t you be calling me master?" the sect master opened his eyes fully and stared at levi.


    "no one else is here, why would i call you master?" levi asked coldly. "sigh, you''re just a living block of ice aren''t you?" the sect master sighed. levi kept silent. "well, the 5 year Tournament is coming up, you can go if you want." he glanced at levi. "5 year Tournament?" levi asked doubtfully.


    "the 5 year tournament, as it''s name suggest, is held every 5 years. all of the sects go to an arena that was built for the tournament and the disciples do some ''friendly'' sparing. it''s in 4 months." the sect master explained. "not interested." levi instantly rejected the idea. "hold on now! there are rewards for the top 3 disciples!" the sect master hastily said.


    "rewards? even if they are rewards, 4 months is too long. i want something to do now." levi said. "then, do you want to go to desolate mountain?" the sect master thought for a while before asking. "desolate mountain? what''s that?" levi asked. "desolate mountain has a lot of deadly creatures, it''s called desolate mountain because no one goes there. sometimes disciples go there to train." he explained.


    "didn''t you say no one goes there? now you''re telling me that disciples go there to train? old man, are you taking me for a fool?" levi asked. "not normal disciples. no inner or outer sect disciples would be able to survive there. i''m talking about the elite disciples." the sect master explained with a slight smile.


    "ok, i''ll go." levi thought for a while before deciding. "what!? didn''t you just hear what i said? only elite disciples go there and come back alive! some even come back missing limbs!" the sect master shouted. ''dammit! i underestimated this icy little brat! i only told him about desolate mountain to scare him into quietly waiting for the 5 year tournament! fuck!'' he thought.


    "so? the deadlier it is, the better it is for me!" levi said. "hey, hey, hey, don''t be cocky just because you broke through to the 2 qi refining level because of that elixir! obediently stay inside the sect until the tournament!" the sect master shouted. "are there any powerful beast in desolate mountain?" levi suddenly asked.


    "yes? why do you ask?" the sect master asked, confused. "then i''m going." levi said coldly then turned around and left. the sect master sat back in his seat, then a voice boomed across the whole demonic god sect. "I SCREWED UP!" it said.


    after levi left, he walked around the sect aimlessly before finding himself inside the herb hall once again. since he found himself in this place for a second time, he decided to look around. surprisingly there was a book shelf in a corner. levi picked up a book called ''pill refining: beginners'', he flipped through the book before putting it back.


    he went and bought some herbs and rented one of those rooms with giant cauldrons. he had about 25,000 gold coins and 17,000 silver coins, he wondered why he picked up both gold and silver coins from the tomb, but what was done, was done. when he got into the room, he put the slightly withered herbs on the small table.


    "according to the book, you can make a fire using qi...." he mumbled. he had to try a few times before being able to do it. after lighting the fire, he put one of the five herbs into the cauldron. the herb was burnt away, leaving a pale green liquid floating. he had sweat on his forehead. using qi to both control the fire and keep the herbs floating was too much for him with his current strength.


    one after the other, he put the herbs in. at this point his cloths were soaked with sweat and he was panting heavily. he was trying his best to mix the liquids together and form the pill. the qi in his meridians was circulating at an alarming rate, drawing in more qi.


    at this moment, a strange smell wafted out of the cauldron. levi didn''t even notice the smell as he dropped to the ground from exhaustion. even with the qi circulating at full speed, it still took him twenty minutes to get back less than half of the qi he had.


    he got up and looked inside the cauldron, then put his hand inside and picked up something from the bottom. what he pulled out didn''t even look like a pill, it had bumps on the surface and was giving off a weird smell. it looked nothing like the qi returning pill he saw in the book. he just forced it into the spatial ring and decided leave for the day. when he left, a flicker of red fire appeared in the cauldron before disappearing.


    levi went to his room to get a clean robe before going to take a bath. at this point, even i don''t know how many cloths he has. after bathing he didn''t go back to his room, instead he found a tree and sat in it. he looked up at the stars, his expression still cold. "you will belong to me, one day." he mumbled.


    after sitting silently for a while, he got up and went back to his room. as soon as his body made contact with the bed, he fell asleep.

 Chapter 10 Desolate mountain

    Morning.


    levi woke up feeling full of energy. he went to bathe, then ate breakfast before going to the sect masters hall. "there are also criminals in desolate mountain you know! and-and even the plants try to kill you!" as soon as he walked though the door, the sect master tried his best to make him change his mind.


    "how do i get there?" levi asked. "sigh, i have a roc that can take you. after taking you, it will come back to me and return 4 months later for you." the sect master sighed. he sighed a few more times when thinking about this situation. "old man, aren''t you going to bring me to the roc?" levi asked impatiently.


    "Yes, yes, follow me." the sect master sighed as he walked. after a while of walking, they appeared on a flat piece of land. on the ground was a large bird, basking in the sunlight. when it heard people approaching, the bird got up and looked around. seeing the person who came, the bird happily got up and ran towards the sect master.


    after telling the roc a few things, it looked toward levi.it looked at him with hatred, as if seeing a old enemy. levi looked at the roc in confusion, but then had a thought. ''could the bird and that snake have a connection?'' he thought. "alright, she will take you to desolate mountain. get on." the sect masters voice interrupted his thoughts.


    "ok." levi got on the back of the roc. "hold on properly! and be careful at desolate mountain!" the sect master shouted. levi nodded, then the roc took off. the moment it took off, levi was almost thrown off it''s back. after flying smoothly for a while, it suddenly turned on it''s side, making him dangle in the air while holding on for dear life.


    "You over sized chicken! if you don''t fly properly, do you believe i''ll absorb your bloodline and fly there myself!?" levi shouted in anger. '' i''m not the damn snake, so why is this bird being so unreasonable?!'' he almost burst a vein thinking about it.


    as if responding to his threat, the roc became even more unruly. all of a sudden, it started to fly properly again. at the front, a black foggy mountain was coming into view. a large bird tried to fly over this mountain, but was caught by something and dragged down.


    the roc landed a good distance from the mountain, which annoyed levi. no matter how he tried to make the roc fly closer, it was in vain. in the end, the roc threw him off of it''s back and flew away. "fuck! if i get my hand on that damn bird!!" levi roared. his hair and cloths were already messy from flying and now there was even dirt all over him.


    he started walking towards the eerie mountain. when he got close, he heard a scream. he saw a girl running away from something, while clutching her severed right hand. but today just wasn''t her day, something grabbed onto her foot and dragged her back. while she was being dragged, she caught sight of levi.


    with tears and snot running down her face, she screamed. "HELB! HALP BE! SAVBE ME!" she couldn''t talk properly because of the dirt and snot going into he mouth. but as i said, today just wasn''t her day. levi watched this scene with cold eyes, furthermore fear was beginning to well up in his heart.


    without any further thought, he pulled out his sword before walking again. at times he would hear a slither, and at other times, rustling leaves. he walked through the mountain cautiously. as night was arriving, he found a tree to sleep in, so as to not become food for some unknown creature.


    as he was going to sleep, he felt something wrap around him. he didn''t pay it any mind and just ketp trying to sleep. after a while, he felt about 5 things wrapping around him tightly. this made him open his eyes. what he saw was, the tree he was sleeping in, had it''s branches wrapping around him while opening it''s horrifying mouth.


    he tried to break free, but to no avail. he was tossed into the tree''s shredder like mouth. thump! thump! while in it''s mouth, his body was being cut all over. he tried breaking out, but for some reason the tree felt like iron when he hit it. after gathering about 70 percent of his qi, he punched out.


    Peng! boom!


    a loud peng resounded, followed by a boom. he punched out causing a hole he could barely crawl through to appear. the piece of trunk that flew out, hit the ground, which made a tiny crater. he quickly crawled out of the tree''s mouth and ran. sometimes a vine would wrap around his foot, causing him to trip. he could only stop to chop them off before running again.


    after running for a while, he found himself in a cave. inside the cave was cold, but he had to choice but to go in since even the trees eat people. he could only hope that the cave doesn''t try to eat him up also. he went in and sat down, which caused him to shiver. his wounds weren''t healing because he didn''t absorb any blood.


    after sitting in the cave for a while, his eyes started to close. just as they were about to close completely, he heard steps. still sitting, the grip on his sword tightened. step...step.. after a while, a youth with golden hair walked into the cave. when he saw levi, his face showed some surprise before he smiled.


    "this brother here, let me give you something for your wounds." the youth started to walk towards levi. when he saw this, his grip tightened again. in places like this, the trees can kill you and the beasts can definitely kill you, but the things you should be the most worried about, are the humans.


    all of a sudden the youth pulled out a fancy looking golden dagger from his back, his expression vicious and dripping with bloodlust, he stabbed down towards levi''s head. the fact that he had wounds all over his body and because he was sitting in the biting cold for so long, levi could barely move.


    he just managed to lean his head to the side, which caused the dagger to stab into the base of his neck. it didn''t hurt that much because of the cold numbing his body, but a lot of his blood started to pour out. it seems his blood can''t handle the cold that well, because it moved sluggishly when he called it back.


    he pointed his sword up and kicked the blonde''s foot, which caused him to fall onto the sword. because of the position he was in, when he fell, the sword went through the bottom of his chin, going straight through the top his head. his eyes rolled up as he died.


    levi feebly pulled out the sword and grasped the blonde''s neck. his body shriveled up as all of his blood was sucked out. when levi absorbed the blood, the wounds on his body released steam as they healed at a visible pace. he pulled the dagger from his neck and looked at it for a while before squeezing it into the over full spatial ring.


    he kicked the mummie off of him, then got up and stretched. after searching the corpse, he found nothing and just decided to leave. just as he was about to leave, he felt a cold gush of air coming from inside the cave. he stopped and turned around.


    after thinking for a while, he decided to take a look. while walking deeper into the cave, it also got colder. after walking for a while, he found himself in front of a clear blue lake. when looking around, his eyes widened.


    on the lake, sitting on a thin layer of ice, was girl. this girl had snow white hair, ice blue eyes and pink lips. she was in a white dress, her body emitting a frighteningly cold aura. seeing that someone came in, the girl dissapeared.


    "who..." levi was stunned. he never saw something so beautiful in his life, his heart was racing. he felt something that he didn''t feel for years, warmth. for some reason, looking into that girls eyes, even though her body was emitting a frightening cold, he felt warmth. it felt like they were....alike somehow. for some reason, he felt like they were the same.


    after calming himself down, he looked around the lake before going back the way he came. he cautiously went outside the cave to find some dry wood to start a fire. when he got back, he started the fire. he sat beside it with his eyes closed and sword in his arms.


    ...


    in a certain sky, a girl in a white dress was soaring. while flying she was thinking about something. ''who... was that boy? golden eyes and red hair.....strangely, i get the feeling that i''ll meet him again. he looked to be the same as me, after all.'' she thought calmly.

 Chapter 11 Raven

    it''s been about a month and a half since levi got to the desolate mountain. during this time, he found out a lot of things about desolate mountain. the tree''s that tried to eat him, are called nightmare trees. to kill them, you need to destroy the core in the middle of their bodies? bark?


    there are also giant carnivorous flowers. the bird that tried to fly over desolate mountain that day was caught by it''s tongue, which was a vine growing in its mouth and pulled it down into it''s stomach. also, the girl that was being dragged away by something, what dragged her away was a carnivorous vine.


    those types of vines like to catch animals or humans and grind them into fertilizer with their vines. that poor girl, may she rest in peace. there are also beasts in the mountain, not the legendary beasts that were refined into elixirs. these beasts were normal animals which evolved or mutated due to the unusual qi in desolate mountain. the giant purple snake also changed because of the poison fog.


    levi caught and ''extracted'' information about desolate mountain from someone who tried to kill him. said person was ''disposed'' of after the extraction, of course. apparently there is a camp of sorts in this mountain. a lot of criminals were sent to desolate mountain to die painful deaths, but the ones who survived, made a little village.


    a lot of the people who go to desolate mountain to train themselves go to this village, desolate village. the villagers, who, i remind you are criminals, sometimes rob, kill or do ''other'' things to their visitors. the only rule of the village is, the strong rule. so basically, you can do what ever you want, as long as you''re strong enough.


    the village also has a request board, where people could put up job request and the people who made the request would pay you for doing the job, if it was completed successfully. for instance, if you wanted to kill a certain beast, but you weren''t strong enough, you could request for people to help you kill it.


    levi decided not to go to desolate village. at this moment, levi was stalking a certain prey. he wanted the bloodline of this thing because it was convenient. in his sights was a raven, a little smaller than the sect master''s roc. it had talons of iron and wings of steel. when it flapped it''s wings, just the wind alone could cut down large trees.


    he wanted the wings of the raven to be able to fly wherever he pleased. but he knew how strong the raven was, so he had to be carefull not to BECOME the prey.


    ...


    in a withered land, where not even ghosts dare reside, a middle aged man sat with a hideous expression. he was facing two people, one in a golden robe and the other in a white robe. "i''ll agree to your terms! that damn sect master dare to lock me up here!? i want him dead!" the man said.


    "and that little brat also! you 3 should also want him dead, so help me kill him!" the man turned to look at 3 other middle aged men. "that brat has dissapeared. he has not been seen in the sect and we don''t know where he went." one of the 3 suddenly said.


    "so what if he disappeared? when the 5 year tournament comes around, i''m sure he''ll come back! and if he doesn''t, then we''ll just have to hunt him down!" the man shouted. the 3 kept silent for a while before one said. "his strength grows by the day, being gone for a long period of time could mean trouble for us!" he said.


    "don''t worry so much! with two superpowers after him, even if he was an undying cockroach, he would still be killed!" the man said hatefully. the 3 looked at each other. "we will be going back for now, less the sect master becomes suspicious." after saying this, the 3 then left.


    "according to our agreement, if any of you find him first, you will hand that brat over to me!" the man turned back to the two figures. "we already agreed to your terms. stop being so anxious, it''s annoying." the man in the gold robe turned around and left.


    "Rest assured, we will do our part as long as you do yours." the white robed man said calmly. he then left.


    ...


    desolate mountain.


    levi was still stalking the raven, but he was becoming impatient. it suddenly went on top of a flat rock and looked like it fell asleep. levi saw this but decided to wait a little longer. he remembered all of the painful and tragic times when animals beat him up, but when he thought about it, if this raven got angry, it would probably slice him up. there was no coming back from that, not yet at least.


    after thinking for a while, he had an idea. ''since the venom in my body feels and moves like my blood, would i be able to control it like my blood too?'' he thought. he held up his index finger and a small slit appeared. a purple liquid flowed out and floated. ''so i can do this!'' levi started to direct the poison towards the raven''s beak which was slightly opened.


    just as it was about to go in, the poison stopped and fell to the ground. ''is there a limit to how far i can send out my blood?'' levi thought. the raven opened its eyes when it heard the dripping sound, before closing them again. it thought nothing of it and went back to sleep.


    levi sighed in relief and quietly moved a bit closer. then he sent out his poison once again, but this time he also sent poison towards it''s eyes, so that if it does wake up at least it wouldn''t be able to find him. he slowly started to send a tread of poison into the ravens mouth so he wouldn''t alert it.


    after all of the poison went into its mouth, he sighed in relief. "hah!" all of a sudden he shouted, causing the raven to open it''s eyes. as soon as it opened its eyes, the poison flashed as it flew into them. the raven started to flap it''s wings crazily as it thrashed around in pain and anger.


    coincidentally, a blade of wind flew in levi''s direction, he barely ducked in time which caused it to hit the large tree behind him. BOOM! a deafening boom rang out. levi stiffly turned his head and what he saw made him break out in cold sweat. the huge tree was cut straight through, cleanly. it fell to the ground with a loud boom.


    after a while the raven stopped moving and lay weakly on the ground. levi was astonished at the lifeforce of the raven, he waited until it stopped breathing before he walked up to it. he took out his knife and stabbed its neck, which caused an almost black blood to flow out. levi absorbed all of the blood which caused the body to shrink.


    suddenly, his fingernails turned black. he could grow and shorten them at will. ''the raven''s iron talons!'' he thought. he could feel that the bloodline was still being absorbed, but very slowly. he could only hope that he would get the wings later.


    after thinking for a while, he cut off the wings and talons of the raven. because it was too full, levi took out about 5,000 silver coins from out of the spatial ring and put the wings and talons inside. because he didn''t have anywhere to put it and it would be a pain to take with him, he just left the silver coins on the ground and left.

 Chapter 12 Return

    two and a half months later.


    levi fully absorbed the ravens bloodline in this time. he also broke into the 3rd qi refining level. the wings were made of blood, but still looked like real wings for some reason. he also got a skill of sorts. when he makes his fingernails longer and slashes out with his hand, it makes five blades of wind.


    during these two months he practiced using them and even modified it. when he slashed out, at the same time he would also release some of his venom, which would make a poisonous wind blade. if it doesn''t cut you right through, even if it''s just a scratch, you would probably still die from the poison.


    since he already got the raven''s bloodline, he decided to go back to the sect. it was almost time for the five year tournament anyway. his back started to bulge before two huge red wings came out. he flapped his wings and shot up into the sky, causing the nearby tree''s to lose some branches.


    because his wings were made of blood, they weren''t as strong as the raven''s. but this couldn''t be considered a problem, because if he injected enough qi into them, they could become even stronger and faster than the raven''s for a period of time. but, although he broke through to the 3rd qi refining level, he wasn''t strong enough to do that very often, only in a life or death situation.


    another reason he left desolate mountain was because he was too weak. he barely survived, and he was just on the outer part of the mountain.he ''heard'' that the inner mountain was absolute hell, so since he already got something from this gamble, he wasn''t willing to lose it along with his life, while trying to win more.


    while flying, he caught sight of two figures coming straight towards him. they were emitting an extremely terrifying amount of killing intent. levi''s blood shook, as if warning him of an unbeatable existence. without a second thought he turned and went in another direction, as he started to pump his qi into his wings.


    but would he be able to get away just like that? no! the two people easily caught up to him. one of them stabbed out with their hand, destroying levis heart while sending a scorching qi into his body. "aghh!" levi shouted in pain. he fell from the sky into some trees, when his body touched the ground, it was in a wretched state.


    he laid on the ground, unmoving. the two people soon appeared. "what a weakling. why did they feel the need to send me to kill him?" one of them said. "aww, don''t be like that. he''s just in the qi refining levels while you''re in the heaven and earth stage, of course he would be weak compared to you!" the other one playfully said.


    "they said that this person must be killed and he is dead. let''s go back!" he said. what they didn''t know was, since he could move his blood at will, levi didn''t need his heart to survive. not a drop of blood was coming from the gaping hole in his chest. he was silently listening to their conversation to find out who wanted him dead, but they didn''t say anything about the person.


    when they left, levi got up and panted heavily. cold sweat was running down his face as he stared up to the sky coldly. he tried to rebuild his heart and heal the hole, but couldn''t. he would need to absorb blood to be able to rebuild his heart. once again, wings appeared on his back. he Unsteadily shot into the sky once more.


    although the loss of his heart wouldn''t kill him, the hole in his chest still hurts!


    ...


    demonic god sect.


    "i wonder if that brat is ok? he should be right? yes! no matter what happens, he will be fine!" the sect master was alone in his hall pacing back and forth. he did this everyday since levi left.


    crash!


    all of a sudden, something broke through the large window. "who would dare!" the sect master saw this scene and immediately snapped. he body releasing a ghastly black aura, his eyes turning bright red. "old man, get me a large animal!" a hoarse voice rang out. the sect master was shocked at the familiar voice.


    "oh, my dear disciple! why did you come through the window?" the sect master''s tone changed as he asked with a bewildered expression. levi struggled to stand up straight. when he saw levi''s chest, the sect master was feeling a lot of different emotions. shock, astonishment and anger.


    "get me a large animal!" levi''s hoarse voice rang out again. the sect master said nothing as he left. he didn''t want anybody to see levi''s current condition, because other people might take things differently. after a while he returned with a large sheep.


    levi said nothing as he grew out his fingernail and slashed it''s throat. the sect master watched silently as levi absorbed the blood causing the sheep to deflate. levi controlled his blood as he rebuilt his heart. after a while, his heart was rebuilt but he still had to fix his bones and muscles.


    "who did this?" suddenly the sect master asked. he had a rare serious look on his face. "i don''t know." levi replied. "what is the heaven and earth stage?" levi asked. "the heaven and earth stage is the one that i''m currently in. two stages above the qi refining levels is the heaven and earth stage. in the heaven and earth stage,you seek to understand heaven and earth. by understaning hevwn and earth, you would be able to use and absorb the qi of heaven and earth." the sect master thought for a while before saying.


    "wait..." he suddenly thought of something. " it was someone in the heaven and earth stage that did this to you!? what kind of trouble did you cause!? how are you still alive?!" he shouted. levi looked at him coldly. "i don''t know why they tried to kill me. one of them destroyed my heart, they thought i was dead so they left." he said.


    "how did you survive without a heart?" the sect master asked in shock. "that''s not important. i don''t think they were from the divine country!" levi said. "what are you talking about? the divine country is huge! and if they weren''t from here, then where? what made you think that they weren''t from here?" the sect master asked.


    "because, those people were at the heaven and earth stage, but they looked no younger than 18or older than 20!" levi said seriously. "18!?" the sect master couldn''t find anymore words to say. he just stood with his mouth opened, no trace of the refined sect master to be seen.


    "i''m going back to my room." levi got up and turned around. "wait! when you left i prepared a room here for you to stay!" the sect master finally woke up from his stupor and said. "why?" levi asked. "you should know why." the sect master replied.


    "where is it?" levi asked. "i''ll take you there." the sect master walked out of the hall, levi followed him. they arrived in a large room, it was definitely more luxurious than the one he was in before. "you can leave now." levi turned to face his master, he pushed him out and shut the door.


    the sect master stood outside the door in a daze before regaining his senses. "YOU ICY BRAT! NOT EVEN A WORD OF THANKS?!" he shouted. he turned around and walked away thinking. ''he seems... different. is it because of that skill he is cultivating? or something else? regardless, who is trying to kill him? and why?'' he thought about these things seriously but still couldn''t find a reason.

 Chapter 13 5 Year coliseum

    3 days later. morning.


    levi was on his bed cultivating. he realized that raising his cultivation state was as important as absorbing strong bloodlines. he was cultivating in his room from when it was dark outside, until now. in this time, he discovered something. if he tried to cultivate like a normal person, it wouldn''t work at all. circulating the qi and drawing in more was slightly faster than cultivating normally, from what he was told a few days ago. and, he could convert the leftover energy from absorbing a bloodline, into qi, which was the fastest out of the 3.


    although he used both the second and third method, he was still far from a breakthrough. the third method was also not something that he could do continuously, since he would have to absorb blood to do it. he opened his eyes, which were glowing lightly and got off the bed.


    "5 year tournament..." he mumbled. "hahaha" levi started to laugh, it was a low and cold laugh. after bathing, he put on his cloths and left the hall. he walked outside and saw a group of people waiting. levi looked around and saw some familiar faces. noah, ava and 3 of the disciples that went to the tomb.


    the 3 disciples were inner disciples while noah and ava were outer disciples. there were 2 boys and 1 girl, making it a total of 2 girls and 4 boys including him. levi didn''t say anything to them as he walked up to the sect master. "Master." he greeted the sect master. there was also an elder beside the sect master, but he didn''t say anything even though levi didn''t greet him.


    levi''s eyes soon rested on a certain thing, the sect master''s roc! that damn bird almost killed him, so he would not forget. levi''s golden eyes frosted over as he walked towards the roc. while walking, he made his fingernails longer and slashed out. blades of wind shot out in the direction of the roc, who was startled and barely managed to dodge.


    "my dear disciple, what are you doing?" the sect master had a helpless expression on his face. levi said nothing as he walked up to the now slightly trembling roc. "if you try that again, i will slow roast you over an open fire after absorbing your blood. do you understand?" levi''s voice was frosty as he threatened the roc.


    the only thing that everyone else saw, was levi getting onto the roc''s back after whispering something to it. the sect master sighed because he knew that his disciple probably threatened his poor roc. the sect master, elder and the rest of the disciples got onto the roc. they shot into the sky a second later.


    levi was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, cultivating. everyone else, including ava and noah were sitting a distance away from him. the 3 disciples from the tomb saw how ruthless levi was and thought it better to stay away from him and ava didn''t talk to him since that night. after hearing about the events of that night and seeing levi''s eyes for himself, noah also decided to stay away.


    after flying for a while, they arrived in front of a large flatland. "we have arrived." the sect master said. levi slowly opened his eyes and looked around, seeing nothing on the land, his expression darkened.


    the sect master saw the change in levi''s expression and began explaining. "this five year coliseum was built over the ruins of something else. after building it, when the people came back, the coliseum was gone. for some reason, it reappeared after 5 years. the tournament is held once every five years because that is when the coliseum would appear again." he explained.


    levi said nothing as he listened. suddenly there was the sound of flapping which caused him to look at the sky. not only him, but everyone else turned to look. in the sky was a large griffin, only a little smaller than the roc. on it''s back were two middle-aged men and 5 disciples wearing sun robes. "sun sect..." levi mumbled. he wouldn''t forget the debt that he owed them.


    the sun sect''s people also saw them. they looked at the demonic god sect with disdain, as if looking at something inferior. not long after the sun sect arrival, a silver wyvern appeared. on it''s back was a middle aged man and woman, with 5 disciples wearing blackish silver robes. levi didn''t know who they were. "the silver sword sect. they are not a devil sect or a righteous sect. the people in that sect only focus on researching the sword." the sect master gave a brief explanation.


    sou!


    in the sky was a man in white robes, flying with 5 disciples behind him. the disciples weren''t at a stage where they could fly, which means it was the man that was carrying them. the sun sect master''s face darkened slightly. "he got stronger..." he mumbled.


    levi looked at the people who arrived. " the cloud sect. the people in that sect are dangerous. not because of their strenght or cultivation, but because of the skills they cultivate. those skills cause them to loose their emotions, one by one. the only thing left afterwards is that empty smile. they kill people with that smile still on their faces." the sect master explained warily.


    "the coliseum will appear soon." the sect master said. after a while, the ground started to tremble slightly. then, brick after brick started to appear. you could tell that it was built over an older building because the bricks at the bottom were darker and a little different. on those older bricks were strange runes, levi looked at them and tried to remember them.


    "look at that fool! just staring at it! what a country bumpkin!" one of the sun sect''s disciples sneered. levi didn''t look in his direction and just kept looking at the runes. after a while, he started to walk towards the large gate that appeared. he caught up to the demonic god sect after a while. the sun sect disciple that just spoke was trembling with anger.


    the coliseum was rather big, with only this amount of people it looked abandoned. levi found a seat and sat. he closed his eyes and rested his chin on his hand. he only came to watch, he would only fight if he felt like it. he could always deal with the sun sect another time.


    the 5 year tournament had a few rules, first, only two elders from a sect can be present, it could be the sect master and 1 elder or 2 elders. second, only 5 disciples will participate in the tournament. so as long as at least one person from the demonic god sect didn''t fight, he could fight in their place.


    the first rule was so that no sect could pressure another, the second was so that the numbers would be even.


    all of a sudden, a figure appeared. he was standing on the fighting stage and looked around. "every 5 years he would appear to manage the tournament, so that the different sects wouldn''t cheat. and every 5 years he still looks the same." the sect master said with a strange expression.


    "this time, instead of fighting normally, it will be different..." the man spoke. his voice sounded strange, it didn''t sound like he was male or female. levi looked at the man but couldn''t find anything off about him, so he just closed his eyes again.

 Chapter 14 Illusion projection

    "instead of fighting with your bodies, you will be using an illusion projection. it works in a simple way, the participants will take one of this pill each, which will put them in a connected illusion. it will be equivalent to connecting their minds. while their minds are connected their bodies will release, a kind of smoke or fog that will recreate the illusion and allow the people outside to see." the man explained.


    hearing such a thing, a lot of people started to whisper among themselves, levi also opened his eyes to look at the pill. "this method is being used so that the sect''s gathered here can stay at peace." what he means is that, when the disciples of different sects fight, they sometimes go too far, which then causes ''problems'' such as war, assassinations, etc.


    the sun sect''s master turned to look at the cloud sect. "but i must warn you, the mind is a very delicate thing. if an attack is too powerful in the illusion, it will affect the body. you could be crippled or become one of the living dead, alive but it wouldn''t be any different from being dead. so fight with caution." the man looked at the various sect''s.


    "for this tournament, we will use the challenge system. you can challenge one person. if you lose, you will be disqualified, if you win, you can continue. if the challenged person loses, they will lose their chance to challenge someone, but if they win, they can challenge the person of their choice, or skip their turn." the man explained.


    "so this is going to be in our minds right?" levi suddenly asked. "yes. i don''t know what that pill does to connect your minds though." the sect master said. he looked to the side and was shocked, cold sweat dripping down his face. levi''s had a light smile on his face. it was exactly this smile that scared the sect master.


    "W-what are you planning to do?" the sect master asked with a shakey voice. "what are you talking about, old man?" it seems that levi himself didn''t know that he was smiling, his face became cold once again. after the man finished speaking, a sun sect disciple went down to the stage.


    "i, jaxon, of the sun sect, challenge William of the cloud sect!" the disciple shouted. a male disciple with a light smile walked down to the stage calmly. "each of you, sit in either corner of the stage and take this pill." the man said. they both went to their respective corners and sat cross-legged, before swallowing the pill.


    after taking the pill, both of them slouched forward slightly. "huh? where..." the sun sect disciple found himself in a forest with giant trees. "..." the cloud sect disciple, William, found himself in a plain space, without light or darkness. all of a sudden, both of them felt a tugging. the two place started to pull towards each other before fusing.


    the large green forest was no longer green, although the trees were still there, they didn''t have any color and the plain space was no longer plain, as it had colorless trees in it now. the two looked around before their eyes landed on each other. the sun sect disciple, jaxon, imagined his sword, which appeared a few seconds later.


    the cloud sect disciple, William, didn''t take out any weapon. when jaxon saw this, he thought that William was just looking down on him, so in a fit of rage, he slashed out with a blazing qi on his sword.


    ...


    outside.


    a fog of different colors rose from their bodies before merging and showing what was happening in their minds. watching the fight, the cloud sects disciples were all still smiling lightly, which was frightening in it''s own way. the sun sect disciples had smug expressions on their faces, as if they had already won. the sun sect''s master had a ugly expression, but they paid no mind to him.


    levi was looking down to this sight with interest, his slightly long red hair blowing in the wind.


    ...


    inside of their minds.


    the blazing qi was just about to rip the cloud sect disciple to shreds, but he suddenly dissapeared. jaxon looked left and right but still couldn''t find him, then he felt something like a hand on his back. before he could look back, boom! a low boom resounded. william released a small Shockwave from his palm and sent it into jaxon''s body.


    outside, jaxon''s body was shaking before falling farward to the ground, unmoving. the sun sect master stood up with an ugly face and looked towards the cloud sect master. "worry not, he is just unconscious. as i said, a strong enough attack can have effects on the body." the man''s strange voice rang out once more.


    "humph! i challenge that cloud sect disciple!" a muscular sun sect disciple stood up angrily and pointed to william. "since he just won a match, he can choose to refuse the challenge." the man said. William looked at the sun sect disciple before walking back up to his seat without a word. "You! fine! any cloud sect disciple is fine!" the sun sect disciple screamed.


    a female cloud sect disciple walked down from her seat, a slight smile on her face. "don''t think that i''ll go easy on you just because you''re a woman!" the sun sect disciple said. they sat down and ate the pill. after a few seconds, the sun sect disciple found himself in a barren land, he was shocked for a while before calming himself down.


    as for the cloud sect disciple, she found herself in a plain space with a few colors. a little bit of light, a little bit of darkness. since the cloud sect disciples lose their emotions, their imaginations also loose color. this female disciple was most likely a new disciple, that is why she still had a few colors.


    once again the places merged. the sun sect disciple didn''t say anything as he charged at the cloud sect disciple. right as she was about to be hit by his massive palm of blazing qi, she dissapeared. talk about a repeat of last time. she reappeared behind the sun sect disciple, but before she could attack, a large elbow implanted itself into her face before sending her flying a short distance.


    "You cowards of the cloud sect only know how to attack from behind! so predictable!" the sun sect disciple sneered. the cloud sect disciple stood up with some difficulty, she no longer had a light smile on her face. her nose was flattened, some of her front teeth knocked out with blood and saliva flowing out from her face.


    she looked at the sun sect disciple with hate. since she still had a few emotions, how could she not be angry with someone destroying her face? a sharp qi rose from her body as she dissapeared once again. the sun sect disciple punched forward with a smug expression. as he thought, the cloud sect disciple did appear at the front this time.


    but what surprised him was the fact that he missed. "eh?" suddenly a soft thump rang out. the sun sect disciple looked down and saw his arm on the dried up ground with blood flowing out. "AHHHHHHH!!" he screamed. at that moment, a light flashed. his world spun as he looked at his headless body.


    outside, his body was shaking uncontrollably before it finally stopped. he was lying on the on the stage, a liquid pouring out from his crotch. soon after, a horrendous stench wafted out. the sun sect''s master''s face was ugly as he looked at the cloud sect disciple with killing intent.


    the cloud sect disciple opened her eyes and wiped away the line of blood that was coming from her nose before looking around. after seeing the state of the sun sect disciple, her smile deepened before she got up and walked off the stage.

 Chapter 15 seriously?

    the sun sect''s master got up and shot towards the female disciple, his intention clear. the disciple''s face turned pale as she trembled in fright. suddenly, something white appeared in front of her. " what are you doing?" the cloud sect master appeared, a slight smile on his face, bringing with him a terrifying pressure.


    "YOU! are you going back on what we agreed on!?" the sun sect''s master bellowed, a scorching fire burning on his skin. "we are simply participating in the tournament. what we agreed on has nothing to do with this." the cloud sect master said calmly. "humph!" the sun sect master turned around in a huff and went back to his seat.


    "listen up! if you meet any cloud sect disciples in this tournament, don''t show any mercy!" the sun sect master shouted with an ugly face. "this is after all, just a tournament, right!?" he looked at the cloud sect master before looking away.


    levi was watching this scene with interest. he heard something particularly interesting. what was surprising though, was that, nobody from the demonic god sect was challenged. another sun sect disciple went down to the stage. he looked at the cloud sect, but thinking of what just happened, he wiped away a cold sweat and continued to looked around.


    his eyes landed on a particular person, this person pissed him off a while back. "you! get down here!" the disciple pointed up to levi with an arrogant expression. levi looked down at the disciple, his eyes remaining cold and filled with disinterest. then he suddenly changed his mind, he decided to fight.


    he took one of the pills and sat on one side, while the sun sect disciple did the same. suddenly, levi found himself in a dark place, everything was black. the trees, the grass, the clouds. he felt at ease in this place, because he was accustomed to it. as for the sun sect disciple, he found himself in a blue space, with a few clouds and a sun.


    the two spaces merged but not completely, one half was black and the other was blue. the sun sect disciple looked around for levi. "there you are! you coward!" he shouted. levi was standing in the darkness, his red hair covering his face. a black smoke started to rise from his body, causing his hair to rise up with it, revealing 2 golden eyes.


    for some reason, the sun sect disciple began to feel uneasy. he didn''t waste anymore time as he covered his palm in a golden qi and attacked. suddenly, levi''s body started to bulge, with scales appearing everywhere. "aghhh!" he shouted from the pain. the sun sect disciple stopped and trembled.


    although he couldn''t see levi''s current form, there were two giant bloodthirsty eyes glowing in the darkness. "I sur-" before he could continue, his body was cut into 4 pieces from his head down. in the darkness, levi''s body changed back to normal. as he walked out, a dark flame was still flickering on his head before disappearing. "as i thought, i can turn myself into anything when i''m inside my mind." he mumbled.


    "i wonder, can i do that?" levi mumbled as he walked up to the pieces of the sun sect disciple''s body. when he reached them, he stooped down and reached out. one of them started to become transparent. "is he dissipating because i killed him? or has the connection of our minds have been severed?" levi mumbled as he touched the blood that was beginning to dissipate.


    "!!" surprisingly, he could actually absorb the blood! even though it was in his mind! unfortunately, most of it dissapeared before he could absorb it. the man outside looked at levi with surprise. levi opened his eyes and got up, he looked around and saw the sun sect disciple on the ground with his eyes rolled back and white froth at his mouth.


    he said nothing as he walked back up to his seat, but before he could sit down, his whole body pulsed. he dropped in his seat as his eyes rolled back. "infiltrate....don''t...eas...." he heard a voice in his head, what it was saying was incomplete. "use....manipula....appearan.....ski..." another voice said.


    outside, his body was trembling and his eyes white. the sect master was shocked and worried. then it suddenly stopped, levi''s eyes went back to normal and he stopped trembling. "huff huff!" he was panting heavily as sweat ran down his forehead, then he remembered the conversation the two voices had in his head. "huhuhu....HeHeHe...HAHAHAHA!" he started laughing crazily, causing the demonic god sect disciples and master a large amount of shock.


    "he''s gone mad from winning just one fight? how sad!" the last 2 sun sect disciples were feeling angry and would not give up this chance, one of them sneered. "he is probably a looser who never won anything in life! you should take pity on those kinds of people!" the other one sniggered.


    levi calmed down, not even looking itheir direction. "old man, how long are you planning on holding my hand?" levi asked the sect master with annoyance, this old man had been clamping down on his wrist for a while now. "ah, are you ok?" the sect master woke up from his stupor and released levi''s hand, before asking. "the only reason i wouldn''t be ok, is if you broke my arm just now." levi said coldly as he rubbed his wrist.


    the sect master laughed dryly as he scratched the back of his head in awkwardness. ''this disciple of mine is to much!'' he thought. he look over at levi and saw a slight mischievous smile, he could only sigh. his disciple was either as cold as an ice block, or planning some kind of trouble. all he wanted was a thank you and a little moderation, but he got neither.


    the next moment, something surprising happened. a silver sword sect''s disciple walked down to the stage. some people even forgot that the silver sword sect was present. they were similar to the cloud sect in a way, their unreadable faces. the cloud sect''s skills make them lose their emotions, so they always have a smile on their faces. but, the silver sword sect''s skills temper their emotions, making them able to control them at will and they are always expressionless.


    the silver sword sect disciple was female, she looked around and her eyes landed on someone. "i challenge you." she pointed towards levi, who looked at her with an annoyed expression on his cold face. he just ignored her and closed his eyes, resting his head on his fist. seeing that levi didn''t respond to her challenge, she turned her attention to the cloud sect.


    without a word, she pointed to a cloud sect disciple. he looked to be a senior disciple, one that was in the sect for a few years. he got up and walked down to the stage, with the cloud sects signature slight smile, and stood opposite of the silver sword sect''s disciple.


    both of them sat down cross-legged and took the pill. the female disciple appeared in a place no different from the real world. the sky was blue, with white clouds, birds were chirping and everything seemed to be in harmony. as for the cloud sect disciple, he found himself in a place devoid of anything. it was a void, a space filled with nothing.


    the two places fused together and formed a floating piece of land inside of a void. both of them stood on this land and looked at each other.

 Chapter 16 Betrayal

    they looked at each other for a while, then the female disciple drew her sword. without a word, she appeared in front of the cloud sect disciple and slashed out. Clank! a metal clashing sound rang out as sparks flew. she retreated before attacking again, but yielded the same results.


    after failing over and over, she retreated. she stood with her sword raised in the air, then all of a sudden, a dim silver light appeared around it. the cloud sect disciple saw the change in the sword, still slightly smiling , his face became serious. wind started to wrap around his body like armer.


    the female disciple''s face turned a little pale, she then slashed out. a silver sword beam shot towards the cloud sect disciple, who was standing with his arms open, with no intention of dodging. Boom! when the sword beam hit the wind armer, a loud boom rang out, a small shockwave spread through the void. outside, both of their bodies were trembling.


    "cough!" the cloud sect disciple coughed a mouthful of blood. "i have lost." the female disciple, pale faced, declared her defeat. she opened her eyes and got up from the stage, her face pale, she walked back up to her seat. she secretly wiped a line of blood from her nose.


    the cloud sect disciple got up and walked Unsteadily back to his seat, it seems that he didn''t completely block her last attack.


    ...


    after that fight, one of the remaining sun sect disciples arrogantly challenged all of the demonic god sect disciples, which obviously pissed them off. although they were told by the sect master ''to not cause trouble'' they were infuriated. unfortunately, the disciple that accepted the challenge was beaten half to death. the sun sect disciple broke his limbs slowly, one by one.


    since the sun sect lost 3 times in a row, both the disciples and the sect master were angry, and since they couldn''t take it out on the cloud sect, and the silver sword sect would just chop them up, they could only go for the demonic god sect.


    ...


    after a few more fights, the tournament was finished. the first one to leave was the silver sword sect. just as the demonic god sect was about to leave, a voice boomed. "where are you going?" the sect master looked back and saw 4 figures in the sky.


    "what is the meaning of this?" the sect master shouted. "you should already know what kind of situation this is!" one of the figures said mockingly. "humph! you four elders are barely at heaven and earth stages 1-3, while i''m at the 7th level! if you think that just the four of you are enough, then you are as foolish as you are weak!" a terrifying, black fog-like qi started to seep out of the sect master''s body, as his eyes turned blood red.


    "who said it was just us?" one of them said with a vicious expression. he was the elder that was sent to the land of the dead for four months, elder rock. as he said this, 2 massive pressures appeared. the sect master turned around and saw two figures. "you...." his expression dimmed when he saw who the two people were.


    "the four of us are not here for you!" another one said with a sinister grin. "the person in question should know who they are!" another one said, they all looked in levi''s direction. levi''s face was stone cold, his expression dark. he looked at the four people with annoyance and bloodlust.


    "what a fool! you should have known that this would happen, but you still attended the 5 year tournament anyway!" the sun sect master said with a vicious expression. he was still annoyed that most of his disciples were beaten to that degree. "don''t take it personally." the cloud sect master said calmly, a slight smile on his face.


    "sky! take the disciple''s back to the sect! levi, go with them!" the sect master roared. the roc, sky, looked conflicted, but after a while it took off. levi let out his wings and shot into the sky. "what kind of technique is that little brat cultivating! to be able to fly before the heaven and earth stage! it must be a legendary skill! before we kill him we have to get him to spill all of his secrets!" the four elders took turns saying. they chased after him.


    "where do you think you''re looking!" the sun sect master sent a devastating scorching palm strike towards the sect master. "piss off!" the sect master shouted as darkness qi formed a sword.


    sou!


    "aghhhhh!" the sword flashed and pierced the sun sect master''s shoulder, completely disregarding his defensive qi. the sun sect master was at the 5th level of the heaven and earth stage, while the cloud sect master and the demonic god sect master were both at the 7th level.


    "you old demon, why won''t you die?" the cloud sect master drew his sword and slashed out, sending the wind into disarray. a large wind blade shot towards the sect master at an alarming speed. before the wind blade could hit him, the sect master made another sword of darkness and slashed out.


    BOOM!


    the two clashed, with one destroying the other. the blade of wind exploded into smaller blades and cut up the ground, while the sword of darkness disintegrated anything it came into contact with, the grass and the ground. crack! the sun sect master attacked with a palm strike in that moment, which caused the sect master to retreat, his shoulder broken.


    "hahaha! old age hasn''t been nice to you! once known as the dark demon, but now you''re just a weak old man!" the sun sect master sneered with a twisted expression. the sect master vanished and reappeared in front of the sun sects master, he chopped down with a sword made of darkness.


    "aghhhh! you bastard! i''ll kill you!!" the sun sect master screamed crazily as his arm fell to the ground. as the sect master was about to attack once more, he was hit by a large amount of qi, which sent him soaring. he steadied himself in the sky and looked down. "you..." he looked down at the cloud sect master, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was ''you''. he was burning with rage at this point.


    ...


    in the sky.


    levi was pumping qi into his wings, trying his best to get away. but, he was merely at the qi refining level 3, he would not be able to out run 4 heaven and earth stage practitioners. realizing that he wouldn''t be able to get away, levi turned around and flew straight towards them. "begging for your life? to late! die!" elder rock shouted as he sent out a palm strike.


    "let''s see who''ll die!" levi shouted angrily, he slahed out with his hand causing five poisonous wind blades to shoot towards the palm strike. crack! the five wind blades shattered like glass upon contact. "hahahaha! you''re too weak!" elder rock laughed maniacally as he continued with his attack.


    boom! crack!


    a sharp crack rang out as the palm hit levi''s chest, he didn''t have time to dislocate his bones. his chest caved in, as his ribs broke. along with the palm strike, a prickly qi went in and wreaked havoc inside his body. "cough cough!" levi coughed a few mouthfuls of blood as he pulled out his sword from it''s sheath.


    with the sword covered in poison, he stabbed towards elder rock''s eye. elder rock was startled that levi could still move and couldn''t react in time, but before the sword could pierce his eye, levi was bombarded with attacks. he fell from the sky, broken ribs, broken shoulder, a hole in his stomach and a gash on his back.


    he landed on the hard ground with a splat, blood soiling the grassy ground. his breathing was heavy as he struggled to get up. "i almost forgot! give us the skill you''re cultivating and everything you got from the tomb, and maybe i''ll let you have a painless death!" elder rock said with vicious grin.


    "you know....." levi struggled to stand up straight. "one of your...disciples... cough.." he spat a mouthful of blood. "said....the same thing.... but i still killed him in the end! cough cough! and you four will be the same! hahahaha" levi said with a depraved laughter.


    "humph!" elder rock formed a pointed hook with qi. boom! crack! the hook stabbedthrough levi''s stomach and into a large rock, pinning him to the rock. "cough!!" he spat another mouthful of blood, his face pale. he looked up at the sky with hatred and defiance in his eyes.


    crack!


    the rock was split in half.

 Chapter 17 I still win

    "what!? where the hell is he!?" elder rock shouted. levi disappearedwithout a trace, not even his blood remained. "damn it! go! look for him! he''s already half dead, he couldn''thave gotten far!" he shouted, his face was twisted. the 3 elders only nodded before going to search.


    ...


    demonic god sect.


    "what!? the sun sect and cloud sect, along with four of our elders attacked you!? and the sect master is fighting them alone!?" the elder that was always with the sect master, the leading figure after the sect master, immediately stood up. "ALL ELDERS, GET TO THE SECT MASTER''S HALL! NOW!" a voice boomed across the whole demonic god sect, waking the disciples.


    "what''s going on?" a half sleeping disciple left his room. "i don''t know, but, it is most likely something that we can''t do anything about. look!" the disciple pointed to the sky, 6 figures were flying through the night sky at an incredible speed, emitting frightening pressures.


    ...


    five year coliseum.


    "huff! huff!" the sect master was panting heavily. the cloud sect master was also injured, a finger sized hole in his left chest, slihtly above his heart. he was breathing heavier than usual, his smile gone. "why won''t you die?" he asked. he pointed his sword at the sect master before disappearing, then reappeared behind him. boom! as the sword of darkness and the cloud sect master''s sword coated with wind qi clashed, a small shockwave emanated.


    "heuk!" the sect master vomited a mouthful of blood. "why did you get involved in this?" the sect master''s hoarse voice rang out. "why? does there need to be a reason to want to kill someone?" a smile surfaced on the cloud sect master''s face. "hmph! then die!" a sword appeared in the sect master''s free hand as he slashed down towards the cloud sect master''s left shoulder.


    silence.


    drip, drip! the sound of a liquid dripping disturbed the moment of quiet. "you..." the sect master''s eyes were wide with surprise. just as his sword was about to destroy his heart after cutting through his shoulder, the cloud sect master formed a spear of spiraling wind qi stabbed him instead. although he cut his shoulder, it was too shallow. "what a monster you are, still able to talk with that giant hole in your chest. but, i have won thi-" he was interrupted.


    "no..." the sect master forcefully said. "even in death....i still wi-" he didn''t get to finish his sentence, as he fell to the ground, breathing his last. "what is he- aghh!" the cloud sect master suddenly shouted in pain, as he held his left shoulder. "he injected his qi into my body when he cut my shoulder, sending it to my heart. but that was just the futile struggle of a dying man. i''ll just seal it unti- what!?! i can''t seal it?!" he found that he couldn''t seal the deadly qi slowly inching towards his heart, then he remembered what the sect master was saying '' even in death, i still win.''


    he was feeling something strange, it was the feeling of not being able to get angry at something infuriating. even though he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs in anger, he lost the ability to get angry a long time ago.


    puchi!


    while he was contemplating his inability to get angry, a scorching hot blade stabbed through his back and out his chest. "heuk! you...." he coughed a mouthful of blood as he looked back. "humph! you''re already this weak! and he is already dead! so who, if not you, would i get revenge for my arm from?" the sun sect master, with his remaining arm was holding a golden sword, a vicious expression on his face.


    puff!


    the sun sect master was hit with a large amount of sharp wind qi and exploded, blood and flesh flying everywhere. "i''m not weak enough that you can kill me...huff.." the cloud sect master said while clutching the hole in his chest, a white pattern appeared then the bleeding stopped. "...it seems that, because of my extensive injuries, my cultivation level has dropped...sigh." he looked up to the sky, his face expressionless.


    "time to leave..." he felt some powerful people coming in his direction and figured that they were the people of the demonic god sect. although he could easily kill people at their level, he wouldn''t be able to take on that many people in his current condition. he looked around for a second before disappearing into the sky.


    a while later.


    "sect master!" the six elders appeared. the first thing they saw was a patch of blood and flesh. then they saw a middle aged man with long disheveled white hair lying face down on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood, a gaping hole going straight through his body. "....bring his body, we are going back to the sect! at a time like this, we can''t leave the sect undefended!" after a short pause, the elder swallowed the sadness of loosing a friend and ordered. insuring the sect''s survival was the most important thing at the moment.


    ...


    in an unfamiliar place, levi opened his eyes, his vision blurry as he looked around. he was on a stone bed in a room made of grayish black bricks, it''s only source of light, a dimly lit candle on the wall. "where is this?" levi mumbled as he got up and put on the black robes that were beside the bed. "hmm?" all of his wounds were healed, but he realised that he couldn''t use any qi.


    he walked out of the door less room and found himself in a pitch black hallway. "i see that you''re up." suddenly a voice was heard. startled, levi looked back. "you..." he stiffened when he saw the person that appeared in the room, it was the man that appears every 5 years for the 5 year tournament.


    "come with me." the man walked out the room and started to walk down hall. "who are you?" levi, still in the same place, asked coldly. from the time he saw this man, he found him strange. the man stopped. "the person who saved your life." the man said, with his strange voice. without looking back, he continued walking. levi started to follow the man, he was still suspicious though and kept a certain distance. although this man saved him, who knew why? people don''t do things without reasons, and this man definitely had a reason for saving him.


    ...


    demonic god sect.


    "you are our elders! why are you doin- heuk!" the four elders couldn''t find levi, so they decided to pay the sect a visit. "starting now, i am the master of the demonic god sect! anybody who disagrees, will end up like this!" elder rock held up the disciple with a gaping hole in his chest, causing the other disciples to tremble.


    "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU''RE DOING!?" at this moment, a voice filled anger shook the demonic god sect. after getting the sect master''s body, the elder flew back to the sect at full speed, only to see this scene. elders from the same sect, threatening and killing disciples. how could he not be angry?


    puchi!


    just as he was about to attack, a stabbing sound rang out. the elder turned his head in disbelief. "you...." before he could say anything, a large amount of qi was sent into his body, destroying his organs and killing him instantly. "Don''t get the wrong idea. the only reason i killed him and joined you was because, like the sect master, he became soft." out of the five remaining elders, one spoke. the others looked at this scene with cold eyes, silently.


    elder rock looked into the sky, his face cold. ''i''ll have to kill him.'' he thought as he looked at the elder.

 Chapter 18 Stolen

    "how is your progress?" a strange voice rang out, echoing in the black stone room. "i still can''t do it." the voice of young boy was heard, however, this voice was frigid. " are you even trying? i know that you have the talent, the pill proved it." the voice said. "so that pill wasn''t so that ''the sect''s gathered could stay at peace'', but so that you can find somebody with ''talent''. and just why are you searching for talent?" levi''s cold voice was heard once more, as he looked at the man.


    "the reason i''m searching for talent? you will soon find out. now watch, i will demonstrate how to do it once more." after he said that, a pale golden flame appeared in front of his forehead, between his eyebrows. "aghhh!" levi groaned in pain, he felt like a giant hand was crushing his body. "mental energy can be used in a number of ways. you can enter and destroy someone''s mind. you can look at or steal their memories. or, if you''re strong enough, you can harm their physical body, like i just did." the man explained.


    "i will come back in a few days, do not disappoint me." he said as he dissapeared. levi clenched his teeth tightly as he glared at where the man just stood.


    A month ago.


    "come with me." the man walked out the room and started to walk down hall. "who are you?" levi, still in the same place, asked coldly. from the time he saw this man, he found him strange. the man stopped. "the person who saved your life." the man said, with his strange voice.


    levi followed at a distance, he didn''t trust this man. after walking for a while, they found themselves in a small dome made of black bricks. these bricks had strange runes carved into them. in the middle of the dome, a lectern stood. with an old dilapidated book on it.


    chiiii!


    when the man picked up the old book, the carving on the bricks began to light up, while making sizzling sounds. with a wave of his hands, the light began to fade. " this book is a mental energy skill, you will practice it." the man handed the book to levi and said. "where is this? and why would i practice this skill just because you told me too?" levi''s asked.


    "where this is isn''t important. as for why you would practice the skill?" peng! leviwas sent crashing into the wall at a frightening speed. "akk!" the impact caused all of the air in his lungs to rush out at once. he was pinned to the wall, not able to utter a word. "obviously, it is because you are weak. if i tell you to practice the skill, you have no choice, because in this world, only the strong are free to do as they please." the man released levi and left.


    "huhff hahhh!" levi dropped to the ground and began gasping for air. he clenched his fist, his fingernail buried into his palm. "he''s too strong, so i can''t kill him. i''ll have to find a way to get out of this place first, i''ll come back to kill him when i''m stronger. but while i''m here, i have to at least make him think that i''m doing what he want''s me to do." levi mumbled. he picked up the old book and opened it.


    after reading the first page, he went back to the room he woke up in. "haaaah." sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, he breathed out, his eyes closed. the first page of the book said to calm yourself and clear your mind. "hmmm? nothing is happening?" levi opened his eyes. he picked up the book and looked at the first page again.


    since he already did everything the first page said to do, he turned to the second page. '' after clearing your mind, try to feel the energy being released by the mind and body.'' it said. "feel the energy being released by the mind and body? qi?" levi was confused but still closed his eyes and tried. he was getting immersed in the skill, forgetting that it was supposed to be an act.


    failed. "so it wasn''t qi. let me try again." he cleared his mind and tried again, but failed once again. he opened the book again "try to feel the energy....." he put down the book and closed his eyes. his breathing was slow and long, his heartbeat was clam. he was sitting quietly for about 20 minutes, before finally begining to feel something.


    a silky smooth energy, it felt like smoke. this energy was nothing like qi, which was aggressive and hard to control. it felt volatile, like you would be able to do more complex things with it. "huuu, so that''s what it feels like." levi opened his eyes and breathed out, he had to look at the next page. ''calmly try to attract the energy, don''t try to force it. guide it to the point between your brows and break the barrier blocking the path to your yin tang point . after breaking the barrier, you will be able to store and use mental energy.'' it said.


    levi once again closed his eyes and did as the book said. boom! a low boom resounded as levi''s body shook, but the barrier did not break. he tried again and again, but the barrier didn''t break. exhausted, he decided to stop for the day. in the following weeks he tried numerous times to break the barrier, but all attempts ended in failure.


    present.


    "i feel like i will be able to break the barrier this time." levi mumbled. he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. he gathered all of the energy in front of his forhead, then slammed it against the barrier. crack! a crisp cracking sound was heard as the barrier cracked slightly, but levi couldn''t relax because the crack was being mended at a frightening speed.


    pling!


    after trying a few times, something which sounded like glass breaking was heard. levi''s body trembled and his eyes rolled up, his cloths were soaked with sweat. after a minute or two, he stopped trembling but his eyes were still rolled up. puff! suddenly, a tiny, pitch black flame, with the texture of a thick smoke, appeared in front of his forehead.


    the flame radiated a black light and caused the temperature in the room to drop. levi''s eyes went back to normal and he looked around as if trying to find out where he was. seeing the black bricks, he remembered his situation and what he was doing. only then did he notice the small black flame. "so this is...." he mumbled. as he was lost in thought, a voice brought him back to reality.


    "i see you have finally succeeded." the man appeared in the room out of thin air. levi looked at the man warily. ''dammit!'' he shouted in his head. "if i recall, you wanted to know why i was looking for talent. since you''ve succeded, i''ll tell you." the man started to walk towards levi, the latter taking steps back. "there is this skill, it allows you to survive even when your body dies." step step, thump. levi found his back against the wall of the room.


    "but, you would only be able to survive without a body for at most 100 years.." step step. "that is why it is important to find a new body, but you can''t just choose any oldbody. it has to be one that can use mental energy! i''m sure you already know where i''m going with this hehe..." the man sniggered with a warped expression.


    "but i''ll still explain it to you..." he had a terrifying grin on his face. "i will be taking your body!" as he said this, he reached out his hand and used mental energy to stop levi from moving. "you...bas..tard..." levi forcefully said as he stared at the man with anger and hatred.


    "come now, it''ll all be over soon!" the man shouted as he turned into a beam of light and went into levi''s body. levi shook uncontrollably as his eyes rolled back, this happened for few minutes before stopping."hehehe..hahahaha..HAHAHAHA! I, THE DEMON SAINT, AM ALIVE ONCE AGAIN! AFTER 90 YEARS OF HIDING! JUST WAIT FOR ME BRILLIANT STAR SECT! YOUR END IS SOON TO COME!" a strange voice came from levi''s mouth.

 Chapter 19 Tattoos

    "now that i found a new body, the first thing i have to do...." the demon saint paused before continuing. "Is to get some food!" he shouted. ''get. out. of. my. body. You Bastard!'', at that moment, a shallow voice was heard. "hmm? how is it that you are still here? well whatever, you''re just a soul that got it''s body stolen, even if i can''t destroy you, having the connection between body and soul severed will cause the soul to dissipate after a certain amount of time!" demon saint said.


    puff!


    a golden flame appeared in front of his forehead. "bye-bye now!" ''levi'' had a twisted grin on his face. he sent a large amount of mental energy into levi''s body. crackle! as it was flowing through his body, the mental energy was crudely erasing levi''s soul imprint. Ba dump! as the mental energy was flowing through levi''s body, it (his body) suddenly pulsated. " finally the nuisance is go-" the demon saint was interrupted.


    sizzle!


    just as the last of levi''s soul imprint was about to be erased, the feeling of being roasted interrupted the demon saint''s thoughts. " what the hell?!" some black tattoo''s appeared on levi''s chest and arms, before turning blood red. "ahhh what the hell is this!?!" the demon saint shouted crazily. when the tattoo''s turned from black to red, they became scorching hot.


    "what the hell are these tattoo''s!? why have i never heard of anything like them before?! and why are they on some brat from a backwater place like this!?! i have to get out of this body!!" the demon saint gathered all of his soul and mental energy together, but just as he was about to leave levi''s body, some strange letters gathered around him, making him unable to escape.


    "aghhhh! dammit! what are these letters?!" the letters carried the ball of soul and mental energy into levi''s yin tang point in his forehead. levi''s body, which was empty, fell to the ground. chiii! steam began to rise from his body, as the tattoo''s spread all over. inside of his body, the demon saint''s unsightly soul imprints were being removed and levi''s being returned.


    "ugh! what the hell?" levi opened his eyes and found that his entire body was aching. "hmmm?" he looked down at his body and his brows furrowed. strange tattoo''s lined his body, down to his wrist and ankles and up to his neck. "what is-" before he could finish, the event''s of just now flooded his mind. "ohhh, i see." his lips curled up into a cold grin. "hahaha! i don''t know what these tattoo''s are, but, i love them!" levi laughed.


    "hey, didn''t you say that you were going to erase me?" levi''s laughter abruptly stopped as he asked out loud. ''you little brat! what have you done?!'', inside his head the strange voice of the demon saint was heard. "little brat?" levi asked coldly. the strange letters around the demon saint tightened, ''aghh!'', a heart wrenching cry rang out in levi''s head.


    "i hope that i don''t have to remind you of your current situation. although i don''t know what these letters are, they seem to respond to me, so killing you would be easy!" levi''s cold voice reverberated on the dark room. ''you-aghh!'' the demon saint let out another cry. "as the person in control of your life or death, shouldn''t you be addressing me with a more... respectful tone?" levi''s cold voice had a hint of mocking.


    ''you b- aghhh! all right! master!'' the demon said said through gritted teeth. "good." levi got up from the ground and left the room. "where is the treasury?" levi asked. ''you think i''ll te- aghhh! there.. isn''t one...this place was only supposed to be a temporary hide out!'', he shouted. "why did you come here to hide?" levi asked. ''...'' the demon saint kept silent.


    "it''s not like i care. but you should already understand how things will work from now on. now, how do i leave this place?" levi asked coldly. ''....go to the largest dome and use mental energy to activate the runes.'' after a moment of silence, the demon saint answered.


    after walking for a while, levi found himself in a large dome. the black bricks had runes carved into them. puff! a black flame appeared in front of his forehead, it was a little bigger. he did as the demon saint said and sent his mental energy, the runes turned a dim red. suddenly, all of them released red light beams toward levi. feeling a sense of danger, levi tried to leave the dome, but this was in vain.


    "you bastard!" levi shouted in anger, the red beams of light were about to vaporize him. ''humph! this place is a hideout for your demon here, do you think that any mental energy can get the things in here to work? hahaha! you might as well slit your own throat to save some time!'' the demon saint said with mockery. "then i''ll just use yours!" levi said with difficulty. ''what the hell are you talking about? even if you have me locked up here, you can''t use my me-'', puff! before he could finish, a small golden flame appeared above levi''s black flame.


    ''what!? that''s not possible!! what are you!'' the demon saint was shouting in levi''s head. "hmm?" levi was startled for a moment before coming back to his senses. siii! after using the demon saint''s mental energy the red light''s were replaced with yellow lights. the dome trembled a little before levi was transported outside.


    chiii!


    ''you! what are you doing!?! stop!! aghh! what have you done!?'' only a few seconds after getting out of the dome, a scorching sound was heard, along with the demon saint''s shouts. "nothing much. i just made it so that if i die, those strange letters will completely destroy your soul. and what ever pain i feel, even though you are just a soul, you will also feel it!" levi''s voice rang out.


    ''that''s impossible! you stop ly- arghh!'', levi stabbed his plam with one of his fingernails. ''you...'' the demon saint was left speechless, he could only silently look at the scene. "let''s get along from now on." levi had a mischievous grin on his face.


    "where is this." it was only now that levi realised that he was in an unfamiliar place, he was in a forest. he released his wings and unsteadily shot into the sky. "tsk, itseems that those red lights injured me more than i thought." he mumbled. "hmm? is that a city?" after looking around for a while, he spotted a city.


    "i''ll just go to that city then." he flew off in that direction. after flying for a while he landed on the edge of the forest, he didn''t want to draw attention to himself by flying into the city. he took a robe with a hood from his spatial ring and put it on, then started to walk to the gate.


    "hey! where is your entry fee?!" just as he was about to walk through the gate, a guard shouted. "entry fee?" levi stopped and asked. "yes, entry fee! are you some kind of idiot?!" the man shouted. "entry fee..." levi repeated this once again. "here." levi took 5 silver coins from the spatial ring and threw them at the guard, then started to walk once again.


    "wait! what the hell is this?!" the guard''s voice was heard once again. levi stopped in his tracks, the temperature around him dropped as he turned around and glared at the guard. "why don''t you offer up your life as the entry fee?" his voice was calm and cold. as the guard looked into those golden eyes that were filled with murderous intent, he began shaking uncontrollably.


    seeing that the guard said nothing more, levi turned around and walked into the city. after he left, the guard dropped ass first onto the ground, still shaking. "what''s wrong with you?" seeing this, a guard that was patrolling the area walked up and asked. "his eyes..." the guard said unsteadily. "they weren''t human!" he suddenly shouted. " what the hell are you talking about? did you get kicked by a donkey or something?" the other guard was startled before getting annoyed. the guard on the ground said nothing more, he just sat on the ground in a daze.

 Chapter 20 Changing Appearance

    "hey, did you hear? the demonic god sect master was killed and replaced by an elder!" as levi was walking by a tavern he heard a few people talking. "i heard that the elder that replaced him made a deal with another sect to kill him!" another one said. "hahaha! that good for nothing sect is getting what it deserves! i heard that they are looking for the dead sect master''s disciple!" another one shouted after downing a large cup of ale.


    creak!


    levi pushed open the old saloon doors and walked in. because of the hood and his height, which was shorter than that of an adult, a lot of people were paying attention to him. although they couldn''t see his face because of the hood, their gazes were sharp. levi ignored the annoying gazes and walked to a table in the back that had 4 men sitting at it.


    step, step.


    levi stopped at the front of the table and looked down at the 4 sitting men. "ahh? what do you want?" one of them looked at levi with annoyance and asked. "if you''re a beggar looking for food, piss off!" another one slammed his hand on the table. levi looked at the four people silently, before he finally spoke. " i heard you talking about something interesting just now. i want you to tell me everything you know, in detail."


    "haah? and why would we do that?" one of them got up and walked to levi''s side, towering over him. thonk! "ohhh! we''ll tell you anything you want to know!" levi threw a pouch of silver coins on the table. "wait, if this runt has that much and and can give it away this easily, then I''d say that he has much more! plus he''s hiding his face under that hood! he''s probably some rich young master that ran away from home! i say that we just kill the brat and take it!" the one standing beside levi said, loud enough for his 3 friends to hear but soft enough that no one else would.


    "jack, you''re so smart!" the one who just picked up the pouch of money put it into his washed out robe before plastering a cruel smile on his face. "no, you''re just stupid aron!" jack shouted. "hehe." the last 2, isac and ben looked at each other before they sniggered and got up. "hey brat, follow these 4 brothers outside for a while!" jack said with a greedy smile on his face.


    levi said nothing as he walked in the middle of the four muscular men. "haah, those four are at it again huh?" at another table an old man sighed. "that kid, it seems today just isn''t his day." a middle aged waitress with a plain scarf tied around her head walked up to the old man with a cup of ale and a plate of crispy skinned slow roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. "hmm." the old man took a large drumstick from the plate and bit off a piece.


    ...


    outside, in an alley.


    crack!


    "aghhh! you bastard! my arm!" jack shouted in pain as he fell onto the ground. " i already broke all of their limbs and they passed out from the pain, so only you can tell me what i want to know." levi''s voice was clam, like this was a normal occurrence. "you bastard! i won''t tell you anythi- crack! aghhh! my leg!" levi stopped on jack''s knee and applied some pressure, crushing it. "ok, let''s get some things straight." the temperature of levi''s voice dropped.


    "if you faint or refuse to tell me what i want to know, i will kill all of you. but what i do to you before, will make you beg for death!" 2 golden eyes were glowing under the hood, looking down on the man as if staring at prey. jack''s body became stiff as he looked into those golden eyes, not a sound coming from his mouth. "all right." levi walked up to the now unconscious aron and lifted him up by the neck.


    levi said nothing as he grew out his fingernails a little. puchi! he stabbed his fingers into aron''s chest. "aghh! wha- my arms! my legs! aghhh! what are you doi-ahhhhhhh!!." a blood curdling scream was heard as levi closed his hand around aron''s sternum. crack! a sharp snapping sound, along with the sound of flesh tearing was heard as levi ripped aron''s sternum from his chest. with the sternum out of the way you could see aron''s heart beating, if you looked from the right angle.


    splat!


    levi squashed aron''s heart like a tomato, causing blood to splash on his cloths before seeping into his body. with his hand still stuck in aron''s lifeless body, he absorbed all of the blood causing it to shrivel up. "if you don''t talk, then what use are you?" levi let go of the dried out corpse and looked at jack, who was now sitting in a puddle of his own urine. "i-i''ll tell you! w-we heard t-that the demonic god s-sect master was killed a-and that one of the elders b-became the new sect master! w-we also heard t-that they are lo-looking for the previous sect master''s disciple!" jack stuttered as he spoke.


    "hmm." levi was deep in thought. "what is the name of this city, and how do i get to demonic city from here?" he suddenly asked. "t-this city is called cloud city, as for how to get to demonic city from here, i don''t know..." jack said. "hmm." levi reached into his robes. "hii! p-please! do-don''t kill me!" seeing levi reaching for something jack shouted, terrified. thonk! "if you didn''t try to kill me, none of this would have happened. this was the result of your own actions." levi droped the pouch of silver coins before turning around to leave.


    ...


    a few minutes later.


    after leaving the alley, levi found himself at the front of an inn. "how much for a room?" he walked in and asked the middle aged woman behind the counter. " 1 silver coin for 1 night and so on." the woman said lazily, it didn''t look like business was going well for this woman. in fact, only 2 other people were in the inn, this was precisely why levi decided to stay here. "here." levi put five silver coins on the counter and took a key.


    creak!


    as he was walking up the stairs, they were making creaking noises. he got in the room and shut the door before taking off the hooded robe and sat on the bed, deep in his thoughts. ''the demonic god sect is looking for me. hmm, i think it''s time to try that skill i stole from that disciples memories. what was it called again? appearance manipulation skill!'' he thought for a while before remembering the skill''s name. due to the fact that the memories were all jumbled up, he had to try to figure out some things by himself.


    "according to these memories, this skill is a light based one. you use light to change your appearance..." he paused for a while. "but i don''t have light qi, so i won''t be able to use this skill." after thinking for a while, he came to this conclusion. "but...what would happen if i move around the blood in my face and eyes?" after he said this, he began to move around the blood in his face. changing his eyes from a bright gold to a dark red, and his face from childish to rigid.


    "blood in the right places changed the shape of my face, the blood in my eyes hide the black slit down the middle, so all that''s left is my hair." he mumbled. "from the time i started to cultivate this blood evolution skill, my hair color changed to red little by little. if it turned red because of blood, then i should be able to just take out the blood." he tried and succeded. "my hair is now white, my face looks different and my eyes are red. no one should be able to recognize me." he mumbled.


    after doing a few more things he got into the bed and went to sleep.

 Chapter 21 infiltration

    next morning.


    levi got up and washed himself before going down. "hmm? you have quite a strange appearance, huh. no wonder you wear a hood." the lazy middle aged woman behind the counter looked at levi up and down before commenting. "you don''t look that old... did you run away from home?" the lady asked. "it would better for you if you don''t stick your nose in my business." levi''s eyes frosted over.


    "whatever." the lady lazily looked at levi''s cold face. levi left the inn and began walking around. "hmm? what''s that?" he caught sight of a large crowd of people. "hey, why is there such a large crowd over there?" he walked up to one of the few stall owners that was still by his stall. this stall owner was a boy that looked to be about 17-18, with short blonde hair and a average face.


    "oh? don''t you know? this cloud city is in the territory of the cloud sect. they often come here to recruit disciples." the stall owner said with a friendly smile. "..." levi kept silent for a moment. "then why are you not rushing over there to participate?" he asked. "ahh, well, i...took the aptitude test on my seventh birthday, but it turned out that i had no talent." the stall owner said with a self mocking smile on his face.


    hearing what he said, levi''s eyes turned a deep red as he lost himself in his thoughts. thonk! on the stall which only had shriveled up vegetables, a pouch of gold was dropped. "talent....isn''t everything." levi said this before turning around. the stall owner looked at the pouch of gold on his old stall as tears began to well in his eyes. "thank...you.." behind levi, soft sobs were heard as the stall owner, through all of his crying, forcefully smiled while thanking him.


    "in any case...the cloud sect will soon cease to exist." levi left this last message to the stall owner as he walked toward the crowd, a light smile on his face. the stall owner thought nothing of what levi said and instead just picked up the pouch, holding it defensively, looking back and forth.


    ...


    crowd.


    "is there anyone who still wants to take the test?" an arrogant looking person in a white robe shouted. "no one? then-" seeing that no one was coming forward, the cloud sect disciple''s face lit up. ''i will finally be able to go back to the sect and peep at senior sister doing all kinds of things!'' he thought, as his face reddened slightly while saliva ran down the side of his mouth. "i want to." a boy with white hair and red eyes walked out of the crowd, a cold look on his face gave people a feeling of arrogance.


    "tch, hurry up then! i''m a busy person! put your hand on the boulder!" the cloud sect disciple shouted in an irritated and impatient manner. "hmm." levi walked slowly and calmly towards the black boulder, while watching the cloud sect disciple become increasingly annoyed with his slow pace. "hurry up and touch the damn boulder! i have to p- i mean, talk to senior sister a as soon as possible!" he shouted.


    levi reached out and put his hand on the boulder. it trembled slightly before a number appeared on the center. "4! 4 out of 10! just a 4th grade talent and you are wasting my time?! someone who would be a outter disciple for their whole life? if i don''t teach you a lesson, then i''m not a disciple of the cloud sect!" the cloud sect disciple shouted.


    "...i had heard that people from the cloud sect lose their emotions based on how far they progress with the skills, in other words, the closer the skill is to it''s peak level, all emotions are gone. so why is it, that you don''t seem to have lost any of your emotions?" levi asked coldly. the cloud sect disciple''s face paled before becoming unsightly.


    "you have not even progressed in your cultivation, have you?" a mocking smile crept onto levi''s face. "you!" the cloud sect disciple was burning with rage at this point, but surprisingly, he didn''t rush out to attack levi. "could it be that you''re scared of me? come, lets have a duel right here!" levi shouted. a strong sense of death enveloped the cloud sect disciple as levi started walking toward him, a cold grin plastered on his face.


    "wa-wait! fellow disciples aren''t allowed to kill each other!" while stepping back, the cloud sect disciple shouted with a pleading look, as cold sweat soaked his face. "fellow disciples? didn''t you say that i would only be an outer disciple my whole life?" levi said in a playful tone. "surly you jest! with senior brother''s talent, you will become a emperor who will lord over the world!" the way he addressed levi changed as he took another step back.


    "oh? but didn''t you say that if you didn''t teach me a lesson, that you would''t be a cloud sect disciple anymore?" levi took a step forward and asked. "that was just a figure of speech senior brother, i meant that if i don''t teach you about the sect properly, i wouldn''t be qualified to stay in the sect any longer! please pay no mind to it!" the cloud sect disciple shouted.


    the crowd was trying to figure out what was happening. "hey, is that weird looking guy with white hair forcing the cloud sect disciple back?" one of them asked. "it seems like it. why don''t one of you go help him?" another one said. "haah?! if even the cloud sect disciple can''t do anything about him, then what the hell are any of us supposed to do? did a donkey kick you?" another one fired back.


    "what is going on here?" at this moment, a calm and clear voice was heard. everyone turned their heads, only to see a girl with flowing black hair, deep black eyes and pink lips, her long legs hidden beneath the white robe. "s-senior sister! this guy is trying to kill me!" at that moment a shrill cry was heard. "oh? why were you trying to kill my junior?" the girl asked calmly, but a sharp wind qi began to gather around her person.


    "no need to be so angry senior sister! how is it possible for me to kill junior brother when killing members of the same sect is wrong?" levi cupped his fist, a grin still hung on his face. he said this for two reasons, 1, he really wasn''t going to kill him and 2, this sentence would most likely stop the girl in front ofof him from attacking. he was not afraid of her, but fighting her would most likelyexpose him.


    "senior sister? then you are also a disciple of our cloud sect?" the female disciple tilted her head while questioning. "don''t listen to him senior sister! he threatened to kill me! and he only has 4th grade talent! there is no way that someone with such a low talent would be accepted into the cloud sect!" the cloud sect disciple shouted.


    "come now junior brother, stop lying. there are many people here who saw what happened. and how could it be that i threatened my beloved junior brother? also, if i had a 4th grade talent, how could i possibly threaten you, who has been in the cloud sect for years? i know that you''re trying to keep my outstanding talent a secret, but you should probably think things through!" levi said with a mischievous smile on his face.


    "hmm? what he said is logical. why would you lie about something like this?" the senior sister turned her gaze toward the male cloud sect disciple. "i...i.." the only thing he could say was ''i''. "senior brother''s talent was just to outstanding...." he paused. "i was filled with awe and jealously, so i decided to lie about it....i deserve to be punished!" he said through gritted teeth.


    "very well then." the senior sister began gathering a sharp wind qi in her palm, but just as she was about to attack, a voice resounded. "there''s no need to go that far senior sister! our junior brother was overcome with jealously, but since he admitted to his wrong doings, no punishment is required." levi''s voice unhurriedly explained.


    "hmm? ok then." the sharp qi dissipated. "both of you follow me back to the sect." as she said this, she turned around and began walking away. levi also began walking, but stopped by the male cloud sect disciple. "your beloved senior sister was just about to cripple you without any hesitation. although it was because of what i said, you would still have become a cripple for the rest of your life. keep that on mind. also, i will need you to help me with a few things. and remember, anything you say, i can turn it back on you." as levi said this, his grin reverted into a chilling smile.


    ''oi, demon saint. what did you do to me?'' levi asked in his mind, his voice frigid. ''humph! i didn''t do anything to you!'' the demon saint''s irritated voice rang out in levi''s head. ''if you didn''t do anything to me, then explain the way i was talking just now.'' levi''s voice became colder as the letters restraining the demon saint began to light up. '' even a fool would know why! me being in here is influencing your personality!'' seeing the letters, irritated though he might be, he didn''t also want to be in pain.


    ''explain.'' levi demanded. '' mental energy and the yin tang point have a close connection to the personality. by putting my consciousness in you, which is older and more knowledgeable than you, who is no more than a child who has yet to see the world, some of the abilities i''ve gained over the years are being transferred to you. or you could say that my consciousness corrupting you subconsciously. in simple terms, you are a clean piece of paper and i''m a drop of ink. since i dropped on you, i will slowly begin to seep into you, in this case, your personality.'' the demon saint explained.

 Chapter 22 The Cloud Sec

    ''then die.'' the letters began to glow before tightening, with the intention of destroying the demon saint completely. ''don''t be so rash!'' levi didn''t stop. ''i may be corrupting you, but in a good way!'' the demon saint shouted forcefully. ''corrupting me in a good way?'' levi stopped the letters, mainly because he found what the demon saint said to be ridiculously funny.


    ''yes, like the way you were talking earlier.'' he said. ''what about it?'' levi asked. ''you are inexperienced in certain things. for example, the people of the demonic god sect are possibly still currently looking for you. they know you as a cold self-servingperson, and they also know that you cultivate a unique skill, so even if you change your appearance, there is a possibility of being discovered because of your personality. Also, going into this cloud sect is dangerous due to the fact that most of them are emotionless people, which means that they don''t act on emotion, but logic.'' the demon saint explained.


    ''so?'' levi questioned. ''so, if my personality influences you in the right places when needed, even things that you don''t have any experience with, you should be able to do them to a certain degree without being discovered.'' after saying this, the demon saint went quiet. he knew that even after explaining all of that, this person that he would now have to call his master would still kill him if he felt like it. ''fine then.'' after staying silent for a while levi said.


    after walking for a while they arrived at the foot of a large mountain. this mountain had tall trees, the birds were chirping and occasionally small animals would peek out to look around before running in different directions. "hmm?" levi felt like there was something strange about the mountain, but couldn''t figure out what. the 3 continued up the path for a while more.


    they arrived at the top of the mountain, which was surprisingly flat. on it, stood some Chinese style buildings, with a large pagoda in the center of them all. levi looked at the buildings and tried to guess what they were for based on their shapes and sizes. ''was that also you?'' levi asked. ''yes...master.'' the demon saint paused for a bit before answering. ''have you ever seen buildings like these?'' levi questioned. ''only a few times, master.'' the demon saint replied.


    since he was in this kind of situation where he would die if he didn''t submit, the demon saint decided to just obediently do what he was told, at least on the surface. ''oh and, does something about this mountain feel off?'' levi asked once again. ''something about this mountain feels familiar to me, but i don''t know what.'' the demon saint replied. ''hmm...'' levi was lost in thought. "junior brother, since you are new to the sect you have to get baptized first." the senior sister''s voice brought levi back from his thoughts.


    "baptized?" levi found this strange. when he was recruited into the demonic god sect, there was no baptism. "follow me." after she said this, the senior sister led levi to the pagoda at the center of the cloud sect and sent him inside. inside, on the bottom floor of the pagoda, a small candle was on each of the 6 walls, giving off a weird smell. "hmm?" alarm bells were going off in levi''s head as he jumped backwards, intending to get out of the pagoda, but to no avail. with his back against the door he fell to the ground, unconscious.


    ...


    a bright grassy plain.


    levi slowly opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar place. he looked around, on one side as far as he could see was just a grassy plain and on the other side a large forest. he got up from the ground and dusted himself off, then realised that his appearance was back to normal, slightly childish face, sharp golden eyes with black slits down the middle and red hair.


    he started to walk in the direction of the ancient looking forest, as it was giving off a vibrant feeling of life, while it only took common sense to know that walking into the endless plain would only lead to death. ''demon saint, where are we?'' levi asked. ''...'' there was no response. "hmm?" a frown appeared on levi''s face. ''oi, answer me.'' he asked again, but there was still no response. ''...'' levi said nothing more.


    as he walked into the forest, a sense of danger overwhelmed him. "!!" while walking through the ancient forest along with the wrestling of trees, levi heard a deep purring sound. without a word he began walking in the direction of the purring, being careful not to make a sound. step...step...ste-crack! "!" levi stepped on a peice of branch that was hidden under some loose soil. the purring stopped after the cracking of the branch, levi stood in the same position without moving, a few beads of sweat on his face.


    after a while, as the purring was heard once more, levi heaved a sigh of relief. ''what is making that sound? my blood is pulsating this much, which means i most likely wouldn''t be able to put up a fight against it ...'' he thought. after a while he found himself behind a large tree, the purring sound was coming from directly behind it. ''hmm?'' he peeked out, what he saw made his eyes widen with surprise.


    sleeping in a clear spot between the trees was a panther that was almost as tall as a grown man, even when it was lying down. glossy black fur, large paws and a muscular body. it had a small crystal like purple horn in the middle of it''s forehead. ''what is that? looking at it, i probably wouldn''t even be able to fight back if it attacked me.'' levi''s eyes were still wide open as a grin appeared on his face, his breathing becoming heavy. ''i want it''s bloodline!'' a grin filled with greed.


    ...


    after calming himself down, he thought about the state he was in. ''what just happened to me? normally, if something has a bloodline that i want, but can kill me easily, i would leave without hesitation....i have to leave here before that happens again.'' he thought. his back bulged as two blood wings sprouted. flap! after a large flap, he was barely in the air when he heard a something coming toward him at a seemingly impossible speed. only managing to turn his head a little, through the corner of his eye, a black shadow was behind him, before only darkness remained.


    ...


    "ugh...hmmm?" levi slowly opened his eyes and looked around. he found himself inside of a six sided room, then he remembered. "what was that shadow? was it that black panther?" he mumbled as he got up. creak! the door of the pagoda opened by itself when he got up. walking out, two people were standing outside. "now that your baptism is finished, it is time for you to pledge yourself to the sect." the senior sister, after seeing levi come out, said as she turned and began walking.


    "what do you mean? explain." levi, standing in his same position asked coldly. after remembering what happened when he went inside of that pagoda, he was pissed off. ''oi, demon saint.'' remembering something, he called out. ''yes.'' an aged voice rang out in his head. '' did you know that would happen when i went inside there?'' the voice in his head was becoming increasingly cold. ''what do you mean, master?'' the demon saints confused voice rang out.


    ''what? are you saying that you have no knowledge of what just happened?'' levi asked, annoyed. ''? what are you talking about? from what i know, we just arrived at the cloud sect? weren''t you just about to go inside of that pagoda?'' the demon saint asked, confused once again. ''...'' levi said nothing more. "what is there to explain, junior brother? pledging yourself to the sect is pledging tourself to the sect. now hurry up, its getting later." the sun was on the horizon, staining the clouds with a bright orange. after thinking for a while, he decided to follow her.


    a while later, they arrived in a dark room. "elder, a new disciple is here to pledge himself to the sect." the senior sister said. from what she said, someone was supposed to be in the room, but no matter how levi looked he couldn''t see anyone."hmm." a low voice was heard as a white circular pattern appeared, illuminating the table beneath it. without a sound, a large glowing blue crystal appeared on the table. "place a drop of your blood on the crystal." the voice was heard once again.


    "blood..." levi walked up to the crystal and discreetly grew out his index fingernail a little, then cut his thumb. pat! a brownish drop of blood fell onto the crystal before disappearing. "you can leave." the low voice said. levi looked around one more time for the person responsible for the voice, but to no avail. "that boy..." after he left, a pair of all white eyes looked at the crystal.


    ...


    outside.


    ''demom saint, what was that crystal?'' levi asked while walking. ''it looked like a binding crystal. it binds you to whatever the contract entails.'' the demon saint replied. ''what contract? there was only a crystal...does that mean that i agreed to something that i don''t even know about?'' levi asked, with a hint of irritation. ''....that is a possibility.'' the demon saint paused before answering. ''...'' levi said nothing more, a strong killing intent leaking out before disappearing. ''i wonder if what i did will work?'' he thought.

 Chapter 23 New Year

    next day, morning.


    levi woke up early and bathed before going back to his room to practice a defense mental energy skill. ''this skill is not easy to learn, so i will explain it as best as i can.'' the demon saints aged voice was heard. ''hurry up then, old demon.'' levi said with irritation. ''....does his mood ever change?'' the demon saint thought. ''first, you turn your mental energy into tiny threads. you then weave those threads into a cloth.'' said the demon saint. ''is this a defensive mental energy technique or are you teaching me how to make clothes?'' levi asked in a mocking tone.


    ''....after weaving the cloth, you can make it as hard as metal. the hard part of this technique is the weaving of the cloth, as after making all of the threads most of your mental energy is used up.'' the demon saint ignored levi''s mocking and continued the explanation. ''i will try it then." levi said.


    sitting cross-legged on the floor of the small wooden room, a small black flame appeared in front of his forehead. he began first with making almost microscopic threads of mental energy and weaving them into bigger ones. he repeated this process for more than 100 times. at this point he was breathing heavily but he wasn''t finished yet as he continued to weave more threads. he continued to weave another 100 threads, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.


    satisfied with the amount of threads that were made, he began the process of making the cloth. he he began moving all of the threads in an attempt to weave them into a cloth. "agh! huff huff!" the threads were moving in all directions, as he continued for a few minutes before a splitting headache caused all of his work to be in vain. ''did you fail?'' the demon saints voice was heard. "how did you know? huff!" levi was in a pitiful state. his hand wet with sweat as he massaged his temples.


    ''i felt your mental energy disappear.'' said the demon saint with a weird tone. "oh. huuuuu" after a minute or so the headache faded away. "again." he said. ''wait!'' the demon saint suddenly interrupted. "what?" levi asked, his voice held a bit of curiosity. ''...'' the demon saint didn''t respond, which made levi''s face darken. "what?" he asked again.


    the demon saint paused as he thought of various things. '' the headache was a warning. although it might be gone, your mental energy will not recover that fast. if you try to use your mental energy in this state, it could kill you.'' the demon saint explained. he was conflicted.


    he was conflicted, because although if levi died he would die as well, his pride wouldn''t allow him to live as someone else''s slave. but he also didn''t want to die. after thinking for a while, he made his decision. ''althoughi don''t want to be somebody''s slave, i don''t want to die either. so i will help you for the time being, but you will need to help me also.'' the demon saint said. levi kept silent, not a sound coming from his mouth. not hearing any response, the demon saint could only sigh before also keeping silent.


    ...


    after about half an hour later levi tried using the skill once again, but before he could start there was a knock on his door. "senior brother, we have to go to the altar." the voice of the disciple who held the test in cloud city was heard once again. levi got up slowly and opened the door. "what altar?" levi asked coldly as he looked at the disciple who looked to be a few years older than him. ''why are there so many things here that i don''t know about?'' he thought.


    "every two days, when the sun is directly above the sect, all of the disciples have to gather at the alter! i don''t have time to explain, we have to go!" the disciple said. as he turned around and began running. after thinking for a second, levi decided to go along with it.


    ...


    following the swarm of disciples, levi found himself in front of the pagoda once again. chi! the pagoda sunk into the ground, as the sound of stone rubbing together was heard. after the pagoda sunk, the ground around it also sunk, creating a large circular staircase leading into the mountain. levi watched the disciples orderly going down the stairs, before he himself went down.


    "...." after walking down the stairs, he found himself inside a large underground dome. the disciples stood orderly while looking up to a old stone altar. "begin!" a voice echoed throughout the dome. disciples walked up to the altar one after another and cut their hands with a weirdly shaped dilapidated knife. the blood flowed down the alter, seeping into it before it could touch the ground. "w-what the hell..." walking up to the alter, levi felt like the old stone alter was trying to suck up his qi .holding the knife in his hand, he grew out one of his fingernails and cut himself with it.


    after all of the disciples left, the pagoda returned to it''s original position. ''what was that?'' levi asked while walking back to his room. '' it looked like it was supposed to be a stolen alter.'' the demon saint answered. ''stolen alter?'' levi asked. '' the stolen alter was a supposed to be a legendary tool that would allow who ever was in control of it to steal bloodlines, qi and mental energy. but that one was most likely a fake.'' the demon saint said. ''why would it be a fake?'' levi asked. ''as i said, the stolen alter was just a legend. ones like that would only be able to absorb one out of the 3 things i just mentioned, and most of whatever the user is trying to absorb is wasted. that one also looked like it was old. ''...'' levi said nothing. "what is the cloud sect planning?" he mumbled.


    ...


    a few months later.


    levi was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a small black flame floating in front of his forehead. bzz! tiny threads of mental energy were twisting and turning around him, making soft buzzing noises. "i have been practicing this skill for these few months, so why can''t i weave the mental energy threads into a cloth?" levi mumbled as he opened his eyes. ''in these few months, the disciples had to go to that stolen altar multiple times. the weird knife draws out the qi in blood, so when people are cut with it, it causes qi along with blood to flow out and be absorbed into the alter. but who is absorbing it? who is controlling the stolen altar?'' levi thought.


    "during the months i''ve been here, even the year changed." levi said as he got up from the ground. "i think it''s time to leave. tonight will be my last night here, it will also be the night the cloud sect falls." as he said this, his red eyes regained their usual chill.

 Chapter 24 Assassination

    night.


    a figure was walking in the darkness, moving towards the center of the cloud sect. '' do you know how to get down to the altar?'' levi asked. '' there are runes embedded in this pagoda and the ground around it, so i''m guessing that they are what causes the pagoda to go into the mountain at certain times of the day. as for how to get it to do so, i don''t know.'' the demon saint said. ''...''. "then i will just have to forget about getting that knife." levi mumbled.


    levi''s back bulged as two blood wings sprouted from his back. wfoo! the two wings flapped as levi shot into the sky, flying towards another nearby mountain. ''did you give up on destroying this sect?'' the demon saint suddenly asked. ''the cloud and the sun sects tried to kill me, so i will not let them live.'' levi replied. ''but if you want to destroy the cloud sect why are you leaving?'' the demon saint asked once more. '' apparently, the cloud sect''s master was injured after fighting the old man. so he stays on a mountain close to the cloud sect, that is where i''m going.'' levi said.


    ''although the cloud sect''s master may be injured, he is not someone you can kill.'' the demon saint said. ''if someone doesn''t know an attack is coming, how can they defend against it?'' levi smiled lightly. while flying, his hair returned to it''s original red as his eyes became golden. "it feels good to be in my own skin again hahaha..." levi mumbled. as he got closer to the mountain, a large white stone building came into view.


    levi flew and landed on the open stone balcony, before walking towards the door. just as he was about to reach out to the door, the sound of something cutting through air was heard. "haah!" a shout was heard as a sharp sword light whistled through the air towards levi. drip drip! levi dodged to the side, but was still too slow. "who are you?" he asked coldly, clutching his left shoulder. a long gash started from the top of his left shoulder and went down his back, stopping halfway.


    "who am i? shouldn''t i be the one asking that? seeing as this is the cloud sect master''s hall." a slim man with long flowing grey hair stood, sword in hand. "humph!" levi took his sword from the storage ring, before charging at the man. "!!" boom! " ooof!" before he could reach the man, a powerful fist shot toward him at a terrifying speed. he tried to block with his sword but was too slow, only managing to get the edge in the way. the blade was chipped as he was sent crashing into the tiled floor, coughing up a mouthful of blood.


    ''can''t beat them. i have to run.'' he swiftly got up from the ground as blood wings burst out from his back as he shot into the air. boom! before he could go anywhere, a large amount of a dark murky qi sent him crashing into the floor, destroying the tiles. looking up, he saw a familiar face. "you..." he said in a low voice. "i finaly found you, brat! and now, that fool of a sect master isn''t here to save you!" in the sky, elder rock hovered.


    "so you set up the old man?" levi unsteadily stood, clutching his tattered sword. a purple liquid flow from him fingers onto the blood red sword. "i did, so what? are you angry? hah! what am i even saying! it doesn''t matter since you will be dying here! that cloud sect brat was really helpful too!" elder rock shouted. "cloud sect brat?"levi asked. "what a fool, hiding in the cloud sect while trying to destroy it and even asking a disciple that hated you about the sect. i guess a fool of a sect master could only find a stupid disciple!" elder rock sneered.


    levi once again shot into the sky, his eyes cold and calm. he slashed up towards elder rock, but before his sword could even get close, the white haired old man appeared at the side, slashing down toward him. clank! he barely blocked the slash, but the power behind it sent him flying towards the ground once more. turning his head, he saw the muscular man waiting for him.but although he saw him, he still couldn''t block the attack. he was expecting the man to wait for him to fall before he attacked, but he jumped into the air punching him in his side.


    before he could fall into the trees, levi grew his wings once more. he flew unsteadily, blood covering various parts of his body. ''i''m loosing to much blood. i have to at least save what can still be saved.'' some of the blood around the gash on his shoulder seeped back in but it was still covered in blood. the blood on his mouth seeped into his skin. "ohh, what an interesting skill. give it to me!" elder rock shouted greedily as he shot towards levi who wasn''t moving.


    puff!


    a small black flame appeared in front of levi''s forehead, causing the temperature around him to drop slightly. "hmm?" elder rock stopped. "if i can''t kill the cloud sect''s master today, then at the very least, i will kill you!" as levi shouted, he shot towards elder rock, slashing at him with his sword covered with his venom. clank! "you think trash like you can kill me?! i''m in the heaven and earth st-" he was interrupted as levi grew the fingernails of his left hand, stabbing towards elder rocks eye.


    ting!


    the sound of metal clashing rang out. elder rock moved his hand to block his eye in time, causing levi to retreat. "you! what kind of fingernails are those!?" elder rock shouted angrily. a bead of red blood was slowly seeping from the palm of his hand. he was angry that levi cloud cut him. "and you two! how long are you going to hold back on the account of him being a junior?! can''t you see how strong he is already? if he get''s away alive, you can bet your necks that he will return for revenge!" elder rock shouted.


    sou!


    hearing what elder rock said, the two cloud sect elders shot towards levi. "pfff!" levi was hit in the stomach by a punch which held unimaginable strength, causing blood to spray from his mouth. while he barely dodged a sword that was going directly for his neck, causing blood to spray from it. ''what are you doing?! use the defensive skill!'' the demon saint''s voice was heard as he shouted in levi''s head.


    levi began weaving tiny threads in that small amount of time. boom! crack! he was punched once again, defending with his arms as a crack rang out. he hit the ground once again, causing all of the wind to be sucked from his lungs. "heuk!" he got up from the ground as he gasped for air. ''all of the threads are done, now only the cl-'' his thoughts were interrupted as the white haired man slashed towards him. without enough time to weave the threads into a cloth, he randomly spread the threads all around his body.


    before the sword light hit his body it slowed a little, but he was still left with a long bloody gash down his chest. ''they are too much for me, i can''t beat them. demon saint, can you make people think mental energy is qi?'' levi suddenly asked. ''yes? but why are you asking this when you are about to die?'' the demon saint questioned. ''just answer the question.'' levi said while trying to dodge another attack.


    ''you have to infuse qi into the mental energy, but-'' before he could finish, levi began trying to fuse the two. "hmm?" the white haired old man felt something amiss and retreated a bit. boom! a small but powerful explosion pushed levi back. ''are you trying to kill me?!'' he shouted angrily in his mind. ''it was you who didn''t let me finish. as mental energy and qi are two almost opposite forces, fusing them would be difficult for anyone under the void levels.'' the demon saint said.


    ''say that sooner!'' levi roared. but then he had a thought. charging towards the white haired old man, he gathered half of his qi in his palm. the old man slashed down with his sword coated with a violent wind qi, while levi extended his palm toward him. puchi! "too slow!" the sound of something ripping through flesh was heard as the man cut through levis right shoulder, wind qi ripping his flesh. "ha ha, you too old man." levi ignored the pain from his shoulder and lifted his palm once again, injecting a large amount of mental energy into the qi.


    boom!!


    a large explosion caused the man to be pushed back a bit, while levi''s right hand was mangled with almost all of the skin ripped off from the force. without wasting a second, levi shot into the sky with another ball of qi in his left hand, going directly for elder rock. seeing the amount of damage the explosion caused,elder rock rushed to dodge. "ha, a coward will remain a coward." with elder rock out of the way, levi pumped all of his remaining qi into his wings.


    "what are you doing?! don''t let him get away!" the white haired old man came rushing out from the dust that was kicked up by the explosion, his hair was disheveled but he was not hurt. "th-that brat! he tricked me! after him!" elder rock bellowed as he gave chase. "i don''t want to hear that from you!" the white haired old man shouted.

 Chapter 25 Where am i?

    sou!


    three people were flying at amazing speeds, the two behind gradually getting closer to the one in front. ''they are catching up. i''m almost out of qi.'' levi looked back at the two people. "Humph! Lets see how long you can keep running for!" Elder rock shouted, forming a spear from qi. Sou! The black spear whistled as it flew towards levi  at a frightening speed. As a chilling sense of danger welled up in him, levi turned his wings over in an attempt to dodge, but to his surprise the spear continued to follow him. Puchi! The tip of the spear pierced his left shoulder, before continuing closer to his heart.


    "Hahaha! In a moment, my speer will destroy your heart. But before that, i have a little surprise for you!" Elder rock shouted. Levi looked back, trying to figure out what elder rock was talking about. "!!!" ''This thing is sending his qi into my body and trying to destroy my organs! I have to get it out!'' Levi thought. Puff! A small black flame appeared in front of his forehead, without wasting any time levi sent a large amount of mental energy into his body. The mental energy gathered around the dark qi, before gradually pushing it back toward the speer.


    Sou!


    the sound of whistling was heard once again as the white haired old man launched a terrifying sword light. "!!""ackk!" Levi tried to dodge in vain, the sword light left a large slash across his back. Blood flowed freely from the gash, even bones were peeking out. ''I''m almost out of qi. The moment i slow down, i''m dead.'' Levi thought. ''You can try to absorb the qi that was invading your body.'' The demon saint said calmly.


    "!" Levi was slightly surprised. ''I am being chased right now, this is no time for a lesson.'' Levi said. Although he said that, he tried to control the qi from the speer that was still stuck in his back with mental energy. "Heuk!" He coughed a mouthful of blood as the energy once again wreaked havoc in his body. ''I am almost out of mental energy....!'' but them he remembered something. Without a word, a smaller golden flame appeared above the black one.


    "Dammit! Why don''t you hurry up and die?!" Elder rock shouted. Ignoring him, levi grew out the fingernails in his left hand and gathered some mental energy between them. ''the amount of mental energy i can get from the demon saint is limited, so i can''t try to get rid of that qi.'' without another thought, he turned around swiftly and slashed out with his hand. sou! five large blades of wind and mental energy flew towards elder rock.


    "you think this can sto-!" elder rock stopped. the blades of wind broke apart when they collided with his defensive qi, while the mental energy seeped right through, going directly into his body. although at levi''s current level, he would not be able to hurt elder rock with it. but even so, if something foreign enters your body, you would naturally try to get it out. that was exactly what levi was aiming for.


    "you! what are you stopping for!" the white haired old man flew right by elder rock but did not stop, still chasing levi. ''...my qi is used up. but that old man is still chasing me. i can''t beat him without qi.'' levi thought. seeing levi slow down, the white haired old man began to relax. ''what if i do this?'' levi suddenly though of something. boom! he began to put what mental energy he had left into his wings, causing his speed to skyrocket, leaving a shockwave in his wake.


    "what..." the white haired old man looked at the scene in shock. "...the first elder said to only use it if necessary, but there seem''s to be no other choice." he stopped following levi then pulled a small glowing blue crystal from his robes, in the middle of this crystal was a brown liquid. pouring some of his qi into the crystal, it cracked before dissapearing.


    levi was still flying at a terrifying speed, approaching a mountain with a dark aura. ''stop! if you don''t stop, you will die!" the demon saint shouted in a panic. ''stop what? if i stop flying i will be killed.'' levi responded. "no! if you don''t stop using mental energy you will really die!'' the demon saint shouted. "what are yo-thump!"what was that..." levi''s body pulsated. "is it that binding crystal?....i was right not to put my own blood on it, my boar bloodline is gone. the changes it did to my body are still there but i can''t feel the bloodline itself anymore...."


    "whatever. that was a weak bloo-ugh!" before he could finish his sentence, he felt his entire body break. ''....sigh...can''t say i didn''t warn you.....this is the end of the line for me i guess....''the demon saint said. levi plummeted at a high speed, breaking through the branches of the black trees. "wha..t...is...hap...pening..." in a small crater on the ground, levi tried to get up in vain. ''...surprisingly we are still alive! i guess it wasn''t as bad as i thought!" the demon saint shouted after a sigh of relief. "if....thi...s...is..where i...think...it is...then..i hav-" just as he was about to try to get up once again, levi found himself falling into darkness.


    ...


    "haaahhh!" clank! the sound of metal clashing rang out. "aghhhh!" a man fell to the sand filled ground, blood pouring from a hole in his bear chest. "huff! huff!" another man gasped for air while looking down at the corpse, his bloodied and torn rags barely covering his scar filled body. "what?! how did he win?!! get up! i bet money on you!!" in the distance a man shouted, his face distorted from rage. "heh heh! better luck next time! later, i have to collect my money!" another man shouted before walking away. "dammit!!" the man punched the stone chair that was in front of him.


    "uhg...." levi woke up to the screaming of people and the clashing of metal, causing his brows to come together. opening his eyes, he found himself in a large metal cage. there were more cages with people in them around him, from women and children, to the elderly. some banged the metal cage, tears in their eyes while screaming. while others just sat quietly, no light to be seen in their eyes, as if declaringtheir defeat.


    "hmm?" while sitting up, levi felt his neck being weighed down by something. looking down, a large circular piece of metal was around his neck. "where the hell am i?" he asked himself, under the screaming and crying.

 Chapter 26 Gladiator

    ''what is this place?'' levi asked. ''i don''t know." the demon saint said. ''...'' levi became silent. "you finally woke up brat." a voice caused levi to turn his head, his cold eyes locking on to a muscular man with long black hair, sitting in the cage beside him. "that''s quite the look in your eyes. but let me warn you, you might have been a young master or even a lord, but here, you are nothing! not even an ant! you have no power and no freedom! you are just a slave who fights for the entertainment of the rich and powerful!" the man said.


    ''demon saint, how do i get this piece of metal off of my neck?'' levi asked without responding to the man. ''don''t try to forcefully take it off, i checked it with mental energy while you were sleeping. this thing has an inscription on the inside, if you try take it off, it will destroy your head.'' the demon saint said. ''...'' levi became silent once again.


    clank!


    the sound of keys interrupted levi''s thoughts. "are you going to come out yourself, or do you want me to come for you?" standing outside the cage with a ring of keys in hand, a tall man wearing a long black robe stood. silently, levi stood up and walked out of the cage. "follow." the man said as he turned around. levi silently followed. ''demon saint, how strong is this man?'' levi asked. ''he is in the mind opening realm late stages, but i don''t know exactly which level.'' the demon saint replied after a short pause.


    levi kept silent and continued to follow behind the man. sii! stepping out from the shade, as his bare feet touched the sand a sizzling sound was heard. his tattered sect robes straightened under the heat. levi endured the scalding heat silently. "the show continues! these two will now fight to determine who lives and who dies! who eats and who doesn''t! place your bets and enjoy the show!" the man''s voice boomed, a few droplets of sweat on his face due to the expenditure of energy.


    looking around, levi saw a old man in rags standing. the old man had a broken sword in his hand, he began walking towards levi. "sorry about this child, but this is survival of the fittest!"the old man shouted. "ah!? a brat and a geezer?! what the fuck is this!!" one of the spectators shouted. "hehehe! calm down now. don''t you know? this will be an interesting fight!" another one shouted. "what the fuck are you talking about?!" the man shouted. "hehe. one is an old man and the other is a brat. the old man will be reluctant to kill the brat and it will be the same for the brat. but what can they do? they are merely gladiators, slaves to entertain us! if they don''t kill each other both of them will die, and so we get to watch as they become animals to survive!!" the man explained, leaving the other man speechless, a few beads of sweat on his face. ''this bastard is crazy!'' he thought.


    "haaah!" the old man charged at levi who looked be shaking from fear. "ahh!" the broken sword left a light gash on levi''s left shoulder causing him to fall to the ground while shouting in pain. "don''t think badly of me!" the old man shouted as he slashed toward the fallen levi. puchi! a piercing sound rang out. "hrrm?!" the old man groaned as he began to fall over, landing on levi. "ahhh! get it off me! ahh!"levi shouted crazily. "you! what are you shouting for?! shut up!" the black robed man came out, shouting with annoyance. "b-but the old man suddenly shriveled up!" levi shouted as he pointed.


    "what nonsense are you spo-!!" the man looked over and found a body that looked to be just skin and bones. looking back he thought, ''was it this brat that did this? no...he''s shaking from fear...so why the hell did the old man shrivel up? ah whatever!''. "get up brat!" the man walked up to levi and pulled him up from the ground like a sack of potatoes. "sii!" levi sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain. donk! bam! the man threw levi back into the cage, before locking it again. "wait! you have to treat my shoulder! i''ll die if it get''s infected!" levi shouted.


    "ah? what treatment? if you die, that''s your problem!" the man looked at levi with disdain before walking away. "wha..." levi opened his eyes with shock. levi sat on the stone ground with despair written all over his face. bang! he leaned against the metal bars, all hope draining from his face. "ai! the people here are too vicious! because the gladiators aren''t allowed to maintain their weapons, the old blood among other things, can cause terrifying diseases that make your flesh rot and your bones crumble like sand!" in another cage, an old man sat, a pitying look on his face. on his head of long white hair was a shiny empty patch.


    when he heard this, levi''s face paled as his hand unsteadily went toward the gash on his shoulder. "n-no i can''t die here...i..don''t want to die!" levi tearfully got up and tried to walk towards the gate of the cage, but before he could reach it he collapsed. his body shaking uncontrollably. "hehehe, looks like he will die from the fear of death! hahahah! this never gets old!" the partially bald old man burst out laughing when he saw levi''s condition. "you old demon, you are doing this again? when it''s your turn i will make sure i get my fill of laughter!" an upright looking middle-aged man sat cross-legged in a cage not far from the old man. he looked at the old man with disgust as he gnashed his teeth and said.


    "oho? i already know that i will burn when i die, so i will make sure to torment many people before that happens!" the old man laughed loudly. "shut up! you come here!" the man in black came back and opened one of the metal cages. "no! i can''t fight! you can''t make me fight! i am the lady of-spax! shut up you stupid whore! you aren''t the lady of anywhere anymore! just a mere slave! even if i wanted to fuck you in front of that crowd, you wouldn''t have the right or ability to refuse!" the man harshly scolded as he dragged the crying woman away.


    on the ground, levi stopped moving."hey, is he dead already? it doesn''t look like he is breathing? sigh, this one was no fun, what a waste of my time." the old man said. "tch!" the upright man looked into levi''s cage, his brows furrowed. "hmm? something smells funny? well whatever." the man in the cell beside levi''s said before ignoring it.

 Chapter 27 The Two Grunts

    morning.


    "uhh...." the man released a sound as he tossed and turned on the floor. "sniff....hrmmm..." he continously moved about, smelling the air every time, as if searching for pure, clean air to breath. "huh...." he open his eyes slightly. "what...is that smell...." he got up lazily. "wha-" sweeping his eyes across the other cages, they stopped at a certain one. levi was lying flat on his stomach, a putrid stench emanating from his body, even the air around him changed color slightly.


    a few flies were flying around him unceasingly. "isn''t that the brat.....is he dead? already? he only had a little scratch but still died...!! didn''t he say something about dying from an infection? shit! i hope i don''t catch it...." the man hurriedly pinched his nose in an attempt to stop breathing the dirty air, but soon realised it was not possible. "huh? you fuckers are still sleeping? get up!" the man was wearing a plain off-white robe this time as he walked in and shouted.


    "hu-!" they got up one after another. "sniff. did one of you take a crap here?" the man sniffed the air before narrowing his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing in them. "no, look! that brat..." the man who woke up first pointed to levi''s cage. "that brat? humph! dying from a scratch! hey, you two, come here!" after sneering the man called out to two people men who were walking by. "what do you need, sir?" one of the men asked. "take this garbage and throw it in the pit!" the white robed man ordered. "ok." the two men nodded.


    watching the two walking away, a sense of pride grew in the mans heart. ''i am like a king here! see how those two did what i said without so much as a word?! i''m the fucking greatest!...tch, the only problem is those large families, i still have to answer to them. why can''t they all just die?!'' his good mood didn''t last as these thoughts ran through his head. the people in the cages looked at him with puzzled gazes, wondering why he was just staring into space, but none of them dared to say anything. the woman who was forced to fight now had a long cut over her left eye, covered in hardened crystal like blood. there were a few cracks in the blood where a white liquid was flowing out. the woman looked at the man in white, hatred visible on her now destroyed face.


    her hatred was understandable, after all, she was a woman, one with above average looks and status, but that hateful bastard made her one escape card, her face, disfigured. ''dammit! dammit! how am i supposed to get out of here now?! that bastard husband of mine sold me after he had his fun, marrying another woman! even so, it wasn''t so bad, because people from those large families come to this place often, so if one of those rich fools saw me, they would probably buy me! i would have been able to get out of this hell hole! but now? nobody is going to buy a woman with one eye and a ugly scar on her face!! that bastard! if it wasn''t for him!'' as she thought about it, her now chipped fingernails dug into her palm as she clenched her fists. the blood on her face cracked as her face twisted, causing more blood and the white liquid to flow out.


    ...


    two men were walking on a dirt road next to a small forest, carrying what looked to be a young boy. "humph! that fucker! sending us to dump bodies again! and what the fuck! why does this brat smell so terrible? fuck!" the man in the front let go of levi''s arms and started to stomp on his head. "hey, lets just dump the body and go back. even though that asshole is an asshole, he still has a higher position than us!" the one behind released levi''s legs and tried to reason with the man. what they didn''t notice was a vein on levi''s forehead swelling, even a faint killing intent was leaking out."....tch, you have a point...hmm?" the man paused as he looked down.


    "hmmm...." the man stooped down and looked at levi. "what are you doing?" the other one asked. "it''s just...ack! this brat really smells like a toilet!" the man shouted. "you stooped down to smell him? you..." the other man looked at him with a wary gaze. "fuck! i don''t have those kinds of hobbies! and i didn''t stoop down to smell him! you would still be able to smell him yards away!" the man shouted angrily. "then what?" the other man asked. "the ring on his finger." the man pointed. "what about it?" the other man questioned. "do you think it''s worth anything?" the man asked.


    "huh? probably not. this kid looks like he came from some poor village or something, and that ring doesn''t look like anything special to me." the man said after a quick glance. "oh....well whatever. so how about we do ''that'' again today?" the man picked up levi''s hands again. "that? you..." the wary look appeared once again. "dammit i told you already, i don''t have those kinds of interests!!" he bellowed. "feuu! being cautious is always good, they are quite a few predators roaming about these days. i have to protect my chastity for my future wife!" the man sighed in relief as he picked up levi''s legs.


    "i mean searching for valuables!" the man said as he started walking. "oh! but didn''t we do that a few days ago? will there be anything worthwhile there after only a few day have passed?" the man asked. "who knows? but, suppose we don''t, what if we missed out on a treasure? the other day when i was at our regular tavern, i heard a drunken man telling his friends about how he sometimes finds treasures at the pit!" the man said. "oh? i didn''t know that other people knew about our little treasure box....you''ll have to ''introduce'' me to this man so that we can work something out!" the man behind said, a greedy glint flashing in his eyes.


    "of course i''ll introduce you! while we are there, we should ''ask'' for a little drinking money! nicely of course!" a vicious light shining in their eyes, they arrived at the pit. "heave-ho!" the two men threw levi in a large rectangular hole in the ground, filled to the brim with bloodied and broken dead bodies. "hup!" after throwing levi in, they jumped in. walking on the corpses and occasionally bending over to search ones wearing slightly better clothes, if they had on clothes.


    "ouu! i got something!" an excited shout caused the man to turn around. walking carefully across the sea of corpses, he stopped in front of the other man. "what?" the man asked curiously. "heh heh!" the man laughed before opening his palm, revealing a silver ring with a large red gemstones atop it. "haha! my brother, you have such good luck! this thing looks like it would be worth a lot!" the man said while looking at the ring longingly. he was tempted to kill the man and take it for himself, but since he knew him for a long time he decided against it.


    turning around, he began searching once more. squish! "huh?" the man felt something squishy under his foot. looking down he only saw the body of a young boy. "whatever..." he started to walk once again. "ugh...." a soft groan was heard as he stepped once again. "..." the man was beginning to feel irritated, was somebody playing with him? turning around he bent down and looked but still saw nothing but corpses. he picked up the boy''s body and tossed it aside like a sack of potatoes. "ohh!" he exclaimed excitedly. "hmm? did you find something?" the other man began walking over.


    "yeah! an absolute treasure!" the man said, licking his lips. as the man arrived, he looked down and saw a small face partly covered in blood, a pained expression on her face as her long eyelashes shook. "heh heh heh, a peerless treasure indeed." the other man said as he looked down at the face.

 Chapter 28 Killing You Here

    thump! the two men threw corpses left and right in an attempt to uncover the girl. "ahh! how far is she buried under here?!" one of them shouted with irritation. "just continue tossing! don''t think about it! if you want money, you have to work for it!" the other one said, panting heavily. after a few more minutes, the rest of the girls body could be seen. "ouuu! finally done!" they shouted at the same time.


    "hmmm..." the two looked at the girl up and down. her legs were short, her waist was slim, her arms were slender, but her chest lacking. "hmmm...." the man just looked at the girl.slap! "ack! what are you doing?!" the man turned to look at his friend angrily. "what are YOU doing? just looking...." the man grinned. "heh heh, why don''t we take her into the forest?" one of them asked. "good idea, good idea... wouldn''t want to be caught with our dic-cough! cough! i mean we wouldn''t want the young lady to catch a disease from these corpses! we should take her to that small waterfall and make sure to clean her up good!" the man said.


    "huu! up!" just like when they were carrying levi, one held the legs while the other held the arms. after a few minutes they dissapeared into the forest. "..." in the sea of corpses, two golden eyes were silently surveying their surroundings. after a while of looking around, levi finally got up. "....my head is bleeding." touching the back of his head, a gooey red liquid stuck to his finger before seeping back into his body. ''how did you trick them?'' the demon saint suddenly asked. " i stopped my heart and continuously released impurities from my body using my blood." levi responded. ''you...are you even human?'' the demon saint questioned. "who knows? i could be a demon, but who could say for sure." levi replied coldly.


    ''but how did you know that they would remove the collar from your neck?'' the demon saint questioned once again. "why would you leave something valuable on a dead person? only a fool would leave something with an inscription on a corpse." levi stated coldly. ''ha haha....do you even know what an inscription is?'' the demon saint asked with a doubting tone. "....no." levi was silent for a while before answering. ''...'' the demon saint said nothing more. "i want to kill the fool who stomped on my head and who was even considering stealing my ring. but i don''t know how strong they are...." levi began mumbling, his eyes wandering.


    "..." he suddenly had a thought. "i''m sitting on a pile of what looks to be fresh corpses. the ground around the edges of this hole looks charred, so maybe they burn the bodies after a certain time? i wonder how strong i would become if i absorbed the blood from all of these corpses?" a rare smile crept onto levi''s face as he reached out and touched a body that was right beside him. the blood slowly started to move towards levi''s hand before seeping into his body. "more..." as levi said this, more blood came towards him. this was going on for only a few minutes and already more than twenty bodies shrank down to only skin and bones.


    "....more! ack!" as he was about to absorb more, he felt a sharp pain in his head. his skin was bright red as his pulse raced. "i can''t absorb anymore? no i want more! i need more! if i can''t have all, then i will filter out the bad blood. i will take quality over quantity." as he said this, dark blood began pouring from every pore in his body. as blood escaped his body, he constantly absorbed more, filtering the impurities. "more...hehehe! hahaha!" he laughed crazily as the white of his eyes turned blood red. he continued absorbing the blood for a good while before he found that all of the blood was absorbed, except the blood that was filtered.


    "hehehe, now i can kill those fools." levi got up, a sparse blood mist cloaked his body. swish! two blood wings sprouted from his back as he shot into the air. puff! a small black flame appeared before his forehead, followed by an almost transparent black wave of mental energy. "there." after finding his targets he shot towards that direction at a terrifying speed. "ahhhh!" the shrill scream of a girl was heard over the constant sound of splashing water. "hey you bitch, did you just fucking hit me?" veins bulged on the mans forehead as he looked at the half naked girl who was sitting on damp ground.


    "yo-you took off my clothes a-and touched my chest...." the girl said with a pale face, her hands unsteadily hiding her chest. "ahh? i also dug you up from that fucking pile of corpses and washed you in that waterfall!" the man shouted. "t-that....." the girl paused. the man stepped heavily as he walked toward the girl, a belly full of anger waiting to erupt. "wait, don''t hit her. after we''ve had our fun, we can sell her to make some money!" the more composed man held the man''s hand in an attempt to stop him. "let go! we can still sell her even if she has a few bruises! bitches like her who think they are too good for us will only submit after a few beatings!" the man said as he walked up to the still trembling girl.


    "n-no! stay away from m-spax! shut up you whore!" a loud slapping sound was heard as the girl felt a fiery sensation in her cheek. "humph! stupid! slut! think you are better than me?! humph!" the man proceeded to punch the girl in her face, causing blood to flow from her nose and mouth as her lip tore slightly on one of her teeth. "ugh! ple-please sto-ack!" he continued beating her, punching and kicking her stomach so as to not damage her face. she pleaded and cried but the man continued relentlessly, the other man watched this scene, black lines appearing on his face as his brows furrowed.


    boom!


    at this moment a small shockwave caused dead leaves along with dust to fly in all directions. "huh? what the fuck is it now?!" the man turned around, even after beating the girl for this long, his anger had not subsided. "hahaha." a bone chilling laughter was heard as a shadow began walking towards the 3. "wha-what the hell? who is there? come out!" the composed man shouted. "did it look like i was hiding?" swish! all of the dust immediately dissapeared as levi flapped his wings. "you.... aren''t you that brat....how are you alive?" the angry man said, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.


    "hmmm? well aren''t you having fun." levi took a glance at the girl, while she also looked into those red and gold eyes, seeing no emotion whatsoever. "yo-you want the girl? you can have her! look bra- brother! i don''t want any trouble, even when i thought you were dead i still treat you gently! i even put you down in the pit in one of the best spots!" the man started spouting nonsense. "oh?" levi looked at the man, causing him to freeze as if a mouse gazing at a snake. "i think you are misunderstanding something here?" levi said. "ah? uh, oh, feuuuu! brother you scared me half to death, haha!" the man sighed in relief.


    the composed man secretly released a breath that he himself didn''t know he was holding. "after all...." levi paused as he looked at the two men. "i will be killing you here." his cold voice made one feel like a knife was scraping their bones, a chill would go up your back causing the tiny hairs to stand on end, while his gaze made one feel trapped, as those blood red eyes looked at you, it felt like your blood would freeze. the three people looked at levi with terror written all over their faces as a blood mist appeared around his body.

 Chapter 29 Avesta

    "wha-what do you mean? you just want the girl, right? we haven''t done anything to her so you can just take her!" the angry man said anxiously. "..." the slight smile on levi''s face slowly dissapeared as he looked at the man, his good mood vanishing. opening his palm, the blood mist gathered in a spiral. after compressing it to the size of a marble he looked up. swish! he vanished.


    "block!!" the composed man shouted, bringing the angry man back to reality. "fine! you want to kill me?! as if someone at the mind opening realm would die to some no named brat!" the man shouted angrily as he coated his arms in a dense qi. "is that so?" levi appeared before him, casually waving his hand. the small orb of blood mist shot out at a frightening speed. bang! the man was sent flying before crashing into a sturdy tree. "oh? you survived that?" levi asked, a trace of surprise flashing in his red eyes. "you....what-cough! are you...."


    the man slid down the tree, leaving a large line of blood. he was in a wretched state, he barely had time to cross his arms to block the orb of blood mist, but as he didn''t expect it to be so powerful, he didn''t use his full strength. now one of his arms was broken while the other was fractured. one or 2 of his ribs were also broken or fractured, and the back of his head had a large cut from when he crashed into the tree. "i wonder about that." levi said playfully. "!!" suddenly levi felt a large killing intent from behind. "this is the end for you." the composed man coated his arm with qi and stabbed towards levi''s heart.


    puchi!


    "you...." levi spat a mouthful of blood as he looked back in disbelief. "your arrogance was your downfall." the man said as he pulled his hand out. "just joking." levi turned around, a large smile on his face as the hole in his chest closed at a visible speed. "you-bang!" before the man could say anything, he was swatted away by one of levi''s wings. "ok, i''ve had enough fun. now let me show YOU something interesting, ''Blood Gate!''" as he said this, blood mist erupted from his body rapidly. it started to form what looked to be two ancient doors that were just a little bigger that levi. as they saw this, the two men and the girl felt their blood run cold as their bodies froze.


    "ugh..." just as the gate was about to solidify, a soft groan escaped levi''s lips. "not enough blood energy?" he looked at the now dissipating blood mist. "hmm, what is going on?" levi looked around and mumbled as the red gradually dissapeared from his eyes. his face regained it''s usual cold indifference as he tried to grasp the situation. "i don''t know what is happening, but i do know that i want to kill you two." after a moment of silence, levi spoke coldly. immediately after, his black fingernails grew out, as he slashed out with his hand, five wind blades infused with qi and his venom shot towards the man who was sitting by the tree.


    as he saw the wind blades coming toward him, the man attempted to get up but found himself unable to move. since he couldn''t move, he decided to block them with qi as he coated his body in defensive qi. crack! the defensive qi resisted for a few second before breaking like glass. the man opened his eyes widely with shock, not believing the current events. spat! the top of his head from his eyes up slid off and landed on the ground with a splat. 4 slanted slashes decorated his body, one of his arms hanging on by a piece of skin. "hmm? was that always so powerful?" levi mumbled as he looked down at his hand, not bothered by the gory scene as if it was a regular occurrence. the girl and the other man looked at the scene with terror stricken face, barely resisting the urge to vomit.


    "now you." levi turned to look at the composed man he swatted away. he was holding one of his arms, as his robes were covered in dirt and blood. "wa-wait! brother! boss! no, lord! please spare my little life! we really didn''t do anything to the girl! you can have her, just please!!" the man was not composed any longer as he looked at his long time friend. "? why would i want this girl? i just came to kill you, i have no interest in her." levi was confused as he stated coldly. why would he save that girl? people meant nothing to him. "wha-what? why would you want to kill us?" the man asked, his face drained of all hope.


    "you stomped on my head and wanted to steal my valuables, if that is not enough reason to want to kill you, what is?" levi asked coldly as he walked towards the man. "wha-the one who stepped on your head was him! he was also the one who wanted to take that ring! i am the one who stopped him!" the man raised his hand in protest. "hohh?" levi stopped right in front of him, as the man was standing weirdly because of his wounds, levi was looking down on him, and he dared not stand up straight. "y-yes, so, can yo- i still want you dead though." levi took the backup saber from the spatial ring. thump! blood sprayed as a head soared. before the body could fall, levi grabbed onto severed neck and sucked the blood dry, then once again filtered out the blood of lower quality.


    ignoring the other man, he started walking towards the small waterfall. the girl already had her clothes back on as she attempted to sneak away. "stop." levi didn''t look in her direction as he continued towards the waterfall. as she heard his cold voice her body froze once again and she dared not move. ignoring her presence, levi removed his rags and stepped into the clear water. as soon as he got in, the water changed from clear, to a murky brownish red color. he walked directly under the waterfall, ignoring the girls existence.


    ''demon saint, how did i get here?'' levi called out. ''you don''t remember? after you finished absorbing the blood of those corpses, you flew over here and began toying with those two.'' the demon saint said. ''...'' seeing that levi didn''t say anything, the demon saint continued. ''then after a while it looked like you got bored, then a large red red gate started forming behind you before dissapearing, then you went back to normal.'' the demon saint summarized. "red gate?" levi mumbled.


    [that would be the ''blood gate'', young lord.] at this time, a voice even colder and emotionless than levi''s was heard. "!!" levi looked around but saw no one. [looking for me is futile as i am in you head.] as if feeling levi''s confusion the voice rang out. "who are you?" levi asked aloud. [The previous lord called me ''Avesta''.] the voice replied. "what are you?" levi asked. [i am merely a mass of knowledge, granted a consciousness by the great ancestor in order to guide future blood lords to become the strongest beings.] when the voice mentioned ''great ancestor'' a trace of longing was heard.

 Chapter 30 Cloud Continen

    splat! splat! levi walked out from under the waterfall, without drying himself off or putting on any clothes. every step he took caused a splattering sound to be heard, as he walked up to a dry tree. boom! his fingernails grew as he slashed out, cutting down the old tree, before sitting on the stump. "who is this great ancestor?" levi asked aloud. the girl looked at this scene with confusion on her slightly red face, this terrifying guy told her to stop, then ignored her existenceand washed himself in the waterfall, before abruptly walking out and cutting down a tree just to make something to sit on. she found this situation to be very strange.


    [the great ancestor created the ''Blood Evolution'' skill in an attempt to become the strongest being, but as his lifespan was coming to an end, he could not fulfill that desire. and thus he created me and passed his bloodline along with the blood evolution skill onto another person. many blood lords added to the skill over the tens of millions of years, whether it was knowledge or skills. and now, the blood evolution skill was passed on to you.] the emotionless voice explained in detail. "....why did you only appear now?" levi asked. [as your blood energy was below the required level, i was not able to awaken.] the voice replied.


    "blood energy?" levi asked, a little irritated. this voice appeared out of nowhere and began talking about things he had no idea about. [blood energy is the power only bloodlords are able to access. making it possible to use the blood flame among other things. also, the size of the blood gate will increase as your blood energy levels increase.] the voice said. "blood gate....why don''t i remember using it?" levi mumbled. [as the blood energy in your body was more than what you at your current level could handle, you automatically entered the release state. in that state, you will use up the excess blood energy in a suitable way.] the voice explained.


    "can i control or stop that release state?" levi asked. [if you stop the release of excess blood energy, you will explode and die. as for controlling it, it should be possible in the future.] the voice replied. [as time passes, you will unlock more secrets of the blood evolution skill. for instance, being able to control your core.] the voice said. "core?" levi''s head was beginning to spin. [if i recall correctly, you once referred to it as....the tattoo.] the voice said. "what does this core do?" levi''s curiosity was piqued. something that could trap the demon saint was quite interesting to him, and it seemed that he didn''t unlock all of it''s secrets yet. [the core was made by one of the early blood lords to record bloodlines, and was improved by later blood lords. even if your body was destroyed, as long as the core was still safe, you would be able to attach yourself to another body, or slowly rebuild your body. i apologize, my knowledge about the core is limited.] the voice explained.


    [over the melenia, many blood lords attempted to open the blood gate, as they believed that doing so would unlock the secrets to their bloodlines, but none of them have succeeded.] the voice suddenly said. "....why are you telling me this?" levi asked. [i thought it would be useful information.] the voice said. "you keep saying ''previous'' bloodlords, are they all dead?" levi asked. [to my knowledge, the only bloodlord still currently alive is lord Raum, who passed the blood evolution skill onto to you.] the voice said. ".....there are still some things i want to ask you, but that will have to wait." levi suddenly said. [ the only knowledge i posses is about the bloodlords and bloodlines of different beasts. i have little knowledge of human tools, as most bloodlords tend to stay in the wilderness, searching for powerful bloodlines.] the voice explained. "..." levi said nothing. what did this voice take him for? he had the demon saint for the purpose of explaining those things.


    levi slowly opened his golden eyes, looking up, he saw the girl still standing in her original possiton, looking at him. he stood up, causing her to turn her head to the side. he took out a demonic god sect robe from the spatial ring and put it on. "where is this? speak." levi asked coldly. "ekk! eh? ah, u-umm, th-this is, we are just outside of the imperial city, i think..." the girl said softly. "imperial city? what country is this?" levi asked again. "country? this is the cloud continent?" the girl said, sounding unsure. "is there a Divine country in this cloud continent?" levi found that he was getting nowhere talking to this girl. "maybe? they are a lot of small countries in the cloud continent." the said after some thought.


    "small countries...." levi mumbled. "lead the way." he said. "wh-where?" the girl asked. "the imperial city." levi replied coldly. "ah, ok!" the girl started to walk clumsily, falling multiple times. levi said nothing as he followed her. "um..." the girl called out weakly. levi looked at her silently. "are you going to..." she paused. "to ki-kill me?" she stuttered. levi just followed silently without a word. seeing that levi ignored her question, the girl could only lead the way obediently. levi was walking normally when he suddenly stopped, his hand to his face. as he was walking, his vision blurred before returning as different colors, returning to normal after a few seconds. he began walking once again. after a while they saw a large brick wall in the distance, people occasionally walking through the large gate.


    as they got close to the gate, levi realised that they were no guards. walking into the imperial city, the streets were filled with life as the street vendors shouted their slogans in order to attract customers. stalls filled to the brim with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. drunk men hitting on women, children running from pissed off imperial guards. the nobles looking out of their carriage windows, arrogant expressions covering their faces. young master''s from large clans sneering as their bodyguards beat people senseless.


    levi''s eyes widened in surprise and shock, he had never seen a place bursting with such vitality. the imperial city, still prospering even after millions of years. "um-you can go." the girl wanted to ask something but was cut off by levi. he walked off into the streets filled with life, but none of the happiness or vitality seemed to go to him. he walked through the streets filled with life, but an air of melancholy loomed over him. he was in an unknown place, knowing no one, alone. at this time he remembered the annoying old man from the demonic god sect, he realised that he didn''t even know the old man''s name. thinking about it made him feel empty inside, as he walked through the street filled with people, he felt so, so alone.

 Chapter 31 The Tailor

    shua! levi was walking through the city when the rain began to fall. some stall owners rushed to pack up their goods, the nobles in their carriages splashed water on commoners as they went by, the children had long outrun the imperial guard. levi walked through the rain silently, ignoring everything as if in a daze. he walked on and on, eventually arriving in an alley, but even so he kept walking, without a destination. aimlessly.


    "hehe, hey bro, i thought we wouldn''t get any ''customers'' today because of the rain but, look at this kid just walking through here while daydreaming!" a short man with long, uneven black hair was sitting by the wall of the alley, hiding from the rain. "heh heh, little bro, that there looks like a country kid, but he might have some of that sweet country money!" the tall muscular beside him said, as he grinned showing his yellow teeth. they both looked at levi, greed apparent in their gazes.


    "hey brat, hand ove-" the two of them walked up to levi with vicious expressions, but before they could finish their sentence, blood flowed down the alley as their bodies lay on the ground in multiple pieces. levi continued walking, through the blood and organs that decorated ground, as if they weren''t there. he walked away quietly as the rain washed away the blood. "....ha..haha...hehehe! i see now..." he suddenly laughed out coldly. " the people i associate myself with will all end up dead, while the rest will curse me as a demon..." he paused. "hehehe, i now know what he meant by becoming a demon hated by all." the dazed look dissapeared from his face, as his eyes regained their coldness, a slight smile on his lips.


    looking up, he found himself in front of a rundown inn, an old nameplate which said ''cricket''s inn'' hanging outside. creakk! he pushed the old door, it''s partly rusted hinges creating loud creaking noises. "huh...blurg! you..what dya want..." sitting inside was a slightly chubby old man with short gray hair, and a grey stubble on his chin. he sat behind a wooden counter, a large clay pot filled with a cheep wine between his fingers as he drank his worries away. seeing someone come in he was annoyed, it had been so long since he had a customer that he forgot it was an inn, or probably because he was drunk.


    "a room." levi said coldly as he walked in. "whad arr ye talkin about...ged yer ass ou-!" as he was speaking, he looked up, only to see two cold golden eyes looking down at him, he sobered up right away and hurried off to prepare a room. "t-this young master, where do you come from?" as he was leading levi to his room, he tried to start a conversation, but levi kept silent. "ahaha, i''m just asking because no one from the imperial city comes to this in, so i was just curious..." he mumbled. "how many rooms." levi asked. "ahh? o-oh, how many rooms in the inn? 12..." the man replied after some thought. "how much." levi asked. "2 silver coins for one night, 3 if you would like food prepared." the man replied, he was already beginning to adapt to this untalkatvie customer of his. "i want all of them." levi said coldly, as he reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of silver coins and dropped then into the mans hands, some dropped and started to roll.


    without another word, levi walked into the room and shut the door behind him. after his head cleared a little, he found that his mental state was strange. this was why he rented the whole inn, on his best day he didn''t like dealing with other people, so what would happen with him in this state? he would probably try to kill everyone who looked at him the wrong way. that would be dangerous because he didn''t know anything about this imperial city and he didn''t want needless trouble. of course, if people came looking for trouble, he would not roll over and die for them. he quietly lay on the bed in the dark room.


    creak!


    about half an hour later he walked out of the room, his face as cold and expressionless as ever, he walked down the stairs. "a-ah youn-" before the old inn keeper could say anything, levi already walked through the door. he left after thinking about a few things. he had acquired the skin of the giant purple snake, and the wings and talons of the raven. since they were just taking up space in the spatial ring, he decided to find a tailor to make something from them. he walked around for a while before stumbling across a clothes store. "what are you looking for, sir?" as soon as he stepped inside, a male attendant walked up to him. the attendant saw levi before he even walked in, he suspected that levi was a peasant, but was still cautious.


    "i want something made." levi said coldly. when the attendant heard how levi spoke, he was sure that he didn''t have an amazing background, but still replied somewhat respectfully. "what would you like made? what is your price range? what kinds of materials do y- i have the materials." the attendant began showering levi with questions before being interrupted. after they walked into the back room, levi reached into his robes and pulled out a thick, folded purple snake skin, two extremely large jet black raven wings and two large black talons. "huh? where did you pull these out from? i''m afraid we- hmm? these are some quality materials. where did you get them?" just as the attendant was about to apologize for something, a curious, old voice was heard, startling the attendant. although levi didn''t know when the old man got into the room, he didn''t think he was dangerous. "not going to answer? whatever. come back in a few days." the old man brushed off levi''s cold attitude.


    levi walked out of the room. "what do you mean, quality materials?" the attendant looked at the old man with a questioning gaze. " these came from some mutated beasts." the old man said. "mutated beast are just normal animals who underwent different physical changes for one reason or another. but even the weakest one would be at least 10 times stronger than normal humans. though, those beasts from legends were millions of times more terrifying." the man explained before the attendant could ask what they were. "how do you know all of that?" the attendant asked. "ah, read a few books." the old man replied half-heartedly. "so how did that kid get them then?" the attendant asked. "him? heh heh, he killed them of course." the old man replied, a large smile on his face. "but didn''t you just say- i said they were stronger than normal humans, mortals, but obviously people who practice martial arts are also stronger than mortals." the man rolled his eyes.


    "are you saying that kid is a martial artist?" the attendant asked with an incredulous expression. "do i need to explain everything to you? go back to work!" the old man shouted, irritated. "that kid, his strength isn''t much, but that should be because he came from a poor background. being able to kill these things, i assume he has a few tricks. but what''s really troubling me though, is all of the anger and hate inside of him. it''s just there, waiting to explode. but what the hell am i going off topic for? a tailor should only focus on making clothes. lets get to work." the old man muttered to himself.

 Chapter 32 Imperial City

    after levi left the clothes shop, he decided to familiarize himself with the imperial city. but to his dismay, no matter how far he walked, he could never find the other side of the city. after thinking about it for a while, he decided to go on top of the wall to see how far the other half of it was. at first he wanted to just fly to the top, but there were obvious reasons why he shouldn''t and didn''t do it. so in the end he decided to just walk up the seemingly Neverending stairs. after what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the top of the wall and looked back at the city.


    the sight was shocking. he looked and squinted his eyes, but no matter what he did, he couldn''t see the other half of the wall. the city was so large that even the supposedly circular wall he was standing on, looked like it was going in a straight line. the wall itself was around 50,000 miles long altogether. there were buildings as far as he could see, weather they were shops or restaurants. but there were two buildings in particular that caught his eyes. a large castle that was about 5,000 miles, surrounded by it''s own wall, that was a little taller than the wall surrounding the city. then there was a gigantic building, that although it was directly in the middle of the imperial city, he was still able to see it.


    "hey, what are you doing up here?" as levi was lost in his own thoughts, a shout dragged him back to reality. "..." levi silently looked up at the two imperial guards clad in silver armor. "didn''t you hear the question?! why the f- didn''t i tell you to fix that temper of yours?" the leader cut off the man. "but captain, this brat was ignoring us!" the man said. "people have their own circumstances. you don''t know what this child''s are, so you shouldn''t jump to conclusions." the captain patiently explained. "i''m sorry boy, but common folk are not allowed on the wall. could it be that you didn''t know about this? or did you come from a different place?" the middle aged captain asked nicely. "apologies." levi said, before walking towards the stairs. "see captain?! he just ignored your question! see? see? se-oaf!-shut up you moron!" the captain slapped back of the young guards head.


    "what happened to circumstances...." the young guard mumbled, feeling wronged. "d''you say something?" a glint flashed in the captains eyes. "no-nothing...." the young guard could only swallow his complaints back down. ''i wonder if that boy was even human, but i guess he is since he was able to come into this city at all. the records of those terrifying beasts had a few lines in it, stating that those beasts with higher levels or purer bloodlines could change their form, making them look no different than us. supposedly, one of their key characteristics was that they were all extremely beautiful, regardless of if they were male or female. but killing people just because they were more beautiful than others would be stupid, so the royalty just did nothing in the end. the records go on to say that a mysterious person came to the city and carved ancient runes into the entire wall in one night. it said that the runes would be able to detect those beasts if they ever got close or tried to enter the city. but since none were ever detected, it was just used to guard against sneak attacks in times of war. after millions of years i wouldn''t be surprised if the runes weren''t able to detect those beasts anymore. but it did give a strange reaction to that boy, i wonder why.'' the captain stared into the city while lost in his own thoughts.


    "captain?" the young guard asked with a hint of concern. although the old man was was a bit irritating, without him, he would have been dead in a ditch a long time ago. he was abandoned at a young age, because his parents didn''t have the money to raise a child. he resorted to stealing to fill his stomach, until he was caught one time. as he thought his arm or even possibly his head was about to be cut off, the imperial guard said. ''oh? you''re hungry? come with me.'' not a trace of anger could be seen on the guards face, even though his money was almost stolen. spank!"ah?! the hell''re you doin old man?!?" the young guard erupted with fury after a slap to his face. "you had a stupid look on your face. truthfully, it was your stupid face that hit my hand, so how are you going to compensate me, huh?" the captain said, an arrogant expression on his face. "you....sigh, i just can''t win, can i?" the young guard sighed, a smile creeping onto his face.


    ...


    while the the two guards were chatting on the wall, levi was once again walking through the gigantic city, trying to find his way back to the rundown inn. as the sun was on the horizon, many stall owners were packing up, getting ready to go back to their homes for the day. thump! multiple thumping sounds were heard as levi dropped a few silver coins onto an empty part of a stall, picking up a red apple like fruit, it was the size and shape of a baby''s hand. he had seen a lot of these weird looking fruits and vegetables and wanted to find out how they tasted. it had a sweet, slight tangy taste, he finished it in no time.


    as he was walking down an alley heard a man and a woman talking. "what are we going to do if my father finds out?" the woman shouted softly. "don''t worry, i will ask my royal father for your hand in marriage soon." the man said reassuringly. "what if he refuses? what if your siblings find out about this and somehow it got to our fathers ears? they would try to kill us and each other!" the girl said. "don''t worry too much. i always talk about you with my royal father, so he knows how much i love you. and although our fathers are on bad terms, i think he would still give my father some face and let us marry." the boy said reassuringly.


    "....ok." the girl said after thinking about it. "good, then go back home for the time being. i will contact you in a few days." the boy said as he urged the girl to go. this happened in a matter of seconds, so by the time levi got to the alley they were in, the girl was already gone. step, step. levi walked calmly, not an expression to be seen on his face. "you...how long were you here?" the boys eyes narrowed under his hood, even a faint killing intent could be felt. levi glanced at him for 1-2 seconds as he walked by him silently. as the man looked into levi''s eyes, he felt slightly uncomfortable. he wasn''t afraid of levi, he was at the peak qi refining levels after all, he wouldn''t be afraid of someone weaker than himself. but something about those golden eyes that didn''t look like they belonged to a human made him uncomfortable. after levi walked off silently, the boy did the same.

 Chapter 33 Imperial City 2

    creakkk! levi finaly found the old inn and pushed the door before walking in. "ah, young master, you''re back." the old inn keeper looked a lot more refined this time, as he didn''t drink for the day. he had a broom in hand as he swept a mountain of dust towards the door. when he heard levi coming in he stopped. levi sat at one of the wooden tables silently. "what state is this city in?" he suddenly asked, startling the inn keeper. "ah, state?" levi silently looked at the old man before going to his room."state of the city? that young master is so strange..." the old inn keeper could only mutter softly as he continued sweeping.


    as levi walked into the room he stumbled. "what is happening to my eyes?" since yesterday, his vision would go dark before returning, but only in different fuzzy colors. "am i going blind?" he muttered. [these lapses in vision are probably caused by a new bloodline, or one that was still being absorbed.] avesta''s voice rang out in levi''s head. "a new bloodline? but i don''t remember absorbing a bloodline recently...could it be from one of those corpses? but i don''t think that is possible..." no matter how he thought about it, that wasn''t possible. [young lord, in these few seconds, try to keep your vision in that state.] avesta''s emotionless voice rang out. "hmm..." levi did as he was told without much thought. knock knock! "young master, i have brought your food." as he heard this, levi turned around to look at the door, only to see a mass of red, surrounded by a little bit of yellow and green, and a large amount of blue.


    "leave it."levi said coldly. "what was the point of that?" levi asked. [you have absorbed the bloodline of a snake, have you not, young lord?] the emotionless voice asked knowingly. "what does that have to do with this?" levi asked, confused. [some snakes have developed heat sensing organs, making them able to hunt prey even in the dead of night. the changes to your vision should have something to do with your snake bloodline.] avesta said. "the purple snake''s bloodline? but i absorbed that bloodline months ago..." levi said. [some bloodlines take time to be fully absorbed. sometimes even after absorption, it takes time for changes to be made to the body. this is one such case.] avesta explained. "..." levi stayed silent.


    after a while, he decided to cultivate, since he didn''t in a while. first, he checked his meridians. the little stand of qi was still tirelessly circulating, but it seemed pointless, because he was still far from a breakthrough. he sat cross-legged on the bed, and began circulating his own qi. "hmmm.." even after half an hour, he didn''t feel any change. "am i not suited for qi cultivation?" he questioned silently. as he was about to stop cultivating, he remembered something, blood energy. "how do i cultivate blood energy? and what level am i currently at?" he asked aloud. [you are currently at the second blood stage, out of 100. every 10 stages, the blood gate will undergo a change. the previous lords believed that at the 100th stage, the blood gate would open, unlocking the secrets of blood, increasing their strength and lifespan beyond that of any normal martial artists.] avesta said. levi had sullen expression on his face. every time he asked this voice a question, it would go on about the previous bloodlords and the blood gate. i didn''t ask for all of that information!, he thought.


    [as for how to cultivate blood energy. absorb blood, that should be obvious. although you should practice controlling your blood energy, to raise the blood energy stages, you have to absorb the bloodlines of strong humans or beasts." avesta''s voice held a trace of gloating. "..." levi listened to the explanation silently, before closing his eyes again. slowly, a sparse red mist surrounded his body, becoming thicker every second. the mist began to gather at his back, forming the outline of an ancient gate that radiated a feeling of terror and death. as the gate became more defined, the wooden room started to tremble. but just as the gate was about to form, the mist scattered before disappearing. after trying a few more times only to see the same result, levi went to sleep.


    ...


    morning.


    levi got up and sat silently on the bed, his eyes closed. he opened his eyes, seeing blue outlines of his entire room. looking down, in the sea of blue, he saw a mass of red surrounded by yellow and green. he closed his eyes before slowly opening them again, the wooden room was brown again as his regular vision returned. he woke up early this morning to practice controlling his infrared vision, as it would be dangerous and annoying if it changed on it''s own. after learning how to control it, he left for the clothes shop.


    after walking for a while, he arrived at the clothes shop. dling! as he pushed open the door, the bell rang. "we''re not open yet, go-oh it''s the boy." the old tailor walked out from the back room, he was the only other person in the shop. "i remember telling you to come back in a few days, but whatever, come in." the old man lead levi into the back room. "so, boy, what did you come here for?" the man began working on a black feathered coat with a hood. "what is the state of this city." levi asked coldly. although he wasn''t sure what, something felt off about the imperial city. "oh? the state of the imperial city? isn''t it plain to see? in one word, prosperous." the old man said.


    "...do you take me for a fool?" levi asked coldly. "what would make you think that?" the old man asked playfully. "just a feeling." levi said coldly. "a feeling huh, those aren''t always right." the old man said as he flipped the hooded coat over. "oh? is that so." levi said, a trace of playfulness in his cold voice. "it is so." the old man smiled as he continued working on the coat. "..." levi kept silent. shing! without another word he swiftly drew his saber and slashed towards the old man''s neck. clank! the old man lifted one finger, blocking the saber completely. "hehe, what would you have done if i was just an ordinary old man, boy?" the old man laughed out coldly, as he glanced up at levi, a fearsome glint in his eyes. "you would be dead." levi looked down at the old man, his cold expressionless face causing the temperature in the room to drop.


    "sigh, fine fine. don''t young people these days have any respect for the elderly..." the old man grumbled. "so? why do you care about the state of the imperial city?" the old man asked. "i don''t." levi responded coldly. "huhh? if you don''t care, then why are you asking?" the old man asked. "because it might affect me." levi responded coldly. "you...hahaha! was that also just a feeling?" the old man laughed, levi kept silent. "alright. you are correct. something is happening in the imperial city." the old man said, as he face lost it''s playfulness.

 Chapter 34 State Of The City

    "something is going on in the imperial city." the old man said as he started working on the coat again. " a power struggle." he said. "power struggle?" levi asked. "the world is ruled by strength, yes. but the imperial city''s strength is what is causing this situation." the man said, as levi listened silently. " there are 4 powers in the imperial city. the church, the nobles, the large martial clans and the royalty. these four powers all want to absorb or destroy each other." the old man said.


    "during the wars, the martial clans were obligated to assist the kingdom, which saved our cloud kingdom from destruction multiple times. but if you have a powerful pet snake, would you dare to let down your guard and sleep beside it? of course not, you would be on your guard, just in case it decided to eat you. although the martial clans are important to keep the kingdom strong, during these past years without war, the king, the strongest man in the imperial city, felt the need to try to get rid of them, as he feared that they would try to take the throne if they got too powerful. they were thorns in his side, and so he tried multiple time to get rid of them." the old man paused.


    "after finding out about the kings plans to deal with them, the martial clans were furious, arguin g that they defended this kingdom when it was needed and was repaid with a stab to the back, their anger only grew when the king brushed off everything they had done, so they retaliated. after multiple attempts to ruin each other failed, the royals and martial clans stopped, or so they would have you believe. the imperial city looks like it is in peace, but that is only on the surface. the royalty and martial clans never stopped their fight, but now that war might break out with our neighboring continent, they are trying to put their enmity aside. " he continued.


    "next is the church. although the church doesn''t have much offensive power, their position in the kingdom is lofty, almost at the level of the royalty and martial clans. you might be wondering if that is even possible, but it is, and for one key reason, commoners. although the commoners are the lowest of the low in the kingdom, and most commoners have little to no martial arts prowess at all, their voices still hold a lot of power, and the church channels those voices. all in all, the church has a large influence and power, and although they are quiet most of the time, not bothering with the clans or royalty, they could be plotting something else entirely. so although they don''t consider the church a threat, the royalty and martial clans both keep their eyes on the church." the old man said, as he snipped away at the jet black feathers.


    "and lastly, the nobles. although most of them spend their time in the countries of cloud continent, bathing in wealth in their own territories, a lot of them have been in the imperial city these past few years, and for one reason, the princes. the king has fathered three princes, while the rest, including his oldest child, are girls, princesses. the nobles'' long stay in the imperial city this time is so that they can support the prince that they would like to see on the throne, the prince that has promised them the best compensation for their support if he were to become king. the three princes are currently currently fighting to find out who of the three will inherit the throne." the old man explained. "that is the state of this city, peaceful on the surface, but filled with fighting at every corner underneath." the old man said in a grim tone.


    "so? now that you understand the inner workings of the imperial city, what are you going to do?" the old man asked. "nothing. unless someone implicates me. in that case i will just kill them all." levi said coldly. "hahaha! barely in the qi refining levels and you threaten to kill all of the powers in the imperial city!? you sure know how make good jokes boy!" the old man burst out laughing, while levi kept silent. "how strong are you, old man?" levi suddenly asked. "what are you talking about, boy? i''m just an old tailor that will soon die of old age, i have no strength." the old man said. after that levi just kept silent.


    after a few minutes of silence, levi started to leave. "wait boy, come here." as he was about to leave the old man called out to him. he turned around and looked at the old man silently, before walking back. "watch." the old man said. puff! a pale silver flame appeared in front of the old man''s forehead, as a terrifying sharp silver qi erupted from his body. levi looked on at this scene in shock, as he watched the old man weave the sharp qi into delicate patters, layers upon layers of these patters were stacked. slow enough for levi to see them, but fast nonetheless. after making and stacking the patterns, the old man covered it all in mental energy and sent it into the coat. "this is an inscription, when qi or mental energy is channeled through it...well, why don''t you try." he picked up the coat and tossed it to levi. after catching the coat, levi sent some of his qi through the coat and something shocking happened. the coat and his hand dissapeared. he could still feel it in his hands, but he could not see it.


    levi looked up at the old man with a questioning gaze. "this inscription disrupts the light around it, making it essentially invisible." he explained. levi understood basically how it worked, since he himself acquired a light based appearance manipulation skill at the 5 year tournament. not that he could use that technique though. "what are you showing me this for?" levi asked. "well, seeing as you have an abundance of mental energy at such a young age, learning inscriptions should be easy. you don''t have to become my disciple or anything, you just have to learn inscriptions." the old man said, levi kept silent. "well whatever, if you ever decide you want to learn inscriptions, i will be here. i have at least a few hundred years left, after all. the old man mumbled. "that coat is yours." the old man pointed at the feathered coat in levi''s hands. black raven feathers lined at whole coat from the shoulders, down. while the hood had purple scales on the outside. two of the talons were used in place of buttons and the rest were on the shoulders of the coat, pointing up and curving in.


    levi put on the coat, and put the hood over his head before leaving the clothes shop. he tried to pay the old man, but he refused saying that he didn''t use such quality materials in a while, so he didn''t need to be paid. levi didn''t argue and left the shop.

 Chapter 35 Marke

    after levi left the shop, he wondered around the city once again. he was passing by a large street, when shouts of people and crying of animals caused him to turn his head. down this street, many people were walking around, looking at thebeasts in the cages. big, small, the cages were different sizes, with the beasts having different features. but what caught levi''s attention, was that, from what he could tell, all of those beasts were mutated beasts, on the same level as the giant snake and raven. he looked around, behind the cages, some people sat leisurely, while others were on guard. some were spotless, while other''s clothes were stained with their own blood. just this scene alone could tell you how strong the mutated beasts were, and yet still, these people caught them easily.


    looking around, every person that walked into this street were martial artists or accompanied by one, as mortals wouldn''t be able to withstand the pressure of these beasts. levi remembered the strength of both the raven and giant snake, they were not weak at all, but these people were still strong enough to catch them, for the most part, unharmed. ''demon saint, how strong are these people?'' levi asked as he walked into the street calmly. an almost transparent wave of golden mental energy emanated from his body. "hmm?" some martial artists looked around, as if searching for levi, while others ignored the mental energy, not caring about it in the least. ''most of the people here are in the mind opening realm late stages, but some could be hiding their true levels.'' the demon saint replied.


    "hmmm..." he walked through the street, looking at the different mutated beasts, in deep contemplation. this went on for a while, before he walked up to a certain cage and stopped. "what is this?" he asked. the young martial artist looked up and smiled slightly. "this is a builder ant." he said, as he watched levi''s expression. "a builder ant?" levi''s face was as cold as ever. "they eat all kinds of different materials, before spitting out a liquid comprised of those materials to build nests." he said with a smile. ''avesta, what is this thing?'' levi asked. [it is as this person said. this is a builder ant, carrying the bloodline of the ancient conqueror ant. though, this one seems slightly different.] avesta said after a slight pause. levi looked down at the silver ant that was about the size of an adult''s foot.


    "how much." levi looked up. "10,000 gold coins." the 20 something year old martial artist narrowed his eyes as he watched levi''s expression. levi silently stretched out his hand. "hmm? what?" the martial artist''s eyes darkened as he looked at levi''s outstretched hand. "i have nothing to put the money in." levi said coldly. "oh....huh?" the martial artist looked at levi strangely before taking out a leather pouch. levi took the pouch and walked away, throwing off the martial artist once again. ''the price was too high so he stole my pouch? damn, these young masters are getting fierce. i thought that those rich fools would buy anything for ridiculous prices as long as they liked them, i guess i was wrong, tch!'' he thought.


    after about 5 minutes, levi walked back with an overstuffed leather pouch, gold coins peeking out. levi put the pouch into the dazed martial artist''s hands, before opening the cage and killing the ant, shoving it into the spatial ring afterwards. of course, what the martial artist saw was levi killing the ant before shoving it into his coat. pulling the snake skin hood over his head once again, levi started to look around once more, leaving the the martial artist rooted to his spot.


    ...


    in a large slightly dark room, a man dressed elegantly dressed sat on a large throne, looking at the person kneeling before him as if he were an ant. "please, father! please allow me to marry her!" the person bellowed, his voice echoing through the room. the man sitting on the throne silently looked at his son. this son of his was no good. out of his three sons, this one, his last son, was trash. as his brothers cultivations soared, his stagnated. as they mastered different high level techniques, he was out drinking and fooling around. he was the most powerful person in the cloud continent, in both strength and status, yet he produced a failure of a son. yes, this man was the king of the entire cloud continent!


    ".....for these past few days, everyday, you came here..." the king opened his mouth as an oppressive voice flowed out, causing one to feel like they were inferior, like they were born only to prostrate themselves before him. "you should know the state of the imperial city, given that you are still one of the candidates for the throne..." he continued. "so why do you insist on marrying this girl?" the king asked as he looked at his failure of a son. "i....i want to marry her because...." the third prince paused. "because i love her!" as he said this, he looked up to meet his fathers eyes. the king looked into his son''s eyes, seeing a fiery resolve. "you can go." the king waved his hand, signaling for the prince to leave. the third prince got up slowly from his kneeling position and left the throne room. "why don''t you just let him marry her?" suddenly, a clear and gentle voice rang out. "Anastasia..." the king looked to the side.


    "you know that is not possible." the king said with a sigh. if it was possible, he wouldn''t have wasted any time. although his third son was trash, and although he often fooled around, he knew better than anyone how hard working that son of his was. he would cultivate in places where people couldn''t find him, practice techniques even after multiple failures, and worst of all, he would cry alone while wondering why he was different from his two brothers. the king viewed his third son as trash, but his third son was also the one he liked the most.


    " isn''t that a result of your actions? are you going to make him suffer even more because of your selfishness?" the girl asked gently, as the king kept silent. " also, why don''t you let berum inherit the throne? he is your oldest son after all." Anastasia said. "Anastasia, you already know that whoever succeeds me must have both physical strength and strong willpower. if they can''t even handle fighting among themselves then...." the king paused. "yes, i know, father. but i also know that i raised them after our mother died. and that, if anyone means to harm them, even if it''s you, i will kill them without fail!" as she said this, the gentle expression faded from her face, leaving only coldness. a terrifying qi erupted from her body, causing the whole palace to quake. after saying that, she left.


    "sigh. she is just as forceful as her mother was, also as overprotective." the king sighed. if it was anyone else, he would have dealt with them accordingly. but he could do nothing to her for two reasons, reason one being, his first daughter was the mirror image of her mother, they looked exactly the same, making unwilling to punish her in any way. the second being, she was a genius who had reached close to his level of strength at only the age of 26, and even if he wanted to punish her in some way, he didn''t have the ability to do so. he sat quietly in the throne room, his eyes closed.

 Chapter 36 Teach Me Inscriptions

    levi walked through the market for a while, but nothing else caught his attention. he thought about going back to the clothes shop, but since he only left a few minutes ago, he didn''t want to go back too early. he realised something as he walked through the market, that was, money was important. one ant costed him 10, 000 gold coins. in the begining, money meant nothing to him. but today he realised that with money, he could buy beasts that would slap him to death if he tried to kill them, as long as he had enough money. as he walked through the street, he also heard that some of the martial artists didn''t even take money, only exchanging for something they believed had the same or more value as their own product. this brought him to one conclusion, he needed a way to make a large amount of money.


    creakkk!


    he pushed open the inn''s old door. "ah, young master, you are back." the old innkeeper blushed slightly as he looked at levi, remembering how well he slept and how he only woke when the sun was already high. levi silently walked up the creaking stairs before walking into his room, closing the door behind him. "demon saint, how can i make money?" although he came from a decent family, because he was trash, he was kicked out of the family before learning a lot of things, leaving him unknowledgable. ''hmmm, there are many ways to make money. how much are you trying to make?'' the demon saint asked. "a lot." levi said coldly. ''...'' the demon saint kept silent, out of fear that he might burst out laughing. ''ahem... you could make pills and sell them, or become a blacksmith.'' the demon saint said sarcastically. he believed that the serious levi wouldn''t catch the sarcasm in his voice, and he was right. "..black smith....the old man said something about another kingdom causing the king and large clans to come together.....war....weapons..." levi levi mumbled.


    "inscriptions.....weapons.....war.....demon saint." levi mumbled before calling out. "weapons are needed in wars, right?" he asked. ''...yes.'' the demon saint answered. "and people look for the best weapons they can find, right?" levi asked once again. ''yes.'' demon saint responded, slightly confused. ''what did this have to do with making money.'' he thought. " i will be learning inscriptions from the old man after all." his thinking was simple. when people hear that they might be going to war, they look for good weapons, and regardless of whether or not the war happens, they will try to be on the safe side, trying their hardest to get one those weapons that might save their lives.


    after thinking about it, he sat quietly on his bed. fuaa. he released a breath, as a thick blood mist erupted from his body. instead of trying to form the blood gate, he was practicing how to control the blood energy. shua! the mist began rotating around levi, causing his cloths, and the curtain to flutter. the mist kept rotating, becoming faster every second as levi''s room shook, then suddenly, everything stopped. as the mist stopped rotating and returned to his body, his figure could be seen. his slightly long red hair was ruffled and his robe unkempt, looking down, the bed sheet was shredded. without even moving, he started qi cultivation. he circulated his qi through his body, 1 cycle, 2 cycles,3,4,5,6,7,8,9..he grudgingly continued, even though he felt no change. huff huff! by the time he stopped, an hour had passed, but he still felt no change.


    creak! creak! he left the room before walking down the stairs. "young master,do yo-" the inn keeper approached levi as soon as he saw him. but due to levi''s bad mood, he didn''t want to talk to anyone, as his dense killing intent made clear. the old innkeeper froze on the spot, cold sweat soaking his his clothes. step step. without a word levi walked away. "huff huff w-what was that...huff..it felt like he was about to kill me...." the old man dropped to the ground, his eyes wide, he really felt like he would die this time.


    after bathing, levi silently went back to his room, he calmed down significantly. when he got back to his room he remembered the ant and began searching the spatial ring. after a few seconds he pulled out a large greyish silver ant, a finger sized hole in it''s head. without a word, he crushed the ant''s body in his hand, causing a bluish silver blood to flow out before being absorbed into his body. his hands, as well as his veins and chest began itching instantly. the itching wasn''t unbearable, just slightly uncomfortable. after a few minutes the itching stopped, but levi felt no different from before, but just as he was about to shout in anger, a dripping sound caused him to look down. on the ground, drops of a slightly pale green liquid sat, sinking into the floorboards at a visible speed.


    "hmmm?" looking at his hand, he saw the green liquid flowing from his wrist down to the tips of his fingers and then onto the floor. "it looks like it is melting the floor? why is my hand not melting?" levi mumbled. [the liquid is not melting the wood, it is breaking it down. even if i explained more, you would not be able to understand. when you absorbed the blood, it made several changes to your body. one of the changes most likely makes the liquid ineffective against your body, or perhaps you can control what is broken down and what is not.] avesta said knowingly. "hmm....come back." levi called out. the drops of green liquid flew into the air, before merging into one large ball in front of levi and floated in place. "that man said the ants ate different materials before spitting out a liquid that contained the materials...how does that work?" levi mumbled. "harden!" he suddenly shouted. the ball of liquid began shrinking before solidifying into a small brown bead the size of a pearl.


    "hmmm..." levi reached out and grabbed the bead. [ that liquid purifies the materials, making them stronger when they are resolidified.] avesta said. "..." levi began squeezing the wooden bead, it didn''t break, he coated his fingers in qi and continued to squeeze, the bead was still intact. pax! a plume like blood mist covered his hand. a soft popping sound was heard, as the wooden bead exploded into dust. "..." levi dusted the wood powder from his fingers and lost himself in thought. he got up and took his black feather coat from the spatial ring before putting it on. after walking out of the inn, he channeled his qi through the coat, fading from view.


    after a while he arrived at the clothes shop. "what do you ne-huh?" the attendant looked around but couldn''t see anyone, but he was sure he heard the bell ring. levi walked up to the back room unnoticed, before he could open the door, he heard an unfamiliar aged voice coming from the room. "the cloud continent is on the verge of war, and yet the citizens know nothing. what is the king thinking?" an aged voice rang out. "who knows, who cares. if war breaks out, i''ll just find a rock to hide under for about 20 years before coming back." the old tailor said carelessly. "you never change, only thinking about yourself. why don''t you for once-"creak! the door creaked as levi pushed it open. "what do you need, boy?" the old man looked at the empty doorway and came to one conclusion. "teach me how to make inscriptions." levi said coldly as he looked at the old tailor, ignoring the other old man.

 Chapter 37 Failed Inscriptions

    "only a few hours has passed, i didn''t expect you to come back so fast. what made you want to learn?" the old man asked, glancing at levi from the corner of his eyes. "money." levi said coldly. "money...." the old man paused as his faced contorted. "ahahahaha! you are just like me when i was younger! money! hahaha!" he continued, not able to hold back his laughter, levi kept silent. "who is this boy, old gray?" the other old man asked the old tailor. "this kid''s name is...uh.." the old tailor scratched his head, deep in thought. "i don''t know his name." he confessed. the other old man pinched the bridge of his nose, this old friend of his was always so carefree. "levi crimson." levi said coldly, he was becoming irritated again.


    "he said something about learning inscriptions from you, i didn''t know you got yourself a disciple." the other old man said with a questioning tone. "he isn''t my disciple, i''m teaching him inscriptions." old gray said. "oh? hmm..." the old man looked at old gray before turning to look at levi, a sly look in his eyes. "what are you plotting, you old snake?" seeing the expression on his friends face, old gray knew he was up to something. "hmm, nothing extreme. boy, why don''t you bec-no." before the old man could finish, levi spat a chilling no. "ahahahahahah! y-you, hahahaah! did you think that he would become your disciple?! you should know better!! hahaha!" old gray burst out laughing cone again, tears flowing as he laughed his lungs out. " you should have known that he would refuse. i didn''t even ask him to become my disciple, do you know why?"old gray asked after laughing.


    the old man was trembling with anger. not because levi rejected him, but because his old friend just kept laughing. ''it''s not that funny, ok? you don''t need to laugh that hard.'' he thought. " why?" the old man pushed down his anger and asked. " because from the time i first met him, i knew that he was a stubborn fool! just like me! hahaha!" old gray burst out laughing once again. "i''m glad you know that you are a fool!" the old man was unable to restrain his anger any longer as he slapped the table. "anyway, old lin, this kid won''t become your disciple, so don''t even try." old gray said, a touch of seriousness returning to his face. "catch, boy." old gray reached out and a thick book flew from somewhere, into his hand, before he threw it towards levi. "hmm, your strenght is also lacking, so, take this one too." he threw another book at levi. "now memorise everything in the book about inscriptions. you can practice the commandment skills as you please." old gray said as he waved levi away.


    levi activated the coat''s invisibility and left the clothes shop once again, going back to the inn. in his room, he sat on the bed, a large book in his hands as he read it''s contents. "so those patterns were made from even smaller structures that are not visible....qi is also not the only form of energy inscriptions can be made from...." he read through the book throughly, a few hours passed before he finily finished it. tap! the large book closed with a light tap, as levi gently put it down on his bed. picking up the other book, he looked at the cover. the title read ''the four commandments.'' "the four commandments...wind, cloud, water and lighting..." after reading for a few minutes, he put the open book faced down on the bed. fuuu! levi sucked in a large breath, and proceeded to hold it for a few seconds. he was trying the lightning commandment, which required rhythmic breathing.


    the book explained simply that breathing in this way would allow qi to buildup in the body, in such a way that would enable one to produce lightning. beads of sweat appeared on levi''s forehead as he continued the harsh breathing technique. about half an hour later, his clothes were soaked with sweat and his eyes bloodshot. thump! he could not hold on any longer as he collapsed. but before his body touched the ground, a tiny flicker of blue could be seen.


    ...


    "unnhhg...." levi slowly opened his eyes. he got up and looked around before remembering what happened. looking through the window, outside was pitch black. looking at his clothes, the sweat completely dried up, leaving only a slightly uncomfortable sticky feeling. as he had wasted so much time, levi sat on the ground immediately. he pulled out a silver coin from the spatial ring and placed it on the ground in front of him. without a word, a small black flame appeared before his forehead, as his qi erupted from his body. he used his mental energy to accurately move the qi, forming 3 small patterns and stacking them. he then coated the stacked pattern with mental energy and attempted to attach it to the coin. failed. the pattern broke apart when it touched the coin. what he was trying to inscribe was a simple heat inscription. if qi was channeled into it, it would rapidly heat up. for example, if the coin was to be inscribed with this heat inscription, depending on the output of qi, the coin could be melted.


    without a word, he tried again. he used his mental energy to control the qi and create the patterns. after stacking them, he coated them with mental energy and attempted to attach them to the silver coin. failed. before the patterns got close to the coin, they broke apart and scattered into nothingness. levi continued, ignoring failure. over and over and over again, he tried but failed. "AGHHHHHHHHHH!" he shouted in anger. this shout woke a number of people. the old innkeeper jumped from his sleep, but after remembering what happened in the day, he covered his head with his pillow and stayed silent. after some of his anger was alleviated by the shout, he began again.


    levi used his mental energy to direct the qi, making the patterns with ease before stacking them. using his last bit of mental energy, he coated the patterns and sent them towards the coin. the patterns floated down slowly, as they reached the coin, they started to slowly sink into it. but before they could fully go into the coin, levi''s mental energy faded away as it was all used up, causing the patterns without protection to break apart once again. watching this scene, levi didn''t even have the strength to shout, he could only scream angrily on the inside.

 Chapter 38 Inscriptions Explained

    morning.


    levi opened his eyes and found himself leaning against the side of his bed, a rancid stench wafting up to his nose. without any further thought, he went to bathe. as he walked down stairs, the old inn keeper kept silent. after bathing, levi left the in and headed to the clothes store to look for the old man. he pushed open the shop''s door, walking in without the invisibility of his coat. "what can i do for you, sir?" the attendant walked up and asked. "i want a few robes, they don''t have to be high in quality." levi spoke coldly before walking to the back room. click, the door opened. "hmmm?" old gray glanced at levi before looking back down, looking around, the other old man was also present.


    "you came because you failed an inscription, right?" old gray asked with a heavy tone. old lin looked at levi with a heavy expression. "yes." levi replied, his tone cold. "..." old grays face contorted and old lin''s face darkened. "BWAHWAHWAHWA! see?! now hand over that 100, 000 gold, old lin!" old gray burst out laughing. old lin restrained his anger and handed over a bank note. "you thought that he would come because he failed to learn the commandments? haha, when it comes to gambling, i''m still superior!" old gray held his head high, while old lin almost burst a vein restraining himself. "i did." levi''s voice interrupted the two. "eh?" old gray looked at levi. "i failed both." levi clarified. "...oh? hehe, old gray..." old lin laughed. "give me back my money!" he shouted as he grabbed the bank note. "what are you talking about?! at most i can only return half!" old gray tightened his grip on the bank note.


    "oh, fine fine. boy, what happened?" old gray finnaly let go of the bank note and asked. "when i first tried, i formed and stacked the 3 patterns, before trying to attach them to a coin, but they broke apart." levi said. "hm hm." old gray nodded his head, signaling for levi to continue. "the second time, the patterns broke apart before touching the coin." levi said. "hm hm." old gray nodded. "and the third time, the patterns were going into the coin, but my mental energy ran out, causing them to break once again." levi said. "hmhm, alright, do you know why thse things happened?" old gray asked. "no." levi replied.


    "alright, i will explain it to you." old gray said. "the first time, you were being to forceful. after successfully stacking the patters, you coated them in mental energy and sent them towards the coin. the mental energy coating is there to protect the patterns, but if you forcefully try to send the patterns into the coin, it would be like coating an egg with only a small amount of qi before smashing it against a rock." old gray slowly explained. "the second time, after your first failure, you were most likely irritated and coated the patterns with even more mental energy so that they wouldn''t break, but the patterns are delicate structures that are easily broken, so that extra mental energy broke the patterns that it was supposed to be protecting." he continued.


    "as for the last time, due to your qi and mental energy being depleted, you almost succeded in attaching the inscription to the coin. because you had no extra qi or mental energy to destroy the patterns or smash them against the coin, making them slowly sink into the coin. but before this could be completed, both your qi and mental energy had run out." old gray said, as levi listened quietly. "the patterns are fragile, so the mental energy protects them. but too much of something will destroy what it is trying to protect. although the mental energy is there to protect the patterns, it is also there so that you can attach the inscription to whichever material is being inscribed, and if the patterns and mental energy lose that perfect balance, the whole thing will break down." old gray said. " in the instance where almost all of your mental energy and qi were used up, you accidentally made that perfect balance, but ran out of both mental energy and qi before you could try to attach the inscription." he continued.


    "after the patterns are sent into the material, if you just left it like that, they would just dissapte. so you use the mental energy to weave parts of the pattern''s structures into the tiny particles of the materials. do you understand?" old gray asked. "....no." levi replied honestly. old gray patiently explained again. a few hours passed before levi finally grasped the concept, through this time, old gray patiently explained. "so you do this...." levi took out a silver coin and put it on the wooden tailor''s table. forming the three patterns, completed. stacking the patterns, completed. attaching the patterns to the coin...completed. after multiple trials and errors, he was finally able to attach the patterns.


    "why don''t you try sending qi into it?" old gray asked with a slight smile on his wrinkled face.levi did as he was told, he injected qi into the coin. "hmm?" after injecting the qi, the coin only heat up slightly. when he injected qi again, it didn''t heat up at all. "don''t mind that. since this was your first time, it''s a given that you would make some mistakes. " old gray said with a smile. "oh, what happened to the commandment skills? what went wrong?" old gray suddenly asked.


    "i tried to learn the lightning commandment, but failed." levi replied. ''well of course you would fail if you tried to learn the lightning commandment first! i knew you were like me, but to what extent?!'' old grays lips twitched as he thought. "you should try the cloud or water commandments first. cloud is control, as in qi control and water is qi, as in a qi cultivation technique. while wind is an agility technique and lightning is an offensive technique. you have to start with either qi control or qi cultivation." old gray explained.


    "hmm." levi nodded and sat on the ground, trying the water commandment. his qi cultivation was giving him a lot of trouble. the water commandment required one to let their qi flow like water, smooth and gracefully. it required a calm mind and heart. levi''s qi erupted from his body, as he tried to make it flow smoothly. his qi was rigid and volatile, he tried hard to make it flow smoothly but failed. again...failed. again, failed. levi''s eyes opened and furrowed his brows, as his face contorted. smak! "what are you getting angry for, boy?" old gray walked up and slapped the side of levi''s head. "your cultivation is stagnating, isn''t it?" old gray asked, levi nodded lightly. " that is because cultivation requires a calm heart and firm resolve. i can see that you have the resolve, but a clam heart? i can''t even describe how chaotic your heart is. filled with anger, hatred, the desire to kill. all of these negative emotions are blocking your cultivation, causing it to stagnate." old gray said as he looked levi in his eyes.

 Chapter 39 Reliving Hell

    "come and sit on this cushion." old gray left before coming back with a weird embroidered cushion. the cushion had what looked to be a powerful martial artist, fighting a large black fog like humanoid creature. levi took the cushion and put it on the floor, before sitting on it cross-legged. "hmm, i''ll start now." old gray said, as he sat in front of levi. viviviv! qi erupted from old gray''s body. as he sent it into the cushion, the table and chairs began to vibrate. levi''s head slumped in front of his chest, as he fell into darkness. he just kept falling in seemingly neverending darkness for a few minutes before landing on a soft bed. thinking nothing of it, he just lay silently on the bed. knock knock! "levi, i''m coming in." a soft and graceful voice rang out.


    hearing this voice, levi''s cold heart stirred as he jumped up from the bed and looked towards the door. "oh? you are up?" a woman with long flowing black hair walked into the room. although this woman looked to be in her 20s, she was actually closer to 40. levi looked up at the all too familiar face and his heart chilled, yes, this woman was his mother. his body released killing intent as he tried to grow out his fingernails, but no matter how he tried, his fingernails stayed the same length. looking down at his hand, he realised that his fingernails weren''t black anymore, and that his hands and wrists were significantly smaller. "levi? what''s wrong?" his mother, sofia asked. levi just looked up at her silently, then he realised what was going on. he sat on that weird cushion and then appeared in his room in the azure clan, even if he was a fool, he would still be able to figure it out.


    "oh my, oh my, are you nervous about the test? i''m sure your talent will shock the whole star city!" sofia said as she rubbed levi''s cheek. levi could only stay silent and endure this once again. "ah, good morning young master." the servants bowed respectfully before getting back to their tasks. levi followed sofia through the azure manor. after a while they arrived at the great hall, most of the people from the azure clan were already there. "tch, look at the pampered young master getting escorted by his mother. " a voice rang out. "humph!" a few youngsters sneered. "ah, young master levi, you are sure to ascend to the heavens after the test!" a slightly fat boy said. his eyes were squeezed shut as he smiled forcefully. levi heard the voice but didn''t even turn his head.


    "quiet down. the potential test will begin now." levi went to the front of the hall and sat beside a muscular man with golden hair, after which the man announced. this man was levi''s father, owen azure, current head of the azure clan. he merely nodded towards levi without a word, before sitting back down. the seven year old children were required to put their hands on a black stone. there were 4 grades of talent. if the stone released a black light, that would be the lowest of the 4. a brown light would be grade 3 talent, a yellow light would be grade 2, and a white light would be 1, the highest grade of talent. the stone would scan the hand of who ever touched it, calculating how the muscle, bones and veins would develop, and whether or not the person''s body would be fit for qi cultivation.


    one after the other, the azure clan youths came up. "our turn!" two identical children ran up to the stone. blonde hair, black eyes, pink lips and pointed noses. the twins took turns touching the stone. "oh? grade 3 talent. work hard in the future." the old elder looked at the second brown light, before saying emotionlessly. "it is your turn, young master." levi sat quietly through the hour and a half, causing a lot of people forget about him. he silently got up from his chair and slowly walked to the stone. he extended his hand, but stopped right before the stone, his hand shaking. he grit his teeth and put his hands on the stone. 1 second, 2 seconds,3,4,5,6... a few seconds passed, but the rock didn''t light up. "hmm?" owen narrowed his eyes as he watched this scene. "what is this?" some of the youngsters shouted. "what the hell?!" they began talking among themselves. "quiet!" the old elder shouted, causing his white beard to shake.


    "according to the records about the testing stone, if no light appears, then that person has no talent for martial arts!" the elder shouted after the people quieted down. "what?! how could it be that my son has no talent?! something has to be wrong with your rock!" sofia jumped from her chair and shouted. "this ''rock'' has been used to test talent in the azure clan for over 100 years, and not once was something wrong with it." the elder said firmly. hearing that argument, sofia could only keep her mouth shut. owen looked at levi, and the warmth gradually faded from his face. levi turned towards his parents and glared at them silently, as if anticipating those lines, his gaze cold. "you....trash. from this point on, you are not a part of the azure clan! you are stripped of that name, never utter it again in your life! now get lost trash!" owen got up as he declared coldly.


    "servants! take this trash out of my sight!" owen shouted as two muscular servants picked levi up and began walking out of the hall. countless ''friends'' of levi''s found pleasure in his plight. a person who was above them for their entire lives, unexpectedly, would now have to bow his head to them. their lips curled up into vicious smiles, sneering as levi was dragged out. thump! "now listen trash! you are not allowed to step foot in the azure clan again! if you do, we will cut off your legs and feed you to the dogs!" the two servants sneered. since theclan head expelled him, they didn''t need to be respectful to him any longer. levi unsteadily got up, his frail seven year old body bearly able to stand, and walked away. the people who were passing by at the time hurried to spread the gossip with their friends. in less than half an hour, the entire star city knew about levi''s expulsion from the azure clan.

 Chapter 40 Absorbing Heart Demons

    swish! suddenly, he dissapeared from the gate of the azure clan and appeard in another familiar place, a street that he would call home for the next five years. smak! thump! levi felt a stinging sensation across his cheek as he fell on his ass, a slightly sweet taste in his mouth. "you littly rat! what did i tell you about coming around here?! shoo! you are scaring away my customers!!" a middle aged woman with a piece of cloth tied around her head shouted. levi got up from the ground, his face cold. he remembered how this woman would beat him when her bread wasn''t selling, just to blow off steam.


    swish! the background changed once again, as he appeared in an alley. he was on the ground clutching his stomach, blood causing his dirty old rags to stick to his skin. "hahaha! i can''t believe that we had to call this cockroach ''young master''!" one of the two people looking down at him said. "haha, ridiculous!" the other one sneered. he remembered this as well, since the twins only had grade 3 talent, they were treated only slightly better than trash. so when they couldn''t take it anymore, they would go look for levi. many people passed the alley, and looked at the scene with indifference. swish! levi appeared on a street. his hair was stuck together with blood and dirt, his clothes had long turned black, with multiple holes. his small body had become skin and bones, as he sat on the ground in a daze. levi also remembered this. only a year had passed since he was kicked out of the azure family, but since everything was provided for him since birth, he neverlearned about the difficulties of life.


    swish! it was night time as he hid behind a wall. he was waiting for the old woman to throw away any old bread. since she always took her anger out on him, he learned over time to not be seen. 3 years after being kicked out of the azure family, he learned a lot of painful lessons. people will beat you because they are angry, and they will sneer at you to make themselves feel better. swish! "humph! trash like you dare to block my carriage?! guards, beat him to death!" star city''s mayor''s daughter spat vehemently, as two tanned guards walked up to levi, almost beating him to death. levi lie on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, multiple broken bones, as he glanced coldly at the all too familiar girl.


    levi passed through many different memories, before appearing in what looked to be star city in ruins. everything was gray except the the crimson blood flowing in the streets. suddenly, person after person appeared in front of him. every person who wronged him in those five years appeared, his parents, his friends, the lady who sold bread, they all appeared one after the other. "hou, it''s that trash!" he should just die!" everyday he is beaten and left for dead, but he doesn''t seem to get the message!" all of the people began jeering and laughing, their grinning faces were weird. they kept laughing, then suddenly, some of their faces cracked, a black fog escaping from the cracks.


    their skin shattered like glass, before revealing black fog like humanoid figures with large holes where their hearts would be. "fall! fall in to despair!" the figures said in weird screeching voices. "release your hate!" they continued. " lose yourself to your desire to kill, let us take control!" the bellowed. "you....want my body?" levi asked with his head down, his voice calm. "yes! leave your body to the demons of your heart!" they had long surrounded him. "fall into despair? release my hate? let you take control? don''t make me laugh." levi said coldly. "if you won''t let us have your body willingly, then we will take it by force! we will absorb you!" they shouted as they attacked. puchi! "you could have just given your body to us willingly!" many black hands pierced levi''s body. "take my body by force? haha" levi laughed coldly. "you, what are you laug-wha-how is this possible?!" they shouted in disbelieve, as they tried to take their arms out from his body.


    "take my body by force? ridiculous. release my hatred and anger? those are the source of my strength, why would i release them? my desire to kill is a result of my desire for strength, i don''t walk around trying to kill every thing i see." levi said coldly. "i don''t know what you are, but since you tried to absorb me, i will absorb you instead!" levi shouted. as he said this, his body released a strong suction force, causing the fog-like heart demons to break apart and get sucked into his body. "you!!! how is this possible?!" they shouted before being completely absorbed. "...i wonder." levi mumbled, he really had no clue. after a few seconds, he returned to reality and opened his eyes.


    after opening his eyes, levi found old gray staring straight into his face with a nervous expression. "boy, are you ok? what did you do?" he asked with concern. " when a person sits on this cushion, they appear in their most traumatic memory. one or two heart demons appear, and the person tries to kill the heart demons. while they are in that state, a black fog rises from the person''s body and forms one or two black crystals. if the heart demons are killed, the crystals shatter, if the heart demons aren''t killed, the crystals grow bigger. but you, boy, what did you do? do you see the amount of those heart crystals around you? they aren''t breaking, and they aren''t growing. just what did you do?!" old gray shouted. "i absorbed them." levi said. ''how was i able to absorb them though?'' he thought.


    "absorbed?! now listen here, boy....."old gray started to talk. [young lord, while you were in that special state, you instinctively activated one of the original blood skills, absolute absorption. this skill, when used, will absorb anything from blood, to qi, to mental energy or any different kind of energy, if your blood stage is high enough. but as you are only in the second blood stage, it is impossible for you to use this skill.] avesta explained. "impossible..." levi mumbled. "are you listening, boy?! i lived for hundreds of years, but i have never heard of anyone absorbing heart demons!" old gray shouted, panting with sweat running down his wrinkled face. "what are you getting so worked up about?" levi asked, slightly irritated. smak! "ah? you are getting angry again? i didn''t send you to absorb your heart demons, i sent you to kill them!" old gray slapped levi''s head, before saying seriously. "anger and hatred is what fuels my desire for strength, if i do not have them, i will stay weak forever." levi said coldly. "....is that so." old gray said after a short silence.


    "boy, are you really sure..." old lin, who was silent for the entire time, suddenly opened his mouth. "that you don''t want to learn how to refine pills from me?" he asked. "..." levi looked at him silently.

 Chapter 41 Mind Opening Realm

    "no." levi replied coldly. "come now, a pill might save your life one day! i''m not asking you to become my disciple, just like old gray, i will just teach you how to refine pills!" old lin said. "....ok." levi said after a short pause. he didn''t want to become anyone''s disciple for what ever reason. "good, good! now memorise everything in this book!" old lin threw a book with the thickness of an adult thigh towards levi. levi''s face darkened, he wasted no time and dodged to the side, before looking at old lin. "..." the room went silent for a few seconds. because the sun was going down, levi decided to leave for the day. on his way out, he picked up the robes he asked for and paid for them.


    "hey, did you find him? that boy?" the voice of a girl rang out. "no, not yet." a boy said. "a few days has already passed and we still can''t find this boy, do you think that lily lied?" another boy said. " it couldn''t have been a lie, she came home in clothes covered with blood and the smell of death. and i don''t think she has the guts to lie to the clan head." another girl said. "but still, her description of her so called savior is just unbelievable. red hair, golden eyes with black slits down the middle, black fingernails. in my opinion, anyone with those features would **** her before killing her." the first boy said carelessly. "even though she can''t practice martial arts because of her weak body, she is still my sister, so watch what you say!" the second girl said. "oh, sorry." the boy responded, he was not scared of her in the least. step step. the 4 heard light stepping sounds and all looked around.


    a person in a black feather coat with a purple snake skin hood walked right by them. "hey, we are looking for someone, can you take off your hood?" the first boy asked. he wasn''t disrespectful, but he wasn''t respectful either. step step. the person ignored them and continued walking. "hey, didn''t you hear me?" the boy shouted. but this person just kept walking. "what the hell!"he shouted with irritation. "anyway, lets continue searching. we will go back when the sun goes down completely." the second girl said, after which they split up and began searching again.


    as levi was walking, he was going over different inscription methods in his head, so he couldn''t hear the people talking to him. but even if he could hear them, he would probably just ignore them. after a while, he arrived back at the inn and pushed open the door. "as i''ve said, i''m sorry, but all of the rooms have already been rented out..."the old innkeeper said. "hmm, but i don''t see anybody here." a chubby man with short brown hair stood before the wooden counter. "as i have told you, i am a merchant, i can pay you double for a room, money isn''t an issue." the man said. "ah, it''s this young master who rented the whole inn. if you want to stay, you should ask him." as soon as the old innkeeper saw levi, he sighed in relief. "oh? young master, if you wou-no." levi was still going through inscriptions in his head, so he didn''t even see the man, it just so happened that at that moment, he got something wrong in his head.


    he walked up to his room and stayed in that state for a little more than an hour. "..." after waking up from that state, he silently sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. although he said hatred and anger was the fuel of his desire for strength, he didn''t really know if absorbing his heart demons would allow him to cultivate, or make him unable to cultivate ever again. he breathed out gently, as qi erupted from his body, violent as ever. according to the water commandment, to make his qi water-like, he had to breath in such a way that would make his heart beat in a smooth and graceful rhythm, like a small river. "fuuu..." levi breathed in and out slowly, 1 breath, 2,3. just as he was about to stop, an indescribable feeling appeared in his body. he felt clam, and like the sky covered in rain clouds that were scared away by the sun, his mind cleared. boom! "hmm?" something in him exploded and his body shook, causing him to open his eyes.


    he opened his eyes and it felt like he arrived in a new world! the plain wooden room now appeared different. the flies and mosquitoes, dust and mold on the window, all of these things that he would not be bothered to notice, appeared clearly at this time. "wha..t is this?" levi''s eyes widened slightly, overwhelmed. "mind opening realm?" levi said with some surprise. he was stuck in the qi refining levels for a while, and he still had to breakthrough two levels before getting into the mind opening realm. since he had only just started, he decided to continue. half an hour later, he found that once again, he could not absorb any qi. this time for some reason, he did not become angry, and just opened the large book about herbs and pill refining that he got from old lin. he read the book for a few hours before going to sleep.


    ...


    next day, morning.


    "oh, you''ve broken through to the mind opening realm, that was expected since your cultivation stagnated. hah, i''m more surprised that you can still cultivate!" old gray said lazily. "after my breakthrough last night, i''m unable to absorb qi." levi said. "in the mind opening realm a seed of knowledge is fromed in your head, making you unable to absorb qi. you can still use your existing qi, but knowledge is what raises your level. if a person is trying to become an inscription master, for instance. they would have to gather a large amount of information about inscriptions, and also understand all of said information, which would allow the seed to grow. now if a person was trying to become an inscription master AND an apothecary, they would find it to be 5 times harder, as they would have to gather a sufficient amount of information on both subjects." old gray said. "normally, you would choose one path, and when the seed of knowledge started to grow, after every breakthrough a leaf would appear. as for two or more paths, only a few people were able to do it successfully." he continued. "are you telling me to choose one path?" levi asked. "no, i know you will do as you please regardless of what i say." old gray got up from the chair and walked to the door.


    "follow me." he said. "where?" levi asked. " the Everything Guild." old gray said. "everything guild?" levi asked. " if you are trying to become an inscription master because of money, then you need to register at the everything guild. people will not buy anything you inscribe otherwise." old gray explained.

 Chapter 42 The Everything Guild

    "why is it called the everything guild?" levi asked. " it''s called the everything guild because array masters, apothecaries and inscription masters amoung other things, are registered and tested there. " old gray explained. "why didn''t you mention this ''everything guild'' when you were explaining the state of the city? wouldn''t this guild have an important role in this city''s situation?" levi asked coldly. "i didn''t mention the everything guild because, no matter what happens in the imperial city, good or bad, they don''t lift a finger. unless something happens to the guild itself, they will do nothing. so they are more like a ghost power." old gray explained. "..." after old gray explained, levi stayed silent. after walking for a while, they arrived in front of a large white building. it had 4 small towers and one large main tower. a lot of people were walking in and out, some were martial artists, while others looked like scholars.


    old gray and levi walked in, and the inside was very spacious. it had a large circular counter in the center, with multiple attendants standing behind it, helping people along. "what are you here for today, sir?" they walked up to a free attendant. "this boy here wants to take the inscription test." old gray spoke up. "then you will need to go to tower c, room 7. that way." the attendant directed. old gray and levi walked to where the attendant pointed, and ended up in front of a wooden door. knock knock!" come in." a husky voice responded. creak! " there are 3 metal plates on this table here, use them and construct 3 basic inscriptions. how well your inscriptions are made will determine your rank, high, middle or low, from the beginner grade." the man explained without delay. levi simply nodded and walked up to the table. after a few minutes he spoke."i''m done. i only know one inscription." he said coldly.


    "then regardless of how good that one inscription was constructed, your rank will be ''low''. take this badge, it monitors your progress and the rank on it changes automatically when you level up. it can be used to monitor multiple fields, array master and apothecary for example. you have to place a drop of blood on it to get it registered to you." the man explained. levi didn''t understand a lot of the things the man said, but he just picked up the bronze badge and dropped his blood on it.he wasn''t worried that this everything guild would try anything, since they didn''t seem interested in the cloud continent, why would they be interested in him? after getting the badge, the man explained a few more things before levi and old gray left.


    ...


    in a well lit room, a boy who looked to be around 18 or 19 sat at a large white stone table. this table had 13 chairs including the one he sat on. "have any of them responded to my proposal yet?" the boy asked. "out of the 7 we sent the letters to, only 3 have responded thus far, they find your highness proposal favorable." an old butler bowed behind the boy. "oh? already? i thought that they would try to wring more benefits out." the boy said as he sipped his wine.


    "oh, i have heard that my little brother has gone to see my royal father everyday for these past few days?" the boy suddenly remembered. "yes, your highness. the third prince has visited his majesty several times in the past few days, but forgive this old servant, as i am unable to find out why." the old butler said. ''hou....unable to find out. he probably doesn''t want anyone to find out why third brother went to see him. what is going on? is father going to support third brother? well it doesn''t matter, after i get the nobles on my side, next i have to win over the army.'' the prince thought.


    "keep an eye on that situation, if you find out anything, report it to me." the prince said. "i understand. this old servant will take his leave." the old butler said as he turned around and left. ''though, i doubt you will find out anything.'' the prince thought as he sipped his wine.


    ...


    "father keeps refusing to let me marry her, but i will not give up. even though i''m not interested in the throne, and even though my martial arts talent is almost non-existent, for her, and my child in her belly, i have to take the throne!" the third prince sat in a dark room, he clenched his fists tightly. "your highness, the first princess has come." after a knock on the door, a butler reported respectfully. "Anastasia? why is she here?" the third prince mumbled. "do i need a reason to visit my cute little brother?" a gentle voice was heard as the door opened. "eh, ah, th-that''s not what i meant!" hearing the voice, the third prince clumsily got up from his chair, as the serious mood vanished.


    "so little brother, i came to tell you something." Anastasia said with her smiling face. "wh-what is it?" the third prince stuttered. "oh my, are you that afraid of me? am i scary?" Anastasia asked. "n-no, that''s not it....." the third prince looked away. he had always been unable to deal with this sister of his. "well ok, let me get to the point. do not fight for the throne." Anastasia said. "wha....what?" the third prince asked, shocked. "what are you talking about?!" he shouted. " our two brothers are both strong and mercilessly, though i wonder how they turned out that way since i raised them. if you get caught up between them, you will get hurt." Anastasia said, still smiling. "even so....Even so! i have a reason now! no matter what, i must take the throne for myself!" the third prince said as he clenched his fists. "is that so." Anastasia opened her eyes as the smile dissapeared from her face. "is it because of that girl?" she asked as she looked at her brother. "ho-how did you know about her..." the third prince asked in disbelief.


    "i will be going back to the sect in a month or so, during my time here, i will help you as much as i can." Anastasia took one last look at her brother before leaving. thump! "what was with that look....she felt like a completely different person after opening her eyes...an air of oppression on par with or even higher than fathers...." the third prince fell on his ass after Anastasia left.

 Chapter 43 The Second Prince

    "alright boy, from today, i will be teaching you." old gray said. "you said that you want to get to a higher ranking faster, which means you have to learn a lot of things in a short amount of time." he continued, as levi nodded. "so for the next few days, i will cram as much information about inscriptions into your head as it can take, and hopefully, your seed of knowledge will begin to grow. if it does, things will be a lot smoother. but don''t expect this to be easy, boy, this is going to be hell for you." as old gray said this, a dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes.


    ...


    in a forest, multiple tents made from different cloths stood. " General, are we going back to the imperial city?" a large soldier clad in pitch black armer stood before a 16 year old boy, who was lazily lying on a makeshift bed. "yes. since our training is finished, we will return. i want to see how my two brothers are doing, after all." the boy said. "second prince! your highness!" a sudden shout caused the boy to turn his head. "did i not tell you to call me general?" the boy asked, slightly displeased. "ah! please forgive me general!" the soldier kneeled. "so? what did you want?" the second prince asked. "yes! the scouts found a small group of soldiers!" the soldier said. "a small group of soldiers? so what?" the second prince asked. "they were wearing dark green armer! they are most likely from the heavenly dragon continent!" the soldier said, slightly panicking.


    "hou, so those fools actually have the balls to send their soldiers to my cloud continent?" a wide grin was plastered on the second prince''s face as he walked out of the tent. "suuu...ATTENTION!" he sucked in a breath before shouting. "Greneral! please give us your orders!" all 10, 000 soldiers gathered in only a few seconds. "the training is over and we are going back to the imperial city." the second prince said with a smile. "the training is over? ahh! i actually survived that hellish training?!" some of the soldiers began crying. "but! before we go back, we will be taking a little jog!" the prince shouted. "ready the horses, and prepare to move out!" he ordered. "as you command, general!" the soldiers started preparing. "time to catch us some rats." the second prince said, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. "um, general, it was only a group of about 100 or so people you know, do you really need to take the whole black wind army?" the soldier who reported the incident asked. "they haven''t had fun in a while, so this should make them feel better! also, i want to see if the training had a lasting effect." the second prince said.


    "preparations have been completed, general! we are ready to move out at any time!" the soldiers shouted in unison. "alright, men! the training has been hard on you, so lets have some fun!" the second prince shouted after he got onto his war horse. "tch, the one i would like to fight is the general..." yeah, he made us go through hell" but no matter how hard we tried, i don''t think we would be able to beat him." the soldiers grumbled. after riding for about half an hour, they arrived in a rocky land. in the distance, tents were set up, with smoke rising from the camp. "looks like they made themselves at home." the second prince said lightly, the soldiers listened silently. "but....do you remember me inviting them in?" he looked at them and asked. "no!"they replied. " and what do you do with uninvited guests?" he asked again. "kill them! burn them! chop them to pieces! rip out their guts!" the soldiers chanted, as a dark air of death covered them. " let us go introduce ourselves to our uninvited guests!" the second prince shouted.


    rumble!


    the ground trembled as the soldiers charged at the camp. "enemy attack! enemy attack!" one of the soldiers at the camp saw a large dust cloud and shouted at the top of his voice. the soldiers at the camp readied their defenses in no time. "do you think you can stop me with just you? listen men! leave at least one alive! slaughter the rest!" the second prince shouted. "understood!" the soldiers replied. shing! as theycloser to the camp, the second prince drew his sword. boom! qi erupted from his body, as he slashed out, causing a large burst of wind to mince the soldiers that were blocking his way into blood mist. "you-you brat! i''ll kill you!" the commander of the small group of soldiers charged angrily at the second prince. "general!" a soldier shouted. boom! both of the commanders arms were blown off with ease. "since when do i need you to worry about me? stop his bleeding ans clean up the rest of these fools accordingly!" the second prince ordered.


    a few minutes later, all remaining soldiers from the divine dragon country were taken care of. inside a tent. "tell me what you know. i''m feeling generous so, after a few hours of torturing you, i might give you a painless death." the second prince sat lazily, as he looked down at the now armless enemy commander. "h-hah-ha...yo-you think t-that you won, y-you brat? he-hehe, y-you d-don''t know anything!" the commander said, as he endured the pain.


    crack!


    "do you really think that you can bite off your tongue in my presence? ridiculous. also, i don''t know anything? well, after a few hours, or days, depending on how long you last, what i know will most likely increase in folds!" the second prince said, after breaking the commander''s jaw. "alright, gag him, we are going back the imperial city, before sundown!" the prince ordered. "but general, do we really need to gag him? you already broke his jaw...." one of the remaining soldiers asked. "i know, but wouldn''t it hurt to be gagged with a broken jaw? since he refused my kindness, i will show him hell." the second prince said with a smile. ''kindness? what kindness did you offer? damn, i better not get on the general''s bad side.'' the soldier thought, as he grabbed a bloodied cloth from a corpse and gagged the commander.


    imperial city.


    rumble rumble!


    "wha-what is that rumbling?" many people were wondering. "coul-gulp-could it be that the imperial city is being attacked?" an old man asked. "we barely made it before sundown. it seems you still need more training." the second prince looked at his 10, 000 soldiers and their horses who were panting heavily. "no,no,no,no! it''s just....the food from lunch was weighing us down!" yeah yeah! and then we had to fight those soldiers earlier!" please general, we don''t need anymore training!"the soldiers disagreed right away.


    "hmm, i''ll think about it later. first, i should go pay my royal father a visit!" the third prince said. the soldiers flooded the city, causing the people to run in fear. "hold! wh-who are you? bringing a-an army into the city!" one of the imperial guards stood in front of the second princes horse. "ah!? why don''t you get out of the generals way?!" one of the soldiers shouted. " has it been so long since i left the imperial city that everyone has forgotten my face? haha! lets go men!" the second prince laughed as he and his men rode towards the palace.

 Chapter 44 Uneasy Imperial City

    "your highness! an army has entered the city, and is headed toward the castle!" a eunuch shouted in a high pitched voice. "an army?" the king asked. "....who is leading them?" he asked. "it looks like a boy around the age of 16!" the eunuch replied. " 16...it''s most likely elias, he left 5 years ago, so by this time he would be 16." the king mumbled. " elias, your highness?"the eunuch asked, confused. "my son, the second prince." the king said. "wha-what?! the second prince is back?!" the eunuch shouted. "what are you being so noisy for? anyway, go inform the imperial guards to let him thro-" boom! before the king could finish, the door to the throne room was smashed open. "never mind." he said.


    "haha, i expected your imperial guard to put up more of a fight, father." the second prince waked out from the dust, two large soldiers clad in black armer behind him, as his long black hair blew in the breeze. " it has been 5 years since we last met, couldn''t you have been more quiet? also, you didn''t kill my guards, right?" the king asked with a sigh. " well, they were weak enough that we could stop them without killing them. anyway, i brought you a present." the second prince signaled with a smile. a soldier walked into the room while holding an armless man by his legs, he head dragging on the floor leaving a line of blood. "what is this?" the king asked with a slight frown. " he is a commander of a small group of soldiers from the divine dragon continent." the second prince said.


    "what?! divine dragon continent?! they actually stepped foot in my cloud continent?!?" the king stood, as the castle trembled. " we took care of that group of soldiers, and brought this one back to extract some information." the second prince explained. "oh? but, why is he being dragged like that?" the king calmed down, before asking with a weird expression. "he didn''t appreciate my kindness, so i''m going to make his last days a living hell." the second prince smiled. "..kindness..huh..." the king looked at his son as his lips twitched. his second son, from a young age, showed talent in both martial arts and warfare. at the age of 11, he left to train 15, 000 soldiers. he has no interest in the throne, or anything else for that matter. he only does what is fun to him, and when he gets bored, he moves on to something else.


    "in any case, go back to your estate first, we will discus this tomorrow." the king said with a sigh. this son of his would be perfect for the throne, if he showed some interest in anything. the second prince took his men and left.


    ..


    at the clothes shop.


    levi was sitting, his eyes bloodshot as he read a book about inscriptions. "don''t fall asleep. in a fight, staying awake will increase your chances of survival." old gray stood behind him with a piece of wood. the wood had a basic inscription ''harden'' on it. if old gray channelled his qi through that piece of wood, it would become as hard as metal. for the entire day, levi was reading about inscriptions, and any time he got distracted, old gray would smash that piece of wood onto his head. if he didn''t react in time, his head would have been smashed into meat paste a long time ago.


    "you...i only came to you to learn inscriptions, why do i have to do this?" levi asked angrily. he would have killed the old man if he could. "inscription master''s have to be able to react in certain situations, or they will die. if you were constructing a high level inscription, you would most likely be unable to move. so you have to be able to use your qi automatically in case such a situation occurs." old gray explained. "also, it''s so much fun when you are not the one getting hit! i now see why my master enjoyed this!" old gray said. pop! a vein in levi''s eye burst. ''i will definitely kill this old man!'' he thought.


    ...


    next morning.


    the castle.


    "your majesty, you are saying that the second prince wiped out the enemy camp, leaving only one alive? more alive would mean more to extract information from!" inside the throne room, the king sat on the throne, while the different ministers stood on either side of the room. " not really. since only the commander gets the order, only he would know anything." creak! the door opened, as the second prince''s voice was heard. "with all due respect, second prince, what do you know about anything? you are just a boy!" one of the ministers snorted. thump! a large wooden chair was placed right behind the second prince. "general, please sit!" the soldier behind him said. "you know, minister.." the second prince paused as he sat lazily in the chair, his long black hair over his shoulder. " in these few years i have been gone, i learned a lot of things." he continued. " for instance, did you know that if you apply just the right amount of qi, you could smash a head into fluffy cloud of blood mist?" he asked as he looked at the minister.


    "you-" a lot of people have looked down on me because of my age and slightly feminine appearance, but do you know what happened to them?" the second prince asked as his eyes narrowed. " enough. what information have you gained from the enemy commander?" the kind asked. "nothing yet." the second prince replied. "humph, acting high and mighty but can''t even extract information!" the minister grumbled softly. "bring him out." as he said this, the sound of men stepping heavily echoed out. bam! 4 soldiers lifted a wooden box made with 4 large wooden beams to support itself, and another 4 on the top and bottom to keep it together. the commander was strung up by his legs with chains, he was missing a few toes and had multiple large nails stuck in his feet. all over his body, patches of skin were missing. "you...what did you do...." when the ministers saw this, they were terrified, some even struggled to keep their breakfast in their stomachs.


    "well as you can see, his mouth remained sealed even after all of this, so if anyone thinks they can do what i couldn''t..." the second prince paused. "of course not, your higness!" if your esteemed self cannot do it, how could this lowly one even dare to try?" the ministers instantly began making excuses. "is that so." the second prince said lightly.


    ...


    in a large wooden hall, 3 old men sat at a large table, with 3 different middle aged men standing behind them. "so the second prince has returned." an aged voice rang out, as one of the old men spoke. "why are you all fussing over one brat?" another one grumbled unhappily. " because that one brat holds a lot of power. when he left the imperial city 5 years ago, no one thought anything of it. but now, he came back with soldiers that looked like they fought hundreds or battles, and who are extremely reverent to him. his return has caused the balance of power between us and the royals to shift." the last man explained.


    " although our lightning fist, flowing water and scorching sun clans are powerful, most of the people in our clans are children, who have not seen any real fights. if they were to be faced with soldiers like those, they would be killed easily." the old man continued, causing the other two to remain silent.

 Chapter 45 Plans

    "so? what do you suggest we do, old man flowing water?" old master lightning fist asked. "we should do nothing, yet. because of the impending war with the divine dragon continent, even if the second prince has returned, the king would still need our clans for the war. we have two options, kill the second prince during the confusion, or leave the cloud continent." old master flowing water said. "wouldn''t killing the brat be easier?" old master scorching sun asked."not necessarily, remember that he is always surrounded by those soldiers. we could send some from the younger generation, but then there would be a chance of them dying, and then our attempt to take the second prince''s life would be made known. we could also go ourselves, but then the king would also come out." old master flowing water explained.


    "and how do you suppose we would be able to leave?" old master lightning fist asked. " you should all know, only a few miles from the imperial city is the demonic forest where a lot of mutated beasts reside." old master flowing water said. "you are not suggesting that we take our whole clans there, are you?!" old master scorching sun slapped the table, causing smoke to rise up. " during the war, we will send some of the stronger ones from the younger generation. during their time there, they will make 3 ships big enough to carry our 3 clans." old master flowing water said.


    "build ships? we don''t exactly teach them to become shipwrigts. and even if these ships were built, where will we go? the divine dragon continent?" old master lighting fist asked. "of course they will take a few shipwrights with them, their only job would be manual labor. we can''t buy any ships, because the king would become suspicious. as for where we will go, if we went to the divine dragon continent, they would probably try to kill us all. so we will be going to the super continent." old master flowing water said.


    ...


    "oh? so my second brother has returned? hmmm...." the first prince began thinking. "the soldiers he left with all appear stronger too. now that he is back, getting the armies on my side will be significantly harder....what to do...." he mumbled. knock knock! " it has been a while, first brother." the second prince walked into the room. "what are you doing here?" the first prince asked, his eyes narrowing. "you see, for as long as i have known you, you were always plotting something, so i just came to have a friendly chat." the second prince said as he walked towards the first prince, a slight smile on his face. " i have no interest in the throne, so remove me from what ever scheme you are planning. i don''t show mercy to enemies." he said. "...is that a threat?" the first prince asked, as qi erupted from his body, causing the white stone table to tremble. "think lf it as a brotherly warning." the second prince disregarded him and left.


    bang!


    "dammit! why is he always a step ahead of me?!" the first prince shouted as he hit the stone table. "huff huff...suuu...fuuu" he breathed in deeply. " but wait, even if he knows, so what? if the person i sent was stronger than him by folds, what could he even do?! only die!! hahaha!" the first prince laughed crazily. from a young age, although he and the second prince were both better than the third prince, the second prince was the one everyone thought was superior. the first prince was scarred by everyone calling his younger brother better than him, and closed himself off from the outside, only scheming from the shadows of his estate.


    ...


    after the second prince left, he went back to his estate. " it has been 5 years since i have seen you, second prince." a gentle voice was heard. "hmm? who is in my estate without my permission? do you know what i do to uninvited guests?" the second prince''s face cracked into a wide grin. "my my, what do you do to uninvited guests?" the voice asked. " i-?!?" he was about to say something, but as soon as he open the door, the words didn''t come out. " big sister?!?" as he saw who the person was, like a child seeing his mother after a long time, he rushed upto Anastasia and hugged her. "my my, you are still the same as ever. when we were younger, only you would cling to me. ezikiel would be off somewhere reading, and berum always tried to keep a certain distance." Anastasia said with a smile.


    "well, putting aside our little brother, berum has never been easy to deal with. heis always scheming something." the second prince said, as he released Anastasia. "hmmm, i hope you two are getting along. i went to visit him, but oddly enough, i couldn''t get into his estate, and from what father has told me, he rarely leaves." Anastasia said. " getting along, hmmm. i went to see him just earlier, snuck in with his butler." the second prince said. "oh? what did you talk about?" Anastasia asked. "hmmm, just some brotherly things." the second prince said with a slight smile. "my my, when did you learn to lie? well, it doesn''t matter, just don''t kill each other." Anastasia said. "are you leaving?" the second prince said, disappointed. " my my, what am i going to do with you? you don''t have to be so disappointed, i will be in the imperial city for a little while. i''m going to see little ezikiel, to show him something." Anastasia said, as she left.


    the second prince stood silently, looking at the empty doorway for a few minutes. " i didn''t expect to see big sister here. well, since i am so happy, i should go share my happiness with the men." he said, as he left his estate. "!!" at the camp, a soldier shivered. "huh? what''s wrong with you?" another one asked. "nothing, i just got a bad feeling." the soldier said. " a bad feeling, huh...." a picture of the second prince appeared in the soldier''s head.


    ...


    a dense killing intent loomed in the back room of the clothes shop. levi sat before the table, his fingernails digging into the large book''s cover. "how long are you going to keep me here?" levi''s eyes were completely red. every time he tried to blink, old gray would try to smash his head in with the piece of wood. he didn''t eat or drink anything for the past few days. "who knows? a few more days? weeks? a month maybe? or maybe even a year?!" old gray said with a large grin on his wrinkled face. "i''ll kill you!" levi shouted. "blood g-cough! cough!" levi coughed as if in pain. " did you forget? you can''t use any of your tricks in here! hehehe, just read like a good boy. let me feel the pleasure my master felt as he taught me!" old gray laughed sinisterly.

 Chapter 46 Devastating Truth, Unrelenting Love

    after Anastasia left, she shot through the air at a terrifying speed. in an instant she arrived at the third prince''s estate. she walked up to the door, and after opening it, walked in. " ezikiel, are you here?" she called out gently. "ah! my apologies princess, his highness is out at the moment." a middle aged butler came as soon as he heard the voice. "is that so?" Anastasia opened her eyes slightly, a small pink flame appeared before her forehead, as an almost transparent wave of a peach colored mental erupted from it. her mental energy wave reached close to a mile in diameter, before fizziling out. afterwards, she just turned around and left, leaving the stunned butler rooted to the spot.


    "so the king didn''t approve of our marriage?" a girl with long, flowing, light brown hair sat in a wooden chair. her figure was average, and while her face was also avarage, her golden, pearl like eyes caused her face to appear slightly above avarage. on the other side of the wooden table was a boy, who was about 15 years old. he had short greenish black hair. the boy was wearing a plain, yet elegant green robe. his skin was that of a person of high birth, smooth and delicate looking. they were sitting in a small wooden restaurant, in a corner. "i went to him multiple times, but every time he would just send me away." the boy said. " w-what should i do? if i do- your orders, sir, miss." a waiter walked up with two plates of rice with braised chicken, the gravy staining the pearly white rice, cooked potato, beans and other vegetables. the waiters sudden appearance caused the girls words to be trapped in her throat.


    "you should eat more, so that the baby will be well nurtured." the boy said with a weak smile. "but, if the king does not approve of our marriage, third prince, what should i do? i will be known as a loose woman where ever i go..hic..." the girl began to weep softly. "don''t cry! it will be bad for the baby! i will continue to convince my royal father, i will not stop until he approves of our marriage, you don''t have to worry. go back first, i will go see my royal father again." the third prince coaxed. "hicc...alright...sniff..." the girl wiped her tears, before getting up and slowly walking away. "..." the third prince got up after thinking silently for a while, just as he was about to leave, a gentle voice rang in his ear. " i have been looking for you, little brother." Anastasia appeared beside him in an instant, her white floral robe shifting ever so slightly in the breeze.


    "why were you looking for me, big sister? if you are trying to convince me against fighting for the throne, then don''t bother!" the third prince strongly stated. he was neither aggressive nor humble. "..." Anastasia opened her eyes and looked at her little brother, her body unconsciously releasing an overwhelming pressure, causing the third prince''s body to freeze. he could hardly breath, as cold sweat rapidly flowed down his face. restraining the pressure, Anastasia grabbed the third prince''s hand and both of them dissapeared.


    "wh-where is this?" the both of them appeared in what looked to be a large bedroom. in the dark room was a bed with a silk cloth hung over it, a small, well crafted wooden dresser, with a mirror. the windows were covered with dark cloths,blocking out the bright sun light. "do you know what this is?" Anastasia walked up to the small dresser and picked up a circular bronze disk. this disk had a hole in the middle, with a silver, almost crystal like cylindrical piece of metal stuck inside.


    "no..." the third prince answered honestly, a bad feeling appearing in his heart. "this is a small recording disk array. it can record both sound and and images, just by turning this piece of metal in the center. it can be powered by both qi and sunlight, but using sunlight makes the images appear better." Anastasia said, without her usual gentle tone. "wh-why are you telling my this? gulp..." he had a bad feeling, and it just kept getting stronger. " do you know why i am not using sunlight to power this array?" disregarding his question, Anastasia asked.


    "no...." he replied. " because i do not want any other person to see this." Anastasia said. click! she turned the cylindrical piece of metal, and as she sent her qi into it, the bronze disk floaded from her hand, as a lot of different colored lights shot out. after a few minutes, the lights came together, forming a girl with long, flowing light brown hair and golden eyes. this girl was in a dim room, but everything in the room could be seen clearly, including the boy with slightly long black hair standing at the door. " what is this?" the third prince asked with a shaky voice, that bad feeling just kept getting worse.


    ''are we going to do it again today?'' the boy licked his lips as he began removing his robe. ''...i think we should stop...." the girl softly said. ''what? stop what?'' the boy froze, before asking. ''....all of it...'' she said. '' all of what?'' the boy asked again. ''all of it! deceiving the third prince that this is his child in my stomach! trying to use him to rise to power using the imperial family''s name! us! all of if!'' the girl shouted, as a clear tear formed on her lower eyelid. ''....you want to stop? to bad! if you stop now, the royals will have your head, even if you are from the scorching sun clan! they don''t know my face, so i will be long gone by then!'' the boy shouted viciously, as he robes dropped to the ground.


    the girl bit her lip, causing blood to flow. but the tears falling from her eyes were not because of the pain. '' so be a good girl, and continue doing what you were doing!" the boy walked up to her and forcefully took her cloths off. clap clap clap! during this, the girl''s tears continued to fall. not because of what was happening to her in that moment, but because she realised how foolish she was. every time she saw the third prince, he would be nice to her. although many people looked down on him, he would always be nice to them. he tried his hardest when doing things, even if it resulted in failure. she now regretted her actions against third prince, but it was already to late for her to turn back. she could only swallow her tears while crying silently.


    thump! the third prince dropped to his knees, eyes widened in shock and filled with sadness, as tears flowed out. "ahhhhhhh!!!"he curled up on the ground and cried loudly. "why did you show this to me?" he asked, sadness and grief could be heard in his voice. "i just wanted to show you that, what you are risking your life for is not worth it. do not fight for the throne." Anastasia said without emotion. she knew it was cruel to show him the recording, but so what? even if he hated her in the end, she could live with it. "no, it is worth it." he slowly got up from the ground.


    "what are you talking about, ezikiel? you clearly saw-" Anastasia was interrupted. "even so! even so...i...still love her...." the third prince looked up at his sister, tears and snot flowing down his face. "i...seemed to have crossed the line." Anastasia looked into her brother''s eyes, and saw a trace of loathing for her. although she prepared herself, although she told herself that she would be ok as long as they were fine, as she looked into his eyes, sadness flooded her heart. " w-wa-swoosh!" seeing his sister''s sadness, ezikiel tried to say something, but before he could begin, she had already dissapeared from the room.

 Chapter 47 Respect The Strong

    thump! levi collapsed on the table, unconscious. "so the boy finally passed out. i didn''t expect him to last a full 6 days without food or sleep. his seed of knowledge should be able to grow, as long as he understands what he memorised." old gray ruffled his head of white hair, a warm smile on his wrinkled face. levi slept for the next two days straight like a dead person, not reacting to anything. "uu...." he slowly opened his eyes, and saw a short, gray haired old man. the old man was working on clothes, on a wooden table with many different tools on it.


    shing!


    "kill!" levi took the sabre from the spacial and slashed out at old gray. ting! "hmm? you''re finaly awake boy. i was just about to throw you into the streets." old gray said jokingly. the sabre hit his neck, but couldn''t even break his skin. rumble! seeing that his attack had no effect, levi released his blood energy. a thick plume of blood colored mist erupted from his body rapidly, making a rumbling sound.


    boom! levi did not hold back, he compressed all of his blood energy before shooting it at old gray. " nice trick! but, i like you boy, so i will give you some advice. you should show respect to those who are stronger than yourself." old gray said. he caught the marble-like blood energy, and crushed it with his bare hands, causing it to scatter. after he spoke, a terrifying pressure erupted from his body, inveloping the entire imperial city. in the castle. "!!" the king suddenly jumped from his throne, cold sweat drenching his elegant red robes. in the large hall, the three old masters, and the 3 current clan heads stood trembling, looks of terror on their faces. "w--h" one of the current heads tried to speak, but the pressure made him unable to breath, much less talk. "!!!!" levi''s face was on the floor in the small tailor''s room, the pressure crushing him into the ground. he wasn''t even able to look up, blood oozing from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth.


    under the terrifying pressure, cold sweat soaked his cloths. in all of his life, he had never felt true fear. when he was almost killed by the boar, when he fought the azure clan''s people, when he was eaten by the giant snake, even when he was almost killed by the two heaven and earth stage experts, he had never felt fear. but this, the old man in front of him, was a terrifying, fear inducing person. the tattoo appeard, vibrating as if afraid. levi was shook to his very core.


    " it could help you preserve your life." old gray said, as he restrained the pressure. the king, the three clans, and every other person in the imperial city felt like they had been released from death''s grasp after the pressure dissapeared. many of the normal citizens had long collapsed from the pressure, while any martial artist who was cultivating at the time spat mouthfuls of blood. they didn''t get angry, in fact they were happy, they got to live another day.


    "get up boy. if you are so scared that you can''t even lift yourself up, then you should just stop cultivating, you will just die in some unknown place." old gray looked down at levi. grit! levi clenched his teeth tightly, and moved his trembling hand, attempting to push himself up from the ground. thump! his arms were shaking, causing him to fall back on the ground. he tried again and again, blood dripping from his clenched teeth, before he was finaly able to stand. he looked at old gray, fear in his eyes. but more than fear, respect shone in his eyes. he was afraid, but the flame of his desire for strength was burning even stronger, along with his battle intent. "oh? you want to fight me?" old gray asked, as a smile cracked on his face. "!" levi flinched. "hahaha! you will have to become at least a hundred times stronger before being able to fight me!" old gray laughed.


    "alright boy, you can leave. try to understand what you have memorised these past days, and practice often! " old gray said, levi could only nod because his voice wouldn''t come out. as he walked down the street, he saw many people breathing heavily, their faces alternating between pale and red. he could only watch this scene with desire for now, but he believed that he would be able to achieve that amount of strength, or even more at some point. the strength to sweep a million year old kingdom from existence with just a flip of his hand.


    he went back to the inn, shocking the old innkeeper with his beat up appearance. this young master was always cold and disinterested in everything, but after not seeing him for a few days, the young master came back, and his expression wasn''t cold, in fact, he had a raging fire burning in his eyes. levi went up to his room and lay flat on his bed in silence, while blankly looking up at the wooden ceiling. after a while, a cold expression returned to his face. but this expression wasn''t aggressive, it was calm. from that experience, he learned something. be cold and calm, not cold and arrogant. and most importantly, Respect the strong!


    after collecting his thoughts, he left the in. he walked around the city aimlessly, before asking a martial artist for directions to a blacksmith. peng! peng! he found himself in front of a large building made from wood and metal. standing in front of the door, he could feel the heat coming from inside. " hmm? what do you need, kid?" after walking in, a large muscular man asked. the room was not very big, it had a few swords on display on the walls. it had a wooden counter with a door beside it. the man had a white cloth tied around his bald head. he wore a white robe without sleeves, which was discolored from oil and coal stains. he just happened to be on a break, but unexpectedly a boy came in. " i want swords made, a lot." levi replied coldly. his voice was clam, like a frozen lake.


    "oh? a lot, huh. i don''t know if you are just here to cause trouble or what, but even if you weren''t, i don''t have enough materials to make ''a lot'' of swords, mainly metal. lately, most of the iron ore coming from the countries is taken by the armies." the man said. "..." levi kept silent. "if i get the materials, will you make the swords?" levi asked after a small pause. " yeah, you would still have to pay me though." the man replied. "where did you say the iron is brought from?" levi asked. "most of it comes from the different countries in the cloud continent. for instance, the divine country sends a remarkable amount every year." the man said after some thought, as he wiped the sweat from his face with his hand. "..." levi''s eyes widened slightly, before his lips lifted into a slight smile, his slightly long red hair covering his golden eyes.

 Chapter 48 Buying Gladiators

    levi left the blacksmith workshop, a smile on his face. the hood wasn''t on his head, and it''s invisibility was off. the black feather coat, along with the black robe under it moved with his every step. red hair, golden eyes, black fingernails, wearing a coat made of black feathers, and a slight smile. those who saw levi felt that it best to keep their distance. after a while, he found himself before the small coliseum that he woke up in when he first arrived in the imperial city. he walked through the arched stone gate, before finding his way to where the gladiators were kept. "..." the gladiators looked up at levi silently. they had learned not to speak unless they were asked something.


    "you..." the woman who had her face ruined looked at levi, and called out. " you weren''t dead?" she asked, surprised. the other gladiators looked at her as if she was crazy. "..." levi silently looked at the gladiators. "huh? who are you? what are you doing back here?" the man was wearing a black robe once again, he looked down at levi with an annoyed expression, although he couldn''t see levi''s face. "i want to buy some of these." levi said coldly. "tch! if you want to buy them, you should watch the fights outside first." he said as he walked closer. " don''t waste my time." levi turned around to look at the man, a light smile on his face.


    "you...." the man recognised levi right away. he sent some men to dispose of some trash, but they didn''t return. he even went searching for the bastards, but couldn''t find them. " i don''t know how you are still alive bu- didn''t i tell you not to waste my time?" levi''s smile slowly vanished, a plume of blood colored mist rose from his body. he didn''t forget the good treatment this man gave to him, if the man wasn''t useful, he would have killed him from the begining. " you think you can kill me? don''t make me laugh." the man replied calmly, he wasn''t afraid of levi. he was sure that he would be able to overpower levi. " i don''t care if you are alive or not, but you killed two of my men. you said you came to buy some of these gladiators? pay for my two men then, otherwise, i will put you back in one of those cages." the man pointed to an empty cage.


    dum!


    "what are you doing, weakling?" levi punched out, but the man caught it easily. viviv! blood energy gathered around his fist, as it rotated. crack! "you..." the defensive qi around the man''s hand began cracking. "fine." levi said, as he retracted his arm. the man looked at levi, veins bulging on his forehead. he was sure that he could beat levi, but he knew that he would lose something in the process. so instead of attacking without thought, he forced his anger back down. levi looked down at his fist, although he didn''t use all of his blood energy, he still found it to be a little weak. [the higher your blood stage, the stronger your blood energy will become, young lord.] avesta''s voice rang out. "..." levi remained silent. "him..him..him..him...and him." levi pointed towards five cages. "you can''t take all of the good fighters." the man said. "....her then, and him." levi pointed to the one eyed woman and a scrawny boy.


    "all of you, come forward." the man went to the different cages and let them out, 3 muscular men, all with short black hair, two of them had a lot of scars on their face, while the last one didn''t have any scars. the woman looked at the man in the black robe with hatred, then looked at levi with a sparkle in her light brown eye. her hair was tangled, with blood and dirt sticking it together. the boy was skinny, his cheeks sinking in. his short brown hair was also dirty. you could see his ribs through his torn rags. "..." levi looked at them silently. the only reason he bought these people was so they can carry the iron ore, since he probably wouldn''t be able to fit it into the spatial ring. "all of these will be 50,000 silver, or 25,000 gold." the black robed man said. ting! dling! levi reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of silver coins and dropped them. these coins continued to fall until a pile formed on the ground. "come." levi turned around and began walking.


    the 5 collarless gladiators walked closely behind levi and walked out of the coliseum. silence. the sound of steps stopped, only levi''s steps could be heard. " don''t ruin my good mood." levi said as he continued walking, not even looking back. the five gladiators looked at each other. that restrictive collar was gone, why would they have to listen to some brat? because he bought them? ridiculous! " kid, if you just let us leave peacefully, we won''t harm you." 2 of the 3 men stood out. levi turned around and looked at them, his golden eyes locking onto all of their faces. splat! without a word, one of his wings grow out and slapped one of the men. the man exploded into meat paste, leaving a light blood mist in the air. " don''t waste my money." levi said. the remaining gladiators, except for the man without scars, widened their eyes. they realised that they were just ''things'' in levi''s eyes, merely bags of flesh and bones, nothing else.


    levi silently turned around and began walking again, the four followed behind him without a word. ''demon saint.'' levi called out in his head. ''yes?'' the demon saint answered. '' do you have a skill that could control the life or death of a person?'' levi asked. he forgot what the word trust meant a long time ago. '' i do, the ''seed of loyalty'' skill. you implant a small ball of mental energy in the person''s head, if you want them to die, it will explode. it is the simplest skill of this kind.'' the demon saint responded. "..." puff! the little black flame appeared. levi formed 4 orbs of mental energy and sent them towards the heads of the 4 people. pax! three of the mental energy orbs were implanted successfully, but one was forcefully destroyed. rumble! blood energy rose from his body, forming two ancient blood red doors. "kkfff!" the gladiators were suppressed by the pressure, but one was still doing slightly better than the others, the man without scars.


    step! step! levi arrived in front of the man. squeeze! he grabbed the man''s neck and forcefully put the mental energy orb inside his head. thump! afterwards, he dropped the man and started to walk once again. it was a good thing they were walking in an alley without people. beads of sweat appeared on levi''s forehead. he had forcefully solidified the blood gate just now, which was only barely possible because of his ''control" practice a few days ago. but it was not something he could do often, he would still be able to use blood energy afterwards, but it would be more difficult to control. he also didn''t have any time to practice the commandment skills, for obvious reasons.

 Chapter 49 Stone City

    after a while of walking, they arrived at the old in. " let them bathe and give them something to eat." walking in, he didn''t even glance at the old inn keeper. he went up to his room and sat cross-legged. qi erupted from his body forcefully, before calming, and flowing smoothly. the qi surrounded his body like a drop of water, and rotated slowly and gracefully. the qi around his body started to get smaller, slowly. the water commandment was a skill that purified qi, it would cleanse any impure qi, and compress the remainder. so those who practiced the water commandment would have little qi, but that little bit of qi would be thick like water, and stronger than ordinary qi. "fuuu..." levi opened his eyes and released a breath.


    flick! his eyes changed from golden to blood red, as his infrared vision was activated. he looked downstairs and saw the four gladiators as masses of red, especially the boy and the woman, eating happily. the man levi choked was more reserved. flick! his vision returned to normal. "..." he then had a thought. since he used qi to fly faster, what would happen if he used blood energy instead? but since he was inside, that would have to wait. he closed his eyes once again, as his qi was released. the water like qi surrounding his body began bulging in different places. he was practicing the cloud commandment, qi control. this commandment instructed you to make different shapes with qi. in this case, he was trying to make multiple balls of qi, which was one of the easier qi control exercises.


    sweat soaked his face, and just as the water like orbs of qi were about to form completely, they all collapsed. like a lake disturbed by a pebble, multiple ripples emanated across his qi''s water like surface. he opened his eyes and got up, before leaving his room. "i will be gone for a while." levi dropped his last 1000 silver coins onto the wooden counter in front of the old inn keeper. "come." he said. he left the inn with the four gladiators. although they were still wearing rags, they looked exceptionally better. their hair was cleaned, the woman''s reddish brown hair was flowing freely, blowing in the breeze, although she used it to hide the large scar and her missing eye. the blood and dirt stains were gone from their skin. the boy was still only skin and bones, but his stomach stuck out, filled with food.


    they went to a nearby stable where the horses of people who visited the imperial city would be kept, to buy a few. "i''m sorry, sir. these horses are not for sale. maybe if you found the owners?" a man said respectfully. " are you here, sir? i''m here to retrieve my horses. oh? isn''t it that young master?" the plump merchant walked in. "are you trying o buy a horse, young master?" he asked, levi simply nodded. "hmm, i can''t sell you my horses, but i could give you a ride? where are you headed?" the merchant asked with a smile. he didn''t put the events from a few days ago to heart. "divine country." levi said simply. " oh? that''s exactly where i''m headed!" the merchant laughed, slightly surprised. "come, i''ll take you to my wagon!" he lead levi and the 4 to the wagon. it was a simple wooden wagon, with a cloth roof. it was empty, so the 5 of them fit in with room to spare. they left the imperial city shortly after.


    night time.


    they left through the imperial city''s south gate, which had a large mountain only a few miles away from it. the merchant stopped the carriage for the night. levi sat cross-legged in the wagon with his eyes closed. he continued to practice the cloud commandment. "u-um..." the woman opened her mouth. "..." levi slowly opened his eyes, locking onto the woman. "...gulp.." his gaze caused the her to feel pressured, she wasn''t a martial artist after all. " m-my name is aria, i no longer have a last name..." but even so, she continued. "..." levi stayed silent and looked at the scrawny boy. "m-my name i-is aron." my name is don."the muscular man flinched at levi''s gaze. "larck." the man without scars said. after hearing their names, levi silently shut his eyes again. he didn''t care what their names were, he just didn''t want to be interrupted again.


    this continued for several days before the wagon found itself in front of a small city. " this is sky city, we will rest here for a day or so before leaving." the merchant said. " where in the divine country are you going?" levi asked. " i''m going to stone city to collect iron ore." the merchant replied after some thought. " stone city?" levi mumbled, he had never heard about such a city. "yeah, the city closest to stone city is....hmmm? ah! star city!" he searched his brain before replying. "star city...." levi smiled.


    after a few more days, they arrived at stone city. it was more like a village than a city, without a wall. stone houses and other buildings lined the ground. children were running around playing, and sometimes you would see a muscular man carrying a large wooden basket on his back, filled with large white or silver rocks. behind the small city stood a large rocky mountain.the wagon stopped at the outer part of the city. " are you here for the ore?" an old man with two muscular men at his sides walked out from the cluster of buildings. " yes, sir. may i ask if you have the required amount?" the merchant asked respectfully. " ah, no need to be so polite. we are still a ways from the required amount. could you stay in our tiny village for a few more days?" the old man asked politely. "yes, of course!" the merchant readily replied.


    " would i be able to get some iron ore from here?" levi suddenly asked. "oh? who is this boy?" the old man asked. " unfortunately, since we use the ore in exchange for different things from the imperial city, we cannot give any to you." the old man said with a tone of regret. " but if you would like, you can enter the mine and try to get ore for yourself?" he said. "..." levi silently nodded his head. he and the four gladiators followed one of the men that was with the old man, while the merchant followed the other man and the old man. after walking through the village, they arrived at the base of the rocky mountain. there were multiple tunnels held up by large wooden beams going into the mountain. peng! deng! the man left them to walk through the mine themselves. torches were lit in the tunnel. they came across some men with pieces of cloth tied around their heads, bare chested, using pickaxes to break of different pieces of rock, while sweating profusely.


    after looking around for a while, levi and the four walked out of the mine. " is there a mine in star city?" at a small inn, levi asked the merchant. " hmm, i believe so. but why do you ask?" the merchant asked. " they said that we could mine ore ourselves, but i need more ore than they might be willing to offer." levi replied.

 Chapter 50 Returning Home

    levi''s plan was simple. he knew about the impending war, and he wanted to make money by selling weapons, mainly swords, to the military. just the swords themselves wouldn''t be able to make a significant amount of money, so he learned inscriptions. although the inscriptions would be low level ones, the foot soldiers would definitely try to get them, since they might be the only thing that could save their lives in a deadly situation. for this kind of thing, he would need to get a lot of iron, and the offering of the stone village would not be enough. that is why he asked if star city had any mines. constructing inscriptions for all of the swords would also be good practice.


    ...


    next day.


    " you four will stay here and and mine until i return. don''t make any trouble for me." levi said. two large blood wings sprouted from his back as he shot into the sky. "..." the four looked into the sky, their eyes bulging in shock. " i will try that now." blood energy rose from his body, as he pumped it into his wings. boom! the second the blood energy touched his wings, a huge shockwave was created. "cough! cough!" levi stopped almost immediately and coughed two mouthfuls of blood. looking around, he found that a city was in the distance. in that instant, he was already a few miles away from stone city, and got close to star city.


    learning from his mistake, he pumped qi into his wings and steadily flew towards the city. tap! his feet hit the ground with a tapping sound, as he landed on the slim city wall. star city was the same as he remembered it. a wall that was barely standing. arrogant people starting fights for no reasons. children of ''powerful'' clans or families acting like they were kings of the world. without a word, he shot back into the air. his destination was the mayor of star city''s house. creak! levi opened a window of the large wooden mansion and flew into it. he found the place easily, since it was one of the biggest buildings in the small city. " you...who are you?" a fat, balding old man was on a large bed with multiple young women. these girls had bruises all over their bodies.


    " i want to mine ore." levi said coldly. " haa? you jumped through my window to talk about ore? piss off before i call my guards!" the mayor shouted. spash! levi grew one of his fingernails and slashed out lightly, with a bit of blood energy. a fog-like, red wind blade formed slowly, before shooting out at a speed that the eye could not see. " unexpectedly, it cut off his entire arm." levi mumbled. " ahhh! ahhh! ahhhh! my armahhhh!" the mayor screamed. levi remembered perfectly the lesson this mayor''s daughter taught him that day. " if you waste my time, i will kill you. i want to mine ore." levi said in a cold, monotonous voice. " you! YOU!" the mayor shouted. "..." levi lifted his hand again. "wait! wait! fine! you can mine ore! take as much as you want!!" the mayor shouted while holding where his arm used to be, trying to stop the blood. all of the girls had long huddled together in the corner of the room, scared.


    boom!


    getting the answer he wanted, levi destroyed the door and walked out of the room. many guards heard the camotion and came running, only to see levi walking leisurely. "stop! i told you to stop!" one of the guards shouted as he charged at levi. splat! he was cut in half by the waist, his guts falling out with a splat as he hit the floor. any guard that attacked levi was killed. he hated this city and every person in it, if he was in a bad mood, he would just slaughter the entire star city. this was a place that he was tortured in for 5 years, he had no need to hold himself back. he left a trail of bodies and blood in the mayors mansion, before destroying the gate and walking out. afterwards, he got someone to direct him to the mine. there was a small mossy mountain with a few trees on it outside of the city wall, with one main tunnel. although this mountain was small, star city was able to aquire a lot of iron ore from it.


    step step! he walked into the tunnel, his steps echoing. the tunnel was dark, so he switched to infrared vision. although he could only see a mass of blue, there were still the outlines of the tunnel. looking around, in the wall on the left was a spot that was a deeper blue than the rest of the wall. drip, drip! a pale green liquid seeped from pores in his palm, onto the ground. after he felt that there was enough, the liquid began floating, as he sent it towards the dark blue spot. the stone dissolved as soon as the green liquid touched it. a few minutes later, the liquid arrived at the dark blue spot, but levi found that he couldn''t dissolve what was there. he coated it with the liquid and brought both them out of the small hole. step step! with the item in hand, levi walked out of the tunnel. "..." after getting outside, he opened his hand and found a palm sized piece of a silver rock. it had multiple holes and dents in it, since the green liquid removed all of the rock and dirt from them.


    "wait! are you the one the mayor was talking about?" as soon as he was about to walk away, a group of five walked up to him. these people were from the other clan in star city, the stone clan. levi didn''t look at them and continued walking. "hey! don''t ignore us you fucker!" a hot headed teenager charged at levi. levi turned slowly with his fingernails grown out. the boy sneered. since the stone clan was known for their defense skill, he didn''t put levi''s fingernails in his eyes. swish! silently, the boy''s head was cut into several layers. levi grabbed the body before it fell, absorbing all of the blood, causing the body to shrivel.


    " whatever, even a fly is still meat." levi mumbled. although the blood of these people who were barely in the qi absorption levels hardly had any use for him, he still absorbed it. " you!" the only girl in the group shouted angrily. " wait, don''t attack him rashly." a man who was about 28 said as he held the girl back. he was the strongest of the group, at the second qi refining level. "haha, ridiculous." levi laughed coldly. " it is so ridiculous that i was called trash by these people." he shook his head, a cold smile on his face.

 Chapter 51 It Begins

    shing! they all drew their swords and pointed them at levi. they spread out around him slowly, trapping him, or so they thought. "dammit! die!" the girl charged at levi. she was angry because the boy levi killed was her brother. but right before she could get into levi''s range, she ran sharply to the side. vivi! the sword vibrated after one of the men buried it in the ground. the girl was genuinely angry, but still used her anger to set a trap for levi. she shouted before charging at levi, drawing his attention to his back, and giving one of the remaining 3 men a chance to kill him. but unfortunately, levi had turned his infrared vision back on. although he wasn''t able to see the people behind him clearly, he could at least see two shadows of red in his peripheral vision, he saw when she ran to the side, and slashed out with his fingernails in front of him without anymore thought.


    splater!


    the man who attached levi was split into multiple pieces and fell to the ground with a splattering sound. levi didn''t feel like bending down, so he simply called the blood to him. a thick line of blood floated into the air before making a large ball. levi didn''t absorb the blood straight away, instead he released some of the green liquid. he wanted to see if the green liquid could cleanse the impurities in blood, instead of him having to cleanse them inside his body. the remaining 3, 2 men and 1 girl, watched levi doing his own thing as if they were not there. after a few minutes, a line of blood the size of a vein poured out from the ball of green liquid, and was absorbed through his index finger. it was only a small amount of blood though.


    "next." levi finally looked up at the people. green liquid poured from his right hand before floating in the air. "so i can only release this amount." levi mumbled. in front of him was a ball of green liquid just slightly bigger than a human head. he then released all of the purple snake venom that he could, it was about the same amount as the green liquid. "if i put them together, the green liquid might destroy the venom....." levi mumbled. splash! the two balls of venom and the green liquid shot out, covering the heads of the two remaining men. " glaglagla!" they both tried to scream, while trying to get it off of their faces. the poison caused the man''s face to turn purple, before turning black and becoming a dark bloodie mush. the green liquid rapidly devolved the other man''s face, and because he opened his mouth, his tongue and throat was also dissolved, leaving a clean white skull. the girl watched this scene with her lips slightly parted, not saying a word. when the two bodies dropped, levi walked up to the girl.


    "..." they looked at each other in silence. splat! blood energy rose form his body as one of his wings grew out. the girl exploded into a tick blood mist, no flesh to be seen on the ground. the blood mist was absorbed into levi''s body. he decided to go back to star city. " buy some bread!" as he was walking down the street, he saw a familiar face. a fat middle aged woman who sold bread. she had a piece of cloth tied around her head, and wore a blue apron with multiple stains over a green robe. " hey bo-" thump! before she could finish her sentence, her head hit the ground. without touching her body, all of the blood floated out before being absorbed. "ah! murder! mur-" puchi! a woman screamed. one of levi''s wings stabbed through her back, before he absorbed the blood. on that street, multiple screams were heard, before stopping abruptly. levi walked leisurely on the street filled with shriveled bodies, a smile on his face.


    if he was in a bad mood, he would slaughter the entire star city. but if he was in a good mood, he would have fun doing it. he was in a good mood. " is he the one?" at the end of the street, 4 men in azure robes stood, talking to a trembling little girl. " yes! he is the one...he is the one who killed my mommy! he is the one who killed everyone!" the little girl said as tears rolled down her face. " listen friend, i don''t know why you killed these people, but this is star city, we have certain rules here. you have two choices. first, come serve our azure family for 50 years, then you are free to go. the second, you die." the leader of the four men said, as an azure flame appeared on his body. he had short, spiky black hair and black eyes. he was not muscular and had a lazy air about him.


    "hehe, serve the azure family for 50 years? uncle, i thought that i wasn''t supposed to step foot in the azure family again?" levi asked with a smile, his eyes were covered by his hair. "ah? so you choose to die? well whatever." the man''s expression darkened. " no, i''m willing to serve the azure family." levi said, his lips parting into a bloodthirsty grin. "tch, if you are scared they why waste my time? you could have just said so from the begining." the azure flames dissapeared. " but you were still too late!" without warning, the man charged at levi, the azure flames raging on his skin. the azure clan was known for it''s azure fire skill. the man gathered all of the flames into his palm, sending a flaming palm directly towards levi''s heart. crack! sizzle! " tch, only killing the weak, but can''t even dodge this basic palm." the man''s palm broke through levi''s ribs before crushing his heart, and boiling the surrounding blood.


    "hehe, that is because...." levi looked up. his hair moved out of the way, making his red eyes visible. the white of his eyes were blood red, with a golden pupil and a black slit down the middle. "....i''m happy!" he laughed. puchi! levi stabbed through the man''s chest, grabbing his heart. "you....who are you..cough," he asked. " you hurt my feelings. how can you not remember your trash nephew?" levi said a large grin. " nephew?....i am in the late stages of qi refining....that trash...levi...could never kill me...impos-" before he could finish, levi squeezed his heart and absorbed his blood, causing the body to shrivel. he used the blood of the man to rebuild his heart. " You!" splat! the remaining 3 charged at him, but were all killed in an instant. he slapped them with his wings, painting the stone street with blood and organs.

 Chapter 52 The Slaughter

    levi killed every person he saw, men, women, children. shriveled corpses lined the street up to the azure families gates. boom! levi''s wings blew the large wooden gate from it''s hinges. " what? what is going on?" the sound reverberated throughout the entire azure family estate. the children who were practicing thier skills in the front yard saw levi first. these children were about 7, which meant they not to long ago had their talents tested. "hey! what do you think you''re doing? do you know who owns this place?!" one of the boys shouted, in a child''s high pitched voice. "h-hey what do you think you''re doing? he will kill you!" another one told the boy. levi looked at them silently before raising his hand, his palm facing up. multiple orbs of blood energy were compressed, before shooting out towards the children. "ahh! help! hel-"crack! thump!


    the lively yard was now quiet, as warm blood covered the ground. the blood floated and went toward levi, then got absorbed. not a drop of blood remained on the ground, only shriveled corpses. " die!" two large, muscular servants ran towards levi with swords in hand. their thoughts were simple, if they were to kill this intruder, wouldn''t they get better treatment in future? crack! "didn''t you say that you would cut off my legs and feed me to the dogs? haha.." levi laughed coldly. "aghhhh! my legs! my legs!" the two fell to the ground, their legs were cut directly at their knees. levi didn''t use qi with the windblades, causing the wind blade to break through their bones slowly, making it hurt more. "i don''t have dogs, so i will use this." he said with a smile. his current state was similar to the release state, but different somehow. he was even conscious in this state. "who is causing trouble in my azure clan?!" a furious shout shook the entire clan, owen shot towards the gate, his body cloaked in a dark azure fire.


    " you are dead!" owen shouted. "wait! family head! you don''t need to dirty your hands with him!" before owen could attack, a group of 20 men walked out, the leader spoke. " yes, family head!" some of the children from levi'' generation came out with sparkling eyes. although they woyld often spar, they had never seen anything like this. " humph! fine. you brats should learn something too." owen backed off to the side. "hahaha, how have you been? father." levi laughed out coldly. "..." owen looked at levi silently. "oh? don''t tell me it has been so long that you forgot my face? hehehe, then let me refresh your memory." levi said coldly. "you....trash....hehe, from this point on, you are not a part of the azure clan! hahaha, you are stripped of that name, never utter it again in your life! now get lost trash! isn''t that what you said?" levi laughed with one hand on his forehead and the other on his hip.


    "you....who are you?" owen''s eyes widened slightly. he remembered saying those words only once in his life. " hahaha!" levi laughed coldly. "humph! when you are too arrogant, you get killed early!" the leader of the 20 men drew his short sword and charged at levi, his sword coated in the azure fire. "severing the waterfall!" he shouted as he slashed out. a large azure sword light shot towards levi. swish! levi ignored the sword light and charged at his past ''friends''. " ahh! don''t come over here! you coward! fight li-" the arrogant children were now running around like chickens ready to slaughter. " you bastard! get him!" the leader shouted. clank! "humph!" levi stopped a sword with his fingernails. by the time the men stopped levi, only 3 out of the 17 children were left. "hehehe!" levi laughed. boom! a thick, fog like blood energy exploded from levi''s body. " i broke through to the 4th blood stage!" levi mumbled.


    " enough! you obviously can''t beat him!" owen shouted. azure flames burned on his body. " mountain crushing palm!" owen slapped out, sending a large flaming palm towards levi. boom! levi was sent crashing into the courtyard. " mind opening realm?" he mumbled. he slowly got up and looked towards owen. the skin on his face and left arm was partially melted off, it twisted weirdly as his blood repaired it. "you survived. humph!" owen snorted coldly. right before he was hit by the palm, levi surrounded his body with blood energy, but he was still burnt by those flames. shing! he pulled the sabre from the spatial ring and unsheathed it. " getting serious? it''s useless. i am in the late mind opening realm levels, even if you are also in the mind opening realm, you are only at the first level!" owen said. "is that so." levi said. his good mood was slowly dissapearing, as the redness was dissapearing from his eyes. before owen could attack again, levi shot out. " where do you think you are going! mountain crushing palm!" levi barely dodged it and continued towards one of the 20 men. his thoughts were, since he couldn''t beat owen with his current strength, he just had to get stronger. And there were a lot of blood bags around that could increase his strength, even if only by a little.


    one after the other, levi would dodge owen''s attacks while killing the men, sometimes a palm would graze him and scorch his skin. he had already absorbed the blood of six of the men, but it didn''t seem to be increasing his blood stage. vivivi! a red sword light shot from levi''s sabre, as he coated it with blood energy before slashing out, whistling as it cut through the air. crack! " humph! petty tricks." owen sneered. the sword light broke apart when it came into contact with his defensive qi, leaving only a small crack on it. " hmm." levi continued hunting the men after seeing his attack fail. "..." owen suddenly stopped attacking. swish! he appeared in front of the man levi was trying to kill. " humph!" he struck down towards levi. sizzle! " ack! tch!" levi used his left had to block, but the flaming palm was too hot strong. pop! looking down at where his hand used to be, he only saw a charred stump that was making popping sounds. "...." beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, this father of his was a pain to deal with.


    ".....who are you?" owen stopped. he had an idea of who levi was, but he didn''t think it was possible. "..." puff! levi silently released his mental energy, weaving tiny mental energy threads all around his body. "le...vi?" a trembling female voice called out. looking around, levi saw a middle aged woman with long black hair, holding the hand of a girl who looked to be around 5 years old. "..." he looked on silently and coldly, no emotion to be seen in his eyes. " why did you bring her here? what if she get''s hurt?!" owen shouted. " she came running here! i only came to bring her back!" sofia shouted back. " you...." owen narrowed his eyes.

 Chapter 53 Life or Death Battle

    " leave!" owen said forcefully. " i will not! don''t you even recognize who you are fighting?!" sofia shouted. "..." owen grit his teeth. sofia had been like this since five years ago. before, she would listen to what he said without delay, but now, she refutes him before he can say anything. sometimes she even locks herself and their daughter in her room, refusing to come out. "..." levi finished weaving the threads. rumble! whitout a word, blood energy rose from his body, forming an ancient gate. "...what the hell are you doing? i already said that your petty tricks won''t work!" owen ignored sofia, as the azure fire on his body became darker and hotter. "..." a water like qi silently surrounded levi''s his body. he didn''t release all of it, because even if he did beat owen, he still had to deal with the remainder of the 20 men, and there could be more that he didn''t know about.


    drip! a purple liquid ran down the hilt of levi''s sabre, to the tip, before dripping on the ground. swish! "..." without a word, he shot towards owen. " Destruction fist!" owen shouted. boom! a sabre clashed with a fist, the shockwave causing the nearby people to stagger. crack! the defensive qi on owen''s fist cracked a little. "..." owen looked at levi silently. although he was in the late stages of the mind opening realm, this person who was only in the begining levels was almost as strong as him. even slightly suppressing his destruction fist, which was one of the skills he was most proud of. scrape! levi was pushed back as his feet slid through the gravel. puchi! he was pushed in the direction of one of the remaining men, and stabbed through his chest without hesitation. the blood poured out of the body and levi absorbed it. "...ke..." he tried to rebuild his arm, but failed. his blood gathered at the stump, and formed the shape of his arm, but it collapsed without him knowing why.


    "..." levi caught a glimpse of sofia still standing there with the girl, and had an idea! vivivi! "you!!!" owen shouted, as his eyes became bloodshot! a blood red sword light shot towards sofia and the little girl, as owen frantically tried to catch up to it. in that moment, levi charged behind owen. since he didn''t know any agility skills, he used his wings to help him speed up. crack! owen barely made it in time to stop the sword light, at the cost of burning his qi. a line of blood ran down his lips from his bleeding tongue.


    clank!


    before owen could relax, a sabre coated in a water like qi slashed down, as he blocked it with his left forearm. cri! crack! his defensive slowly began giving out, as levi used his blood energy to push the sabre down. " damn you!" spcha! blood sprayed from owen''s arm as the sabre sunk into it. " destruction fist!" owen gathered the azure fire into his right fist, and punched out. puchi! " cough!!" levi vomited blood. bubble! sizzle! he tried to dodge to the side, but the flaming fist still tore a hole through his left side, scorching his flesh and boiling his blood.


    "ughh!" although levi groaned from the pain, he didn''t stop. owen was vulnerable because he had to protect the two behind him, and levi would not miss this chance. the blood gate behind him disintegrated, as he used all of his blood energy to coat his body. snap! tiny snapping sounds rang out all over his body, as his muscles tore. his body cried out in pain, but he kept pushing. grate! crack! the sabre scraped on owen''s bone, before cutting thorough it. slash! after cutting through his arm, the sabre''s momentum made quick work of owen''s defensive qi, slashing through his chest and his ribs. "cough!" owen coughed a mouthful of blood. "..." he looked at levi with a deathly glare.


    " wa-wait levi!" behind owen, sofia was trembling while holding the little girl, her voice shaking as she spoke. " levi?" owen''s eyes widened in shock. levi? wasn''t that his trash son? " you can''t kill your father!" she said with a pleading gaze. "..." levi didn''t spare her a glance as he gathered his remaining blood energy. " humph!" seeing the sabre coming at him again, using his remaining hand, he punched out. shatter! the sabre broke as it came into contact with owen''s fist, it was surprising that it lasted that long. levi simply released the sabre, he didn''t coat it with the blood energy for a reason. puchi! his pointed fingernails grew out, red lines appeared on the black fingernails as he pumped the blood energy into them. as owen''s defensive qi was shattered by the previous attack, levi was able to stab right through his chest and destroy his heart.


    "..." sofia watched this scene silently with a terror stricken face, as she buried the little girl''s face in her chest. " huff...huff..." levi breathed heavily. with a thought, owen''s body shriveled. thump! he dropped the body and looked at his side, a large scorched hole greeted him. silently, the green liquid was directed towards the hole, dissolving the burnt parts. blood poured out, reforming his side. he touchedit and found that it was still soft, only the outside looked like skin. it was like leaving something in a mold and it didn''t solidify properly, only the outside. he once again tried to reform his arm, but again, it didn''t work, not even after removing the burnt parts. looking up, he saw sofia sitting in place, her eyes closed with tears flowing out while hugging the little girl tightly. "cough! le...vi..." levi grew a wing and stabbed through sofia and the little girl, causing her to look at him in disbelief. the bodies shriveled with a thought.


    "huff...huff..." levi looked around. a few men were still standing, looks of shock on their faces. the 3 remaining children from levi''s generation were as pale as ghosts. "you... how are you so strong!? i thought that that poison destroys the meridians and rots the dantian?!?" suddenly, a few shouts rang out. looking in that direction, one of the boys with short black hair sat on the ground, a twisted expression on his face.


    "..." levi looked at the boy silently. " you are levi right!? how did you get that much strength, you trash?! we poisoned you everyday for a month! yet you still lived!! then as soon as you were thought to be trash, you come back strong! it''s not fair! it''s not fair for one person to have everything! status, talent, strength, why don''t i have those?!?!" the boy shouted crazily. " tell me ho-crack!" levi picked up the broken sabre and threw it at the boy, the broken blade broke through his skull, killing him.

 Chapter 54 Problems

    The blood floated towards him and was absorbed with a thought. the reason he killed the girl along with Sofia was, she might come back looking for revenge, he was the perfect example of this. He still found himself in a predicament though, as those men were still around. although they were just standing there, he didn''t think that they would just stay still and wait for wind blades to chop off their heads. but after a bit of thought, he decided that he didn''t have to kill them. if he left that little girl alive, her whole quest for strength would be so that she could kill him, but the same couldn''t be said about these men. he didn''t believe that any of them would want to kill him to that degree.


    flap!


    his wings grew out, as he shot into the air. his face twisted in pain, but he could only endure it. thump! flying over star city, he fell from the sky and rolled a few times. " ughhh...." his side was healing extremely slowly, and both it and his arm were hurting. although his wings and fingernails were like parts of his body, like hands or feet, if he is too tired he won''t be able to use them. Levi tried to turn on the coats invisibility, but that didn''t work for two reasons. first, he didn''t have any qi to activate the inscription. and second, when owen punched through his side, the inscription on the coat was partly destroyed. Levi was in a pitiful state as he limped through star city, following the trail of shriveled corpses.


    after a while, he reached the city gates, and decided to go into the forest where he first met Ava and Noah. thump! walking through the forest, he fell to the ground in pain and exhaustion. without a word, Levi descended into unconsciousness. gri! gri! Levi woke up to the sound of crickets and birds chirping. the sun was on the horizon, staining the clouds a dark orange. he pulled his face up from the dirt, before going to rest his back against the trunk of a broad tree. "..." his blood energy was slowly returning, but he found a problem. he was sure that a few hours had passed, but his qi had not returned. "nnn..." he crossed his legs, his face twisting in pain. his side had also not healed yet. he attempted to practice the water commandment, but no qi rose from his body. he tried to absorb qi, but found that even if it went inside his body, it would leave the same way.


    " Avesta, what is happening?" Levi called out aloud. [.....t...ap..ars..tha...the core...as...een...da...maged....] Avest''s voice cut in and out. since she was part of the core itself, and it was damaged, it would also affect her. "...is there a way to fix it?" Levi asked. [un...tunately....yo...g...lor...yo..do...ot...ave...th...stre..ngth....r...mat...ials...o...do...o] this reply was even worse than the first one. "what will happen if the core does not work as it should?" Levi asked once again, he could barely understand what Avesta was saying, but he could not help but ask.


    [...unpr...dictable...thi..gs...] Avesta said simply. "unpredictable things...." he looked down at his side, and saw that it still wasn''t healed. puff! a small black flame appeared, as Levi checked to see if he could still use mental energy. "Avesta." he called out. [...] but Avesta did not reply. "....demon saint.." he called out after a while. ''yes?'' the demon saint responded. " are those weird letters still around you?" he asked. '' some of them dissapeared, but there are still a few.'' the demon saint responded. he had seen the letters flicker before turning dark and dissapearing, but he thought it was just levi doing something.


    "..." Levi stayed silent. he had a lot of things on his mind, but he decided to look through the information about inscriptions in his head. ba-dump! as he began looking over the information, the small seed of knowledge in his head pulsated. since he couldn''t move for the time being, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in what he remembered.


    after a few hours, he opened his eyes. checking his blood energy, he found that it was stuck at the 3rd stage. he broke through to the 4th blood stage, but the amount of blood energy that returned during this period of time only reflected that of the 3rd stage. " does this have something to do with my core being damaged?" Levi mumbled. he clenched his teeth and got up, two wings growing from his back as he shot into the sky. a lone figure flew through the night sky, sometimes dipping, as if about to fall. tap! Levi landed in stone village after a long time, sweat pouring from his face. "was flying always this hard? even if my side is like this, flying shouldn''tbe this hard...." levi mumbled.


    "is that you, young master?" a female voice rang out behind levi. looking around, a woman with long reddish brown hair covering half of her face stood, along with a skinny boy. their face''s were sweaty, as if they had just finished working. "where are the other two?" levi asked. " they are still in the mine. are you alright, young master?" aria reached out. " continue what you were doing." before she could touch him, Levi turned around. puff! Levi sent out a wave of mental energy as far as he could, he was checking to see if the mental energy he put in the four was still there. he found that both Aria and Aron still had the mental energy in their heads, but he didn''t know about Don and Larck, since they were still in the mines and his mental energy couldn''t reach that far.


    " ah, you are back, young master! the required amount of ore will be ready by tomorrow evening, so we will be leaving in a few days." the merchant said as soon as he saw Levi. "i''m going to rest." Levi nodded, before walking into the stone building.


    ...


    next day. evening.


    Levi slept the entire day, only waking as the sun started to go down. "ugh..." looking down at his side, he saw that it was becoming a blackish green color, while his arm was still only a stump. the skin around the stump had already healed, leaving Levi confused. he tried to regrow his arm, but failed, but the skingrew back anyway. he tried to heal the hole in his side, the skin grew, but the inside was just blood, and now it was changing color. overall, only the skin grew back. "young master?! what happened to your arm?!" Aria shouted as Levi got onto the wagon. since it was dark last night she didn''t see that his arm was missing. "..." Levi got onto the wagon and sat silently, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he held his side.

 Chapter 55 Crippled

    during the trip, levi sat in a corner, while breathing heavily. his side had changed to a greenish black color, greenish black veins spreading to the rest of his body. the skin on his hand grew scales at times, while at other times, it would become hard and rough like a birds claw. the veins in his eyes were visible, sometimes bulging as if they were about to burst. he was sweating heavily, as his skin became scorching hot. during these few days, his vision became dark, and he could barely hear. at times, aria would take off his cloths and wipe the sweat from his skin, but he didn''t know, because he also couldn''t feel anything. they had finally arrived back at the imperial city, but Levi just kept getting worse.


    ...


    in the small tailor''s room, old gray sat in a wooden chair, his eyes closed. "...the boy is back." he suddenly opened his eyes, and mumbled. " but he feels....strange..." old gray got up from the chair and left the small room. " young master, we will get you to a doctor soon." Aria said softly as she wiped the sweat from Levi''s body. Levi didn''t respond, as he couldn''t feel or hear anything. "why are you trying to help that brat? if he were to die, we would be free." Don looked at aria, his face unsightly. " shut up! if he gets better and finds out that i took care of him when he was in this state, what do you think would happen? and if he doesn''t survive, won''t i be free anyway? either way, i don''t lose." aria said as she continued to wipe the sweat.


    "hmmm, what did you get yourself into, boy?" old gray suddenly appeared in the wagon, as he looked at Levi with a slight smile, his hands behind his back. "you! who ar-" before Aria could finish, both old gray and levi had dissapeared without making a sound. " wha..." all of them including larck, could only look at the empty space with shock.


    ...


    "...what going on with his body, it looks like it is rejecting itself." after a few hours, levi woke up to the sound of an old voice. " hmmm..."old gray was deep in thought. " in any case, it is a miracle that he is still alive. i will be taking my leave now. " the voice said. Levi slowly opened his eyes. " finally awake, boy?" old gray looked down at levi with a frown. "..." Levi opened his mouth, but no voice came out. " don''t try to talk, i don''t think you would be able to at the moment anyway." old gray said. " the old physician said that your body is fighting itself, whatever that means. but it should have something to do with that inscription on your body, right?" old gray asked. "!!" levi was shocked. although the tattoo would sometimes become visible, no one other than himself had ever seen it, except the demon saint who was trapped inside his head.


    "don''t look so surprised, boy. something like that wouldn''t escape my eyes. i called it an inscription, but that thing is like an inscription, rune, array and a whole bunch of other things i don''t know about. it felt alive, but wasn''t living. i don''t know what the hell that thing is, but what i do know, is that it was restricting your body." old gray said, as levi listened silently. " i tried to take a look at it''s structure with mental energy, but was blocked out. as for why it was restricting your body, only you would know that. i put a restriction inscription on you, to see if it would help with your body rejecting itself. it did, but it doesn''t look like the inscription will last long.." old gray said. " also, your dantian was broken." old gray said with a slight bitterness. "..." levi could only stay silent. he now understood why his qi wasn''t returning, and why qi just passed through his body. as for his body being restricted and rejecting itself, he had no idea what that meant.


    " your side was infected and it had to be drained, sigh, i don''t know what you have been up to. missing an arm, broken dantian and some greenish black blood in your side. don''t even think about walking until what ever is happening with your body is resolved." old gray shook his head. he didn''t know what this boy was doing. didn''t he just warn him the other day to respect the strong? which old demon did he piss off to end up in this state? sigh. he could only sigh. swish! he picked Levi up, before appearing in front of the everything guild. he then dissapeared from in front of the everything guild, and appeared in the small tailor''s room. puff! a pale silver flame appeared in front of old gray''s forehead, as multiple inscriptions lit the small room. on the walls, the floor and ceiling.


    the little room trembled slightly, before old gray and levi dissapeared. they appeared in a bright white room. the room had a large white bed, a small white table, a wooden chair with white cushions, and two windows on either side of the bed. old gray put levi onto the soft bed, before looking out the window. it was a bright grassy plane as far as you could see, the only thing other than grass in this place was a tall white tower. " i will bring you food everyday, you should be able to resolve the problem with your body over a period of time." old gray said as he walked back from the window. "...ld...gr..a...y" Levi forced a hoarse voice out, but by the time it came out, old gray was already gone.


    he lay unmoving on the bed, thinking about what old gray said about his body. ''the tattoo restricted my body....why? what does this have to do with my current situation?.....dammit! i WILL figure out what is happening to my body! i can''t be a cripple when i want to become the strongest!'' levi furrowed his brows as he thought. a few hours later and he still couldn''t figure anything out.


    next day.


    old gray brought levi food, and put a new restriction inscription on his body, before leaving again. Levi was still deep in thought. during this time, he decided to try growing out one of his fingernails, but it bulged, became deformed, and grew in all kinds of directions, even stabbing his hand in the process. while all of that was happening, the skin around his hand started to harden, turning a yellowish color. because he tried to grow out his fingernail, the restriction inscription broke, putting him in a very pitiful and dangerous state, as his body started to reject itself again.

 Chapter 56 Lost in though

    a few days have passed since Levi was taken to the white tower. because growing out his fingernail broke the restriction inscription for some reason, and also stabbed his hand, old gray told him not to try doing it again. over the past few days, although he still didn''t know what was happening with his body, he had calmed down quite a bit. since he couldn''t figure out why his core was restricting his body, he could only lose himself in thought. he thought back to how he fought, letting people stab through him, because he knew that he would be able to heal just by absorbing some blood. but now, for some reason, he could no longer heal. specifically, he couldn''t regrow a limb, or the hole in his side. this was made clear by the fact that only skin grew back.


    so he made up in his mind that if he were able to cultivate again, regardless of whether or not his ability to heal returned, he would have to change the way he fought. instead of letting people hurt him, he would have to learn some kind of agility technique to dodge, and also block.


    he also continued to review the information about inscriptions, the seed of knowledge pulsating every time he understood something. while reviewing, he found a part talking about using materials for inscriptions. the kind of material depended on the inscription. it explained that one would have to be strong enough to break down the material with qi, without destroying it. you would then construct the patterns with the qi that contained the material, then implant the patterns in a suitable vessel, sword, sabre, what ever the inscription master preferred. but what ever they chose, it would have to be of a high enough quality to be able to withstand the inscription being implanted and staying there indefinitely, or both the inscription and the vessel would collapse or break. although all of this was not yet possible for Levi, he continued to muse over it for a few minutes.


    there was also a part in the same set of information, about using living things to create inscriptions. but although old gray made him read the book from cover to cover in those few days, he could not remember everything, this was a perfect example, as the information was fuzzy. "...y....oy...boy." an aged voice brought levi back from his thoughts. "...old...gray.." Levi opened his eyes, to see old gray with a plate of food in hand. he struggled to sit up, which was only possible because of the restriction on his body, although it also made it hard for him to move. " do you have any idea why your body is like this?" old gray asked. " ...no..i..keep thinking....about..it..but i...can''t...think of...anything...." levi replied slowly. "hmmm." old gray responded. "...is it...normal...for me...to still....have..my...seed of...knowledge?" levi suddenly asked.


    "what?! you still have it?!" old gray was greatly surprised. " since the seed of knowledge is directly connected to qi cultivation, it should have been destroyed when your dantian was broken....but still, even with the seed of knowladge...sigh..." old gray could only sigh. after a few more minutes, old gray left. Levi closed his eyes again, and lost himself in thought. he then remembered a day when he was at the demonic god sect, where a loud voice, which he later found out was avesta, shouted something in his head about a blood flame. he had never found out how exactly how to use it.


    "....!..blood!...blood...lines!" something came back to him. he remembered when Avesta first appeared, she said something about the core storing his bloodlines. but why would they need to be stored? because if they were all in his body at the same time, all of them would try to destroy each other! his core was restraining his body, yes, but only the bloodlines in it! he also suspected that the core regulated the bloodlines, so that when he used them, they would be easy to control. his fingernails for example, he tried to grow out his fingernail, but instead of growing straight out like normal, it bulged and curved at different parts, even stabbing his own hand. Avest also said that the core held records of the different bloodlines, which could have contributed to his ability to control them so well. the core could have also been restraining how much of the bloodline he could use, ensuring that he could use a bloodline that would change the shape of his body in whatever way, but always be able to retain or return to his human appearance.


    ''but i still don''t know what that has to do with me not being able to rebuild my arm or my side. unless....'' he had a thought. at one point, Avesta also told him that as long as the core was still intact, even if his body was destroyed, he could either take another person''s body or rebuild his own over time. which would mean that his core also recorded everything about his body, and since it was damaged, those records were most likely destroyed, making him unable to heal or regrow complex body parts like an arm, or muscles. in simple terms, since the core recorded details about his body, he had no need to do so, making him able to regenerate as long as the core was still functioning. but since the part of the core holding those records was damaged, he wasn''t able to regrow his arm or side because he didn''t know their structure, since he never needed to know.


    "..." although Levi figured things out up to this point, there was still the issue of how he would go about fixing these problems. he had asked Avesta if he could fix his core, but she said that he didn''t have the strength or materials to do so. he also remembered that old gray said he didn''t understand his core, which meant that even he didn''t know how it was made, or how to fix it. '' is it even possible for me to restrain the different bloodlines in my body with willpower alone?...." he thought about this for a while.

 Chapter 57 The Kings Summons

    in the castle.


    "oh? she offered to take you with her?" the king sat of the throne, his chin resting on his fist. his gold embroidered robes displaying his elegance. " yes. i''ve been getting bored of war lately, so i think i will go with her." the second prince said, a lazy smile on his face. a week or so ago, he went home to his estate, only to find Anastasia there. she wore a sad expression on her face, while a gloomy air hung above her. needless to say, the second prince was furious, who was screwed enough in the head to make his beloved big sister sad?! they could only be looking for death! he remembered how she had said that she was going to see ezikiel before she left. but before he could go teach that brother of his a lesson, Anastasia stopped him, she watched them grow up, she knew what he would do.


    after talking him out of going to ''see'' the third prince, she stayed at his estate since she didn''t want to go back to the castle. in the morning before she left, she asked him if he would like to go back to the sect with her. she knew that if any of her three brothers would go with her, it would be Elias. " hmmm, well, i am getting bored here." the second prince replied with a smile. "hmmm, you can do as you please." the king said, as he motioned for the second prince to leave. " send a message to the 3 clans, there will be a banquet tonight, and all of them are invited." after the second prince left, the king ordered. " it shall be done, your majesty." a bald eunuch walked from the darkness behind the throne and bowed, before walking off.


    ...


    in the white tower.


    " i understand, but why do you want me to put that kind of inscription there? even if it''s there, you won''t be able to absorb qi with a dantian that was patched up by an inscription." old gray spoke, his brows furrowed slightly. " i..don''t...want the...inscription....there to.....be able to....absorb..qi. i explained...already, i...can absorb different....bloodlines, and....the tattoo kept....them restrained. but....now that it...is damaged, they are....wreaking havoc in....my body, which...is why i am...in this state." small beads of sweat appeared on levi''s face as he spoke. " what does this have to do with you wanting me to put a sealing inscription on your broken dantian? although only a part of it is broken, it doesn''t mean that you can absorb qi once it is sealed." old gray questioned again.


    " i want....you...to make an..inscription that i...would..be able to seal....my bloodlines in...my broken dantian..with. i...want to be....able...to open...the seal at...will.....so that...i will be able to....use my bloodlines...when i...need...them, before....closing it again. i...can feel all....of the...different....bloodlines in my....body, so i...should be....able to restrain...them without....the seal after....a while." levi spoke slowly. " sigh, fine, fine. i will be back in a few days, survive until then, boy." old gray sighed, before the inscriptions in the white room lit up and he dissapeared. Levi closed his eyes in thought. although everything he said to old gray was what he believed, he would still only know the outcome after it was done. if the seal didn''t work, then he would have to start trying to restrain the bloodlines himself from the start. since he couldn''t do anything else, he drifted into his own thoughts again.


    ...


    in the scorching sun clan.


    "father, an eunuch just brought us a message from the king." the scorching sun clan''s current head went to see the old master. "humph! invitation? that''s only to make it sound pretty, if we didn''t go, what do you think would happen? tch, i will also have to go, won''t i?" old master scorching sun started to grumble, while the middle aged man stood silently and watched his father. although he was the current clan head, he would still go ask the old master for advice on important things. it was also like this for the other two clans.


    in the lighting fist clan.


    "a banquet invitation?.....we will go." old master lightning fist told his son simply.


    in the flowing water clan. "ho ho, i wonder what the king has in store for us. he most likely wants to talk about the impending war, but for some reason, i feel like there is something else." old master flowing water looked at the white invitation in his hand, a calm smile on his face.


    a few hours later, night time.


    three large carriages stopped outside the castle wall, waiting for the guards to open the gate. after it was opened, the carriages went in, only stopping again when the people had to get out. the castle was large, it was made from white stone blocks, with four to five towers that varied in hight and width. the imperial guards at the castle doors stood still as the three old masters, the three current heads, and a girl with long, flowing brown hair, and golden eyes walked through. "why did you bring a child with you?"old master lightening fist asked, as he looked to the side. " that invitation pointed this brat out specifically, what choice did i have? humph!" old master scorching sun snorted. "..." old master flowing water looked at the girl. something felt off to him about this situation, but he just couldn''t put his finger on it.


    creak!


    the large wooden door creaked as it opened, everyone walked into the throne room. the usually dark and empty throne room was now filled with people. candles brightened the room, the different cloths hanged in it decorating it. a lot of different people were present, mainly the nobles. a large table with food and different drinks stood in the middle of the room, people occasionally going to pick something up. the three old masters, with their current family heads behind them, walked into the throne room. as they went in, the lively mood seemed to have frozen, before appearing again. " i welcome you all." the king sat on his throne, looking down at the three. " we are not worthy." the three clan heads said at the same time. anyone could tell that both parties hated each other, just by the dry greeting and response.


    "before we get to the problems of the impending war, there is a matter that i would like to discuss with you." the king said, as his eyes drifted to the girl. the three old masters kept silent. "that girl, marry her to my third son." the king said calmly. " what?!" old master scorching sun immediately exploded.

 Chapter 58 Banque

    "never! even if you are the king, how dare you demand one of my people marry your foolish son?!" old master scorching sun shouted. the people continued doing what they were doing as if they didn''t hear anything. " now now, calm down, old master scorching sun." old master flowing water said with a smile. " hmmm, i am as displeased about this as you are, but, since it is what he wants." the king looked down at the girl coldly.


    " haha, why the stiff atmosphere? isn''t it what both parties want?" a lazy laughter caused the three old masters to turn their heads. the three princes walked through the large doorway, one wore a sullen expression, with a gloomy air hanging over him, the first prince. the second prince had a smile on his face, as he walked lazily into the hall. and the third prince, a determined expression on his face, his fists clenched tightly.


    " the second prince...." the three old master looked at the second prince, ignoring the other two, old master scorching sun even forgot his anger. " please grant my wish, three clan heads!" the third prince walked up to the three old masters, bowing deeply before them. " why would i marry a child from my scorching sun clan to a trash like you, who is also his son?" old master scorching sun exploded. from the begining, he showed no respect to the king. " don''t be like that, old man." the second prince''s lazy voice rang out. " i shall teach you some respect, brat!" old master scorching sun released a scorching hot qi, which caused the bricks under him to start melting.


    " who are you to discipline my son?" the king spoke. he looked down at old master scorching sun, and without releasing any qi, a large pressure enveloped old master scorching sun. " please calm down your highness, old man scorching sun is just like that, please don''t take offense." old master flowing water said with a smile. "..." the king looked at old master flowing water, causing beads of sweat to appear on the Latter''s face. " fine." the king closed his eyes, as the invisible pressure dissapeared.


    if he didn''t have a use for them, the king would have killed the three old masters. but even though he knew that he was stronger than them individually, if all of them attacked him together, it would become troublesome. " back to what i was saying." the second prince''s lips lifted into a light smile. " shouldn''t you just allow my brother to marry the girl? i mean, she will not find anyone else to marry." he said as he squinted his eyes. " you..." veins bulged on old master scorching sun''s face. wasn''t that brat implying that a girl from his clan wasn''t eligible for marriage?


    " don''t get me wrong, old man. i''m just saying..." the second prince paused. " second brother...." the third prince called out, he had a bad feeling. " when a woman is still pure, there is a faint aura around them, like they''re still a part of nature, untouched and untainted...." the second prince continued, his smile deepening. " i am quite sensitive to that aura, since the first princess who raised us brothers, radiates it. so why is it..." he paused. " that i don''t feel that aura coming from that girl?" the second prince''s smile broke into a grin, as he looked at the girl, who''s face was now awfully pale.


    " you! what are you insinuating?! a child from the distinguished scorching sun clan would never lose their purity before marriage!" old master scorching sun shouted, before glancing at the girl. seeing her pale completion, his expression darkened. " you....." he was quite shocked. since when had his scorching sun clan become like this? boom! " if i don''t kill you here, how can my scorching sun clan regain it''s face?" he released his qi once again, slapping out. crack! " hlase whait!" the third prince took the powerful slap instead, all of the teeth in the right side of his mouth were knocked out, as the skin on his cheek was scorched. old master scorching sun held back just in time, otherwise the third prince''s brain would have been decorating the floor.


    the blow even fractured his skull slightly, but no matter how dizzy he was, he kept standing. "....from this day forward, you are not a prince of this continent. you are stripped of that title. your estate will be confiscated, any money that you can take with your hands, will be yours to keep. leave my sight." the king closed his eyes halfway through this. since he knew that his son wouldn''t give up, and the scorching sun can would kill the girl anyway, couldn''t he just grant his son''s wish? even if he didn''t agree with it, he would not make his son suffer. "htank you thather!" the third prince droppedto his knees and bowed to the king, who could not bear to look at his pitiful son.


    " no need to thank father, third brother." the second prince began walking towards the third prince. "..." the third prince got up from the ground and pushed the girl behind him protectectively. " i really don''t care what you do with your pathetic life. but.." he tapped the third prince''s shoulder. " if you make our sister wear an expression like that again..." a dark, gloomy qi erupted from the second prince''s body, causing the candles to flicker, the decorative cloth blowing in the wind. " i will kill you." he said simply. his expressionless face caused not only the 3rd prince to feel a sense of dread, but the people at the banquet froze, without moving or talking, they just stopped.


    after saying that, the second prince walked out of the hall, without looking back at anyone in it.


    ...


    in the white tower.


    Levi was still in the bed, his eyes closed. he could feel the different bloodlines in his body, although they were restrained by old gray''s inscription. he found that he could pressure them slightly by only thinking about it, but still, that was only possible because of the restricting inscription. if the bloodlines were not restricted, his measly pressure wouldn''t mean anything. but he believed that he would be able to do it easily if he kept practicing. "boy, i have the materials." old gray appeared in the room and spoke, causing Levi to open his eyes. " tsk tsk, robbing an old man of his treasures, aren''t you ashamed?" old gray said jokingly.

 Chapter 59 Yin Yang Seal

    " old..gray..." Levi said. he realised something about the white tower, it was always bright. he also found that when he just lay with his eyes shut, his thoughts would run smoothly. " this is going to hurt, boy." old gray looked at Levi with eyes filled with pity. " this inscription is called the yin yang seal. you will be able to control it at will, but getting rid of it will be another story. to make this inscription, you need materials of both extreme yin, and extreme yang."old gray said as he lifted his palm. floating above his palm was a small, rough looking rock, it looked like it was broken from something bigger. it was a purpleish blue, Levi couldn''t see anything special about the rock. beside it, was a drop of some kind of white liquid, suspended in multiple strange white inscription patterns. yet again, he felt nothing special about the drop of liquid.


    old gray opened levi''s robe, and just stood there for a while. he then took a deep breath, and it seemed as if a fire appeared in his eyes. " while i am putting this inscription into your dantian, you will have to direct your bloodlines to it, i can''t make the inscription and put the bloodlines in it at the same time." old gray had a rare serious expression. Levi silently nodded. chiiii!!!!!!! old gray lightly tapped the small rock, releasing some kind of barrier, before a devastating heat escaped from it. the heat had a purpleish blue color, as it flowed out from the stone like water, causing the white tower to shake. " ugnnnn!!" old gray released his qi and forcefully restrained the stone, but even then, some of the heat still escaped, causing Levi to feel like he was laying beside the sun. even old master scorching sun''s qi could not compare to the heat being released by the tiny rock.


    old gray had sweat on his forehead, as he panted heavily. although it was only the first item, he was already so tired. crack! the inscriptions around the drop of white liquid were shattered. silently, a blistering cold bombarded the white tower. a chill at night could only be called warm compared to this overbearing cold. the sheet on the bed, along with Levi''s and old gray''s clothes became stiff, and felt like they would shatter like ice from the slightest touch. the inscriptions in the white room could barely hold up against it. " haaaaaaa!...huff..." this drop was even harder to restrain, since he was already dealing with the rock.


    ...


    in the castle.


    "! what is that?" the king stood from his throne. not too long ago, a terrifying pressure appeared in the imperial city, that even he would look like an ant to in comparison to. but now a different pressure appeared, in fact, it was more like 3 different pressures appeared! then two of them got suppressed by one! both the king and the clan heads were scared and baffled. they were discussing how multiple ships from the divine dragon continent were spotted coming towards the cloud continent, then all of a sudden, three terrifying pressures appeared. were three old monsters fighting each other? was the imperial city going survive it if that was the case? they could only think, because none of them wanted to go out and check. wouldn''t they be stupid to go peeping, then get slapped to death?


    ...


    "huff.." old gray was still breathing heavily as he restrained the two materials. rumble! the entire imperial city trembled as he released all of his qi, forming two spining spheres of qi around the two materials. " keep...watching boy...don''t forget this....you may never see it again!" old gray forced out these words. the two spheres of qi rotated faster as time went by, before one got a slight bluish color, and the other one remained white. puff! a few minutes later, one sphere was completely blue, while the other was still white. wasting no time, old gray released his mental energy, as a pale silver flame danced before his forehead. pattern after pattern was stacked, over one 100 patterns were stacked in a few minutes. 200...300...400...500...600...700...800...900....1000! even with old gray''s strength, it took him over half an hour to stack all of the patterns. Levi now realised how insignificant he was. he was struggling for hours with a simple 3-4 pattern inscription, while old gray could stack 1000 patterns in only half an hour!


    after the patterns were stacked, it formed a yin yang symbol. " you read the book, so you should know that if you aren''t strong enough, this inscription could kill you." old gray said after a slight pause. of course, didn''t he see something like that in his memories? if the inscription''s vessel was not strong enough, both it and the inscription would collapse or break, or in this case, explode into nothing. " do...it.." levi clenched his teeth. he made up in his mind that, if he could no longer cultivate, what was the point of living? if he went back to being the trash that he was, wouldn''t he be better off dead? old gray paused, but seeing levi''s resolve, he directed the yin yang inscription to just a little below his navel.


    the yin yang inscription which was about the size of a hand, shrunk down to just the size of a palm. "....ahhhhhhhhh!" before it even touched his skin, the pain Levi felt was excruciating. his skin was being scorched and frozen at the same time, and it only got worse from there. "ahhhhh!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" crack! crack! sizzle! when the inscription was finally implanted, the pain reached it''s peak. the scorching heat and deadly cold were wreaking even more havoc in his body than his bloodlines ever could. flash freezing his muscles before they were scorched, over and over again. tiny ice crystals cutting through his flesh, while it felt like his bones would melt. he was in so much pain that he didn''t even remember that he was supposed to direct his bloodlines toward his dantian somehow. Levi passed out, but was woken by the excruciating pain right afterward. a few hours passed as he fell unconscious, then woke up screaming, over and over again.


    "..oy....boy!" old gray shouted, sweat on his face. he looked tired. Levi opened his eyes, everything was was colored red, as lines of blood flow from his eyes. in fact, the once white sheets were now dyed red with his blood. "..." he didn''t even have the strength to open his mouth, his eye lids only opened briefly before closing again. old gray looked at the yin yang seal on Levi''s stomach. all over levi''s body was a pitch black tattoo, a large portion of it missing, while a few lines went down his stomach and encircled the yin yang seal, making it look like a sun symbol. a black sun symbol.

 Chapter 61 Change In Plans

    he sat cross-legged for half an hour, but opened his eyes disappointed. although the grassy plain had an abundance of qi, he wasn''t able to contain it in his body. he got up and went back into the room, it was easier this time as the had food energised his body. "demon saint, are you still alive?" levi suddenly remembered. if the yin yang seal was wreaking havoc in his body, wouldn''t the demon saint be affected too? '' why would i be dead? tch! i felt all of that energy flooding your body and wanted to absorb some, but before it could reach me, the letters around me activated and blocked it out!'' the demon saint complained. "..." levi kept silent. " how do i get out of here?" levi mumbled. ''if i use mental energy, there could be some kind of trap, like when i escaped from the demon saint''s place. i was only able to get out because i used his mental energy to activate the runes.'' levi thought.


    ''but i don''t think old gray would have those kinds of traps here. why would he need them? but just in case...'' puff! a small black flame appeared before Levi''s forehead, the tip golden. swish! "oh? you were leaving, boy?" before he could do anything, old gray appeared. " old gray...." levi said as the tiny flame dissapeared. thump! "..." he dropped to his knees and bowed. he had learned a few things from this situation, one of them being, gratitude. and although he didn''t say anything, old gray understood his meaning.


    " get up, boy. you don''t have to thank me." old gray waved. "seriously, you don''t have to thank me. those treasures were so priceless, what could your thanks amount to? the only way for you to pay me back, is to work for me for a few hundred years!" old gray laughed maniacally, his pupils shrinking. "..." Levi kept silent. " are there any treasures on the same level as those two?" he suddenly asked. " what are you asking for? even if they were, you wouldn''t be able to get them, not with you measly strength." old gray said.


    swish! both of them appeared inside the old tailors room without a word, as Levi got up from the ground. " oh, what happened to my coat?" levi suddenly remembered. " i''m fixing it. i still had a few materials from when i made it, so fixing the holes should be easy." old gray replied, as he pulled open a drawer on the tailors table. "what about the invisibility inscription?" levi asked. " i won''t remake that toy. furthermore, you might survive longer without it." old gray said. levi thought for a moment. he realised that what old gray said might be true. because although the coat could make him invisible, when he walked, his feet still left footprints. and even if that wasn''t the case, other martial artists would be able to sense the qi in his body, as well as the qi going into the inscription. " then, please." Levi replied respectfully.


    after leaving the clothes shop, Levi went straight back to the inn. " are those 4 here?" after opening the door, Levi walked in. " young master?....ah! yes! they came back a few days ago!" the old inn keeper was surprised because of Levi''s arm. puff! zinnn! " aghhh!" 4 cries of pain echoed out after Levi released his mental energy, as loud ringing noise echoed in their heads. " yo-young master...." aria was the first one to come out. they had suspected that Levi was still alive, but couldn''t find him. it was only out of fear that after they left, Levi would appear and kill all of them, that they stayed at the old inn. the remaining 3 came out one after the other. " where is the ore?" levi asked. " we brought it all back here, young master...." aria said. she wanted to ask what happened and where he was for the past few days, but decided against it. " get all of it, and come with me." Levi said without emotion.


    after a few minutes, they each walked out with four large woven baskets on their backs, filled with ore. without wasting anymore time, levi went to the blacksmith. " hmm? a kid? what do you want?" after going in, levi saw a different man. "...where is the other one?" levi asked, after silently looking at the man for a few seconds. " the other one? do you have this person''s name?" the man asked. he had spiky black hair, and wore a black robe with his bulging chest exposed. " hey, it''s time for you to get back to work!" the door beside the man opened, a wave of heat exploding out, as a man with a white cloth tied around his head looked out. " oh? if it isn''t the kid from that time." the man walked out. " you can go back in first." the man said to the black haired man. " so? what do you need?" the man asked. " i brought you the ore, so make the swords." Levi said. " hmm, and how much will you pay me?" the man asked. " that depends on the quality of the swords." Levi said coldly.


    "..."..." the two looked at each other silently. " hahaha! i like you kid! fine, you just wait! furthermore, why don''t you become a blacksmith?" the man laughed, before asked. " no thanks." levi said, as he turned around, his armless sleeve shifting in the breeze. " use these four as you see fit. when all of the ore is used up, send them for more." Levi told the man, before leaving. he had to change the plan in his head. since he couldn''t make inscriptions anymore, he would have to sell regular swords, and use the money to buy different low level mutated beasts to get his blood stage up. but before anything else, he had to fix his arm, that is why he left for the everything guild.


    " what do you need, sir?" one of the attendants asked respectfully. " is there a library? one with books on the human body?" levi asked after thinking for a moment. " there is, but, i''m sorry sir. only registered persons are allowed in those places." the attendant replied. "..." levi pulled out the badge from the spatial ring. "oh! i apologize for my rudeness! you have to go to tower B, you will be allowed into different levels of the library depending on your grade." the attendant said.


    Levi left in the direction the attendant pointed out. " you want to go into the library? what is your grade?" levi walked into a large room in the tower. a slim man wore circular glasses, his sharp eyes had black lines underneath them. Levi pulled out the badge. " your rank is ''low'' and it is for inscriptions. what is someone learning inscriptions, doing here at the physicians library?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing.

 Chapter 63 Testing Blood Energy Inscriptions

    he once again made inscription patterns, but this time, unlike the qi patterns which were neat and symmetrical, these patterns were shaped weirdly, curving in different places. he continued, then implanted the inscription into the coin. but once again, the inscription had collapsed. "hmm...that one lasted a little longer before collapsing." he mumbled, before continuing. next, he made inscription patterns that were reminiscent of water. qi inscription patterns were more like the bricks of a building, with smaller structures making up the entire inscription when put together. while this blood energy inscription was more like water, flowing constantly within itself. " oh? this one isn''t collapsing...." Levi observed the patterns. although he didn''t know the exact make up of the pattern, he found that, unlike the patterns before, this one didn''t collapse. as blood energy and qi''s textures were different, it was next to impossible to make blood energy inscriptions, with a qi inscription''s structure. while qi could be compared to smoke, blood energy could be compared to water or in certain cases a damp fog, but of course Levi didn''t know any of this as of yet.


    he implanted the inscription into the gold coin, before continuing to make inscription patterns with varying shapes. ".....this...." after about half an hour, he made a particular inscription, which also didn''t break down. this was just a simple heat inscription, shaped like a circle with a straight line going through the middle. but what he found interesting about this inscription, was both it''s structure and durability. this particular inscription looked like it was written with a large ink brush, and was dark red in color, as if blood was used to write on paper before drying. and although it was crudely made, as the rough lines were not straight, when he tried to implant it into another gold coin, even without mental energy coating it, the inscription was implanted successfully. and unlike regular inscriptions, it left a mark on the surface of the gold coin, in the shape of the inscription patterns.


    since he didn''t have enough blood energy to continue making inscription patterns, he used the remainder to activate the two inscriptions. the first, which was was like water, after the blood energy was channeled through it, it heat up rapidly before the coin exploded. as for the other inscription, reminiscent of calligraphy, he poured the remainder of his blood energy into it, but nothing happened. after waiting for an hour, his blood energy returned, as he then reconstructed the water-like inscription and implanted it into a gold coin. he decided to go see old gray about this, since his ability to create inscriptions was an important part of his plan. he also wanted to find out if people other than him would be able to use blood energy inscriptions.


    it was night, as levi walked to the clothes shop. but as the shop was closed, he had to return. he then thought of something, as he changed his destination. peng! deng! even at night, the sound of hammers flattening metal did not cease. he opened the door and walked in, and seeing that no one was in the reception room, he opened the door beside the counter. the heat instantly flowed out, causing beads of sweat to appear on Levi''s forehead. looking around, he saw muscular men. some had their chest exposed with their robes tied around their waists. there were at least 20 glowing furnaces, with one or two men fanning the coals with large brown bellows. Levi was slightly startled, as the presence of these blacksmiths was similar when compared to a seasoned martial artist.


    after looking around for a few minutes, his eyes locked onto the man. he walked through the hot forge. as they were all working, none of the men noticed Levi, as he walked up to the balled man. " huh?" Levi walked up to the furnace where the man was working, and stood silently for a few minutes. as the man turned to pick up another piece of iron ore to purify. " what do you need?" the man asked with a smile, as he put back the piece of iron ore. " have you completed any of the swords?" levi asked without wasting anymore time. " well, i only made one to test the metal and see if it was good for making swords." the man said as he turned around, and pulled a blade without a hilt or otherwise, from a wooden bucket filled with oil. he wiped the oil from the blade with a discolored white cloth, before handing it to Levi. without a word, Levi constructed the calligraphy like inscription, leaving a reddish black mark on the blade. "..." levi silently looked at the blade before looking at the man.


    "hmm?" the man tilted his head. " is that an inscription? what does it do? let me see." the man took the blade from Levi''s hands. " what are you doing?" levi asked. he wondered how this man was going to test the inscription. " although blacksmiths are weaker than martial artists who only practice cultivation, we still have to reach a certain level in order to be able to be able to use certain metals! i''m at the qi refining level 4!" the man said, as he poured qi into the blade. " huh?" he found that no matter how much qi he poured into the blade, the inscription didn''t activate. " what?!" when he tried to stop sending qi into the inscription, it kept absorbing more. sizzle! the blade abruptly began heating up, scorching the man''s hand. he releazed it, and when the blade made contact with the ground, it cut through the stone like butter, as the melted stone seeped out. before it could sink all the way into the ground, the qi in the inscription was exhausted.


    "huff....huff..." the man was sitting on the ground breathing heavily as he watched this scene, the burn on his hand din''t bother him since he was accustomed to being burned. the blade had sapped all of his qi, and it was exhausted at an alarming rate. " what kind of inscription was that...huff..."the man asked while gasping for air. " a basic heating inscription." Levi replied, as emotionless as ever. but although he was emotionless on the outside, on the inside he was throughly surprised. at the beginning he thought that the man wasn''t able to activate the inscription because it was made with blood energy, but it was just that the man didn''t have an adequate amount of qi. he found out two things from this. first, people other than himself could use inscriptions made with blood energy. and second, this calligraphy-like inscription requires a certain amount of qi in order to be used.


    but since that was the case, would foot soldiers, who were the lowest of soldiers, be able to use swords inscribed with an inscription like this? he asked himself this question while estimating the strength of a foot soldiers. "..." he didn''t see it happening.

 Chapter 64 Sensing Bloodlines

    he continued to think silently about these things. ''should i get him to test that other inscription too? no....'' his reason for this was simple. when he activated the inscription on the coin, it exploded. what would happen if it was on a sword? who knows, maybe it would work as intended, but he didn''t want to take that chance. if the sword was to explode, shooting pieces of metal in all directions, he might not get out unscathed, added to the fact that with the tattoo being damaged, healing and re-growing lost limbs was troublesome to say the least. " how strong is a foot soldier?" Levi asked the man.


    " i don''t know exactly, but they should be at the qi refining levels at least...huff....some of the stronger ones are even at the mind opening realm...huff...why do you ask?..." after having his qi absorbed by the blade, the man became extremely tired and devoid of energy. looking at his state, Levi believed further that foot soldiers wouldn''t be able to use such inscriptions. "hmm...in that case...i will not sell the swords to foot soldiers...although i don''t know if the people in higher positions would want to buy swords inscribed by a beginner..." levi mumbled to himself. " put this sword up for sale." levi told the man. " huh? why?" the man asked, confused. " i want to draw attention here." Levi said calmly. " is there anyone you want to attract specifically?" the man asked, his breath slowly returning to normal. " the army." Levi said simply, as he walked off. "..." the man''s jaw droped, wide enough to fit a large chicken egg into. '' what did i get myself into?'' he questioned internally.


    " where are those four?" Levi suddenly stopped, before turning around and asking. " i sent them for more ore? ha haha..." the man held the back of his head awkwardly. since levi said that he could send the four for more ore, he had sent them for more. but the reason he felt awkward, was because he planned to use the ore for himself. " since you are using my things for your own benefit, when these swords are sold, you will get only 20%." levi said coldly.


    he first had to get the ore himself, and understood that he still had to pay the man, but now this man was using his people for his own gain. this thoroughly pissed Levi off, but he couldn''t do anything for two reasons. first, he still needed the man to make the swords. and second, currently, his strength was most likely below the man''s, and even if he were stronger, if he was to kill the man in this place filled with blacksmiths it would be troublesome. he realised how arrogant and stupid he was because of the blood evolution skill, now that his core was damaged. but it was already too late for regret, he could only go forward.


    ...


    after leaving the forge, he went back to the inn. " young master!" the old innkeeper was surprised once again. wasn''t this young master missing an arm just yesterday? so why did he have two arms again today? the innkeeper''s head was spinning, but decided to just mind his own business, that was probably for the best anyway. Levi simply nodded before going up to his room. before he went to sleep, he once again practiced the water commandment, yielding predictable results. suppressing his disappointment, Levi went to sleep.


    ...


    next day, morning.


    levi got up and reviewed information about two certain inscriptions. one of the inscriptions absorbed and stored qi, while the other one shaped and released qi. he wanted to use these two inscriptions on the swords, instead of using the heat inscription. although the heat inscription has incredible destructive power,one, it only heats the blade. and two, the whole blade gets heated, which meant that the hilt, as well as the sword would be destroyed after only a few uses. although he didn''t care about the wellbeing of the soldiers, he believed that they would test the inscriptions before buying the swords. but he found another problem. these two inscription required 5 patterns each, but he didn''t know if he had enough blood energy to make 10 patterns. plus, it would be his first time making these inscriptions, and although he didn''t think it would be as hard as the first ever inscription he made, it would still be difficult.


    without wasting any time, he left the inn, and headed for the market. yet again, multiple martial artists had appeared, different mutated beasts in cages large and small. walking down the street, he caught sight of one particularly large cage. walking up to it, he saw a large rhinoceros. this rhinoceros'' larger horn had multiple brownish red lines, going from the tip, to the horn''s base and onto it''s head. " what is this?" levi looked up and asked. an old man with short gray hair and a smoking pipe in his mouth. " that is just an iron horned rhinoceros! they are as common as chickens!" a slim youth shouted. he also had a mutated beast, a small fox that released a weird white fog from it''s legs. " how much." Levi directly ignored the man, before asking. he didn''t care how common they were, he only wanted to absorb the blood and raise his blood energy stage. he didn''t even care about the bloodline.


    " 500 silvers." the old man spoke with a gruff voice. "..." levi pulled 250 gold coins from the spacial ring and threw it towards the old man, who caught every coin. he waited for the man the open the cage. after walking in, he carefully grew his fingernails out, as veins on his fingers, neck and forehead bulged. before, he could grow his fingernails to about the length of an arm, but now, he only grew them to around the length of half a finger. sensing Levi''s bloodlust, the rhinoceros ran toward him. calmly dodging to the side, blood energy erupted from levi''s body and was directed to his fingernails. puchi! his hand stabbed through the rhinoceros'' neck without resistance, killing it instantly. since he couldn''t fit it''s body into the spacial ring, Levi began absorbing the blood right there. as he was almost finished absorbing the blood, he felt a high concentration of energy, which made him retract his hand immediately.


    since the tattoo was damaged, he had to be cautious about a lot of things. chief among them, absorbing bloodlines. what would happen if he absorbed a bloodline that he couldn''t control, and ended up looking like a monster for the rest of his life? or even worse, lose his sanity and ability to think? when he absorbed blood before, he could not sense the bloodlines since the tattoo suppressed them automatically. but now, he would have to do those things himself. " y-you! you bought it just to kill it?!" the youth shouted. he wasn''t angry because levi killed the rhino, he was angry because Levi bought it in the first place. looking around, Levi''s golden eyes passed over the man, before landing on the small fox in the cage.

 Chapter 65 Illusion Fox

    Levi looked at the fox in the cage across, he found it quite interesting, the fog coming from it''s legs anyway. before leaving the cage, he extracted the rhino''sbloodline, which was silver in color. a blob of silver blood floated over Levi''s right shoulder, as he walked out of the large cage. " what is this?" Levi asked the man. " this is an illusion fox! a rare mutated beast! it''s fighting ability isn''t high, but it can make illusions to lead people into traps!" the man hurriedly explained. " how much?" Levi asked coldly. " uhh...are you going to kill it...." the man asked awkwardly. "..." levi''s brows furrowed. controlling his anger was indeed hard. " ah, it''s 1000 gold coins!" seeing Levi''s frosty expression, the man quickly spoke. he wasn''t afraid of Levi, but afraid that he wouldn''t be able to sell the fox.


    levi looked at the man silently, as his expression became awkward with a tinge of guilt. silently, levi retrieved the gold coins and simply released them, causing them to drop onto the ground. he took the fox from it''s cage and walked away. the man''s expression darkened as he looked at Levi''s back. he threw the coins at the old man, but dropped his on the ground, wasn''t this just a slap to his face? but after standing there for a while, he started to pick up the gold coins, as multiple eyes were glued to them.


    as levi walked, he checked his blood energy level. it had returned to the 3rd stage, and felt like he only needed a bit more blood to reach the 4th stage. he didn''t know why he broke through so fast, but thinking back, it was most likely because he had already broken through to the 4th stage, but he dropped back to the second stage for an unknown reason. " meep!" the fox squeaked. levi was holding it by the nape of it''s neck, ensuring that it wouldn''t be able to get away.


    he lifted the fox to his eye level and looked at it, only to see it''s tail releasing a pink colored fog. "!!" Levi sensed killing intent to his side and looked around, only to see a martial artist wearing blue robes, with a sword, charging at him. jumping out of the way just in time, he grew the fingernails on his right hand out, and as the martial artist charged at him again, thin wind blades shredded him. but the scene of blood splattering and organs falling out did not happen, instead, the martial artist simply turned into plume of pink fog.


    Levi looked down at the fox, as he suppressed his anger. he began to walk again, under the cautious eyes of the passers-by who witnessed Levi''s supposed ''outburst''. on his way back to the in, the fox had conjured multiple illusions. after a few attacks, Levi got used to it. since the illusions would turn back to fog when attacked, why would he need to worry about them? when the fake swords hit him, wouldn''t the illusion shatter anyway? he continued on his way, on guard, but ignoring the fox''s shenanigans.


    after stepping foot into the old in, a light cracking sound rang out, as Levi swiftly broke the fox''s neck. without a word, he silently went to his room, the silver blood still floating above his shoulder. he silently released the green liquid (which i will now refer to as ''ant acid'' for convenience.) and enveloped the fox''s body in it. his goal was to see if bloodlines were stored at a particular place, or if it was just spread all over the beast''s body until he tries to absorb it. after the skin was desolved, he then started to desolve the muscles, carefully leaving the heart and veins intact. after removing all of the muscles and bones, which was slightly difficult, he decided to desolve the veins and heart slightly, so that he would be able to see through them. but although he was careful, multiple holes appeared as blood flowed out. looking at everything through the ant acid, he found that from a few holes in the heart, leaked a smokey white liquid.


    removing the ant acid, he separated the fox''s blood from the smokey liquid. he then absorbed the blood, and continued to look at the two floating blobs before him. placing his hand close to the rhinos bloodline, he felt a strong energy. but when he placed his hand close to the smokey liquid, the energy wasn''t strong, rather, it was weak. he thought about whether to absorb the bloodline or not, but in the end he decided to absorb it. although it wouldn''t increase his strength, it might become useful in a dangerous situation. a line of the smokey bloodline went towards Levi''s palm, before all of it was swiftly absorbed. Levi braced himself for pain, but it didn''t come. he found this strange. " are there some bloodlines that don''t cause trouble inside my body?" he mumbled.


    his shoulder and feet abruptly began itching, which indicated that the bloodline was making the necessary changes to his body. but other than that, nothing else happened, this caused him to be slightly unsettled. after calming himself down for a few minutes, he sat down on the bed, his legs crossed. he began practicing the water commandment, but the qi flowed through his body like it wasn''t there. gritting his teeth, levi absorbed qi, and attempted to use his entire body to contain it. 1 minute,2,3,4,5..."huuuuu! huff!" levi breathed in a large breath of air. while trying to trap the qi, it felt like he was suffocating. he began again, but this time, instead of using his entire body to trap the qi, he attempted to attach it to something in his body, similar to how inscriptions were attached to different vessels.


    "cough! cough!...." after a few minutes, levi coughed two mouthfuls of dark blood. this blood was still liquid, but was dark as if it was burned or scorched by something. his chest was burning, as he gulped down air. he wanted to to try again, but he forcefully stopped himself, before something irreversible happened.

 Chapter 66 Confrontation

    levi sat in silence for a few minutes, before blood energy rose from his body. he found that he still had a ways to go before he could get back to the 4th blood stage. after looking at his blood energy stage, he started practicing control. this control was what enabled him to use the blood gate before his blood energy stage was high enough. the speed of the rotating blood energy kept increasing, but then it stopped abruptly. the inn trembled slightly as all of Levi''s blood energy gathered at his back. "..." beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he tried to form the blood gate. after a minute or two, all of the blood energy scattered.


    "suuu....fuuuu...." levi took deep breaths. without moving, a white fog rose from both his feet and shoulders. since he hadn''t tried to use the illusion fox''s bloodline yet, he decided that it would be a good thing to familiarize himself with it. if he used it right, it might even become a powerful trump card. the gray fog gathered in front of him, before forming the silhouette of a person. the fog shrunk down until it formed the person completely, it was himself. a copy of himself floated before Levi, and although it wasn''t perfect, it still made him feel weird. he released more of the fog, as the silhouette grew. a man with long white hair, who had a rosy complexion stood before Levi, a slight smile on his face. This man was the demonic god sect master. Levi waved his hand, causing the fog to dissipate. he found that the illusion fox''s bloodline was easy to restrain and control, this caused many thoughts to swirl in his head.


    he got up from the bed and left the inn, his destination, the blacksmith forge. after a few minutes, the blacksmith workshop was in his view, but he also saw a group of about 20 men standing in front of it. these men wore black armor, and had an air of death surrounding them. levi walked up to the workshop, and completely disregarding the men, was about to walk in, when the bald man ran out of the workshop as soon as he saw levi through the partially opened door. " thank god! you are finaly here!" the man shouted, as he gripped Levi''s shoulders, tears in his eyes. " since you said that you wanted to attract the army, i asked around! but who would have thought that the second prince''s men would show up!? you have to take care of this, they have been standing out here since the sun rose, scaring any potential customers away!" the man shouted, as his grip on Levi''s shoulders tightened, causing him no little amount of pain.


    Veins bulged on Levi''s forehead as he almost laughed from anger. " let go." he frostily said. " huh? oh! sorry!" the man rubbed the back of his head, smiling awkwardly. " what do you want?" Levi turned around to look at the men and spoke, not asking any one of them in particular. " huh? who are you, brat? piss off back to where you came from!" a man with a large sword scar over his left eye spoke with annoyance. "..." Levi wasted no more time as he turned around, attempting to walk into the workshop. " wait! wait! it was this lad that made the inscription on the sword! he is the one who had the sword made, as well put it up for sale!" the bald man hurriedly stopped Levi and explained. "oh? so it was this brat who decided to sell this sword for such a ridiculous price?!" the man shouted as his eyes narrowed.


    " Listen brat, lower the price of this sword, and there will be no problems." the man spoke arrogantly, while Levi forcefully suppressed the burning rage in his heart. " fine." he said coldly, before walking into the workshop. inside, a plain double edged blade was on display, the price, 20,000 gold coins. levi walked up to the sword, as blood energy rose from his body. 3 water-like patterns were stacked and implanted in the sword, before he picked it up. " 10,000 good coins." he walked out of the workshop with the sword in his hand, before saying. " listen brat, from what i know, it is just a basic heating inscription on that sword. it''s not worth 20,000, or even 10,000 gold coins!" the man shouted.


    " fine then, 1,000 gold coins" Levi''s expression didn''t change. " fine!" the man said with an unwilling voice, as if he was against paying so much for it. "..." levi silently received the 1,000 gold coins, and passed the sword to the man. "humph!" the man humphed before walking away with the other men in tow. " you know that, even a basic inscription would sell for at least 15,000 gold coins, right?" after the group of men left, the bald man stated. "is that so." levi said coldly, before walking into the workshop. without a word, he sat in a corner of the display room with his legs crossed, as he retrieved a gold coin from the bulging pouch. blood energy rose from his body as he began making the absorption inscription. creating the patterns, completed. stacking the patterns, failed. "..." Levi tried again, but as he was about to implant the stacked patterns, the inscription collapsed.


    Levi sat in the corner quietly as the hours passed by. "um..." a voice disturbed Levi''s concentration, causing the inscription to collapse. "..." Levi looked up. " i didn''t really send those four people for more ore for myself, but for the entire forge! you see, if we can''t make anything, we can''t make any money to survive....." the bald man continued, as Levi looked up without emotion. "...um, what i want to ask is....can you raise my percentage? please?" the muscular man clasped his hands, making him look extremely funny. Levi just silently went back to practicing the inscriptions. who the man wanted the ore for was no concern of his. seeing Levi ignore him, the man could only return to the forge. Levi continued to fail making the inscription deep into the night. after all of his blood energy was used up, he could only go to sleep.

 Chapter 67 Starlight inscription

    next day, early morning.


    Levi was sitting in the same spot, trying, but failing to make a certain inscription. he was trying to make the blood energy version of the absorption inscription, using the calligraphy-like structure, but it was proving difficult. it was hard since, although he knew about the calligraphy structure, he still had to change certain things in different inscriptions. so essentially, he had to change the right thing in different inscriptions, every time, in order to make working blood energy inscriptions. "..." he silently continued. a few minutes later, he had finally completed the inscription, as he released a breath. "...." he picked up the gold coin and looked at it.


    during the time he time he was making this inscription he realised something. he had changed the core part of the inscription, which enabled him to make it successfully. and looking back, what he changed in the heating inscription was also the core part. which meant that as long as he found the core or main part of an inscription, he would be able to successfully make it with blood energy, as long as he made the right changes. next was the release inscription. instead of trying and failing over and over again, he made the patterns and stacked them, before searching for the core with mental energy. a few minutes later, he found the core. after a few failures, he had completed the release inscription. as he thought, even if he knew where the core was, the problem was making the right changes to it.


    getting up from his cross-legged position, he walked into the forge. ignoring the heat, he walked towards the bald man. in a bucket of oil, 5 blades sat. " hey." levi spoke. " hmm?" the man looked around, only to see a gold coin flying towards him. he caught the coin and looked at it, seeing calligraphy style symbols on both sides. " what is this?" the man asked. " the inscriptions that i will put on the swords." Levi said. "...ah!" the man stood silently for a while, before realizing something. Levi wanted him to test the inscriptions. he cautiously held the the coin between the tips of his fingers, remembering what happened with the blade. vviviv! as he poured qi into the coin, it began to vibrate, but noting happened afterward.


    " huh?" the man brought the coin close to his face, as he looked at it. " it''s not working?" he mumbled, confused. "..." seeing this, Levi took the coin form the man''s hand, and left, leaving him standing there for a few minutes. as he walked out, Levi poured blood energy into the coin, and the same thing happened again. after a few minutes of thinking, he found the reason. the two inscriptions were separate, which meant that the qi being stored in the absorption inscription had no way to get to the release inscription. there was only one solution to this problem that he could think of, and that was to somehow connect the two inscriptions.


    sitting in the corner of the display room, an image of old gray constructing the yin yang seal appeared in his mind. he had looked over this multiple times, but only casually. since it was only a memory, the image was not clear, making it harder for Levi to gain insights. after musing over the information for a few minutes, Levi opened his eyes, a dim gleam flickering in his eyes. he released his blood energy and started to construct the inscription patterns. he completed the first 5 patterns easily, but it was harder going into the remaining 5 patterns, as he still had to keep the first five together, forcing him to split his concentration.


    after a few minutes, sweat covered Levi''s face, as he began forcefully constructing the final pattern. "..huff...." after successfully constructing the final pattern, Levi panted softly as sweat flowed down his face. the patterns were then stacked easily, leaving two inscriptions floating in front of Levi. he then placed the inscriptions parallel to each other, and grudgingly began constructing something between them, fusing them together. "hmm?" he felt that he had succeeded too easily, as he implanted the now fused inscription into a coin. vivivi! after pouring what remaining blood energy he had left into the inscription, it simply vibrated as the energy was stored, but it was not released.


    devoid of blood energy, he could only wait until it returned. 30 minutes later, his blood energy had returned, and he began trying something else. fog rose from his feet and shoulders, as he constructed an inscription from it. he had a thought, if he could see how inscriptions were structured in detail, he would be able to alter them as he pleased. after the patterns were constructed with the fog, he stacked them like normal, before increasing the size of the finished inscription. slashing with his hand, he removed the tip of the inscription, and looked over it. what he saw was, just fog, no structure to be seen.


    after a bit of thought, he decided to go see old gray. leaving the workshop, he headed for the clothes shop. the bell on the door rang as he pushed it. " what can i do for you, sir?" an attendant appeared before asking. ignoring the attendant, Levi made his way through the clothes that were on display, and arrived before the door to the back room. " oh? what do you need, boy." old gray looked slightly surprised. "...wahahahaha!" after explaining the situation to old gray, he burst out laughing. "..." levi just stood silently. " you wanted to connect two different inscriptions?! at your level?! Haha!" he laughed again. " ah...you know, there are certain inscriptions for things like absorbing and releasing, for swords and such." old gray said, wiping a tear from his eye. afterward, he dissapeared, before reappearing, a large book with a black cover in his hand.


    bam! as the book was dropped onto the table, the table''s legs trembled under it''s weight. flip! old gray opened the book, which was as thick as an adult''s thigh, and stopped at one of the first pages. " here, the starlight inscription." old gray pointed to a diagram on the book. " this is an inscription mainly used by beginners to practice, since it is made to both channel and release qi." old gray explained, as Levi read it''s description, which stated. '' the starlight inscription is mainly used in weapons. the sword is one of the most common vessels used, since the starlight inscription is more compatible with slash type weapons. when the inscription is activated, the qi cycles through it for a few times, before it is released. the speed of the released qi is a result of the cycling, while the inscription get''s it''s name from the light sparkling around the qi which is released, resembling stars in the sky.''


    " look at these." Levi suddenly remembered something, as he handed old gray two gold coins with blood energy inscriptions. "hmm? what are these supposed to be?" old gray said. " heat inscriptions." Levi said. " heat inscriptions? both of them?" old gray asked doubtfully. he wondered why Levi would give him two of the same inscriptions. the two coins floated from his palms, as qi poured into them. boom! the sound of a small explosion rang out as one coin exploded, while only after old gray pumped more qi into the remaining coin did it heat up the gold coin to the point of melting.


    " hmmm. i''m guessing you want to know why they are like this?" old gray asked as he looked at Levi, who lightly nodded his head. " you were lucky to discover these two inscriptions. one of them absorbs qi, and activates incredibly fast. but it is because of that speed that it''s vessel is destroyed every time it is used. so unless it was implanted into a material which could withstand the explosion of energy, this inscription is basically useless. as for the second one, this one is slightly different from that one. this inscription actually compresses qi, before it activates. this makes it activate slower, and consumes more qi. but then it activates, gradually releasing the compressed qi at a reasonable pace. since more qi is compressed, when it is released, it would also be more powerful. but again, after a few uses of this inscription, unless the vessel could withstand the constant damage done by the concentrated qi, it will break." old gray explained in a few breaths.


    "....if the vessel breaks in the end, why did you say that i was lucky to discover them?" Levi asked, confused. " that''s because, if you were to combine these inscriptions, you would be able to get the better of both. the speed of the first one, and the compression and gradual release of the second one." old gray said with a grin. "...thank you." Levi said lightly as he turned around, about to leave. "boy, so you can construct inscriptions with that strange energy of yours, hmmm...." Levi''s body froze, as old grays voice rang out. he had a bad feeling.


    "since that is the case...."old gray paused, as a dark grin appeared on his face. " we can continue our training session." old gray currently looked like a devil, and Levi, a sacrificial lamb. " hmm? i almost forgot. you are in the middle of some plan, i guess it will have to wait. " old gray said as he came to the realization. " but don''t make me wait too long." the smile returned, as he spoke with a laugh. Levi almost tripped on his way out, his heart racing. he wasn''t afraid of many things, but that old man was definitely one of them. after calming himself down, he went back to his room in the inn. sitting on his bed, he began constructing patterns, attempting to make the starlight inscription.


    ...


    the sun was on the horizon again, as Levi waited for his blood energy to return. he tried and failed to make the starlight inscription, over and over. but during this resting period, he went over the information about the starlight inscription, and felt like he understood it enough to successfully make it with blood energy. but the reason why he failed so many times wasn''t because of the inscription itself, it was because he was trying to make a combination of the water-like inscription and the calligraphy-like inscription. for this reason, the level of difficulty rose significantly. after a few more minutes, his blood energy returned, and he tried again. but as he failed yet again, he decided to try making it with just the calligraphy structured inscription.

 Chapter 68 Meeting

    after two tries, he had made, and stacked the patterns for the starlight inscription. but since it wasn''t an inscription that could be put on a coin, he allowed it to collapse. after a bit of thought, he got up and left the inn. on the streets, only a few people aside from Levi were walking. as he was walking, he felt 5 presences following him from a certain difference from him. he made a left turn and walked into a wide alley. "..." he silently released a thick fog from his body, forming a boy with long black hair, wearing a blue robe with a sword at his waist, and a slight smile on his face. he quickly sent the person to the other end of the alley, and waited. swoosh! the 5 people ran smoothly, as their black cloaks fluttered in the wind.


    " kill!" the gruff voice of a man rang out, as terrifying killing intents erupted from their bodies. " humph!" levi snorted coldly as he made the illusion fog run towards himself. clank! Levi barely stopped the sword of the man with his sabre, his right hand trembling under the pressure. " don''t get involved in other people''s business!" one of the four remaining men dashed towards the illusion fog. puff! he cleaved it from shoulder to waist, before it exploded into a white fog. " wha-" the man was slightly startled, but jumped to the side all of a sudden. during his confusion, levi had jumped back and slashed toward him, intending to liberate his head from his body, but he had reacted in time, only receiving a deep gash on the side of his neck. "...tch." levi''s expression darkened as his attack failed. he also wouldn''t be able to use the illusion fog to fool them again since they had already seen it.


    "humph! don''t even try to fight back! you sold a defective sword that cost our commander his arms!" the first man said, as he shot out, the others closing in from the sides. whoosh! veins appeared all over Levi''s body as blood red wings sprouted from his back, as shoot into the sky, only barely dodging the swords of the men. "..." his fingers bent weirdly as his black fingernails grew out with a curve, the skin on his hand hardening. vivivi! poisonous wind blades shot down, causing the 5 people to scatter. in their confusion, Levi shot a ball of ant acid onto one of their hooded heads. " glalalalal!" he thrashed around while trying to get the liquid from his head, his hands dissolving as a result.


    still in the air, Levi extracted the man''s blood from his body before flying off. crash! after a few minutes of flying, Levi plummeted from the sky, crashing into a wooden box filled with old vegetables. " ughhh....." he groaned in agony, as his bones shifted. his face was begining to stretch forward, while his back began bending. he resisted the raven''s bloodline forcefully, as it tried to transform his body. he had tried not to use the raven''s bloodline, since it was one of the hardest to control, but since he was in danger he had to take the risk. the fact that he had to constantly restrain the bloodline made it harder for him to fly, since he had to split his concentration. " haaaaa....haaaa..." he lay in the box of old vegetables panting after suppressing the ravens bloodline. " when you pay less for something than it''s worth....haaa..haaa...the quality also decreases...haaa" Levi sneered coldly. he was referring to the sword which he sold for 1,000 gold. since the soldier wanted to rip him off, he left a special present in the sword, in the form of the exploding water-like inscription.


    getting up from the box, he looked down at his right arm, which was still shaking. although he didn''t use blood energy this time, he decided that it would be better to run, rather than stay and fight. since his bloodline abilities were a large part of his fighting strength, in his current condition, dragging out a fight would lead to his own death. those people were also stronger than him, based on the sword strike by the leader of the five, he estimated that the man was at the mind opening realm 1st level at the very least. he had only managed to kill that one based on pure luck, and he was only able to get away because he acted swiftly, and ran while they were confused. as all of these thoughts passed through his head, he clenched his fists tightly, causing cracking sounds to ring out. it seemed that just as he had found a bright path to power, dark clouds came and blocked it out. he needed to get stronger.


    "there will be a war soon....." he mumbled as he absorbed the floating blood. although he didn''t want to get involved in the war, wouldn''t there be a lot of people dying on the battlefield? in that case....wouldn''t there be a sea of blood for him to absorb? but he had to think about this carefully. if he were to join the war, with his current strength, there was a good chance of him dying. "....but so what? you cannot gain strength while hiding under a rock...." he mumbled, as a cold light flickered in his eyes.


    " hey." Levi walked silently, then, a voice suddenly rang out behind him. "...what?" Levi''s body ozed a thick killing intent, controlling his anger was indeed hard. " can you put away you killing intent, please? it''s giving me goosebumps." a girl with short, straight black hair, walked from the darkness, her body illuminated by the moonlight. her hair was cut neatly just below her jawline and the nape of her neck. she wore a short pink robe, exposing her slender legs, and a slight smile was on her face. her deep, watery blue eyes made Levi feel slightly uncomfortable. "..." looking at the girl, Levi silently tired to calculated her strength, based on her reaction to his killing intent. " what do you want?" he asked coldly, after a few seconds. " a few weeks ago, my sister said that she was saved by someone. a person with red hair and golden eyes." the girl said, as her smile deepened.


    "....and so?" Levi asked again, he didn''t remember saving anyone. " come with me back to my clan, so that we can thank you." she spoke, with a welcoming smile. " no need." he replied. " is that so? did you hear that, lily?" the girl turned her head, before saying. step! step! another girl walked out from the darkness. it was the girl from the mass grave, who directed Levi to the imperial city. seeing the girl, everything came back to him, but he wondered why the girl said he saved her. if he didn''t need her to show him to the imperial city, she would have just become more blood in his veins. "..." without another word, Levi turned around and began walking. " wa-wait!" the girl shouted, as Levi stopped once again. "....there is going to be a war here soon..." she said. Levi already knew about the war, causing him to start walking again. " you should come with us! we are leaving the cloud continent!" the girl shouted. " what are you saying lily?!" she didn''t expect her sister to talk about their plan to leave the cloud continent, much less offer a stranger to come with them.


    Levi kept walking, he had no interest in leaving the cloud continent just yet, he still had a lot of unfinished business that needed to be taken care of. seeing Levi getting further away, the girl wore a sad expression. " you should stay away from people like that in the future. those kinds of people who only do things for their own gain." the girl said to lily, who didn''t respond.


    After Levi left, he took a few different roads to get to the forge, in case the people from before were still looking for him. he walked into the forge, which was still filled with men, hammering away at pieces of metal. he was quite bewildered by how these people were still in the forge even at night, didn''t they sleep? " where is the bald man?" Levi walked up to one of the smiths. " bald man? oh, if you meant Andrew, he went home not too long ago." the man told Levi. " hmm? are you the kid that he is making the swords for? he said that if you came, to tell you that he had left 5 swords by his furnace." Levi nodded before turning and walking towards the furnace. " also..." Levi paused and looked back. " thank you for the iron ore!" the man bowed and shouted. "..." Levi silently turned around and continued walking.


    when he arrived at the forge, 5 double edged swords balanced on an anvil. he picked one of the swords up, and sat cross-legged on the ground. after about 40 minutes, he was implanting the last calligraphy styled starlight inscription. picking up one of the swords, he walked up to the man from before. "...test this inscription for me." he held out the sword by it''s hilt with the tip pointing down, waiting for the man to take it from his hands. " hmm, ok." the man put down his large hammer, and took the sword from Levi''s hand. vivivi! after a few seconds, the sword began vibrating. the man slashed out sloppily, as a whitish blue sword light shot out while shimmering. " huh?" boom! one of the blacksmiths heard a whistling sound from behind, and looking around, only to see a large sparkling sword light coming towards him. he had barely escaped from getting cut in half, when the sword light slammed into the hot furnace, causing an explosion. as the dark coal ash settled, a large crevasse was seen.


    " youuuuuuu!!!!!!" the man shouted angrily, as he turned to look at the man with the sword. " wa-wait! i was just- i knew you wanted to kill me! i''ll kill you first!" the man shouted, as he grabbed his hammer and ran towards the man with the sword. Levi took the sword from the man''s hand, and walked back to the bald man''s furnace, ignoring the confusion. the other blacksmiths hurriedly held the raging man back, as the other man tried explaining.

 Chapter 69 Auction

    a few days later.


    Levi was in the small tailors room, a gloomy air hanging over him. looking up, he saw both old gray, and old lin. he had only come to show old gray the starlight inscription, who would have thought that what happened the last time would repeat itself? "...suu.." he suddenly sat up straight, and sucked in a breath. "hmmm?" old gray''s smile deepened, giving Levi goosebumps. a few hours later. " ah, this is no fun." old gray suddenly spoke. since Levi was quietly reading both books about inscriptions and pill refining, old gray found it boring. on the other hand, old lin just had a slight smile on his face, as he watched Levi read through the book about pill refining.


    although both books were the size of human thighs, Levi swiftly read through them. " oh yeah, boy. i heard something interesting." old gray suddenly said. " something interesting?" Levi looked up. " apparently there is going to be a big auction in a few days." old gray smiled. " an auction? i''m not int-" old gray interrupted. " you should go, if only to widen your horizons. in fact, i''m sure you will find something interesting there, something that you will want, but can''t have." old gray snickered. " alright." Levi nodded. since old gray said that much, didn''t that mean that something incredible would be there? after a few minutes of thinking, he went back to reading the two books.


    a few days later, Levi had read the books from cover to cover. he was feeling tired since he hadn''t eaten or slept during these few days. " hmm, you can keep this book." old gray said after some thought. although Levi read the whole book, that didn''t mean that he would remember everything, and old gray knew this. " then, you can keep this book on pill refining, too." old lin said, after some thought. Levi was too tired to respond, as he fell asleep. waking a few hours later, he found that both old lin, and old gray were gone, while the black feather coat was on the table, along with the two books. he put the books into the spacial ring and put on the coat, before leaving the cloths shop. after going to the inn and bathing, he left for the everything guild, that was where the auction was being held, according to old gray.


    " what can i help you with today, sir?" the attendant recognized Levi. " i''m here for the auction." Levi said. " ah, then have you paid the entrance fee?" the attendant asked, as Levi shook his head. " it is 2 gold coins." she said with a smile. Levi handed the money to her, and before he knew what was happening, he appeared in a large, dark room. rows of chairs descended, while behind them, high up, were large boxes, with a shiny black front. he sat in the corner seat at the top. "....you.." after a few minutes, an angry voice rang out, causing Levi to look around. he saw one of the soldiers that were standing in front of the blacksmith workshop, along with a feminine boy with long black hair, wearing an elegant white robe. the boy, just like Levi, ignored him after a glance. " ah, it''s him..." the voice of a girl rang out. " lily, didn''t i tell you to forget about him? didn''t you see how the second prince looked at him just now? come, don''t cause any trouble." two familiar voices rang out.


    Levi closed his eyes, silently reviewing something in his head. when he had time, he would go to the everything guild, so that he could learn about the human body''s structure in the physicians library. he had read something about strange, tiny channels, that were spread all over the body. the person who wrote the book referred to them as, the primordial meridians. the book stated that most living things had these meridians, explaining that these meridians were the reason why mutated beasts, or even those terrifying beasts of legend were able to cultivate, despite not having a dantian. however, when he asked the guardian of the physician''s library about the book, he said that the author of the book was known as a crazy man. despite this, Levi continued to read the book. finding a page where the author explained that mutated beasts, from a young age, slam their bodies against large trees or boulders in order to strengthen their them, which would allow them to be able to store qi in their bodies when they were old enough, then use those primordial meridians to utilize that qi. but just as he thought that he would be able to use this method to start qi cultivation again, the book continued to say, the primordial meridians in humans had either long shriveled, or been blocked by various impurities, with the only way to unblock them being to bathe in lava, or something on that scale.


    " ahem!" an old man appeared on the stage and cleared his throat, causing the murmuring to stop, and Levi to open his eyes. " we have two special items for todays auction, but they will be auctioned off last. since i know that you are impatiently waiting for the auction to start, i won''t continue speaking. let the auction..." the old man paused. " begin!" he shouted. " the first item we have, is a bone tempering grass!" the old man said, as a well endowed lady brought a box toward him. " bone tempering grass? what the hell is this?" we are here for real treasures, not nonsense like bone tempering grass!" some people began complaining. it''s not that they didn''t know that bone tempering grass was rare, but all of them were over the age where bone tempering grass could do anything for them. " the starting price will be 500 gold coins!" the old man shouted.


    "550 gold coins." a female voice rang out. it was lily''s older sister. " 600." another voice rang out. this time, it was a youth wearing a golden flame robe, he looked at the two with disdain. " 650!" she continued, ignoring the boy. " 700." the boy sneered. " 750! don''t go to far just because you are from the scorching sun clan!" the girl said through gritted teeth. " what are you going to do about it, alysa? you want this bone tempering grass for your trash little sister, but i want it for my little brother! why don''t you just let someone who will actually benefit from this bone tempering grass have it? instead of wasting it on your trashy sister!" the boy sneered, while multiple people tried to force down their laughter. the trash of the flowing water clan was well known around the imperial city, but even more famous, or infamous, was her older sister alysa, who defended her despite her being trash.


    "you...." alysa''s expression darkened. " sold! the bone tempering grass goes to the girl!" the old man shouted, startling everyone. " what?! why was it sold to her?!" the boy shouted. after he said so much, wasn''t selling the bone tempering grass to her, just slapping his face? " my job is to move the auction along, when i began the count down, the girl was the last to place a bid. i am simply announcing the winner of this bone tempering grass." the old man said without a change in expression. what he meant was that, who''s fault was it that you decided to run your mouth instead of bidding? i''m here to carry the auction along, not wait for brats to finish bickering. " you! i''m from the scorching sun clan! if you don-please escort this noisy guest out." before the boy could finish, 4 men appeared out of nowhere. when he resisted, his arms and legs were broken. " how ruthless..." this one thought was going through the heads of those present, but they dared not say anything. this was basically killing the chicken to warn the monkey. '' we don''t care who you are. obediently participate in the auction, then go back to your worthless lives.'' this message was clearly portrayed.


    "moving on, we have a pair of accompanying jades! these jades helps you recover your qi faster. the starting bid is 2000!" the man shouted, wasting no time. people placed their bids, and the auction continued. a few hours later, only 3 more items were left. " next is this moon dragon sabre!" the woman walked out, carefully holding a sabre with a cloth. this sabre''s blade was a smokey silver color, while the handle was a gold, coiling dragon. Levi''s eyes widen slightly, before going back to normal. " the starting price of this sabre is....50,000 gold coins!" the old man shouted. this price caused a number of people''s faces to twist. " now now, this sabre is worth the price. although it does not have any kind of inscription or rune, it was made from meteor smoke!" the man said with a smile. " meteor smoke?" Levi mumbled. " meteor smoke....wait! you mean that legendary metal?! it is said that a weapon made from meteor smoke can sever the skys and seas alike! erasing mountains in a single strike! why is such a rare treasure being auctioned here?" an old man shouted. " what?" is that true?" who cares, we can''t afford that price!" the people began discussing.


    "55,000." a lazy voice rang out, causing everyone to freeze, the second prince had placed his first bid, and it was 55,000! " 60,000" suddenly, a voice came from one of the large boxes. " 65,000." the second prince responded lazily. " 100,000." the person in the box responded without emotion. the second prince turned his head and glanced back, looking at the 4 boxes. he just returned to sitting silently afterward. " next, is one of the two special items! a treasure jian with the destruction inscription!" the old man said as he narrowed his eyes, a flickering gleam quickly dissapearing. " the price of this sword will be decided by you." he spoke with a light smile. " 500,000 gold coins." a different voice escaped one of the boxes, causing the people to freeze yet again. " 5-5-500,000?!?" even the children of the large clans were shocked. that was the annual income of their 3 clans combined, and they still probably didn''t have that much!


    "700,000." a female voice rang out from a different box. " 1,000,000." the first voice said calmly, causing even the girl who bid 700,000 to choke on her saliva. " very good! sold to the VIP in box 3!" the old man said with a shameless smile. " and finally, our last item for the day." the old man spoke, as two women pushed a large metal trolley towards him. " the heart....." the old man paused. " Of a lesser dragon!!" he shouted.

 Chapter 70 Familiar Face

    " the heart of a lesser dragon!" this sentence caused many people to get goosebumps. what was a dragon? it was a tyrannical creature in legend! and now a dragon heart was being auctioned! " unfortunately, this item cannot be bought with silver or gold." the old man said, a grieving expression on his face. " what? can''t be bought with silver or gold? then what can it be bought with?" a man asked doubtfully. " this dragon heart can only be bought with spirit stones!" the old man said. " what? rocks?" the man asked, confused, causing the old man to shake his head at the man''s ignorance. " a spirit stone is essentially, compressed qi. if qi is trapped under a mountain for a few million years, it will be compressed until it becomes solid. these stones can be used for cultivation, or as a currency. of course, people usually don''t use them as money. one spirit stone would be the equivalent of 5,000,000 gold coins, and i''m being generous!" the old man explained. " but if- 1 spirit stone." the same person who won the treasure sword with the destruction inscription spoke again.


    " can you give us a break please?" the female voice spoke, she sounded out of breath. " 1 and a hal- 2 spirit stones." before she could finish, the cold voice rang out cone again. " anymore bidders? 2 spirit stones going once! going twice! sold to our VIP in the 3rd box!" the old man shouted. the two women pulled the metal side panel from the trolley, showcasing a large heart, two times the size of a human head. around the heart were 5 white inscriptions, their purpose was unknown. a youth with long, straight black hair appeared in before the 3rd VIP box, his black robes fluttering. who ever looked at him felt pressure. Levi''s body was radiating killing intent at the moment. at first, he was looking at the lesser dragon heart with a burning desire. but when the youth appeared in the air, he had a familiar feeling, and looking around, he did indeed know the person. it was one of the two people who tried to kill him as he was returning from desolate mountain.


    but after a bit of thought, Levi suppressed his killing intent. even when he could use his bloodlines freely, he was still almost killed easily by the other party. what he didn''t know was that, the youth had already sensed his killing intent, he just couldn''t be bothered by it. would an elephant be bothered by an ant? the answer was obviously no. the youth went down to the stage and took the heart from the trolley, before it dissapeared from his hand. he pulled out two glowing pieces of icy blue stone from his robe, and gave them to the old man, who was smiling stupidly. afterwards, the youth dissapeared again. Levi clenched his fists tightly. at first, he was burning with desire to obtain the heart and absorb the dragon''s bloodline. but after seeing the boy, that desire was overshadowed by his thirst for revenge. " humph! it''s only a snake heart anyway!" the female voice said unhappily.


    Levi got up, wondering how to leave the auction hall, before he suddenly appeared in the everything guild once again. as he left the everything guild, his resolve to join the coming war became firm. a gleam flickered in his eyes as he headed for the clothes shop. " huh? why do you want to release the yang element?" old gray asked with a frown. Levi asked if he could somehow release the yang element of the yin yang seal, for what ever reason. " didn''t i tell you? the extreme yin and yang in the yin yang seal suppress and balance out each other. if there is even the slightest increase or decrease in one of them, the inscription and it''s vessel, will explode." old gray said with a heavy tone. what was wrong with this boy? was he in such a hurry to die? old gray silently wondered. "....then what would happen if i released both at the same time?" levi asked. " do you remember what happened when i first put the seal on you?" old gray returned a question.


    Levi''s thinking was quite simple really. he had read about how mutated beasts slammed their bodies against boulders and such, and this idea popped into his head. wouldn''t it be the same? if mutated beasts tempered their bodies in such a way, couldn''t he just do this? "....fine." old gray sighed. he had a feeling that if he didn''t let Levi do this, he would just come back in worse condition. or he might not come back at all. they went to the white tower, and Levi laid on the bed. " sigh....you have to first activate it...." old gray sighed, before explaining. "....ughh..." at first it was just slight discomfort, but then the feeling of ice and fire flowing through his veins caused a groan to escape Levi''s lips.


    " ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" a few minutes in, he couldn''t hold his voice back. his muscles were flash frozen, then scorched. old gray wanted to use qi to protect levi''s organs and meridians, but he declined. since the primordial meridians were said to be through put the body. Levi didn''t want to miss any spots. " AHHHHHHHHHHH!" the pain reached it''s peak as Levi almost passed out, but old gray stopped the extreme yin and yany forcefully with his own qi. after a few minutes, he released it again. this cycle went on for a few hours, causing the white bed sheets to once again, be stained with blood.


    ...


    next day, morning.


    " AGHHHHHHHH!" Levi continued to scream, his eyes bloodshot. a few hour earlier, he had told old gray not to restrain the yin and yang elements. he also wanted to temper his will during this, since, if his will was strong enough,wouldn''t he be able to suppress his bloodlines easily? that way, the yin yang seal wouldn''t even be necessary.


    at the blacksmith forge.


    " where is that brat?! bring him out here!" a soldier clad in black armor shouted, veins bulging on his forehead. " h-he is not here!" Andrew said once again. he felt helpless in his heart. didn''t that lad cause him too much trouble? " our general wants to see him!" the man shouted. " th-the second prince?! but even so, he really isn''t here!" Andrew shouted. " hmm, that''s enough." the second prince spoke. " but general, that brat sold a sword that costed one of our men his arms!" the soldier said, as he looked at the second prince with a pleading gaze. " do you take me for a fool? just because you guys behave in front of me, doesn''t mean i don''t know how you really are!" the second prince narrowed his eyes, causing the soldier to stiffen. " but still, i will do something about it." the second prince said, relaxing his face. " yes, general! he did kill one of our men, after all!" the soldier said, but instantly regretted it, as the second prince shot him a knowing glance.


    " what i''m here for is swords. as much as you can make me." the second prince turned to Andrew. " s-swords?" Andrew felt that this line was familiar. " ah, please wait a moment, your highness!" Andrew went into the forge and picked up one of the four remaining swords, all with inscriptions. " hmm, these inscriptions were made by that boy?" the second prince asked, as he looked at the symbol on the side of the blade. " i thought that inscriptions were invisible until activation, but i guess i was wrong." the second prince said, as he was about to pour his qi into the sword. " wait, your highness! you shouldn''t-" vivivvi! a sparkling sword light shot out, barely missing the soldier by a hair. the man looked beside him, and saw a large crevasse right beside him, this sight shook him to his core.


    "y-yo-you-" who are you calling your highness?" the second prince asked with a smile. " General!" the man quickly corrected himself, as he stood at attention. " how many of these swords are there?" the second prince asked. " there are 3 more inside..." Andrew said. " oh, i will buy them all for 40,000, that should be an acceptable price, right?" he asked. " of course!" Andrew quickly answered. if it was one sword, then the price would be 15-20,000 gold coins. but if a large amount were being sold, that price could be lowered slightly. after getting the remaining swords, the second prince gave Andrew the money before leaving.


    ...


    in the white tower.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Levi continued to scream, his eyes completely red. hour after hour, he kept screaming in pain. this continued for a few days, causing Andrew to be slightly worried. the second prince wanted swords with inscriptions, if he didn''t deliver....."...." Levi didn''t have the strength to scream any more, as he lay silently, his body trembling. all throughout this, he had to constantly heal his muscles that were torn from freezing and burning. he had almost lost consciousness multiple times, but forcefully kept himself awake. "....boy, why don''t you stop this...." old gray mumbled to himself. levi was putting his life on the line for something that might not even be real. a few days later, his body continued trembling as blood ozed from from his pores, following it was a brown liquid. " impurities?" old gray was shocked. from what Levi had told him, his body had already been cleansed of impurities. what did this mean? was his body not cleansed completely the first time? or was part of his body not cleansed before, because whatever was used to cleanse it, was not made to get rid of impurities from certain places?


    after a few minutes, the brown liquid covered Levi and the bed. this liquid had no smell, making old gray question if it was really impurities. after a whole day of the liquid seeping from levi''s body, he told old gray to restrain the yin yang seal. after a few minutes of rest, surprisingly, he was able to move. the first thing he did was to try to absorb qi, but failed. and the cycle continued. screaming, bleeding, brown liquid. it felt like no matter how much of the brown liquid was excreted from his body, there was always more.


    after a few more days, he found that he could keep a small amount of qi in his body. " boy, it seems that soldiers from the divine dragon continent are already here." old gray said. "...i only just absorbed a small amount of qi....what bad timing....." Levi spoke. he ate the food that old gray brought for him and left the white tower. " sigh, he is too reckless. although that recklessness seems to have paid off this time, he was only able to absorb a small amount of qi. and who knows what the repercussions of damaging his body to such an extent are...." old gray could only sigh.

 Chapter 71 Joining

    after leaving the white tower, Levi walked back to the inn. he bathed and headed straight for the forge. " oh, it''s you, brat! why haven''t you been working on the generals swords!?" a few soldiers were outside, and one of them recognized Levi. not even sparing the soldiers a glance, Levi walked directly into the forge. " ah you''re finaly here! i thought the second prince would kill me!" Andrew said with tears in his eyes. this was a funny scene, a large muscular, bald man, holding his hands in front of himself with his fingers intertwined. ignoring him, Levi walked up to the furnace, and found 7 blades in a wooden bucket filled with oil.


    he took one of the blades from the bucket and wiped the oil off with an old rag, before he began constructing the starlight inscription. after a few minutes, he had implanted the inscription and took another blade from the bucket. half an hour later, he was on the last blade, beads of sweat on his forehead as he created and implanted the last starlight inscription. he closed his eyes and rested for a few minutes, and when he opened them, 5 more blades were present in the bucket of oil. this continued for the rest of the day.


    ...


    next day, morning.


    " hmmm, only 103 were made." the second prince looked at the rack filled with swords, his hand on his chin. " well whatever, i will pay you 300,000 gold for these swords." he said as he looked up. " hmm? are you the one who made the inscriptions on these swords?" he saw Levi beside andrew. "..." Levi lightly nodded. " then are you also.." the second prince paused, a grin forming on his face. " the one who killed one of my men?!" he appeared in front of Levi, one of the swords in hand. clank! he slashed down, while Levi blocked with his sabre. Levi was forced to take 10 steps back, only stopping when his back touched the wall of the blacksmith workshop. blood energy rose from his body, as he looked at the second prince coldly. " hmm? how weak. whatever, i know that they probably did something. also, getting killed by someone as weak as this, he deserved to die." the second prince turned around and began walking away. " i will send someone deliver the money later." he said as he walked away.


    looking at the hand holding his sabre, Levi saw that it was still shaking from the strike. "..." a strike this heavy without even using qi, Levi looked at his back coldly. he definitely couldn''t beat the second prince right now, which was why he didn''t attack. " i almost forgot." Andrew suddenly turned around a started walking toward Levi. " this is the money for the 4 swords that i sold a few days ago." he handed Levi a pouch full to overflowing with gold coins. " i already took out my 20%." Andrew said with a smile, rubbing the back of his head. Levi simply put the coins into the spacial ring, before leaving the workshop.


    rumble! rumble!


    loud rumbling sounds engulfed the imperial city, from the north, south, east and west gates, as soldiers clad in silver armor rode in on horseback. " huh? why are the soldiers back? why is the army gathering?" a few people mumbled as they watched the soldiers. people watched the battle ready soldiers with awe, without knowledge of the impending war. the soldiers gathered at a military camp that was normally empty because they were at the borders of the cloud continent. " oh? the 4 princes of the divine dragon continent? they sent those brats here?" a large muscular man who wore an angry expression, with a straight sword scar between his brows asked. " i never understood why there were 4 kingdoms in the Divine dragon continent." a slim man said coldly. " who knows?" a man with a sturdy looking body said with a laid back smile. "..." the remaining man kept his eyes and mouth shut, his long black hair flowing in the wind.


    these were the 4 generals of the divine dragon continent, the general of the south, the north, the east and west. the four sat at a wooden table, the thousands of soldiers all doing the same. " well whatever, no point worrying about it. Men! We are going to drink!" the laid back general, general of the south shouted. " again?!?" didn''t we drink yesterday, too?!" the soldiers complained, but some still left to aquire the ale. " humph! only knowing how to play! we are going to train, men!" the angry general, general of the north shouted to his men. " tch!" general, all work and no play will make us dull boys!" who is a boy, you pervert?! why is someone like you in this army?!" the soldiers started bickering. "..." the silent general, general of the east got up to leave. " at least say something before you leave, general!" the soldiers all had this one thought. " you can rest for the time being." the cold general, general of the west said coldly.


    ...


    next day, morning.


    " who is this brat?" the northern general asked, as he looked down at the second prince. " who are you calling a brat?!" one of the two large soldiers behind the second prince shouted. " humph! who''s army do you belong to?! i will have to discipline you on their behalf!" the northern general took a large spear, and pierced forward, intending to kill the man. shing! " i would appreciate it if you don''t discipline my soldiers, general." the second prince redirected the spear with his sword, causing the iron rod and his sword to scrape against each other. '' strong.'' this one word passed through the second prince''s head. " hmm? who are you?" the angry general asked, his eyes narrowing. even though he didn''t use qi, for a youngster to not dodge or block, but redirect his spear...." the second prince, Elias Rain." the second prince said respectfully.


    " oh? the second prince? apologies for my rudeness your highness." the angry general bowed in apology. '' hmmm, i had always thought that those royal brats just sat on their asses, not doing anything....i don''t think i''m wrong, but this brat is an exception.....'' the angry general glanced up in his bowing position, while thinking. due to his angry face, it looked like he was glaring at the second prince. " no need to apologize, general. i should be the one apologizing for my subordinate''s rudeness." the second prince bowed, he had always respected the strong.


    ...


    at another part of the camp.


    "huh? you want to fight? with your little bit of strength?! furthermore, how did you know about this war, when information about it was not released?!" a tall soldier wearing silver armor looked at Levi with disdain. Levi looked at the man coldly. he had asked around and came to this camp in order to join one of the armies. he could have just joined the war on his own once it started, but he didn''t want to stand out. if every person wore armor, and someone wearing a plain robe, without any armor appeared, wouldn''t he be endlessly targeted? he knew that his strength was lacking, and that if he wanted to survive this and become stronger, he would have to blend in and discretely absorb the blood of those who died.


    " what is with the ruckus?" a man wearing silver armor with 3 spikes on each shoulder plate, and short spiky gray hair asked, before gulping down ale from a large wooden cup. " this brat that still smells of his mother''s milk says that he wants to fight in the war." the man said with a ridiculing smile. " haa, then just let him join! give him some armor, if he dies, it would be his own fault!" after gulping down some ale, the man released a satisfied breath. " wha- commander, you can''t be seri- ah ah, ran out of ale, gotta go get summore!" the man walked away unsteadily. " tch! fucking drunk!" the man looked at Levi angrily before stomping away. " don''t mind them. come, i''ll get you some armor." a man said with a smile. after Levi got the armor, he found a quiet corner and sat down. "..." he released the extreme yin and extreme yang from the yin yang seal once again, forcefully clenching his teeth from the pain. " hahaha! look at him now, so scared that he can barely hold in his shit! why did you want to join this battle if you are only going to shit yourself?!" a familiar voice rang out, as the man who had stomped away came back with a large wooden cup full of ale.


    Levi chewed on his lip, not releasing a sound. he couldn''t hear what the man said, and even if he could, he wouldn''t be able to say anything. " see?! he can''t even speak now!" the shouted, before taking a swig. " Bwahahahahahaha! maybe you should stop drinking, before you piss yourself again!" one soldier laughed. " eyyy! i told you not to speak about that!!" the man bellowed. " or what? what will you do?!" the soldier asked. " i''ll cry!" tears flowed from the man''s eyes. " hahaha ahahahaha! he always cries at some point when drunk!" the soldiers laughed. more of the brown liquid seeped from Levi''s body after a few minutes. 10 minutes later, he was in a puddle of the brown liquid. " haaa...haaa..." the large amount of sweat flowing from his face washed the brown liquid off of it. getting up, he left to find somewhere to bathe.


    ...


    morning.


    Levi got up early to absorb qi, but found that he had reached the limit. despite so much of the brown liquid being forced out, it seemed that his primordial meridians could not hold any more qi. rumble! a loud rumbling sound caused him to open his eyes. deng! deng! deng! the sound of metal hitting metal rang out hundreds of times. " hahaha! the cloud continent imperial family can only hide behind their wall! and this defensive barrier, what a hard turtle shell!" a loud laughter rang out. " Men! Get up! Ready yourselves!" the angry general''s voice rang out, causing the sleeping soldiers to jump up. deng! deng! weng weng! the imperial city wall trembled, as a large energy field blocked out arrows coated with qi.

 Chapter 72 Side Effec

    " move! out of the way!" Levi was pushed and shoved multiple times. " this horse is yours!" a horse was brought to Levi, before the soldier left. " why are you staring at it like that?! you should be gald to even be given a horse!" one of the soldiers shouted. in truth, although they were rushing to get ready, some of them still had time to try to mess with Levi. this particular horse loved to throw it''s rider off in the worse possible situations. "..." levi''s eyes frosted over, as a strong killing intent permeated through the air. Levi looked at the horse, who''s teeth were grinding against themselves with saliva dripping from it''s mouth, as it looked at Levi as if he were a fool. " if you throw me off...i will kill you." Levi looked down at the horse, his golden eyes filled with the intent to kill. from the moment he saw this horse, it reminded him of a certain roc. upon hearing Levi''s threat, although the horse couldn''t understand his words, it did feel the weight of death hanging over it''s head.


    as the horse lowered it''s head, Levi clumsily put on the armor. it was just basic silver armor, with a simple plated helmet. afterward, he just followed the sea of soldiers. " humph! those brats dare to rile me up?! men! we are moving out!!" the angry general shouted, as his 100,000 men followed him, Levi following at the back. rumble! the ground trembled as the soldiers left through the north gate. " humph, what a hot blooded old fool. fire!" hiding in the forest a few kilometers away from the imperial city, a youth wearing yellow armor resembling scales, held a large yellow bow with a dragon engraving. after waiting for the army to leave the gate, multiple arrows were released. psu!psu! the arrows whistled as the shot into the air." wha- Arrows!!" one of the soldiers shouted. " strengthen your defensive qi!" the soldier spoke again. " agh!!" crack! "my arm! " by the time the soldiers noticed the arrows, they were already falling on them. "...what are you screaming for?! act like men!" veins bulged on the angry general''s forehead as he looked at the sorry state of his men. " humph!" the youth in the forest merely sneered in response, as he nocked an arrow of his own.


    the bowstring was pulled back, causing the bow to form a Cresent. before releasing the arrow, qi gathered and spiraled at it''s tip. sou! the arrow shot out, whistling loudly as the bowstring trembled. " hmmm!?" just as the angry general was about to berate his soldiers, he felt a sense of danger. " humph! do you think you can kill me?! ridiculous!" he took the large spear from his back, as a thick qi rose from his body, coating the spare before he slashed down. deng! vivivvi! a spear and arrow clashed, small shockwaves emanating out from the force. " what kind of arrow is this?!" the general was surprised, then filled with anger. he was a general, how could an arrow from some brat cause him such trouble? " humph! break!" crack! the arrow was obliterated, as the spear continued downward, splitting the earth. looking down, the crevasse was still growing. " hoho, using your full strength against a junior, what a great general! retreat, men!" the youth sneered, before ordering. '' already at the heaven and earth stages at such a young age...'' the angry general thought silently.


    Levi watched this scene silently. he was not hurt from the rain of arrows, as he hid behind the large soldiers. he really had no intention to get involved, aside from absorbing blood. " how many casualties?" the angry general asked, breathing heavily. " 2-3 thousand! and more than 5 thousand injured!" one of the commander''s reported. "..." the angry general''s expression grew dark. " return to the city!" the general ordered. " hmm? why is that guy not moving?" a soldier looked back at Levi and asked. " humph! that brat is probably to scared to move, fucking pussy!" a soldier with an arrow stuck in his arm said angrily. "...keep an eye on him, he is under suspicion of being a spy!" another one said after some thought. after all of the soldiers left, the blood on the ground began flowing towards Levi. a large line of blood flowed through a ball of ant acid, coming out at the other side as a smaller line, before being absorbed. rumble! a thick blood mist exploded from Levi''s body. " 5th blood stage. there is still more blood, i can go higher." the white of Levi''s eyes slowly became red.


    " 6th blood stage, no more blood." Levi spoke, as he looked blankly towards the forest. " hey, what are yo- y-you...cough!" a soldier came to ask Levi something, but before he could finish, Levi''s hand was imbedded in his chest, easily stabbing though the armor as the body shriveled. " kill...blood....more! blood!" Levi bellowed, as even his pupils became red. '' what the hell? what is happening?!'' Levi screamed in his head as he tried to stay in control. he leaped from the horse''s back, two blood red wings sprouting from his back as veins across his body became visible. " hmm?" the youth in yellow armor felt something was wrong. " is something the matter? prince?" a commander asked. " no....it''s most likely my imaginat- agh!" wha-what the hell?!" cries of alarm and pain erupted from the back of the retreating soldiers. " what the hell?!" the youth turned around, only to see a large red mist slowly making it''s way through his 5 thousand or so soldiers. " humph! how dare you kill my men!" the youth saw a human figure at the center of the fog, and without any thought, nocked an arrow. sou! "!!" just as soon as Levi looked around, the arrow was right before his eyes. boom! he was sent flying, destroying a few trees before finally stopping.


    "..." the youth squinted his eyes. " ahahahah!" a terrifying laughter suddenly erupted, as Levi got up from the ground, an arrow floating before his forehead, it''s head stopped with blood energy. the helmet was shattered by the colliding energies. in what little time he had, Levi gathered all of his blood energy to block the arrow, all 6th stages. although he was in a beast like state, he was still able to stop the arrow. because of the damaged core, the automatic release state in which the core itself would control Levi''s body to release excess blood energy could no longer happen. so this state that he was currently in was like the release state, but the difference was that, even while Levi himself was unconsious or unable to control his body, it (his body) would automatically react to things by instinct." wh...at...he blocked...my arrow?!" the youth was shaken. he was not surprised when the angry general blocked his arrow, given his years of experience and cultivation level. but this person, he could only feel a little amount of qi in this person''s body, if anything, he should have only been in the mid qi refining levels! so how did such a person block his arrow?! " pri-prince! we should retreat! i can hear rumbling, maybe one of those generals are coming! we can''t fight them with our soldiers rattled like this!" the commander shouted. "....retreat..." the youth said, his eyes still stuck to Levi. '' red hair...red eyes...silver armor...i will remember you!!'' the youth clenched his teeth.


    " blood...kill more!" veins bulged all over Levi''s body, as he tried to stop himself. he found that after absorbing all of the blood, that the only thing on his mind was blood, and the only thought in his head was to kill. in his mind he was in a dark place, while it felt like someone else was controlling his body. he had tried to stop himself, but it felt like his body no longer belonged to him. " ahhhhh!...huff! huff!" the red in his eyes faded, as he breathed heavily. " what the hell is happening...." Levi looked down at his hand. what was the point of strength if he couldn''t control it? he had entered such a state before, the so called release state. but in that state, he was not conscious. then there was that state in star city where he was conscious. he had no idea what was happening anymore. " i just felt a strong desire to kill....huff..." he mumbled, his slightly long hair blowing in the breeze. rumble! " halt." a cold voice rang out. " who are you." the cold general asked. "..." Levi silently looked at his hand. " bring him, we are going back." the cold general said. " wha- he is wearing silver armor, he most likely belongs to that fool''s army. though i don''t know why he is all the way out here." the cold general explained.


    " hey, come along." the soldier rode up to Levi and said. " hey, didn''t you hear me? humph! i guess you need waking up!" the soldier punched down. boom! " cough!" Levi was blown away, landing heavily against a tree. " general? why did you do that?" the soldier looked at the cold general strangely. ''didn''t you tell me to get him? then why are you sending him flying?'' he thought. " you, walk back on your own. we are returning." the general said coldly. he saw clearly, just as the soldier was about to hit Levi, Levi''s eyes changed to a red color as he drew his sabre, ready to kill the soldier without hesitation. taking one last glance at Levi, the cold general rode off. "..." Levi sat silently, his back against the tree. his chest had caved in because of what ever the cold general did, so he had to fix his broken ribs. '' this is going to be a problem....'' this thought kept passing through his head. he kept feeling bursts of urges to kill, as he lost his rationality, what little he had. after healing his ribs, he sat cross-legged, meditating to clear his mind. "nnnn....unnn...." his breathing became heavy, as veins bulged over and over again.


    "...is this going to happen every time i absorb a large amount of blood? a side effect of absorbing blood...." after a few minutes, he felt a lot better. he now found another reason to temper his will, not only were his bloodlines misbehaving, he now also suffered from bursts of bloodlust. " a demon hated by all..." he remembered the man. " i don''t care if i become a demon...as long as i am the one in control of my power. i have to work harder..." a resolute light flickered in levi''s eyes as he began his walk back to the imperial city. " hmm? that horse is still here?" Levi walked up to the horse and got onto it''s back, before it ran back to the imperial city. " hmm? he finaly decided to come back? that wuss..." a soldier sneered as he saw Levi. " hey brat! what the fuck were you doing out there?!" a bandaged soldier shouted as he walked toward Levi, who kept silent. slap! " hey, don''t you hear me fucking talking to you?!" the man slapped Levi''s face. he was taking out his anger on Levi, since he knew that levi was weak.


    splat!


    " a ah ahhh! My arm! ahhhhhh!" the arm he used to slap Levi was cut off. " i am not in the fucking mood..." Levi looked down at the man, his eyes changing between white and red. the blood on the ground flowed silently towards Levi''s feet, before climbing up his legs and passing through the cracks of his armor, seeping though his clothes and getting absorbed. because of the fact that the man was making a fuss, no one noticed this." tch, i had finally suppressed it..." Levi looked at the man coldly, a prickling killing intent escaping his body. blood energy rose from his body, as he lifted his sabre. " hmm? what are you doing?" the second prince''s lazy voice rang out..

 Chapter 73 Counter Attack

    " hmm? what are you doing?" the second prince''s lazy voice rang out. "..." Levi ignored him as his sabre lowered. clank! " didn''t you hear me? hmm? it''s you..." the second prince blocked Levi''s sabre with his sword. " piss off." Levi spoke coldly as he gathered blood energy around his sabre, as he slashed at the second prince. clank! "...heavy strike. were you hiding your..." the second prince paused as he released his qi, before slashing down. " strength?!" he shouted, as levi was forced back 4 steps. '' 4 steps...just the other day i forced him back 10 steps without qi, and only a few days later, even with qi, i was only able to force him back 4 steps...interesting!'' a wide grin formed on the second prince''s face as he charged at Levi, who''s eyes constantly flickered between red and white. gathering his blood energy, Levi slashed out. deng! clang! sword and saber clashed multiple times in a few seconds, but the difference was, the second prince didn''t have any wounds, while multiple cuts and gashes were on Levi''s face and arms.


    "hmmm?! what are you two doing?! we are in the middle of a war, do you think this is a game?!" the angry general shouted angrily. " my apologies general...." the second prince stopped and apologised right away. " hmm?" clank! Levi slashed down. " humph! didn''t you hear what the genera-" clank! Levi''s eyes became completely red once again. " yo-" boom! just as the second prince was about to say something, he was sent flying by a sabre strike embedded with blood energy, causing him to break multiple wooden benches. " dammit! dammit! THIS IS MY BODY! YOU ARE MINE! SO LISTEN TO ME!" Levi roared as blood energy rose from his body, his eyes slowly returning to normal. " you...what are you?" the second prince got up from the ground, looking at Levi as a terrifying gloomy killing intent escaped from his body. boom! " didn''t you fuckers hear me?!? i said stop the fucking fighting!" the angry general released his full heaven and earth stage cultivation, crushing both Levi and the second prince beneath it''s pressure. " ge-general....you can''t do that to the prince..." the soldiers looked at this scene blackeyed.


    " take these two and confine them!" the general bellowed. " b-but general..." a soldier said. " do you want to join them?! confine them without food for the rest of the day!" the general commanded. " ri-right away, general....." the soldiers all had tears in their eyes. they could all get executed for this! " i-i...i''m so sorry second prince....." the soldier brought the second prince away, while another one brought Levi away, both equally scared. "..." behind the wooden bars, Levi sat cross-legged, meditating once again to calm himself. "...unnnn..." after calming himself, he released the extreme yin and yang in his body once again. after a few hours, the sun was once again on the horizon. the extreme yin and yang were still released in his body, causing brown liquid to pour out. "..." enduring the pain, Levi realised that the rate that the brown liquid was flowing out slowed, before stopping completely. he kept the extreme yin and yang flowing through his body for a few more minutes, but after not seeing any more of the brown liquid being released, he stopped them.


    "..." Levi started to absorb qi, but found that after only a few minutes, he was unable to absorb any more. in the cell beside Levi''s, the second prince sat quietly, his eyes closed. " second prince, you should eat something...." a soldier walked up and said. " no need." the second prince replied calmly. " you can give it to him." he said after a short pause. "...ok, then. hey, take this food." the soldier walked to Levi''s cell, before saying. "....hey! are yo-!!" Levi opened his eyes, staring at the man coldly. "...ah.." after Levi closed his eyes again, the man hurriedly left. '' i can only absorb this amount of qi even after the brown liquid stopped coming out.....this amount of qi is meaningless...'' Levi thought. he sent blood energy through his body, in an attempt to channel it through his primordial meridians. " aggghhhh!" he abruptly began groaning, as he writhed around on the ground. " what''s wrong with him?" hey, don''t get involved, that kid is crazy. it''s like he is some kind of devil..." two soldiers looked at the scene with varying expressions.


    " huff! huff!" Levi breathed heavily, his eyes wide open. he felt like something was scraping his flesh from the inside, this intense pain was on the same level, if not more painful than the extreme yin and yang. " haa...haaa...i must be foolish...huff...of course these meridians, which were only recently cleared of impurities would be weak...haa...and here i am trying to send blood energy through them...hahaha, how foolish.." Levi laughed mockingly at himself. after the pain subsided, he got back up into his sitting position, wiping some brown liquid from his face, for the first time, he moved the primordial qi that rested in his primordial meridians. he moved the qi throughout what seemed to be endless channels, then suddenly, all of the qi was gone. after waiting for a while, the qi did not return, so he absorbed more from the atmosphere and began channeling it again. but to his surprise, the same thing happened again. bewildered by this, he continued to absorb qi and channel it through his primordial meridians, and before he knew it, morning had come once again.


    creak! the wooden bars opened, creating a high pitched creaking sound. " second prince, you can come out now. again, i am so sorry for what the general did..." the soldier bowed. Levi''s bars were opened and that was it, he walked out silently and left to bathe. "..." the second prince looked at Levi''s departing figure, his eyes narrowing. " alright, today we have to be more careful!" the angry general shouted. " if you had waited for us yesterday, instead of running off on your own, you wouldn''t have been so humiliatingly defeated, you fool." the cold general said coldly. " who was defeated?!" the angry general shouted back. " talking to a fool is such a waste of time." the cold general said coldly. " now now, don''t be like this! we have to go deal with the divine dragon continent, you can bicker afterward! ahh!" the laid back general said with a smile, as he placed a wooden cup onto the table and releasing a satisfied breath. " who''s bickering?!" they both asked at the same time. " stop copying me!" they both said again. '' you two are like children.'' this thought passed through the soldiers heads. " anyway, we have to be prepared, so be serious. is what i''d love to say, but in my entire life, when was i ever serious? hahaha. men, go get ready!" the laid back general said with a large smile.


    " humph!" they snorted, before ordering their men. the silent general left first, to scout out the enemy camp. after a few minutes, he returned, meeting the other 3 generals right outside of the imperial city''s walls, making gestures with his hands instead of speaking. " hmm, mhhm, a few miles away from the imperial city. alright men! it''s time for a counter attack!" the angry general shouted. half an hour later, the 4 armies arrived on a large cliff, with the four generals looking over the edge. below, a large camp was set up on the beach, with no one to be seen. " hmm? i just remembered, where are the martial clans?" the angry suddenly asked. " who knows?" the cold general said. "..." the silent general made signals with his hands. " this camp is probably a trap? that''s obvious, do i look stupid?" the angry general asked, while the silent general kept silent. " hmm, then let us go a few miles from here, keeping eyes on all of the routes leading to and from here." the cold general said.


    they turned around and started riding back the way they came. " stop!" the cold general abruptly shouted, causing the soldiers to stop. " hmm? what are you doing?" the angry general asked. " ahh, i see. how could we have missed this on our way here?" the laid back general said, a slightly cold smile on his face. " hmm?!" the angry general turned and looked around. "....what?! are those portable trap inscriotions? " the angry general looked around silently for a few seconds, before shouting. " yeah." the cold general said. these portable inscriptions resembled hexagonal, metalic badges. they were made in such a way that, if a person walked by them twice, they would activate, releasing poison or exploding. those two were just a few of many things that could happen if these portable inscriptions activated.


    clap! clap! "!!" the sound of clapping rang out from the edge of the cliff, causing the 4 generals to turn around. " obviously you didn''t see them, i had them placed on the side of the trees that you wouldn''t be able to see." a youth wearing a dark blue robe, with embroidered scaled at the end of the sleeves said, his long black hair blowing in the wind as he stood at the edge of the cliff. " humph!" the angry general snorted as he turned his horse around, charging at the youth. " aren''t you even going to ask who i am?" the youth asked, as the angry general raised his spear. " you are obviously one of those brats from the divine dragon continent! what is there to ask about?!" the angry general lowered his spear, a dense qi coating it. " hmm?!" clank!! " neihhh!" a powerful arrow shot towards the angry general, who swiftly brought the spear head to block it. the force of the arrow caused the horse to lean to one side, almost falling.


    " it is always easier to kill the fool first." the youth said, as he took a spear with a dark blue rod and a frosty looking head, from his back. " the six eagles ascending!" the youth shouted, as his spear pierced out. six after images of the spear curved in towards the angry general, forcing him to block every strike, a few light cuts still appearing on his hands and face. " haaaaa!" knocking away the spare, the angry general shouted as his qi gathered in his spear once again, and he slashed out. sou! as soon as he slashed out, an arrow whistled through the air, but the spear did not stop. crack! the spear and arrow collided once again, the spear smashing the arrow into dust, while heading towards the youth in blue with terrifying power. crack! after a short resistance, the youth''s defensive qi shattered, as he was sent soaring from the cliff. " cough!" he coughed a mouthful of blood as his body collided with the sandy ground below the cliff. "..ah..." looking down at his arm, the youth released a soft cry, as his arm was broken and mangled.

 Chapter 74 The generals death

    " humph! you brats think you have already won?! don''t fucking joke with me!!" the angry general shouted. " spear!" he commanded. " sir!" a soldier immediately handed over his spear. " haaa!" looking in a certain direction, the angry general aimed, before launching the spear with earth shattering power. boom! " ack!" a light cry of pain resounded, as the spear destroyed a boulder on the sand, causing a large cloud of dust rise. " humph! only knowing how to hide!" the angry general shouted. " hmm? we can go? those are not actually portable inscriptions? just pieces of metal? hahaha, we got fooled by something like this?! those four princes from the divine dragon continent sure are interesting!" the laid back general laughed as he deciphered the silent general''s hand signs. " what''s funny about this!? this is a humiliation!" the angry general shouted. " a humiliation? only you were humiliated, fool." the cold general shouted. the laid back general watched this scene with the silent general silently. for the 10 or so years he knew them, the angry and cold generals always bickered like this. despite appearences, they were good friends.


    "hahaha, in any case, we should be on the look out. we don''t know when a trick might turn out to be real or the opposite. plus, i have a feeling that the masters will scold us if we take too long." the laid back general said with a smile. " hmm? you go ahead then." the silent general left first with his men, in order to search the area completely for any more traps or tricks. " hmm, i guess it is your turn to go." sitting in a tent, a youth wearing a white robe opened his eyes, his hair and pupils a cloudy white, looking in the direction of a muscular youth who looked older than his age. " humph! you should have sent me in the first place." the youth in red said. the sleeves on his robe looked to be torn off, giving off the impression of savage strength. rumble! a sudden rumbling caused the youth in white to look around curiously. outside, an army of only 10,000 wearing pitched black armor rode through a forest skillfully, a lazy looking youth at the front, his long black hair blowing in the wind.


    " what is the situation?" the youth in white asked. " it seems we have been found by a few ants." the youth in red pulled open tent''s entrance. a lone tent sat in a forest, two youths inside, while an army of 10,000 rode towards them. " haha!" the youth in red''s pupils had a light red glow to them as a grin formed on his face. " kill!" the second prince smiled, a gloomy killing intent escaping his body. clank! " hmm?" the grin on the second prince''s face dissapeared as his sword and the youth''s fist clashed. instead of fingers and blood flying everywhere, the blade was stopped, the sound of metal clashing ringing out. " humph!" boom! a mighty punch shot towards the second prince, sending him flying from his horse and through his soldiers. "..." getting up from the ground, the second prince looked at the youth coldly, a dark qi rising from his body. vivivi! he channeled qi into his sword, before slashing out. a dark sword light shot out, whistling as it shot towards the youth.


    crack!


    "...not bad." the youth in red said, as he looked at the red line on his chest. "....you...what are you..." the second prince spoke coldly. "..." the youth simply smiled. "..." the second prince looked on coldly. he already estimated that the youth''s strangth was at least the first level of the heaven and earth stage, because he was at the final mind opening realm level, but the youth could still stop his attacks without even flinching. " humph!" the second prince snorted, as he shot out, charging towards the youth.


    ...


    back at the cliff, the generals had now decided to separate to look for the 4 princes. the silent general looked for the one shooting arrows, while the cold general looked for the one using the spear. the laid back general went looking for one of the remaining two, as did the angry general. he had rode out with his men, finding himself in a forest. " hmm? fighting?" the angry general rode toward the sound of swords clashing, and saw the second prince being suppressed. blood flowed from his face, as slashed out. " cough!" a powerful punch to his stomach caused the second prince to cough a mouthful of blood. " hmm? why are you so weak? there were always rumors of how terrifying the second prince of the cloud continent was, but it seems like your strength was exaggerated." the youth sighed, as he readied himself to land the finishing blow. '' it''s not that the general is weak, it''s just that this guy is too strong!'' the second prince''s soldiers thought as they watched.


    " how audacious!" the angry general shouted as his horse shot out, one hand on the reins while the other one held his spear. boom! " hmm?" he slashed down towards the youth in red, and found that his strike was blocked with just the youth''s forearms. " heaven and earth stage?" the angry general was slightly surprised. " general!" the second prince''s soldiers rushed to him. they had wanted to help him earlier, but he lashed out at them when they tried. " take the prince and leave!" the angry general shouted. one look at the situation and he knew that the second prince was not compatible with this youth. even with a high cultivation, fighting someone you were not compatible with would not end good. " o-ok- unfortunately, that will not be possible." the youth in white finaly came from the tent, in his hand was a guqin. " ...a guqin?" the angry general looked doubtfully. "..." the youth in the white robe plucked a string. viviviviv! a large sword light descended from the sky, severing the generals arm. crack! pfttt! "..." the general watched his defensive qi shatter and blood spraying from his shoulder as his arm fell to the gound, his face full of shock.


    " youuuuuu!!!" he shouted, as he grabbed his spear with his left hand. pfttt! blood sprayed from his left shoulder, his left arm severed. '' oh, i''m also not compatible with this person...'' the angry general had this one thought. " take the prince and lea- pft!" as he wasn''t focused on strengthening his defensive qi, his head flew as the 3rd string was plucked, blood flowing from his headless body. thump! the second prince watched the angry general''s body fall to the ground, lifeless. " your turn." the youth turned his head towards the second prince. " get the second prince to safety!" the angry general''s soldiers shouted with tears in their eyes, as they charged at the two youths. " general! we have to go!" a soldier clad in black armor grabbed the second prince and got onto a horse, before riding off, the 10,000 soldiers following behind them. " ah ah, why do you sacrifice your lives?" the youth in white said regretfully, as he continued to pluck the guqin''s strings. crack! the sound of armor being broken and defensive qi shattering rang out after only a few seconds. what remained of the angry general''s 100,000 soldiers were killed swiftly. " this is troubling. what if he were to really get away?" the youth in white said lightly, as he plucked the seventh string. " the seven reverberations, the seventh reverbaration." a thin sword light formed, giving off an extremely sharp feeling. sou! it cut through the air and caught up to the retreating soldiers easily.


    crack! puft! thump!


    " protect the general!!" all 10,000 soldiers lined up behind the horse the second prince rode. " wait...no! stop! get lost!" the second prince came to his senses, he could see clearly what they were trying to do. the sound of flesh being cut, blood spraying and and bodies falling echoed from the back of the army, and only stopped when more than half of the second prince''s soldiers were killed. weng weng weng! before the sword light dissaptaed, it exploded into smaller arrow like qi balls and struck some more soldiers. puchi! peircing sounds rang out as the small balls of qi disreguarded the armor and peirced the soldiers bodies " aven..ge...us...." a soldier who was peirced through the chest spoke with his dying breath before falling from his horse. thump! "....dammit! Dammit!" the second prince shouted to the heavens, as he grabbed the reins of the horse, prompting it to speed up. even if he wanted to rush back and try to kill the two youths, he knew that he would just be wasting the sacrifices of the soldiers that gave their lives to save him, so he could only run. the remaining 2-3 thousand soldiers followed begind him, ignoring their wounds without a sound. " oh? he got away. that is too bad." the youth in white said. a lone horse and it''s rider walked slowly onto the cliff, as it was tired. a few more following it out of the trees. " hmm?" two cold eyes surveyed the horse and it''s rider. " what is the prince doing here?" the cold general spoke coldly, as he looked at the slouching second prince.


    Evening.


    the second prince was lying on a makeshift stretcher, his arms, shoulder, chest and neck were bandaged, with blood staining the bandages. " what?" the cold general looked at the second prince, his eyes widening. " wha..t...did you say...." he asked again, but the second prince kept silent. boom! boom! boom! waves of qi erupted from the cold general''s body, the pressure causing the ground beneath him to sink with every wave. "..." the cold general simply walked away and got onto his horse. " we will follow you, general!" the cold general''s soldiers got onto their horses, riding off with him. rumble! rumble! the grown shook, as the anger of the cold general erupted. " hmm, what is this rumbling? it sounds very sad, like the sound of someone loosing a dear friend." the youth in white sat cross-legged with his fingers on the strings of his guqin, a clear tear flowing down his calm face.


    clank! puchi! ptf! different sound rang out, outside of the tent. " my my, what do we have here." the youth left his tent, the cold general staring down at him, coldness radiating from his eyes. " why do you sacri-boom! cough!" before the youth could finish, he was blown back by some kind of force. " what was that?" getting up from the ground, he asked. " death!" the cold general said, a frosty killing intent erupting from his body. boom! boom! the youth was knocked left and right and even from front to back, but it seemed that he never got hurt. " that''s not...huff..going to work....huff...i can hear your anger... but it seems that i am not compatible with you..." the youth smiled, as he said this, his cloudy white eyes looked in the cold general''s direction. boom! " impact." the cold general said coldly, as his anger reached it''s peak, a powerful force caused the youth to spit a mouthful of blood. " what was that- boom! boom! crack! cough!!" the youth was now in a sorry state. " now die." the cold general said, as he drew his sword. boom! as he lowered his sword, it was as if the sky itself was falling. the pressure caused the ground a few meters around them to be compressed, and sink.


    " !!" the cold general was suddenly startled. " unfortunately, this person cannot die yet. although that skill where you utilize your cultivation pressure and qi to create a burst of force is strong, it''s not going to have any kind of effect on me." the youth in red said, as he walked through the pressure easily and picked up the youth in white. " fleshly cultivator?! and he broke down my skill from experiencing it once...." the cold general was surprised once again. "....is that you?" the youth in white smiled although his mouth was covered in blood. "...why is a blind person practicing martial arts anyway." the youth in red said. "...haha, who knows." the youth in white laughed in response.


    " don''t think you can get away from me!!" the cold general shouted, as the qi being released from his body suddenly became stronger. " maybe next time." the youth in the red robe said as he glanced back, before crushing a wooden token in his palm, and turning into a beam of light. ".....Kill their remaining soldiers! don''t leave any of them alive!" the cold general shouted. '' teleportation? humph! the survival rate of those who use teleportation items is not high, so the chance of them being alive is slim.'' he thought as he clenched his fist. " ack!" he suddenly felt a strong pain coursing through his body. " tch! i unconsiously burned my qi, causing my level to almost drop...we are going back!" he shouted after a moment of thought. the unconsious burning of qi was not uncommon. when the anger of a cultivator reached a certain hight, the qi in their bodies act like fuel and strengthen them for a while, before, like fuel, it is exausted. this can result in the dropping in the level of a cultivator.

 Chapter 75 The Bigger Picture

    after ordering his soldiers to recover the bodies of the dead, and after recovering the angry general''s body himself, they went back to the cliff, and found that the laid back general, along with the silent general were already there. " after looking around for a while, i couldn''t find either of the remaining two, so i searched for the spear user. i found him after a while, but he just said some nonsense before turning to a beam of light." the laid back general said. " hmm, so you couldn''t find the archer? well, that''s to be expected. "....i see. sigh." after seeing the cold general, and having what happened explained, the laid back general sighed. he knew that although they argued a lot, those two were good friends for years. " sigh, it seems us old guys were completely defeated by those kids.....well, i say us old guys, but i''m only 29! hahaha!" the laid back general laughed loudly.


    after a few minutes of resting, they decided to go back to the imperial city. since the 4 Divine Dragon continent princes had left, they had no reason to stay here. leading out of a forest, was a trail of dead bodies, severed in half. a lone person stood before these bodies in contemplation. Levi had separated from the angry generals army silently when everyone was busy, he left to go find some fresh blood. but what he didn''t expect was to find the corpses of the second prince''s men, along with multiple puddles of blood with no corpses to be seen. " no one is here, so i should be fine even if i go berserk after absorbing all of this blood...." he looked at all the corpses and the blood flowing on the ground, and could not help but get excited. sou! puchi! " ack!" an arrow suddenly pierced through Levi''s right shoulder, causing him no little amount of pain. " who are you?! come out!" his eyes began to turn red, but he forcefully suppressed suppressed it. sou! " agh!" thump! a arrow shot though his leg, causing him to drop to his knees. sou! " enough!" rumble! a thick blood mist exploded from Levi''s body, as his eyes once again became red. " destroy!" the blood mist shot outward from his body, destroying stones and trees alike with sheer force, but surprisingly, the bodies and blood were still intact.


    a flash of golden light caught Levi''s eye, as he ripped the arrow from his shoulder and coated it with blood energy, before throwing it towards the golden light. he kept rampaging for a few minutes before getting himself under control again. " dammit! who was that! huff! i should hurry and absorb this blood and then get back to that angry general''s army." without wasting anymore time, he began absorbing the blood of 6-7 thousand dead soldiers, along with the puddles of blood. "..." veins bulged on his body as he forcefully kept himself in control. boom! multiple explosions of blood energy eminated from Levi''s body, each bigger than the last. " ahhh!" just as he was about to loose himself to his desire to kill again, he slashed out with his sabre, as a large sword light of blood energy destroyed evergthing in it''s path, leaving a large channel in the ground. " huff! huff! so if i release the excess energy while still in control, i won''t enter that crazed state..huff! but, hahaha, my blood energy stage went from 4 to 6 to 16 in just a few days..." Levi laughed happily to himself, as he sat on the ground.


    "...oh yeah, didn''t avesta say something about me getting some kind of reward or something, with every 5 or 10 blood stages i pass?.....well, i guess that is no longer possible, not with the tatoo being in this state, sigh, whatever..." he mumbled to himself, as he caught his breath and healed his wounds. rumble! blood energy rose from his body, as an ancient gate formed behind him. " what is the use of this then? hmm...i will have to become more creative when using blood energy then." Levi mumbled, as he got up. " i want to find out more about my primordial meridians too , but let us go back to the imperial city first." He mumbled as he dusted himself off.


    ...


    imperial city.


    " agh!" help! save me!" honey, help me...." multiple cries for help rang out. a woman with a large sword wound across her back lay on the street holding onto the leg of a man. " fuck! let me go! those soldiers will come back soon, why don''t you die alone?! your feet are already in the grave, so even if i save you, what would be the point?! let go!" the man said as he stomped on the woman''s face until she released his leg. by the time she released him, her face had become mangled and bloody. rumble! rumble! " ah?! what do we have here?!" a few soldiers in green armor resembling the scales of a dragon rode onto the street. " looks like a rat is still alive!" one of them shouted. " hii! le-leave me alone! somebody save me!!" the man turned around, shouting the same words the woman he stomped had on said. " what are you guys doing? we are leaving before it gets troublesome!" a shout caused the few soldiers to turn around. " yes, general!" they shouted as they turned around and began riding towards their general. this general also wore the same green armor. he had small eyes, a pointed nose and slim lips, looking fairly sinister. " and where do you think you are going, after doing as you pleased?" an old voice rang out.


    " tch, see what i mean?" The general sucked his teeth. looking up in the air, an old man with short white hair, wearing a white and gold embroidered robe floated. " huh? this old man is floating and yet i don''t feel any qi from his body?" the general mumbled. " dammit, what were those brats thinking?! when they get back here, i will give them an earfull!" the old man shouted. " oh? you mean your four generals? hurry and leave, i will distract him for a little while..." the general whispered. '' these soldiers are a mix of the armies from the four kingdom''s in the divine dragon continent. if all of them were to be killed while i was in charge, things could get bad for me.'' the general thought. " generals?! can they even be called generals after falling for this kind of trick?!" The old man shouted, as the Divine Dragon continent''s soldiers silently eased away. " i can bet that one of those fools fell for some taunt, left to search for the people taunting them angrily after finding out it was just a taunt and almost got themselves and their soldiers killed! as we thought, they still need more training! because they gathered in one place, the south, east and west gates were also attacked, just like here!" The old man rambled on. " oh? is that so. but what can you do, right? except train them up all over again." The general said, with a look of understanding on his face.


    " Yh Yh, also....where do they think they are going?" The goofy look dissapeared from the old man''s face, as he looked at the soldiers who were quickly leaving though the gate. " oh them? they are retreating." The general said with a smile, as if everything was normal. " oh, oh, i see! but who said that they could retreat?" the old man said, as his voice became cold. whoosh! flap flap! the old man''s robe blew madly in the wind, as the sky above the north gate began changing, with slim tornados extending down. '' what?! controlling the weather?! this old guy has got to be at the universal harmony stage! oh shit, forget the soldiers, i better get away from here myself!'' the general began to feel uneasy. " aggh! ahh!" screams echoed from outside the gate, as multiple soldiers and their horses were either minced by the tornados, or flung through the air, breaking limbs.


    rumble! rumble!


    " huh? what is happening by the gate?" The cold general squinted his eyes as he looked toward the gate. " Are those soldiers? that can''t be the case..." the cold general''s eyes widened as he mumbled. " we are speeding up!" the cold general shouted. " but what about the second prince? we can''t jerk him about when he is in this state!" the two soldiers beside the second prince said. the streacher he was on was tied to the backs of two horses, with him in the middle, so if they didn''t ride slowly, he would be thrown around. " you can ride back slowly, but the rest of us are going!" the cold general said. " but-" without waiting anymore, the cold general brought his soldiers and rode toward the gate. " haha, that guy needs to loosen up!" the laid back general said with a smile. '' aren''t you too loose?!'' the soldiers thought. '' but, who is going to protect the second prince if you leave?'' the two soldiers who were taking care of the second prince thought. although the remainder of the second prince''s soldiers were mixed into the rest of the soldiers, they were all injured, so forget protecting the second prince, they wouldn''t even be able to protect themselves! and looking at the laid back general, they definately couldn''t count on him.


    " hmm? tornados...does that mean!" the cold general looked around. boom! " damn it! this old man is troublesome..." the Divine Dragon Continent general mumbled, as he looked up at the old man. he held his sword in from of him, as blood flowed down the side of his face. he was hit by a powerful wind attack that sent him crashing into a building. " hmm, if i keep fighting here, i might just destroy this part of the city even more." the old man said, as he reached out. Air spiraled as it formed a giant hammer. " he can''t be.." the general''s complexion darkened. " oh yes he can.." the old man smiled, showing all of his teeth, but in the eyes of the Divine Dragon continent general, this was the smile of a devil. "wai-" booom! " kek!!" the wind was knocked out of the divine dragon continent general as he was sent soaring. the residual air destroyed multiple buildings." oops, guess i will just blame it on this guy." the old man thought for a bit before mumbling. " general?! help us! these tornados are blocking our path to retreat!" the divine dragon continent general landed with some difficulty, as he clutched his left arm which was mangled by the attack. '' help you? fuck, why don''t you help ME! i''m here risking my life by stalling this old monster, and you can''t get away from some tornados?! don''t you see my legs shaking? that last attack nearly knocked the life out of me, are you sure you are the ones who need help right now?!?'' the general thought as he glared at the soldiers. " huh? are those the soldiers of the cloud continent? dammit, those royal brats screwed up, didn''t they?!" the general gritted his teeth as he looked into the distance.


    " how noisy!" the old man shouted, as a giant tornado descended from the sky. " ahh! general! save us!" Some of them shouted, as they saw the tornado descending. boom! all 20,000 soldiers were squashed and minced by the giant tornado. "..." the general stood with his mouth opened wide. " now, it''s your turn!" the old man turned to look at the general. '' even with my heaven and earth stage cultivation, fighting someone at the universal harmony stage is not possible! time to go!'' the general thought as he hurriedly reached into his robe, pulling out a wooden token. " hmm?" crack! the token was shatterd, as the genral turned into a beam of light. " teleportation? well, let me help you with that! teleport straight to hell!" multiple small tornados chased the beam of light, bombarding it.


    " Elder?" the cold general''s voice rang out. " hmm? you still have the face to call me Elder?! and where is that lazy brat, isaac?! i know you are around here somewhere boy, come out!" the old man''s voice boomed. " hmm? that couldn''t be, right?.....right?!" the laid back general squinted his eyes as he looked into the distance, only to see a tiny figure floating in the sky. " hmm? what''s wrong, general?" a soldier asked curiously. " aww shit!" the laid back general suddenly urged his horse, as he sped towards the imperial city. " master, disciple has arrived!" in just a few seconds, he had already appeared before the old man. " master? who''s disciple are you?! you can''t be my disciple, not with that low IQ!" the old man shouted. " master..." the laid back general began sweating. " master my foot! pitue! hearing that word from your mouth makes me sick! where are the other two brats?! making me wait? you 4 sure grew some guts in these few years, huh?!" the old man continued. "...eli...is dead...." the cold general said. "!!" the old man''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 76 The Four Elder Generals

    On the east side of the imperial city, a lone figure floated silently. He wore a black and white embroidered robe, his long gray hair blowing in the breeze. Looking over the wall, just over a thin forest, was the ocean. He could hear the faint crashing of waves, even though the shoreline was still a few miles out. As he looked down, he saw soldiers flowing through the imperial city''s east gate atop their horses. " Hey, this gentleman here,why don''t you come and play with this younger sister?" The people of the imperial city went about their day like normal, knowing nothing of the soldiers that had entered their walls. " ahahah, i can''t, my wife- how will she know?" A girl dressed in revealing red garments held the arm of a middle aged man, as she looked up to him cutely, tempting him. Her raven black har glistened, as the sweet scent of a perfume wafted from her body, her plump pink lips giving her a seductive yet cute visage. " ah, but, it''s still day time..." what does that matter? see, your body is honest.." The girl smiled seductively as she glanced down. The man gulped as he could hardly contain himself, as the ocasional moan would escape the wooden building behind the girl. " ha ha, we-well, then i guess i can-" rumble! " huh?" Hearing the rumbling, the man turned his head, only to see an army of bloodthirsty soldiers already in front of him.


    " what is- psuuu!" KYAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Before the man could finish his scentence, his head hit the ground. Blood sprayed from his headless corpse, onto the girl''s face, as she screamed. " what a noisy prostitute. die!" The same soldier who beheaded the man looked towards the girl, who backed away in fear, soaked in blood and her own urine. " stop!" Suddenly, the shout of a girl caught the soldier''s attention. A girl wearing a short white robe, with a decorative folding fan in her hand stood in the middle of the road. The other soldiers continued to run amok, as they kicked down doors, dragged people from buildings and killed as they pleased. " hmm? those are..." Just as the man in the sky was about to move, he looked down and saw something interesting, which made him stop. " humph, do you think i will stop just because some whore told me too?" The soldier lowered his sword, but before it could reach the girl, it changed direction. " oi oi, what kind of prostitute can do this?" The soldier was slightly startled, as he looked at the girl blocking his sword with only a blue, decorative folding fan. " who is a prostitute, you fool?!" The girl jumped back, before kicking up towards the man''s head, displaying her flexibility. deng! " kehun! what?! was that water around her leg?!" the soldier mumbled, as he blocked with his free arm, the armor caving benieth the kick''s pressure.


    ...


    At the north gate.


    " hmmm?" Levi was returning to the imperial city, but jas as he walked out of the forest, he saw a group of people in the distance. " who are these people?.....soldiers? light is shining from their armor....in any case, they should be the soldiers of the cloud continent....but even if they are not, i should still be able to make it out...partially unharmed..." Levi mumbled to himself. during his walk though the forest, he had thought of multiple ways to use his blood energy more efficiently. but there was still one problem: he didn''t know if these things would work. but then he remembered, he did use blood energy in a certain way before, and it yielded ridiculous results. but the problem with that was, he also got hurt because of it, so he didn''t want to use that method if possible. "...time to go, then." he thought things over, before walking out of the forest.


    ...


    The east gate.


    " Alysa, why did you run off alone?" A calm voice rang out. " hmm? Averi? why are you here?" alysa looked around, and only a few feet away from her was a boy, slightly shorter than the average male, with a light smile. This boy had short black hair, and watery blue eyes. He gave off a feeling of calmness, like a small river flowing elegantly. " well, since you ran off, the clan head told me to go look for you." the boy, Avery said. " well, i heard a scream, and-" dang! "are you ignoring me?!" The soldier shouted, as he lifted his sword from the now crushed brick paving. " tch, can''t you wait just a minute?! as i was saying, i heard the scream of a girl so i rushed over here." Alysa said. " hmm, i see. your habbit of saving damsels stems from taking care of your sister, right?" Averi asked. boom! " what are you getting at?" alysa asked, as she dodged another strike from the soldier''s sword. " you know, there are multiple rumors going around the imperial city about you." Averi said with a light chuckle. vivivi! " that is not anything new." Alysa heard the swords vibrating as she stepped back, dodging it once again. " for instance, '' a daughter of the flowing water clan has a thing for the fairer sex'' something like this." Averi said with a playful tone. boom! boom! " what?! who is spouting this nonsense?! i''ll kill him!" Alysa sent out two powerful, lighting fast kicks to the soldier''s side, sending him crashing into the side of the brothel, as blood splurted from his mouth.


    " hahaha! your reactions never cease to amuse me! haha!" Averi held his stomach as he laughed. His manner of laughing caused him to resemble a girl. " you..." Alysa couldn''t help but blush as she looked at Averi''s smiling face. " Who the hell spread that rumor about me having a thing for girls, though?" The redness dissapeared from her cheeks, with bulging veins replacing them as she remembered the troublesome rumor. " And you!" She looked at the girl who was still sitting by the doorway of the brothel, shaking from fear. " Even if you are a prostitute, you shouldn''t let men do as they please with you! stand up for yourself, even if it means death! this cowardice is what makes men feel that they are superior!" Alysa scolded. " b-be-Behind!" the girl pointed.


    " what are you saying? behind?" Looking back, Alysa saw the soldier who she had just taken care of standing behind her, and he looked fairly irritated. " crap! oaff!" thump! she was kicked in her stomach, sending her crashing into the wall of the brothel. cough! the air was knocked out of her as she colided with the wall. " die!" the man raised his sword. puchi! " In the end, she is still just a child." The man in the sky spoke, as a sharp piece of broken wood was sent soaring, before imbeding iteslf into the back of the man''s neck. " hmm? it seems my help was not needed." The man said after taking another look at the situation. splat! The upper half of the soldier slowly slid off, before hitting the ground with a splat, while the legs were still standing, a faint water-like qi dissapating from both halfs of the body a few seconds afterward. " are you alright, alysa?" Averi asked with a light smile. "....ah...yeah..." For a second, she could have sworn she saw a monster, but after rubbing her eyes she only saw Averi. " hmm, what a terrifying killing intent. what an interesting pair of children." The old man in the sky said, before dissapearing.

 Chapter 77 The Four Elder Generals 2

    At the west gate.


    An old woman floated in the sky. she wore a large black, sleeveless and hoodless cloak, with a golden string around the colar, knots tied at both ends of the string. Although this woman had wrinkles on her face, a vigorous fire burned in her eyes, while her deep purple hair was fitted into a neat and intricate bun, with some left over hair falling to the side of her face. the wind blew ocasionaly, causing the smell of the ocean to enter her nostrils, as her cloak fluttered." hmm?! those brats down there have sure been taking their time." the woman mumbled to herself. the current master of the lightning fist clan had brought about 45 children from his clan to face the 10-15 thousand soldiers who had invaded the imperial city''s west gate. " but this is strange. why did he only bring 45 people? and moreover, all of them are children. i don''t understand these martial clans. each of them holds about 500 people, and yet, with much more skilled worriors they could have sent out, they send children. unless i am missing something..." The woman spoke as she looked down at the city. " i will be supervising you, but don''t expect me to come save you when you are in danger. pay attention to your opponents, and deal with them accordingly." The lightning fist clan master said to the children of his clan. " yes, master." they had been trained to control their emotions since young, but although they looked composed, the clan master could still see the anxiousness and fear of some of them.


    "..." A horseman rode up behind the clan master silently, and raised his sword. " master! behind you!" one of the disciples shouted. bzzt! bzzt! " focus at all times." the master said before turning around exceptionally fast, and punching out. " huh? what the fuck were you trying to do? are you senile?" bzzt! bzzt! " huh? AaAaAhH!" before the man realised it, his entire body was engulfed in a powerful lightning-like qi. thump! the man was thrown off of the horse as it ran off madly from the pain, leaving a smoking soldier lying on the paved road. " a-amazing..." the disciple said, as sweat flowed down his face. the disciples of the lightning fist clan then spread out, each of them facing different soldiers, while the clan master looked for the general.


    " a brat? what the hell do you want? move, before you make me kill a child." A soldier was blocked by a youth with a long blue-ish black braid over his shoulder, his eyes sharp, with a sturdy looking body. " i cannot." the youth replied seriously. although he said this firmly, his legs were shaking slightly. " humph! die then!" the soldier lifted his sword, before slashing down without mercy. woosh! the blade whistled pass his face, as the youth dodged to the side. " hmm?" the man attacked over and over, while the youth dodged. " hoho, you...you are scared aren''t you? hahah, this is quite funny. you blocked my path like some bigshot, but in the end, you are scared. And not just of being attacked, but also of attacking!" the man said as he lifted his sword once more, before coating it with qi and slashing downward. vivivi! '' I! I have to dodge! otherwise!'' the youth thought, as he tried to move his body, but finding that he was stuck, he could only close his eyes in fear.


    ...


    At the north gate.


    " general!" a soldier rode up to the cold general. " Luca boy, don''t your soldiers have any respect?!" the old man asked. " i''m sorry for my man''s disrespect, elder. what do you want? don''t you see that i am speaking with the Elder?" the cold general turned to the soldier, a dissatisfied expression on his face. " i-i apologize, general, but, some of our soldiers spotted someone walking towards this direction. from the same direction that we did." the soldier held his fists in front of himself respectfully. " from the same direction? do you mean this person came from out of the forest?" the cold general asked. " yes, general." the soldier replied. " hmm, ok then. keep an eye on this person, and set up a defensive line. i will be there after speaking with the elder." the cold general, general Luca, said. " yes, i understand, general. i will take my leave." the soldier said, as he turned his horse around, before leaving. he understood what the cold general meant, '' i am talking to the elder right now, so don''t disturb us again. when i am done, i will come and deal with this person you are talking about.'' this was what he got from the exchange.


    ...


    At the west gate.


    " for crying out loud, what are you doing, Kaiden?" Opening his eyes, Kaiden saw a girl shorter than him by about 2 heads, with the same kind of braid as him, and a blue four leaf lotus mark on her forehead. " big sis aliyah!" The youth, Kaiden called out. weng weng weng! '' something feels....odd.'' The man looked down at his sword, which was still vibrating. He had seen the girl knock the sword off course with the back of her fist, but he still felt like he was missing something. " scared of being attacked, scared of attacking, and now even getting saved by a little girl! how pitiful..." The soldier put on a regretful expression. snap! The sound of something snapping rang out, as veins bulged on the girl''s forehead. "hii! oh no...he said it..." Kaiden hurriedly covered his mouth in shock, as the color drained from his face.


    " who...did you call little, you bastard?" Aliyah said through gritted teeth, as she glared at the soldier. " hmm? did you say some thing, LITTLE. GIRL?" The soldier said with a provoking tone. " humph! how about i show you how little i am?" Aliyah dissapeard from her spot. " humph!" weng weng! the sword vibrated, as she once again redirected it. she vanished and reapeard multiple times, at either the sides or the front. " oi oi, what the hell is this? first is a scaredy cat kid, and now a foolish LITTLE GIRL? you keep attacking me from the front and sides, are you an idiot? if you want to get a hit in, then you should at least try to attack my back! but then again, i guess this is all that LITTLE GIRL brain of yours can come up with." The soldier said.


    " well whatever, i guess i will kill you two now. or maybe i should keep the girl to play with later?" The soldier mumbled. " you are the fool. didn''t you know that cocky bastards die early? and horny ones die even eariler." Aliyah said poisonously. " humph! i will deal with you later, but i will kill that coward now. huh?" The man suddenly looked down at his arm. " you fool. you fucking fool. didn''t i tell you? horny bastards die early. did you really think that i couldn''t attack you from behind? i purposefully attacked where you would be able to respond to. did you think that i redirected your filthy sword for fun? everytime my hand touched that sword, i injected some of my lightning qi into it, and it traveled up to your arm. you can''t feel it, can you? your arm is so numb, that you couldn''t lift it if it were empty, let alone with that heavy sword." Aliyah spoke non stop, with a cold look in her eyes.

 Chapter 78 The Four Elder Generals 3

    The north gate.


    " halt! identify yourself!" a line of soldiers stood before the city gate, as they watched Levi cautiously. " i am just returning to the city. please let me through." after thinking for a while, Levi said. '' donk! why did you hit me?- haha! you need to learn how to speak more politely! otherwise, you will get yourself into a whole lot of trouble, whether you want it or not!'' Levi rememberd old gray saying this during one of their training sessions." Returing to the city? from where?!" the soldiers asked again. " you see, i went into the forest to look for some mutated beasts, since i heard that you might see one or two if you look hard enough..." Levi forced a friendly smile as he explained. " but after searching for a while, i-he''s lying!" before Levi could finish, a soldier shouted. " what do you mean?" one of the soldiers from the line asked. " He was there! he was one of the angry general''s, one of general Eli''s soldiers! i know because our general found him in the forest a little while after general Eli had been forced back into the city by the group of archers!" the soldier eplained, as the looks on the other soldiers faces became grim.


    ...


    The west gate.


    " you will kill my little brother? don''t fucking joke around!" bzzt! she reappeared before the soldier''s face, sending a surprisingly powerful punch into his face which knocked him from his horse. " i don''t like people talking about my hight or my size, but i hate something even more. you will kill my little brother? hahaha!" Aliyah laughed crazily. " i will make you experience the most terrifying death. " she said, as she stomped on the man''s chest, her wooden slippers knocking against the metal armor. " oh?" although he was pinned down, the soldier still had time to look underneath her violet robe, causing his cheeks to turn red. " look as long as you like, because it will be the last thing you will ever see." bzzzt! bzzt! bzzt! a blue, lightning-like qi appeared around the girl''s leg, before going down towards the man''s armor.


    " do you think these little jolts will do anything? i''m just waiting for the numbness to dissapear from my arm, because when it is, i will have, and enjoy my way with you." the soldier remarked. " still so horny even when death is creeping up behind you." bzzt! bzzt!" hu-huh?" the soldier suddenly had a panicked look on his face. " hehe, are you starting to feel it? the weight of your body? the numbness spreading throughout it?" Aliyah asked with a frighteningly cold smile. " does it make you scared? the fact that you can''t even talk right now? the fact that, no matter what i do to you right now, you wouldn''t be able to fight back?" She asked again, as the color drained from the soldier''s face. He tried to say something, but soon realised that even his jaw couldn''t move.


    " shhh! don''t try to talk. look under my robe as much as you want, as the numbness slowly moves toward your heart." Aliyah spoke, as she nelt down with one foot on top of the soldiers chest, her finger on his lips, the size difference becoming apparent. " think about the color of my underwear as your heart slows because of the electric currents. is your body feeling cold now? hehe, that''s no good. do you know what that coldness means?" she used her arms to prop herself up as she spoke directly into the soldier''s ear with the voice of a cute little girl. " it means death." She then said coldly, as the man''s eyes suddenly widened, multiple veins visible, as he struggled to open his mouth in vain. tears flowed from his eyes as he struggled to open his mouth, before, slowly, he even lost the ability to keep his eyes open. his heart stopped, and his eyes closed soon after.


    "....did you have to kill him?" Kaiden asked softly. ".....ahhh? what did you just ask me?" Aliyah turned around, a cold look on your face. "...D-did you...really....have to kill him..?" Kaiden asked again, through chattering teeth. " what kind of nonsense are you asking? if anything, i should be asking you. why didn''t YOU kill him?" Aliyah got up from the soldier''s still twitching body, before walking up to Kaiden and looking up at him with a frighteningly cold expression. " he woukd have killed you, before doing as he pleased with me. so, why didn''t you kill him? answer me." she asked again. " I-i..." Was all that came from Kaiden''s mouth. " You were scared, right? Why were you scared? Every time you say you are scared, but what are you scared of? hmm?" Aliyah asked as she tilted her head. " I....What i am scared of....is you....how you act sometimes, it really frightens me..." Kaiden said, as he looked down. "..." Aliyah kept silent. " I am also scared that, if at some point i am strong enough to protect myself, that you will leave me, just like everyone else...everyone leaves me in the end...even our parents- let''s go." Aliyah interrupted. "ah, wa-wait for me!" kaiden shouted, as he ran after her. " like i could ever abandon you, you fool..." Aliyah secretly wiped some tears from her face, as her lips formed a sorrowful smile.


    ...


    At The North Gate.


    " Surround him!" one of the soldiers shouted, as the line of soldiers slowly surrounded Levi, one step at a time. the stifling tension causing some of them to sweat profusely. '' so even after speaking politely, i still end up in this kind of situation.'' Levi thought. " how annoying." Levi said, as blood energy rose from his body. "wha-what is that?!" a soldier asked. " stay on guard! don''t lose focus!" another one shouted, as they halted their steps, breathing heavily. " you..." suddenly, the voice of general Luca, the cold general drifted into the people''s ears, including Levi''s. "...was it you?" the cold general asked. "?" Levi looked at the general, not understanding what he was talking about. he only saw the genreal trembling. "....was it you?! did you betray him?!"the cold genral shouted, as his cultivation pressure erupted. " ugh!" The soldiers surrounding Levi, and levi himself was almost pressured into the ground. '' spin!'' levi thought, as his blood energy began spinning and rising up. " huff! huff....so that worked..." levi mumbled. as mentioned before, he had thought about more creative ways to use his blood energy as he walked through the forest, and since he was always being pressured by people stronger than him, finding a way to stop or disrupt that pressure was a must for him.


    since he couldn''t stop it, he resorted to disrupting it instead. his way of thinking about the pressure was simple. think of the pressure as water, if one were under a large body of water, the pressure would be unbearable. but if you were to somehow find a way to spin this water, and always stay below the gap, then you would be fine, that was how levi''s theory worked at least. so since he wasn''t strong enough to simply lift or evaporate the water, he would disrupt it. " humph! since you are not answering, then i will have to assume that what i am thinking is right! impact! " boom! " Levi looked behind him, where a small hole appeared. when he had first met the cold general, he was blasted away before he could do any thing about it. but the reason for that was because, he was fighting to control his body, so even though he felt something speeding toward him, he couldn''t react in time to do anything about it, but now was a different story. if it was back then, even if his body was fully under his control, he still wouldn''t have been able to counter or dodge the strike. but now, his body was under control, and his blood energy stage was higher than ever. he looked at the general coldly, with annoyance and irritation written all over his face.

 Chapter 79 The Four Elder Generals 4

    At the south gate of the imperial city, a group of people stood. " Alright! all of you already know why you are here, so don''t waste any time! go kill a few of them and get this over with!" A man wearing a fiery yellow robe shouted towards a group of youths, who looked to be between 14-17 years old. This man was the scorching sun clan''s current master, and the children were from his clan. They were brought out to gain experience by fighting opponents that would actually try to kill them. " Yes, Master!" The children, even the few girls, shouted loudly. They spread out, engaging a soldier each, while the clan master just stood unmoving, as if nothing was of any consequence to him. '' Should we really leave the imperial city with those two? If we were to stay behind, we would be the strongest and largest clan here, which means we would enjoy prestige unlike anything before!'' The clan master thought, as the ends of his spiky black hair swayed in the breeze. " hmm?" Looking up, he saw a horseman looking down at him from behind, with his sword held high. " humph!" The clan master merely snorted, as he stood unmoving. " Heat Field." He spoke calmly, a scorching sheild-like feild of heat surrounding his body, as the soldier lowered his sword.


    schihhii! " ugh! why is it so hot?" As it made contact with the heat field, the sword in the soldier''s hand rapidly turned red hot, causing the leather handle to begin smoking before bursting into flames, causing the soldier to throw it to the ground. " ignition palm!" The clan master swiftly turned, as he sent a blazing palm towards the soldier at an increadible speed. The palm got bigger as it moved towards the soldier, enveloping both the horse and it''s rider. " ahh! neihhhh!" The soldier fell from the horse''s back, as he rolled on the ground in an attempt to put out the flames, but his armor ensured otherwise. While the horse thrashed around, eventually putting out the flames. " These brats are arrogant because of the offensive power of our scorching sun clan''s techniques, but this arrogance could be fatal. Although i was the same when i was younger. haha, i might as well go watch some of them." The serious and sturdy face of the scorching sun clan master scrunched up as his mouth broke into a wide grin. He walked away with his arms behind his back.


    In an alley formed by a few buildings, a youth wearing a fiery yellow robe walked arrogantly, without a care in the world. tap! tap! The hooves of a horse made loud tapping sounds as a horseman rode up behind the youth and slashed down. " agh!" The youth, being slashed on his back, released a cry of pain before rolling on the ground. " Y-YOU!!" He slowly got up and looked at the soldier, beads of sweat running down his face. His face was twisted in pain, but even more so in anger. " Dammit! attacking from behind! you fuck..." The youth released a scorching flame qi, before gathering it in his palm. " die! ignition palm!" The youth shouted. neihh! The horse neighed as the soldier pulled on the reins, urging the horse to move to the side, causing the flaming palm to crash into the back of a building. "...I saw that middle aged man use this same palm technique, but, in the hands of this kid, it''s nothing special. The fact that he took so long to use it, along with the fact that he seems to be struggling to control it means that i can move out of the way before it can hit me. Well, guess it''s time to kill this brat!" The soldier mumbled, before speaking the last sentence for the youth to hear. " come and try!" Veins bulged on the youth''s forehead, as sweat pourded down his face.


    ...


    At the north gate.


    Levi looked at the cold general with annoyance and irritation, as he continued to spin his blood energy. " humph!" The cold general snorted, as he grabbed his sword. "....impact." He said calmly. "!!" after a few seconds, alarm bells rang in levi''s head. By the time he had reacted, his left arm was cut cleanly off, as a large, straight crevasse opened beside him. " just die!" The cold general shouted, as he slashed out multiple times, causing levi to dodge. But although he could sense the almost invisibe slashes, he had trouble dodging them. " tch!" Levi clicked his tongue, as the 7 remaining blood energy stages exploded from his body, before spiraling in different positions and directions. " humph! your tricks can''t stop my attack!" the cold general shouted, as he slashed out once again, infusing a large amount of qi into his slash. vivivi! '' shit, i can''t move fast enough! gather!'' levi thought.


    psi!


    Blood sprayed from levi''s chest, as blood energy spirals barely disrupted the powerful impact sword light. It bent weirdly in oposite directions because of the blood energy spirals. As he gathered his blood energy, he used it to bring back his severd arm, before throwing it into the spacial ring. "..." Levi looked down at his chest, his eyes darkening. '' my blood still dies when the enemy is too strong. it was reckless of me to devide my attention to recover my arm. these spirals aren''t efficient, either.'' Levi thought silently, as he allowed the dead blood to flow out, before healing the wound. " a scar? interesting..." Levi looked up, a slight smile on his face. " humph!" Without a word, the cold general shot out. clank! a sword and sabre clashed, as levi pulled the sabre from the spacial ring. Levi''s feet dug through the ground as the cold general''s pressure pushed him back. " hup!" ting! coating his arm with blood energy, levi jumped, using the cold general''s pressure to get to a safe distance. " If that doesn''t work, then what about this.." Levi mumbled, as the cold general shot out again.


    " hmm?!" The cold general slashed down, infusing qi into his strike, but found that his sword had been stopped. '' what is this weird energy!?'' He thought, as he looked at the spiraling, blood red forcefield around levi. " who knew i would be using all of these ideas so soon. although, i just came up with this one.." Levi mumbled. A large dome-like blood enegry sheild surrounded him, as the cold general''s sword was stuck between two opposing spirals. " humph! impact!" The cold general snorted, as his sword progressively sank into the shield, before tearing though it like paper. " this is all it amounts to? this blood sheild..." Levi mumbled as he looked at the large tear in the blood sheild. "....i keep getting attacked, even without doing anything. if i am going to get attacked relentlessly anyway, then i might as well retaliate." Levi said, as his eyes became cold.''even if i can''t win, i can at least test out some things. i also have confidence that i will make it out alive.'' He thought. "!!" Levi suddenly turned his head. '' old gray?....no, danger!!'' He thought, as sweat appeared on his forehead.


    ...


    At the south gate.


    "huff! huff! why do you keep dodging, you bastard!" The youth was backed into a corner, as his qi was almost exausted. He was begining to feel fear, fear of death, something that he had never felt before. " what kind of fool would stay still for somebody else to kill them?" The soldier spoke disdainfully. He hated pampered, young masters who only knew arrogance, but nothing of the hardships of the world. " humph! don''t act so high and mighty!" The youth shouted, as he gathered his remaining qi, and gambled on this last attack. boom! The soldier shifted his horse, and because of the youth''s poor control, the palm strike crashed into another building. " ah...wa-wait.." Realising that his last attack failed spectacularly, the youth stepped back instinctively. " when you were trying to kill me, did you wait?" The soldier spoke coldly as his horse walked toward the youth, slowly. " w-wait, yo-you can''t kill me...i''m from the scorching sun clan...i will become powerful in the future, yo-thud!" Looking back, he found that his back had hit the wall of a building. " ah, you there, save me!" As he looked up, he saw a person peeping through the window above him. Like they hadn''t heard anything, the person silently left, pulling a dark curtain back across silently.


    clank! woosh! The sound of fighting soon drifted down through the narrow alley. " ah, isn''t that Xander? br-big brother Xander! save me! you have to save me! he will kill me" The youth suddenly started shouting, as he saw another youth, also wearing a fiery yellow robe. " huh? ack!" The youth, Xander, looked down the alley reflexively, resulting in a light slash down his shoulder. Widening the distance between himself and the soldier, Xander looked down the alley once again. " laxus?! what are you doing?! i am coming to save you now!" Xander''s expression changed as he turned to go into the alley, while the youth in the alley, laxus, revealed a relieved expression. " humph! where do you think you are going!" The soldier blocked Xander''s path into the alley. " humph, now that brother Xander is here, you can kiss that wretched life of yours goodbye!" laxus said arrogantly. " brother xander will surely-" crack! psii! Before he could finish, the sound of bones cracking and blood spraying rang out. " hu-huh? cough!...wa-wait..you...you were supposed to wait for brother xander...i can''t die, i''m going to become a powerful martial artist in the future..." Laxus coughed a mouthful of blood, as the soldiers sword broke his collar bone, imbeding itself deep in his shoulder. " laxus!" Xander shouted, as he was once again about to rush to the rescue. " humph!" The soldier snorted, before obstructing his path once again. " aghh!" the sound of flesh ripping rang out, as the soldier lifted his sword once again, this time, cutting Laxus in half, from shoulded to hip. " Laxus!!" Xander shouted, as he watched the scene helplessly.

 Chapter 80 The Four Elder Generals 5

    At the north gate.


    '' Is that old gray?....no...Danger!'' Levi thought. He sensed a presence similer to old gray, and turned his head, beads of sweat flowing down his face. Old gray struck fear in his heart multiple times. Those experiences led to his ability to sense truly overbearingly strong people. although, he could not do it consiously, as it was more like instinct. "..." Without another thought, blood red wings sprouted from his back, as veins all over his body bulged. " Hmm?" The cold general watched this scene cautiously. " Luca boy, he is going to escape!" An aged voice rang out. " Elder?!what?!" The cold general looked to the side, only to see the silhouette of an old man. " Focus!" The old man shouted. "..." Just as the cold general turned back to look at levi, a light shockwave eminated outward, as a line of red was left in his wake. " kek!" levi suddenly stopped in the sky. " This is why i didn''t want to use this, i almost broke my neck.....but that old man is dangerous, so i have no choice..." Levi''s eyes darkened, as he looked down to the ground, only to see the old man reaching out his hand. '' Crap!'' He thought, as he once again pumped blood energy into his wings. boom! A light shockwave rippled through ths sky, as levi dissapeard, leaving a trail of red behind. " Hmm? It has been a good long while since someone so young could escape me. Although i didn''t put my all into capturing him, to be able to get away, hehe..." the old man mumbled.


    " Tch!" The cold general clenched his teeth, as his grip on his sword tightened. " All soldiers, hear my command! scatter thoughout the imperial city and find him!" The cold general shouted. " Yes, General!" The soldiers shouted, before leaving immediately. " Luca boy, you are letting your anger overcome you. Do you even know for certain that, that boy had anything to do with eli boy''s death? or are you just making assumptions." The old man spoke with every step, until he arrived in front of the cold general. "..." The general kept silent. " Why did you come back, elder? Do you need something?" The general asked, having no intention to answer the old man. " Humph! you brats sure have grown some guts, huh? Humph! You are coming with me. The other three will be coming to the imperial palace later, so we are going there to wait for them." The old man snorted before saying. " Where is issac?" the cold general suddenly asked. " i sent him back into the city earlier." The old man said, without looking back.


    ...


    At the south gate.


    " Laxus...." Xander watched as Laxus'' body fell to the ground. ''....There is no time for this...I have to put some distance between us, before this other soldier joins the one i am fighting. If that were to happen, i would be in trouble...'' Xander thought, and without wasting any time, he kicked off, backward, and widened the distance between the soldier and himself once again. " Trying to widen the distance again? don''t you learn? i am on a horse, so this small distance can be covered easily!" The soldier shouted, as he pulled on the reins, urging the horse forward. " Humph! I thought you would do that. Ignition finger!" Xander shouted, as a finger sized line of flame qi shot out towards the soldier. " Like that will-" thump! " huh?" the soldier was confused. " I wasn''t aiming for you, i was aiming for the horse." Xander said calmly. since the man himself said that the horse was the problem, then he just had to get rid of it. " Yo-you...my horse!" The soldier''s eyes became bloodshot, as he slowly got of from the horse''s collapsed corpse. '' what are the chances of me killing him in one strike? not high...and since i still have to worry about the other one, i should run for now...'' Xander thought, as he was about to jump back.


    sou!


    " Damn those three...Sending me to the furthest side..." In the sky, a middle aged man with long and curly, shiny, black hair soared through the sky, before stopping abruptly. " Ugh...these people look like ants crawling into a sugar jar..." The man mumbled to himself, as he looked at the soldiers from the divine dragon continent from a bird''s eye view. " Hmm, martial clan?...Whatever, i should just get rid of these soldiers so that i can hurry and leave here..." The man mumbled, as a thick, bountiful qi escaped his body, before forming multiple sword shapes. After forming the sword shapes, more qi was released from the man''s body, this time sparce, as it flowed through the streets like a thin smoke. " Hmmm? a few thousand of them? Well, i won''t be able to get all of them, but....Sword rain." After a few seconds, the man spoke indifferently. The sword shaped qi plumited at a high speed, each one peircing a soldier.


    puchi!


    " cough!" Just as Xander was about to jump back, one of the qi sword shapes dropped from the sky, peircing the soldier from his nape, and imbeding itself within his body, causing him to cough one mouthful of blood before falling to the ground, dead. " huh?" Xander looked up out of confusion. "Is that...a person?" He squinted his eyes, as he looked up at the bright sky, only to see a small black silhouette. " That doesn''t matter, laxus...." As he remembered what had happened just a few minutes ago, countless beads of sweat appeared on his face, as a pained expression emerged. step! step! Without anymore thought, he ran forward, ignoring the soldier''s corpse. " huff! huff!" Just as he came before the alley, he heard heavy breathing that brought him back to reality. " y-you..." The same soldier who cleaved laxus from shoulder to hip was now pinned to the side of a building, a qi sword shape embeded in his stomach as blood poured down his armor. "..." xander silently walked down the alley, keeping a cautious eye on the soldier. " mgufb!" As he got closer, the scent of blood filled his nostrils. Tears began to well in his eyes as he looked at the lifeless body on the ground, in a pool of it''s own blood. After standing silently for a while, he began looking around,Before his eyes locked onto a piece of white cloth blowing in the breeze. before it could blow past him, he grabbed it, then knelt down. " ugh..." He resisted the urge to vomit, as he wrapped the two halfs of the body in the cloth, before lifting it with both hands and walking out of the alley.


    " Hey...boy..." before he took the final step out of the alley, the weak voice of the soldier rang out. " you...took the time....to wrap up that corpse..." the soldier paused, as Xander bit his bottom lip. "...so that brat...should mean something to you....and yet....with the person that killed him on his last legs....you walk away without killing him....why..." The soldier spoke, as blood poured from xander''s lip. He knew that he could kill the soldier, but what was the point? He would die anyway. He also knew that, even if he killed the soldier at this point, it would be meaningless. So although he was burning with anger and sadness, he could only keep those feelings inside. He wanted to scream angrily at the heavens, but instead, he choked his feelings back, so that he could at least hurry and give laxus a proper burial. But, he also knew that this was just a selfish excuse. He was scared. Scared to take the life of something that was so similar to him. He was afraid to stain his hands with the blood of another human being, and so, he turned his head to the side, and ignored the person that killed someone who was like his younger brother. That way, the death of that person wouldn''t weigh on his shoulders. he wouldn''t be a murderer. he would be able to keep a peace of mind. his saddness was the result of the death of his close friend, but his anger was the result of his own unwillingness to dirty his hands. Yes, his anger was indeed strong. But, it was directed at no one, other than himself.


    In the sky.


    " Hmm...that killed quite a number of them, but some should still be alive....well, i''ll just have some of the soldiers clear up the rest...time to go back..." The man in the sky spoke without a care in the world, as his figure flashed before dissapearing.

 Chapter 81 Discussion

    At the south gate.


    Step! step! The sound of heavy steps filled with sadness and regret rang out, as Xander walked though the streets, ocasionally bypassing corpses of soldiers, as well as the destruction caused by said soldiers. After navigating the streets for a few minutes, he arrived at where the children of the scorching sun clan had gathered before. "..." He looked around silently, and with a blank expression, observed many of the children that had returned before him. Many of them were bruised and bloodied, with dirt staining their clothes and skin. While others were still shaking from fright or fear, wincing from time to time as the wounds on their bodies twitched. " humph! so you are the last?" The scorching sun clan master asked. " I...don''t know..." Xander replied quietly. " It was a rhetorical question. If anyone else is still out there, they should be able to find their way back safely." The clan master said. '' that bastard in the sky killed most of the soldiers, so the remainder should be paniking, trying to find a way to get away by now. They shouldn''t have the time or luxury to to kill anyone. So if anyone is still out there, as long as they stay out of sight, they should reach the clan easily.'' he thought. " So? What is that in your hands?" The clan master asked. In xander''s arms was something wraped in cloth, with blood ocasionally dripping from the center of it. " This is...laxus.." Xander replied quietly. "....Laxus? Was that one of ours? Why are you carrying a corpse around? Anyone of our people who died today will be recoverd tomorrow, and returned to our clan to be burried. You didn''t have to drag around a body." The clan master said, puzzled. " ...did you know?" Xander asked softly.


    " huh?" The clan master responded, confused. " Were you watching?! Why didn''t you help him then!? Are you that heartless?! You-"boom! Xander was forced to stop talking, as a crushing pressure enveloped his body, making it hard for him to even stay on his feet. " Don''t misunderstand, i only observed a few of you. I am not so heartless as to leave the children of my own clan to their deaths. I understand the feeling of loosing a friend, but don''t forget your place." as the clan master said this, the pressure dissapated. " And even though you were too late to save him, you should have still avenged your friend, right?" The clan master asked. At this question, xander''s face twisted with sadness. " I-i...." He couldn''t say anything beyond that. " humph!"Although Xander had his head low, the clan master could guess what happened. '' Shouting at me for being heartless when he didn''t even avenge his friend, ridiculous!'' The clan master thought. " Though, i do understand how it feels to be afraid...to fight...and to kill...maybe that is why i am not being so hard on the boy..." He mumbled to himself.


    He was not heartless, but on the road of cultivation, after you reached a certain point, your views on life changed. It was not the same for everyone, but the change did always happen, no matter how slight. " Alright, get up, all of you! We are going back!" After a moment of silence, the scorching sun clan master shouted, causing the empty minded children sitting on the ground to jolt, as they came back to reality. As they walked though the streets, they saw the damage done to many buildings, with multiple commoners dead on the ground. Some beheaded, while others died more greusome deaths. They even recognised some of the buildings and people. The old man who always sat at the corner of a small resturant, selling his incense. A beautiful lady who always brought her 4 young children out just before the sun went down. Even the gruff looking hawker who''s best products were his large and sweet, red apples. At this moment, all of them just wanted to go back to their clan, where it was peaceful and without death. Although rivalry was strong in their clan, and at times, some of them went overboard while fighting, they would take that over the hell that they had experienced today, anytime.


    ...


    Over the north side of the imperial city, a bright red trail decorated the sky, as Levi flew at a breakneck speed. " ka!" He suddenly coughed a mouthful of blood. '' Tch! This damn raven bloodline, does it have to act up now? Flying like this is also putting too much strain on my body, and my arm is also still choped off...What a bad day...'' Levi thought, as he hovered in the sky, his eyes darkening with anger and irritation. After thinking for a while, he slowly lowered himself to the ground, and made his way through some alleys. fwoosh! He pulled the feather coat from the spatial ring, along with his arm. " Do these people have something against this arm..." Levi looked at the arm in his hand. Without wasting anymore time, blood poured from his shoulder, but instead of dropping to the ground, it moved as if alive. He then placed his severd arm up against the blood, as it slowly grew closer until only a thin line of blood remained. After a few seconds, even that thin line of blood was no longer seen. " I have to learn more about human body structure. who knows what else i might lose..." levi mumbled self-mockingly, with a half joking tone. '' I really don''t understand my own emotions.'' he thought with a smile.'' One minute i am angry and irritated, and the next, i am smiling.'' fwish! He then swiftly put on the coat, without forgeting to put the hood over his head, then began to walk. "...i wonder why i am in such a good mood." Levi mumbled to himself as he walked, a wide grin hidden by the shadow of his hood. '' haha, being able to fight...defend myself against that general''s attacks is probably the reason. No matter how small, it proves that i am becoming stronger.'' he thought. " search! search for the boy!" Just as Levi was about to walk out of the alley, he heard heavy steps, along with the cluncking of armor. "...damn killjoys..." The foot that he had extended returned to his side, as he turned around, finding a small path between two buildings that led to another alley.


    ...


    The imperial palace.


    The 3 clan masters, along with the old masters stood before the king silently. To the other side of the room, the cold general, general luca, along with the laid back general, issac and the silent general, Ian stood. Beside each of them were the people who appeared at the north, east, west and south gates. The old man who appeared at the north gate, who wore a white and gold embroidered robe, with short white hair, was the laid back general, issac''s master. The old man from the east gate, who wore a black and white embroidered robe, with long gray hair, was the cold general''s, luca''s master. The woman who appeared at the west gate who wore a black cloak, who had yet to arrive, was the angry general, Eli''s master. And the silent general''s, Ian''s master, who looked to be the youngest of the four with his long, curly black hair, went to the south gate. step! step! " Hmm, is she finally here?" Issac''s master groaned. " Oh? It seems that i am late?" A woman who looked to be middle aged walked through the giant, open throne room doors.


    "...what took you so long...old bat?.... i was sent all the way to the south gate because you three ganged up on me....but i still got back earlier than you!" After an unusual few seconds of silence, the silent general''s, Ian''s master shouted. " It is a given that out of the four of us, the most insignificant one of us would do the most work. And, who are you calling old, boy? I am still in my prime, don''t make this god of war teach you a lesson." The woman spoke, as a dangerous gleam flickered in her eyes. " There you go again...flaunting your old title....if anything...wouldn''t this sword god be the one giving the lesson?" the silent general''s master spoke. " huhu, me? being taught a lesson by a self-proclaimed sword god? huhuhu, you still know how to joke." the woman laughed mockingly. " you! who is self-proclaimed! " the silent general''s master shouted. " Why don''t you two-" Before issac''s master could finish, the king''s oppressive voice rang out. " You elders seem to be having fun? Even forgeting that you are in the presence of this king." He said without emotion. As soon as he spoke, everyone in the room turned their heads.


    " Don''t be that way, your highness! since you were so quiet, we just decided to have a little bit of fun." The angry general''s master said with a smile. " Oh? You seem to be in a good mood, despite what has befallen my city?" The king asked, as his sharp gaze swept over her body. " Well, what can you do, right? what has happened, has happened!" She spoke once again. " Hahaha, i guess that is true!" The king suddenly burst out laughing. " What has happened, has happened, right? Then, let me tell you a little secret, luna, or god of war, if you would prefer. Your precious disciple, eli, or as the citizens used to call him, the angry general, is dead." A shadow covered the king as he sat back comfortably on his throne, with only his almost glowing eyes being visible in the darkness, as he looked down towards luna. " .....what.." After what seemed to be a long few seconds, the woman''s eyes widened with shock, as her body shook.


    " Oh, yes, you didn''t know, did you? He stupidly gave into taunts and left the city''s walls, only to lose a few thousand soldiers! So many lives lost due to his incompetence, wouldn''t you say that he deserved to die?" The king spoke with a leisurely tone. " Your highness, from what i know, Eli boy died in order to save your son." issac''s master spoke, his white and gold embroidered robe shifting as he raised his hands while explaining. '' This boy hasn''t changed in the slightest. i had thought that since he had gotten children, that he would change his ways. But that cruelty still seems to be burning strong.'' Issac''s master thought. " Is that so. Then what of the rest of them, abel? How did the four of you raise them? Like fools, they gathered in one place, succumbed to the taunts of four brats, and one of them even ended up dead. Zenoh, Luna, Eivan and Abel, proudly known as the elder generals by few, but what is the use of your disciples?" The king asked seriously.


    " You.." The cold general''s master, Eivan spoke, but stopped himself before he said anymore. "..." The silent general''s master, zenoh, as well as Abel kept silent. Silently, a terrifying killing intent spread through the throne room, chilling everone to the bone. " L-luna...what are you-" before Abel could finish, the king spoke. " What are you trying to do, God of war?" The king asked, putting emphasis on her title. " I thought you said that what happened, has already happened, and nothing could be done about it? I should remind you that i am no longer a weak boy. We are both at the universal harmony stage, but while you are at the first level, i am at the third, so think wisely before you do anything, as i have no mercy in me for a worn out general that would attack her king." The king spoke, as a similarly terrifying killing intent leaked from his body.

 Chapter 82 Discussion 2

    In the throne room.


    " Things are getting heated in here..." The scorching sun clan master mumbled. " I would also like to know what you so-called generals were doing. Because all of you left, enemy soldiers swarmed through the city''s gates. Many of our people lost their lives because of your actions. " The scorching sun clan master spoke, causing both the king''s and the generals'' attention to shift. " humph! You martial clans live in this imperial city, roaming it like royalty, so why shouldn''t you sacrifice some of your people when the need arises?" The cold general spoke coldly. Since he couldn''t rebuke the king, he took out his pent up anger on the martial clans. "....i was wondering something....why did you martial clans bring your children out to fight? and only 40-50 of them at most..." Zenoh asked, as some of his curly black hair fell over his shoulder. "..." The scorching sun clan master kept silent. '' Thought he could put more pressure on the generals, but it ended up backfiring, now the boy doesn''t know what to say. sigh. I don''t want to get involved, but since all three clans were dragged into this, i guess i have no choice.'' The flowing water old master thought. " We simply wanted to expose the young ones to the real world." He said. " Expose them to the real world..huh..." Zenoh mumbled. '' i will never understand how these clans think.'' He thought. " Oh? This is intriguing." The king said, as his attention was now fixed on the martial clans. " Instead of defending my city, you brought your children out for a stroll? HaHaHa! The people in this room are very entertaining!" The king laughed crazily. No one knew what was going through his head.


    " You...fucking brat of a king...if your kingdom is under attack...and all of your people are useless as you say....then why don''t you take your royal ass from that throne and protect it yourself?!" Luna spoke, as more killing intent escaped her body. " That is the question, isn''t it? Well, let me tell you. if i had to defend this city personally, i would kill all of you." The smile dissapeared from his face, as the king spoke coldly. "..." Everyone went silent, as the atmosphere in the room became heavy, the cultivation pressures and killing intents from the martial clan masters as well as the generals erupting. Although the generals served the king, when someone threatened your life, king or not, would you wash your neck and wait for them? " Because, what is the point of you being alive, if i have to personally protect this city? That is your job, without it, none of you mean anything." In the face of the hostile martial clans, and the angry generals, the king spoke, as a dominating pressure envelloped the imperial palace. " You four elders walk around demanding respect, when you can''t even raise disciples to protect this city. And even after their failures, you still demand respect, shameless. And you martial clans, instead of sending capable people to deal with the enemy soldiers, you sent children who couldn''t even amount to anything..." The king spoke as he got up. "...I should kill all of you right now." boom! An even stronger pressure escaped the king''s body, as the walls of the throne room quaked, small cracks appearing on them.


    " Hohoho, your majesty sure knows how to joke." The flowing water clan''s old master spoke with a laugh. " Joke?" the king looked toward him. " What could it be, other than a joke? although your majesty is indeed stronger that all of us individually, even your esteemed self wouldn''t be able to fight all of us at once." The flowing water old master said. " what makes you think that?" The king asked, as his killing intent thickened. "....hohoho, this old man may be going senile, your majesty needs not take my words to heart." Old master flowing water spoke after a few seconds of silence. The deeper meaning behind these words were clear, '' fine then, why don''t you come and try it?''. '' Although i hate to admit it, the old man does have a point.'' The king thought. " humph!" The king diffused his pressure and sat back down. " It is my suspicion that these attacks were just a diversion." He then said. ".....What does your majesty mean?" Seeing that all of the generals kept silent, and that the room was once again becoming heavy, the flowing water old master asked. " humph! The imperial city is very large, needlessly so. Why the ancestors created it this way, i do not know. But because of it''s size, it is also bare of many natural resources. Even most of our water is hard to obtain, as it has to be brought from the ocean, before seperating and filtering the salt and other impurities, making it safe for comsumption. As well as water, fruits and vegetables are also scarce, with most of them coming from the different countries. Although, within the city, there are small strips of land used for agriculture, the amount of produce gained from them is neglegible." The king began explaining.


    " As all of you know, the cloud continent is shaped like a deformed skull. While the imperial city takes up the space of the eyes and nose, the ten countries are positioned as the skull''s teeth. Most of our rescourses come from these 10 countries, making them essential to this city survival." He said. " Oh? Is your highness suspecting that this attack on the imperial city was just to divert our attention?" The flowing water old master asked. " Preciecly." The king said coldly. " But if that is the case, your highness, what would be the point of today''s attack? Since this hypothesis is most likely the case, and it is obvious to both us and the enemy, couldn''t we just send troups to the countries to stop any invsion?" The cold general suddenly asked. "...unlike you, the people of the divine dragon continent aren''t stupid. If they sent a fleet of soldiers to the cloud continent, then let a small group break away to attack the imperial city, what do you think would happen?"


    " Let me break it down for you. while we were destracted with the small force that had attacked, they could have already begun burrowing their way into the countries."


    " And before you say that '' if we left now, we could still stop them'', let me remind you that, the countries are at least a few days away from the imperial city, giving them more time to do whatever they might have planned."


    " Not to mention, how do we find out which country they are in? how long will it take?"


    " What is the number of soldiers they have?


    " As i have already stated, the cloud continent is skull shaped, which would lead you to believe that they would start from the below countries, before making their way up, but had they come from an angle, they could have gotten into the above countries."


    " There are many more possibilities, but i see no point in telling you of them. Even if i did, what would you do with that knowledge? only fold under it''s pressure." The king explained harshly, as he thought. '' All of those sects in the countries for example. Just like these martial clans, they have no feelings of loyalty to this continent.''


    "..." The cold general opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it silently. Looking up at the king, he could only remain silent. " This gathering has brought me only anger and irritation. You all are to deal with the situation in the countries swiftly and more efficiently than today, otherwise, you will die. Either by the hands of our enimies, or mine." The king looked towards the generals, who kept silent. " Leave, all of you." He said. The generals bowed deeply before turning and walking out of the throne room, while the martial clan masters meerly grasped their fists. " sigh..." The king sighed. '' Those four old fools still persist. Oh father, why do you haunt me so? leave me, let your soul rest. And take your four most trusted subordinates with you.'' He thought. " But if you can''t bother to do it, i will." The king spoke with a bone chilling tone.


    " Hmm, we were in there for quite a while. For the sun to be going down already, sigh..." The flowing water old master opened one of his eyes, straining his hunched back as he looked at the orange clouds. " So, how many of our children did we lose?" He suddenely asked. " 3, with multiple injured serverly." The lightning fist clan master spoke. '' Not much of a talker, like his father.'' The flowing water old master thought. " We lost about 9. what about you, old man water?" The scorching sun clan master asked. '' And this one has no respect, much like his old grandfather.'' Old master flowing water thought. " we didn''t lose any." Not waiting for the old master to answer, the clan master spoke. " Bullshit! are you playing with me water boy?" The scorching sun clan master towered over the flowing water clan master. " He speaks the truth." The flowing water old master spoke. " humph! well, since it''s old man water, i guess it''s true. tch!..." The scorching sun clan master mumbled something under his breath. " Haha, i expected as much! old man flowing water is a calm and cunning old snake, i guess your descendents inhereted that from you! But i bet they''ll enheret your balding too! bwahaha!" The scorching sun old master burst out laughing. " Grandfather, i want to talk to you." The scorching sun clan master said softly. " Hehe, ah, when we get back then." The scorching sun old master said, as his laughing fit came to a stop. Old master flowing water watched this silently, his long gray hair blowing in the breeze, as sun reflected from the large bald spot in the middle of his head.


    Standing in front of the palace gates, the generals spoke. " Luna, don''t think of doing anything to the king." Abel said pleadingly. " That brat Eisen...why did he turn out like that? sigh...just point me to Eli...Eli''s body..." Luna said softly. " I know how you feel, but you shouldn''t call the king by his name, you could be-" Abel was inturupted. " king?! him? Up to this day, after investigating discretely for years, we can''t figure out who killed his father, the previous king! At that time, everything pointed to him being the culprit! And you call him king?! Are you even looking for the truth anymore?!" luna shouted. " Luna!" Abel shouted angrily. " What, abel?! You know how i feel?! bullshit! The bastard that sits on the throne has tried to get rid of us for far longer than i can remember, and i am tired of taking his, and your crap! I will bury Eli''s body, and dissapear from this treacherous continent!" After she said this, her figure blured before dissapearing. " Dammit! Why does a grown woman act so childish?!" Abel shouted. " Master, is that true? did the king-" the cold general was inturupted. " That does not concern you! Go prepare your men to head to the countries, now." Abel said sternly, not giving Eivan a chance to speak. Seeing that his master said nothing, the cold general could only leave. " And you too, lazy brat. Forget about all of this, and go prepare your men." abel turned to his disciple. " Sure, sure." General Issac said with a laid back smile, as Ian followed behind him silently.


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    ...


    Somewhere in the imperial city, Levi walked through alley after alley. " keep searching! we cannot go back until we find him!" he heard a shout. "..." he kept silent, his patients wearing thin.

 Chapter 83 Loosen Up

    Levi stood, his back to one of the alley''s walls. " Maybe i should kill them all?" He mumbled under his breath. He was getting genuinly annoyed. " No...if i crated a commotion, that old man might appear again...I got away from him earlier, but i have a feeling that he didn''t put his all into catching me..." He spoke softly. " I got away from the old man a while ago, but was chased all around the city by these soldiers until it was this late..." His eyes were back to normal, cold with a hint of anger and irritation.'' The only thing that improves my mood is getting stronger...sigh..what kind of person am i? how did i become like this?....it doesn''t matter.'' He thought, as he removed his hands from his chest, and began walking out of the alley absent-mindedly. " Crap!" He came back to reality after hearing the heavy steps of soldiers. Looking around, there were no more alleys in sight, and running back into the one he juzt left would be suspicious, so he walked into an open building. " hmmm?" After walking in, he stayed silent for a few seconds, before taking in the sight. The inside of the building was spacious and almost empty, including the second floor. Tables were overturned, and chairs laying on their sides.In the center of the room, an elivated platform stood, where 3 women in revealing garments danced. They were all in sync, when they turned, the cloth in their hands flowed through the air gracefully. "hmmm?! well if it ain''t the boy!" A shout caused Levi to snap his head around. " Old gray?" Levi mumbled, as he watched old gray down a cup of red liquid, as old lin shouted something inaudible.


    "...Good evening." Levi walked up to them before speaking a few seconds later. " Why so formal! hmm?! Sit, sit!" Old gray shouted as he slapped the side of the table, his face flushed. "..." Levi silently sat on the stool. '' What is going on? He is acting strange.'' Levi thought. " Sigh, this old man loves to drink but can''t hold his alcohol!" Old lin sighed, while levi''s eyes shined with realization. " So, boy, how''d the war go?! d''ja gain anything!?" Old gray shouted. Levi''s head turned to the door, his eyes wide. Only when he saw the doorway still empty did he sigh in relief. " You should stop." Levi said, as he looked at the clay jug. A strong scent wafted from the jug, burning Levi''s throat as he sniffed it. " What''er you saying! I just got here!" Old gray shouted, as he poured another cup. " No, we have been here the entire day. Even when everyone ran off, you still insisted on staying." Old lin pinched his nosebridge with irritation. " How can i leave these ladies here, all alone?!" Old gray peaked at the dancing girls, as his expression grew strange. " Exposing all of that skin, but covering their faces with veils! Those naughty...heh heh.." He laughed weirdly as his mind wandered. " Sir, your lascivious gaze is making the girls shiver, disrupting the dance." A waitress suddenly appeared. She sighed helplessly as if this was a common occurrence. " Not possible, not possible! The great me would never have such a gaze!" Old gray shouted and downed another cup. '' You say that every time.'' The waiter sighed and left.


    Thonk!


    "..." Levi looked silently at the cup of purple-ish red liquid that was slammed down in front of him, then to Old gray, who had a '' go on'' expression on his face. " You sure got it rough, boy." Old lin''s face held an amused expression. "..." Levi silently picked up the cup, before sipping it''s contents. " pfttt! cough! cough!" He held his burning throat as he coughed, while old gray burst out laughing. " Hahaha, This heartless old man! Giving the boy this flaming mermaid wine!" Old lin laughed slyly. '' Flaming mermaid wine?....i''m getting dizzy..'' Levi thought as he held his forehead. " Old lin..." He called out after a few seconds. boom! A large book landed on the wooden table, causing the wine glases to chatter. " I will not be able to make use of this...i only realised recently, but, i can''t focus on both inscriptions and pill refining...." Levi said after a while. "....Sigh...i had a feeling...only insane or stupid people would try to walk two paths after all..." Old lin spoke with a weak smile. " So-" Levi was inturupted. " Keep it. It should be of use to you at some point, i have no use for it anyway." Old lin said. " Ok." Levi nodded. pfluuuumph! The sound of a horn being blown caused levi to turn his head. " Hmm, they are recalling the soldiers...i wonder what they were looking for in the city for the entire day..well, it could only be those soldiers who got in..." Old lin mumbled under his breath. "...I will be taking my leave, then." Levi got up and grasped his fist respectfully before turning around. " Eh, eh! were''r you goin boy?! Come and drink with this old man!" Old gray shouted, as Levi kept walking. " C''mon, don''t be so uptight! You should instead find something tight to...open up! Bwahahaha! Are you listening boy?! Take this old man''s advice, your mood will improve! You''ll thank me later, hic, hahahaha!" Old gray''s voice became fainter as Levi walked through the streets.


    After a few minutes of walking, he arrived back at the inn. The sun was already down as he walked in. " Good night, young master!" The old inn keeper said loudly, as Levi nodded at him. " Where are they?" Levi asked. " Lady Aria and young Aron are in the bottom left room sleeping. While master Larck is in the bottom right room. As for mister don...Well, he is in the upper left room." The old inn keeper said. "....Why is in here such a mess?" Levi then asked, as he swept his gaze over the broken tables and chairs. " Well, a soldier in green armor came in and half destroyed the place. Mister don, along with lady aria and young aron were scared. In the end, it was master larck that drove the soldier away, bare handedly." The inn keeper''s eyes sparkled as spoke about this. "....Hmm.." Levi hmmed in reply, before walking up to his room. Without pause, he sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes.


    After absorbing qi for a few minutes, he opened his eyes. " I can only absorb a small amout of qi...When i try to circulate this qi, it seemingly dissapears...." He mumbled to himself as he lost himself in thought. " Could it be that...i have to nurture these primordial meridians before being able to use them freely?....I also felt that....the qi i absorb never seems to go below my skin...do i have to nurture the merdians in layers? Or do i only have primordial merdians in my skin?" He thought about these things silently for a few minutes. "....hmm, in any case, i will stay up for a while longer before going to sleep. I will nurture these primordial meridians in this time, so that i can at least get a bit of sleep before leaving the imperial city tomorrow." He muttered softly.


    ...


    Morning.


    "..." Levi''s eyelids cracked open silently, as he got up. He absorbed qi for most of the night and didn''t get a chance to bathe. He had the inn keeper prepare some water for him, before going to wash himself. " Should i bring them along with me?" Levi thought as he stood in the steam filled bathroom. " No." He said as he put on a white robe. Looking at himself in the cloudy mirror, he found that his hair was a bit long, reaching the nape of his neck. After leaving the bath, he went to the front of the inn, only to find the four ex-gladiators sitting at one of the crudely repaired tables. " Good morning, young master." As she saw him, Aria said with a nervous expression. " ...Hmm....What is it?" He nodded his head before asking. " W-well..." She turned to face don, who''s face was twisting in pain. " Hmm?" Looking down at his chest, Levi found bandages wraped around him tightly. Looking closely, he could see that the bandages had a large discolored stain. The sound of cloth ripping rang out, as levi grew out one of his fingernails and tore the bandages. Underneath, he found a large sword wound. It was smelly, with white puss flowing out ocasionally, and small boils lined it. '' Why does it look like this? He should have got this yesterday when the soldier destroyed all of the tables and chairs, right?'' Levi thought silently, as a green liquid flowed down his palm. " Ahhh!" Don screamed in agony, his bald head sweating as the ant acid ate away his flesh, the puss, the boils, and everything else that was in the wound. " You-young master...What are you doing?" Aria asked, horrified, as Aron turned his head away. Larck sat as silent as a stone, some of his long black hair falling over his shoulder.


    '' Should i use my blood and try to heal him?...No, that would be wasting my blood. For now, i should try to utilize his blood.'' Levi thought silently, as he ignored aria''s question. " Hmm?" After removing the acid, he tried to control don''s blood, but found that it resisted him. "..." After trying for a few minutes, he got the blood to move to his will by force, but it was quite hard to control. "Stop resisting." He spoke with annoyance as he looked at don, who flinched. "..." Half an hour later, the large sword wound was gone and replaced with a smooth scar. " How..." Don looked at his chest slack jawed, before his stomach rumbled in protest. "..." Levi watched this scene silently. '' It is good to know that i can also heal people other than myself. But, they should eat before, since i am basically using the nutrients in their bodies to heal them.'' He thought, as he wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. " I am leaving the imperial city today. All of you, wait here until i return. Help the old man work or something until then." Levi said without emotion. " Wait, young master! You should at least take me along! I may not be much, but...i could at least....satisfy those desires..." Aria said as she looked down towards levi''s lower half. '' Desires? I have no interest in that kind of nonsense.'' Levi''s sharp gaze swept over aria''s body, but he kept silent. " I will be going alone. Since i am going back to a certain dangerous place, i cannot bring you with me. After training at this place for a while, i will visit an old friend to pay him what i owe." Levi said coldly as he walked towards the door.


    ...


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    After flying for a while, he reached the south gate of the imperial city. He flew over it before landing. " Since praticing the cloud or water commandment right now would be pointless, i might as well practice the wind commandment." Levi spoke as he flicked his finger, causing a small book to appear. He stood silently as he revised the wind commandment. "It says that this agility technique should be used while asisting your body with qi...but i don''t have any qi, so i will just practice it lightly..." He mumbled. '' If i practice it wothout the assistance of qi, then when i do use qi in the future, it should be easier.'' As he thought of this, he began running like the book described. He could not be too forceful or lax with his movements. All of his steps had to be the same distance, and timed, down to the second. And the book forbade heavy steps, as it would disrupt the important calmness that came from using the skill. So he had to run with force, but not too much, each step had to be the same distance and for the same duration. And finally, he had to take light steps, even while doing all of the above. " Huff! huff!" After only about 10 minutes, levi was already at his limit.

 Chapter 84 Hellion Spider

    " Cough! huff! huff!" Levi felt as if his lungs imploded, as he stopped running. "ah...i can''t run anymore...might as well absorb qi again.." He mumbled, as he leaned against a tree.


    3 days passed since he left the imperial city, but because he was practicing the wind commandment, it would still take a few days before he reached the Divine country. " Huh?" He suddenly opened his eyes, a shocked expression on his face. " The seed of knowledge...i thought it had dissapeared since i couldn''t feel it for a while, but...it is in my chest? And what the hell was that i just saw?" He muttered to himself.


    '' Wait, wait, wait...i shouldn''t even have a seed of knowledge anymore, but it stayed for a while even arter my Dandian was broken, but then it dissappeared...now it is in my chest, my heart specifically...what the hell.....'' He thought, as he covered his mouth. " And what was it that i saw....it was like...a pinkish tunnel, with glowing yellow cracks or lines.." he mumbled. " Hmm, i should try to see it again, then try to figure out what it was....ngg!" He first opened his eyes wide, then squinted forcefully, but he was still unable to see that strange sight again. " I was absorbing qi when the seed of knowledge pulsated, leading me to find it, as well as see where ever that was...maybe absorbing qi would allow me to do so again?" He said, as he began absorbing qi once again, but again, nothing happened.


    "....Whatever, i should use my resting time wisely." After multiple failures, he could only forget about it for the time being. " It seems your are exausted, child. One should know when to work, and when to rest." Levi suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice, causing him to get into a defensive position before he even opened his eyes. Before him was an old woman who wore a long black robe, with a large golden cross at the front. It fit her loosely as she placed her weight on a cane that looked like an ordinary stick. " What is the matter, child? What a malevolent expression, what a fearsome thurst for blood." The old woman spoke, as her gaze shifter to levi''s long black fingernails that were placed up to her neck.


    " You....who-no...What are you..." Levi asked coldly. He didn''t hear a thing, nor did he feel anything, or smell anything. He was scared out of his skin, like a cat that was snuck up on. Cold sweat soaked his back, as his fingernails pressed against the old woman''s neck, but in the face of this, she just smiled. " I am meerly a believer, a member of The Church Of Believers. You must listen, child. Forgive. When you can spare a life, do so. When you can save a life, do so. You should not kill too much, because no one like''s to die." The old woman''s voice became softer as she walked down the trail. " What...how did she get there without me noticing!?" Levi woke up from his dazed state, his eyes becoming cold as he watched the woman''s figure become smaller. Since he recovered his breath, he decided to begin practicing the wind commandment again. He was still shaken, and since absorbing qi required a calm heart, he could only stop until he calmed down.


    ...


    A few days later.


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    Crack! " hmm?" Levi looked down cautiously, only breathing out softly after seeing it was just a rotting branch that he stepped on. " You can never be too careful in this damn place." He mumbled to himself. After a few days of running, he had entered the divine country again, but since he didn''t know the way to desolate mountain on foot, he flew. He had to stop a few times to rest, but reached the mountain in just a few hours. " My goal is to go to the inner mountain this time. The last time i was here, i fell unconcious, before waking up in the imperial city with a collar around my neck..." His eyes darkened at this thought.


    He walked through the mountain, carefully watching his surroundings. Rustle! "..These damn vines..." He mumbled as he returned his sabre to the spatial ring. "...Hmm?'' He looked around in front of him for something. '' It felt like i broke a string? Maybe i walked through a spiderweb? I have to be more careful.'' He thought, as a black flame appeared before his forehead, as tiny, almost transparent black threads weaved around his body. " Speaking of mental energy...demon saint!" Levi shouted. '' I haven''t heard from that old demon for a while. Is he dead?'' He thought, as he continued to walk.


    '' You...'' A weak voice rang out in his head. " Huh? I can''t hear what you are saying." Levi said. '' You...you....you! You bastard! HOW CAN YOU LOCK SOMEONE IN YOUR HEAD AND THEN FORGET ABOUT THEM?! HOW HEARTLESS, YOU DEMON!!'' The demon saint''s pained voice rang out. "...How ironic. Why are you acting like you couldn''t call me?" Levi asked. '' What do you mean, '' acting''? These letters only light up when you call out to me! I was in this dark place with creepy letters without anything to do! It''s a miracle that i remained sane!'' The demon saint shouted, sniffling ocasionally. '' Were you ever sane?...'' Levi thought silently as he ignored the Demon saint''s existence.


    "....What....is this?" Levi''s eyes widened, as he looked down at a small village. Unlike the gloomy mountain he was on, this village had a small stream right beside it, with clear water flowing down it. They were some small fields growing what looked to be rice, and small wooden buildings, with a big one in the center. Surrounding this village, were multiple mountains. " I remember something about a village in desolate mountain...it was called...desolate village? But this village looks like it is doing as good, no, even better than normal villages? What exactly is-" Levi stopped talking and swiftly turned his head, as he took the saber from the spatial ring.


    He stopped using mental energy, as he looked around. "..." He looked around silently. '' Someone...or something is watching me, but where are they...'' He thought, his golden eyes shifting swiftly. "!!" Swosh! He quickly slashed out, but found that nothing was there. Puchi! " Hmmm?!" Looking down at his leg, a tiny black spider was biting into his leg through his robe. " Rise!" Blood energy rose at his thought, before surrounding the black spider, grinding it into nothingness. '' What was that? Something told me to destroy it completely....that creepy pressence couldn''t have come from that tiny spider.'' Levi thought as he continued to look around cautiously.


    Drip! Drip! Chi..


    '' What is that dripping sound? Hmm? Water is dripping from above?'' He thought as he looked up. drip! chi! "....What...the fuck...is that...?" Levi looked up, only to see a large, pitch black spider with multiple mirror black eyes, standing upside-down on a large black web, while a grotesque liquid dripped from it''s fangs as they twitched. " Hmm?" A cizzling sound caused levi to look at his shoulder, as holes appeared in his robe. Drip! chi! "!!" Ting! The spider moved swiftly despite it''s large body, as it appeared beside Levi, who blocked it''s sharp legs with the sabre. '' Disgusting...'' Levi thought as he looked at the two fangs the size of human legs, along with the dark green liquid secreted by them. Puchu! A large line of black spider silk shot out, before landing on Levi''s chest.


    " An extra leg underneath?!" Levi shouted with surprise as he jumped back. " Get off me!" He shouted, as he grew out his fingernails, ripping the silk from his chest. The pieces moved weirdly, as they became small black spiders the size of a palm. Puchi! '' Shit! So when i slashed out earlier, there was something coming at me! A thin thread of silk that somehow turned into a smaller spider! And cutting doesn''t kill them!'' He thought, as all of his blood energy rose from his body and surrounded the spiders. " Ah...do these things also have venom? I''m starting to feel dizzy..." Levi held his face as he controlled his blood energy, making his spiraling blood shield. Krigrigri! The spider released strange sounds.


    " Are you laughing...you creepy fucker..." Levi mumbled. Puchu! More black silk was shot out from the spider onto Levi''s blood shield, before moving weirdly and turning into spiders the size of small buckets. Rip! Their sharp legs began ripping through the shield slowly. '' I can''t kill them by slashing, so the sabre is useless...The best way to get rid of these things is to kill that big one, but it always keeps a certain distance, only attacking when i am not paying attention...ohh, that blood flame would come in handy right now, but i don''t know how to make it...maybe if i open up the shield a little and look away it will come and attack me?'' Levi thought, as he slowed one of the spirals, causing that part of the sheild to become thin. Krigrigri! Teng! "....Obviously that wouldn''t work...." Levi mumbled, as he looked at the blade like spider leg that was just inches away from his face.


    " Come on..think, how to make blood flame...umm, burn!" Levi shouted, before waiting silently as nothing happened. " Blood flame...flame...you can make a fire by compressing qi a certain way, is it the same for this?" He mumbled as he gathered some blood energy above his palm. Riip! The spiders continued to rip through the shield, as he compressed the blood energy in his palm. Rip!! '' Hurry up!'' He thought, as sweat dripped from his face. Puft! A tiny flicker appeared for a few seconds before disappearing. ".....Are you fucking....JOKING!?" Levi shouted as he looked at his now empty palm. "....On the bright side....at least i learned how to do it..." He said slowly.


    Rip!!!


    The shield was full of holes as multiple black legs wiggled through them. " Alright....i just have to compress the blood energy of the shield and turn it''s surface into blood flames, that should get rid of these things..." Levi himself didn''t notice, but he was begining to feel disgusted by the meer thought of spiders. boom!! krei!!! The sheild exploded outwards into blood flames as the spiders screched before burning into nothing. '' Crap! I just wanted to turn the surface into blood flames, not the whole thing!'' Levi looked at the spider, dark-eyed as if pleeding. Krigirguri! the spider made weird sounds, as it''s fangs twitched sinisterly.


    Puchu!


    Without moving, it shot more silk out, before panting lightly. '' Damn, this spider is not taking any chances...it wants to make sure that i am dead before coming close to me.....i only have a little blood enegry left, not enough to make an adequate amount of blood flames to roast that spider, plus, i wouldn''t use blood flames to kill it either way, since nothing would be left of it.'' Levi thought as the spiders crawlled closer to him. " Then, i have to make use of my bloodline abilities and what little blood energy i have left, to kill this thing.." As he said this, a thick white smoke rose from his shoulders and legs, before forming two figures on either side of himself. Red lines appeared on his black fingernails, as they became pointed. Ant acid and venom dripped from his hands, before floating into the air and foming multiple blobs.Blood wings sprouted from his back, as black and red lines spread all over them. His vision blurred, before returning as different colors, as his infrared vision activated. " I don''t think i can use all of these at once for a long time, but...i want to kill this thing as soon as possible, it''s damn creepy." Levi mumbled as he kept his eyes on the large red light.

 Chapter 85 Past Aquaintence

    Blood energy coursed through his wings and fingernails, giving him the pleasurable feeling of strength. With a flap of his wings, the small pesky spiders were killed easily, but the main spider began creating more distance between them instantly.


    "...i only have a few minutes, so..." He stepped hard on the ground before shooting off, using his wings to propel himself, as he closed the distance between him and the spider swiftly.


    He slashed out, as poisonous wind blades shot out, and while most were dodged, the rest were blocked easily by the spider''s legs. " I think those eyes are a problem!" Levi shouted, as blobs of poison shot out after the retreating spider. Although he could only see a cluster of different colors, he could still vaugely see the outlines of things.


    "!!" Puchi! He chased behind the spider easily, but then, it abruptly back towards him, before stabbing him through his chest.


    " Hehe!" A sinister laughter rang out, as he exploded into smoke. Kri! The spider cried out unhappily, as it stopped levi''s sparehead shaped hand with it''s fangs. " Ahh! Don''t touch me with that nasty mouth!" Levi shouted, as ant acid shot out.


    kriiii!!!


    The spider screeched loudly, as it''s fangs began desolving in the ant acid. grushu! The sound of liquid being sprayed rang out, as a dark green liquid was spat into Levi''s face.


    " ahhhh!" Levi screamed, and without a second thought, he sent ant acid toward his eyes. " you..." levi spoke coldly, as tears of blood flow from his eyes, before they gradually healed.


    "....Tch...acting up again!" Veins bulged on levi''s body, as he furiously suppressed his bloodlines. '' I have to finish this now!'' He thought, as the ends of his wings split into 5 parts each, before shooting out towards the spider''s body.


    Seeing this, the spider instinctively tried to create some distance between itself and Levi once again. " Don''t run!" Levi shouted, as he grabbed onto one of the large fangs. '' I can''t compete with it''s strength!'' Levi thought, as the fang slipped from his hand.


    " But those few seconds were enough..." He said softly, as his wings successfully stabbed into the spider''s body. KRIIII!KRIIII!!!The spider released a blood curdling screech, as black silk shot out from the leg under it''s body.


    Puchi! sphu!


    The sound of flesh being peirced and blood spraying rang out, as multiple spiders the size of small buckets covered levi, biting and stabbing their legs into his flesh. Ignoring the pain, Levi stopped using all of his bloodline abilities except for his wings and fingernails.


    The red and black lines on his wings began to fade, as the red lines on his fingernails became brighter. Puchi! " ...!" Levi ignored the pain, as he lifted his arm, directing it towards the spider''s black, slightly hairy head.


    Teng!


    Before his fingernails could peirce through it''s head, the spider lifted it''s head, catching his hand with it''s large fangs again. Sphu! chi! The spider spat a green liquid at levi''s face once again, but before it could touch his face, he turned his head.


    Blisters and blood appeared on the side of his face, as the spider''s venom ate away at it. " humph!" Levi snorted coldly, as he turned his head and looked at the spider once again. " You are putting your life on the line to survive...but so am I!" He shouted coldly.


    Crack!


    The spider''s large black fangs cracked, as levi put more strength into his arm. Crack! His fingernails broke through the spider''s fangs, as a goopy green liquid dripped out. kriee!! The spider screeched weakly, as levi once again lifted his arm.


    Puchi!KRIII!! puchi! KRIIIIEE!!! PUCHI! kr--iii..kri..iii...The spider screeched softly. Puchi! After a few seconds, it''s large body dropped to the ground, pulling Levi down with it, as his wings were still stuck in it''s body. He pulled his wing''s from the spider''s body, as they fused back together, before disappearing back into his body. Afterwards, he got up and looked down at the spider, who''s head was riddled with large holes.


    " Aghhh!" Levi suddenly started shouting, as his fingers bent backward weirdly. His face streaching forwards, as his back bent. " Behave!!!" his voice boomed as he shouted, forcefully suppressing his raven bloodline.


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    " Huff! huff! Is that yin yang seal even still working to suppress these bloodlines?! Did i siphon off too much of the extreme yin and yang to open my primordial meridians?!" Levi shouted to himself, as he covered his ears with trembling hands. His ears were ringing loudly, as blood flowed from his nose.


    " I-i have to leave here! If i stay, something else might show up!" He shouted, still covering his ears as he got up unsteadily. "...Not there!" He shouted, as he looked in the direction of the village.


    Now that he was so out of energy, going to that village would be akin to tying himself up and waiting for the pack of wolves surrounding him to leave. Would they leave? Sure, but not before eating him! "Cave! That cave! I should still be able to find it!" Growl! He shouted, before a loud growling sound rang out.


    " Huh..." He suddenly lowered his arms, looking agound cautiously. He was out of blood energy, and he was sure that if he used any of his bloodline abilities before resting, that he would turn into some kind of monster, so he was on edge.


    Growl!


    He heard the sound again, as his head snapped down. " Was it my stomach?" He spoke a little softer, as the ringing stopped. Puchi! puchi! "....fucking hell.." His eyes darkened, as he looked at the supposedly dead spider. Something was moving around under the spider''s skin, as if trying to escape.


    Puchi! Rip! The sound of ripping rang out, as multiple tiny white legs ripped through the the spider''s skin. " Oh god...please no..." Levi said softly, as tiny bumps appeared on his skin. Rustle! A small white spider the size of a palm crawlled out from under the black skin, before running off.


    This spider was followed by 10, then 50, then 100. " NOOOOO!!!" Levi screamed with a pale face. He thoroughly hated spiders at this point, but because he was unable to kill them at the moment, he could only shout, and hope that none of them would come his direction. " Spiders....everywhere.." All hope left his eyes as he watched hundreads or possibly thousands of spiders run off in different directions.


    " Blood...first i should find a source of blood to absorb..." He clenched his fist, his face still pale. At the thought of blood, his gaze drifted toward the spider''s corpse.


    " bleah!" He almost vomited at the thought, but forcefully kept his stomach acid in his stomach. He walked up to the corpse hesitantly, before taking the sabre from the spatial ring.


    "....I have to be strong....if i don''t hurry, more things might appear here!" He shouted, as if to convince himself. Crunch! The sabre stabbed into the spider''s body, as a crunch rang out. A green gooey liquid poured out, but Levi ignored it.


    " There!" He was silent for a few seconds before shouting, as an almost glowing blob of green blood poured out of the spider before floating. Growl!!! his stomach growled again in protest.


    "...." He silently eyed the corpse as if he was conflicted about something. He was both hungry and tired, and it would be dangerous for him to go sightseeing on this mountain in his condition. And no matter how injured he was, he was not going to absorb that nasty looking green goo.


    So his only other option was to eat. Crack open that hard exoskeleton and see if there was any flesh. " ugh..." He groaned in discontent, as he grabbed onto the spider''s two front legs. ''...was this thing always so light?'' He thought, as he pulled along the spider''s body, which was surprisingly light, as dragging sounds rang out.


    ...


    Night time.


    Levi dragged the spiders corpse for a long time. Although it was light, he was still worn out as he arrived in front of his old home. He was currently standing in front of a cave''s opening, with what used to be a spider''s corpse, while the blob of green blood still floated over his shoulder.


    " Damn this place!" Levi muttered under his breath. The other reason he was worn out was that, while dragging the spider, the sun went down, which mean that certain things came out to play. And, these things were more lively than when the sun was out.


    Multiple carnivorous vines and plants wraped around the spider''s corpse, ripping off the sack that the tiny spiders crawlled out of, along with all other legs except for the ones he held. He himself was almost caught by these things multiple times, only escaping by the skin of his teeth.


    Without wasting any time, he walked into the cave, but instead of stopping right away, he walked a good distance in. He then proceeded to try using the little bit of qi in his primordial meridians to make fire, so that he wouldn''t freeze to death.


    He found some scattered coals on the ground, and after multiple attempts, finally lit a fire. "....I have no apatite.." Levi said, as he eyed what was left of the spider''s corpse. '' Of course i don''t have an apatite. who would, while looking at this thing?!'' He thought.


    " Sigh..." Crack! He got up and used the sabre to cut a large circle in the spider''s body. A dull thud rang out, as he dropped a circular piece of exoskeleton on the rocky ground. He then stuck his hand in the hole and fished about, until his hand met a soft and squish substance.


    When he pulled out his hand, a piece of pale greenish, veiny flesh was in it. After convincing himself, he went back beside the dimming fire, before growing out one of his fingernails and sticking it though the soft spider flesh, as he held it over the fire.


    " Is it done?" He mumbled, as he brought the meat to his nose and sniffed, before taking a reserved bite. "..." He chewed silently. Gulp! He swallowed. "....Disgusting...absolutely...disgusting..." He said with a straight face. Despite saying this, he brought the meat to his mouth again, as he bit off a larger piece. It''s texture was like that of scrambled eggs, but the taste was horrible, inexplicably horrible.


    The sound of a person chewing, while weeping echoed through the cave, as levi ate the disgusting spider''s, possibly, organ meat. Step! drip! drip! Heavy steps along with a dripping sound rang out at the cave''s opening.


    " Hmm? I somehow feel strangely full of energy, even the small bit of qi i used up is replensihed....my wounds are healing fast as well...infinitely slower then if i healed them myself, but, healing....i guess with every sacrifice, there is a reward...." Levi mumbled with a tear in his eye, as he got up to fish about in the spider''s insides for another piece of meat.


    Drip! step!


    "..." Hearing steps, Levi lifted his head, as he looked towards the cave''s opening. "..." He silently held the sabre in his hand, as he waited patiently. " H-huh? smoke? light? a fire! is someone th- wait..if someone is there, they must be from that damn place..." The person shouted, as their figure came to a stop, still cloaked in darkness.


    Levi said nothing, as he watched and waited. Silently, a forcefull killing intent spread through the cave. Feeling this, levi released a cold and gloomy killing intent in response. Step! The person''s killing intent was little, but thick, while levi''s was vast, as it spread to the depths of the cave.


    Step!


    "....You...." The person stepped into the dim light, his sleeveless robe stained with blood and dirt, as one of his muscular arms hung limply by his side with multiple scars on it. " Aren''t you...levi?" The person looked at levi with shock in his eyes, while levi looked back at him coldly.


    '' Isn''t he....Noah? From the demonic god sect? Why is he on desolate mountain...'' Levi thought silently.

 Chapter 86 Absorbing Hellion Spider Bloodline

    " Aren''t you Levi!? How are you alive?" Noah asked with surprise, as Levi watched him coldly.


    " But, if you got away alive, then why are you here? This place is dangerous! You should leave, quickly!" Noah shouted, as he took large, lively steps.


    " Wha..." He then stopped abruptly, as he saw the spider''s corpse, along with the green blood floating above Levi''s shoulder.


    '' Is that...the corpse of a hellion spider? From what i know, those things are not that strong, but very difficult to deal with. Did he kill it? No, that can''t be possible, i can hardly even feel qi coming from his body....but if not, then why is he so injured?...Well, we are on this mountain...'' A lot of thoughts passed through Noah''s head, as he looked at Levi.


    "....Where is the girl?" Levi asked coldly, after a while of silence.


    " Girl? W-...Oh, if you meant Ava..." Noah paused.


    " She, along with ryan were caught by the people of that village...." He said hesitantly.


    " I tried to get them back but, as you can see, that didn''t go well..." He said, as he looked at his useless left arm.


    "....Is that so." Levi said emotionlessly.


    He once again stuck his hand inside of the spider''s corpse once again, and fished about, while keeping an eye on noah.


    After finding another piece of meat, he stuck it on his fingernail, then held it over the fire.


    " You...Did you-are you eating that?" Noah asked with a disturbed gaze.


    "..." Levi sat silently.


    " You know that hellion spider meat is....poisonous...right?" Noah said incredulously.


    '' Oh? Is that why i was feeling slightly dizzy?'' Levi thought. " But, i''m still fine. Maybe my venom is fighting of the spider''s poison?" Levi muttered softly to himself.


    ...


    Two days passed swiftly, as Levi continued his routine of eating spider flesh, nurturing his primordial meridians, practicing the Wind Commandment and ignoring Noah.


    '' I could probably heal his arm, but should i? No, what would i gain from doing that?'' Levi thought silently, as he secretly looked at noah''s arm.


    " Hmm?" He suddenly felt the seed of knowledge in his heart pulsating, as he once again saw the tunnle like place, but this time, it was wider.


    "...Is that place...inside of my body?" Levi mumbled, as he opened his eyes.


    '' Inside my primordial meridians specifically...'' He thought silently, as he once again closed his eyes.


    After a while of seeing nothing but darkness, a small white ball appeared. A leaf was growing from this white ball, as it floated silently, ocasionally sending ripples through the darkness.


    "....That was probably...the seed of knowledge..." Levi mumbled softly, as he got up.


    He walked further into the cave, before arriving in front of an underground lake.


    The lake water was crystal clear, as even a few underwater plants could be seen swaying.


    It radiated coldness, as he looked at it.


    Levi took off his robe, before jumping into the water. ''...cold..'' He thought, as he shivered.


    Where he stood was not deep, so he took his time and bathed.


    He remembered his first time seeing this lake, along with that certain being.


    That beautiful being, who, in his opinion, was to beautiful to be human.


    He even felt like he had something in common with this being. After seeing it, his heart beat with warmth and longing, for some reason.


    After a while, he got out, but instead of putting back on the once white robe, a black robe appeared in his hands.


    " What were you doing back there?" Noah asked, his head down.


    He watched Levi run up and down the cave these few days, while wondering why he was doing it, but Levi didn''t answer so he stopped asking.


    Step! step!


    Levi silently walked past him, causing noah to look up, only to reveal a surprised face.


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    " Where did you get these clean clothes from? Where are you going?" Noah asked, as he got up unsteadily.


    "....To train." As these words left his mouth, noah felt like his brain was bouncing around in his head.


    " To train? On this mountain? Oh, he has to be leaving...." Noah muttered, as if to convince himself.


    " You...are going to train..here?" He repeated softly.


    " Did you...also kill this spider?" He asked.


    Levi looked at him silently for a few seconds.


    "....What of it?" He asked.


    "..." Noah walked up to Levi, his steps were heavy as if he lost his spirit, and was walking with sheer will.


    He placed his hand on Levi''s shoulder, before it gradually slid down to his collar. " You...so you were the one.....who killed the spider...so then why..." Noah spoke, his head down.


    " So why didn''t you say anything, even while knowing what happened to Ava and Ryan?" He asked, as he pulled Levi''s collar, veins on his arm bulging.


    " You are going to train? So you were just planning to ignore their situation?! You were planning to act like it wasn''t any of your business?!" He looked up as he shouted, a wrathful expression on his face.


    "....It isn''t any of my business..." Levi said.


    " Also, i just put on these robes, so i would appreciate it if you didn''t dirty them." Levi said coldly.


    " Your robes?! Hahaha! Your robes!! She brought you along and treated you nicely, but not only did you push her away, now that she is in trouble, you are only worried about your robes getting dirty!!" Noah shouted, as he pushed Levi back, causing him to stumble.


    " Even if you don''t feel obligated to try to help her, you owe her!" Noah shouted, as he pointed at Levi.


    '' Owe? If i remember correctly, it was her who told me to come along. I don''t owe anyone anything.'' Levi thought silently as he fixed his crumpled robe.


    " Move." He said coldly.


    " I am not moving! You are going to come with me and rescue our sect mates! End of story!" Noah shouted.


    " Move." Levi said icely, as blood energy rose from his body.


    " No." Noah said, as a large pressure escaped his body.


    " You are going to help me, whether you like it or not. While surviving on this damn mountain, my cultivation level rose significantly. I am only a few steps away from the heaven and earth stages! You will help me, even if i have to force you!" Noah shouted, as he blocked Levi''s way.


    Levi no longer spoke, as his sabre appeared in his hand.


    He silently shot out.


    "!!" Noah was slightly startled, as he hesitantly lifted his arm, covered in qi.


    Ting!


    The sound of metal clashing rang out, as the sabre was stopped.


    " Just face the facts, you can''t-"


    Crack!


    The sound of his qi cracking interrupted him, as he looked at his arm with shock.


    Without a second thought, he opened a bit of distance between himself and Levi.


    "..." Without missing a beat, Levi appeared in front of him, his gloomy killing intent directed towards Noah as he raised his sabre.


    " Y-you-" Noah''s face paled as he looked into Levi''s cold eyes.


    Levi suddenly stepped back, raising his leg as he kicked out, sending noah''s large build flying through the cave entrence, before landing harshly on the ground.


    Noah bounced and rolled before stopping, face up.


    Step! step!


    Levi walked calmly.


    '' Damn it! Damn it! I hesitated because i tried to lift my useless arm! Damn it!'' Noah thought, as tears silently flowed down his face.


    " You...ungrateful..." He managed to squeeze out, before his consciousness fell into darkness.


    Levi looked down at noah, his brows furrowed deeply as an air of irritation surrounded him.


    ...


    After an unknown amount of time, Noah slowly cracked open his eyes.


    '' What....oh yeah...i was beaten by Levi...now that i think back, it''s funny....''


    '' I was so scared of loosing my remaining arm, that i foolishly tried to increase the distance between us, which caused me to lose even faster...''


    '' Was i always this weak?'' Noah thought silently, as tears threatened to pour from his eyes.


    " Well, there is no use in crying....I have to find a way to save Ava and Ryan...If i go all out, by sacrificing myself, i should be able to buy them enough time to get away..." Noah mumbled to himself, as he sat up, his legs crossed.


    " Levi, huh...well, it was selfish of me to try to force him to help me, but....damn it...how could he not care..." Noah covered his eyes with his hand, as his brows furrowed.


    "..Ug..." He heard a sound.


    " Huh?" As noah looked around, he saw Levi sitting with his back to the wall, as sweat poured down his face.


    " Huh? I thought he left? What...what is wrong with him?" Noah muttered, as he watched Levi with a concerned gaze.


    At this moment, Levi was absorbing the hellion spider''s bloodline.


    '' It''s a good thing i only absorbed half of this bloodline! This thing might be even more troublesome than the raven!'' Levi though silently, as he gritted his teeth.


    '' I just have to hold out until the changes are done to my body, then it should settle down!'' Levi thought.


    After absorbing a bloodline, it starts to make certain changes to his body, like creating new organs, or modifying certain body parts.


    But without his core to restrict and control these changes, most of the time, these bloodlines will try to turn his entire body into the creature he aquired them from.


    This was why he only absorbed half of the bloodline this time.


    His fingers twisted weirdly, becoming black, as they began to fuse together.


    They began to look like the tip of one of the hellion spider''s legs.


    After a few minutes of Levi''s resistance, the black color receded to his fingernails, as sharp black lines rose from the middle of them, reminiscent of the spider''s sharp legs.


    Different parts of his skin bulged, as if sommething wanted to escape his body, but affer a while, they stopped as his skin went back to normal.


    His face twisted, as two big lumps tried to replace his top lip, but after a while, his lip returned to normal.


    His chest bulged under his robe, as a spider leg threatened to grow, but it returned to normal as Levi resisted.


    " Huff! Huff!" Levi opened his eyes, as he breathed heavily.


    " If i had absorbed all of this, i would have probably turned into some kind of monster..." Levi mumbled.


    "...You...Are you ok?" After a slight hesitation, Noah asked.


    "..." Levi looked at him silently, but didn''t respond.


    " I will help you get them back, but afterwards, i don''t owe any of you anything." Levi said coldly.


    ''...Is this how being in debt feels? I hate it...I don''t want to owe anyone anything!'' He thought, as his gaze became irritated.


    His pride didn''t allow him to forgo a debt.


    " So...You will help me?!" Noah asked excitedly.


    So excitedly, in fact, that he didn''t realize that he was lifting both of his arms.


    " Thank you so-" He was going to grab Levi''s shoulders.


    " Don''t touch me." Levi said coldly, as slapped Noah''s hand away.


    " O-Oh, sorry....Huh?" He realised that he could use his arm once again.


    " Di-Did you do this? What kind of medicine did you use?....It had to be expensive...thank you...thank you..." Noah''s smile reached his eyes, as he said weakly.


    Growl!


    His stomach growled in protest.


    " Stop wasting time." Levi said, as he got up from the ground and left the cave, Noah soon followed behind.


    They walked through the mountain, ocasionally encountering the usual pests.


    '' Hmm, so that silk was actually made from the spider''s own body or flesh?'' Levi thought, as he looked at the pink string of flesh growing out from the tip of his finger.


    '' So the large spider could control the spiders made from it''s own flesh. I should also think that it could turn the silk into spiders at will, otherwise, having to make an external force cut the silk so that it could turn it into spiders would be a disadvantage...Hmm, but i can''t seem to make spiders...Not that i would want to, though...'' He thought.


    He had tried to make the shape of the hellion spider, but failed.


    " Is it because i didn''t absorb the whole bloodline?" Levi mumbled, as he looked at the small blob of green blood floating over his shoulder.


    '' Well, i will think about whether or not i should absorb the other half later, for now...'' He stopped silently, as ant acid dripped from his palm.


    He sent it towards a nearby tree, before calling it back.


    After a while of standing and seemingly doing nothing, he opened his palm to reveal a small bottle.


    It was a creamy brown color, and while deformed, it had a long neck, with a wide, circular base and a small stopper cork.


    '' I have been thinking about where to store excess bloodlines for a while. Throwing them away is just wasteful, but keeping them without a proper storage container to preserve them is also pointless. This bottle too, is essentially pointless, but, at least i will not have to walk around with a bloodline floating above me anymore.'' Levi thought, as he pluged the bottle''s neck with the small wooden cork.

 Chapter 87 Desolate Village

    Levi tried to put the bottle into the spatial ring, but failed.


    '' So bloodlines are considered living things?'' He thought silently, as he stuffed it into his robe.


    Noah, who got ahead of Levi, after not hearing his steps for a while, turned around and waited for him.


    After walking for a good while, they arrived at the top of the mountain, as Desolate village appeared in their view.


    " We should be more careful going down this side of the mountain. Because Desolate village is in the center, many beasts stalk the outskirts for any unlucky person or animal who is careless." Noah said softly.


    "...Hmm.." Levi nodded.


    " There are a few to watch out for, like the the Brainwashing Mosquito King."


    " Although it''s name might sound foolish, this thing is a giant mosquito the size of about two human heads."


    " It''s called that because it has mental connections with all of the other mosquitoes, and if any one of them are killed or hurt, it takes a swarm of mosquitoes to that location and sucks whatever unlucky creature is there clean of it''s blood." Noah said.


    ''....That sounds like a description of me, to a certain extent. " Levi thought.


    " Then, there are poisonous purple bats, who mostly stay in caves or hang upside down on tree branches until night time.


    " They also have the ability to send other creatures into frenzies with a simple screech."


    " Hellion spiders, who shoot out a transforming silk. They also spit out a poisonous liquid."


    " Sword Beak birds who can cut down trees with just a flick of their necks."


    " Giant hungry frogs that eat everything, while their bodies are very hard to damage."


    " And one that you should immediately run if you see it, the Star Wolf."


    " These things, unlike the brainwashing mosquito, can control beasts that aren''t from it''s race. If one see''s you, it will release a seemingly harmless howl, but by the time you realize that you are surrounded, it would be too late." Noah spoke relentlessly, as Levi listened.


    He would not turn away information on beasts.


    As they walked down the mountain, they looked around cautiously, avoiding any potential dangers.


    " Sigh, getting here is the easy part..." Noah sighed.


    This side of the mountain was shorter than the other side, but with so many beasts stalking desolate village so closely, it was very hard to leave.


    "....Why do the beasts just stay on the outside, and not attack the village?" Levi asked after thinking for a while.


    " That''s because...there are creatures stronger than them in the village, and they also know it..." Noah said, his expression growing serious.


    They walked in the direction of the village, eventually arriving before a cleared mud path.


    This path was between two small rice fields.


    As Levi walked, he looked at the people carrying baskets filled with a green plant, before sticking it into the soft, swamp like mud.


    These people just continued to work, without noticing his presence.


    Some would ocasionally walk too far, causing the long chain hanging from the metal collars around their necks to pull on the strudy wooden stakes that lined the path.


    As he continued to look around, he saw large bamboo tubes that were cut in half and hollowed out, being used to divert the water of the stream.


    After navigating the village for a few minutes, they arrived beside a run down wooden house with a bamboo roof.


    " Damn it!" Noah looked around quietly before shouting.


    " Those two were locked inside a bamboo cage when i left! Where did they take them?!" Noah shouted.


    " Haah?! Who is that shouting outside of my house?!" Suddenly, an irritated growl rang out.


    " Where are the two people that were here a few days ago?!" Noah asked, as he pointed to the empty space.


    A short, skinny man came from the side of the house, with an itritated expression.


    " How would i know?! Even if i knew, why would i tell you?! Piss off before i put a collor around your neck and turn you into my bitch!" The man shouted, as he waved them away.


    Ting!


    Levi''s sabre slashed out silently towards the man''s neck, but was stopped by a solid defensive qi.


    " Humph! Think killing me was so easy?! My great self is at the mind opening realm''s 6th level, and you expect to kill me with your measly strength?!"


    " I won''t even turn you into a slave, die!"The man slaped Levi''s sabre away, before punching out.


    Boom!


    Two fists clashed, causing a small shockwave to ripple out.


    "!!" The man was slightly surprised that Levi could match his strength, even though he didn''t use qi in that strike.


    "..." Levi looked at his slightly trembling hand.


    '' So that was the reason...i was wondering why soldiers were so easy to kill, but now i understand.''


    '' Just like this old man, soldiers might have certain cultivation levels, but most of them don''t practice any skills relating to cultivation.'' Levi analysed in his head.


    " What are you doing?!" Noah shouted, directing this question to both Levi and the Old man.


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    '' While there are exceptions like that cold general, most soldiers'' cultivations are just for show, useless.''


    '' Although it increases their physical strength to a certain extent, if they don''t know any skills, then they still don''t amount to much.'' Levi thought silently.


    " Ignoring me?!" Seeing Levi''s unfocused gaze, the man''s anger soared.


    " Don''t think about it!"


    Seeing Levi about be attacked, noah jumped forward, punching out, as his large fist targeted the man.


    Deng!


    " Humph!" The sound of metal clashing rang out again, as the man snorted.


    '' Rise.'' Levi thought, as his blood energy rose from his body, before forming an ancient gate behind him.


    " hmm?" Both Noah and the old man noticed the large red gate behind Levi.


    " So then, what am i?" Levi thought aloud, as he shot out.


    " !!" In just a few seconds, he arrived in front of the old man, who, instead of blocking, punched out, his fist coated in a solid qi.


    Levi also punched out, but used neither qi or blood energy.


    crack! crack!


    Two different cracking sounds rang out.


    One was from the man''s defensive qi being shattered, while the other was from bones breaking.


    The man''s wrist was broken, along with a bone sticking out from his elbow and forearm.


    After the collision, he took a few steps back, as he held his broken arm.


    He didn''t make a sound, but the beads of sweat on his forehead gave away the amount of pain he felt.


    Levi also broke his knuckles, with a few bones sticking out, as he looked at his bleeding fist silently.


    " I was thinking over this for a while....this blood gate probably increases my physical abilities as long as it is formed.....but even so, my body can''t withstand the increase of strength..." He said as he looked down as his slightly trembling fist.


    '' It also makes controlling blood energy significantly easier, but....'' His thoughts paused.


    '' Are these kinds of wounds starting to hurt less? I will have to keep an eye on these things to make sure that nothing is wrong with me..'' Levi thought silently.


    Looking up, he saw Noah''s mouth moving.


    As his focus returned, he heard him shouting.


    " What are you doing, Levi?! We came to get back Ryan and Ava! How are we supposed to do that if you expend your strength before the time even comes?!" Noah shouted.


    Levi glanced at him silently, before shifting his gase to the man.


    "..." He silently shot off once again, but this time, a gloomy killing intent excaped his body, as more blood energy rose, before coating his sabre.


    " Hgnn!" Seeing that Levi was coming once again, the man stopped holding back.


    His entire body was coated in a sky blue qi, as he waited for Levi to arrive.


    As soon as he got close enough, the man lifted one of his legs as all of his qi moved toward it, and kicked out towards Levi''s side.


    "..." Levi looked silently at the incoming leg fearlessly, before slashing down.


    Leg and sabre clashed.


    More blood energy rose from Levi''s body, before adding more pressure to the sabre.


    After a few seconds, the sound of liquid spraying could be heard.


    " Aghh! My leg! How can that be possible!" The man fell on his backside as he looked up at Levi with indignance.


    '' I put all of my qi in that strike! Him cutting off my leg, furthermore blocking it shouldn''t have been possible! When i was younger, i even practiced a good defense technique!'' He was filled with disbelief.


    " I have been thinking this for a while, but....compared to blood energy, isn''t qi really fragile?" Levi mumbled.


    This knowledge was what allowed him to be fearless despite knowing that if that leg hit him, he could have died.


    "....I guess it''s time for you to die." Levi said, as he looked into the man''s eyes.


    " Wa-Wait, can you just spare me this one time? I even lost my leg, so i am essentially a cripple now...." The man spoke with a pleading gaze.


    Levi began walking toward him, but then stopped.


    He remembered the old woman he met on his way to the divine country, as well as what she said.


    '' You shouldn''t kill too much, because no one like''s to die.''


    He played this line back in his head.


    "..." He then silently looked down at his fist, at his bones that were sticking out, then towards the man.


    '' My hand is already like this. To heal it, i need to absorb some blood. And looking for some beast to kill would be too troublesome.'' He thought.


    " I-I guess there is no helping it..." The man saw the look in Levi''s eyes, as a look of resignation appeared on his face.


    Levi walked step by step, until he appeared beside the man.


    " Could you at least make it painless?" He asked, with a nervous smile, to which Levi remained silent.


    He silently lifted his sabre, his intent to kill clear.


    " I was waiting for this moment!" A sinister gleam flickered in the man''s eyes as he lifted one of his hands.


    " ....Huh?" After stabbing out, and not feeling anything being peirced, he was confused.


    But after looking at where his arm used to be, he understood why.


    " Ahhhh! My arm! How did you know, you bastard! How did you know!"


    Splat!


    Without giving an answer, Levi seperated his head from his body, causing warm blood to flow out.


    He, in fact, didn''t know that the man had a hidden knife.


    He just didn''t let down his guard when dealing with the man, because, as demonstrated in that moment, the people on this mountain were not to be trusted.


    That also included Noah in his mind.


    " Sigh...your fighting strength will now be greatly reduced because of your hand..." Noah sighed, as he walked over and looked at Levi''s fist.


    Levi kept silent.


    As he willed, the blood rose from the man''s corpse as it deflated.


    He absorbed the blood silently, as the flesh and bones in his hand moved about, before appearing as good as new.


    ".....what king of skill is this?..." Noah mumbled, as he watched this.


    '' It''s kind of....nasty...'' He thought silently, as he tried his best to hide his disgust.


    Levi saw it easily even though Noah tried to hide it, but didn''t react in any way.


    '' This is just the begining....A demon hated by all...I am still far from there...'' Levi thought silently, as he calmed the small waves rippling though his heart.


    After opening and closing his hand a few times, Levi contemplated silently once again.


    '' If you can go around and find people as strong as this guy at random, then i should assume that everyone here is at or above the mind opening realm.'' He thought silently.


    '' Although, if he had focused on defense, instead of attacking me, killing him would have became a lot more troublesome.''


    '' If this man had learned cultivation related skills, how much stronger would he have been?''


    '' Strong enough to force me to run? Strong enough to kill me?'' Levi thought silently.


    " Hehe, what would it be like to fight against a person with both cultivation and technique? Hehehe..." Levi smiled coldly, as he mumbled something under his breath.


    '' Before i can enjoy such a fight, though, i need to become stronger...''


    This was as far as happy faces went for him.


    "...Let''s go, before anyone comes to avenge this guy.." Noah said, as he turned and began walking.


    '' From what i heard about this village, I doubt something like that would happen.'' Levi thought, as his face became expressionless once again, but still followed behind.

 Chapter 88 Tavern

    " Where you can find your friends? Ha, who knows, keep asking around." A man smoked his pipe, his spiky gray hair blowing slightly in the breeze.


    " Haha, they must already be licking someone''s crotch! Get lost!" A man shouted, his face flushed.


    When he said this, the two other men at the small circular table erupted into laughter.


    " I''m looking for two of my friends who were caught, could you point me to where they might be?" Noah asked with a heavy tone.


    He had been asking around, but he never got a good answer.


    " Haah?! You should already know how things work here! The weak have no rights, so piss off and stop ruining my evening!" A skinny man shouted.


    His skin was tanned, and he had a sword scar going across his forehead.


    He shot Noah an irritated gaze, as he sat on a small wooden stool.


    " You!" Noah shouted, as veins bulged on his body in anger.


    '' No..fuu...Calm down...'' He thought, as he quelled his anger.


    He looked at Levi who had been following silently for a while and sighed.


    He had told Levi to let him ask around, in fear that he would start another fight, but here he was, about to do the same thing.


    " Hehhehheh, i heard you two were looking for your captured friends?" As they were about to leave, a dry voice called out.


    " Hmm, do you know something?" Noah turned around.


    What appeared to be a woman was looking out through a window proped up by a piece of stick.


    Noah tried to keep anything from showing up on his face, as he looked at the person.


    ''She'' had a long scar, coming from one side of her forehead, to the opposite bottom side of her face.


    But what really caused his expression to dim, was her head.


    It looked like it was burned, as a large scar covered her entire head.


    A few strands of hair grew from certain parts, which only made it look more hideous.


    " Hehhehheh, they should be at the fight house."


    " Find the tavern, and make a bet, and you will get to where your friends are."


    " Hehhehheh!" As she said this, the womans eyes rolled up, in what could only be described as a look of pleasure, before the sound of running liquid running rang out.


    " Ah, who told you to stop?" She suddenly looked down and asked, to which the voice of a young boy replied.


    " I-I thought!...No, i''m sorry, please forgive me! I will continue!" The person said with fear and disgust.


    " You...Do you find me ugly?" The woman asked.


    " N-No! Of course not! How could th-" The voice was inturupted, as a thumping sound, followed by the sound of liquid spraying rang out.


    " Fucking trash!"


    " Was given the opportunity to pleasure this lady, even allowed to lay his tongue on such a place, and yet he was unsatisfied!"


    " But, hehhehheh!" The woman''s angry face broke into a disturbing smile as she looked at Noah and Levi.


    "..." The hair on the back of Levi''s neck stood up, as killing intent leaked from his body.


    He didn''t like how that thing looked at him.


    Noah was thoroughly disgusted, but also angry.


    He could smell blood, so he knew that who ever the woman was talking to was killed.


    he could only hope that nothing happened to Ava or Ryan.


    He was even more worried about ryan for what ever reason, but when he thought about it, his worries were justified.


    Who knew what kind of weird hobbies the people in this horrid village engaged in?


    " Lets go!" He shouted, as he felt Levi''s killing intent.


    Levi followed behind him, as he glanced back coldly at the still creepily laughing woman.


    ...


    The sun went down, as Levi and Noah searched for the tavern.


    Well, Noah was ths only one searching.


    Levi walked behind him silently.


    After searching for a while, they arrived in front of slightly larger building.


    The cloth used to block the doorway was tied up, so they could see inside.


    The inside was well lit, with torches hanging on the walls.


    Men and women alike sat at wooden tables, drinking and eating sloppily.


    There were also some people with thick metal collars around their necks.


    Some were sitting quietly on the dirt ground with eyes devoid of any will.


    While others were beaten, or forced into humiliating situations for people''s amusement.


    Noah walked in first, as Levi followed behind.


    It only took a few seconds for the people inside to notice them, and turn their heads.


    Seeing the gazes of everyone directed to him, Noah felt slightly nervous.


    " Um...I want to make a bet!" He said after a while, as he clenched his sweating fists.


    "....What kind of bet?" After a few minutes of silence, a person spoke.


    He sat by the counter, his back facing Noah, as his long glossy black hair lay on his back.


    "....A bet to get my friends back." Noah said, in a voice filled with a little more resolution.


    "....Hahahahah!"


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    " Everytime! Ah, it get''s me every time! Hahaha!"


    " Well, good luck! Hahahah!"


    One after the other, people began laughing, before going back to whatever they were doing in the first place.


    " So, what are you betting, for a chance to get your friends back?" The man turned his head, both of his eyes closed.


    "..." Noah was stumped.


    What was he going to bet?


    Money?


    But he didn''t have any money, and even if he did, he didn''t know if that was the answer the man was looking for.


    This was a village isolated from the rest of the world, surrounded with mountains and dangerous mutated beasts.


    What use could they have for money?


    They most likely had their own currency, but the problem was, he didn''t know what it was.


    " His life." A cold voice rang out from behind him.


    " Wha?!" Noah turned around and looked at Levi with incredulity.


    " Oh? Wouldn''t his freedom be enough?" The man asked with a light smile.


    " What is the difference?" Levi asked coldly.


    He had been in this village for no longer than a day, but what he saw already made it clear.


    The currency of this village wasn''t money.


    Or people.


    Or mutated beasts.


    Or goods.


    ....It was life.


    Being in this village was equivalent to gambling your life.


    He looked into some of the slave''s faces, and saw anger, reluctance and shame.


    And although those emotions would be common for anyone in that kind of situation, he somehow knew that not all of the slaves in this village were people who came here and were unlucky.


    Some of them were villagers themselves, but became slaves for what ever reason.


    " Hehehe, you are a sharp kid." The man laughed lightly.


    He tapped his finger twice on the counter, as two large men with collars around their necks walked out from somewhere.


    They dusted the ground lightly, before grasping two brown ropes in their hands.


    Their muscles bulged, as they lifted a thick, rectangular shaped slab of stone, revealing a descending staircase.


    " You will find your friends down there."


    " Hehe, but you should really hurry."


    "If you want to see them again, that is." The long haired man turned back around with a smile, as he quietly drank the contents of his cup.


    "...You...Sigh, we will talk about this later. For now, let''s just get them back first." Noah shook his head, as if to relieve himself of anger or irritation.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' He is too trusting.'' He thought, as he followed behind Noah.


    The reason he bet Noah''s life?


    It was Noah who wanted to save people, he was only dragged into it.


    If he wanted to save people, it should only be natural to bet his own life.


    His pride wouldn''t allow him to ignore a debt, but that didn''t mean that he would risk his life too much to pay it back either.


    He also walked in after Noah, while cautiously glancing around.


    The staircase was narrow, while the walls just looked like regular stone, although the passage way was dark.


    " Heheheh!" After seeing Levi and Noah walk down the stairs, the tavern erupted into sinister laughter.


    ...


    After walking down the stairs, they walked through a thin passage way.


    " Ah!"


    " Hahaha! weakling!"


    As they reached the end, along with seeing the light of torches, they heard the voices of people.


    After walking out through the opening, they arrived inside a well lit dome.


    In the center of this dome, there was a circular pit, where one man stood, and although he was covered in blood, none of it was his.


    The other man lying in a pool of his own blood on the ground was in a much worse conditioned.


    He lay on the ground unmoving, his fists, arms and legs broken, along with other severe wounds.


    There were also people standing around the pit, spectating.


    Along with 5 bamboo cages with people inside.


    These cages were not that far from where Levi and Noah walked out from, so they noticed them immediately.


    Noah looked at the people inside the cages nervously.


    "..." His eyes continued to shift, as he looked at the stacked cages.


    " Ah! Ava, Ryan!" He shouted, but then almost immediately covered his mouth with his hand.


    He walked towards the cages, as Levi followed.


    "...No....a..h.." Ava could barely open her eyes, most likely from fatigue.


    " Hold on, i will get you guys out." He said, as his gaze shifted over to Ryan, who was sqeezed into the same cage.


    Levi also looked at them.


    Ryan''s long hair was filled with dirt, and stuck together.


    While his skin looked rough.


    Although he still looked fairly feminine, it was less than when Levi first met him.


    He also looked at ava, who had dark circles under her eyes.


    She had dry blood on certain parts of her skin, and her hair was also a mess.


    " What are you doing?" As Noah was about to rip open the cage, he heard a voice, as well as felt the tight grip of a hand around his wrist.


    He snapped his head to ths side in shock, as he didn''t even realize the man was present.


    " If you want a slave, there are proper ways to go about obtaining one." The bald, slim man said, as he glared down at Noah through his glasses.


    " These guys are not slaves, they are my friends." Noah said, as his brows furrowed in anger.


    " Is that so? Then all the more reason to..." The man paused, as his grip on Noah''s arm tightened.


    "...Get them back the correct way!" The man shouted, as Noah''s arm bulged.


    He didn''t know how, but he ended up in the pit, on his backside.


    He looked up, only to see the man glaring down at him.


    '' Heaven and eart stage...'' Noah thought silently.


    He was a few steps away from the heaven and earth stage, but there was a big difference between a few steps away, and in.


    He suddenly had the feeling that this would be harder than he expected, as he turned to look at Levi, who''s cold, golden eyes trailed away from him to the side.


    He suddenly felt the chill of death, as he rolled to the side.


    Immediately afterward, a spiked club smashed into where he just sat.


    " Kill! Kill! Kill!"


    " Come on, fight! kill each other!"


    The shouts of the spectators suddenly entered Noah''s ears as he started to pay attention.


    " Hurmph!" The large man snorted through his nose, as hot air visibly escaped his lungs.


    This man was bareback, with only what looked like the bottom half of a robe being held up by a thick rope at his waist.


    He held a black metal club in his hand, with multiple spikes on its surface, as he stared down at Noah.


    " Mind opening realm, huh..." Noah mumbled.


    '' But if he want''s to get in my way, then...'' Noah thought silently, as a thick killing intent leaked into the atmosphere.


    This man was at the 7th level of the mind opening realm, while he was at the 5th, but as he faced this behemoth, Noah''s ice cold voice ran out.


    "....Come." He said, as an ice blue qi surrounded his body.

 Chapter 89 Fight!

    Levi watched Noah silently.


    He had yet again witnessed a side of this person that he had never seen before.


    Noah looked at the man with a cold gaze, as if his life was already his for the taking.


    "..." He silently watched his opponent, calculating the reach of the club, as well as how long it would take to swing it.


    In just a few seconds, he carefully disected the man''s reach.


    Seeing that Noah was not coming, the man attacked.


    Boom!


    He swung his club towards Noah, but before it could hit, Noah ducked, and stepped to the side, under the club.


    " ..." Noah silently gathered qi around his fist, and punched right below the mans arm.


    boom!


    A boom resounded, as the man stumbled to the side while coughing.


    Noah stood still, without making a sound, his head down.


    "!!!" He then felt that something wasn''t right, and looked up, only to see the man towering over him, with his club raised over his head, in both arms.


    " Crap!" Noah hurriedly tried to open some space, but he forgot.


    He was in a small circular pit.


    As his back touched the wall, he looked back.


    '' Since i can''t get away, i just have to defend!'' He thought, as he brought his forearms before his chest and crossed them.


    His heart beat wildly, as he watched the club being lowered, but something made his eyes widen.


    As the club was falling, a red qi appeared at the tip, causing his face to pale.


    This qi was not much, but just this brought him to a realization.


    He shouldn''t have tried to block, but instead tried to evade the attack.


    But as the club was already in front of him, he could only grit his teeth, and pour out all of his qi to defend himself.


    BOOOM!!


    The dome trembled from the strike, as the pit was blocked out by dust.


    " Heuk!! cough! cough! cough!" The sound of someone coughing blood rang out relentlessly.


    The dust cleared, to reveal Noah standing between a large crack of the pit.


    After seeing the qi, he had sent qi to protect his vitals, along with his back.


    He knew that taking that hit would slam him into the wall, so he could only do this.


    The blood he spat out had bits and pices of small, chuncky, pink flesh.


    " A...fleshly cultivator..." Noah said, as he gasped for air.


    This behemoth of a man was a fleshly cultivator.


    Someone who used qi to try to make their bodies indestructible.


    He realized this from just the qi, because he had once read somehere that fleshly cultivators could only store a small amount of qi, and their control over it was not that good either.


    Looking down at his trembling, now red arms, he could only sigh.


    "..." He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain, as he straightened his hunched back.


    " Oooh! This is getting good!"


    " Who do you think will win?! Which of the slaves do the think the winner will ask for?"


    " Hmm, humph! Obviously bart will win! He isn''t known as the skull crusher for nothing!"


    " Oh, if it''s bart, then he might choose an elixir again! He''s a fleshly cultivator who needs a lot of external help, after all!"


    " I heard that he likes, uh-"


    " Ahahah, who cares what he likes?! That''s his business! I just want to see some blood, without having to draw it myself!"


    The 20 or so spectators talked to each other.


    ''.....Sigh, this will make my cultivation drop, making it extremely hard for me to reach this level again, but..." Noah opened his eyes, and looked up towards the the cluster of green cages.


    " But....What does that matter?" He chuckled softly.


    His face broke into a smile, as his eyes became slits.


    When he opened his eyes, there was a glowing, light blue ring around his iris'', as a storm of qi escaped his body.


    " Qi sacrifice." Noah spoke softly, as he gently gazed up towards the cages.


    " I will get you guys away from here soon." He said, before his gaze shifted.


    Boom!


    No one saw when he moved, but, after Noah shot out, the dome quaked, even more so than when the skull crusher Bart attacked him.


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    After the dust settled, Bart''s huge body was burried in the wall.


    It looked like he was sitting in a reclining position, as he lay unmoving.


    Some of the spectators fell onto their backsides, as his body was so large that his upper body reached where they stood.


    The sound of rocks dropping rang out, as Bart lifted himself up, making the large dent in his chest resembling a fist to become visible to all.


    " What?!"


    " He was actually able to hurt Bart?!"


    The spectators shouted out in disbelief.


    ".....Did i underestimate him again?" Noah mumbled to himself.


    He had indeed underestimated Bart the first time.


    But he thought that since he was using qi sacrifice, that he wouldn''t have to use that much power.


    He also didn''t want to exert himself more than necessary.


    " You, are strong! You deserve to be killed with my hands!" Bart dropped the club, as he cloaked both of his fists in his minuscule red ki, his killing intent spreading through the atmosphere.


    He was the type of person who lived to fight.


    "..." Noah could only smile wryly.


    The longer he used this skill, or the more power he squeezed out from using it, the further his level would drop.


    When one lost themselves to anger or any other strong emotion, they could unconsiously start burning their qi.


    But, he was conciously doing this, with a skill he happened to get his hands on.


    He walked and met bart halfway, as the two silently looked at each other.


    They then sprang into action, as both of them sent out devastating punches.


    Crackle!


    The fists clashed, as qi rippled out with the shockwaves, crackling like lightning.


    The spectators, although also martial artists, stepped back a little to avoid getting hit.


    " Don''t let that qi touch you, unless you want to die!"


    Someone shouted.


    As soon as he said this, a large streak of qi flew over someone''s head, before slamming into the wall behind them.


    A large dent was left, as charred black dust slowly flowed out.


    Levi was curious as to what would happen, but after seeing that, he also stepped back.


    Blood evergy rose from his body just in case.


    After the clash, the two both retracted their fists, only to punch out again.


    The eariler scene played out again, only, on a much bigger scale.


    Their arms were moving at a speed that was hard for the eyes to follow.


    " Oof!" The air was knocked from Noah''s lungs, as bart kicked his side with his muscular leg.


    Before he could steady himself, bart had already launched another punch at his face.


    " Tch!" At this moment, Noah clicked his tongue, as he waited for the incoming fist.


    As it reached dangerously close, he shifted his falling body.


    He slapped out, and using the violent qi coating Bart''s arm, pushed himself a small distance away, before steadying himself.


    Because he touched the qi with his bare hand, small cuts lined his palm.


    Without wasting any time, Noah shot out.


    He lifted his leg, as he kicked Bart''s unguarded side, causing him to stumble slightly.


    Afterwards, he began bombarding Bart with attacks.


    '' If i try to conserve my power, and this fight get''s drawn out because this guy keeps getting back up, my level might drop further than if i were to go all out one time.....Since that is the case!'' Noah thought, as he steeled himself.


    He forgot about all of the cuts on his body.


    He forgot about the bones peaking out from his bloodied knuckles.


    He himself didn''t even notice it, but he had a large grin on his face.


    " Hahahah! You finally stopped holding back!" Ignoring the blood flowing from his mouth, bard laughed loudly.


    He tightened his metal like muscles, as he kept his large body from falling.


    He punched out heavily, to which Noah responded with a kick.


    A wave of air and qi was swept back from Noah''s leg, as it pushed some of the spectators back, while some of their cloths were torn slightly.


    His leg knocked Bart''s arm to the side, and he used the rebound to land a kick on the side his face, sending Bart stumbling back.


    " Kek!" Bart tried to steady himself, as dizzyness overwhelmed him.


    His body had as much wounds as Noah''s, but he still stood without a problem.


    But a blow to the head was different.


    Noah saw Bart trying to steady himself, but did not give him the chance.


    He stepped hard on the ground, causing it to crack beneath his weight, before shooting out, causing qi to explode out.


    Crack!


    " Puft!" Bart spat out a mouthful of blood, as Noah''s ruthless punch imbedded his fist deep in Bart''s chest.


    Boom!


    Bart''s body dropped to the ground, his breathing haggard.


    He tried to raise his arms, but an electrifying pain ran through his body everytime.


    " Huff! Not yet..." Noah panted, a he lifted his fist again, covered in a maelstrom of qi.


    He didn''t forget what he told Levi when they first met.


    '' You should never leave potential risks alive.''


    Boom!


    His fist landed on Bart''s chest once again, as the broken pieces of rock trembled from the force.


    Boom! Crack!


    Noah punched again.


    The sound of something slapping against liquid rang out, as blood poured from Bart''s chest, and covered Noah''s fist.


    Where Noah punched, Bart''s armor like skin was broken through.


    After that, killing him was much easier.


    Only when bart was no longer breathing, did Noah slowly get up, his legs shaking as his muscles protested.


    " Alright, give me back my friends now. Or does anyone else have anything to say?" His eyelids looked heavy, as he swept his gaze across the people.


    " Since no one has a-"


    Thump!


    A large rock hit noah at the back of his head.


    " Who the fuck- aghhhhhh!" Before he could finish his scentence, he began screeming.


    His blood curdling screem startled everyone, as they looked at him cautiously.


    Smoke rose from Noah''s body as he flailed around, his eyes rolling back as the smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air.


    "..." Levi watched this silently.


    He knew Noah did something to increase his strength.


    But now he knew two other things.


    One, the increase in strength was only temporary.


    And two, when the effects wore off, the repercussions were great.


    " Ahhhhhh! ahhh!" Noah''s body convulsed from the pain, as he fell onto his back.


    " Ahh ahh, haa haa haa..." He panted.


    After a few minutes of enduring the excruciating pain, the glowing blue ring dissapeared from his eyes, as he opened them.


    He slowly started to sit up, as the people spectating looked at him silenly.


    " Should we....."


    " Yes, we should kill him..."


    " He killed someone from our desolate village, he has to die..."


    " He can''t fight back, so we can slowly toy him to death.."


    They began talking in hushed voices.


    " There is still this one here, you know. He might not let you kill that one." The bald man spoke, causing the spectators'' attention to turn to Levi.


    Levi looked coldly at the bald man.


    In just a few words, he had trown him to the wolves.


    Puft!


    '' Is this how this works?'' Levi thought silently, as the darkness spread from his fingernails, down his fingers, and stopped at his wrists.


    His hands had turned completly black, while doubling in length.


    His fingers now looked more like hellion spider legs.


    " Mental energy..."


    " What is happening to his hands..."


    " Some kind of mental energy skill?"


    " Fool, i don''t know of any mental energy skill that does that!"


    " You are talking like you are really knowledgeable!?"


    The murmering continued, as blood energy rose from Levi''s body.


    " Why are you waiting for him to prepare?! Are you guys retarded?!" The bald man shouted, as veins bulged on his head.


    " Kill this one first!"


    " The one in the pit is weak, we can kill him later!"


    " Get him!"


    Levi formed the blood gate with the least amount of blood energy he needed, while the unused blood energy just circled him silently.


    Although he was surrounded by people who were rushing to kill him, he felt calm for some reason.


    Boom!


    3 explosions rippled out, as blood energy exploded from Levi''s body, his blood energy level rising.


    No one knew when he absorbed Bart''s blood, but Levi found something amazing.


    " Fleshly cultivators are...a great nourishment!" He said, as the white of his eyes became red.


    Instead of losing control this time though, he was calm.


    " Maybe this state just amplifies whatever emotion i am feeling at the time? Even if i don''t notice said emotion..." He mumbled softly.


    " Haah!" The people who rushed to Levi with their swords, knifes and fists finnaly arived, but when they attacked, they found a spiraling blood red forcefield blocking them.


    The blood sheild quickly turned back into blood energy, before sweeping the people back.


    " You guys don''t need to rush." Levi said calmly.


    " Your blood will become my strength soon enough." His voice rang out, as he revealed his chilling intention.


    He was planning to kill them all.

 Chapter 90 To The Brink Of Death

    " Kuh! This bastard!"


    " Don''t hold back! Kill him with everything you''ve got!"


    " Why are you saying cool shit like that?!"


    "..."


    The 20 or so people suddenly stopped.


    They all silently looked at this person as if he were an idiot.


    " 1,2,3,4.." Levi began counting and calculating.


    " 17 of them are in the mind opening realm, with varying levels."


    " And the other 4 are in the heaven and earth stages, but, that bald man is undoubtedly the strongest." Levi spoke to himself softly.


    Since the people released their cultivations, he was easily able to calculate their levels.


    " Agh, we can chew him out later, let''s just kill this guy first!"


    One man shouted, bringing the rest of them back to reality.


    Qi of varying colors rose from the bodies of the men, as multiple killing intents erupted.


    " Ahhh!" The first man shot out towards Levi, his fist coated in a yellow qi.


    Levi simply shifted his head to the side, without moving from his spot.


    " Haha, got you!" The man shouted, as his other arm became visible.


    In his hand was a knife.


    Radiating from that knife was a bountiful qi.


    Puchi!


    "Cough!" Blood was coughed up, before seeping into Levi''s body.


    Before the knife could touch him, he simply lifted one of his hands.


    He didn''t even have to do anything, as the man directly ran onto his sharp fingers, impaling himself.


    "...Careless" The man''s body shriveled as Levi absorbed the blood.


    "....Attack together!!"


    " Ahhhh!" The remaining men all charged at Levi.


    They could only come from two sides since the pit was still in the middle of the dome.


    And only about 3 could come from each side.


    Fists and palms shot towards Levi, as he stood unmoving.


    He twisted his body to the side, avoiding some of the attacks, while he slapped out with the backs of his hands to redirect some, but the people were relentless.


    A sword stabbed toward his chest, while a knife coated in qi stabbed at his side.


    Sparks flew as he slapped these things away with his hands.


    " Descent of the azure dragon!"


    A shout suddenly rang out, as Levi felt the prickling feeling of danger.


    His eyes shifted, before locking onto the bald man, who was floating over the dome.


    He was so absorbed in dealing with these people that he forgot about the real danger.


    But what caught Levi''s attention, was the qi building up around the man''s palm.


    '' Does it take him a while before he can attack?....Then i shouldn''t wait for him..'' Levi thought, as he waited for the right moment.


    His eyes became serious, as he watched the bald man cautiously.


    " You should really pay attention!"


    " humph!"


    " die!"


    3 voices echoed out, from both sides and behind Levi, as the three remaining heaven and earth stage cultivators attacked.


    His eyes quickly swept over them, as he swiftly made a decision in his head.


    '' So he also knows about this delay....It makes sense that he would be protected until he could complete the attack...'' Levi thought.


    Although they didn''t use any skills, the sheer amount of qi the coated their arms and weapons caused his expression to dim.


    Although he wanted to focus on the bal man, he couldn''t ignore these people.


    Crack!


    " Puft!" Blood sprayed from Levi''s mouth, as the three attacks landed.


    " cough! cough!" He coughed blood.


    A fist and a palm to either side, causing his ribcages to cave in, along with the sword attack from behind.


    The qi that was injected wreaked havoc on his body, even making it difficult for him to breath.


    " This is the end for you!" The bald man spoke, as his palm strike was sent out.


    A large purple head, with white eyes and gold edged scales appeared from the man''s palm.


    As it shot out, the body became visible.


    A snake like body, with four legs and 3 claws.


    "..." Levi was still struggling to breathe, when the attack came crashing into him.


    Even the tavern above shook, as a large dust cloud was kicked up.


    As the dust settled, the damage was clear for all to see.


    A large pocket, that could probably fit all of the men present was opened, as Levi was imbedded deply into the back of it.


    " Cough! Cough! Cough! Heuk!" He coughed a couple mouthfuls of blood, as he slowly pulled his body out.


    Looking down, his eyes landed on a small blood shield.


    inside of this shield were two people.


    He had recalled most of the blood energy from that shield to protect himself.


    Since the attack was focused on him, he took a gamble and protected himself.


    Even if they had not been properly protected, his own life was more important in his mind.


    After glancing at the shield to see if the people inside were still alive, Levi''s gaze turned to the small horde people.


    " What?!" The bald man shouted.


    " Hehe, you will have to do better than that if you want to break my wings." Levi laughed out coldly.


    He knew that if he had defended against the 3 attacks earlier, the bald man would probably take that chance to attack.


    Since he wouldn''t have been able to strengthen his defence in that split second, the man''s attack would have done more damage.


    So he allowed the two at his sides to strike him.


    As for the one behind, the sword was stopped by his wings before it could ever peirce though him.


    Although, he only made them big enough to shield his entire back.


    He sent some of his blood energy though them to harden them, and although the sword peirced through the surface, it didn''t leave a scratch on him.


    " Useless! All of you!" The bald man shouted.


    It only took him a glance to see that Levi was fine, aside from a few broken ribs and a few flesh wounds.


    " Hehehe." Levi laughed coldly, as the red and black lines on his wings became more defined and they grew out.


    Glowing red lines also appeared on his hands, as his wings once again split, before shooting out towards the two heaven and earth stage cultivators who attacked his sides.


    Deng!


    Ting! crack!


    The attack was blocked by their defensive qi, as cold sweat appeared on their faces.


    "..." Levi silently smiled, as thin black threads grew out form the tips of all of his fingers, before shooting towards the bald man.


    " Humph! Do you think your weird techniques can touch me? Know your place!" He shouted, as a torrent of azure qi defended him.


    He wanted to destroy the threads, but to his surprise, they were only deflected.


    Watching this, Levi smiled.


    The threads were deflected, as they shot into the croud of people.


    " aghhh!"


    " my arms!"


    " my eyes!"


    Cries of pain rang out, as blood flowed.


    The threads wrapped around people, stabbed people, and because they were made from his flesh, with just a light twitch of his fingers, body parts were cut off.


    Defensive qi was cut through like paper, as people lost their limbs.


    '' I didn''t think that it would work this good!'' Levi was slightly surprised.


    The fact that he could control the spider''s bloodline to this extent already surprised him greatly.


    " Attack him! What the fuck are you standing around for?!" The bald man shouted, as he pointed to Levi with a frown on his face.


    "..." The three heaven and earth stage cultivators looked at each other before nodding.


    They all then shot to Levi, whose eyes flickered between them.


    " I was waiting for you!" He shouted with a smile.


    Three orbs of a black, almost transparent mental energy shot out towards each of the three respectfully, as Levi''s smile deepened.


    " What is he doing with those balls of mental energy?" The bald man''s eyes narrowed in thought.


    He then felt a tiny amount of qi excaping Levi''s body, before shooting in three different directions.


    " No!! stop!!!" The bald man shouted after a bit of thought, but before the three could react, three deafening explosions rang out, as a cold grin formed on Levi''s face.


    The three cultivators weren''t able to escape the explosions, as they happened right in front of their faces.


    " Dammit! I said to STOP! Can''t you fools even follow orders?!?" The bald man shouted in anger, his face turning red.


    "....Heaven and earth stage after all..." Levi mumbled to himself.


    Although the mental enegry and qi exploded right in their faces, aside from blood running from one of their noses, and ruffled robes and hair, they were all fine.


    Slightly dizzy, but fine.


    "..." Veins bulged on Levi''s body silently.


    " I only have a bit of time left." Levi spoke, as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.


    The blood of the people he had just cut up with his silk rose from the ground, before flying towards him.


    Blobs of blood splattered on his body before seeping in.


    Blood energy exploded from his body, as it''s level rose.


    " What a disgusting technique. Kill! Kill him now! Since he can''t fight back right now, strike!!" The bald man shouted.


    He had assumed that Levi couldn''t move when he was absorbing blood.


    boom!


    Since Bart''s blood had raised his blood energy level to 19, it was now at 20 and continued to rise.


    boom!


    Boom!


    BOOM!


    " The 23rd blood energy level." Levi mumbled.


    He glanced at the three people rushing towards him, before waving his hands.


    " I guess how many levels i rise depends on the quality of the food..." He mumbled.


    His black silk moved to his will, the small red lines on them brightening as they shot towards the three.


    " Haaa!" The one with the sword sensed danger.


    He suddenly stopped, turned around and cut the silk appart, before continuing towards Levi.


    Levi''s eyelid twitched from a small amount of pain when his silk was cut.


    Puchi!


    " Ughh! Huh?!" Before the man could reach Levi, he felt something like needles stabbing through his legs.


    As he looked down, the silk he had just cut off was imbedded deeply into his flesh.


    " Humph!" One of the two remainders snorted, as he punched out towards Levi''s head.


    Boom!


    Before he could touch him, Levi slapped out with one of his wings, as blood energy coursed through it.


    The man''s defensive qi was shattered, as his body slammed heavily against the wall.


    Without his defensive qi to protect him, the man''s bones shattered from the impact, before he fell limply on the ground.


    " huff huff..." Levi panted.


    He was begining fo feel nervous, since his bloodlines were still not acting up.


    The more nervous he became, the more power he put into his attacks.


    He had a feeling that when they did act up, that he would be unable to even lift a finger.


    " You-You-You!.....USELESS!" The bald man shouted, as he shot towards Levi.


    Seeing that the man himself was coming, Levi became cautious.


    The difference between this man and the other heaven and earth stage cultivators was clear.


    While they only used crude attacks, this man had a skill.


    " Dragon''s descent!" The man shouted, as his palm shot towards Levi.


    Levi didn''t try to move, as he felt a force pulling him towards the palm.


    " Humph!" He snorted coldly, as he sent blood energy through his hand, before stabbing out.


    Crackle!


    " Haaaaaa!" The man shouted, as his palm and the tip of Levi''s pointy fingers clashed.


    His azure qi rippled out, destroying anything in it''s path.


    " Cough!" Levi vomited a mouthful of blood.


    "..." He silenly gathered all of his available of his blood energy, and channeled it through his hand.


    But even with that, it still didn''t seem to be enough.


    " Kek!" The man suddenly coughed a small mouthful of blood, as he persisted with his attack.


    " You...kill..him.." he forced out, as his bloodshot eyes shifted to the side.


    The remaining heaven and earth stage cultivator looked at this situation and grit his teeth.


    Puchi!


    "!!" The bald man''s eyes widened, as he stiffly turned his head to look at his back.


    There were five black threads of silk stabbing through his back, and slowly going towards his heart.


    He didn''t know that he was going to be stabbed from behind, so he couldn''t defend himself with qi.


    Although heaven and earth stage cultivators had slightly more durable bodies than lower level cultivators, it was still easy for Levi to damage them, as long as he used a weapon or him bloodline abilities.


    "....Fine then. WE''LL BOTH DIE!" He suddenly shouted crazily.


    Since the shadow of death was looming over him, he would at least drag his killer down with him.


    " Wa-Wait! i-i am! If you go all out i will get caught in your attack! Wait until i get to a certain distance!" The heaven and earth stage cultivator who was stabbed in his leg with levi''s silk shouted, as he slowly crawled to his feet.


    Feeling the swell in the bald man''s qi, Levi''s expression dimmed, as his arm trembled.


    It took everything he had to keep the man''s palm from moving, as his muscles screamed in protest.


    " Let you get to a safe distance?! If it wasn''t for your incompetence, i wouldn''t be dying in the first place!" the bald man shouted, as blood sprayed out with every word.


    " Since i am dying, why don''t you join me?! That way, you can still serve me! Even in hell!" The bald man shouted, as he raised his free hand.


    " No!! Stop it! Let gooo!!" The heaven and earth stage cultivator shouted, as a strong suction force pulled him towards the man.


    This was something heaven and earth stage cultivators could do, using the qi of heaven and earth to create forces to draw things in or push them away from themselves.


    Their ability to do this increased with every breakthrough.


    Obviously, this could be used for better things than forcefully dragging someone towards you.


    " HAAAAA!"The man shouted, as his eyes rolled up into his head.


    The heaven and earth stage cultivator tried furiously to get away, but his ability to control the qi of heaven and earth was near non-existent.


    Levi''s legs trembled as he was pushed back slowly.


    '' Hurry up!'' Levi thought desperately.


    " Ughi..." The man''s body shook for a few seconds.


    " ...HAAAAAA!"


    Levi''s expression darkened again.


    Although he had just destroyed the man''s heart, his qi continued to swell.


    " DIE!!!!!" The bald man shouted, as qi and blood burst out from his forearm.


    " Kegkk!!" Levi was being pushed back, as more qi bombarded him.


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    He gathered a small amount of blood energy to defend his body, but still kept the majority going through his hand.


    " Ahhh! let go!" The heaven and earth stage cultivator shouted.


    The qi rising from the bald man''s arm scorched his and the cultivator''s flesh, as it poured out swiftly towards Levi.


    BOOOM!


    " AGHHH!" Levi was once again sent crashing into the wall, as qi continued to pour from the man''s body.


    " AGHHHHHHH!" Levi screamed as the qi scorched his skin, and melted his flesh.


    Although his sense for pain seemed to have dulled, the feeling of being cooked alive wasn''t a pleasant one.


    The qi pinned him against the wall, as it continued to destroy everything in it''s path.


    Although he protected his body with blood energy, Levi''s body was still being burned by the astronomical amount of qi.


    "...haaa...." The man''s shouting slowly came to an end, as the thick and bountiful qi began to dissapate.


    The arm the man had attacked with, all that was left of it was bone.


    After a few seconds, even the bone broke off slowly and scattered like ash, and his body soon followed.


    As for the heaven and earth stage cultivator, he couldn''t endure the pain of having qi melt his skin and died from the pain.


    His body dropped as the hand that was holding him broke off and scattered.


    Levi''s eyes were rolled back, as his body was in a wretched state.


    His muscles twitched from the pain, as blood slowly poured from his melted skin.


    His arms, legs, chest and face were partially melted off, with his face being the least damaged.


    '' Blood! I need blood!!'' He thought furiously.


    " Krgrug..." Only the sound of guargling escaped his throat.


    He stifly moved his broken arm, as he reached out.


    Any blood that didn''t belong to a living person slowly creeped on the ground towards Levi.


    Noah, who was watching this scene, vomited whatever was in his stomach.


    He had been watching the fight from the safety of the pit for a while.


    After collecting himself, he unsteadily got up.


    He used the pile of mutilated bodies and rubble to climb out of the pit, before walking towards Levi.


    Instead of walking until he reached Levi, he stopped short.


    On the ground was two people.


    The cage they were in had long been broken, and they were sprawled on the ground.


    Somehow, they were alive, but unconcious.


    " Da...mn..it..." Noah suddenly heard a voice that made him snap his head up.


    " You...Levi....how are you still alive...." Noah asked.


    Instead of focusing on Noah, Levi used all of his will, to gather every bit of blood he could.


    " That....bastard turned....into ash..." Levi turned his gaze towards a pile of ashes.


    If the bald man didn''t turn into ash, he wouldn''t have been it this state.


    " Ack..." Levi slowly pulled his tattered body from the wall once again, and stood unsteadily.


    Although most of his skin was healed, certain parts of it was still in that state.


    And because he used the blood to heal his flesh, he couldn''t mend his broken bones.


    His golden eyes shifted, as he desperately searched for a source of blood.

 Chapter 91 The Demon Saint, Greatest Actor?

    Levi stood unsteadily, he looked like a simple breeze would topple him over.


    His gzze then shifted, before landing on the last heaven and earth stage cultivator that was still alive.


    The other one''s blood, along with any other bodily fluids had been boiled into nothing.


    And he had long forgotten about the one he swatted away.


    " hii..." When the man saw Levi''s gaze gaze locked onto him, he flinched, but he was in no position to fight, and neither could he run.


    Because he was so close when everything happened, he was also affected by the extreme explosion of qi.


    And although he protected himself with qi, he still ended up loosing a leg, breaking the other one, while one of his arms was melted almost down to his bones.


    Step!


    Levi took a step, but almost fell because of it.


    There were multiple patches in his robe, a big hole in his chest area, while the front parts of his sleeves were disintegrated, as well as two large holes which made his legs visible.


    A little more, and maybe his organs would be peeking out.


    But only if you could find them amist the soup of melted skin and flesh.


    He had protected himself with blood energy, which was why he was still intact.


    He unsteadily walked towards the defenseless looking man, and began to think as he pulled the sabre from the spatial ring.


    " Why...didn''t i use this when i was fighting..." He mumbled, almost falling as he took another step.


    " Oh yeah....my hands were like that....i wouldn''t have been able to hold this anyway..." He mumbled as he continued.


    " S-Stay away from me!" The man shouted nervously, as he threatened to attack Levi with qi.


    Step!


    " Stay away!" The man shouted, as he launched a plain ball of qi.


    "..."


    step!


    A partially formed blood shield blocked the attack, as Levi continued to wobble towards the man.


    "....Levi, i will help you, just-" Noah got up and began walking towards Levi.


    "!!" He stopped in his place when he saw levi''s deathly glare, along with a prickly killing intent.


    Seeing that Levi didn''t want his help, Noah dragged his aching body back a few steps.


    The killing intent was a warning.


    " If you come any closer, forget about your life."


    This message was conveyed clearly, as Levi continued on his way.


    " No...stop! Keep away!" The man used his hands to push himself further away from levi.


    A light rustling rang out on the opposite side of the dome, but went unnoticed as Levi continued.


    It was not long until the man''s back was against the wall.


    Because it hurt to lift the sabre, Levi held it losely, as the tip dragged on the ground.


    " Stay..." Sweat flowed down the man''s face in buckets.


    "....You monster...Monster..." He wispered, as Levi arrived in front of him.


    " Ngg..." Levi groaned softly as he lifted the sabre.


    " Stay...still..." Levi forced from his throat.


    Although he was killing the man either way, he wasn''t planning to make him suffer.


    He also didn''t want killing the man to become troublesome.


    " Die, you monster!" The man shouted with tears in his eyes, as he used his last bit of qi to try to protect his life.


    He launched a palm strike coated with a miniscule amount of qi towards Levi''s chest.


    Crack! Psuuu!


    His palm was stopped by the partially made blood shield, before his arm slowly sank in.


    The bones in his arm broke, as the blood shield slowly twisted it, causing blood to spray.


    " Aghhh!" The man screamed.


    And then, silence.


    All hope left the man''s eyes as Levi''s sabre pierced his chest.


    His eyes widened as the balde peirced his still beating heart, until it stopped, and the light left his eyes.


    "..." Levi silently absorbed the blood.


    A small explosion of blood energy escaped his body, as he silently fixed his broken bones.


    With the remainding blood, he healed the majority of his flesh wounds, but some patches of skin still had light burns in the end.


    He then sat down on the ground, and closed his eyes, his fists clenched as if he was anticipating something.


    He was not disappointed, as veins bulged on his body.


    His face streched forward, as his back bent.


    His hands became larger, the skin on them becoming rough, as they curved.


    Multiple bumps appeared on his skin, before small black feathers started to grow from them.


    His forehead was pushed back, as around his mouth area started to become black.


    His eyes widened, before becoming round.


    " Uggg..." He groaned softly.


    He had to endure all of this pain silently, as he didn''t even have the strength to screem.


    Then, suddenly, lumps appeaded at his sides, two lumps on each side.


    From thess lumps, black spider legs began to grow grow out.


    Pointy black tips grew out first, then they continued to grow.


    The skin around his abdomen started to turn black, as his sides widened.


    His mouth that was starting to resemble a black beak, suddenly bulged, as two lumps appeared, reminiscent of the spider''s fangs.


    Crack! crack! crack!


    His bones shifted and cracked.


    His back bent, as what appeared to be featherless wings appeared on his back, with multiple little bumps on them.


    His legs and arms became black, and started to slim down, reminiscent of spider legs.


    " Kuh...." The smallest of gasps escaped Levi''s lips, as cold sweat soaked his body.


    "..." Noah watched this scene, his face scrunched up as he looked at Levi''s painful expression.


    "Why? Why go so far?" He mumbled as his gaze shifted.


    His raven and spider bloodline continued fight over the next half hour, before everything that had been changed started to revert slowly.


    Levi''s resistance was finally making a difference.


    Everytime something reverted, blood poured out from that spot.


    As the wings which had a few feathers on them began to shrink, blood poured from their tips.


    This went on for about 15 more minutes, before Levi was surrounded by a pool of blood.


    His bloodshot eyes slowly opened, as he slowly absorbed the blood once again.


    When he tried to move, he found that his body was unresponsive and his entire being ached.


    Step! step!


    "!!"


    '' Not good....'' He didn''t even have the strength to shout in his head.


    Multiple steps caused both levi and Noah to look at the opening of the dome.


    Some of the people from the tavern slowly came through the opening, and looked around suspiciously.


    They felt tremors from the fighting eariler, which was a common occurrence.


    But what caught their attention was that afterward, even after 45 minutes, they didn''t hear or feel a single thing.


    This quietness was what made them suspicious.


    " What the hell?!" One of the shouted, as he looked around the dome in disbelief.


    The other''s slowly walked in and saw this sight, all of them gasping from surprise without exception.


    " You two....did you do this?" The man with long back hair and closed eyes asked coldly with furrowed brows.


    " Hey! This guy is still alive!" Someone shouted, as they probed the heaven and earth stage cultivator that Levi had slapped away with his wing.


    " But..." the person paused, as they sent qi through the man''s body.


    " All, or at least most of his bones are broken....You wouldn''t be exaggerating if you said that his bones had turned to powder!" The person said with a pale face.


    " Even if all of his bones were to heal, he probably, no, most likely wouldn''t be able to move any of his limbs again!" The person with a trembling voice.


    After hearing this, the faces of the people became sharp.


    That was a heaven and earth stage cultivator, regardless.


    "..." Noah started to curse in his heart, as cold sweat flowed from his forehead.


    He couldn''t use any qi at the moment, which meant that, if these people attacked him, he wouodn''t be able to do anything, and niether would Levi.


    " So what if it was me?" An aged voice spilled our from Levi''s direction, as a black flame with a golden tip floated above his forehead.


    "?!" Noah''s head snapped back.


    " You....Who, no, what are you?" The long haired man''s body shook as he heard the demon saint''s voice.


    " Who this demon is, you don''t have the qualifications to know."


    " Just know that, i am extremely angry right now, and if you agrivate me in any way, i might just scatter your souls like ashes!" The demon saint''s voice boomed, as he coldly spoke.


    " Who....Who would believe that shit?! I can see the sweat pouring down your face! Even if you did all of this, you surely don''t have the power to do anymore!"


    " Besides, aren''t you just a brat?! What '' this demon'' bullshit are you spouting?!"


    One of the men shouted with a shakey voice.


    ".....He has a point." The man with long black hair spoke, as his attention was once again on Levi.


    " You say that you have the power to scatter our souls, but, if that were the case, then why don''t you do it?" The man lifted his arm, causing his gray robe to shift.


    "..." The demon saint kept silent, as a thick killing intent escaped Levi''s body.


    " Kek!" Everyone in the dome, including Noah, Ava and Ryan, even though they were still unconcious, began gulping air as if they were suffocating.


    The demon saint''s killing intent was so thick, that when they breathed in, it coated their lungs like a thick smoke.


    And yet, despite how uncomfortable it was to breathe, they couldn''t stop for obvious reasons.


    The dome darkened as the killing intent gathered in spiral, before forming a sword shape.


    Although it looked like it would scatter from a simple breath, when the tip of the sword pointed at the people, they felt their blood run cold.


    ".....I am restraining my anger."


    " Even if i kill you ants, what will i gain from it?"


    " A couple of ashes or bones?"


    " What can i do with the bones of such weaklings?!" The demon saint shouted.


    " You fools overestimate yourselves!"


    " For once in this demon''s life, i decide to be benevolent, and this is the response?!"


    " Fine then, i have no qualms with snuffing out a few more worthless lives."


    " Come, die while entertaining me with your pathetic struggles!!" He shouted, as more killing intent escaped Levi''s body.


    " ...W-w-w-we....apologize for....our.....rudeness..." Between stuttering and gasping for air, the people spoke, as sweat soaked thier bodies.


    " humph! do you think your apologies are worth anything in my eyes?!"


    " after sturring my anger to such a degree, do you really think that you will get away from here with your lives today?!?!?" The demon saint''s voice caused the rocks on the ground fo tremble.


    " Please....we...beg for....you for...giveness....as long....as..you spare...our lives.....we will....pledge our....loyalty to you...." The long haird man squeezed out, as his eyes became blood shot.


    Surviving came first, and if he could save his life by saying a few words, then he would do it.


    His teeth chattered, as cold sweat flowed down his face in buckets.


    " Your loyalty?!"


    " You think that you are worthy to pledge your loyalty to this demon?!"


    " Do you REALLY think so?!!?" The demon saint carried on.


    " O-Our....lives....we will....pledge...our lives!!" The man shouted.


    He was about to pass out.


    " What can your measly lives do for me?!" The demon saint shouted.


    " We....we..can work....we...can....serve you..." The man spoke in a higger pitched voice, as his face started to turn red.


    " If that is all you can do, then i might as well kill you all!"


    "....No...we...we....we...can''t do....any...thing else....please!...." The bald man shouted with difficulty.


    He was about to say something relating to beds and night, but in fear of loosing his life faster, he swallowed those words.


    ".....Humph! Do you believe i will trust you just because you said something?"


    " Even though you ants could never harm me, i loath betrayals..." The demon saint said coldly.


    " we-"


    " Promise?!"


    " Hahahaha! What is a promise?! If you guys want to live, then willingly accept these mental evergy seeds into your heads!" The demon saint interrupted the man.


    " Th-This..." The man hesitated.


    The killing intent had lessend slightly, allowing for him to think a little.


    He still had a trumpcard, the village chief!


    The village chief was supposedly extremely powerful!


    One day, he had just shown up, shrouded in a tattered robe with a hood.


    But after scaring the sh!t out of everyone, he just had them build a small house in the center of the village, and shut himself up inside.


    He was hoping that the monstrously strong village chief would notice this killing intent and come rescue him, but if he accepted this mentel energy seed, even if the village chief even came, he could be killed at the snap of a finger.


    " Yes, we will accept them!"


    " Just spare our lives!"


    Shouts errupted around him, causing the man to feel helpless.


    "....Yes, we will accept the mental energy seeds willingly..." Hearing the people around him shamelessly accepting, he squeezed this from his dry throat.


    " humph!" The demon saint snorted coldly, as multiple tiny orbs of black and gold mental shot out, before imbeding themselves into the foreheads of the people.


    " Now leave me!"


    " Go and inform every other person in this village. Accept these mental enegry seeds, or i will capture their soul and torture them for a thousand years!" The demon saint shouted.


    " Tha-thank you! For sparing our lives!"


    " We will go and tell the others!"


    Some of the people bowed to show their ''thanks''.


    Under the surface, barely overshadowed by their fear, was indignance.


    After all of them cleared out, Levi spoke weakly.


    "....You sure know how to act..." He said.


    '' Humph! You only know how to call for me when you want something!'' The demon saint shouted unhappily.


    As soon as he heard the steps eariler, Levi thought furiously of a way to escape death.


    He then remembered the demon saint, with all of his tricks, and had him deal with it.


    Though, there was one thing he couldn''t understand.


    " Why did you waste time doing all of that stuff, when you could have just scared them away?" Levi asked.


    '' Humph, green youngster! Even if you just chased them away, who could say that they wouldn''t return?''


    '' and with reinforcements?''


    '' Now that they have that thing in their heads, the fear of death will keep them in check!'' The demon saint spoke coldly.


    " Then why did you say all of that useless stuff?" Levi was slightly irritated when the demon saint called him green, but he let it go.


    '' Humph! I can still smell your mother''s milk on your breath!''


    '' By threatening them, and then seemingly sparing their lives after scaring them a little, they might even end up thanking you from the bottom of their hearts!''


    '' Humans are strange creatures!''


    '' The shadow of death was looming over their shoulders, and even though i was the one creating this shadow, the fact that i spared them would make them start to feel better about themselves!''


    '' Giving them the confidence of someone who escaped a dangerous situation with their lives, raising their self-esteem!


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    '' Making them feel that, because they were spared, they are special in some way!


    '' Although the fact that so many of them were spared would dilute that feeling, they would feel needed!''


    '' Something like, since i didn''t die even though death was staring me in the face, then i must have some big destiny, or some such.''


    '' This sence of being needed of having a great destiny would once again cause their confidence to rise!''


    '' They would then associate that feeling with me sparing their lives, and even if they feel indignant at first, after a few days, they would even begin to see me in a good light, some might even end up devoting their lives to serving me!'' The demon saint explained proudly.


    "..." Levi softly exhaled to calm his anger.


    '' Humph, i guess a brat who is still wet behind the ears woul- Ah! You! Why are these letters coming towards me?! Stop! Stop it!'' The demon saint shouted.


    Levi''s furrowed brows loosened in satisfaction.


    His gaze shifted, as he felt multiple eyes on him.


    Noah, ava and ryan were looking at him silently.


    They looked like they wanted to say something, but kept silent.


    He wasn''t interested in what they had to say, so he just shifted his gaze and didn''t ask.


    " One more thing, what would you have done if they didn''t buy your act?" Levi asked curiously.


    '' Ahhh! Ahh...ehem! humph, what would i have done?'' The demon saint asked in a mysterious tone.


    '' If they hadn''t bought it, then i would have told you two words.'' He continued.


    " What two words?" Levi asked, as his face became serious.


    '' The two words would have been.....''


    ''....We''re fucked!'' The demon saint shouted.


    Levi''s expression dimmed, but before his anger could explode, the gray robed man came back.


    " Um, sir? I apologize for my insolence, but, all of the people can''t fit in here."


    " There are a few who are complaining and badmouthing you, sir, and there is one who isn''t heeding your warning..." The man said, as he averted his gaze suspiciously.


    '' Stop playing around, demon saint.'' Levi thought.


    '' Me- Wha!'' He was about to protest, but once he looked at the letters surrounding him, he could only take it.


    "Uhuhuh, humph! humph!" The demon saint cleared his ''throat'' before speaking.


    The first humph was high pitched as if he was trying to stomach something ridiculous.


    " Humph! Bring me to them! As for the person not heeding my warning, i''ll deal with them afterwards." The demon saint snorted coldly.


    Levi grudgingly got up from the ground, and tried to walk as steadily as possible.


    But even though he tried, sometimes trying just wasn''t good enough.


    He almost fell multiple times from the pain of his muscles pulling with every step he took.


    '' Doesn''t he look....exausted? Did we get tricked? No no no no, that can''t be the case, not with that terrifying killing intent!''


    '' How many people did he kill to have such a dense killing intent?'' The man shuddered at this thought.


    '' But either way, the village chief will have to take care of it!''


    '' No matter how much of a shut in he is, if someone went looking for trouble, then he would take care of it right? i hope so...'' The man thought silently, as he followed behind the wobbling Levi.


    Noah didn''t know what to do other than leave.


    He lifted ava, while ryan walked behind him.

 Chapter 92 Avesta?!

    Murmur!


    Murmur!


    A group of what looked to be over 100 people stood in the open, bathed in moonlight.


    " Hey! Who was it that called us out here!?"


    " Yeah, yeah! Don''t you know that being so close to the outskirts at night is dangerous?!


    " Who ever woke me up better have a good fucking reason! Interupting my beauty sleep, they could only have a death wish!" A man with a bald head, with multiple sword scars on his face and head shouted.


    "..."


    The people went silent and looked at him for a few seconds, before erupting once more.


    They shouted to no one in particular.


    " Hey, shhh!"


    " Who are you shushing?!"


    " Someone is coming!"


    " Huh?! Isn''t that Ling, that crafty bastard?!"


    " Was it Ling who called us?! The hell does he want?!"


    " Wait, isn''t that brat beside him...the one who was searching for his friends?"


    " I swear to god Ling, if that is why you called us out here, you are dead!"


    " All of you be qui-" Before the long haired man, Ling, could finish, the same terrifying killing intent escaped Levi''s body.


    His clothes were tattered, and he still had burns on his skin and face, but in that moment, everyone shut their mouths and looked at him with startled or fearful expressions.


    " I trust that all of you already know the situation?" The demon saint''s cold voice rang out.


    " Si-Situation? Gulp!"


    " S-So what those guys said eariler..."


    " Seriously....They were serious?...."


    The murmuring was much softer this time.


    " You already know the options. Accept these, or death." The demon saint said simply, as he formed over 100 mental energy seeds in an instant.


    " Ah, i accept!"


    " What fucking choice do i have? I also accept!"


    One after the other, people gave in.


    They all had one thought, '' Living comes first! Whatever happens after that, the me of tomorow will deal with it!''


    " Humph! Cowards! Lowering your head to some brat, aren''t you ashamed to show your faces?!"


    A tanned, skinny man stood out and shouted.


    " humph!" The demon saint simply snorted.


    '' I was waiting for a martyr to step out! He appeared at the perfect time too. Hehehe, every act needs something to make it solid.'' The demon saint thought silently.


    " What proof do you have, that you can ''scatter our souls like ash''? Hmmm?!" The man asked.


    " Yeah..."


    " What proof do you have?!"


    Some people in the croud began shouting.


    Over the span of a few seconds, the shouting became louder, as people questioned The demon saint''s claims.


    " You fools bowed your heads to this brat without knowing anything first! Pitue! Disgusting!"


    Although the man had insulted them, the people still continued to agree with his points from the safety of the croud.


    Because he was so high on the praises of those in the croud, he failed to see that they were using him as a guinea pig.


    '' Humph! If we survive this, i will teach this fool a lesson!'' Many of them thought.


    " Do you guys have no shame?! Still showing your faces! You should really-"


    The man was talking relentlessly, until he felt a prickling sensation on his back.


    Looking around, he saw a black fog that was shaped like a sword, which caused him to stumble back.


    " Isn''t it funny?" The demon saint asked coldly.


    " Wh-What is funny? The fact that you are pretending to be strong?!" The man shouted, as he tried to regain his composure.


    " No. What i find funny is....how fragile a human life can be." The demon saint spoke.


    The people were thoroughly roused by the skinny man, but were also freaked out.


    Because, although a voice was coming from levi''s body, his lips were not moving.


    And although they saw the mental energy flame above his forehead, they didn''t know about any mental energy technique that you could talk with.


    In unknown situations, even the simplest of details could terrify people.


    " You, for instance. This sword is made from just my killing intent, but, did you know that it could kill you?" The demon saint said with a humorous tone, as if this was a fun topic for him.


    " Th-That is not possible! I-I don''t believe it!" The man shouted, as he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.


    " Oh? We can''t have that! Make sure not to move now." The demon saint spoke as if he were coaxing a child.


    The sword shaped killing intent slowly inched towards the man.


    As it drew closer to him, the man''s fear increased.


    But for some reason, his feet were stuck to the ground and he couldn''t move.


    Ba-dump! Ba-dump!


    His heart raced, as sweat poured from his face.


    " N-No! Keep this thing away from me! No!"


    He shouted as the thought of dying set it.


    At first he didn''t think that such a harmless looking thing could kill him.


    But as it slowly inched towards him, the thought of what would happen if it could, made his heart sink in fear.


    " Hehehe, i love it so much, toying with the human heart." The demon saint spoke softly, but everyone still heard it.


    A chill went down their spines, as Levi''s lips curved up.


    " No, stop! Stop! Ughhhh!"


    As the tip of the sword touched the man, his body started to tremble, as white foam bubbled from his mouth.


    " The dance of death, it is still fun to watch even now!" The demon saint said in a joyus tone.


    The people shuddered as they watched the man helplessly fall to the ground, dead.


    "....Do any more of you ants wish to offer your souls to entertain this demon?"


    " Not that the souls of ants are worth anything in my eyes, but if you are offering, how can i refuse?" The demon saint asked, as Levi swept his gaze across the croud of people.


    The people exploaded into thanks for being spared, as they willingly allowed the mental energy seeds into their heads.


    " Humph! Now, you were telling me about someone who wanted to die?" The demon saint asked Ling, who''s expression brightened when he heard this question.


    " Yes! follow me, sir, i will bring you to where the person is!" Ling turned around, as he started walking.


    '' This guy is cunning, you should watch out for him. Your life is not just your own anymore, after all.'' The demon saint said.


    The last sentence was spoken with a slightly unhappy tone.


    "..." Levi silently made a mental note of this.


    After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at the house in the center of the village.


    Unlike the rest of the houses in the village, this one was larger, and made of stone, although the roof was still bamboo.


    Levi cautiously looked at the building.


    " What are those markings on the house?" The demon saint asked.


    "M-Markings, sir?" Ling looked at the house, but he couldn''t seem to find any markings.


    '' Hmmm? They seem quite familiar....'' Levi thought, as he narrowed his eyes.


    He began walking towards the house.


    Since he was carrying out this act, he couldn''t just walk away.


    If he wanted to he could, but he would have to kill all of the villagers.


    He already had a lot of plans for these people, ideas that the demon saint put into his head.


    Although, after seeing how much the demon saint enjoyed playing people, he went over them in his head, and got rid of any of the plans he didn''t like.


    "..." Levi began walking towards the house slowly.


    After a few steps, he got a better look at the marks on the house.


    [ Advance any further, and you will die.]


    A cold, almost mechanical voice rang out.


    Levi''s eyes widend when he heard this voice.


    It was quite familiar to him, and although he hadn''t heard it in a while, he wouldn''t forget that cold, at times, arrogan voice.


    " Avesta?" He spoke with a trembling voice.


    " Then...." Levi''s gaze became sharp as he looked at the house, as if he thought that he would be able to see through the walls.


    " Since it''s me, i should be able to-"


    Pufttt!


    Blood flames shot out from the wall towards him, as he barely gathered enough blood energy to form the blood shield.


    " What the hell are you doing, Avesta?!" Levi shouted, veins bulging on his face in anger.


    [ This is your final warning. Why you know that name is irrelevant. Advance any further, and you will die.]


    Avest spoke coldly.


    "..." Levi clenched his fist, until his fingernails dug into his flesh.


    " Have somebody watch this house at all times! Whenever the person inside comes out, inform me!" Levi spoke coldly.


    " You-Your voice...." Ling pointed towards Levi.


    He had forgotten that he already heard Levi''s voice at the tavern.


    " Inform me!" The demon saint shouted, as his killing intent escaped Levi''s body.


    " Y-Yes..." Ling replied.


    '' Is he being possesed? But that shouldn''t be possible....But if he isn''t being possesed, then why does he have two different voices? Do demons just have two voices from birth? Is it common for ghosts?'' Ling thought a few ridiculous things, as he followed Levi with his eyes.


    ...


    Next day, morning.


    " So what was this elixer that i heard about yesterday?" Levi asked Ling coldly.


    " Qh, that....Well, it can''t really be called an elixer...." Ling scrached the back of his head, his eyes still closed.


    Ling had calmed down a lot since last night.


    And after thinking about a couple things, he came to a conclusion.


    He just had to put up with Levi for a few weeks while cooking up a plan to escape with his life.


    '' I might even find a chance to screw him over!'' He thought.


    "...Out with it." Levi said coldly.


    He was irritated.


    Whoever was in that house was irritating.


    He went back again in the middle of the night and was almost roasted alive.


    When he asked avesta what she was doing, she said [ Warnings are meant to be heeded.]


    That one line made his blood boil for the rest of the night.


    " You see, the thing is...." Ling paused.


    " That elixer is just boiled mutated beast meat...A soup, if you will..." Ling spoke while he scratched the back of his head.


    " Since the mutated beasts use qi to nurish their bodies, when you kill them, all of that qi is still in their flesh and blood for a short while afterward. So if you just boil it, you will be able to get about 15 or 20 percent of that qi if you are lucky!" Ling explained.


    " Adding a few herbs could even raise the qi in the elixer to about 23% !" Ling got absorbed in his explanation.


    '' How pitiful! 23 percent?! Hahahaha! How pitiful indeed!'' The demon saint laughed loudly in Levi''s head, as he ''rolled around'' while ''clutching'' his ''stomach''.


    Since the demon saint kept complaining, Levi willed it, so now the demon saint could see what he saw and hear what he heard.


    Although it took some effort, the almost dead tattoo moved slowly to make his thoughts happen.


    It took a lot of time, but since he couldn''t sleep with his bubbling anger, he just did it.


    He could still block the demon saint''s sight and hearing at will though, and he wouldn''t be able to hear Levi''s thoughts unless he allowed it.


    "....Well whatever. I want you guys to go hunt some mutated beasts for me."


    " Make sure that they don''t loose a single drop of blood when you kill them." Levi said, before getting up and leaving.


    He had left a small list on the bed, before walking out of the small house.


    " Levi!" As soon as Levi walked out, someone shouted his name.


    "..." Turning his head silently, he saw Noah, Ava and Ryan.


    The latter two were slowly getting up from the ground.


    " What are you still doing here?" He asked coldly.


    " Well, Ava and Ryan wanted to thank you, so-" Noah was inturupted.


    " No need." His gray robe shifted in the breeze, as he turned to walk away.


    " Levi! Cough! Cough!" Noah shouted, before he erupted into a coughing fit.


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    " I already repayed my debt to her, i don''t owe any of you anything anymore. So get lost, before i change my mind and kill you all." Levi spoke coldly, as blood energy rose from his body.


    " You!!" Noah shouted angrily.


    " Let''s just go Noah, Ryan. " Ava placed a hand on Noah''s large shoulder and shook her head with a light smile.


    Although she was normally pushy, she knew how Levi was.


    " Thank you, Levi." As she saw Levi turning his back once again, Ava bowed, and said softly.


    Although she said it too soft for him to hear, she was still satisfied with being able to say it at all.


    Noah grumbled angrily, as they began walking away.


    In reality though, he was felt relieved when Levi reacted that way, because, Ava would keep her distance.


    He didn''t have anything against Levi, but he somehow knew that being around him would be dangerous for anyone involved.


    Someone who tortured themself for power or strength could only be described with two words.


    Either mentally ill, or dangerous.


    Since Levi got back Ava and Ryan as he promised, Noah''s only wish was to get far, far away from him.


    '' Why didn''t you just accept their thanks?'' The demon saint asked with a puzzled voice.


    " Mind your own business." Levi spoke coldly.


    ''...Hmmm....You....Could it be possible that you just hate people? Like, for no reason?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Shut up." Levi said coldly.


    '' No, that can''t be it.'' The demon saint mumbled.


    " Shut up." Levi''s voice became more forceful.


    '' Could it be that...you are afraid of opening your heart to other people?'' The demon saint asked.


    The letters surrounding the space the demon saint was in lit up.


    As they came into contact with him, a cearing pain spread throughout his beings, akin to a piece of red hot metal being put on someone''s skin.


    Levi shut off the demon saint''s voice from his head with a thought, as he walked up to the group of people who seemed to be waiting for something.


    "....Are you coming with us, sir?" One of the men asked.


    When Levi was still a distance away from them, their faces twisted in anger and hatred.


    '' Ordering people to hunt mutated beasts....who the fuck does he think he is?!'' They thought.


    These were the 15 people who were tasked with killing and bringing back the mutated beasts on Levi''s list.


    And out of the 15 people, most of their thoughts went along those lines.


    "..." Levi nodded silently.


    He had seen the looks on the faces of the men, but didn''t show any reaction.


    '' How would you feel if some person you never met, just suddenly appeared and had control over your life?'' He used this thought to stay calm.


    He needed to do something to blow off some steam anyway.


    '' Obviously i know that i am afraid of opening my heart to people. But that is something only i need to know.''


    '' I will not allow any person to see a weak side of me, never.''


    '' Only the cold, unfeeling side.'' He thought.


    If people knew his weaknesses, wouldn''t they just exploit them?


    Then he would just not allow any to be known.


    If he showed weakness, wouldn''t he just be betrayed again?


    Then he would simply not show any weakness.


    '' Humph! You are coming along?! For what?! Ordering us fo risk our lives wasn''t enough, so you want to come along to watch a show now?!'' The people thought, but still wore smiling expressions.


    They could only curse Levi in their hearts, because in reality, all of them were afraid to die.


    And although going out to kill mutated beasts was potentially deadly, at least they would be able to live a little longer.


    No one ever expected themself to die, that was why they clung onto life until they couldn''t anymore.

 Chapter 93 Demonic city

    2 days later.


    Over the last two days, Levi practiced the wind commandment.


    At first, he wanted to blow off steam by going along to kill some mutated beasts.


    But after thinking about it, he realized that he shouldn''t do that.


    Since he was pretending to be some kind of powerful being, if he struggled while killing a mutated beast, the whole situation would become more troublesome.


    " Kek!" He stopped, as his feet landed heavily on the ground.


    '' Dammit! It feels like my lungs are being crushed! How the hell am i supposed to step lightly on the ground while trying to move fast?!'' Levi thought, as he panted.


    With every breath, he felt a slight electrifying pain going though his chest.


    '' They are still a good distance away, fighting some beast.'' The demon saint''s voice exhoed in Levi''s head.


    During this time, he helped Levi keep a certain distance from the group of people by reporting their distance.


    With this, Levi didn''t go too far or stay too close.


    But because he had just ran off after saying that he would help them kill the mutated beasts, their bad impressions of him got worse.


    They of course didn''t say anything to his face, in fear of loosing their lives, but they all cursed him in their hearts.


    '' By the way, why are you torturing yourself? Are you a masochist?'' The demon saint asked in a joyful tone.


    It was always him who got tortured by Levi.


    It was nice to see the latter going through hell for a change.


    "....Shut up..." Levi said, still gulping down air.


    '' Tch! Humph! Only calling me when you want something! And even after i help you, all i get is ''shut up!'', not even a half-assed thank you!'' The demon saint snorted unhappily.


    "..."


    ".....This is an agility technique that i am practicing. Do you know if i am doing something wrong?" Levi asked.


    He didn''t like asking things of people.


    This was a scar from when he was kicked out from his family.


    How people reacted when a dirty, homeless child asked for things, he knew all too well.


    But since the demon saint was behaving this way, he assumed that he knew a thing or two.


    ''.....Hmm, agility technique? Tell me, in the description of this technique, did it say that it should be used with or assisted with qi when used?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Hmm." Levi nodded.


    '' Then, it is a trash skill. For things like agility techniques, if they need to be assisted with qi when used, then they aren''t worth learning.'' The demon saint said.


    '' But then again, i guess it was a great fortune for you to aquire a skill like this on this tiny continent.'' He continued.


    "..." Levi silently waited for him to explain.


    '' Think about it.''


    '' If you were running for your life with a bunch of people behind you, shooting different kinds of skills at you, your qi depleted, how would you get away with such a skill?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' If you ran out of qi before your pursuers, you would be screwed. Since these kinds of skills rely on qi, without qi, they are useless.'' He said.


    '' but, if there was a skill that was on the same level or better than one that needed to be assisted with qi, what would that mean?''


    "....that you would be able to run almost indefinitely?"


    '' No you fool! It would depend on the stamina of the person in particular.'' The demon saint snickered silenlty.


    He had purposely directed the question that way in order to insult Levi.


    '' But if you had such a skill, while running, if you wanted, you could launch your own attacks.''


    '' Or better yet, you could just keep running until the people chasing you exausted their qi, before launching your attack.'' The demon saint explained.


    '' People seem to think that when qi is involved, everything becomes stronger or better.''


    '' Hehehe, but fools like that are not using qi the way it should be used.''


    '' Qi should be used to assist you, at best. You shouldn''t rely on it for everything.'' The demon saint said with a dark laughter.


    " Then, do you know a better agility technique?" Levi asked.


    '' Huh? Why would i know something like that?'' The demon saint asked with a puzzled voice.


    " Huh?" Levi said, confused.


    '' My research on the human soul made it possible for me to tamper with them whenever i pleased!''


    '' With this kind of ability, why would i need to run?''


    '' Bwahahaha, this demon has no need for something as useless as an agility technique!'' The demon saint laughed arrogantly.


    "..." Levi breathed weakly, as he suppressed his anger.


    Did the demon saint just like playing with him?


    He knew the answer and it just angered him more.


    After calming himself down, he shut off the demon saint''s voice, and went back to practicing the wind commandment.


    ...


    Night time.


    "...So you couldn''t kill any mutated beasts?" Levi asked, as he looked at the 13 people.


    "....Yes..." Their voices were soft, as they tried to burry their heads in their chests.


    The group of 15 people was now down to 13.


    They sat around a small fire, with multiple large, red swells on their faces and arms.


    '' Its not that we couldn''t kill mutated beasts, it''s that you picked one that couldn''t be killed!''


    '' How are we supposed to kill the brainwashing mosquito king?!''


    '' That thing controls seemingly normal mosquitoes from a safe distance!''


    '' It might not seem like anything speacial at first, but have you ever tried to fight a swarm of mosquitoes?!''


    They thought angrily.


    "..." Levi looked at them silently.


    He had wanted to get a bit stronger before leaving desolate mountain, but since things were like this, he would just forget it for the time being.


    " Go back to the village." Levi said after some thought.


    " Huh?" The people asked as they raised their heads, their expressions brightening considerably.


    " I will be gone for a few days, so tell the rest of the villagers to catch some mutated beasts in that time." Levi said, causing the expressions of the people to dim immediately.


    " It doesn''t matter which ones, just catch a lot and keep them alive until i return." Levi said as he got up from the log he was sitting on.


    " Ah, um, yes....Wh-Where are you going...sir?" One of them asked.


    "....To take repay an old debt." Levi said simply.


    He turned around and walked until his figure could no longer be seen.


    "..." The people watched this silently, before getting up and going in the opposite direction.


    Only they knew what they were thinking.


    ...


    Morning.


    Levi panted heavily, as a pain in his chest intensified.


    '' Hey, hey, hey! Listen to me!''


    '' Forcing yourself to keep going isn''t going to help you learn the skill!''


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    '' And even if it did, the damage to your body would be lasting!'' The demon saint currently had a headache.


    Levi ran for the whole night until he collapsed, and as soon as he could move again, he did the same thing until morning.


    This was 10th time, as Levi collapsed on a dirt path.


    ''....Where are you going anyway?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Demonic city." Levi said.


    He panted heavily, as his breath caused dust blow up.


    '' Oh, demonic city. Demonic city....Do you mean the demonic city that was supposed to be run by your sect?!''


    " From what i know...huff!..it is...huff!..part of the sect''s...huff!..territory!" Levi said.


    '' Are you retarded?! Why the hell are you going into the territory of a sect that want''s you dead?!?'' The demon saint shouted.


    "....Why are you shouting in my head?" Levi asked in displeasure.


    '' You! You! You! Could it be that....you are really stupid?''


    '' I was ignoring the possibilities but-'' The demon saint was cut off, as Levi blocked out his voice.


    " I know what i am doing.''


    '' I will just change my appearance again.''


    '' Although people might already know how i look when i change my face, i have a solution for that.'' Levi thought silently.


    He slowly got up from the ground and sat cross-legged.


    The color began to leave his hair, as his golden eyes became red.


    Before all of the color left his hair, he stopped.


    His hair was now a washed out pink color, while his eyes were a light red, with wide black slits down the middle.


    He swept the hair covering his forehead back, before gathering the rest and trying it in a knot at the back of his head.


    Although, some of it was too short and fell back down.


    He didn''t mind this, as a thick smoke rose from his body, before gathering around his face.


    When it left, his straight, sharp nose was curved, with a large hump on it''s bridge.


    He had large cheek bones and his eyes were thinner.


    " But, if anything touches my face..." He rubbed his finger over his face, causing the white smoke to scatter.


    He slowly got up from the ground, and began running once again.


    His feet hit the ground softly, as he moved slowly.


    As he tried to increase his pace, beads of sweat appeared on his now exposed forehead.


    ".....Oh..If even sweat caused it to turn back into smoke, then things would have become troublesome." Levi mumbled to himself, as he continued to run.


    The reason this was so hard was that, with every step, before his foot could touch the ground, he had to carefully place it on the ground lightly.


    So if he wantedto increase his speed, he would also have to increase the force he used to run, but according to the wind commandment, he had to step lightly on the ground.


    His head spun when he though about it, so instead of trying to work it out in his head, he used the only thing that he could think of.


    Force.


    If he couldn''t find a trick or something to help him learn the skill, then he could only resort to using force.


    " Huff! Huff!" Levi stopped running, as a city wall appeared in the distance.


    He walked slowly to catch his breath.


    '' Ahhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!''


    ".....Demon saint, do you want me to shut out your voice again?" Levi asked with a dark expression.


    As soon as he allowed himself to hear the demon saint''s voice again, he was screaming in his head?


    He didn''t even use the letters on the demon saint, so he had no reason to be screaming.


    '' Ah, ahem! Humph! This demon was just practicing my singing! Do you have a problem with that?! What else am i supposed to do in this damn place?!'' The demon saint shouted.


    ''....Singing? THAT was supposed to be singing?'' Levi thoughf silently, but said nothing.


    " Hmmm?" Levi looked closely at the wall that now appeared considerably bigger.


    '' Soldiers wearing green armor? Who are they?'' Levi thought silently.


    '' Are the from....'' He walked towards the gate, as he cautiously watched the two soldiers.


    " Halt!" A loud shout suddenly assaulted his eardrums.


    He walked through the gate, only to see the two large soldiers glaring at him, swords in hand.


    "..." Levi looked at them silently


    " What are you looking at, ugly?! Pay the fee or turn the fuck around!" One of them shouted.


    " How much?" Levi asked coldly.


    " 10 gold coins!" The other one shouted.


    Levi reached into his robe to pull some coins from the spatial ring, but paused.


    '' Wait.'' The demon saint''s voice stopped him.


    '' What?'' Levi asked in his head.


    " What are you wasting time for? Either hand over the gold or leave! If you won''t, there is always a 3rd option!" One of thm shouted, as killing intents erupted from their bodies.


    '' Don''t react explosively to that killing and don''t give them any gold coins!'' The demon saint said.


    '' What?'' Levi asked, as his expression darkened.


    He wanted to get into the city without causing any trouble.


    Wouldn''t this do just that?


    '' Trust me. Hehehe, our lives are connected, so you don''t have to worry about me trying to kill you.'' The demon saint said.


    '' I know this already, but that doesn''t mean i trust you.'' Levi thought silently.


    "..." He looked at the soldiers as he secretly grew out the fingernails on his hidden hand.


    " What? You don''t have the money?!" One of them exploded.


    Seeing the changes in Levi''s expression after he reached into his robe, the man was sure that Levi didn''t have any money.


    "..." Levi stiffly shook his head.


    " Then get fucking lost before i kill you!" The man shouted.


    " Tch, why bother killing him? He doesn''t have any money so we would just be wasting our time! Lets just go." The other one shouted, as he put his sword back in it''s sheath.


    Levi watched the two walk away.


    '' Hehehe! You must be wondering why they left.''


    '' I am not going to explain, but i will tell you this. If you had given them 10 gold coins, then they wouldn''t have let you go this easily.'' The demon saint laughed.


    After standing in the same spot for a few minutes, Levi began walking.


    He walked around looking for a place to stay.

 Chapter 94 Desperate

    "..." Levi silently gazed up at the night sky.


    " Huff...Huff...I was sure that he would come here..."


    " Why are you even doing this? You know that he will not be thankful!"


    Two people talked to each other below the building that Levi lay on.


    No matter where he went to look for lodging, they were all full.


    Even after searching until it was deep in the night, he still couldn''t find a place.


    The building he was laying on was the last inn he found.


    Although he had been to demonic city before, he had quickly passed though it, so he didn''t know his way around very well.


    '' It''s pointless to continue searching, i will just sleep on the roof.'' He though silently.


    '' So, just to confirm this again, you came here to kill some guy you had a grudge with in the past?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''....Yes.'' Levi replied simply.


    '' You bloody moron! Why are you trying to get revenge? What will you gain from it?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''....Nothing. Satisfaction? Probably not even that.'' Levi thought of the azure clan.


    Even after killing the people he had hated for so long, it didn''t make him feel any better.


    In fact, he felt even more anger and hatred, even now.


    '' Then why are you doing it?!'' The demon saint shouted incredulously.


    '' Is this guy an idiot? Is he really risking his life, our lives, just for revenge?!'' The demon saint thought.


    '' If i want to survive until i find a proper body, i will have to start changing his way of thinking, slowly.'' He thought, as he waited for Levi''s reply.


    " Because i promised myself to kill anyone who tried to kill me." Levi spoke aloud, as a cold voice flowed from his mouth.


    " Levi?! Is that Levi?" He suddenly heard shouting, causing him to sit up.


    Because the roof of the inn was slanted, he had to look over cautiously so he wouldn''t fall off.


    Looking down, he saw Noah and Ryan.


    Their breathing was heavy and they looked tired.


    '' Hey! Hey! Hey! Keep your mouth shut!'' The demon saint shouted, causing Levi to close his mouth.


    '' What?'' Levi asked.


    '' You changed your face and even your hairstyle, so why are you talking with the same voice? Are you an idiot?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' How am i supposed to change my voice?'' Levi asked.


    '' Speak in a higher tone! Change your speech patterns! Put some emotion in your voice! Anything is good as long as you aren''t talking in that monotonous voice!'' The demon saint shouted exasperatedly.


    '' Furthermore, you should already know how to act! Can''t you remember how you escaped from that gladiator situation?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''...Oh, when the collar was around my neck. I felt like killing myself while i did that. I don''t want to do it again.'' Levi said with reluctance.


    '' You don''t have to behave in the same way as that time, but don''t do everything how you usually would!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent as he looked down.


    " Ah, sorry, i thought you were someone else." After looking at Levi''s face, Noah said.


    He had thought that he heard Levi''s voice, but after seeing the ugly face of the person on the roof, he was sure that it wasn''t Levi.


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    " Senior brother Noah, why are you looking for him anyway?" Ryan asked with an annoyed tone.


    " To repay a personal debt. I told you already, my arm was crippled."


    " If it wasn''t for that medicine that Levi applied to me, i wouldn''t be able to use it now. And i already told you that you didn''t have to come along." Noah said, as his breath slowly returned to him.


    " If senior sister didn''t react so strongly, even going so far as attacking the elde- i mean, sect master because of him, your arm wouldn''t have been crippled in the first place!" Ryan shouted.


    " So it''s his fault that my arm was crippled?" Noah asked.


    " Yes! If it wasn''t for him! If it wasn''t for him...." Ryan shouted.


    " My arm was crippled because i chose to protect Ava from that bastard''s attack. It was also her who brought that on herself." Noah said, as he looked down at ryan.


    " When things aren''t good, or going how you would like, it might be easier to push your anger and resentment onto someone else, but it is not a good practice." Noah spoke, as Ryan lowered his head.


    Since elder rock became the sect master, a lot of things changed.


    He surrounded himself with young girls from the sect.


    If anyone complained about it, they were either crippled or killed.


    People learned what kind of person the new sect master was and changed themselves accordingly.


    But there were always certain idiots who couldn''t adapt in certain situations.


    " The demonic god sect isn''t what it used to be. Why do you think i left in the evening? When the people of demonic city see us now, they either shy away in fear, or throw rocks in their anger."


    " Plus....No, i can''t say that out in the open. Anyway, if Levi is coming here for that bastard, then i have to warn him about ''that'' before he get''s himself killed!" Noah started running once again.


    '' Tsk! He didn''t get to the part that i wanted to hear. What is ''that''?'' Levi thought silenlty, as he lay his back on the tiled roof.


    '' Hehehe, do you want this demon to tell you?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''...'' Levi silently waited.


    A few minutes of silence passed before the demon saint spoke.


    '' Tch! How boring! It has something to do with those soldiers we met earlier, along with all of the full inns.'' The demon saint said.


    '' What do you mean?'' Levi asked.


    '' If you put everything that we have seen together, then it points to those soldiers.'' The demon saint said.


    '' You have been to this place before, but this is the first time you have seen these soldiers here. Now, when you think of the soldiers, what else comes to mind that feels off?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''....I don''t know.'' Levi said.


    '' The inns. All of the inns are full, right? That is very odd. Besides that, have you seen any more of those soldiers since?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' No.'' Levi replied.


    '' Back to the soldiers, then. Why would they try to extort money from you?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''.....So that they can stay at an inn?'' Levi asked after some thought.


    '' Go on.'' The demon saint said.


    '' What else is there? Maybe they wanted something to ea- Wait!'' Levi shot up.


    " Wait....all of the inns are filled...are they filled with soldiers? Why would so many soldiers be here?" Levi mumbled, as he looked down at the empty street.


    '' You are here to get revenge, right?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Old demon....Are you saing that that coward has something to do with these soldiers?" Levi asked.


    '' It is a possibility.'' The demon saint said.


    " Even if that were the case, i could kill those soldiers easily. Why would Noah feel the need to warn me about soldiers?" Levi asked.


    '' Humph! How arrogant! You should stop underestimating people, before we have to regret it.''


    '' Ah ah, look at the time. This demon is going to sleep, don''t call me anymore.'' The demon saint yawned, before silence fell.


    "...Am i underestimating them?" Levi mumbled.


    '' I am just stating the truth, how is that underestimating them?'' He thought.


    ...


    Morning.


    Levi''s eyes cracked open, as the blue sky entered his sight.


    The streets were not as busy as one would expect.


    The people looked lifeless for some reason.


    Tap!


    " Hey, what is wrong with you guys?" Levi jumped from the roof.


    His feet kicked up a bit of dust as he landed on the ground.


    "....Who...are you, kid?...you should...leave..before he comes....here again..." A middle aged man looked helpless, as he feebly spoke.


    His legs trembled from exhaustion as he shot Levi a helpless smile.


    " Hey, didn''t this young master ask you something? Where are you going?" Levi asked, his eyes narrowing.


    The demon saint woke him up in the middle of the night more than once to remind him not to speak like himself.


    '' My stomach turns at the thought of acting like this, but....'' He thought silently.


    " Yo-Young master? Who''s young master are you? Can...Can you help....Can you save this city?" The man stopped, before walking up to Levi and reaching out to grab him.


    His hand stopped midway, as he hurriedly withdrew it.


    "....How annoying." Levi mumbled coldly.


    " P-Pardon?" The man said, his voice shakey.


    " Answer this young master''s question first. How am i supposed to help you if i don''t know what is going on?" Levi once again began speaking with the voice of a spoiled young master.


    " W-Well, the thing is..." The man paused, as if it was difficult to speak about the subject.


    "....If you don''t want to say it, then i will just find someone else!" Levi shouted impatiently, his young master aura increasing.


    " Wa-Wait! I-It''s just that....if...if i told you...would young master bring me from here?" The man asked, hope shining in his sunken eyes.


    '' In the end, people only care about themselves.''


    '' They all walk around with righteous expressions, pretending to care about each other, but will abandon each other easily depending on the situation.'' Levi though silently.


    He didn''t think that anything was wrong with this.


    It just annoyed him that people went around pretending to care about each other.


    '' I guess that makes me a hypocrite...''


    '' Hmm, but if i think about it, i don''t care or pretend to care about people..Ah, whatever! It doesn''t matter how people see me.'' He thought.


    Taking Levi''s silence as a yes, the man began speaking.


    " The truth is....since the sect master of the demonic god sect changed, living in demonic city has become difficult." The man paused, as if recalling something.


    " Now, we have to pay a tax of 100 gold coins every month for the entire city. This city is not that big, which means that that amount is nearly impossible!"


    " Everyone tries to scrape together what little money they have every month to pay, becasue if they don''t....well, anyway..."


    " Now, to make things even worse, recently, a group of soldiers appeared..."


    " They extort money from everyone, and use it to stay at the inns. Anyone who stayed at an inn before was chased out."


    " The soldiers then take the money back from the inn keepers, before paying them with it again."


    " I don''t know why they do this, since they could just force the inn keepers to allow them to stay indefinitely..."


    " But, because there are so many of them, everyone is too scared to say or do anything."


    " Ha, the money, well, none of us really thought of it as important. As long as we were allowed to live peacefully, we didn''t care...."


    " It would just be a little more difficult to live without it, but not by much..."


    " But now....Of all of the situations, this is the worst....."


    " The new demonic god sect master is coming down to the city in a few days...." The man paused, as his face scrunched up.


    "....to pick out some new wives!"


    " If anyone with a daughter was to refuse, they would most likely be killed and have their daughter taken anyway!"


    " How could you, as a father, give your daughter to someone she didn''t love or wanted to be with?"


    " How could you seperate her from the one she truly loves, the one she grew up with, the one she didn''t know she felt that way about until recently?!"


    " But what can you do when you don''t even have a choice in the matter?! What should you do when you can''t even leave the place in which such things are happening?!"


    " If you know that refusing would cost you your life, and your daughter would be taken anyway, do you offer her up to save yourself?! Do you resist and die pointlessly?!"


    " Tell me, what should you do?" The man looked up.


    Tears dripped from his face, as he looked at Levi inquiringly.


    ''....This man....does he have a daughter? Is that why he wanted me to take him from this city? Or is he just trying to get inside my head?'' Levi''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the man.


    '' Oh, how sorrowful. Having to offer up your unwilling child into marriage to save yourself....hehehehe, how very sad, hehehe....'' The demon saint laughed evilly.


    ''.....Do you think that he is telling the truth?'' Levi asked.


    '' Hehehehe, of course. He has an air of desperation around him.''


    '' Desperate to leave this place without having to make a choice.''


    '' Desperate, so that he doesn''t need to see the look of disappointment and reluctance on his child''s face....''


    '' Desperate, because he knows that if it comes down to it, in order to save himself.....Hehehehe, he will even sacrifice his most precious daughter!'' The demon saint explained.


    "..." Levi kept silent.

 Chapter 95 The Sect Masters Arrival

    " So, why can''t you leave?" Levi asked after a bit of silence.


    After hearing the demon saint''s explanation, he retained his original opinion of people.


    '' So in the end, this man was still doing this not for his daughter, but for himself.'' He thought silently.


    As he thought about this, his expression dimmed as his brows furrowed.


    '' Why am i even disappointed?...This has nothing to do with me....'' He thought.


    But even though he convinced himself of this, his frustration only grew.


    "....We can''t leave because of the soldiers. For what ever reason, they don''t allow us to..." After calming himself down, the man replied.


    " Oh. Is there anything else i-this young master should know about?" Levi asked.


    "....No. That was everything." After thinking for a few seconds, the man replied.


    " Go back for now. This young master will find you when i am ready to leave!" Levi spoke in an unquestionable tone.


    "...Ok." As he heard Levi''s voice, the man slowly nodded.


    Just before he got back onto the street, he looked back at Levi, silently praying that he wouldn''t forsake him.


    '' I need to prepare.'' Levi thought silently, as he walked from between the two buildings.


    '' What do you think, demon saint?''


    '' Hmm, we only have limited information, and asking around would be suspicious.'' The demon saint thought aloud.


    '' If those soldiers are really a part of this then....'' He went silent.


    '' All of the inns you went to were full, right?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Yes?" Levi answered.


    '' Let''s pay them a visit to see if there are any open rooms now.'' The demon saint said.


    ...


    Night time.


    '' I just have to kill them?'' Levi asked.


    He stood in front of a large building.


    The door was closed, but he could still hear the voices of multiple people.


    '' Yes, and do it quickly. You still have to pay the other inns a visit!'' The demon saint shouted.


    ''...'' Levi''s hands, from the wrists down slowly became black.


    They doubled in length, as they became hard and sharp.


    Dling!


    He pushed open the door, causing the bell hung above it to ring loudly.


    " Huhh?"


    " What the hell?"


    " Who is this long hand freak?"


    " Hey, didn''t you see the ''full'' sign on the door?"


    " Get lost! This place is full!"


    Multiple men wearing different colored washed out robes sat at some round wooden tables.


    " 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." Levi''s gaze shifted, as he counted softly.


    " Oi, didn''t you hear us?" One of the men asked, as he put down his large wooden mug.


    The others also put down their forks and spoons, as they looked at Levi.


    " Oh, sorry, i came to the wrong place." Levi said, as he turned around.


    " Humph! What were you saying now? Something abo-"


    The tips of Levi''s fingers grew out into tiny black threads, as they shot out.


    Thump! Thump!


    The sound of bodies falling, along with plates chattering rang out.


    The men fell over one after another, black threads imbedded in their foreheads.


    As the men fell, Levi released the tension in the threads, causing them to sag losely.


    " You!!!"


    A loud shout caused Levi to turn around.


    " I missed one...." Levi mumbled.


    He made sure to remember their locations, but still missed one of the men in the end.


    " Do you know who you just killed?! Do you?!" The man shouted, but didn''t move from his seat.


    '' Dammit! I should have brought my sword! And fuck! Why did these guys let their guards down so easily?!'' The man thought.


    " I don''t." Levi said simply.


    " Then li-" Before the man could finish, the thread that had passed right beside his head curved, before stabbing though it.


    The tip of the thread passed through the back of his head, before sticking out through his forehead, as a bead of blood slowly dripped from it.


    "..." Levi silently turned around to leave.


    The demon saint told him not to absorb their blood, so he didn''t.


    '' Am i really underestimating them?'' He thought silently.


    '' Wait a minute!'' The demon saint called out, causing Levi to stop.


    ...


    '' Hey! Heey!! Heeeeeeey!!!'' The demon saint shouted.


    "...What?" Levi asked coldly.


    Last night, the demon saint had him running around, killing the soldiers in the different inns.


    " Hmm?" Levi looked down, only to see a sea of people walking in one direction.


    '' Get inside the croud.'' The demon saint said.


    Levi jumped from the roof and landed inside the croud of people.


    He walked along with them silently.


    " Where are we going?" He asked a middle aged woman.


    " Huh? Who''s ugly brat is this? Get-" The woman was about to tall him to get lost, but Levi''s cold glare caused those words to stick in her throat.


    " W-We, are going to the main street..." The woman stuttered.


    " You could have said that from the beginning." Levi said coldly.


    '' Why did you glare at the poor woman like that? The people are just on edge!'' The demon saint said, as he snickered lightly.


    '' That doesn''t make it any less annoying.'' Levi thought coldly.


    Couldn''t people just answer simple questions without all of the extra crap? He was begining to think not.


    After a few minutes, they arrived at a wide street, this was the so-called main street.


    In the center of the street stood a large wooden platform.


    Instead of chairs, there was one large square cushion, with many smaller ones surrounding it.


    The people stood in front this platform silently and waited.


    " How long do we have to wait for?" Levi turned his head, but the middle aged woman was gone.


    " I don''t know. People in positions of power couldn''t care less how much time they make powerless people like us wait." A teenage boy with short black hair said.


    A gloomy air hung over the boy, as he glared at the platform with gritted teeth.


    Levi simply closed his eyes and crossed his arms silently.


    '' Do you want to know what i did go those soldiers?'' The demon saint asked in a playful tone.


    '' When i asked, you said it was a surprise. I am not going to waste my time asking again.'' Levi said.


    '' How boring. Hehehe, search around with mental energy.'' He said.


    Puft!


    A black flame appeared before Levi''s forehead, as an almost transparent wave of black mental energy eminated from it.


    " Hmm?" Levi opened his eyes, as they shifted swiftly.


    " You...." Levi''s expression dimmed.


    '' Hehehe, i am controlling the corpses of those soldiers.''


    '' That is why i needed you to kill them swiftly and without doing to much damage to the bodies.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Mental energy alone isn''t enough, which is why they needed to die without much struggle, so that they wouldn''t expend that precious last bit of energy in their bodies.'' The demon saint explained.


    " You....How can you use mental energy?" Levi asked coldly.


    '' When did i ever say that i couldn''t?'' The demon saint spoke coldly.


    '' Just because i never did doesn''t mean i couldn''t. You shouldn''t assume things just because other things don''t happen, hehehehe.'' The demon saint laughed coldly.


    '' In any case, you don''t need to worry.''


    '' They are my eyes and ears.''


    '' Whatever they see and hear, we also will.'' The demon saint explained.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    He had forgotten it for a long time, but now he remembered.


    He always carried something dangerous everywhere with him.


    Before, it was thanks to the tattoo that he survived, and even captured the demon saint.


    But if the demon saint were to somehow get away...


    He didn''t even want to think about what would happen to him.


    "..ey...hey!" Shouts woke him from his deep thoughts.


    " Are you ok? You look pale." The boy who just answered his question asked.


    "...I''m fine." Levi replied.


    " Oh. You probably shouldn''t talk to yourself like that, unless you want people to think that you are crazy." The boy said, before shifting his gaze back to the platform.


    ...


    Minutes, then hours passed.


    The sun was setting, as the people continued to wait.


    They all looked exausted, but as if rooted to their spots, they didn''t leave.


    "..." Levi stood silently, without the slightest bit of fatigue on his visage.


    ''....Sigh, don''t you think that you should at least pretend to be tired?'' The demon saint asked with a sigh.


    '' Don''t you think it would be too suspicious for one single person in a crowd to not be tired after standing in place for more than half a day?'' The demon saint asked before Levi could answer.


    ''...'' Levi silently contemplated.


    A few seconds later, beads of ''sweat'' appeared on his face, along with his neck, soaking his collar.


    "....You okay? If you know you can''t handle standing for long periods of time then you shouldn''t have come here." The youth beside Levi said, as he looked down at Levi.


    " Hmm?" Levi''s gaze shifted, as he felt a slight tugging from the demon saint''s mental energy.


    '' Ohoho, isn''t that quite the entrance.'' The demon saint sneered.


    A small black dot appeared in the sky.


    If one looked closer, they would see that it was a modified carriage without wheels.


    4 figures surrounded the carriage, one at each corner.


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    "..Oh..."


    " I-Is that...."


    "..."


    As the carriage grew closer, the people of demonic city could see it.


    Some of them mumbled, while others, like the youth beside Levi, just looked at it silently.


    As it arrived right above the main street, those who were sitting on the ground hurriedly got up.


    They wiped their sweat and put on their most brilliant smiles.


    Don!


    The carriage landed hard on the ground, as the sound of something hollow dropping rang out.


    Kreik!


    The door at the side of the carriage flew open, as a foot was slowly extended.


    " Humph! Why did you drop it?" A man with gray hair steped out, his black and white robes shifting as he glared up at the sky.


    " Apologies, sect master rock, but we are not accustomed to operating the sky carriage. We lowered it as close to the ground as we could." One of the four figures in the sky held his fists before him while bowing his head.


    " Humph! All of this time and you still don''t know how to properly land a carriage?! Do you all want to be stripped of your elder titles?" Sect master rock''s eyes narrowed as he asked.


    " Please forgive us, sect master." The four grasped their fists before them, as they said.


    " Get lost from here! And take this thing with you!" Sect master rock shouted, as 4 girls with varying appearances walked out of the carriage.


    " Humph!" As he watched their retreating figures, he snorted.


    " Kyaa!"


    " Ah..."


    " Hehe!"


    "..."


    Levi watched as elder rock''s figure floated from the ground.


    The reactions of the four girls differed, as elder rock lifted them with qi.


    " Hmm?!" As he landed of the large cushion, elder rock glared down at the people.


    " Calm down sect master! Getting angry is bad for you health, hehe." One of the girls giggled seductively, as she slid her cushion closer to elder rock.


    She gently placed one hand on his back and the other on his chest.


    He looked down at the girl, greed aparent in his eyes.


    "....Humph! You still aren''t going to greet me?!" Elder rock shouted, as he looked away from the girl.


    " Ah...!"


    " W-We welcome the sect master!" The people bowed as they said.


    '' Is that really him? The face is the same, but his hair is gray?'' Levi thought, as he glared up at elder rock from his bowing position, carefully concealing his killing intent.


    " You all already know why i am here, so don''t waste any more of my time! All of the virgin girls step forward! The rest of you step back!" He shouted with disdain.


    "..."


    '' Don''t waste any of your time?!''


    '' Who was it that had to wait here for more than half a day?!''


    '' Sigh, all we, as the weak can do, is endure.''


    The people thought silently, wide smiles still plastered on their faces.


    Some parents let go of their daughters arms with trembling hands, showing their reluctance.


    While others offered their unwilling children up, either out of selfishness or greed.


    Even some middle aged women shamelessly went to the front.


    Levi observed silently.


    '' Should i used my silk to attack him now that he isn''t paying attention?'' He thought.


    ''....No. That coward is cautious.''


    '' I still haven''t seen any of the soldiers. While i did kill a lot of them, at least some should still be alive.''


    '' Do they really have nothing to do with this, then? Or did they find out about me?'' Levi thought silently.


    "....I will observe and wait for now." He mumbled to himself, as he watched the people moving and shifting, making way for each other.

 Chapter 96 Pay What You Owe

    "..." Levi''s gaze shited.


    '' Looking around frantically would be suspicious, so I have to do it calmly.''


    ''....Demon saint, are all of your puppets in the crowd?'' Levi asked after some thought.


    '' Yes. Having them out in the open would not be good. Although they aren''t rotting yet, their lifeless eyes and pale skin would still draw attention.'' The demon saint explained.


    '' Hehehe, I''m surprised he talked to me since he should still be wary of me.''


    '' i should screw with him a bit while he doesn''t know that using mental energy is all I can do, hehehe.'' The demon saint thought silently.


    '' still, though, this little bit of mental energy isn''t even a quarter of my original amount....'' The demon saint thought.


    .


    '' Hmm...I can''t use mental energy either since he would sense it.''


    '' The demon saint''s mental energy is thin, so the chances of him noticing it are not high.''


    '' I could try to do that, but another problem is the mental energy flame, it''s too eye-catching.'' Levi thought.


    '' Can I only wait? But for how long?'' Levi thought.


    He had waited for over half a day silently, without breaking a sweat.


    But when it came to waiting now, he was impatient.


    "...Hmm?" Levi suddenly had an idea.


    '' Maybe that might work.''


    His vision blurred, before only a few simple colors existed in the world he could see.


    ..


    At the front of the crowd.


    " Too ugly. Even if you''re a virgin, I would take a sheep over you! Get lost!" Elder rock shouted with annoyance.


    " Hehe, poor girl." The girl clinging to elder rock laughed lightly, with a few hidden meanings.


    A girl with short, rusty black hair failed to hold back her tears, as they rolled down her freckled face.


    " I didn''t even want to become your wife! If it wasn''t because of you, do you think I would even be here?!" The girl shouted while sobbing.


    she was humiliated and angry, causing her to forget her position.


    " You horny old man, why don''t you just leave us alone?! The previous sect master was-"


    Crack!


    " Aghhhhh!"


    A crushing pressure enveloped the girl, causing her to drop to her knees.


    When she felt her legs break on impact, it brought her back to reality.


    " help!...." She said weakly, as she turned her head to look at the people behind her.


    Without her noticing, the people surrounding her had long distanced themselves from her.


    "..." She looked around with tears in her eyes, tears filled with regret.


    Her eyes pleaded with the people around her for help.


    she looked around for someone who would defend her, but everyone avoided her gaze.


    "..." Even her old parents did this, causing her heart to sink.


    Only then did she realize that she was alone in the world.


    That she would die for saying things in a fit of rage, and that not even her parents would come to her defense.


    "...Haha.." Her eyes became crescents, as tears still squeezed from between them.


    A laugh filled with sadness echoed out lightly, as she resigned herself.


    " Hehe, how pitiful, she was abandoned by everyone." The girl holding elder rock laughed, but there was only pity in her eyes.


    " Aww, too bad."


    "..."


    " Why don''t you take her in out of pity~? C''mon, it was only a suggestion, no need to kill me with your glares~"


    Three of the four girls surrounding elder rock spoke, while clinging to him one after the other.


    " Hehe, don''t you think that you are touching the sect master a bit much?" The girl said, as her grip on elder rocks chest and back tightened.


    " Not as much as you~" The other girl replied, as she lightly rested her head on elder rock''s lap.


    " Aww, come on guys, don''t fight! sharing is better, isn''t it?" The last of the three girls said as she clutched elder rock''s arm, a light smile on her face.


    " No!" They both shouted at the same time.


    "..." The 4th girl sat silently, her hands resting neatly on her knees.


    From the time she arrived, she just gazed straight ahead without any expression.


    "...."


    " Sect master?" The girls, realizing that elder rock was silent, looked up, only to see his eyes slightly widened and his jaw slack.


    "...Beautiful...." He mumbled.


    In his eyes, the helpless smile of an abandoned girl was simply beautiful.


    Since this was the case, he would definitely have her.


    In his opinion, all beautiful women should belong to him, and him alone.


    " You, on second thought, from today onward, you will belong to me, as one of my wives!" Elder rock suddenly shouted.


    " Wha-"


    " Huh?!"


    The crowd shouted out in confusion.


    The pressure disappeared, but the girl''s expression didn''t change.


    She continued to smile silently.


    "....What are you all standing around for?! Don''t you see my wife in pain?!" Elder rock shouted, shocking the crowd of people.


    '' Aren''t you the one who said you would rather have a sheep for a wife?!''


    '' And you are the one who did this to her, so why don''t YOU get up and help her?!''


    '' Tsk, I shouldn''t have been so quick to distance myself!"


    " Daughter, are you ok?!" The girl''s parents suddenly shouted.


    " W-We will treat her right away!" The people hurriedly said as they began walking towards the girl.


    Their faces carried flattering smiles, as they shamelessly pretended as if nothing happened before.


    " What are you guys doing?!....Take her back to the sect and treat her!" Elder rock shouted.


    This confused the people of demonic city.


    In this time, the parents of the girl ran up to her, showing their concern, but she just kept smiling silently.


    "...As you wish." Two men walked out from somewhere and said.


    One of them lifted the girl easily, disregarding the frantic parents.


    They then turned around and began walking.


    " You guys....were you ignoring me just then?" Elder rock asked coldly in a hushed voice.


    "...No, sir." The two men said simply before continuing on their way.


    "...Humph! Continue!" Elder rock snorted.


    ..


    " Those men..." Levi mumbled to himself.


    '' I can''t really be sure because they weren''t wearing armor, but..." He paused.


    '' Even though they wore the demonic god sect''s robe, with that level of qi they should be soldiers....''


    '' It looked like they came from between those two buildings...''


    '' I looked at the buildings on both sides of this main street with my infrared vision, but they all appeared as an orangish-yellow color....''


    '' ....I assume that was because of trapped hot air....there were also a lot of tiny red blotches, but those were too small to be people...'' Levi thought silently.


    ''...But it wouldn''t hurt to make sure..'' Levi thought silently, as his hands became black and doubled in length.


    He channeled blood energy through his hands, causing red lines to appear on them.


    The tips of his fingers grew out into small threads.


    These threads snapped off as if they were cut, before burrowing into the ground, rotating as they easily dug through the dirt.


    Levi continued to do this until there were about 30 pieces of his silk digging towards the buildings on both sides of the street.


    ''....I feel light..'' He thought silently.


    He also stored a certain amount of venom in the strands of silk, just to be safe.


    '' If those tiny blotches are really soldiers, then I should be able to estimate where they are...''


    '' And even if I don''t stab them in any vital spots, with the venom in the silk, they will still die.'' He thought as a thick smoke escaped his body.


    He controlled it carefully, so as to not draw attention.


    The smoke gathered around his hands, before changing their appearance back to normal.


    " You....Who-What are you?" A voice caused Levi''s head to snap to the side.


    The youth who stood beside him looked down at him with his gloomy gaze.


    "..." A single thread of black silk began growing from Levi''s finger silently, cloaked by the smoke.


    He carefully hid his killing intent, as the thread, leaking a purple venom, grew closer to the youth''s neck.


    " Are you trying to do something to that sect master bastard?" The youth asked in a hushed voice, oblivious to the shadow of death looming over him.


    "....If I am?" Levi asked coldly, as he continued to direct the silk.


    " Then you should stop.....Although I would like nothing more than to see him dead in a ditch, reality is harsh." The youth said.


    " You will only be throwing your life away for nothing." The youth finished.


    "..." Levi''s eyes widened as silently looked at the youth.


    '' Is this person actually....concerned about my well-being?....No, that can''t be it. Even if that were the case, he still has to die.'' Levi thought coldly.


    Boom!


    Just as he was about to stab the thread through the youth''s neck, the front of the building on the left side of the street exploded, as debris flew.


    " Tch!" Levi clicked his tongue.


    '' I was so startled by this person that I momentarily forgot my real goal!'' Levi''s brows furrowed, as he peered through the dust cloud.


    '' I didn''t think that there were actually soldiers in these buildings, but that few second slip up alerted them!'' Levi thought, as his expression darkened.


    ''....No, this might be a good thing...'' After taking deep breaths to calm himself, Levi''s thoughts began churning once again.


    '' He''s adapting quickly, hehehe...'' The demon saint laughed curiously.


    The people of demonic city fearfully looked to the side.


    "....What are you doing? Why did you come out?" Elder rock''s cold gaze locked onto the building.


    "....We believe that we are being attacked." The muscular soldier who broke down the wall said.


    " Attacked? Who is it?" Elder rock asked coldly.


    " I don''t know, but these...things..came up through the floor....as for what they are, I don''t know." The soldier''s green armor reflected sunlight, as he held between his fingers a thread of Levi''s black silk.


    "..." Elder rock looked at the soldier silently.


    Boom!


    Without warning, he shot up from the cushion, as an eerie black qi poured from his body.


    An anchor-like hook made of this black qi shot out, stabbing through the soldier''s neck, pinning him to the wall of the wooden building.


    "...Do you people think I am a joke?"


    " I told you to discretely surround this place, but you instead burst through a building for all to see?" Elder rock asked coldly, as his now red eyes scanned the soldiers.


    ".....We weren''t supposed to come out, but you still called us out to take care of your new vagina..." A soldier mumbled.


    The soldier who was pinned to the wall by the hook grabbed at it while gargling blood, but it was pointless.


    " You! Who are you to kill one of us?!" One of the braver soldiers shouted.


    " You people are nothing more than ants that I decided to give shelter to, but you can''t even follow orders correctly." Elder rock said, as his gaze shifted.


    " The armies of the cloud continent are sweeping the countries as we speak, eliminating any remnants of you people from the Divine Dragon Continent!"


    " If I did not allow you to stay in the demonic god sect, all of you would be dead, and you ask me who am I to kill you?" Elder rock grabbed out towards the soldier.


    " ugh!"


    The black qi spiraled around the soldier''s neck, as it gradually grew tighter, choking him.


    "...We..gave you comp...ensa..tion..." The soldier said as the qi continued to tighten.


    "...Co..mand....er....el..p...." He managed to squeeze out after seeing that elder rock did not plan to stop.


    " I apologize for my subordinate''s rudeness, sect master, but could you let him go just this once?" A slim man walked from between two buildings on the opposite side of the street.


    He wore a simple gray and white robe.


    "..." Elder rock looked at the man silently, as a cracking sound rang out.


    " You..." Seeing that his words were disregarded, the smile vanished from the man''s face.


    The soldiers on both sides of the street came out onto it.


    " I am very grateful that you helped us in our time of need, but what do you think you are doing?" The slim man asked, as his pitch-black pupils locked on to elder rock''s face.


    " Do you think that you can kill anyone without consequence because you are in the heaven and earth stages?"


    " Do you think that you can win any fight just because your cultivation level is high?!" The man asked, as a strong, dark killing intent leaked from his body.


    " Anyone who is weaker than me has no right to complain about being killed by me." Elder rock said coldly, his words laced with arrogance.


    " Do I think that I can win any fight because of my high cultivation level?"


    " Are you trying to say that you, with your measly 5th level mind opening realm cultivation, can compete with my 4th level heaven and earth stage cultivation?" Elder rock looked down at the man coldly.


    " Commander, you should just kill this guy!"


    " Even without him and his tiny sect, we can survive in this cloud continent!"


    " The cloud continent soldiers are nothing to us!"


    " You can''t allow him to insult the great Divine Dragon Continent like this!"


    The man listened to his soldiers silently, as his gaze became cold.


    Puchi!


    Deng! Puchi!


    Crack! Puchi!


    Thump!


    " Aghh!"


    " what?! these- ugh!"


    " Those things! We forgot about them!"


    " Were they playing dead?!"


    " What are they!?"


    The sound of things slamming into metal rang out, as Levi''s silk easily pierced the green armor.


    Those who were lucky enough to notice the silk activated their defensive qi, but unluckily, it was shattered and pierced through easily.


    " Ahhhh!"


    " Kyaaa!"


    " Run! We will die if we stay!"


    " We''ll die if we get in between a fight with martial artists!"


    The people of demonic city could no longer take it, as they scattered, intent on getting away from the main street.


    "..." Levi skilfully controlled the threads.


    Every time he stabbed a soldier, he would release some venom into their bodies.


    " Hmm?" A slim man wearing only a white and gray robe caught his attention, as he shot one of the threads toward him.


    " Who or what is it?! Come out!" The slim man shouted with bloodshot eyes.


    '' What? I am sure I just stabbed through his head...'' Levi thought silently.


    As the people were still running around, neither the man nor elder rock found Levi.


    '' Demon saint!'' Levi called out.


    '' Hehehe, gotcha!'' The demon saint laughed.


    The 30 or so corpses of the soldiers that the demon saint controlled began running towards the platform where elder rock and the rest of the soldiers stood.


    " Huh?"


    " Hey! Those guys are!"


    Boom!


    Boulder sized explosions rippled out from the bodies of the puppets, as the ground trembled.


    Elder rock shielded himself and the four girls on the platform with qi, while the slim man retreated, leaving after images with every step.


    He could only drag the soldier that was right next to him by his hand while shielding himself with qi.


    Multiple smells permeated the air.


    The iron-like, raw smell of blood.


    The earthy scent of dirt.


    After the dust settled, both the slim man and elder rock looked in the same direction.


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    While all of the people from demonic city ran, one person stood in place and observed them silently.


    " Who are you?" The slim man asked coldly.


    Looking at the destruction caused by the explosions, and the number of broken body parts that littered the ground, the man suppressed his rage and asked.


    "..." Elder rock watched silently, as he stood protectively in front of the four girls.


    "..." The blood that was splattered on the ground by the explosions floated into the air, before flying towards Levi.


    Any broken body parts shriveled, as the blood floated towards Levi.


    Boom!


    " All of that and it only raised my blood energy level by one...." Levi mumbled.


    " You..." Elder rock squinted his eyes, as he scanned Levi''s face and body.


    " Humph! I was wondering which master attacked, but in the end, it was just a cockroach with the 9 lives of a cat!" Elder rock snorted, as his posture loosened.


    " Who is he?" The slim man cast a sidelong glance at elder rock.


    " Humph!" Elder rock simply snorted, ignoring the question.


    " A nice sunset...." Levi said as he looked at the reddish sunset.


    " A beautiful eveningfor you to die, don''t you think?" Levi asked as a smile crept onto his face.


    He touched his face, causing the smoke to dissipate, removing the hump from his nose, along with his enlarged cheekbones and reverting his eyes to their normal size.


    " Hehehe..." He laughed coldly, as the red returned to his hair, from the roots to the ends.


    While the color returned, the knot became undone, causing his hair to fall loosely.


    " You owe me a life, and I''ve come to collect!" As Levi said this, his eyes slowly regained their glowing golden color, as a powerful killing intent erupted from his body.

 Chapter 97 Ba-Dump!

    "....Ha..haha....ahahahhaha!" Elder rock laughed out loudly, as a strong killing intent leaked from his body.


    " I''m happy to see you again, Levi!" Elder rock said with a tender smile.


    "..." Levi silently watched elder rock.


    '' Hey, hey, why did you reveal yourself?'' The demon saint asked in a bored tone.


    He wanted to find out if Levi did it for a reason, or if it was done on a whim.


    "...A sneak attack wouldn''t work him, so the only option I had was to reveal myself." Levi said softly.


    " Even if I got close to him, and surprised him with an attack, the chances of me injuring or killing him would be very low....." Levi explained.


    " Remember when I stabbed the heaven and earth stage cultivator from behind on desolate mountain?" Levi asked.


    '' Uh-huh?'' the demon saint answered.


    " That was only possible because he was focusing fully on me. On what was in front of him."


    " The idea that I could somehow stab him from behind didn''t even pass through his head."


    " He thought that he would be able to kill me easily and let his guard down."


    " You probably already know, but from what I have seen, defensive qi doesn''t activate automatically."


    " But when it comes to this guy, he always has his guard up....so killing him by surprise would be very difficult." Levi explained softly.


    '' Is that so? Hehehe...'' The demon saint laughed curiously.


    " On the other hand, if my sneak attack failed, he would have attacked me before I could properly defend myself..." Levi continued.


    '' Hehehe...'' The demon saint laughed in response.


    " I really missed you, you know!" Elder rock shouted, covering his eyes as if to hide tears.


    " Knowing that you were still alive, I have been sleeping with one eye open, just in case!" He continued.


    " Other people might have put you in the back of their minds, but not me! Forgetting about someone like you would be stupid..." he said, as his gaze landed on Levi.


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    "...That is why I am overwhelmed with joy now that you are here....Now, I can kill you....And don''t even think about escaping this time." Elder rock''s voice was overflowing with emotion until he reached the final sentence.


    As he spoke the last sentence, his eyes became bright red, as a black qi forcefully poured from his body.


    " See what I mean? The thought of sneak attacking him gives me the chills..." Levi mumbled.


    ''...'' The demon saint grinned silently.


    "...These things are strong against blunt force attacks, huh..." Levi mumbled softly, as he recalled the pieces of silk to his body.


    " You stole the old man''s cultivation technique, didn''t you?" Levi asked.


    " Stole? No, no, no, nothing of the sort!" Elder rock waved his hands in refutation.


    " The dead have no belongings, do they?" He asked as he glared down provokingly at Levi.


    "..." Levi''s gaze chilled, as all 24 levels of blood energy exploded from his body.


    " Hahaha, you have gotten stronger since the last time I saw you, but in front of an elephant, no matter how strong an ant, it will still be crushed all the same!" Elder rock shouted.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' Hehehe, what will you do? Explode in anger in reaction to his provocation? Or try to suppress your anger?'' The demon saint thought silently, his grin widening.


    " Haha, was that supposed to make me explode in anger?" Levi asked dryly.


    " If you are trying to piss me off by talking shit about the old man, then don''t. It is pointless." Levi shook his head lightly.


    " Now if you are trying to piss me off by telling me how weak I am in comparison to you...hahaha!" Levi laughed loudly.


    " I just came from killing a few heaven and earth stage cultivators, so I know that I AM getting stronger."


    " The only thing I could say I am dissatisfied with, is the fact that their blood either evaporated or they turned into ash."


    " So please, when I kill you, don''t turn into ash." Levi said with a pleading gaze.


    '' Haw haw haw, he''s a natural at provocation. Although what he said was true, who would believe it? Hehehe...'' The demon saint commented.


    "...Humph!" Elder rock looked down at Levi coldly, as he swiftly formed an anchor-like hook.


    The hook shot towards Levi, but was intersected by Levi''s blood energy sword shape.


    Boom!


    The two clashed, as a small shockwave rippled out.


    After a few second clash, Levi''s blood energy sword shape was pushed back, as the hook shot towards him.


    "...Tch!" Levi clicked his tongue, as the saber appeared in his hand.


    Clank! Crack!


    He easily shattered the hook with his blood energy coated saber.


    " I guess I should only do what I am used to doing..." Levi mumbled.


    "...Just don''t know when to die.." Elder rock spoke with annoyance.


    "...You took the words out of my mouth!" Levi''s cold gaze expressed his irritation.


    "...alright...Alright....ALRIGHT!" An annoyed voice caused both Levi and elder rock to shift their gazes.


    " Who is he- who are you?" The slim man asked elder rock as he pointed at Levi.


    "..."


    "..."


    Both elder rock and Levi kept silent.


    ".....ha....Haha.....HAHAHAHAHA! I look funny, don''t I? I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING JOKE DON''T I?!" The man shouted as a maelstrom of light-green qi erupted from his body.


    " First! This fucking bastard kills my people in front of me while disregarding what I said!"


    " And then, whoever this fucker is, comes out of nowhere, and blows up THE REST of my men, except for the one I was barely able to drag to safety!"


    " So I have to know, I look hilarious, DON''T I?!" The man shouted with bloodshot eyes.


    "..."


    "..."


    Elder rock and Levi still kept silent.


    "..." The man''s gaze shifted between the two of them.


    " Ahahahahaha! ok, ok...." He paused.


    ".... I hope you made peace with your lives and asked for forgiveness, because while god might forgive, I fucking don''t!" The man shouted, as two large sword lights shot towards elder rock and Levi respectively.


    Booom!


    The ground shook as debris flew.


    The wooden platform was broken into multiple pieces, as a large dust cloud loomed.


    Where Levi stood, only a large cloud of dust could be seen.


    "..." The dust slowly cleared, revealing elder rock and the four girls floating safely just above the demolished platform.


    "..." Elder rock''s jaw was clenched tightly, veins bulging visibly on his forehead as he glared murderously at the man.


    ".....Why are you lashing out at me? He killed 10 times more of your men than me."Elder rock said while forcing down his anger.


    " Humph! And now he is dead, which leaves only you! he got off easy, but I will make you suffer!" The man shouted, as his ink-black eyes locked onto elder rock.


    " Him? Dead? From just that? Don''t flatter yourself!" Elder rock sneered.


    " Who are you trying to fool? This might not be enough to kill someone like you, but a weakling of his level would be killed instant-" Before he could finish, the rest of the word got stuck in his throat.


    The dust around Levi slowly cleared, revealing his wounded figure.


    He stood with his saber at an angle in front of him.


    His left hand supported it from behind, coated with blood energy.


    "....Hou?" Levi said softly, as the blood energy left both his arm and the saber.


    A light gash went across his left forearm, while the blade of the saber was chipped deeply.


    " Why do you people always destroy my robes?" Levi asked with irritation, as he looked down at his sleeve.


    "...Ok, I will come and kill you when I am finished with this one." Veins bulged on the slim man''s forehead, as his bloodshot eyes widened.


    "....Do you know, boy?" The man asked.


    "..." Levi kept silent, as the man walked step by step toward him.


    " About that place?" He continued.


    " About that treacherous land of martial arts?!" The man shouted.


    " I obtained a few skills from that place....." He paused.


    "....From that supercontinent, the Jade Sword Continent!"


    "...!" Levi tensed slightly.


    " And trust me when I say..." The man paused.


    " ?!"


    "....They are nothing like the shit skills you see on this cloud continent!" The man appeared in front of Levi, leaving a string of afterimages in his wake.


    " Grim reaper sword!" He shouted as he slashed out.


    Booom!!


    In the blink of an eye, Levi was sent crashing through a building on the left side of the street.


    The building couldn''t withstand the force and collapsed in on itself.


    "...This brat....he blocked it.." The man glared down at his blood-soaked sword as he mumbled.


    "...Humph, I doubt that fool is dead, but in the meantime..." Elder rock mumbled as he turned around to face the four girls.


    " Where do you think you''re going?" The slim man asked coldly.


    "..." Elder rock glared over his shoulder at the man, as he lowered himself and the girls out of the sky.


    " You seem to think that you are what is keeping me here, but let me make something clear, that undying fucker over there is the only reason I am here!" Elder rock pointed to the collapsed building.


    " I don''t care who kills him, as long as he ends up dead! So if you are going to kill him, then do it quickly so that I can go home to my wife!" Elder rock said arrogantly.


    " What makes you think that you will be able to leave?" The man''s expression darkened.


    " Because I know for a fact that you are easier to kill than him!" Elder rock shouted confidently.


    " Yo- " The man was about to retort but was interrupted.


    boom!


    Everything from broken wooden beams to roof tiles flew, as debris exploded outward.


    "..." Levi looked down at his right forearm.


    '' Fast....Extremely fast!'' He thought silently.


    '' I wanted to block with the saber, but his attack was so fast that I was forced to shield myself with blood energy. And even with that, I still got this deep gash on my arm....'' Levi thought silently.


    '' Another thing was its power....this guy doesn''t look like a fleshly cultivator, so that leaves only one possibility...'' Levi paused.


    "....A skill!" He shouted.


    "....That''s right, it was a skill...." The man paused.


    "...The problem is, you should be dead...." He finished.


    " Dead? Hahaha, I can''t die yet!"


    " I haven''t done any of the things that I promised myself I would do! So, of course, I''m not going to die." Levi grinned, as the blood flowing down his face seeped back into his body.


    " Humph!" The man snorted.


    "!"


    Boom!


    A multitude of after images lined the street, as the man once again sent Levi soaring.


    He rolled on the street for a while before stopping.


    "..hmm..."


    Levi got up much faster this time.


    ''....He is doing something....what is it...'' Levi thought silently, as he stretched his neck.


    '' Want this demon to tell you? Hehe.'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Demon saint....'' Levi mumbled softly.


    ''...If this crafty bastard could do anything, he would have done it already... I shouldn''t worry too much about this. Let''s just focus on what is before me right now...'' Levi thought silently.


    '' What is he doing?'' Levi asked.


    '' Qi control!'' The demon saint shouted.


    '' Qi control?....'' Levi thought back to when he practiced controlling his qi.


    '' He is using qi to control on his body, to a certain extent.'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent.


    This just confused him even more.


    " Tch, just die!" The man left behind after images, as he appeared beside Levi.


    "....hmm?"


    Boom!


    "....So that is why!" Levi shouted.


    He stood in place, as his wings shielded his neck from the man''s sword.


    " I felt the impact!" Levi shouted.


    "....So what?" The man asked coldly.


    " I don''t know about this qi control, but.... I know the secret to the power behind those attacks." Levi said as he cast a sidelong glance at the man.


    " Humph! Like hell you do! Grim reaper sword!" The man shouted.


    " Blood gate!" Levi shouted, as the blood gate formed behind him.


    Clank! Shatter!


    " So I was right! You swing your sword twice, at a speed impossible to see!" Levi shouted with understanding.


    "..." Veins bulged on the man''s forehead, as he looked at the chip in his sword.


    " When I blocked you with my wings just now, it was faint, but I felt the impact of your sword twice." Levi said calmly.


    "...Thanks.." Levi dropped the hilt of his broken saber.


    " So what if you know?! Did you think that you would be able to do it just after finding out how it works?!" The man shouted.


    " I just did it. Oh, but it was a good thing I used the blood gate too, otherwise I might have been cut in half..." Levi mumbled to himself with almost sparkling eyes.


    " I wouldn''t have been able to do it with my body''s physical strength alone, after all." Levi said.


    ".....Fine, then! keep mocking me!" The man shouted, as he held his sword with both hands and lifted it over his head.


    " Grim Reaper''s Sword: Heaven Cleaving Scythe!" The man shouted as he lowered his sword.


    As it lowered, the sword left behind multiple after images.


    " !" Levi was extremely alarmed.


    The air around the man was in disarray, as stuff and small rocks were blasted away from his sides.


    Vivivi!


    A large, green sword-light lowered from the sky at an angle.


    "!!" As Levi saw this, he instantly sprung into action.


    His hands became black, as they doubled in length.


    the blood gate behind him dissipated, as he channeled blood energy through his body.


    Vivivivivi!


    The sword light slammed down toward him, causing his body, from his knees up, to bend back.


    He blocked with his wings as blood energy coursed through them, along with his hands which were strengthened with blood energy.


    His wings were his first layer of defense, while his hands were the second layer and the leftover blood energy shielding his body was the third layer.


    Boom!


    " Kuh!!"


    Even with all of that, he was slammed into the ground by the sword light.


    " Haaaaaaa!"


    He pushed back against the sword light with everything he had.


    Crack!


    " Haaaa!" His gaze shifted for a few seconds.


    He quickly mended his broken bone and continued to push back against the sword light.


    " Cough! I will not die!" Levi shouted, ignoring the blood that was spat onto his face, as his eyes shined resolutely.


    " AHHHHHHHH!!" He shouted as he pushed against the sword light.


    Light cracking sounds rang out as some of his ribs broke from the pressure of being forced into the ground by the sword light.


    " aaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Levi''s voice became hoarse from shouting, but he still continued.


    BOOOM!


    " Huff!! Huff!! Huff!!" Levi lay on the ground breathing heavy after redirecting the sword light.


    " Huff!! Huff!" He glanced down at his right arm which was now broken.


    He then glanced beside himself, only to see a wide and deep crevasse.


    " So...Huff!! This is what a skill is like!! Huff!! That old man from desolate mountain had to give up his life for this amount of power!! Huff!! haha!" Levi''s body was in a state, but he laughed from the bottom of his heart.


    " Cough! Heuk! Cough! Cough!" The man began coughing mouthful after mouthful of blood.


    He was barely standing with the help of his sword.


    " That technique is still too much for me...." He mumbled.


    "....tsk, he''s still alive....but I can''t be worrying about that now...that bastard over there will definitely attack now that I have expended my strength..." The man mumbled to himself.


    " Ugh...Hehe...." Levi groaned softly as he slowly got up from the ground.


    He clenched his broken right arm, as he looked at the man with a smile.


    The blood around his mouth seeped back into his body.


    " Humph, I will let you smile for now...hypnotizing steps." The man said, as after images followed his retreating figure.


    Fwoosh! Boom!


    With a flap of his wings, Levi arrived beside the man easily, leaving a small shockwave behind him.


    Blood energy swiftly gathered at his back.


    " You can''t run after reducing me to this state!" Levi shouted as he kicked out.


    Boom!


    With his physical strength increased by the blood gate, and his wings that were boosted with blood energy, the man was sent crashing into a building.


    The fingernails on his left hand grew out, as he slashed out, sending large wind blades embedded with blood energy towards the building.


    This sped up its collapse.


    Boom!


    " Cough! Ugh...."


    Bang!


    The sound of something dropping heavily rang out.


    As the dust cleared, the man''s figure could be seen.


    The rubble surrounded him, but it looked like only one wood beam had hit him.


    " Huff! Huff!" He leaned against the only wall that was still standing, clutching his sword in one hand, and his broken leg in the other.


    " Hehehe." Levi laughed as he walked toward the house.


    " Are you afraid? Of death, I mean." Levi asked, as his grin widened.


    " Are you going to beg for your life? That would be pointless." Levi said.


    " Hahaha, the demon saint might be rubbing off on me, because I can''t seem to stop laughing." Levi rubbed his temples, as he continued to walk.


    ".....Any last words?" Levi asked as he looked down at the man.


    ''... I only saved a bit of qi to escape, but I had to use it just now to protect myself from the collapsing building....'' The man thought silently.


    '' Even with that though, my leg was broken by that wooden beam when my qi ran out....'' He looked down at his leg.


    ''....There is no way for me to get away from here, not with this leg....that guy that I saved...his life is probably forfeit too...'' The man thought calmly.


    " Any last words...huh.." He mumbled as he squeezed his eyes shut.


    ".....Fuck you...you monster!" As he looked into those glowing golden eyes, and at the bloodthirsty grin plastered on Levi''s face, these were the only words that came to his mind.


    Puchi!


    One of Levi''s wings stabbed through the man, killing him instantly.


    " I will make sure to carve that on your tombstone." Levi said, as the grin slowly disappeared from his face.


    " Demon saint...." Levi called out.


    '' Hmm?'' The demon saint answered.


    " I....can''t seem to smile.....if I am not in this kind of situation....what does that mean? Am i....some kind of monster?" Levi asked.


    That line, " a demon hated by all" still haunted him.


    He pushed it to the back of his mind multiple times and even convinced himself that it didn''t matter, but he still couldn''t get it out of his head.


    ''.....Hehehe, I can''t answer that question. only you alone can answer that particular question, Hehehehehe....'' The demon saint said.


    "..." Levi stood in silence for a few seconds, before lightly shaking his head.


    " There is still time....I can put off answering that question for a while more, I am not at that stage yet...." Levi mumbled.


    The man''s body shriveled, as Levi absorbed his blood with his wing.


    Ba-dump!


    " H-Huh?" Levi found himself in a dark place as his body pulsed.


    In the center of this place, a small ball of light sat, with one leaf sticking out from it on a stem.


    The ripples emanating from the ball of light increased, as an identical leaf slowly formed.


    Along with the leaf, roots began growing under the ball of light.


    Instead of growing straight down, these roots spread out wide, with some just below the surface of the water-like darkness.


    " Did I just....absorb his skill along with his blood?" Levi mumbled.

 Chapter 98 Savage Red Raven

    ''...So, which of his skills did I absorb?'' Levi looked down at the ball of light.


    ''.....Sigh, nothing is ever easy.'' He sighed.


    "..." He found himself back in demonic city as he opened his eyes.


    Step. Step.


    He walked from the destroyed house.


    "...Kept me waiting long enough." Elder rock snorted.


    "..." Levi looked around.


    ''....Something feels off.'' He thought.


    '' The sky looks kind of....dark?'' He glanced up.


    "....What did you do?" Levi asked without emotion.


    " Hehehe, wouldn''t you like to know." Elder rock laughed.


    Puft!


    A Semi-Transparent wave of black mental energy emanated from Levi''s mental energy flame.


    "...His qi is spread all over this place....what is that bastard playing at?" Levi mumbled to himself.


    "....Whatever." Levi said.


    Boom!


    His foot slammed heavily into the ground.


    Blood energy coated his right arm, as his left hand became black and doubled in length.


    '' Are you planning to fight with your arm broken?'' The demon saint asked.


    "....I don''t have enough excess blood to heal it, so I don''t have a choice." Levi said softly.


    '' Hmm? But didn''t you just heal your other arm?'' The demon saint questioned once again.


    " I don''t know how it works in detail but, if I use more than the leftover blood for anything, my blood energy level will drop."


    " This happened not too long ago." Levi looked down at his arm.


    '' That guy is planning something, but....'' Levi paused.


    "..." He kept silent as his leg muscles bulged under his robes.


    "!!!"


    Levi shot toward elder rock swiftly.


    " Humph!" Elder rock snorted, as black qi surrounded him.


    "..." Levi silently punched out with his right arm.


    " Black vortex!" Elder rock shouted.


    The black qi spiraled around Levi''s fist, stopping it in place.


    " Humph." Raising his left hand, Levi snorted.


    Glowing red lines adorned his hand, as he slashed down.


    Elder rock lifted a qi sword shape to block Levi''s attack.


    Crack!


    "..." The sword shape shattered on contact, causing Elder rock''s expression to dim.


    Levi''s fingers tore through elder rock''s robes, along with his flesh, leaving 5 deep gashes across his chest.


    Elder rock jumped back, opening some distance.


    " You are not getting away." With a flap of his wings, Levi appeared before elder rock once more.


    He stabbed out with his left hand at full force.


    Deng!!!


    " Hmmm?!"


    A black wall without a fixed shape appeared in front of Elder rock, blocking Levi''s attack.


    " Black Demon Domain!" Elder rock shouted from behind it, his eyes glowing a deep red.


    "..." Blood energy gathered around Levi''s leg, as his body spun.


    Boom!!!


    A shockwave rippled out.


    Levi kicked out at the wall with all of his strength, but it just changed shape, blocking him seemingly effortlessly.


    " You''ve lost your momentum." Elder rock sneered.


    The black wall warped to allow Levi to see Elder rock''s face.


    " You''ve also lost your chance to kill me...." Elder rock paused.


    " Black giants..heed my call...As the supreme ruler in my domain, I order you...come out and kill for me!" Elder rock shouted.


    Rumble!!


    The ground trembled as a ghastly black qi rose from it.


    " You! How can you use such a large amount of qi?!" Levi shouted as veins bulged on his forehead in anger.


    " Humph!" Elder rock snorted as he glared at Levi, ignoring the line of blood flowing from his mouth.


    " I would pay attention if I were you!" Elder rock sneered.


    " Hmm?" Levi looked back through the corner of his eyes.


    Behind him stood 5 black humanoid creatures with glowing red eyes.


    These creatures were twice the height and width of regular adults, easily towering over elder rock himself.


    "....ah?" Levi glared.


    4 of the giants collapsed into formless qi, rolling like fog towards Levi.


    They materialized once again after closing in on Levi.


    The air around Levi trembled as he blocked the attacks of the four giants.


    His wings blocked a punch and a kick respectively, while he stopped a kick with his left hand.


    His blood energy coated leg stopped the last giant''s punch easily.


    "!!!"


    Alarm bells went off in his head as the final giant appeared behind him.


    Booom!!


    " Kuh!!"


    The ground quaked as Levi''s blood shield barely held up against the giant''s powerful attack.


    "...That bastard!" Levi forced out.


    '' Ahahahaha, he gave one of them all of the power, and baited you by having the weaker ones attack first! I love it!'' The demon saint laughed out happily.


    " What are you laughing at?!" Levi shouted.


    Even under the blood shield, he was still pinned to the ground by the pressure of the fist.


    " AAAUOHHHHHHHH" The giant roared.


    '' Now!'' Levi swiftly shot out from under the blood shield as the giant retracted its fist.


    The giant dematerialized before reappearing beside Levi almost instantly.


    " Fool! Did you forget where you are?! As long as you are in this dome of qi, no matter where you go, my giants will follow you!" Elder rock shouted vehemently.


    '' Tsk!''


    Booom!


    Levi was knocked from the sky by a large fist.


    His body was pushed to its limit as he landed on his feet.


    " Ugh!"


    Veins bulged on his aching body, as he swallowed a mouthful of blood.


    '' Hmm?'' Levi reached into the spatial ring before pulling out a dagger with a golden handle.


    He lengthened it with blood energy, using its blade as the foundation.


    " Heheh..." Levi laughed.


    In an instant, the giant appeared before him.


    Levi moved to the side in an attempt to dodge, but it was pointless as the giant kicked out.


    Using his wings as a shield, Levi was once again knocked away.


    " Humph." Levi snorted softly, as he flapped his wings backward, stopping himself easily.


    "I thought you were smarter." Levi said as he lowered himself from the sky.


    " Hmmm?! there is...." Elder rock mumbled.


    " Giant! Kill him now!" Elder rock shouted with bloodshot eyes.


    " Stop." Levi spoke coldly, as the tip of his wing curled around a girl''s neck.


    " Youuu!!!" Elder rock bellowed as the giant stopped in its tracks.


    " If these things were so important to you, then why didn''t you move them to a safer place?" Levi glanced down at the 4 girls.


    " What kind of man are you? Despicable!!"


    " Coward! Coward!! Coward!!!"


    " Save me!!"


    "..."


    The girl with Levi''s wing around her neck kept silent.


    " Let them go. They are not part of this fight!" Elder rock trembled with anger.


    " Oh? But I beg to differ!" Levi shouted with snide laughter.


    " Now stick out your neck! You DO want to save these girls, don''t you?" Levi sneered disdainfully.


    " If you don''t let them go-" Elder rock was interrupted.


    Thump!


    A head fell to the ground.


    " My hand slipped." Levi said in a regretful tone.


    " Kyaaa!"


    " Hurry and save me!!"


    Two of the 3 remaining girls shouted.


    "..." Veins bulged on elder rocks face, but he kept silent.


    ".....I''m sorry. I can''t save you." He suddenly spoke.


    " What? You-" One of the girls shouted as all hope drained from her face.


    " Please, die for my sake." Elder rock said as he looked up, his eyes red from anger.


    '' It seems negotiations have broken down! hahaha!'' The demon saint laughed.


    " So it seems!" Levi smiled.


    In the end, people would still choose themselves over others.


    This firsthand experience put him at ease.


    " Black demon domain; Weapons world!" Elder rock shouted.


    Black qi rose from the ground, forming weapons of different sizes and shapes, mainly blades.


    " But what can you do?" Levi said as the blood beside him was sucked into his body.


    His wings disappeared into his body.


    Threads of silk grew out from his hand, as thick smoke rose from his body.


    Two copies of himself were formed quickly.


    " Cheap tricks!" Elder rock shouted as the giants shot out.


    The four weaker giants dematerialized and formed one stronger one, wielding two greatswords.


    Boom!


    " Is that the case?" Levi grinned as he and his copies simultaneously blocked the two giants.


    ''...Why do I have to do this?!'' The demon saint protested, as he moved Levi''s copies with mental energy.


    " Did you forget that if I die, you die?" Levi asked.


    '' I don''t care! I''m resigned to my fate!'' The demon saint said in a spoiled tone.


    " Stop complaining! Just have them dodge its attacks!" Levi shouted.


    Crack!


    The giant Levi fought now wielded a large glaive.


    Levi''s blood energy sword cracked from its heavy attack.


    Puft!


    " Humph! Annoying!" Levi snorted.


    Large fist-sized balls of mental energy formed around him and shot in all directions.


    Levi parried another attack as he repaired the crack in his sword.


    " Hmm? One of my copies were destroyed. Are you doing your job demon saint?" Levi questioned.


    '' Since when was this my job?!'' The demon saint retorted.


    " They are just distractions anyway." Levi glanced through the corner of his eye.


    '' If you ask a question, listen to the answer dammit!'' The demon saint shouted.


    '' Ahhh!!'' The demon saint shouted.


    " What now?" Levi sighed.


    '' Shut up! You don''t know how it feels to have your mental energy disrupted by a goddamn qi giant!'' The demon saint shouted.


    " Alright, alright." Wings appeared at his back once more as he shot into the sky.


    " Flying is pointless!" Elder rock shouted.


    Multiple weapon shapes shot towards Levi from all directions.


    "...Give me a break." Levi cursed under his breath.


    The blood gate behind him dematerialized, as blood energy exploded from his body.


    It spiraled, shielding him.


    The blood energy then spread out thinly.


    " Fool!" Elder rock shouted.


    Black qi began climbing up to the sky.


    "..." Levi looked down at him from the sky.


    " What happens when you mix mental energy and qi, do you know?" Levi shouted down at Elder rock.


    "?!"


    " Boom." Levi said softly.


    Booom!! Booom!!!


    Multiple black and white explosions rippled out.


    The ground quaked as shockwaves tore through the air.


    '' You are crazy, do you know that?'' The demon saint laughed.


    " Hehe, more so than you think." Levi mumbled.


    Booom!!!!


    The blood energy withdrew slightly before exploding into blood flames, engulfing Levi.


    Some buildings were destroyed from the force of the explosion, swept away like leaves in a breeze.


    ...


    A few seconds later.


    " Cough! Heuk!" The sound of uncontrollable coughing rang out.


    " Fuck! If he wanted to blow himself up, he should have done it alone!!" Elder rock shouted.


    His robe was now tattered and torn.


    He had multiple wounds on his body causing blood to stain his rags.


    " Where are those sect elders anyway?! A fight of this scale so close to the sect and those bastards don''t even bother to show up? When I get back!!" Elder rock said grumbled.


    " Get back? Where are you getting back to?" A weak voice rang out.


    "?!" Elder rock swiftly shifted his gaze.


    " You are still alive? Can''t you even kill yourself right?!" Elder rock shouted.


    " Me? Kill myself? I don''t have time for that kind of nonsense!!" Levi shouted.


    His skin was pale as sweat poured down his face.


    His breathing was rushed as he stood in the sky.


    '' That took a lot out of me, but I achieved the desired result.'' Levi thought.


    " You are barely hanging on by a thread! Why don''t you just let me kill you?" Elder rock grinned.


    " Take a look around you before you speak." Levi said coldly.


    " What?" Elder rock''s eyes narrowed.


    "..." He looked around silently.


    " What?! My domain?!? It''s gone?!" Elder rock shouted.


    " Did you think I was just randomly blowing things up? Haha, maybe if it was the me from a few months ago." Levi began to slowly lower from the sky.


    " Since that domain of yours was just a giant ball of qi, then all I had to do was disrupt it enough for the qi to scatter."


    " And since you just used such a large scale technique, I''m guessing that you can''t gather that scattered qi. Hehehe." Levi laughed lightly.


    " I outdid myself this time. I feel like I could fall over at any moment. But, do you know what keeps me going?" Levi asked as he began walking.


    " The thought of killing you, such a satisfying thought. The thought of my strength increasing after I absorb your blood." Levi said.


    " I would love to go and slaughter the sun and cloud sects too, but I don''t think I will do that."


    " I mean, I was reduced to this weakened state by just YOU." Levi said.


    " This game was fun, but it''s time for it to end." Levi said as he stopped before elder rock.


    " Humph! Do you think I will wash my neck for you? Keep dreaming. Black demon sacrifice!" Elder rock shouted.


    The tips of his fingers began to disintegrate, as qi flooded his body.


    Thump! Puchi!


    Elder rock''s arms and legs flew, as Levi''s hand stabbed through his stomach, destroying his dantian.


    " Didn''t I say not to turn into ash?" Levi asked coldly.


    " Cough!" Elder rock threw up blood with bits and pieces of his organs.


    "....You were always too impulsive....Black demon''z curse...." He said weakly, with an unsteady gaze.


    " Kuh..." Levi dropped him quickly.


    "..." On his arm, a circular black crest began to form but disappeared halfway.


    " Tsk, it feels like I lost....i wonder if I am just the kind of person who can''t be happy." Levi mumbled.


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    " Whatever." Elder rock''s blood left his body as Levi absorbed it.


    Boom!


    Boom!!


    Boom!!!


    Boom!


    4 blood energy explosions rippled from Levi''s body.


    " My blood energy is at level 28..." Levi mumbled.


    " Yo-You killed him...." A small voice rang out from a ways behind Levi.


    "..." He looked back silently.


    " You killed him....You killed him! You bastard, why did you kill him?!" The girl shouted.


    " I was going to live a good life! I gave up my purity to that old man in return for status, but look what you did!!" The girl bit into her lip, causing beads of blood to flow out.


    " Dammit! dammit! you bastard! I''ll kill you! I swear I will hunt you down and kil-" Her voice suddenly stopped.


    Levi flicked his wrist, causing the blood energy sword to fly out.


    It stabbed right through the girl''s chest.


    " Are you going to hunt me down too?" Levi pointed at the two remaining girls with the sword after recalling it.


    " N-No!" One of them said with a trembling voice.


    "....I don''t believe you." Levi Slashed out with his hand, causing 5 wind blades to shoot out.


    Crack!


    " Wait."


    One of the girls shielded herself with qi, blocking Levi''s wind blades.


    " Hmm?"


    '' The silent girl...'' Levi thought.


    " I can be useful." She said monotonously.


    "....Are you telling me not to kill you?" Levi asked.


    " I can be useful." The girl expressionlessly said once again.


    "....Accept this mental energy seed." Levi said.


    She silently accepted the mental energy seed without a change in expression or a flicker of emotion.


    ''....And I thought I was cold..no, cold doesn''t describe her....empty? Empty as her deep black hair....and I thought I was empty...'' Levi thought.


    ''.....In any case, this is weird....my bloodlines aren''t acting up, but...'' He paused.


    " I don''t know how to explain it, but....it feels like...if they did act up at this moment.... I wouldn''t be able to do anything about it...." Levi mumbled.


    " Although I feel pain when they act up...I also feel like I can forcefully control them if I need to, because of that pain...somehow.."


    " If that pain were to disappear, I wouldn''t...I don''t think I would be able to suppress them....just that thought alone...is extremely scary..." He looked down at his clenched fist.


    " Not being in control of my bloodlines...would be truely, very sca...." As he said this, a wave of dizziness overcame him.


    His back bulged, as two featherless wings sprouted from it.


    Black feathers began growing on these wings, as his back bent.


    Before his body changed any further, the featherless wings suddenly collapsed into blood.


    Blood poured out from all over Levi''s body.


    "..." The girl watched this scene expressionlessly from a distance.


    Levi was submerged in a large ball of blood many times bigger than himself.


    In this ball of blood, his body slowly changed.


    By the time all of the blood disappeared, Levi was no longer there.


    Instead, there was a large red raven.


    It''s savage mirror red eyes glistened.


    " AWUKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!"


    It cried loudly, as it flapped its large wings.


    Powerful wind blades shot out in all directions.


    The air trembled in its presence.


    The raven then flew off.

 Chapter 99 2 Years Later

    "..Huff....Huff.." Light pants echoed.


    Qi formed delicate patterns.


    Multiple patterns were formed and stacked.


    A black, mostly transparent mental energy then coated the pattern.


    The pattern was then carefully directed toward a rectangular metal disk.


    It passed through the disk''s surface, following which, a glowing mark resembling it appeared on its surface.


    " See how it works then." An aged voice echoed out.


    " Hmm." Sounded a younger voice.


    Qi poured through the air toward the inscription.


    Vivivi!


    The disk vibrated lightly.


    Crack!


    The inscription, along with the metal disk cracked.


    The pieces shot into multiple directions.


    " Are you trying to kill this old man in his old age, boy?" Old gray shifted his head, as a piece of metal flew by.


    " Wasn''t it you who told me to test the inscription?" Levi asked as his blood shield caught the shrapnel.


    " Ahh? Is that disrespect flowing from your mouth?" Old gray asked.


    " H-How could I!-"


    " I Should die a thousand deaths!!"


    " Even if this insignificant one''s life isn''t nearly enough to make up for such a crime, I-I!" Levi slammed his forehead into the sewing table in apology.


    " Ok, stop." Old gray''s face scrunched in disgust.


    " I will never get used to seeing your expressionless face showing emotion, it''s surprisingly creepy." Old gray said unhappily.


    " Again, it was you who prompted my actions." Levi said calmly, as he straightened his back.


    Rumble!


    The room shook, while tools chattered.


    " Hmm? Another earthquake..." Levi''s gaze shifted.


    " Humph! Acting in front of this old man!"


    " You have improved during these two years, but your success rate for inscriptions is still only about 49%, roughly!"


    " This is what happens when you try to focus on multiple things as a cultivator!" Old gray pointed at Levi, ignoring the spectacle.


    " You say that, but why is it that you look so satisfied when taking my money?" Levi asked with a disbelieving expression.


    " Humph, desperately begging for this great one to teach you, bringing a few gold coins with every visit is nothing in comparison!" Old gray, with his eyes closed and arms crossed, shook his head.


    " You are finally going senile, hmm, old man?" Levi smirked.


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    " Enough of this. Here." Old gray placed a blueish-white crystal-like material onto the table.


    Frost grew on the table''s surface instantly.


    " This thing is the stump of an ice crystal tree I got years ago from an ice continent." Old gray pointed at the fist-sized crystal.


    " And?" Levi asked as he picked it up with his blood energy-coated hand.


    " Humph! Use it for an inscription. now." Old gray said.


    "....Didn''t you tell me that I had to be at your level before I could break down materials and use them in inscriptions?" Levi eyed old gray with suspicion.


    " Did I say that? Anyway, do as I tell you! You might not be able to get it done, but experiencing the feeling might help you in the future." Old gray said.


    " Ok." Levi''s qi spiraled around the piece of crystal.


    Creak!


    "..." His gaze shifted to the door, as it opened.


    " Oh, it''s the emotionless girl!"


    " Hrnn, shouldn''t she have experienced emotion-flaring things by now?"


    " What are you, or should I say, what are you Not doing boy?" Old gray smirked.


    " Again with that nonsense?" Levi asked.


    " Oh, there is also old lin." Old gray finally noticed.


    " Sigh, I''m starting to feel unwelcome here." Old lin sighed, a slight smile on his face.


    " You are! Get lost, you old bastard!" Old gray slapped the table.


    " C''mon, are you still upset that you lost all of those gold coins to me? haha..." old lin snickered.


    " You!!" Old gray shot up from his chair.


    " Levi." The girl called out.


    " Did something happen?" Levi asked.


    " The same situation. He was told to leave, but insisted on talking to you directly." The girl said.


    " Sigh..." Levi got up.


    He swept the hair covering his face over and behind his head.


    " I should have killed him a long time ago." He said.


    Slap!


    "..." Levi glanced at old gray.


    " Humph, at least you are in control of yourself. Remember, if you get yourself into trouble in a fit of rage, I''m not going to rescue you!" Old gray pointed.


    " Hmm." Levi responded.


    " You should also get something to tie your hair with! It''s already down to your shoulders!" Old gray shouted to a departing Levi.


    " And don''t forget to bring some pocket money when you come back!" Old gray shouted.


    " Sigh, how troublesome. So? What exactly happened this time, Nerezza?" Levi glanced back.


    " A fight broke out between our people and his." The girl said, her long black hair blowing in the breeze.


    "..." Levi looked up at the sky while blocking the glaring sunlight from his eyes.


    " Is that all?" Levi asked.


    ".....Let me rephrase. About 40 of our people and a few of his got into a fight." Nerezza said.


    ".....That is completely different from what you said before." Levi said.


    " He is waiting for you outside." Nerezza pointed.


    " I see him....did anyone die?" Levi whispered.


    " Not that I know of." Nerezza said.


    " Hmm." Levi responded, a smile growing on his face.


    " Is something funny, brat?" A man wearing a black robe stood before a large red building.


    " Nothing at all, Mr. Lloyd. Would you prefer an expressionless face?" Levi asked, as his face straightened out.


    " Don''t think that calling me ''Mr'' will save you this time!" A vein bulged on the man''s forehead as his anger erupted.


    '' It worked wonders the last time though!'' The demon saint burst out laughing.


    " This is two years, now! Two years, yet you still can''t seem to control your people!" Lloyd shouted.


    " We agreed after the first incident that our people would leave each other alone when selling beasts, but yet, what is this again?!" Lloyd shouted.


    '' Hahaha, look how this guy has gotten after just 2 years!"


    '' When we arrived, he was just the manager of some small coliseum owned by one of those clans!'' The demon saint commented.


    " Shut up, demon saint." Levi said.


    " Shut up? You are telling me to shut up?!?" Lloyd asked.


    "....Prepare his compensation for this incident." Levi looked at Nerezza.


    She simply nodded before walking towards the red building.


    " Your compensation will be sent to your residence, you don''t have to wait here any longer." Levi said.


    " Compensation?! I don''t want your iota of money! If this happens again, then wash your neck and wait!" Lloyd shouted over his shoulder as he walked away.


    " And if my money is late, I will fucking kill you!" He shouted from down the street.


    "..." Levi stood in silence for a few seconds, admiring the shamelessness.


    " Sigh...." He sighed as he walked towards the building.


    '' Why do you tolerate that fool? I don''t understand.'' The demon saint said in a bored tone.


    " Stop playing the fool, old demon. You know as good as me that these incidents are a result of things done on our side." Levi said.


    '' So what? Are you saying that you will let him walk all over you because it was something started by your underlings?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Don''t be stupid. I just don''t want to make more enemies before dealing with the unstable element hiding under my nose." Levi said as he reached out towards the door.


    " Are you ok, miss?"


    " I-I''m fine."


    " Hmm?" Levi looked back.


    A person sat in a wooden wheelchair, as the person pushing it questioned them.


    "....!" While turning back around, he felt something cold on his face.


    " Snow...." His expression dimmed.


    '' Hehe, you never told me why you hated snow so much.'' The demon saint said inquiringly.


    " Why do I have to tell you everything?" Levi asked as he opened one of the two doors.


    " Ahhhh, Keep drinking!"


    " Come on! Come on!"


    " Keep going!!"


    " Damn it, watch where you walk, bastard!"


    " Ahh? Keep your fucking feet out the way next time!"


    " What was that?!"


    "..." Noise exploded as soon as he opened the door.


    " Oh! Shhh!"


    " Boss!"


    " The boss is back!"


    " Young master!"


    " Hehe, thank the young master!"


    " Thank you, young master!" The men, along with the few women bowed.


    " Hmm." Levi responded as he walked through the tables of people.


    He walked up two flights of stairs before arriving at his room on the 3rd floor.


    Inside was dark, as black curtains hung before all windows.


    Levi walked through his relatively empty room, before sitting on his bed.


    He sunk into it as he sat cross-legged.


    He closed his eyes as he began cultivating.


    ...


    3 Hours later.


    Knock! knock!


    "...Come in." Levi said softly.


    " Young masteeer!" A loud female voice rang out, as a figure jumped toward Levi.


    " Let go, Aria." Levi said.


    " How can you be so cold, young master? Even when I have been working hard every day for your sake!" She pouted.


    " Get off." Levi said coldly, his irritation evident.


    " Ok!" Aria quickly let him go, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead.


    "...Never learns." Nerezza said under her breath.


    " What was that Ezza? Hmm? Don''t worry, aside from the young master, all men are trash in my eyes." Aria said as she eased closer to Nerezza.


    " Only well-proportioned women like yourself catch my eye these days." Aria''s limbs snaked around Nerezza''s body, while the latter stood silently.


    ".....Both of you have rooms, right? what did you want!" Levi shouted, his patience running thin.


    " Here." Nerezza handed Levi a book.


    " Hmm, this spike in the use of silver coins is?" Levi asked.


    " Those fools below held a drinking party a little earlier...." Aria said scornfully.


    " Hmm." Levi nodded his head.


    " Are you just going to let them do as they please??" Aria asked as she took the book from Levi''s outstretched hand.


    " As long as they don''t cause trouble for me, or go overboard with spending, then they can do as they please." Levi said.


    " How is pill refining going for you? Is that eyepatch working as intended?" Levi asked.


    " Yes! The eyepatch''s sight enhancing inscription helps a lot when I''m refining pills! And instead of qi, it uses mental energy!" Aria touched the black eyepatch.


    It had the outline of an eye in yellow on its surface.


    " Hmmm, do you have any pills with you?" Levi asked.


    " Here." Aria handed over a blood-red pill.


    " Blood-clotting pill. There are not chunks of any ingredients this time." Levi crushed the pill between his fingers before commenting.


    " Hehe, even though your pills were low in quality, we still made a lot of money from them." Levi looked up at Aria.


    "..." Aria smiled lightly, pride filling her heart.


    Just a little over 2 years ago she was just a wife who was thrown away.


    But now, she could do things that normal people couldn''t.


    She felt that she had the right to feel proud of herself, reaching this point.


    " Alright, you can go. Oh, How is Aron doing?" Levi suddenly remembered.


    " He is still bedridden. I don''t know what is wrong with him, but I''m glad my sleeping pills work on him." Aria said with concern.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " Um..." Aria stopped.


    " Hmm?" Levi looked up.


    " You....You aren''t going to...do anything...with her, right? Young master...." Aria questioned softly.


    " Ahh? You have asked that same question for two years, give me a break." Levi waved her away.


    " Now, about what we were talking about before. The dwindling number of mutated beasts in desolate mountain." Levi said.


    " What do you think?" He asked.


    " For now, we should start to gather them from the different countries of the cloud continent." Nerezza said.


    " Hmmm, that is the only option after all." Levi mumbled.


    " You can go." Levi said after a small silence.


    "..." Nerezza turned around.


    "....You know, if you feel that strongly about her, then you should just grab her and don''t let go. I am not one to judge." Levi said as he lay on his back.


    Nerezza''s steps came to a halt.


    " You...how did you...." She looked back, her cheeks red.


    " In my eyes, people are just people, No one is special. There are just people I know, and people I don''t."


    "...But just because I am like this doesn''t mean I don''t see certain things."


    " Believe it or not, there was a time when I allowed myself to feel." Levi looked up at his ceiling.


    " All I am saying is, if you want something, take it before it is taken from you...." Levi said.


    ".....You know nothing." Nerezza''s face became expressionless as she mumbled under her breath, before leaving.


    ".....Because believe me, eventually, it will be taken from you, or you from it, regardless." Levi finished.

 Chapter 100 2 Years Later 2

    Darkness coated everything.


    A beam of light tried to cut through the darkness from above to no avail.


    Camouflaged by the darkness, an unrealistically large pit hid.


    Silhouettes lined the rim of the man-made pit.


    BOOOM!!!


    " GRUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!"


    The Earth quaked as a beast howled.


    A pillar of air escaped upward as the monster roared.


    " HUMANS!"


    A deafening voice echoed through the darkness.


    " DESPICABLE HUMANS!!"


    " HOW DARE YOU!!!"


    " THE DAY I GET OUT FROM THIS SEAL WILL BE THE END OF YOU MONKEYS!!"


    " DESTRUCTION! DEATH!! CALAMITY!!"


    " Hmm." The figure of a person nodded, prompting the others to release glowing white energy.


    "...You saw him, yes? How do you feel?" A person turned around as a wheelchair was pushed up behind them.


    "..." The person in the wheelchair kept silent.


    " ONCE AGAIN, YOU HUMANS! YOU HUMANS!! STEALING FROM ME!!" The voice roared.


    Large patters appeared around the rim of the pit, illuminating the space slightly.


    BOOM!!


    BOOOOM!!


    " HOW DARE YOU STEAL FROM ME!!" The voice expressed its fiery rage.


    BOOOM!!


    From the glowing patterns chains of light materialized.


    These chains shot to the depths of the pit, restraining the creature.


    " I CURSE THE HUMAN RACE!!" The creature spat with hatred.


    " AGUCJEBUFIKBSIO!!" An unknown language echoed loudly.


    " Oh, I forgot you don''t answer ''pointless questions''." The figure turned around to face the pit once again.


    A large golden cross lined the front of the person''s robe.


    They put their arms behind their slightly bent back.


    " You are not ready as of yet."


    " Study diligently and wait until you are a little older. One should not be too hungry for killing. Revenge is an unhealthy obsession." An aged voice escaped the person''s mouth.


    Grit!


    "..." The person in the wheelchair silently grit their teeth.


    " Return the holy lady to her room for now. She is not to leave without my permission." The aged voice ordered.


    " Yes, elder!" The person pushed the wheelchair towards the direction they came from.


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    ...


    " Those damn earthquakes!!" Old gray shouted angrily.


    " And damn it, boy, aren''t you finished yet?! You can''t do it at your level, so stop trying so hard!!" He complained while picking up his scattered tools.


    "..." Levi kept silent as concentration coursed through his being.


    '' To break down a material without destroying it...From what old gray told me.....'' Levi paused.


    ''...Since everything is made up of smaller particles....''


    ''....You simply have to separate the particles, before guiding them with qi to form the inscriptions...'' Levi thought as his qi flowed.


    ''...If the inscription is completed successfully, depending on its type, the characteristics of the material will also be present...''


    '' Hmmm? It feels like..... it''s working? Is that even possi-''


    "!!!!"


    Levi jumped back as pure cold exploded from the piece of crystal.


    A layer of ice grew on the table''s surface quickly.


    " Huff!..huff!...That...was dangerous..." Levi breathed heavily.


    " Dammit, are you trying to squash this old man???" Old gray squeezed out from behind Levi.


    "....Sorry." Levi said while moving away.


    " Why are you so jumpy anyway? That bit of cold wouldn''t have been able to hurt you!" Old gray grabbed his chin.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' The cold affects my ability to control blood.....Who knows what else it might do.'' Levi thought.


    " ...ath!!"


    A vague shout sounded.


    " They are at it again, huh." Old gray mumbled.


    " Death!!"


    " Death to the royal family!!"


    " Death!"


    " Hmm, since the war 2 years ago, dislike for the royal family has grown." Old gray said.


    " Even worse, the church has spoken out against the royal family too, causing even more people to join this nonsense."


    ".....The church, its voice carries." Old gray said.


    " It is also fairly obvious what they think about the royal family....No, martial artists as a whole.....Sigh." He continued.


    " Hmm, it is up to people what they do in the end." Levi said as he returned to his seat.


    " People they knew were killed, so they are looking for someone to blame." He continued.


    " Humph, you are profiting from their protests, so obviously you would say that!" Old gray sneered.


    " Hmmm, those Blood-clotting pills sell well, especially to those who are injured often or easily." Levi nodded in agreement.


    " Didn''t you say it yourself? ''Respect the strong''. Isn''t this implying that no matter what the strong do, you still have to respect them?"


    " In that case, it can also be interpreted as, '' If you possess strength, you can do as you please.''" Levi said.


    " Oi! Don''t twist my words!" Old gray quick-wittedly interrupted.


    " Even if I profit from the plight of those weaker than me, so what? You are not innocent either, old man." Levi cast old gray a sidelong glance.


    " Humph! Don''t put me on the same level as you, heartless brat!" Old gray snorted unhappily.


    " Also, don''t forget to bring me some pocket money on your next visit." A smile blossomed on old gray''s face.


    ".....People do things to gain things, the church is no different. They want the power or position of the royal family, so they will try to take it." Levi said.


    " In my eyes, things are this simple. Also, old man, don''t you own this place?" Levi asked incredulously.


    " Huh? This small shop barely makes enough to sustain itself. Don''t be too stingy and continue to bring this old man his pocket money!" Old gray said firmly.


    " Whatever." Levi got up.


    " Where are you going? This is why you are improving so slowly, always doing this and that instead of focusing on the important things!" Old gray scolded.


    " Some of the people working for me are purposely causing trouble."


    " In my opinion, dealing with this situation is immediately more important than learning inscriptions." Levi said.


    " Humph!" Old gray said nothing more.


    "....Looks like it will snow. Detestable." Levi mumbled to himself.


    " Sigh, I miss those days when I could just kill anyone causing me trouble." Sighing, Levi left the small clothes shop.


    '' Haha, you can still do that.'' The demon saint commented.


    "...Demon saint, I know that you are playing the fool to hear my response." Levi said.


    '' What do you mean?'' The demon saint asked curiously.


    " Sigh, forget it." Levi said.


    " Aghhh!" A man fell to the ground, a bloody gash across his chest.


    " Humph! Spouting this kind of nonsense in the middle of the street! Treason is punishable by death!" A lone soldier looked down at the man from atop his horse.


    The passers-by covered their mouths and kept their distance, while some left.


    "..." Levi looked down at the man who fell into his path.


    " Huh?! You there, Goldeneyes! Are you with him?" The soldier asked.


    "..." Levi glanced over at him.


    " Huh? you...aren''t you tha-that boy who fought the ''cold general'' Luca? I-I-" The soldier stuttered.


    " Leave." Levi said.


    " B-But i-" The soldier was interrupted.


    " Leave." Levi said once more.


    "..." The soldier looked conflicted but left in the end.


    "...This Blood-clotting pill will stop the bleeding. Do you want it?" Levi pulled out a red pill.


    " Y-Yes, please give it to me." The man said weakly.


    " 2 Silver coins." Levi reached out.


    " Wh-Two silver coins are too much!" The man protested.


    " Then you should quickly go see a doctor before you die from blood loss." Levi said as he stepped over the man, continuing on his way.


    " Ah! so- So much blood! Wait! I-Here! 2 Silvers!" The man shouted.


    "..." A red mist swept the coins from the man''s trembling hands, replacing them with a thumbnail-sized pill.


    " Umph!" The man quickly swallowed the pill as Levi''s figure faded from view.


    '' Hahaha, your psychological attacks are getting better! More subtle!'' The demon saint praised.


    " As expected of your teaching." Levi stopped before the large red building.


    ''....What am I doing....I liked this inn more when it was small and quiet, but now....This path that I choose, will it end in happiness?'' Levi opened the door.


    " Shhh!"


    " The boss is back!!"


    " Young master, welcome back!"


    "..." Levi looked at the people greeting him.


    " I let you guys do as you please...." Everyone went silent as Levi spoke.


    " As long as you don''t cause trouble." He continued.


    " What is he..."


    " It''s probably...that situation...."


    " Well, of course he would be angry..."


    " Those fools don''t know when to stop..."


    The people whispered to each other.


    " So, why is it that I had to compensate someone?" Levi asked.


    " Is it because that during these two years, in your eyes, I have become too lenient? hmm?" His eyes shifted around the room, as quietness loomed.


    "..." He didn''t bother to say anymore, as he walked towards the stairs.


    " Shit, do those guys want to go back living off of scraps?"


    " Back to that dog eat dog world?"


    " Hmm, the boss was probably really angry...."


    " Hmm, he looked normal to me?"


    " You are new, so you don''t know how he really is..."


    " Yeah...You guys might think that he easy to deal with, but don''t fool yourselves...beneath that calm, cold exterior, is something that you don''t want to see..."


    The people whispered after Levi''s departure.


    Even after a few minutes, the silence still loomed.


    ...


    In Levi''s bedroom.


    " You can go, Aria." Levi said.


    " Ok, young master~" Aria twirled.


    " Don''t try anything with the young master, bald coward." Aria glared at Don as her attitude took a sharp turn.


    " What could I even do against the boss? Foolish woman." Don spoke condescendingly.


    " Oh, right, I forgot! The young master could kill you easily! Like a fly or mosquito, splat!" Aria said as she slammed the door shut.


    " Sigh, what happened to that woman. Seriously." Don scratched his head.


    " So?" Levi asked.


    "..." Levi''s piercing gaze caused Don to hesitate.


    " Well, for the last few months, I have been passing through the different groups, or cliques, you could say..." Don paused.


    " Haha, I praise myself when I think back to how hard it was to get into them. Man, some of those guys are extreeeemely antisocial.." He continued.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " Ahem, well, anyway....Out of all of them, the one that guy is in, uh, Ling, I think was his name?.... They were the most difficult to deal with..." Seeing that his attempt to lighten the mood had failed, he continued.


    " Hmm." Levi prompted him to continue.


    " They were extremely guarded against me, so I had to try a bunch of stuff, but, uh, what worked best was, um..." He paused.


    " What?" Levi asked.


    " E-Expressing my....Expressing my ha-Hatred for y-you?" He said.


    " I-I mean, obviously I don''t hate you! I just said all of those things so that they could trust me!"


    " So that I could find out who kept purposely stirring up trouble like you asked!" He quickly defended himself.


    " Hmmm." Levi''s eyes seemed to be glowing as he looked at Don.


    " So....do I have to continue?" Don asked.


    "....No." Levi said coldly.


    " Phew!-Uh! I mean! I see!" Don began sweating.


    " You can leave." Levi said coldly.


    Don quietly eased out of the room.


    '' I told you to keep an eye out for that guy, didn''t I? Hehehe..'' The demon saint chortled.


    "..."


    After a few seconds of silence, Levi got up.


    He left the room.


    " Levi." A female voice rang out.


    " What is it?" Levi asked coldly.


    ".....All 5 of the beast blood potions were sold. You should make some more when you can." Nerezza said simply.


    " Hmmm." Levi merely grunted in response.


    "..." Nerezza watched him go down the stairs.


    ...


    '' Should I fly around the city to look for him?....No...I don''t want to end up like THAT again..." Levi thought.


    " Where is ling?" Levi asked.


    " Uh, I think he is at the...what was it called again? The fried restaurant?" One man said.


    " The pan-fried restaurant, moron! That closed-eyed bastard loves fried food, or so I hear." Another one explained.


    '' Never heard of it. Whatever.'' Levi thought.


    " Hypnotizing steps." Levi said softly as his figure blurred.


    Afterimages followed behind him as he left the inn.


    ...


    '' Dammit, what pan-fried restaurant?! I don''t see that name anywhere! And to make matters worse, it started snowing!'' Levi thought as he continued to leave behind afterimages.


    " Hmm? Pan-fried...." He almost passed a tiny building sandwiched between two much larger buildings.


    A sign which read " Pan-Fried: Resturant" hung on its door.


    Dling!


    The doorbell rang as it was opened and out walked a man with hair down to his neck, and closed eyes.


    He wore a loose-fitting gray robe.


    " Oh? Young master? What brings you here?" Ling asked, genuinely surprised.


    " Could it be that you have a love for fried food as well?" He came to a conclusion.


    "..." Levi looked at him silently.


    The maelstrom of emotions hidden under his calm exterior threatened to explode.

 Chapter 101 Need For Discipline

    "..." Levi stood quietly.


    " Young master?" Ling tilted his head.


    "!!"


    Levi sprung into action.


    His hand doubled in length as it stabbed through Ling easily.


    " Ugh! Wha..t...are you....doing..." Ling forced out as blood sprayed from his mouth.


    " Young master!" Ling shouted.


    "..." Levi''s eyes regained their light.


    " You shouldn''t daydream out in the snow, you will catch-oh." Looking above Levi, Ling cut his sentence short.


    A partially formed blood shield hung over Levi, catching any snow that threatened to fall on him.


    " Do you take me for a fool?" Levi asked coldly.


    " Pardon?" Ling asked in confusion.


    " What do you gain from disrupting my business?" Levi asked.


    " Wha-What do you mean, young master?" Sweat covered Ling''s face.


    "..." Veins bulged on Levi''s neck.


    " Hehe, so you found out. Kind of disappointing though, only finding the source of trouble after two years." Ling said calmly.


    " Now, let me return your question to you. Do you think I am a fool?" His air changed.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " Your act on desolate mountain was quite convincing at the time, but how long do you think people will stay fooled?" Ling asked.


    " In the beginning, I wanted to screw you over. Simply because you, some unknown brat appeared and turned me into a servant."


    " But after looking at things a bit more in-depth I realized what was really happening."


    " It took a while for me to realize myself, so I don''t expect the majority those clods to notice a thing."


    " Hell, even if I were to explain things in detail, most of them would probably still work for you like fools anyway."


    " It''s funny, isn''t it? How they think they are working of their own volition."


    " When in reality, you subconsciously control them with those mental energy seeds." Ling tapped his temple.


    " Paying them, even allowing them to slack off."


    " All of these things to keep them in line. Hehe, I am quite jealous, to be completely honest." Ling said.


    "....You are talking very freely. What makes you think that I won''t kill you?" Levi asked coldly.


    " Haha, scatter my soul right?! I told you, I have already seen through your ploy! There is no point in putting on a show in front of me!" Ling burst out laughing.


    "....If this was the younger me, I would have killed you without hesitation." Levi mumbled.


    " Hmm? I didn''t get that." Ling curiously said.


    "!!!" Levi appeared before Ling, causing the later no small amount of shock.


    Crack!


    Ling''s defensive qi shattered as Levi punched his face.


    His body crashed through the wall of the small restaurant, causing pieces of wood to fly in multiple directions.


    Sizzle!


    " Aghhh!!"


    " H-Hey, are you ok?!"


    Shouts erupted inside the restaurant.


    " Y-You..." Ling''s voice trembled as he held his face.


    Hot oil splashed on the left side of his face, causing no little amount of damage.


    " If you were useless, I would have killed you." Levi said coldly.


    " I can''t scatter your soul, but I CAN give you a horrifying death." Levi began walking toward him.


    " Hiii!" A ball-like man ran at the sight of Levi.


    " Do you think that those mental energy seeds are fake? Hehe, then I have news for you." Levi snickered.


    Puft!


    Levi''s mental energy flame appeared before his forehead.


    Boom!


    A small, powerful explosion rippled out as Levi snapped his finger.


    " You spoke freely because you thought I couldn''t kill you...Are you regretting that decision?" Levi bent over slightly, towering over Ling who lie on the ground.


    " yo-you..." Ling stuttered.


    " I decided that, for various reasons, I wouldn''t control you guys with fear..." Levi paused.


    "....But, there are always some people who can''t behave without a bit of discipline." Levi''s eyes glowed, as the surrounding air became dark.


    " Wh-What?! Where?!" Ling found himself wrapped in darkness.


    "..." He felt a prickling sensation on his back, causing him to stiffly turn his head.


    "..." Two giant golden eyes loomed in the darkness, looking into the distance without interest.


    " Wh-What the hell..." He stuttered as he stepped back carefully.


    The eyes looked down at Ling.


    " Begone." A bone-chilling voice echoed.


    Darkness rolled toward Ling.


    " W-Wait!" Ling stepped back.


    He was not fast enough in retreating, as the darkness swallowed him.


    " Huff!....Huff!!...Huff!" He awoke on the ground of the pan-fried restaurant, his body drenched in sweat.


    " Where did your confidence go?" Levi asked, still looking down on Ling.


    "!!!" Levi''s voice shocked Ling greatly.


    Because, although he didn''t notice before, it was the same voice he heard in the world of darkness.


    " If you, or any of those you surround yourself with stir up any more trouble, I will kill all of you. Remember this threat well." Levi said coldly as he left the half-destroyed restaurant.


    " Um....sir..about my wall..." A ball-like man rolled out from somewhere.


    "..." Ling didn''t notice the man as he looked through the hole in the wall.


    His ragged breathing didn''t slow and neither did his speeding heart.


    ...


    '' Wow! I am genuinely surprised!'' The demon saint clapped.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' What a great display of self-control! How you have grown!'' He blew his nose.


    "....Are you done?" Levi asked.


    '' Not yet! I saw it, you know? When your body grew sli-'' The demon saint was cut off as Levi blocked out his voice.


    "..." Levi slowed in contemplation.


    Afterimages followed him as he moved at an amazing speed.


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    " Kek!!" He stopped after a few seconds while clutching his chest.


    " Huh? Are you alright?" A passer-by asked.


    " Still can''t do it." Levi mumbled.


    " Tsk." He clicked his tongue as afterimages followed him once again.


    He reached his destination without delay this time.


    " The market." Levi mumbled as he walked onto the street.


    A light coat of snow lined its edges.


    Martial artists and caged mutated beasts lined the street.


    "....don''t think that we forgot!!"


    " Humph! Lizard and a few more of our guys were beaten half to death by you Red Sky bastards!"


    " Let''s kill them!"


    The tension on the street grew, as people on opposite sides of the street glared and cursed at each other.


    " Ahh?! You fucking bastards think you are something?!"


    " You should be glad those guys are even still alive!"


    " Pitiu! I don''t mind killing someone today!"


    The other side spat.


    " Enough." Levi''s cold voice cut through the storm of insults easily.


    " Huh? Mind your own business!!"


    " H-Hey, he''s..."


    " He''s what?"


    "..."


    " If you''ve got something to say, then spit it out!"


    Two men spoke.


    " Boss!"


    " Why are you here, boss?"


    Some of the men from the right side of the street walked up to Levi.


    " Where are the guys who started that last fight?" Levi asked.


    " Well, they went back to the inn, but they may have already returned to desolate mountain."


    " Why do you ask though? If you are worried, then no need! I heard that they half-killed Lloyd''s guys, haha!"


    "....What is going on here then?" Levi looked at the left side of the street.


    The people on that side glared daggers at him.


    " So you are their boss, brat?! Do you know how badly our guys were hurt?!" A brave man walked up to Levi.


    " Lloyd was already compensated for that incident." Levi said.


    " Compensation?! Do you think that money can bring a person back to life?!" The man shouted, his anger growing.


    " Lloyd received compensation. If the people who were hurt didn''t, that has nothing to do with me." Levi explained calmly.


    " Do you hear this?!" The man turned around and shouted.


    " This bastard...."


    " Get them!"


    The people on the left got up, ready to attack, while the people on the right did the same.


    " Don''t cause me any more trouble." Levi said.


    " Ahh! Kill!"


    People on the left side shouted.


    " Do you think we will wash our necks for you?! Don''t let them leave alive!" One of Levi''s men shouted.


    With weapons drawn, it looked as if a war had broken out as the two sides clashed.


    ".....Didn''t I say...Enough?" Qi and blood energy exploded from Levi''s body, as it grew slightly in size.


    Thick Qi and blood energy flowed, pushing them away from each other.


    " B-Boss, we are just defending ourselves!"


    " Yeah, why are you attacking us too?" Levi''s men questioned.


    " You work for me."


    " When I speak, you listen."


    " What I order, you do."


    " So why is it that my orders are falling on deaf ears?" Levi asked.


    " Do I have to kill some of you to set an example?"


    " Hmm?"


    " Answer me." Levi questioned forcefully.


    " N-No boss...."


    " But-"


    " We...We understand..." A few men said.


    " Humph." Levi snorted coldly, as his body unnoticeably reverted to its original size.


    " Prepare a mutated beast for me." Levi said.


    " Yes, boss." A man answered.


    "....The same goes for you, don''t cause me any more trouble." Levi looked at Lloyd''s men.


    "..." They kept silent as he left.


    ...


    Late evening.


    Levi sat cross-legged, his eyes closed.


    At this moment, water-like qi enveloped his body.


    " Fuuu..." He breathed out as the qi seeped back into his body, causing his robe to fall loosely.


    " Hmm...How irritating." Levi mumbled.


    " Even worse...Outside is covered in snow!" Levi walked to one side of his room.


    After pulling across the black curtains, the only thing blocking him from the large balcony was two doors.


    " Sigh." He went back to his bed.


    knock! knock!


    " Come." Levi said as he lie on his side, propping his head up with his hand.


    " I have brought the tools, along with the mutated beast." Nerezza said simply.


    " Hmm." Levi got up.


    The door closed with a click as Nerezza walked in.


    In one hand she carried a well crafted brown, bamboo tool case.


    In the other was a small cage with a purple bat the size of a hand.


    The bat was completely still, as if dead.


    " I will take my leave, then." Nerezza turned around.


    " No need." Levi said simply.


    He opened the cage easily, before taking out the bat.


    He opened the tool case.


    Inside were small surgical knives of different sizes and shapes.


    In the other half of the case were glass tubes filled with a cloudy liquid and sealed with wooden stoppers.


    "..." Levi cut the bat''s neck, as red blood flowed.


    The bat screeched weakly.


    After a few seconds, two blobs of blood floated before Levi.


    First was the much larger red blob, then there was a smaller purple blob.


    Levi absorbed the larger blob, before turning his attention to the purple blood.


    "..." A slightly glowing, pale white liquid was then separated from the purple blood, reducing it''s size once more.


    Puft!


    A small blood flame burned the remaining purple blood to nothing, while Levi separated the white liquid into the five glass tubes.


    " How much did the last five sell for?" Levi asked as he put back the last glass tube.


    " They sold for roughly 25,000 silver coins each." Nerezza said.


    " Hmm." Levi closed the case before handing it to her.


    '' Is it a good idea for you to let her see all of that?'' The demon saint asked.


    " It doesn''t matter. Not after 2 years ago, when i....." Levi said as he lay on his bed.


    '' I don''t understand. So because she knows one of your secrets, you will show her the rest?'' The demon saint questioned.


    " Don''t be foolish, it is because she knows things about me that I keep her close." Levi explained.


    " Now shut up, I''m trying to sleep." He finished.


    ...


    The next day, morning.


    Levi walked down the mostly empty street.


    A thin layer of snow covered the road, along with the roofs of buildings.


    Dling!


    " Hrm? Ahhh, early again." Old gray yawned as he opened the back room''s door.


    " Hnn? Oh...isn''t today your birthday?...January 9th.." Old gray slowly recalled.


    " Enough about that. The auction is today and the ship arrives either today or tomorrow." Levi said.


    " Hmm, how long are you planning to stay there for?" Old gray walked back into the room.


    " I don''t know. There are several things I want to do, I don''t know how much time it will take to finish any of them." Levi said as he sat.


    " Hmmm, while you''re there, take some time to study inscriptions." Old gray said.


    " I will." Levi replied.


    " I mean it, you know! There are a lot of places that you could learn from, with teachers more qualified to teach than me!" Old gray said.


    " You seem to know a lot about this place, hmm?" Levi said.


    " Well, I am still the greatest inscription master though, hahaha!" Old gray''s depraved laughter rang out.


    " Avoiding the question, huh." Levi said.


    " And! Don''t start any trouble, ok?" Old gray said with a defeated expression.


    " What do you take me for!" Levi slapped the table, a dark grin growing on his face.


    " This is a business trip! My personal feelings cannot drive my actions." Levi got up.


    " Humph, such a big talker! Hurry and get lost!" Old gray shooed Levi away unhappily.


    " Oh, but old man...." Levi turned around.


    " What?" Old gray asked.


    " With me gone, you won''t be getting any allowance!" Levi pointed out.


    "....Wh-Wha?! On second thought, don''t you dare leave this cloud continent, boy! Did you hear me?!" Old gray shouted to the departing Levi.


    He only heard loud laughter in response.


    " No! Come back, my allowance, come back!!" Old gray shouted.

 Chapter 102 Lantern Festival

    The Everything guild.


    " Good morning, sir. What can I help you with?" A female attendant asked as she stood behind the circular counter.


    " I am here for the auction." Levi said.


    " Oh! You are a bit late! The auction has already started!" The attendant exclaimed.


    " Oh? In that case, I shouldn''t have to wait too long then." Levi pulled a certain badge out from the spatial ring.


    " Right away, sir!" The attendant smiled brightly.


    Bright patterns appeared beneath Levi.


    He then vanished into thin air.


    " Hey, that kid..." A man sitting on a small stone bench spoke.


    " Yeah, it''s him...The owner of the Red Sky inn!" A man standing near said.


    " Do you think that rumor about him is true?" The man on the bench asked.


    " Haha, which one?" The other man asked.


    " The one about how he is a monster?"


    " The one about how he experiments on anyone who gets on his bad side?"


    " Or the rumor that he drinks the blood of both man and beasts?"


    " Or about how he murdered his entire clan because of some minor incident?


    " Or, my personal favorite, that he is a shapeshifter!" The man recalled many rumors.


    " There is even one about him being some kind of shrunk down giant!" The man said mockingly.


    " Yeah, I heard that one, I think it''s quite recent?" The man on the bench said.


    " But in the sea of rumors, don''t you think that at least one of them would hold some degree of truth?" He asked.


    " Humph! All of the rumors surrounding that kid are ridiculous!"


    " If you are gullible enough to believe them, then you should get your head checked while you are still here!" The other man walked away.


    "....Didn''t have to be so damn harsh!" The man sitting on the bench said angrily.


    ...


    Inside the auction hall.


    Levi sat, looking at the badge in his hand.


    '' Since I kept this thing in the spatial ring, it couldn''t keep track of my efficiency in crafting inscriptions.''


    '' Even if I show this, no one will buy inscriptions from a ''low ranked beginner'', hehe.'' Levi thought.


    '' Well, I am not as desperate for money now, so it doesn''t matter.'' He thought.


    " Next up! We have 5 ingots of Sponge Iron! The starting price will be 30,000 Silver coins! Every bid should be increased by at least 1,000!" The old auctioneer Explained.


    " Huh? Sponge iron....?"


    " Does anyone know what that is?"


    " no.."


    " uh-uh."


    " 40,000!" A man shouted.


    " If you don''t know what it is, then there is no need for you to know! 40,000 going once! 40,000 going twice! Sold, to the sizeable gentlemen in the 5th row!" The auctioneer shouted.


    " Man, what kind of auction doesn''t explain it''s items?!"


    " Humph, well whatever! Their loss!" Some people complained.


    " Next! We! Have! A small treasure ship that can hold a minimum of 1,000, or a maximum of 10,000 people! The starting price for this treasure, 500,000 silver coins!" The auctioneer shouted.


    Two female attendants pushed a large metal trolley.


    Secured on it was a bathtub-sized ship model.


    " What?! Why so expensive already?!"


    A person shouted.


    " This is not a model, but the ship itself! As such, every bid should be increased by no less than 20,000 silver coins!!" The auctioneer exclaimed without explaining.


    " What?!?!"


    " Increase by 20,000 your sister!!"


    " Resorting to daylight robberies now?!"


    Multiple people exploded.


    " Now, now, I would thank you to leave my sister out of this!" The old auctioneer shouted.


    " Many of the items that appear here come from the Jade Sword continent, so I don''t expect you to know about them!"


    " But, do you expect to be spoonfed?! If you want to know about something, do your own research! The list of items is released beforehand for this reason!"


    " In the end, even if certain things are not bought here, they will be sent to someplace else until they are sold!"


    " So when you don''t know what something is, or you don''t understand it''s value, keep your traps shut and wait for the next item!!" The old auctioneer''s anger finally exploded.


    " Ahem...Now! Place your bids!" He regained his composure.


    " 540,000!"


    " Humph! 560,000!"


    " 600,000"


    " Ahhh! 660,000!"


    " Huff! 680,000! Huff!"


    " Hmm, 800,000." A calm voice rang out.


    " Wha-!"


    " Who?!"


    People''s heads spun as they looked for the voice''s source.


    " It''s that brat!"


    " H-Hey! shhh! Do you want him to hear you?!"


    " so what if he-"


    " Don''t give me that crap! If you want to die, do it on your own, bastard!"


    Shouts rang out.


    " 8-820,000!" Someone shouted.


    " I waited for the bidding to slow before starting, but it seems someone still hasn''t given up." Levi mumbled.


    '' Hahaha, a brat is still a brat! You should have bid higher and broken their spirits completely.'' The demon saint laughed.


    " Oi, and whose money would be used for that? What can I do with broken spirits?" Levi asked.


    '' Plenty! You just nee-'' The demon saint was interrupted.


    " Shut up, demon saint." Levi said.


    " 820,000 going once! Going twice! So-"


    " 1,000,000." Levi interrupted the auctioneer.


    "..."


    The people went silent.


    " Hehe, 1,000,000 going once!"


    " Going twice!" He spoke after a long pause.


    " Sold! To the scary eyed boy!" The auctioneer shouted with a grin.


    " Now, the auction is over! I would like to say it was a pleasure being here today, but it wasn''t! Pay for your items as usual, and have a good day!" The auctioneer said.


    ...


    The people appeared in the main hall one by one.


    " I will have someone come to retrieve my item." Levi told the attendant.


    " Will it be the lady you are often seen with?" The attendant asked.


    " Hmm." Levi nodded.


    " Are you sure? Although no one will start anything in here, once people leave....that''s another story altogether..." The attendant expressed her worries.


    " Hmm, you don''t have to worry, she can take care of herself." Levi said.


    "....Alright, then." The attendant said after a small pause.


    ...


    At the inn.


    " Good morning, young master!" The old innkeeper said.


    His voice echoed through the empty inn.


    " Hmm, I haven''t seen you in a while. Are those guys behaving themselves?" Levi asked.


    " Yes, after miss aria had a talk with them, they settled down quite a bit." The old innkeeper said.


    " Hmm. And aria''s pills, how are they selling? Is the shop getting any customers?" Levi asked.


    " Yes, although most of the customers are regular folk. Not many martial artists seem to be interested in the pills in our small store." The innkeeper said.


    " Don''t worry about that, old man jack. Sell pills to those who want them and forget those who don''t." Levi said.


    " I will be in my room if you need me." Levi said as he went up the stairs.


    " Ok!....." The old innkeeper, old man jack looked at the empty staircase.


    '' I would never have imagined that my old rundown inn would become like this...'' He thought.


    ''....Although it isn''t mine anymore, this Red Sky inn fills me with pride every day...''


    '' The young master seems to have grown up a lot since our first meeting, too....''


    '' I wonder, is it normal to feel happy about the success of others?'' Old man jack thought as he continued his sweeping.


    ...


    Late evening.


    The sun hid beneath the horizon line as the sky darkened.


    "....Hmm..." Levi''s eyes slowly cracked open.


    " Young master?" Knocks rang out as old man jack shouted for Levi.


    "....Come in." Levi said drowsily.


    " What is with all of the noise?" He asked.


    " It is the lantern festival!" Old man jack said.


    ".....Isn''t that supposed to be later this month?" Levi asked.


    " Hmm, but for some reason, it is early this year. You should go out and enjoy the festival, young master." Old man jack said.


    "....I don''t want to. I have been cultivating for the entire day."


    " In addition to trying to fuse my qi and blood energy, I also unsuccessfully tried to do some things with blood energy."


    " Not to mention the challenge of altering the hypnotizing steps...I just want to sleep..." Levi said.


    " Well...The noise will only get worse..." Old man jack smiled helplessly.


    " Go and get rid of them for me, then. Kill them all if you have to." Levi peeped through one of his eyes.


    " Huh?" Old man jack began sweating.


    " Obviously that was a joke. Sigh." Levi sat up as he moved some of his hair behind his ear.


    '' I didn''t know you had the capacity for jokes, young master....'' Old man jack thought.


    " Where are those guys? I haven''t seen them for the day." Levi asked while yawning.


    " Miss Aria and the others? Hehe, they left before you. I don''t think they returned yet." Old man jack snickered.


    "....Is that so? I will just sit on the balcony." Levi said.


    " Wha?! Young people should live to the fullest! You should go down and-" Old man jack was stopped by Levi''s hand.


    " If I feel like it, I will go. You should go enjoy yourself old man, take the evening off or something." Levi said.


    "..." Old man jack watched as Levi walked towards the balcony.


    Two chairs, along with a small circular table sat, covered in snow.


    "....Tch." Levi clicked his tongue as blood energy rose from his body.


    After removing the snow, he sat in one of the chairs.


    The sound of drums and the shouts of people rang out.


    Cylindrical paper lanterns of various colors floated through the air, illuminating the night sky.


    Different aromas wafted through the air as people prepared food.


    As Levi sat on his balcony, the people on the street below sang and ate.


    They continuously released lanterns into the sky.


    Some became drunk, but even then, they continued to march with the band.


    Some slapped their drums while others plucked strings.


    Some blew into their flutes while others sang.


    " Purple, green, blue. More colors than last year." Levi Said softly.


    "..." He sat in thought silently.


    " Young master, if you are going to sit out in this cold, then at least eat something to warm yourself up!" Old man jack walked onto the balcony.


    " Hmm, thanks." Levi said as he took the small bowl of lentil soup, along with two pieces of bread.


    Old man jack then left.


    "...It''s good." Levi mumbled.


    Clank!


    After finishing, he put the bowl on the wooden guardrail.


    ".....That only sturred my hunger. I guess I will go down after all." Levi said while licking his lips.


    He looked over before jumping down.


    He landed softly on the ground and went on his way.


    ...


    " Hmm?" Levi looked up at the sky.


    '' Lanterns giving off black light?'' Levi thought as he stuffed his face with a kabob.


    These black lanterns had two palm-sized alisee crosses on each side where white light escaped.


    "..." He paid the stall owner and continued.


    " Thanks!" The stall owner shouted.


    After this, he went from stand to stand, buying any food that caught his eye.


    " Hey~ How about young master spend some time with this big sister?" A seductive voice sounded.


    " Hehe~ What a cute boy. Maybe you would prefer someone younger?" A less mature-sounding voice rang out.


    " Oi, what are you two trying to do? You shouldn''t pick the fruit before it ripens!" Another voice sounded, this time with a rough way of speaking.


    "..." Levi looked at the 3 atop the relatively low balcony.


    " Sigh, you should change your manner of speaking, Aspasia." The first one sighed.


    " Spear me the lecture, men like variety!" The rough sounding Aspasia said.


    " Huh? Aww, he left~" The youngest one said.


    ...


    ''...Tasty.'' Levi bit into a large chicken leg.


    " Hic! Wa shi-Hic! wha ish jish, Hic!" A drunk man stumbled while rambling.


    " Hic! Bey-Hic! gare wid dizzold mad-Hic" He stumbled towards Levi.


    ''...''


    " You shouldn''t drink too much, old man. A lot of dangerous people walk these streets." Levi handed a wooden, sauce smeared plate with another chicken leg atop it to the man.


    " Whadda jue-Hic! Dalking abot-hic?" The man asked as Levi paid the stall owner.


    Levi then continued on his way.


    Before he knew it, it was already past midnight.


    " Ahnnnnn...Time to go back." He yawned while stretching.


    After making his way back to the inn, he fell asleep instantly when he reached his bed.


    ...


    Next morning, early.


    "..." Levi sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed.


    His robe fluttered as blueish-white qi spiraled above him.


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    It was a strange sight, a spiral of qi inside of a closed-off dark room.


    The closer the spiral got to him, the more disoriented it became.


    A dense water-like qi surrounded his body, compressing it before it could be absorbed into his body.


    The spiral slowly dissipated as Levi opened his eyes.


    " Fuuu...." Levi stopped circulating the water commandment, causing the qi to seep back into his body.


    " Younnnnng Masterrrr!" Aria''s shout got progressively louder as she ran towards Levi''s room.


    " Shhhh! What are you going to do if you wake him up?!" Don whisper-shouted.


    " Ah? Who said that garbage like you could talk to me? Humph, unlike you, the young master wakes early to cultivate."


    " You have been following him for this long, yet you don''t even know about everyday things like this. How useless." Aria sneered.


    " It''s not that I am useless, it''s that you are too obsessed! Damn pedo." Don said angrily.


    " All men aside from the young master should just go die." Aria said vehemently.


    " Right, Ezzy?!" Her attitude changed as she turned to Nerezza.


    "..." Nerezza kept silent, a light red coloring her cheeks.


    " Are you people always this loud?" Ling asked incredulously.


    "...Hehe, sorry, please continue." Aria glared Ling almost to death, causing the latter to apologize swiftly.


    Knock! Knock!


    " Young master, can we come in?" Aria asked politely.


    "....What is the point of speaking softly at this point? Come in." Levi laughed lightly.


    " Young ma-Oaf!" Aria lunged at Levi.


    Before she could touch him, his blood shield appeared between them.


    " How mean, young master! Ezzy! The young master...he..he!" Aria turned to Nerezza, a tear in her eye.


    "..." Nerezza looked at Levi silently.


    " Hehe, fool." Don snickered.


    " Ezzy, kill that coward for me~" Aria whined.


    Nerezza glanced at Don.


    " So? Did you come to my room to play? If so, get out." Levi smiled.


    " Oh yeah! I almost forgot why we came." Aria shot up from the ground.


    " No, I think you did...." Ling said.


    "...Please forgive my existence." He apologized immediately.


    " Anyway, young master. Since you are leaving the cloud continent, we decided to get you some gifts!" Aria said with a smile.


    "....No, you forced all of us." Don mumbled under his breath.


    " Here!" Aria took out an embroidered hair tie.


    " Come, come, come! Let me tie your hair!" Aria said as she began moving Levi''s hair from his face.


    " Done! Now you look presentable." She held onto Levi''s face.


    Behind Levi''s head hung a high ponytail tied with a red hair tie.


    " Oi, my face is not a toy." Levi said.


    " Oh? But it''s so soft and squishy!" Aria said as she continued to squeeze and pull Levi''s cheeks.


    " Ay, you''re done, right? Then move!" Don said.


    "..." Aria silently stepped back, a vein bulging on her face.


    ".....Ahem, uh..." The words were trapped in Don''s throat.


    " See, I didn''t even have to say anything, you''re embarrassing yourself." Aria said condescendingly.


    " Sh-Shut up! Here!" Don shouted as he punched out.


    His fist stooped before Levi''s face.


    Stuck between his fingers was a necklace.


    On a string hung a thumbnail-sized jade cube, along with a few beads and filed down beast teeth.


    Don, his hands trembling, put it around Levi''s neck before hurriedly stepping back.


    " Hmm, I guess it''s my turn." Ling stepped forward.


    Levi''s gaze became cold.


    "..Ahem, please, young master." He got onto one knee while raising something wrapped in cloth with both of his hands.


    "..." Levi unwrapped the cloth.


    Inside was a sheathed sword.


    After removing the sheath, a double-edged blade was revealed.


    Imbedded in the guard, multiple gemstones glistened.


    Hanging from the end of the hilt was a black string with a few beads.


    " I hope it is to your liking, young master." Ling said as he slowly backed away.


    " Humph." Levi simply snorted.


    '' I really, Really, REALLY hope so. That thing was Expensive!'' Ling thought as tears threatened to escape his closed eyes.


    Lastly, Nerezza stood before Levi.


    She extended her arm, before opening her hand.


    Inside was a black ring.


    Atop it was a rose.


    " Hic....Ezzy...are you abandoning me for the young master...?...hic.." Sobs rang out as Aria asked.


    "..." Nerezza''s body stiffened.


    " Hmm?" Levi took the ring and looked at it closely causing Nerezza to panic silently.


    " She is just teasing you again, you know." Levi looked up at Nerezza.


    " Te-he!" Aria laughed.


    "....Thank you for your gifts." Levi lowered his head in thanks.


    " Hmm? Why so formal?" Aria asked.


    "....Since I have to work for everything I want myself, I don''t receive gifts often. It feels strange, so...." Levi said.


    " How cute, young master!" Aria squealed.


    " hehe." Don chuckled.


    "..." Nerezza kept silent.


    " Hahaha!" Ling laughed.


    " Shut up, you!" Levi shouted as he raised his head.


    " Hehe..." He laughed.


    " I will continue using all of you to reach my goal..." Levi paused as they listened.


    ".....If you happen to gain something along the way, then so be it." He finished.


    All playfulness vanished from Aria''s face as she became uncharacteristically serious.


    " What young master wills, it shall be done." She said, her hand across her chest as she bowed.


    The others followed her lead, and with their hands across their chests, bowed deeply.

 Chapter 103 - Merchant Fleet

    Levi''s room.


    " So that is where you were. I didn''t know there was another auction happening at the same time." Levi said.


    " Well, there wasn''t anything special in it, so..." Aria said.


    " Then I am assuming the guys are?" Levi asked.


    " Yes. In groups of 20, they set off to the 10 countries." Ling answered.


    "....I have a feeling that things aren''t going to go as smoothly as I want them to." Levi said.


    " All of you, especially you, should know that a lot of those guys were people who went into hiding after stirring up trouble for themselves." Levi glanced at Ling.


    " Just because they weren''t seen for a few years doesn''t mean that everyone will have forgotten about them." Levi said.


    "...Sigh, when I am gone, try not to get into trouble, ok?" Levi said helplessly.


    " Aren''t the roles of parent and child reversed in this situation?" Aria giggled.


    " I am serious. Aria, you are just at the 4th level of the Mind opening realm." Levi said.


    " In the first place, that is not a high level."


    " Added to the fact that you are training to be an apothecary, focusing on pill refining, your fighting ability is non-existent."


    " What would happen if a fight were to break out?" Levi finished.


    " How mean! It''s not like I am here alone. Furthermore, you don''t even know what level you are at, young master!"


    " So why am I getting lectured, when you are going to some dangerous land of martial arts?!" Aria argued.


    " You not being alone is not the problem. Aside from you, Don is at the 5th qi refining level-" Levi was interrupted.


    " Don''t put me on the same level as that fool! He''s been stuck at that level for over 8 months." Aria pointed.


    "....As I was saying.....Ling is at the 2nd level of the heaven and earth stage..." He paused.


    "...And finally, Nerezza is at the 5th level of the heaven and earth stage, the highest out of everyone." He finished.


    " What?!" Ling and Don shouted simultaneously.


    "...I didn''t know she was that strong..." Aria mumbled in surprise.


    " Even then, she is only strong enough to protect herself if some war were to break out." Levi said.


    " Ling isn''t much better. He has the level, but no techniques or skills to utilize it."


    " He is powerful, but don''t forget there are sects scattered throughout the cloud continent, and they have techniques."


    " Those techniques might pale in comparison to some I have seen, but they ARE techniques. Regardless."


    " What I am trying to get at is this. In a large scale fight, either you guys will be killed, or you will have to give up your lives to win." Levi said seriously.


    ".....But, young master...." Aria paused.


    '' After returning from the divine country 2 years ago, you stopped using your abilities.''


    '' From what I understand, those abilities alone make up about half of your strength, yet you are still going to such a dangerous place....'' Aria wore a conflicted expression.


    " Hmmm?" Levi looked at her.


    "....It''s nothing." She said.


    " Regardless of what you might think, out of everyone in this room, I am the hardest to kill." Levi said.


    "..." They kept silent.


    "...Don''t get the wrong idea, I am not trying to make you feel insignificant." He said.


    '' And yet, that is exactly what you are doing.'' Ling thought.


    " I just want to make sure that you understand your positions." He continued.


    " While this Red Sky inn, along with the beast market are things to be happy, even proud about, don''t let it make you forget that we are still at the bottom of the barrel."


    " Don''t let arrogance cost you your lives." Levi said.


    '' Like it almost did mine, so many times...'' He thought.


    '' For real-'' The demon saint commented.


    " Shut up, demon saint." Levi said.


    " You belong to me, including your lives. I have already invested a lot in you; As such, none of you are allowed to die without permission or an order to do so." Levi said seriously.


    "..." They all kept silent.


    " While I am gone, it will be up to you to make sure those fools don''t cause any trouble." Levi said.


    " Do you unders-"


    Boom!


    Levi''s room shook.


    " That...was not an earthquake!" Levi shot up from his bed.


    ".....It couldn''t be..." Aria''s eyes widened in realization, as she left Levi''s room.


    "..." Levi appeared on his balcony.


    An explosion blasted a hole through the front of the inn.


    From a room on the 3rd floor, flames spilled out through a large hole.


    " Kyaaa!!"


    " Hey! Are you ok?!"


    " Wh-What the hell...." The people walking below gathered.


    " That room is...." Afterimages trailed behind him as Levi left his room.


    He ran through the inn before arriving at a certain room.


    " so it was him...." Levi mumbled.


    " Young master...i..." Aria stopped.


    A youth floated horizontally above a destroyed bed, beside a large hole in the wall.


    Thick, black tattoo-like lines covered the boy''s face and arms.


    Flames coated the boy''s body as the smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air.


    " Didn''t you give him the sleeping pill?" Levi asked.


    " I ordered one of the men to do it while I was away...." Aria''s face paled.


    " His eyes are only partially open...He is not fully conscious..." Levi said.


    " Aron...how troublesome...should I just.." Levi mumbled.


    " Wha-What are we going to do, young master?" Aria''s voice shook.


    "...Sigh..." Levi could only sigh.


    "..." He reached out, grabbing at air.


    The semi-conscious Aron glanced at Levi, his eyes a bright orange color.


    " Don''t make more trouble for me. Sleep." Levi said as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.


    Aron''s body trembled ever so slightly, before slowly lowering onto what remained of the scorched bed below him.


    "...Even his skin was burned.." Levi mumbled as he slapped Aron''s chest.


    " I restarted his heart and healed the burns, but you should hurry and feed him the sleeping pill before he wakes up again." Levi sighed helplessly.


    "....I''m sorry, young master." Aria lowered her head in guilt.


    " Hurry and feed him the pill." Levi left the scorched room.


    " Demon saint, do you really not know what is wrong with him?" Levi asked.


    '' I haven''t the foggiest. Hehehe, that boy is quite something. Those flames were not qi, you know....'' The demon saint said.


    " Yes, you said that before. What I want to know is why they keep appearing." Levi said.


    '' You should be more interested in this, seeing as martial artists aren''t supposed to be able to conjure elements before a certain level.'' The demon saint said.


    " Sigh." Levi sighed.


    "....If I don''t know how to stop this from happening..."


    "...If I am not going to get rid of him, then I should at least try to make it so that he is not roasted alive..." Levi said softly.


    " Should I find a bloodline to strengthen his body? But...the last time I gave someone a bloodline, it didn''t end well for them."


    " Even though I controlled and suppressed it while the changes were made, when I let up...sigh, I will have to figure something out." He mumbled.


    ...


    Outside of the Inn.


    " Is-Is he...."


    " No, he isn''t dead, but..."


    " If that piece of wood isn''t removed..." Beads of sweat appeared on the man''s forehead.


    " Excuse me, please." A voice rang out.


    " Huh?" The people turned their heads one by one.


    " You, aren''t you the boy who owns this Inn?"


    " What?! So he is the rumored owner...."


    " What the hell were you doing in there?!"


    " Yeah! How can people feel safe while on the streets when this stuff is happening?!"


    " You may have money, but money can''t buy back a life!" Someone threw a palm-sized rock.


    "..." The blood shield materialized, catching it easily.


    " !!"


    " A martial artist...."


    " hii!"


    " No wonder.."


    Levi ignored them and walked up to the man lying on the ground, a large wooden beam atop his chest.


    He reached out, grabbing the beam.


    Boom!


    He dropped it beside the man.


    "...With only one hand?" Many people''s faces scrunched up.


    " H...el..p.." The man forced out.


    Levi reached out.


    All of the man''s blood returned to his body.


    His broken arm was healed.


    His chest which was caved in sprung back into place.


    His broken collarbone was mended.


    "...Huh." His eyes widened as the pain swiftly disappeared.


    " I am extremely sorry." Levi bowed in apology, his hair falling over his shoulder.


    " N-No, you don''t-" The man sat up.


    " Please, take this as compensation. Although it isn''t much, I hope that it will, at the very least, earn your forgiveness." Levi said as he handed over a black pouch.


    " Wha- So many silver coins?!" The man exclaimed.


    "..." Levi turned around.


    " What? Wasn''t he just on the verge of death?"


    " What did he do?"


    " Just earlier, that guys blood gathered back up and went back into his body..." Someone said with a pale face.


    " A-Are you sure?"


    " I would like to say not, but..." He glanced over at Levi''s departing figure.


    "...I now see where some of the rumors about that guy come from." He finished.


    " Oh, you should go and eat something." Levi said before continuing on his way.


    " What do yo- ugh!" The man groaned in pain.


    " Hey! Are you ok? What''s wrong?" Someone asked.


    " Humph! After that huge display, this guy will still die! All of these martial artists are the same!" A skinny man shouted.


    " They treat us like dirt just because they are a little faster or stronger!" He spat, his sharp eyes widening in anger.


    " N-No, I''m fine! It''s just...I might die of hunger!" He shouted, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.


    " Ah?!" The people collectively shouted.


    ...


    Some time later.


    The cracking of whips and the hooves of horses sounded.


    "...I guess it''s time I left." Levi got up from his cross-legged position.


    He opened the door of the balcony and walked out.


    Below, multiple carriages and lone horse riders rode down the street.


    '' Hmm? The scorching sun clan? Ha, well, I guess calling them a clan would be too generous at this point!'' The demon saint snickered.


    '' When the other two clans left, the scorching sun clan master and a few others decided to stay, while the old master and the majority of the clan left.''


    '' Hehehe, I wonder if he thought he would run into some good fortune if he stayed behind?'' He finished.


    "..." Levi eyed the yellow carriage silently, scrutinizing its peculiar flame-like design.


    " What does it matter?" Levi mumbled as he jumped from the balcony.


    " Neigh!?" A horse cried in surprise.


    " Wh-What?!"


    " Out of the way!!" The coachman shouted nervously.


    Without looking back, Levi got up.


    " Hypnotizing steps." He mumbled as afterimages trailed behind him.


    " Hmm? Wha!" A girl with blonde hair in a carriage spat out her tea.


    " What is it?" The father of said girl asked.


    " There! There!" She pointed.


    " Hmm? Cough?! Cough! Bloody hell! Damn martial artists!!" He cursed while adjusting his glasses.


    On the street, running beside their carriage was a blurred figure.


    ...


    At the edge of a forest.


    Multiple carriages, people and horses gathered.


    Just a little further in the distance was a large empty port.


    In a certain carriage.


    " Father! Can you believe it? He kept up with our carriage the entire time!" A blond-haired girl shouted excitedly.


    " Stop shouting! Behave as a proper noble lady should!" The gruff, bearded old man scolded.


    " Bu-But-"


    " No buts!" The girl flinched.


    " Humph! Think that they are gods just because they have some bodily strength! Humph! Bunch of worthless fuckers!" The old man shouted.


    " Father!" The girl protested.


    " Who do you think you are reprimanding?! You are 100 years too young!" The old man scolded.


    " Instead of focusing on such pointless drivel as martial arts, you should invest time in your falling grades!" He snapped.


    " Well?! What do you say?!" He questioned.


    " ...Yes, father." She spoke softly.


    " Hey, look! Something is coming!" Someone shouted.


    Everyone turned to look at the ocean.


    The silhouette of a ship came into view.


    A few moments later.


    " Hmm?"


    " Who was it spouting nonsense?"


    " A fisherman...."


    " False alarm, huh..."


    " Hmm?" Levi looked into the distance.


    " They are here." He mumbled.


    ...


    In the distance.


    " Ay, watch it! Yer too close!"


    " Don''t slack off!!"


    " Adjust the mainsail!"


    " Number six! Don''t break away!"


    " Careful! Careful now! Land is in sight!"


    " Heh heh heh! Cloud continent, ey?"


    " Aye, captain!"


    ...


    On land.


    " H-Hey, I think it might be here!"


    " Dammit! If this is another false alarm I will-"


    " O-Ohhh! They''re here! The merchant fleet!" Someone shouted.


    " Hey, I heard...."


    " Seriously?! The captain of this fleet is a woman?! Although I did come the last time, I didn''t see a female captain..."


    " Why would you have seen her? Who are you to cause her to appear?!"


    " A-And-Gulp...She used to be a pirate? Aren''t you pulling my leg-"


    " Shh, keep your voice down! Do you want to die-"


    " We only need 6 ships docked! Relay this! There''s no space for much more anyway!" A loud shout interrupted the man.


    " Right away, cap''n Ann!" Someone replied.


    " Oi! Only 6! The rest can fuck off fer now!" A shout echoed.


    " Aye!" Someone replied.


    " Whoa..."


    " A-Amazing..."


    Although this wasn''t their first time seeing them, the people still watched in awe.


    Over 30 barques lined the ocean.


    Their white sails, in contrast with the sea, created a great image.


    The crew continuously shouted.


    They ran up and down doing their respective jobs.


    6 ships stopped at the port, dropping their anchors.


    Dhump!


    Dhump!


    Wooden planks were extended, creating a deep thumping noise as they hit the dock.


    Step! Step!


    Wooden heels created crisp sounds as a figure walked down a plank.


    Tulwar swords at either side of her waist, a woman wearing long black pants and an unbuttoned, light-brown shirt stood.


    " The cloud continent, ey? Ya brought yer money, I trust?" She spoke as she adjusted her hat, her long, curly brown hair falling over her shoulder.

 Chapter 104 - Departure

    At the port.


    " Come! Come! Come!"


    " Choose yer pick!"


    A man wearing loose off-white pants, along with a white scarf around his head stood behind stacked crates.


    " For yer little imps, cloth made from high-quality silk!"


    " Oooh!" The crowd sounded.


    Bang!


    People walked back and forth, bringing out crates from the docked ships.


    " Oh?! Already shriveling are ya?! This here is some of the best tea you could ever get yer paws on!"


    " Some ladies in the crowd, ey?! Don''t feel left out!"


    Creek!


    He used a sword to pry open one of the crates.


    " High quality, fragrant soap! If ye want silky smooth skin, show yer coin!!"


    " Oh my!" Some women held their faces at the thought.


    " Don''t forget! These! Seductive! Perfumes! Make any man-slurp!-Unable ta resist!"


    " If I have those, then...Kyaa!" They squealed.


    " My brothers! Have ya been ''down'' lately? Can''t ''rise'' to yer lady''s satisfaction?!" The man shouted.


    " Ouuu!" Men in the crowd shouted.


    " Can ya ''wake'' yerselfs up, but still want some extra ''glory''?!"


    " OUUUU!" They roared.


    " Huh? What are you shouting for, little brat? Do you even know what he''s talking about?! Hahaha!" A boy was scolded.


    " Heh heh heh! Then these pills ar'' tha way ta go!"


    An insulated crate was opened.


    Inside, light-pink pills sat comfortably in a red cloth.


    " Jewelry! Cosmetics! Pills! What do ya want?! As long as ya can pay, anything''s fer sale!" The man shouted.


    " How uncouth."


    " These vagabonds never change."


    " I am disgusted at the very thought of breathing the same air as these savages, but..."


    The nobles in their carriages kept their distance while the common people bought what they could afford.


    "...Heh!" The man glanced at the steady carriages.


    " Oi!" He shouted.


    " Ah?!" A man atop one of the ships answered.


    " Bring a tobacco crate! One a ''those'' crates too!" The man shouted.


    " Ah? Fucking hell! Work me ta death, why don''t cha!?" The man cursed.


    ...


    Sometime later.


    Most of the people aside from the nobles had left.


    " My esteemed customers, what can I do fer you?" The man shouted to the carriages.


    " Humph, just bring me the same as last year!" A man''s voice echoed.


    " I would also thank you to bring my items as well." A female voice sounded.


    " Now, now. I ''ave somethin'' that ya might be interested in, ay?" A man walked down the plank carefully, a crate in hand.


    " Wha?! Stop wasting my time! I have plenty of work to do! Bring me my items and let me be on my way!" An angry voice echoed.


    " Ah?! Yer always so crabby an'' entitled! Listen! This ''ere pill will let ya use qi fer a time! Of course, ''t comes with a price an'' i ain''t talkin'' about money!" The man explained.


    "...What?!?" The nobles erupted.


    A few minutes later.


    " The captain ain''t goin'' to be happy about this, ya know." The man who brought out the crate said.


    " And how''ll she know? Is a little bird goin'' ta whisper inta her pretty little ear?" The man slapped the other man''s face softly, repeatedly.


    " Ah?!" He grabbed the man''s neck, but the latter kept silent.


    Shing!


    " Ara, Ara, What''s this?!" A female voice sounded.


    " Mm? Nothin'' cap''n! This ''ere just needed some discipline." The man said, looking over his shoulder.


    " Tat tat tat!" She clicked her tongue.


    " From a girl, ya see, my ears had always been sharp! As I grew, they got better! Along wit'' all tha extra ears I''ve gained ova tha years, Tsk tsk tsk." She pointed to her ear as she walked.


    Behind her walked a youth with red hair, a ponytail neatly tied behind his head.


    "Let''s jus'' say, even in tha dead of a storm, I can hear when ya start ta wank."


    " Even tha slight tremors that pass through yer body when ya cum. Don''t ya understand?" She stopped behind the man.


    " Humph!...huh?" The man''s body turned swiftly as he swung the back of his fist.


    It was only after his body stopped that he realized.


    " M-My...My arm?" He asked as he looked at a cleanly cut stump.


    " That what yer looking fer?" She pointed.


    A severed arm clung to the man''s neck without spilling a drop of blood.


    " Fascinating, innit? How I cut off yer arm without ya knowin''." She said.


    " D-Damn bitch...I''ll kill ya slowly!" Qi rose from his body as he punched out.


    His body then came to a sudden stop.


    " Ah, ah, men. Why do ya think yer superior? ''Cause ya got a cock and balls hanging between yer legs?" She asked leisurely.


    " I got news fer ya! I built this fleet up myself!"


    " All our suppliers? Who made contracts with''em? Me!"


    " In tha end, who do these ere ships, tha cargo and tha money belong ta? Ya fucking guessed it! me!"


    " And if ya want, I''ll show ya! I ain''t got no cock or balls, but in the end, who do ya work fer?! Motherfukin me!" She shouted.


    " Now, you, my dick faring friend, could probably live if someone were ta stitch ya back up! How much will ya pay fer that?" She asked.


    " A-Al-All.." The man said.


    " S''that so?! Too bad! I don''t Want yer fuckin'' money!" She kicked out, causing the man''s body to tumble like blocks.


    The segments each landed with a splat, as blood poured out.


    " Oi!" She looked up.


    " Cap''n?! The man answered, his face pale.


    " Find ''is balls an'' hang ''em up somewhere!" She ordered.


    " But, cap''n...we ain''t pirates no more...somethin'' like that is..." The man replied.


    " Oh, bad fer business, aye? Hmm, use ''em as fish bait then!" She held her chin in thought.


    "....Roger, captain Ann!" The man shouted.


    " Now, back ta you, boy! What were ya saying just earlier?" She said.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' Former pirate captain, now head merchant of this ''black spot'' merchant fleet, Ann Bonet.'' Levi recited in his head.


    '' Kyaaa! The pirate lady is so scary~'' The demon saint squealed fearfully.


    " Oi, stop playing around, demon saint." Levi scolded.


    " Playin'' around?" ''Head merchant'' Ann asked.


    "...I was talking to myself. In any case, back to the main topic. Last year, when you visited this continent, I paid you in advance with rare potions to take me to a certain place." Levi said.


    " Potions? Paid?!" Her eyes alternated between wide and almost shut, as her head tilted.


    "O-Oh! I do remember sellin'' some weird potions fer a hefty sum..." She paused while scrutinizing Levi''s appearance.


    "...But, I''m sure I got ''em from someone else!" She exclaimed.


    " Ah? You-" A sound caused Levi to turn around.


    "...astER" Aria''s voice echoed from the distance.


    Crackle!


    Nerezza stopped before Levi, Aria in her arms as the crackling of electricity slowly faded.


    " Did something happen already?" Levi asked, his expression dimming.


    " Nope! I just came to see you off!" Aria raised her index finger matter-of-factly.


    "..." Levi nearly fell over.


    "...Aren''t you going to get down?" Nerezza asked.


    " Huuuuh? But it''s so comfy here?" Aria snuggled.


    "...Sigh, troublesome. Let''s just hurry and leave." Levi mumbled as he walked towards one of the ships.


    " Oi! Oi! Hol'' up! Where''er ya goin''?!" A man extended his arm stopping Levi''s advance.


    " Hmm? Go ask your captain. I paid for a ride a while ago." Levi said.


    " Cap''n?" The man asked.


    " I told ya earlier, didn''t I? It ain''t you that I got tha potions from! Go back ta yer family, boy." ''Head merchant'' Ann said, her eyes narrowing.


    "...Ah?" Levi''s gaze shifted.


    " Oi, get rid of these guys fer me!" She told a few of her men.


    " Ey, brat, get lost!" A man kicked out.


    " Leave! Before yer beggin'' to!" Another man walked up to Aria and Nerezza.


    " Oi, Oi, OI!" Levi repeatedly said.


    " Stop wasting my time with jokes." Levi said as a partially formed blood shield caught the man''s leg easily.


    " Joke? I don''t know tha meanin'' of tha word, boy." Ann raised her head, before looking down at Levi.


    " Nerezza." Levi''s voice chilled.


    " Yes?" She answered without emotion.


    " Why was I mostly passive during the majority of these two years?" He asked.


    " To avoid making new enemies while an unstable element ran amok in your organization." Nerezza summarized.


    " And what of the unstable element?" Levi asked.


    " Eliminated." She answered simply.


    " Ah?! Is that supposed ta scare me?!" ''Head merchant'' Ann grabbed both of her swords.


    " Nerezza." Levi called out once more.


    " Yes?" She answered.


    " Right now, kill anyone who enters within a certain distance of yourself." Levi said, his voice devoid of emotions.


    "...Understood."


    Crackle!


    " Wa-Young master!" Aria shouted in protest.


    " I do not have unlimited patience. Wearing an emotional mask every day is not easy in the first place." Levi said.


    " But then I also have to deal with stupid, annoying situations." He said.


    " Right now, my patience is at its thinnest. I have no issue with killing every single person here right now." He continued.


    " At the end of the day, I will benefit the most. Not only will I grow stronger, but a fleet of ships will also fall into my hands." He finished.


    Levi held a single-handed, single-edged sword.


    It had a golden handle, while the beginning of the blade from the hilt was silver, the rest of it was black.


    The blade was long, but also small and thin, like that of a dagger.


    The sword that was given to him hung at his waist.


    " Well? What are you waiting for? Wasn''t it a conflict you wanted?" Levi chuckled lightly.


    " Oh, It seems you need something to get yourself started." A suffocating killing intent leaked from Levi''s body, causing the air around him to darken.


    " Hehehe, it seems ya were the kid I made a deal wit a year ago!" ''Head merchant'' Ann chuckled.


    " Come on, don''t be like that..." Levi smiled.


    The blade slid through the air swiftly.


    It cut through flesh and bones easily.


    Thump!


    All blood was drained before the head hit the ground.


    " Hehehe!" Levi laughed darkly.


    " Didn''t you want to play?!" He shouted as he grabbed out.


    " Nnn!" Veins bulged on another man''s body.


    Pstuuu!


    " Ahhh!!" Blood spray from burst veins.


    The man''s body fell with a splat, as blood continued to pour out.


    "...Isn''t this your game? Why aren''t you playing?" Levi asked, his face expressionless.


    " Ya misunderstood! When I met ya fer the first time, a layer uv rejection wrapped around ya like cloth!" ''Head merchant'' Ann said.


    " But even now in yer fit of madness, that rejection is nowhere ta be seen! Without this kinda outburst, how could I have recognized ya fer who ya were?" She snickered.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' Ahah, you went and got mad!'' The demon saint sighed.


    '' Years of training, wasted!'' He wailed.


    '' Quiet, demon saint.'' Levi said.


    '' If I didn''t do at least this much, this would have taken forever with this woman''s annoying personality.'' Levi thought with slight irritation.


    '' S-So, you didn''t let anger control your actions?! I-I am so proud!'' The demon saint blew his nose as he wept.


    ''...So I say, but I would be lying if I said I didn''t get angry at all.'' Levi thought.


    " Hurry up! Or do ya want ta be left behind?" ''Head merchant'' Ann chuckled as she walked past Levi.


    "..." Levi turned, watching her ascending figure.


    " We''re followin'' a zig-zagged route! To tha Divine Dragon Continent, then to tha Half moon belt, also known as The Arc Belt! Then, to the jade sword continent!" She said.


    " Hehehe! Ya owe me fer my two men!" She snickered.


    ''...Was that her goal from the beginning?'' Levi''s eyes narrowed in thought.


    "...Go back to the city. I will be gone for a while."


    " After you stabilize things in the countries and learn how to operate the ship, you can come to the jade sword continent. Just be careful with what you say about me." Levi turned to board a ship.


    " Young master!" Aria shouted.


    "..." Levi turned his head.


    " You can put me down." She told Nerezza.


    " Be safe!" She shouted.


    "...Hmm." Levi continued on his way.


    ...


    A few moments later.


    The fleet of ships was barely visible in the distance.


    "...He''s gone..." Aria mumbled.


    "...Why do you.." Nerezza paused.


    " Behave like an idiot? Haha.." Aria laughed lightly, a big smile on her face.


    "...I was...thrown away...after many years of marriage." She said.


    " Then, I found myself in a place where I wouldn''t have been able to survive at the time." She looked down at her palms.


    "..." Nerezza kept silent.


    " At the time, the young master was thrown into the same place..."


    "...He was way smaller than me at the time...but in his eyes, I saw that he was unwilling to give up, no matter what he went through..."


    " He somehow escaped that place, before appearing once again."


    "...At first, I just wanted to use him to escape my perilous situation...but after a while, I realized something about him."


    " He harbors hatred, a deep and dark hatred...for everyone and everything...A strong rejection of everything." She clenched her fists.


    "...To the point where he doesn''t like others being near, much less touch him." She opened her hands.


    " Even so, he silently keeps this hatred in check, buries it deep within himself...it sits there, growing every day."


    " At some point, I just felt the need to do something about it, because...everything he does, is for a certain goal."


    " A goal that he believes will lead him to happiness...but if his reaching that goal doesn''t lead to the desired result, I don''t know what he will become." Aria''s expression reflected sadness.


    " My silly behavior is just my attempt at bringing fun and laughter to his life before any of that happens." She looked at Nerezza.


    " In all honesty, I have come to see him as somewhat of a son that needs to be taken care of, same as with Aron."


    " But although that is how it is, he keeps such a solid guard around himself that sometimes I wonder if I am wasting my time..." She chuckled.


    " Aria..." Nerezza called out.


    " Hmm?" Aria turned her head curiously.


    " You, I...I can''t...be with you..." Nerezza said with difficulty.


    "...I...see.." Aria''s eye widened.


    "..." She stood silently for a few minutes.


    " You can just...go back before me." Aria said without looking at Nerezza.


    " But-" Nerezza was interrupted.


    " It''s fine, I will get back by myself." Aria flashed her a smile.


    "..." Nerezza silently left, looking back just before she entered the forest.


    ''... I will just....wait while the waves wash away my feelings.'' Aria thought.


    A few minutes later.


    The sun colored the clouds in beautiful orange.


    "...I should go back." Aria turned.


    "..." She stopped.


    She sat on the ground, pulling her legs close to her chest.


    "...Ah.." A soft cry echoed.


    "...Ah..sniffle..hic-ah-..sniffle..umph.." She buried her face in her legs and wept softly.


    Even though she was alone, she kept her voice down, as if to avoid disturbing anyone else.

 Chapter 105 - Arrival

    Late evening.


    On the deck of a ship, Levi sat cross-legged.


    A red water-like qi, reminiscent of diluted blood enveloped his body.


    All around him were cloths, empty crates, or other random items.


    He circulated the water commandment, paying them no mind.


    It was the 3rd day since he left the cloud continent.


    In the beginning, he felt sick to his stomach, inhibiting his ability to cultivate, but during the past 3 days, it got better.


    "...Now, for inscription practice." His eyes cracked open, as the qi seeped back into his body.


    Puft!


    His mental energy flame appeared.


    Qi spilled from his fingertips, forming patterns and stacking them swiftly.


    It was then coated in mental energy.


    "... I don''t have any material to attach this to." Levi mumbled.


    " Hmm." He got up.


    He could only hear the waves crashing, as darkness loomed.


    " Well, this inscription doesn''t ''need'' to be attached to anything to use it." Levi mumbled.


    He extended his arm, as the inscription floated out over the water.


    A stream of qi spilled from his palm, flowing toward the inscription.


    "!!!" Levi plugged his ear with his finger.


    An extremely loud screeching sound exploded from the inscription.


    " I guess it failed." He mumbled under the noise.


    " Aghhhhhhhh!! What!! Is!!! That!!! Screechin''!?!?!" A loud female voice sounded from below the deck.


    " Ca-Cap''n...can ya be quiet?! People''er sleepin'' ''ere!"


    " Dammit! Who''s it that blew me eardrums?!"


    " Shhh! Quit yer shoutin''! People be sleepin''!!"


    " Ah?! Who''s shoutin'' ere?!"


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    He overloaded the inscription with qi, causing it to shatter.


    ...


    The next day, Morning.


    " Adjust the sail!"


    " Oi! Tell number 14 they''re breakin'' too far away, ey?!"


    " Aye!"


    The wind was caught in the numerous sails as some of their edges flapped wildly.


    " Oooi!! I can see ''er!"


    " Tha Divine dragon continent!"


    " Aye!"


    In the distance, atop the sea was a cluster of green.


    " Remember! Don''t ya go wanderin'' off when we get there! Not unless ya want ta become a slave!" Someone shouted.


    " Aye! Those bastards don''t play around'', I tell ya!"


    " Ouuu!"


    " Always an interestin'' sight!"


    " S''this place really shaped like a 4 fingered dragon claw?!"


    " Aye! An get this, tha 4 kingdoms ''ere take up only half-a each finger! S''what I heard anyway!" Someone said.


    " Ah? Then what about the rest of it, ey?"


    " All wilderness! Full of precious ''erbs an'' other materials!"


    " Wha-"


    " But don''t get no ideas! Some people live there! Them an'' the 4 kingdoms don''t get on too hot though, so a lot of ''em are enslaved! The weak ones ''nyway!"


    The ships continued to sail towards the Divine Dragon continent.


    The weirdly shaped continent became more visually accessible.


    Large curved rows of land pointed out.


    The ships were sailing between the thumb and index finger, which were pointing to each other.


    The continent was filled with vegetation.


    A castle was visible on the thumb finger since it was elevated, but the cities were hidden by the trees among other things.


    A large port sat between the two fingers.


    Ships of varying sizes went in and out.


    Some of the merchant ships soon docked.


    " So this is ''that'' Divine Dragon continent, huh." Levi looked up.


    A path was cleared through the forest, but as far as he looked, he could only see green.


    " Not gonna get off?" ''Head merchant'' Ann asked, as she grinned.


    "...How long are you going to be staying here?" Levi asked.


    " Not answerin'' huh? Hehe, a few days..." She said after some thought.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " ...So I''d like ta say, but some powerful people ''ere don''t think so good of me!" She snickered.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " Che! Yer no fun!" She stomped off.


    ...


    A week later.


    The morning sun shone brightly, giving everything a feeling of freshness.


    Levi sat on the deck, enveloped in red water-like qi.


    The ship was much calmer, as there wasn''t as much shouting and running around.


    " Land ahoy!"


    " Aye!"


    The ships sailed slowly as an island came into view.


    If one looked closely, they would notice that just beside it, in the distance, was another island.


    Multiple islands lined this part of the sea, which led to them becoming known as ''The Arc belt'' or chain.


    " Viiiiiiiiiuuu!"


    " They came!"


    " Oh! Thank god! My kid''s pants are cutting him in half from the crotch!"


    " I''m almost out of perfumes and cosmetics!"


    " And my pills for...Hehhehheh, let''s just say my pills have run out!"


    Distant shouts and faint whistling sounded from the island.


    " Heh heh, this here place s''always good fer business!"


    " Hehe, these''er mostly rocky islands without much resources!"


    " In other words, they''ll always need us ta come ere, ey?"


    " Don''t forget there''er others like us on the sea!"


    " Aye!"


    "..."


    " What''sa matter?"


    " How long is the brat gonna be ''ere for?" A man pointed to Levi, who was still cultivating.


    " Ah? The boss got paid ta take ''im to the sword continent, so til there''?"


    " Hrnn."


    " Oi! What''re ya starin'' into space for?! Go tell the other ships to go on ta the other islands!" A man shouted.


    The fleet split into groups, with each group sailing to one of the islands.


    ...


    A few days later.


    Levi sat on the deck.


    In front of him, blood energy spiraled, creating a large circle.


    " Oi, yer destination s''up ahead!" ''Head merchant'' Ann said.


    "..." The blood energy scattered and Levi got up.


    " Oh." His eyes widened in astonishment.


    Even though they were not at all close to it, from left to right, no matter how far he looked, he couldn''t see either end.


    " ''T''ll take about a month ta get ta the port though!"


    "..." As the ship got closer, Levi silently admired the beaches.


    Even at their distance, he could see a few large mountains.


    Besides the merchant fleet, other ships and boats sailed, all in different directions.


    Sometimes glowing lights would swirl around the larger ships.


    ...


    A week later.


    "..." Levi watched as the ship slowly sailed past a port.


    " Oi." Levi turned to a man.


    " Ah?" The man scowled.


    " Why aren''t you stopping?" Levi pointed to the port.


    " Tch, fuckin'' nuisance." The man mumbled under his breath.


    " The boss chooses where we sail. If you don''t understand what that means, then go ask her!" He said with an annoyed tone.


    " Humph." Levi snorted.


    ''...From the time I arrive, I will need to have my fake personality and back story fleshed out.'' Levi sat down.


    '' Preferably, it should be the opposite of myself.''


    '' I highly doubt anyone on this continent knows me, but I would rather be on the safe side.'' He closed his eyes.


    '' For simplicity''s sake, my name will stay as it is. I came from a small country, an orphan.''


    '' My parents died when I was very young, thus I grew up on the streets.''


    '' At the age of 12, I was taken into a sect. That same year, I was kicked out of said sect because of a dispute with an elder.''


    '' I moved to a small mountain village for a while before moving to the big city. There, I got a well-paying job as an attendant for one of the city''s young masters who was around my age.''


    '' I heard stories about the legendary martial arts of the jade sword continent, and since I still cultivated every day, I decided to one day go there.''


    '' For two years, I saved my money. I then paid a merchant to bring me here, and I even saved some of my money!''


    Time passed swiftly as Levi created a simple backstory.


    " What''s he doin''? Meditatin''?" A man asked.


    " Ah? Back ta work, aye?!" Another one shouted.


    ...


    A week and a half later.


    Levi sat on the deck cross-legged, his eyes closed.


    ''...This kind of personality should be good.''


    '' Mostly quiet, because I hate talking to other people.'' He thought with a straight face.


    '' Slightly shy, because meeting new people is annoying.'' A shy smile crept onto his face.


    '' Explosive in certain situations, because putting on an act for long periods is mentally exhausting. I need a way to vent sometimes.'' His brows furrowed angrily.


    '' And...slightly clumsy, just because.'' He chuckled foolishly.


    "...The hell''s he doin''?" A man said at the sight of Levi''s changing expressions.


    " Y''know ''ut, fuck it! Keep watchin'' ''im! But I want ya to know, when the boss sees the brat doin'' nothin'', she ain''t gone say nothin''. Wait''n see if she''s goin'' to react the same way with you!" Another man said, annoyed.


    ...


    2 weeks later.


    During these two weeks, Levi was often seen either enveloped in red water-like qi, or with a large circle of blood energy in front of him.


    This day it was the latter.


    Beside him was also the blood gate.


    " Oi!" A female voice sounded.


    " Yes?" Levi turned his head.


    His eyes had a never before seen sparkle.


    "...W-Were ''ere...Creepy." ''Head merchant'' Ann said, before mumbling.


    " Ahhh..." When Levi got up, an excited sigh escaped his mouth.


    In the distance, a large port town sat.


    It looked like it was built on the side of a hill.


    The white bricks that lined the ground reflected sunlight.


    The port had mainly boats, along with a few ships docked.


    " Relay this! We''ll need just 8 ships! Move yer asses! I want this brat off my sea carriage!" ''Head merchant'' Ann shouted.


    " Aye!" The men shouted collectively as they sprang into action.


    8 ships were quickly docked, as planks were extended from them.


    Groups of people were already gathering at the base of the harbor.


    " We''ve arrived at your destination, dear customer." ''Head merchant'' Ann smiled at Levi while speaking in as polite a voice as she could.


    " Now git yer ass off''a my bloody ship! And don''t ferget ya owe me some coin, an'' I don''t fergive debts!" She shouted.


    " Mhmm, Mhmm! I will pay you the next time I see you!" Levi''s eyes became slits as he smiled.


    " But afterward, don''t appear before me again." A cold light flickered in his eyes for a split-second.


    " Humph!" ''Head merchant'' Ann grinned.


    He walked toward the town, a slightly reserved look on his face.


    The sea of people parted for him, letting him through before closing back up.


    The black spot merchants brought out their products, causing excitement to build in the people.


    While walking, Levi realized something.


    " I''ve never been here in my life, where should I go?" He looked around, a slightly nervous look on his face.


    " What?!" A shout echoed from the distance.


    " Hii!" Levi squeaked in a high pitched voice, before turning his head.


    " No need to pretend, you heard what I said. The agreement was, you dive, I will pay handsomely for any artifacts you find, provided they are in good enough condition." A man said.


    This man wore a beautiful white robe with blue stripes going down both shoulders.


    White, gold-embroidered cloth shoes along with white pants covered his legs and feet.


    An imposing aura surrounded him.


    His eyes were sharp, while his hair was spiky.


    In front of him was a tanned man wearing dark-blue pants.


    He wore neither shirt, robe, or shoes.


    The ends of his black hair were washed out.


    " But here you are, trying to force a rusted metal basket into my hands. We have nothing more to discuss. You have profited enough at my expense."


    " Destroy my communication device." The man said as he turned around.


    " You bastard! After making so much from our diving, you are just going to throw us away?! After some of us even died for you?!?" The man shouted with bloodshot eyes.


    " Hey, calm down! You know how strong he is..."


    " So what?! Is it so wrong to want to be treated like a human being?!" The man shouted.


    Multiple men wearing only pants held him back until the other man was out of view.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "...Um, what is going on?" Levi asked cautiously.


    " Che!" The man scowled.


    " What is that thing..." Levi pointed.


    '' What could it be? The man walked off calling it trash, but...In any case, this shouldn''t affect my current character, right?'' Levi thought.


    " Tch! This thing?!" The man got up.


    Deng!


    " This fucking thing?!" He kicked something resembling a basket made of metal.


    Its edges were rusted, while stone-like corral grew on the basket-like part.


    There were also square holes the size of a quarter of a palm.


    Deng!


    " Ow!" The man kicked it wrongly, causing him to wince in pain.


    " That damned bastard! After making all of the money, after some of us even died, this is how he treats us?! fuck." The man cursed.


    " Um..." Levi called out.


    " Huh?! You''re still here?! Get lost!!" The man shouted.


    " Wait, wait, wait! Hear me out!" Levi waved his hands in front of himself.


    " Huh??" The man''s face scrunched up in annoyance.


    " Wh-Why don''t you work for me?" Levi asked.


    "..." An astonished look appeared on the man''s face.


    " I mean, I won''t abandon you like the man from earlier, so..." Levi proposed with a nervous look on his face.


    "..." The man stared at Levi in astonishment.


    "..." Levi nervously waited for an answer.


    " SCRAM!!!" The man shouted, almost bursting a vein due to anger.


    " Hiii!" Levi swiftly ran away.


    '' Well, what did I expect. It might have been for the best that he reacted that way.'' Levi thought as he ran.


    ''...I wasted so much time and I still don''t know a thing about this place.'' He thought.


    '' First, I need to find a person who will answer my questions without asking any.'' He slowed to walking.


    " Ah?! What are you back here for?!" A shout sounded in the distance.


    " Huh? Why are you shouting at a paying customer?" A boy wearing a green robe, white pants, and black shoes asked while scratching his head of light green hair.


    " P-Pa-Pay-Paying customer?!? You stayed at my inn for a full week saying that you will pay before you leave, but you didn''t have even a copper on you!!!" The Inn keeper''s eyes nearly pooped out of his head.


    "...Oh! I just remembered, you''re right! I''m so sorry! Could you just let me stay the night? I will pay you tomorrow, I''ve-" The boy was interrupted.


    " That''s the third time you used that excuse!" The innkeeper slapped the boy''s head, causing it to bounce in multiple directions.


    " Hey, innkeep, how can you abuse your paying customers like this?" The boy rubbed his head, a wronged look on his face.


    " Gahhhhhhh!!" The innkeeper grabbed his head and screamed at the top of his lungs.


    ''...When life gives you lemons.'' Levi thought.


    " Hey, I just arrived here today! Can you answer a few questions for me?" Levi walked up to them.


    " Hmm? Sure! But... I''m in a somewhat troublesome situation." The boy said.


    '' Waiting much longer would be troublesome, so...'' Levi thought.


    " How about we talk inside? This is an inn, right?" Levi asked.


    " Hmm, that''s kinda the problem. This bear-like innkeeper is fairly abusive, even to paying customers. I wonder if I should take my money somewhere else?" The boy said.


    " You...you..you-you-you!" The innkeeper''s mouth twitched from rage.


    " I would like a room for a few days please." Levi said to the Innkeeper, before handing him a handful of silver coins.


    "..Hmm?...Hmm?! Right away, dear C-O-S-T-O-M-E-R!" The innkeeper glared down at the boy with bloodshot eyes.


    ...


    In the room.


    A lamp illuminated the slowly darkening room.


    "..." Levi sat on the bed, his mouth wide open.


    In front of him, sitting on the ground was a boy with green hair, Adam.


    " S-So, you arrived here not long ago yourself?" Levi questioned carefully.


    " Hmm, I threw up the whole trip. Seasickness I think it was called? But seriously, I can''t believe that innkeeper." Adam said.


    "..." Levi''s mouth widened slightly.


    ''...Then why did you say that you would answer my questions? I now know how that innkeeper felt. I just want to strangle this fool right now!'' Levi thought as a vein on his forehead threatened to burst.

 Chapter 106 - Arduous Month

    1 month later.


    " Hey."


    " Hey?"


    " Hey!"


    "....I''ve never been there myself since it''s so far..."


    " Hey!"


    " Oh, I see! So do you know if there is anything I need to watch out for when I reach there?" A figure with a red ponytail spoke to a large man wearing an apron.


    " Well, I heard that just a short distance away from the city is-"


    " Hey!"


    "..." The man stopped.


    " Ah, please don''t mind him. He is not right in his mind, you see..." Levi flashed a complicated smile.


    " O-Oh, I see. Right, so, a short distance away from the city is a group of...No? What was it called?" The man held his chin in thought.


    " A sect?" Levi asked.


    " Ah, yeah! A sect! Why couldn''t I remember that word?" The man mumbled.


    " Haha, well, I guess to regular people, the word sect doesn''t hold much meaning!" Levi chuckled.


    " Ah, no, no, no! We all know how powerful martial sects are..." The man waved while hurriedly explaining.


    " I meant that since on regular days, common people don''t really have a use for the word, it could be easier to forget! I didn''t mean to make you sweat so much, boss." Levi scratched his head, a complicated smile on his face.


    " Ah, so that was it..." The man sighed secretly.


    " Anyway boss, if you remember anything else, please let me know!" Levi said.


    " Oh, sure! Take care of yourself!" The man leaned against his doorframe, a large grin on his face.


    " Thank you for your concern! I have to go take care of my friend. He hit his head recently, but I just couldn''t abandon him." Levi said with a complicated smile.


    " Huh? Who hit their head?" Adam asked.


    " Hais! Don''t cause the man any more trouble, let''s go! It''s time for your meal." Levi pulled Adam along by his arm.


    " Haha, what a caring kid. If only..." The man shook his head with a large grin, before going back into his restaurant.


    ...


    In an alley.


    " What''s the big idea, ah?" Levi squeezed Adam''s face.


    " Haa? Whadda you mean?" Adam asked.


    " I''b your friend ''ight? I hid my head so you ''abe do dake care ob me!" He said.


    " You little!" Levi squished around his face.


    '' This guy is smarter than he lets on, although I still think something is wrong with his head.'' Levi thought with irritation.


    ''...I can''t do anything to him at this point. Right now, I should always assume someone is watching my every move, therefore, killing this fool could blow my cover. But...'' His thoughts paused.


    ''...Having him around me will 100% make me blow my cover!'' Veins bulged on Levi''s neck.


    ''...Sigh.'' He mentally sighed.


    "..." He let go of Adam''s face, then turned and left the alley.


    " Ah, it''s the red-haired boy. Did you find about what you wanted to know?" A woman wearing a blue apron over a white dress and a frilly, white mop hat asked.


    '' The maid?'' Levi thought.


    " Yes, I have! Thank you for your help!" Levi waved with a smile.


    " Hey, what about my meal?" Adam asked.


    " Shut up, you." Levi quick-wittedly replied.


    " Hmm? Oi, you found what you were lookin'' for, boy?" An old man sat in front of a wooden building.


    Wood shavings surrounded him, along with a curved piece of wood.


    He took the pipe from his mouth before asking.


    '' The old craftsman.'' Levi thought.


    " Yes! I''ve been asking around, so I have learned about most of the things I wanted to know!" Levi said.


    " Sorry for bothering you the other day." He said apologetically.


    "...Don''t worry about it." The old man said as he went back to shaving the piece of wood, the bowl of his pipe glowing as he pulled air through it.


    While walking through the town, even more people stopped to speak to Levi.


    Adam also continued to nag him until he walked stiffly from anger.


    Due to the environment, Levi found himself calming faster than usual.


    The white, tiled street, which although it went up the side of a hill, reflected the sunlight.


    Along with the blooming, white flowers on the few trees growing along the roadsides were refreshing.


    While he consciously calmed himself for the sake of his current identity, the soothing environment made it that much easier.


    But...


    ...


    In a small restaurant.


    " Mmm! Here is the best!" A boy sat in a large chair, his legs dangling as he shoveled food into his mouth.


    " Hey! Chew your food properly, Kylo!" His mother scolded.


    " Ok!" The boy licked his lips happily.


    Donk!


    " Ahh!" A man slammed down a wooden mug.


    " Hahah, the booze here is great, right!? Right?! Don''t forget out bet!" Another one chided.


    " Ah?! Don''t get too cocky now! Who said I liked it?!"


    " Are you being serious? Who are you trying to fool with that satisfied face? Gyahahah!" The man slapped the table.


    In front of Levi sat a plate of rice, braised meat, and some vegetables. Along with a cup of juice.


    '' You know, while simple is best, you should have put a bit more work into your backstory.'' The demon saint said.


    '' I already said it wasn''t necessary. No one on this continent should know me, so unless I break character, nothing will happen.'' Levi lifted a spoonful of gravy drenched rice to his face.


    '' Are you saying that you won''t break character?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Yes.'' Levi silently chewed.


    '' No matter what?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Why are you so persistent? You have been watching my growth from the beginning.'' Levi''s brows furrowed in dissatisfaction.


    '' Open your eyes.'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm?" Levi looked up.


    Clank!


    " Whoa, there." Using the tips of his fingers, Levi carefully slammed his glass of juice back onto the table, causing the cutlery to chatter.


    " And what might you be doing, hmm?" Levi smiled as a vein bulged on his cheek.


    " I-I could ask the same of you. Release the juice." Adam said with difficulty as he continued to grip the glass.


    " Well, considering I bought you food AND something to drink, I think that you might have gotten the wrong idea?" Levi firmly pressed down on the glass with a smile.


    " W-Well, I know that my good friend who didn''t abandon me even after I hit my head will be kind enough to allow me one more cup of juice..." Adam''s grip tightened.


    "..." More veins bulged on Levi''s face.


    " O-On second thought, I don''t need the juice after all..." Adam released the glass.


    '' Hmm?'' Levi continued to watch cautiously.


    " That meat looks really good, after all!" Adam''s arm blurred.


    Deng!


    Cutlery chattered as Levi drove a fork through the wooden table.


    Adam''s arm hung in place.


    Levi held one hand above the other as he glared up at Adam.


    " Try it. I DARE you." A dark murderous aura leaked from his body.


    "..." Adam silently retracted his arm.


    " That''s what I thought." Levi grinned darkly, showcasing jagged teeth and bloodshot eyes.


    " Dear customer, your malevolent aura is scaring the other guests. If you are finished, please leave." A waiter calmly pointed to the door.


    " Wha-!" Levi looked up to the waiter in shock, then towards the plate of food of which he had eaten only a few bites.


    '' Hahaha! You should let me listen in more often!'' The demon saint laughed loudly.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    ...


    In the inn.


    " Haaa! So full!" Adam patted his stomach, a satisfied smile on his face.


    Levi''s body stiffened as his veins bulged.


    " Hmm? You good? Why''d you stop? Haa, guess it''s time to sleep." Adam yawned before walking towards the small bed.


    A firm grip stopped Adam''s movements.


    In an instant, he found himself outside the door.


    Creak!


    The door squeaked as it closed slowly.


    " Hey! Wai-What are you doing?! You can''t shut me out of my room!" Adam held onto the door, pulling it back open.


    " What is your room?! Let go of my door! Get lost!" Levi''s arm appeared through the opening, pushing Adam''s head.


    " Nnngggn!" Adam pulled will all of his strength.


    " Enough...OF THIS SHIT!" Levi kicked the door.


    Boom!


    Adam crashed into the back of the hall as Levi swiftly shut and locked the door.


    " Sigh, fucking hell..." Levi sighed while panting.


    '' Controlling my strength is not easy. Mistakingly killing him would have been bad.'' He thought.


    " At least with this, he will at most only break a few bones. But the real achievement...i finally got rid of that fool." Levi looked as if the life was sucked out of him.


    " I don''t have the energy to cultivate. After a month of having to deal with that fool...I''ll just sleep." Levi said.


    " Ugh! My head is sore from having my hair like this." While flat on his stomach, Levi undid the hair tie.


    "..." He fell asleep immediately.


    ...


    Night.


    Click!


    The lock of the door opened with a click.


    '' Hmm?'' Levi''s ears twitched as his eyes opened.


    " Humph, I made it in..." A muffled voice echoed.


    Creak!


    The wooden floors creaked with a step.


    " hehe-huh?" Confusion replaced laughter.


    "..." Levi''s eyes seemed to be glowing as he stood silently.


    A black blade pressed against the neck of the figure.


    " Who are you?" Levi asked.


    " Huh? It''s me! You know, me!" Adam said immediately.


    " ?" Levi kept silent


    He put more strength into his arm.


    " Ow Ow ow! It''s me! Adam! What are you doing!" Adam shouted.


    ''?!'' Levi''s thoughts were uprooted.


    " How the hell did you get back in here?!" Levi Shouted while putting away the sword.


    " Hmm? How? Well, I just had the innkeeper unlock it for me!" Adam said.


    "..." Levi was rendered speechless.


    " It was a hassle, now I''m sleepier than ever. Haaa!" He yawned.


    " Ha, I was really scared just then, too! What kind of sword was that? Can I see it? Maybe tomorrow?" Adam walked towards the bed.


    "..."


    "..."


    Levi grabbed the back of Adam''s robe.


    " Nope." He said as he pulled.


    Adam stumbled backward before falling onto his backside.


    " Ow! Siii!" He hissed from the pain.


    " If you are going to continue being a pain in my ass, then do it from a safe distance." Levi said.


    " I''m quite sleepy right now, don''t-Haaa-Have the energy to deal with you."


    " Meaning, I might not be able to control myself if you come within a certain distance of this bed...Understand?" Levi cast Adam a sidelong glance.


    " Sir, yes sir!" A chill went up Adam''s spine.


    " Good, then sleep. If not, be quiet." Levi fell onto the bed.


    He gripped the hilt of the treasure sword at his waist before falling into darkness.


    ...


    Morning.


    "..." Levi sat silently, enveloped in a blue water-like qi.


    " kgnnnn!" Adam lay on the ground, his limbs all in different directions.


    " Ahh! Ahhh!"


    " Kgnnnn!!" Adam snored.


    " Ahhh! S-So deep!" Voices from the neighboring room sounded.


    "..." Levi opened his eyes as the qi seeped back into his body.


    He walked to the wall before tapping it lightly.


    " I''m sorry, but could you be a bit quieter?" He said.


    " Eh?! H-How embarrassing!" A female voice sounded.


    " Hehe, sorry about the noise bro!" A man shouted.


    " Don''t worry about it!" Levo said with a smile.


    ...


    " Ahhh! Ahhhhhhh!!"


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    " I-If you- Ahh!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    " You''re...Being too rough! I''m! Slamming into the wall!" A voice filled with pleasure rang out.


    " You like that, huh?!" The man shouted.


    "..." Levi looked over at the wall, before looking down.


    Qi spiraled as patterns were formed and stacked.


    Crack!


    '' Failed...'' Levi thought silently.


    The process was repeated two more times.


    Step! Step!


    Levi walked toward the wall.


    " Ahhh! Ahh! I-I''m going to!" The woman moaned.


    " You''re going to what?!" A slapping sound rang out as the man shouted.


    " No! If you do that, I''m going to!!" The woman shouted.


    " I''m going to c-" She was interrupted as a deafening screeching sound suddenly erupted.


    " Ahhhh!" She screamed, but this time out of shock.


    The sounds of people tumbling and bringing multiple things with them rang out.


    " I''m so sorry! My hand slipped and I!" Levi shouted apologetically.


    '' You demon! To interrupt one of man''s sacred duties! How petty!'' The demon saint scolded.


    " I am a petty person." Levi said deadpan.


    "..." Adam sat up, drool still on his mouth as he stared blankly at Levi.


    " Talking to himself...Which of us hit his head, again? Is that an interchangeable role?" He mumbled to himself.


    " Ah, what does it matter? I''m still sleepy." He yawned.


    He was asleep before his back touched the floor.

 Chapter 107 - Travel

    " Dear, it''s about time you woke." A weak old voice rang out.


    " Hnnn?" Adam drowsily opened his eyes.


    " ''Morning. Could you pour your husband a cup of tea, dear wife?" Adam yawned.


    " Who''s your wife?" Levi smiled.


    " I will be leaving this town today, so I won''t be paying for this room any longer." Levi got up.


    " You should leave before you''re thrown out on your ass." Levi chuckled.


    '' You found joy in that, didn''t you.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Yes. Great joy.'' Levi smiled happily.


    ...


    Cloud Continent.


    In a large, bright hall.


    " And how long are you people planning to stay here for?" A man with long black hair sat atop a raised stone platform.


    " Our people will be working in rotation shifts. While some will be in the imperial city, some will be here. There will always be some here and in the city." A female voice rang out.


    " Hmm? And what of our disciples who frequent these places?" A vein bulged on the man''s face.


    " Our master ordered that we not cause trouble. So long as no one agitates us, we will quietly do what we need to." Aria said.


    " Your master? Humph. Where is this master of yours? Does he think that he is so high above us that he sends mere servants to converse with the master of a sect?" The man spoke angrily.


    " And your last line, is that supposed to be a threat?" He gripped the armrests of his chair.


    " As I have said, our master ordered that we do not start trouble. I would not dare to threaten the master of a sect." Aria said without a change in expression.


    " Humph! Get lost! I''m tired of looking at you, ugly woman." The sect master scowled.


    " Thank you for cooperating. I shall take my leave." Aria bowed slightly before turning around.


    "..." Nerezza looked at the man before following behind Aria.


    Outside.


    " Haa! Haa!"


    " Haha, got you!"


    Boys fought with wooden swords.


    Stalls made of sizable tree branches tied together were scattered all over the area.


    Some were filled with fruits and others, vegetables.


    There were even some which housed different meats.


    As Aria walked, she couldn''t help but compare the sect to a small city.


    "...Are you ok with what he said?" Nerezza asked.


    " It doesn''t matter." Aria said.


    " But-" Nerezza was interrupted.


    " The young master said not to get into trouble, so when here, casts your personal feelings aside. If you can''t do that, then go back to the city." Aria turned to face Nerezza.


    "..." Nerezza''s eyes widened as she looked at Aria.


    There was no light in her expression.


    She resembled Levi in that she now looked at the world and the people in it as if they didn''t matter.


    '' Why are you like this?'' Nerezza bit her lip.


    " Are you sure that this has nothing to do with that day?" Nerezza asked.


    ''...Stop! If you continue like this...'' Nerezza thought.


    " Enough." Aria turned around and walked away.


    " Wai-" Nerezza reached out but stopped halfway.


    '' If you continue like this, you will become like him...like levi...and it would have been my fault...'' A pained expression appeared on Nerezza''s face.


    ''...A closed heart is much easier to live with.'' Aria thought in the distance.


    ...


    In a dark hall.


    Multiple decorative cloths hung in this hall.


    " Yes. Unfortunately, my master had an urgent matter to take care of and couldn''t meet with your esteemed self on this day." Ling bowed.


    Before him, sitting on an elevated platform was a woman wrapped in pink silk.


    It was quite a strange sight.


    Cloth stretched down from the ceiling, while some spread out on either side of her.


    " Is that the case." An extremely clear voice rang out.


    " As long as you be good boys and keep your distance from my little girls, then we shan''t have any problem. However..." The woman said from behind her pink veil.


    " If something happens..." She paused.


    " Rest assured my lady, our only focus is the capture and transport of mutated beasts." Goosebumps lined Ling''s skin as he said.


    "...Very well then." She said.


    " Thank you for your allowance." Ling turned around.


    " Hmm? What''s the matter, boss?" A man asked as he followed behind.


    " You guys better keep your hands to yourselves."


    " If you''re horny, play with each other or something, I don''t really care, but don''t touch, don''t even get close enough to breath the same air as the girls from this sect." Ling said as they walked through the dark hall.


    ...


    " So? What do you think?" Don''s gaze was sharp.


    "...What do I think?" A man lined in jewelry sat atop an elevated platform.


    His spiky gray hair stood tall, reminiscent of a cluster of chives.


    Slurp!


    " Hmmm." He swirled the wine in the glass.


    "..." Don stood silently.


    '' C''mon! C''mon! C''mon!'' His inner voice shouted without composure.


    " Get out of my damn hall! Furthermore, if any of you are seen close to our property, I will have you killed! Do you understand?! Get the fuck out!" He exploded.


    The wine glass shattered as it hit the ground, while the liquid splashed.


    " Hii! Right away!" A startled Don turned around before legging it, leaving his man behind.


    " SCRAM!" The man shouted.


    " Right away!" The man shouted as his figure vanished.


    ...


    " Hmm! I am feeling lucky today! Like a promotion is about to drop on me!" A man shouted.


    Splat!


    A warm, putrid-smelling liquid dropped on his face.


    " OIIIII!" He screamed with anger at a bird.


    " Gyahahah!"


    " Promotion?! To ''the lord of bird shit''?!"


    Men laughed.


    " Humph! Laugh while you can!" The man wiped it off with a piece of cloth.


    " Hey, you! You were one of the first to start working for that redhead young master, right?!" The man turned.


    Sitting on a large rock was a man with spiky black hair.


    His expression didn''t change as he glanced to the side.


    " Oh! Now that I look at you, your hair...That''s some amazing volume..." The man''s mouth widened.


    "..." Larck kept silent.


    "...I am leaving." He said as he got up.


    " Leaving? Where are you going? Work hasn''t even begun, you know!" The man shouted.


    "..." Larck silently walked down the dirt trail.


    " Haa, well, not me who''s going to get into trouble..." The man mumbled.


    ...


    " You''re leaving, red kid?" A burly man asked.


    ''...How many of them will ask the same question?'' Levi thought.


    " Yes! I got all of the information I needed, so I will be leaving now." He smiled.


    " Oh! There is a trail up behind the village if that helps!" The man pointed.


    " Oh, thank you very much! I was just wondering which direction to go." Levi lifted his hand before continuing.


    He walked toward the suggested direction, up the hill to the higher part of the village.


    " Woah!" He gasped after reaching the top.


    In the distance, trees of different colors and mountains of different sizes and shapes created a beautiful image.


    " Hmm?" The white tiles stopped there, while a dirt path lined the other side of the hill.


    " And thus began our travels!" Adam said with a smile.


    " ?!" Levi''s head snapped to the side.


    "...What the hell are you doing?" Levi asked.


    " Hmm? You are so forgetful! I am going to the city too, remember?" Adam walked down the path without a care in the world.


    '' You never told me anything about that, you fool!'' Levi thought.


    " Just when I thought I would have some peace and quiet...Wait, if I let him go on, then I can." Levi mumbled.


    " Hey! Move your feet! Before you get left behind!" Adam shouted from the distance.


    " No, that''s the point...you know what..." Levi mumbled.


    '' I have a feeling things will just get more annoying if I stay here...'' He thought.


    He walked down the path.


    ...


    A while later.


    " Kekk!" Levi grabbed his chest as he panted.


    " You''ve got no stamina, huh. Just running a little reduced you to this state!" Adam dragged a stick through the dirt as he walked.


    " Humph." Levi snorted weakly.


    '' The hypnotizing steps is a good, body-based skill...My problem with it, the reason I am trying to alter it...is the afterimages left behind when using it.'' He thought.


    '' If for some reason I end up running for my life, I don''t want afterimages leading my pursuers straight to me.'' He thought.


    '' Another problem, though, is the fact that the cloud commandment is a qi based skill and I am trying to alter the hypnotizing steps based on it, while leaving out the qi based aspect...'' Levi''s brows furrowed.


    " Fuuu." He breathed out as he started walking.


    '' They are not that different. One uses footwork, while the other uses many different things, including footwork.'' Levi thought.


    '' The cloud commandment utilizes muscles of the abdomen, chest, arms, back, and legs, along with qi.''


    '' The hypnotizing steps uses only the legs.''


    '' Then...'' Levi paused.


    " I got it! I just have to use all of the muscles that would be used with the cloud commandment while using the hypnotizing steps!" Light shined in Levi''s eyes as he shouted.


    " For the hypnotizing steps, you lower your center of gravity slightly..." Levi mumbled.


    " Hmm?" Adam looked back.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Shockwaves rippled with Levi''s every step.


    Before he knew it, he had crashed into a tree after rolling on the ground.


    " Baby steps." Levi mumbled with a grin, as he grasped some dirt.


    " You ok?" Adam extended his hand.


    " Humph! Never better." Levi pushed himself up from the ground.


    '' This time there weren''t any afterimages, but firstly, I couldn''t control it.''


    ''And secondly, I feel like my legs would be rendered useless if I did that all the time, even with my body the way it is now.'' He dusted his robe.


    '' So, I need to either learn how to control the power going into it or alter it so that it''s not as powerful, allowing me to be able to fully maneuver my body as I please when using it.''


    '' And, reduce the strain on my legs and the rest of my body, my legs in particular.'' Levi looked back.


    Deep footprints lined the wooden trail.


    '' They are so spaced...how far did I go with every step?'' Levi thought.


    " Stop lagging! We have a city to get to!" Levi shouted to Adam.


    '' I will practice on the way.'' Levi thought with a grin.


    "...''Kay." Adam yawned.


    ...


    Night.


    Boom! Crack!


    " And that''s number 7! The seventh tree destroyed today!" Adam shouted.


    " Agh." Levi grabbed his head.


    He sat between the shattered trunk of a tree with bruises from head to toe.


    ''...This isn''t as easy as I thought it would have been.''


    '' Controlling the power is hard and altering it entirely is even harder.'' He thought.


    '' I''m also falling more often now that it is night, even with the light of the moon.


    " I will stop here for today, then." He mumbled as he got up.


    " Oh, ''that so. Where''s the food, then?" Adam held his growling stomach.


    " What food?" Levi glanced up at him.


    " Dinner." Adam said deadpan.


    " None." Levi swiftly replied.


    " S''That so? Guess I''ll sleep. SNOREEEEEE!" Adam fell asleep.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' I''ll cultivate for a while before sleeping.'' Levi thought.


    '' Oi.'' The demon saint called out.


    '' What is it?'' Levi asked.


    '' You seem to be having fun.'' The demon saint said.


    '' If you don''t have anything important to say, shut up.'' Levi said.


    '' I should try ''that'' today.'' He thought as a red, water-like qi seeped out, before enveloping his body.


    '' Now to cultivate.'' A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.


    '' You''ve broken character for a few times now.'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' A glowing spiral slowly appeared above Levi.


    '' Do you know what happens when you put on an act for a long time?'' The demon saint asked.


    "..."


    '' The act becomes part of you. If you wake every day acting a certain way, it will eventually become part of you.'' The demon saint said.


    "..." Beads of sweat appeared on Levi''s forehead.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    " Bah! Huff! Huff!" Levi opened his eyes as he gasped for air.


    " And so? Huff!" He asked.


    ''...A person like you, can''t handle change. You have walked around with your heart sealed off for most of your life.'' The demon saint said.


    "...Is there a point to this?" Levi asked as he glared.


    '' The seal on your heart has become a shield that protects you, essentially.'' The demon saint said.


    "..." Veins bulged on Levi''s forehead.


    '' My point is, if this act goes on for longer than you expect, it could be bad for you. This is your weakness.'' The demon saint said.


    " You-" Levi was interrupted.


    '' I made a certain skill years ago to deal with this problem. It''s a simple skill, there is also a version that erases all memories of your time acting.'' The demon saint said.


    "...What are you trying to do?" Levi asked.


    '' Me? You, brat, seem to be forgetting that you tethered this demon''s life to yours. In this place, you can''t screw up.'' The demon saint harshly.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " I don''t want my memories erased." Levi said.


    '' That''s the spirit! The skill is called '' Memory road'', it''s a mental energy skill that works on its own after activation.''


    '' Everything is still the same while using it, it''s when you stop it that you will see the change.'' The demon saint explained.


    " Memory road? I said I want my memories." Levi said.


    '' Ugh, '' Memory road'' does not erase memories, that version of the skill is called '' Lost memory''. Have a little faith, huh?'' The demon saint explained.


    "...Stop wasting time and teach me the skill, I don''t want to be sleepy tomorrow." Levi said.


    '' Ungrateful little! Sigh...'' The demon saint sighed.


    ...


    Morning.


    " Snore..."


    "..." Levi turned in his sleep.


    " SNORE!"


    "..." His bloodshot eyes cracked open.


    " ''Snore'' your grandpa!" He shouted as he shoved a fist-sized rock into Adam''s mouth.


    " Kekke! Wah ah u uoing!" Adam coughed as he woke.


    " Putting an end to sound pollution." Levi continued to push the rock.


    " Wahs sound ollution?" Adam asked.


    ''!''


    " Wait..." He suddenly paused.


    '' Last night...''


    An image flashed through his head.


    '' After doing what the demon saint said...''


    ''...My head pulsed and became so dizzy that I lost consciousness...''


    " Oi..." Levi said.


    '' Wake your ass up, demon saint! What the hell did you make me do?!'' Levi thought.


    '' Ahhh! Ahh! Wha-What happened?!'' The demon saint screamed in fright.


    '' ''Ahh'' my ass! Why did I lose consciousness last night?!'' Levi asked.


    '' Ah?...Sigh, phew! I thought something important had happened!'' The demon saint sighed in relief.


    '' Ah?!'' Levi thought.


    '' It''s normal for you to pass out! The skill records your memories and compresses them deep in your mind so that your new memories won''t get mixed up with them!'' The demon saint explained.


    '' It also does that for your state of mind and other feelings and emotions, I explained this already!'' The demon saint said.


    '' You never said-'' Levi was interrupted.


    '' Hah? Use your head! All of this is being done with your mental energy! Obviously you would pass out after such expenditure!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' Levi''s eyes widened in realization.


    '' Sheesh! I should have told you '' I now have control over your mind'' or something! At least then, I would have some entertainment after getting woken up!'' The demon saint said with irritation.


    "..." Levi was embarrassed at the fact that he missed such a simple detail.


    " Um-pitue!- When are you going to get off? I gotta pee." Adam spat the dirt and stuff from his mouth before asking.


    "..." Only then did Levi remember what he was doing.


    He swiftly got off of Adam.


    If anyone saw that scene, his pride would not allow him to continue living.

 Chapter 108 - Guard City

    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    " Ooop-"


    '' Shit!'' Levi thought as his body flipped through the air.


    " Ackk!" He slammed into a sturdy tree, his body bending around it.


    " Uhhh!" Beads of sweat dripped from his face as propped himself up.


    '' Forget my legs...If I don''t get this down, my whole body will be done for!'' He thought.


    " Hmm hum hmm~" Adam dragged a stick through the dirt as he hummed.


    " Give it your best!" He smiled at Levi.


    ''...Ok, so, the problem here is the shattering impact when my feet hit the ground.'' He thought.


    '' For the cloud commandment, one of the places qi would be put to use would be the feet.'' He sat down in thought.


    '' With every step, a flow of qi through the legs would leave through the soles of the feet.''


    '' Before they touch the ground, this qi would cushion the impact, allowing for smooth running.'' Levi paused.


    '' But the whole point here...is to not use qi or blood energy for these kinds of things.'' He clicked his tongue.


    '' Think! What can be used as a replacement?...'' He closed his eyes.


    ''...Timing!'' His eyes opened in realization.


    '' As long as my timing is good, I should be able to use the roll of my feet to replace the use of qi!'' A light flickered in his eyes.


    '' But...even then...'' He frowned.


    '' To do this, I need to be able to place my heel on the ground in such a way that I won''t break my ankles!''


    '' Which means that I have to control the movements of my legs precisely...Aghh!'' He ruffled his head.


    " Screw it... I think people would refuse to try this kind of thing from fear of losing the use of their legs, but..." He paused.


    " In any case, practicing will let me know which parts of my feet will be strained the most. Then I just need to strengthen these places respectively..." He mumbled.


    " Fuuu..." He breathed out.


    '' Alright!'' He thought.


    He could feel the muscles in his legs and back tightening as he shot off.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    His steps still exuded much power.


    " Whoa-Shit!" He shouted as his body flipped through the air multiple times.


    '' This is going to hurt!'' He thought.


    " Uhh!" He groaned as he bounced on the ground.


    '' Sigh.'' He mentally sighed.


    ..


    In the distance.


    " Again, I guess." Levi got up.


    " Surround it this time!"


    " Ok!"


    " Mantis cleave!"


    " You''re doing things on your own again!!"


    " Humph! Who needs your help for just this?!"


    " You! It was your fault it got away in the first place!!"


    "...Huh?"


    " What is it now?"


    " Look..."


    " What?...Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Get off of it!"


    Different voices sounded.


    " Huh? Why?" Adam asked.


    ..


    '' Hmm?''


    '' People?'' Levi thought.


    "..." He fell and slid on his face.


    " Sigh." He simply sighed before getting up.


    " Hurry and get off of it!" A young male voice rang out.


    " H-Hey, that''s dangerous! Get off!" Another one shouted.


    " Actually, no. Although mutated beasts, these gleaming tortoises are not dangerous, or harmful at all for that matter." A composed voice echoed.


    " Shhh! Shut up! Why would you tell him about that?!"


    " Humph! Since you won''t piss off, then die with this thing!" One shouted.


    " Life cleaving mantis shot!" A large broadsword slashed down.


    Vivivivi!


    A glowing green light gleamed.


    " Ugh!" The large sword was knocked back.


    " Huh?" Levi arrived at the scene.


    Before him was a group of people.


    One on his back beside a large sword.


    Another, smaller one, wearing black robes while clutching a book with both hands.


    A girl with a blonde ponytail. She held a beautiful silver sword, while her body was adorned with parts of silver armor.


    The last was a girl with long, straight black hair.


    She wore a sleeveless robe that had pointed shoulders.


    " See what kinda shit doing your own thing causes!" She looked back at Levi before shouting to the broadsword user.


    " Oh! Come up!" Adam shouted with a smile.


    " ''Come up'' my foot! What the hell is that thing?! And why are you riding it?!" Levi shouted.


    Adam sat comfortably on the back of a giant tortoise.


    "...Dunno!" Adam said after a pause.


    "..." Levi refused to retort.


    " Hey! He is someone you know, right? Get him to get off! Otherwise, don''t blame us for the consequences!" The girl in black shouted to Levi.


    " No no no no no, you must have misunderstood! I don''t know that fo-Ahem, that person! I will be on my way then." Levi said as he turned.


    " Don''t-" Before she could finish, the only part of Levi still there was his loud steps.


    " Hahaha! Come on, let''s go too!" Adam pointed forward.


    The tortoise continued on its way.


    " Don''t act like you are telling it what to do! It was already going in that direction!" The girl in black shouted.


    "...That is your only issue?" The boy holding the book asked.


    " Shut up, you!" She shouted in a huff.


    " Dammit! The pearl under its shell can be used to make a protective charm! Why did I have to be paired up with these idiots?!" She said under her breath.


    ...


    Late evening.


    " Huff! Huff!" Levi breathed heavily as he came to a stop.


    '' It''s a shame I can''t practice without getting tired.'' He thought.


    " Heeeeey!" A shout sounded from the distance.


    " Hm?" Levi looked back.


    " Haha!" Adam waved.


    "...What happened to those guys who were chasing you?" Levi asked.


    " Them? They got tired and gave up! They kept attacking, but a glowing light knocked them all away. It was entertaining, though." Adam said.


    He had to consciously turn his head since the tortoise didn''t stop.


    " You should stop screwing with people. It will come back to bite you in the ass one day." Levi said.


    " What''s going to bite me?" Adam asked.


    "...When are you going to get off of that thing?" Levi asked as he walked.


    " Get off? Why?" Adam asked.


    " ''Cause it will draw unnecessary attention to me!" Levi said.


    " Why though? I''m the one riding it?" Adam said uncertainly.


    " Aghhh! Forget it, ok?!" Levi ruffled his head before screaming, as if in pain.


    " Ok! Hum ha hum." Adam hummed.


    " Sigh, will I leave this place with my sanity intact? Am I even sane? Was I ever sane?" Levi mumbled as he walked.


    " Hmm? You''re tired, right? C''mon up." Adam extended his arm.


    " Hmm." Levi absent-mindedly grabbed on.


    " Whoa!" Adam leaned to the side.


    Thump!


    " Why am I not surprised..." Levi gazed at the night sky with tired eyes.


    " Hurry and get off." He said.


    ...


    Morning.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    '' Ok, with this step...''


    '' The first to touch the ground...my heel!''


    '' Then, with my ankle, roll my foot!'' Levi thought.


    Snap!


    '' Oh shit...'' He felt something break.


    His body leaned forward as he began falling.


    A red, water-like qi seeped out from his other leg.


    He moved this leg swiftly, causing it to cut through the dirt while stopping his fall.


    '' I''m sick of falling...'' He thought.


    "...I need to heal my foot." He looked down.


    "..." He stood silently.


    '' Come!'' He shouted in his head.


    The trees around him rustled.


    Multiple unknown objects flew towards him swiftly.


    '' Stop.''


    Donk!


    One of them slammed into his forehead.


    "...I only wanted a few birds. What the hell is this..." He mumbled as he looked around.


    Around him floated birds, squirrels, and mice. Even some bugs.


    They trembled silently.


    "...Still can''t manipulate blood as good as I would like to be able to." He mumbled.


    "...In any case, I should be able to heal myself with their blood. I''ll eat the birds and get rid of the rest afterward." He said.


    Blood seeped from the bodies of the bigger creatures, as the bugs floated silently.


    All balls of blood were then split into two sets of blood, big and small.


    Puft!


    Blood flames incinerated the smaller blobs instantly.


    "..."


    The blood then shot towards Levi, splashing as they slammed into his body.


    All of the blood seeped into his body swiftly.


    " Now, to eat." Levi said.


    " Hmmm ha hmm." Humming sounded from the distance.


    "..." Levi silently contemplated something.


    " Oh! Something to eat! Something to eat!" Adam sang from the back of the tortoise.


    "..." Levi glanced up at him.


    A few minutes later.


    " Is it done yet?" Adam asked.


    " No." Levi said.


    He lay on his side, propping up his head with his arm on the back of the tortoise.


    In front of him were 3 plucked birds, floating above fire made using his qi.


    " Is it done?" Adam asked.


    " Not yet." Levi said.


    " Is it-" Adam was interrupted.


    " No! It''s not bloody done yet! Are you a child!?" Levi shouted.


    " Um...You shouldn''t shout..." Adam said.


    " Screw that! Shut-" Before Levi could finish, a glowing green light slammed into him, sending him flying from the tortoise''s back.


    " Hahaha! I told you!" Adam laughed while clutching his stomach.


    "...Dammit! You aren''t getting any!" Levi shouted.


    " Come now, don''t behave like a child." Adam said deadpan.


    " You''re the child here, goddammit!" Levi shouted.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    " Huff! Huff!" Levi leaned against a tree.


    " Again!" He shouted.


    '' I already strengthened the joints and tendons in my feet and ankles.'' He thought.


    '' All that is left now, is the timing.'' He breathed out.


    '' The...timing!'' His foot slammed into the ground as he shot off.


    '' 3...2...'' He counted down.


    ''...1...''


    '' Now!'' His foot touched down.


    Before he had time to think, his body had advanced further than ever with that one step.


    His robes fluttered in the wind as his hair became undone.


    While moving at that speed, the world seemed still.


    The greenery, the earth, the sky, they all seemed different to him somehow.


    Crack!


    ''...Got caught in the moment.'' Levi''s face paled as he took his next step.


    A loud crack rang out as his body flipped through the air, before bouncing and rolling on the ground.


    " Hey, you alright there, son?" A shout sounded.


    " Hmm?" Levi glanced to the side.


    "...Where the hell..." He squinted.


    He found himself in a clearing without trees.


    " Rice fields?" He mumbled.


    " Are you sure you''re okay, youngster?" The man asked.


    " Ah...Yes, thank you for your concern. Could you...Er, tell me where I am, perhaps?" Levi asked while scratching his head.


    " Hmm?" The man paused.


    " Um, if it isn''t too much trouble, is there a city near here?" Levi asked again.


    " Yes, if you go that way, you will arrive at a city after a while." The man pointed.


    " Thank you very m-" His hair blew into his face.


    " Oh no! My hair tie!" He only then realized that his hair had become undone.


    "..." The man watched as Levi ran back the way he came.


    "...haha, what a clumsy kid." He chuckled.


    " His appearance was quite scary, golden eyes and long, unkempt red hair, but he might just be a clumsy kid!" He said smilingly.


    " Old man! Going to pick wild fruits again?!" A shout sounded from one of the rice fields.


    " Mhmm!" The man nodded.


    " Don''t work yourself too hard, might hurt yourself in your old age! Gyahaha! Be careful of mutated beasts!" A man shouted from the distance.


    " It''ll be fine!" The man adjusted the strap of the large basket on his back.


    " Can''t be too careful! If you get mauled, don''t worry! I''ll take care of that daughter of yours for ya!" The rice planter shouted.


    " Keep dreaming!" The old man shouted with a grin.


    ...


    " Where is it?" Levi looked into a bush.


    '' That hair tie?'' He scanned the ground.


    "..." He frantically searched.


    " heeey!" A shout sounded.


    '' Not now.'' Levi glanced at Adam.


    He continued to search.


    " Hmm? What''re you doing?" Adam asked.


    " Looking for something, move." Levi pushed him to the side.


    " This?" Adam dangled a piece of red cloth before Levi.


    "...Phew, thanks." Levi sighed in relief.


    " ?" Adam tilted his head, confused.


    " Is it very important?" He asked.


    "...I don''t receive gifts very often." Levi said after a pause.


    " Is that so? Let''s go then!" Adam smiled.


    "...Where is that thing you were riding?" Levi dusted himself off.


    " Hmm? It turned at an intersection in the path! So I had to get off." Adam said.


    " Oh." Levi gathered his hair.


    " Now that I have to walk again, I am tired! Carry me on your back!" Adam grabbed Levi''s shoulders from behind.


    " Get lost! Can''t I tie my hair in peace!?" Levi shouted.


    " You wouldn''t be able to do that if not for me, so carry me as payback!" Adam shouted.


    " You would have died of starvation if it wasn''t for me, so no! Let go!" Levi glared back at Adam while holding his hair, with the hair tie between his lips.


    ...


    Late evening.


    " Huff...Finally...Huff...here..." Adam panted, exhausted.


    He leaned on his stick.


    The sky darkened as the patch of orange on the horizon slowly vanished.


    Before them stood a large wall, built with gritty, black stone blocks.


    " How do you know this is the right city?" Levi asked.


    "..." A grim expression found it''s way to Adam''s face as he looked at Levi.


    "..." Levi trembled.


    "...Aren''t you tired too?" Adam asked, confused.


    "..." Levi forcefully held back his laughter, causing his face to turn red.


    " C-C''mon, let''s go in." He said, before stiffly walking towards the gate.


    ...


    "..." Levi looked around while walking.


    Bright lanterns lined the streets, illuminating the night.


    Many people walked the streets.


    Restaurants and other buildings were brightly lit as people went to and from them.


    " Whoa! Even though it''s night, they''re all so active!" Adam said, still propping on his stick.


    " Let''s go find a place to stay." Levi said.


    " Whaaaat? But I''m hungryyyy. Let''s get something to eat. Get me something to eat!" Adam whined.


    " Sigh. Fine, alright? Just behave while we look." Levi said as they walked.


    " Okaaay!" Adam said happily.

 Chapter 109 - Detestable

    Morning.


    In a restaurant.


    " Look at that boy..."


    " Isn''t it fine? He must have been hungry."


    " Tsk. I''ve lost my appetite." A man with sharp eyes and combed back, spiky hair clicked his tongue.


    " Haha."


    " Eat and become strong." An old couple giggled.


    ...


    " Mhmmm! Mhmmmm! Delish!" Adam''s arms blurred as he ate many different dishes.


    "..." Levi sat with his eyes closed, eating from the plate of food before him.


    " Slurp!" Adam downed his glass of juice.


    " Ahh! All''s right with the world~" He sighed with satisfaction.


    " If you are leaving, pay for what you ate first." Levi handed over a few gold coins.


    " Oh! Thanks!" Adam Grinned.


    " Don''t misunderstand. You still owe meee..." Levi pulled out a roll of paper.


    He held the end before letting it roll on the ground.


    " 263 gold and 679 silver coins." He said after reading what was written.


    " ''Kay!" Adam ran off.


    "..." Levi glanced at him for a few seconds before getting back to eating.


    A few minutes later.


    " Fuu." Levi sighed as he put down the spoon.


    "..." He got up and stretched.


    " Are you ready to pay for your meal, sir?" A waiter walked up with a professional smile.


    " Hmm." Levi nodded as he handed over 2 gold coins.


    " Wait, sir. Just this much will not cover your meals." The waiter said with a complicated look.


    " Hmm? The person who was with me should have paid, right?" Levi asked, slightly confused.


    " Um, no. When we asked that customer whether or not he would be paying, he explained that you, sir, would be the one footing the bill." The waiter anxiously explained.


    '' This customer''s bill comes up to 5 gold coins...5!!! What will I do if he can''t pay?!'' The waiter thought.


    ''...That bastard!!!!'' Levi roared in his head.


    "..." A vein on Levi''s face threatened to burst.


    " I understand. I''m sorry for any trouble." Levi handed over 3 more gold coins, before bowing in apology.


    " No, it-"


    "..." He left swiftly.


    "...isn''t any trouble..." The waiter finished.


    ...


    '' When I find him!'' Levi thought spitefully.


    '' No! You know what? It would be great if I never saw him again!''


    '' Forget about the money!''


    '' If that''s what it costs to get rid of him, money well spent!'' Levi thought.


    " Hm? This smell..." A mouthwatering smell wafted through the air.


    ''...Wait! I can''t stay here!'' Levi thought as he panicked.


    '' Where there is food, he will be the-''


    " Heeey!" A shout sounded.


    ''...re.'' Levi finished as tears streamed down his face.


    " Hmm? Why are you cryin''? Bullies?" Adam spoke with multiple wooden squiers sticking out of his mouth.


    '' You are the only bully here! Just leave me alone, okay?!'' Levi thought.


    " It''s ok, it''s ok! Have one! they''re tasty." Adam handed over one of his many meat kebabs.


    He rubbed Levi''s back with his free hand to comfort him.


    '' Maybe I should just go home? My cover must have already been blown.'' Levi nibbled the meat.


    "...What kind of meat is this?" He asked absent-mindedly.


    " Hmm...frog meat? That''s why I had this much!" Adam said.


    "..." Levi stopped as his face paled.


    " What''s the matter?" Adam asked.


    " You bastard!!!" Levi dropped the kebab as he grabbed Adam''s collar.


    " What, what, what?!?" Adam shouted in surprise.


    ...


    " Jeez, you shouldn''t take your anger out on other people!" Adam said with a wronged expression.


    " Beat your bullies, not me!" He shouted as he fixed his collar.


    "..." Levi walked stiffly as he forced down his anger.


    " Hey, where are you guys going?" A man sitting under the city gate asked as he leaned against the wall.


    "...I''m looking for a certain sect." Levi said.


    " Aren''t you all?" The man grinned.


    His dirt covered face caused it to come off as sinister.


    "..." Levi turned to continue on his way.


    " Wait, don''t you want to know where to go?" The man asked.


    "..." Levi stopped before facing the man.


    "...Heh heh, follow the left trail. Take the first right, then follow the path and you will reach your destination!" The man said.


    " How do you know this?" Levi asked.


    " You are not the first person to want to join that sect!"


    " Around this time of year, the number of people trying to join it increases!"


    " Since that is the case, I help them reach their destination. If they are grateful enough, some take pity on me..." The man said.


    '' Around this time of year? So that is why finding a place for the night was so difficult.'' Levi thought.


    "...Here." Levi flicked a gold coin from between his thumb and index fingers.


    The man''s arm blurred as he swiftly caught it.


    " Melinnnn!" He shouted.


    " Y-Yes, papa?" A soft, high pitched voice sounded as a small child clumsily ran.


    " Go! Take this to your mother! Get yourselves something to eat." The man handed over the coin.


    " What about papa?" The ball of cuteness asked.


    " Papa is fine, now go!" The man smiled.


    "...Ok!" The little girl nodded.


    She clutched the coin that was as big as her palm tightly as she ran.


    " You..." Levi looked at the man.


    " Hmm?" The man looked back at Levi.


    " Oaf!" A soft cry sounded.


    "..." The man''s head suddenly snapped to the side.


    " Hmm?!" A large man looked down.


    " Watch where yer going brat! Before I stomp you to death!" The man shouted.


    " T-The coin!" The girl frantically looked around.


    " Melin?!" The man sitting under the gate shouted from the distance.


    " Coin? Well, well! Wouldja look at that! Heaven''s watching over me today!" The man bent over before picking up a gold coin.


    " W-Wait! T-That coin belongs to papa! Can you gibe it back?" The little girl fumbled due to fear.


    " Melin!! Forget about it!!" The man''s eyes were wide and bloodshot as he shouted to his daughter.


    " Your papa''s? Fuck off!" The man shouted as he turned.


    " W-Wait! Give it back! Mama hasn''t eaten in days!" The little girl hit the back of the man''s foot.


    " Huuuh?!" The man looked down.


    "..." The girl looked up at him defiantly.


    " Humph!" He kicked out.


    " Ack!!" The little girl''s body was lifted.


    Her eyes widened as tears squeezed out.


    " Ugh! Ah! Ah!" She began crying out in pain as she landed.


    " Fucking brat! Didn''t I say I would kill you!?" The man began walking towards the little girl.


    " Melin!!!" The man''s voice cracked as he shouted, hope draining from his being as he dragged himself with his arms.


    Boom!


    " Huh?!" A loud shockwave rippled out beside him.


    " Die!" The man shouted as his foot hovered over the child.


    Some onlookers gasped, while others turned away, pretending that they couldn''t see anything.


    Levi''s robes fluttered as his figure flashed.


    " Fucking brat!" The man stomped down.


    " Ahhh!" The girl cried out in fear and pain.


    "..." Levi''s body spun, as the back of his foot slammed into the man''s face.


    Crack!


    " Garbage." Levi muttered as he exerted more force.


    The air rippled as the man flew.


    His body flipped and bounced for a long time.


    By the time he stopped, some of his limbs were mangled and bent in painful directions.


    " O-Ouuuuuu!" A person cheered.


    " OUUUU!" The onlookers then erupted into cheers.


    '' Instead of helping, they look the other way.'' Levi looked at the girl.


    '' Instead of risking themselves, they cower.'' He walked toward her.


    '' Then they cheer as if they did something themselves.'' He knelt.


    ''...I really detest human beings.'' Levi thought as he carefully picked up the little girl.


    " Wuu! Wuu!" She wept.


    ''...But children are oblivious to the selfishness of people.'' He carefully wiped some dirt from her face.


    ...


    " Thank you! Thank you so much! I seriously-Hic-can''t thank you enough!," The man lowered his head to the ground.


    "...Take her." Levi lowered the girl expressionlessly.


    " You''re going to be ok...You''re going to be okay..." The man rocked the girl gently in his arms.


    " Whoa! You are so strong! But then, how come you were bullied?" Adam tilted his head.


    "..." Levi silently looked down at the pair.


    "Let''s go." Levi said.


    " Okay!" Adam began humming.


    " Wait!" The man shouted.


    " Hmm?" Levi glared.


    " That technique you just used! You''re having trouble controlling it, right? Instead of tightening all of your muscles, you should relax your body!" The man shouted.


    "..." Levi''s eyes widened slightly.


    '' So he was a martial artist. I thought as much. The way he caught the coin...'' Levi thought.


    '' But...'' He glanced down at the man''s legs.


    " Thank you for the advice." He bowed before continuing on his way.


    " Hum Ha hum~" Adam hummed as he followed behind Levi.


    ...


    At an intersection.


    "...So I guess this is the left trail?" Levi mumbled.


    " The one on the right is what we used to reach the city." He said.


    " Well, I guess we can only find out if it is the right path after going down it." Levi said.


    " Hmmm." Adam walked beside him.


    " You''re a nice person, huh." He said.


    " Me?" Levi looked at him doubtfully.


    '' Ni-Nice?! Bwahahahahaha! Nice!!! Him?!? Nice joke!!'' The demon saint slapped the ground as he laughed.


    '' Shut up, you.'' Levi thought.


    '' And are you going to keep listening to and watching everything I do without saying anything? Pervert. Stalker. Old demon.'' Levi berated.


    '' Old demon isn''t an insult, you know...'' The demon saint said.


    '' Whatever.'' Levi thought.


    " I lost something, so I was too scared to help earlier." Adam said.


    " Lost something? You mean your money?" Levi asked.


    " And speaking of money, don''t tell me you spent all that I gave you on...those things?" Levi paused as he felt sick to his stomach.


    " Hmm? What money?" Adam tilted his head.


    "...I give up." Levi tripped.


    " Oh, we have already arrived at the next intersection." He said.


    " Hmm ha hmm" Adam hummed.


    " Where are you going?" Levi asked.


    " I''m following the guy''s directions? He said to follow the left path and we will find our destination." Adam said.


    "...He said to follow the left trail then take a right and continue." Levi said.


    " For real? You''re sure?" Adam asked.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    ...


    Half an hour later.


    " See what I mean?! Furthermore, this is partly my fault, following someone like you!" Levi shouted.


    " Hehe, I forgot, sorry! Who knew this path would lead to a giant hole in the ground!" Adam laughed.


    " Do you remember anything?!" Levi wore a defeated expression.


    '' Damn, I can''t believe I trusted this guy for directions. Is being around him costing my common sense?'' Levi thought.


    " Now, we have to follow this path." Levi said.


    " How will we know when we arrive?" Adam asked.


    '' Valid question, but I am not answering anymore of your common sense stealing questions.'' Levi thought as he kept silent.


    ...


    " Ugh! How much further!" Adam threw down his stick as he shouted.


    '' It''s already evening, but there still isn''t any sign of a sect...'' Levi looked at the sky.


    " That guy must have tricked us! Even taking our money!" Adam clenched his fist.


    " What ''our money'' are you talking about!? It''s my money! And you owe way more than him in any case!" Levi slapped the back of Adam''s head.


    " Wuuu! Wuu! Why did you hit me? Ah ah, I''m hungry. What''re we gonna eat?" Adam wept briefly.


    " Crocodile tears, huh." Levi mumbled.


    " Well, they are no stalls or any place for you to buy something, so." Levi shrugged his shoulders with a gloating expression.


    " Agh, dammit! why are you so happy about that!" Adam raised his fists.


    " Well, ''cause a certain someone can''t pester me for money to spend on nonsense, or somethin'' like that." Levi''s gaze shifted as he hid his mouth with his hand, still gloating.


    "...That face is really creepy, please stop it." Adam said after a pause.


    " Shove it." Levi glared.


    " How scary!" Adam hugged himself.


    " Hmm?" Levi looked up.


    " What that hell is that?" He pointed.


    "...Whoa!" Adam looked up.


    A large semi-transparent wall stood in the distance.


    "...It is kind of curved. The shape looks familiar too?" Levi mumbled.


    '' Like a giant transparent wine pot.'' Levi thought.


    "...Whatever. There is only a part visible so I can''t be sure it''s supposed to be a wine pot." Levi said.


    " In any case, that place is too eye-catching to not be what we are looking for." Levi glanced at Adam.


    " Hehe." Adam grinned.


    ...


    Some time later.


    " Hmm? Hmm..." Levi looked around.


    " There are fewer trees, but that''s about it...So that thing get''s completely transparent when you get close to it?" Levi mumbled.


    " Whoa! Whoa!" Adam''s voice sounded.


    " What are you doing over there?" Levi asked.


    " Come! Come! Every time I pass here it feels like something is going through me!" Adam said with sparkling eyes.


    " Are you a child?" Levi walked over to him.


    " Humph!" Adam snorted.


    " ?!" He pulled Levi toward himself.


    "...Whoa." Levi''s eyes widened.


    " See? See?!" Adam asked.


    "...I did feel like I passed through something." Levi looked at his palms.


    "...So if we continue in this direction, we will reach that sect?" Levi mumbled.


    " But it looks like this is a mountain, and a rather large one at that." Levi looked at Adam.


    " S-Seriously..." Adam wore a pitiful expression.


    " So it was you two that were making the detection go off rapidly." A voice sounded.


    " ?!" Levi''s body reacted before he could think.


    He grabbed the back of Adam''s collar before jumping a few steps back.


    " Huh?" Adam sat on the ground in confusion as Levi still gripped his collar tightly.


    " No need to be alarmed." The man said.


    This man had combed back black hair that was the length of his body, with gray streaks going through it.


    He wore an extremely long, elaborate black and white robe. Its tail floated a little above the ground behind him.


    " Have the two of you come in hopes of joining this sect?" The man asked.


    " So it is around here!" Adam beamed.


    "..." Levi pulled him back up on his feet.


    " Yes, senior, I did come to join da sect!" Levi fumbled as he bowed.


    " No need to be so nervous, little one." The man smiled gently.


    " Unfortunately, the exam has most likely already begun. You will not be able to participate, therefore, you will not be able to enter the sect." He said.


    '' What?'' Levi''s eyes widened.


    " Huuuuh?!?" Adam''s shoulders, along with his jaw dropped.

 Chapter 110 - Display

    " W-What do you mean..." Levi asked.


    " Uhmmm! Uhmm!" Adam nodded frantically.


    "..." The man gazed at them silently.


    " Every year, multiple people travel in hopes of joining the sect, yes?" He asked.


    "...Someone told us that on the way." Levi said.


    " Every year, that number increases." The man said.


    " Since we can''t accept them all, exams are held based on the participants'' chosen ''Paths''." He explained.


    " Does that mean..." Levi paused.


    " Hmm. The other participants have already left for the exam. Unfortunately, two were too late." The man''s gaze shifted between the two.


    " But! But! Can''t you take us?! I mean!" Adam pleaded.


    " Huh? You were trying to join the sect too?" Levi asked.


    " I told you already, didn''t I?" Adam said in a questioning tone.


    "...No, you did not. I thought you wanted to go for some other reason." Levi said.


    " Yes, I did! Jeez, you are so forgetful!" Adam sighed exasperatedly.


    " That would be you!" Levi slapped the back of Adam''s head.


    '' This fool...is he going to follow me even here!?'' Levi thought.


    ''...I''ve never seen him use qi or anything.'' He thought.


    " Aiya! S-Senior! Please, you have to shelter me from this violent man! Who knows what he will do if the sect doesn''t protect me!" Adam wept as he pleaded.


    "..." Levi disdainfully watched the shamelessness.


    " I could take you, but..." The man paused.


    " Buuut?!" Adam asked.


    " In the martial world, independence is a good virtue." The man smiled.


    " I-Is that so..." Adam''s eyes widened.


    "..." Levi''s eyes widened.


    '' What...Charisma!!'' He thought.


    '' Even without a show of power...how is this possible?'' He thought.


    '' This is a small part of what you gain from living a long life, huhuhu.'' The demon saint laughed.


    " Fufu." The man laughed lightly.


    " It seems that you both desperately want to join?" He smiled.


    " Uhmm! Uhmm!" Adam nodded.


    " Yes!" Levi said with a nervous expression.


    " Hmm..." The man paused.


    " Follow me." He said.


    " Huh?" Levi was taken aback.


    " Hurry up if you don''t want to be left behind!" Adam said as he walked ahead.


    "..." Levi silently followed.


    '' I instinctively distanced myself earlier...my cover...'' He thought.


    '' Don''t worry about it. Old things like him couldn''t care less about what you are thinking.'' The demon saint said.


    '' When you get as strong as him, you tend to stop caring about a lot.'' He continued.


    ''...'' Levi looked down at his trembling hand.


    '' How strong is he?'' He asked.


    '' Hehe, I don''t know exactly, but...Strong enough to decimate that backwater continent you come from!'' The demon saint laughed darkly.


    " Try not to crush the little tree saplings, ok?" The man said.


    " ''Kay!" Adam said.


    "...Yes." Levi took a deep breath.


    ...


    Some time later.


    On a small stone cliff.


    " Woah! I feel like I''m on top of the world!" Adam shouted with outstretched arms.


    The ''cliff'' was two large stones, one holding the other up.


    Where they stood, the top stone pointed towards the foot of the mountain, allowing them to look over the trees.


    " Come here." The man laughed lightly.


    "...What''s that?" Levi asked.


    He pointed at a small, white rectangular box.


    " Oh?" Adam looked at the box.


    " It is a table, can''t you tell?" The man asked.


    " A table? But isn''t it too sma-" Before Levi could finish, a stream of qi spilled from the man''s fingertips.


    The box grew many times its original size.


    ''...So it''s like that ship I bought!'' Levi came to a realization.


    '' I should have realized sooner...'' He thought.


    " Heh heh!" Adam looked at it with sparkling eyes.


    " How about we begin?" The man asked.


    " Um, sir..." Levi called out.


    " My name is Zephyr Tempest, call me as you like." The man said.


    '' Ze-What?!'' Levi thought.


    " Senior tempest?" He called out.


    " Yes?" Mr. Tempest smiled.


    " Why did you bring us here? Didn''t we miss our chance?..." Levi asked.


    " The two of you wanted to get into the sect no matter what, yes?" Mr. Tempest asked.


    " Yes, but..." Levi said suspiciously.


    ''...He''s not some old monster with...acquired tastes, right!?'' He thought.


    " That is why you were brought here." Mr. tempest said.


    " Really?!" Levi''s eyes brightened.


    " Yes." Mr. tempest smiled.


    " We don''t have to do anything...um, ''extra'' afterward, right?" Levi worded carefully.


    "...No? Why?" Mr. Tempest said blankly.


    " Phew!" Levi sighed in relief.


    '' Confirmed.'' Levi thought.


    " What is the matter?" Mr. Tempest asked.


    " Nothing!" Levi hastily said.


    "...Not one thing." He mumbled as he glanced to the side.


    " Let us begin, then" As Mr. tempest said this, multiple drawers opened and closed simultaneously, as different things flew out.


    Different materials and tools lined the surface of the table.


    They were gathered in different groups.


    " Pick from these tools and materials, then begin." Mr. Tempest said.


    " Of course, if you do not know what to do with any of them, that is also ok." He continued.


    " Hmm..." Levi looked across the table.


    Puft!


    " ?!" Levi''s gaze shifted.


    ''...That idiot is using mental energy?!'' He thought in shock.


    A golden mental energy flame appeared before Adam, as he fiddled with different tools.


    Ting! Ting!


    " Hmm." Adam nocked a metal ingot with a hammer.


    His eyes were sharp and his face serious, nothing like his regular appearance.


    "High-quality iron! Usable materials! Exceptional tools!" Adam spoke loudly.


    " Let''s get started." He interlocked his fingers, before cracking them all at once.


    " Oh?" Mr. Tempest watched with interest.


    " First, the iron." Three iron ingots floated just above the table''s surface.


    " Humph!" Mental energy gathered around the head of the hammer as Adam struck down.


    Mental energy exploded as the hammer connected.


    Deng!


    Deng!


    Deng!


    The bars were flattened with one strike each.


    They retained their sharp edges.


    " Huff..." Adam wiped away some sweat.


    " Now, to shape it." Looking at the tools on the table, out of a pair of iron scissors and a chisel, the latter floated.


    "..." Adam placed the chisel at the base of one of the metal sheets.


    Znnnnnnn!


    He held the chisel at an angle, before pushing.


    Mental energy spilled out, resembling sparks as the chisel swiftly cut through the sheet of metal.


    The other two metal sheets were also cut into inch-wide strips.


    "...Folding." Adam breathed heavily.


    His mental energy swelled as creases appeared on the metal strips.


    Corners were bent in, then sides.


    "..." Adam tiredly gazed at the pink ''rope'' on the table as it, along with the metal scissors floated toward him.


    Snip!


    Snip!


    He cut off pieces of the ''rope'' before cutting them down the middle.


    The sheets of metal rattled as he fitted everything together.


    " Oh! A gauntlet!" Mr. Tempest clapped.


    " Ugh..." Adam staggered closer to the table.


    " Oh? You aren''t finished?" Mr. Tempest watched with interest.


    " Take this piece of frost iron..." Adam mumbled.


    Deng!


    He hit the small piece of deformed, bluish metal as it formed a small circular disk.


    " Then..." His mental energy swelled once again.


    Crackle!


    A light crackling sound rang out, as Molten, maze-like lines appeared on the disk''s surface.


    " A mental energy inscription, hmm. So that hole was for this disk." Mr. Tempest smiled.


    "..." Adam''s arms trembled as he slowly put the disk in a small hole on the back of the gauntlet.


    Chi!


    A burst of cold qi escaped the gauntlet.


    " Ah! cold! cold!" Adam rolled on the ground.


    " This, I call, the '' Frost gauntlet''!" He said as he got up.


    " It can be worn like this, or attached to a ''puppet! Would you like a demonstration?!" Adam glared.


    " Oh, please." Mr. Tempest smiled with interest.


    " Please!" Adam held out the gauntlet in both hands toward Levi.


    " Why do I?!" Levi questioned.


    " ''Cause I got no strength left..." Adam weakly fell to the ground.


    "...Sigh." Levi took it from Adam''s hands.


    " First..." Adam spoke, his face still on the ground.


    " Put it on." He said.


    " Next, use either mental energy or qi to protect your hand on the inside." He held up two fingers.


    " So I have to protect my hand even though I''m wearing this?" Levi asked.


    " This was made as a weapon, not for defense!" Adam energetically shouted.


    " Sigh." Levi pinched his nose bridge.


    " Finally, channel mental energy through the ''core plate'' while slashing, or stabbing out." Adam said.


    " Hmm? There is resistance when I clench my fist." Levi mumbled.


    " You can also punch out!...wait..." Adam paused.


    " You...do have mental energy, right?" He suddenly asked.


    "..." Levi furrowed his brows exaggeratedly as he glared down.


    "...Right?" Adam began sweating nervously.


    Puft!


    Levi''s mental energy flame appeared.


    " Think about that..." Levi paused.


    " Before you ask, moron!!" He stabbed down.


    Ice trailed across the gauntlet, resembling the maze-like lines on the ''core plate''.


    " Aghh!! Cold! It hurts!" Adam rolled on the ground.


    " Huh?" Levi looked at the bluish icicles now sticking out of the ground.


    " Agh! Pain! Pain!" Adam wailed.


    " Shut up! You didn''t even get hit, all five of them hit the ground!" A vein bulged on Levi''s face.


    "...Oh, you''re right." Adam sat up.


    " Do you always have to be so violent?!" He shouted.


    " The last time you even tried to shove a rock down my throat!" Adam shouted.


    " Because you were snoring like you wanted to shatter the earth with your voice!" Levi shouted.


    " And then back at that city! Instead of finding your bullies, you hit me." Adam said.


    " You are the only bully around here!" Levi pointed with the gauntlet.


    " Even earlier than that, you-"


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    The sound of clapping interrupted Adam.


    " Wonderful. Even with just these few materials and tools, you created something spectacular." Mr. Tempest said with a smile.


    " Although, your stamina is one among other things you should improve." He continued.


    " Oh, haha!" Adam rubbed the back of his head bashfully.


    " It is your turn now." Elder Tempest looked toward Levi.


    "...Ok." Levi took off the gauntlet.


    " Fuuu..." He released a calming breath.


    " You''re not gonna use any tools or materials?" Adam tilted his head as he looked up from the ground.


    Blue, water-like qi streamed from his fingertips.


    Some streams broke, forming droplets.


    These tiny water veins snaked, forming pattern after pattern.


    Puft!


    Pitch-Black mental energy cloaked each pattern, dampening the vibrant blue.


    They were pulled closer and closer until they fused, reminiscent of a symbol from a paper talisman.


    " Wow! An inscription! And one constructed with compressed qi!" Mr. Tempest clapped.


    " So? What does it do?" He asked curiously.


    " Well..." Levi smiled awkwardly as he looked to the side.


    " Hmm?" Mr. Tempest tilted his head.


    " The thing is... I don''t actually...know...how to use it." Levi''s voice got progressively softer.


    "..." Mr. Tempest gazed blankly.


    " Pfft, hahaha! You-You made an inscription without knowing how to get it to work?!" He laughed while looking up at the sky.


    " W-Well! Most inscriptions are easy to understand! You channel some kind of power through them, and they work!" Levi''s cheeks reddened as he hastily explained.


    " But when I channel qi through this, it just screeches loudly!" He continued.


    "...What kind of inscription is it? You do know that much at least, yes?" Mr. Tempest restrained his laughter.


    " I-I know what kind it is! It''s a sound inscription!" Levi quickly exclaimed.


    " Oh. Sound, hmm..." Mr. Tempest paused.


    " When trying to use it, what do you do?" He asked.


    "...I just channel qi through it?" Levi said with uncertainty.


    " Hmm...Why not make another?" Mr. Tempest said.


    " Huh? W-Why?" Levi asked.


    " Oh, and keep the first one here, too..." Mr. Tempest said.


    "...O-Ok then." Levi began making another sound inscription.


    The steps were repeated, and before long, another one was crafted.


    "...What now?" Levi looked up.


    " Hmm." Mr. Tempest reached out.


    " Huh?!" One of the inscriptions was pulled towards Mr. Tempest''s palm.


    " What are you-?!" Levi was startled once again, as Mr. Tempest tapped the ground with his foot before soundlessly shooting into the sky.


    " Whoooa..." Adam said as he continuously tilted his head back.


    "..." Levi watched silently as, within just a few seconds, Mr. Tempest had already gone beyond the clouds.


    ...


    In the sky.


    A plateau of clouds floated leisurely.


    Shadowed by another large cloud, a person stood with one hand behind his back.


    "...Fu, this should be far enough, yes?" Mr. Tempest mumbled.


    " Then..." He paused.


    " Shall we begin?" He smiled.


    A large, white mental energy flame ignited before his forehead.


    Around this white flame were two black rings.


    One sat above the flame''s tip, while the other sat around the middle of the flame.


    White mental energy enclosed the sound inscription, leaving only a small patch of Levi''s.


    "...Do you understand how it works now?" Mr. Tempest said.


    ...


    On the ground.


    "..." Levi stood silently.


    '' What is he doing?'' He thought.


    "...Acting sure is rough." Levi mumbled.


    "...Do you understand how it works now?" A voice echoed loudly.


    " ?!" Levi''s gaze swiftly shifted to the inscription in his hand.


    " Ahhh!" Adam jumped in shock.


    " D-Did he have to say it so loud?" Levi whispered as he winced.


    " Sorry, sorry! Inscriptions made with compressed qi tend to be significantly more powerful than normal." A voice echoed from above.


    " Huh?" Levi looked up.


    A figure swiftly plummeted.


    " Oh shit..." Levi braced himself.


    Fwooshh!


    A few seconds before Mr. tempest slammed into the cliff, air exploded from beneath him as he landed softly.


    "...What are you doing?" Mr. Tempest asked with a tilted head.


    " No...Nothing." Levi peaked through one of his eyes before straightening his posture.


    Gloom hanged over him as he glared to the side in embarrassment.


    " So? Did you understand how your inscription works?" Mr. tempest asked.


    " !" Levi''s gaze shifted.


    " Put extremely simply, both inscriptions house your mental energy."


    " When another person covers one of them with their mental energy, a connection is formed between the two." Mr. Tempest explained.


    " See this black dot? This is your mental energy after I poured mine into the inscription." He said.


    "...Oh." Levi curiously looked.


    " You should also have a white dot on the one in your hand, yes? Although it might be difficult to see since mental energy is mostly transparent." Mr. Tempest smiled.


    " Oh, you''re right!" Levi gazed with interest.


    "...In any case, why did you choose to construct this inscription?" Mr. Tempest asked.


    " What do you mean?" Levi asked.


    " You easily made two of the same inscriptions, with qi compressed via a cultivation technique." Mr. Tempest said.


    " This already shows that you have a certain amount of knowledge regarding inscriptions, and great capability when it comes to crafting them since it is much harder to work with volatile compressed qi." He continued.


    " So why would you risk failing this test by crafting an inscription that you cannot well work?" He asked.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " There..." Levi paused.


    " Hmm?" Mr. Tempest curiously listened.


    "...There was a chance that even if I created a perfect inscription, I would have still failed this test." Levi said.


    " Oh?" Mr. Tempest listened with interest.


    " Since that was the case, then shouldn''t I get the advice of an experienced senior such as yourself, at least?" Levi''s eyes became slits as he smiled.


    "..." Mr. Tempest''s face went blank.


    " Is it normal for children in this age to lie so naturally?" He mumbled.


    " Huh?" Levi questioned.


    " In any case, since you both have satisfied certain requirements, it''s time to go back to the sect, yes?" Mr. Tempest walked towards the table.


    " !" Levi was slightly startled.


    " Woohoo!" Adam threw his arms into the air.


    " Of course." Mr. Tempest smiled.


    Deng!


    " Ow!" The gauntlet dropped on Adam''s head.


    The tools and materials on the table floated, as draws opened and closed simultaneously.


    The table then shrunk in size, floating as Mr. Tempest reached out.

 Chapter 111 - Want it?

    In a dark room.


    A small, ghastly purple flame lit the room.


    Multiple opened books lined a wooden table.


    At the very back of the table was a pot-sized bronze cauldron cloaked in darkness.


    The pages of these books were flipped back and forth quickly, as a figure looked over them.


    A black eyepatch covered almost a full half of the figure''s face, as a purple eye shifted swiftly.


    Creaak!


    The figure glared as the door behind them was slowly opened.


    " So you were in here again!" Old Lin looked helplessly at Aria.


    " You know, just because that thing enhances your sight, you shouldn''t read in the dark! You will damage your remaining eye!" Old Lin scolded.


    "...Is there something you need? Master." Aria asked.


    "...How long are you going to stay like this? Your young master just left for a while, why are you behaving as if the world is ending?!" Old lin held the back of his neck.


    "..." Aria got up.


    " Thank you for allowing me to study from your books, master. I will take my leave for today." Aria bowed deeply.


    " Who allowed you?! You just came in by yourself! And if you are going to read them anyway, at least do it outside of the storage room!" Old Lin pointed as he scolded.


    "...I understand." Aria said after a pause.


    " Ahhh! You said the same thing last time too!" Old Lin shouted.


    "...Hey." Old Lin called out.


    "..." Aria stopped.


    " Are you seriously planning on teaching those kids pill refining?" Old Lin asked.


    " Yes," Aria said.


    " Even though one mistake could cost their lives?" Old lin asked.


    "...Since you, master, refused to teach them, I will. Also, I would thank you, master, to stop calling them children." Aria said.


    " They are adults. And while saying they are free to do as they wish might not be one-hundred percent true, they were at least given the freedom to choose whether or not they wanted to learn." She finished.


    "...Is that brat so important that you would put the lives of others at risk for his sake? Aria." Old Lin''s eyes narrowed as the air in the room became stiff.


    "...Yes, because the young master paved the way for me when I was lost." Aria said.


    " He is my everything because I would have nothing without him. So while you are my ''master'', I would like to ask that you show some respect when referring to ''him''." Aria''s voice chilled as she glared over her shoulder.


    "..." Old Lin was speechless as his jaw dropped.


    " Tsk." Aria clicked her tongue in contempt.


    '' Did she just?!'' Old Lin''s soul crawled from his mouth in shock.


    " Why is every room in this place white? Annoying." Aria mumbled as her mental energy flame dissipated, causing the purple to vanish from her eye.


    " Hold it." Old Lin called out once again.


    "..." Aria stopped in her tracks.


    " We will finish this conversation later, but..." He paused.


    "...!?" A chill went up her spine.


    " Where are you going when it is time for class?" Old Lin asked.


    " While I might be carefree most of the time, you should know that I take learning and teaching very seriously." He continued.


    "..." Beads of sweat appeared on Aria''s forehead.


    " Let''s get to studying. And don''t worry, I DEFINITELY WON''T hold a grudge for earlier. DEFINITELY won''t." Old Lin watched Aria with dead eyes as he said with a humorless chuckle.


    ...


    In a large canyon.


    Kuraaakk!!


    A loud screech echoed.


    " Come on! Don''t let it get away!" A slightly tanned, bald, muscular figure shouted.


    " The ''dowsing cords'' aren''t easy to direct! Cut us some slack!" A man shouted.


    " Seriously though, if someone were to tell me this was the same cloud continent, I wouldn''t believe them!" Don looked up.


    Flat boulders were stacked on top of the canyon, on both sides.


    " And for christ''s sake...Who the hell stacked those boulders?! What possessed them to put them there?! Now I have to live in constant fear of them falling!" Don mumbled anxiously to himself.


    " Aiyaya! It''s moving too fast! My hands! Then the cord is cutting through my palms, it burns!" A muscular woman hissed.


    " Huh?" Don looked around.


    " Gyahaha! Maybe you should warm someone''s bed instead! This here''s a job for fearless men!" A balding man with a big fuzzy mustache berated.


    " You!" The woman shouted.


    " Me what?! What do you-" The man felt something tugging at his leg.


    " Ahhh! wha-wha-what are you doing! control your cord properly! Quickly let me down!! Down!!!" Before he knew it, he was dangling upside down in the sky.


    " Pfft! Fearless man my backside!" The woman squeezed out a laugh.


    " What the hell are you guys doing?! Stop screwing around!" Don''s eyes almost popped out as he shouted in a high-pitched voice.


    " Do you want to fall short of our daily quota?! Do you want that crazy lady to come out here again?! Do you?!" He shouted.


    " When she came the last time, that jewelry wearing, stupid-looking sect master was left sweating by the time she left!" Don recalled.


    " If that female demon comes here, all of us are screwed, got it?!" His face paled as a shiver went up his spine.


    " Then you help too! Controlling these things is not easy! Plus, we have to worry about the mental attacks of this 3-eyed vulture!" Sweat poured down a man''s face.


    Kuraaaakkk!


    An even louder screech echoed.


    " Hey, look out!" Someone shouted.


    " Ah?!" A man turned around only to see a glowing red eye outline flying towards him.


    " Ah-" Before he could scream, it slammed into his forehead.


    After a split-second, he fell to his knees, his eyes rolled back as foam bubbled at his mouth.


    '' Scary!'' Don hugged himself and rubbed as if to warm himself up.


    " But...something scarier will arrive if we don''t work!" He gathered his courage as he walked up to the man.


    He took a thin black cord from the man''s hands, before looking up at the sky.


    " Humph! Don''t let up! We must capture this mutated beast!" Beads of sweat formed on Don''s forehead.


    Qi erupted from his body.


    At the ends of all of the black cords was a cylindrical piece of metal.


    Decorative carvings lined the surface of the metal, as a dim purple glow cloaked it.


    " Kuk! it really is hard to control!" Don mumbled.


    Kuraaaak!


    The 3-eyed vulture screeched once more as multiple black cords wrapped around its neck.


    " Ahh! Don''t shoot it at me!" A man shouted in horror.


    " Dammit, get down here!" A man pulled with frustration.


    " Pull!!" The group shouted simultaneously.


    " Why do I end up in terrifying situations no matter where I go? I wanna go home..." Tears silently streamed from Don''s eyes.


    ...


    On a balcony.


    " Is that true?!" A man sat with his eyes closed, a large burn scar on his face.


    " Very much so." A woman wore provocative clothing that covered only her most private privates.


    The only place that was covered, in fact overly so, was her head.


    A large black ''hat'' covered her head and face, even obscuring her neck.


    It had a box-like shape, with blue pearls lining the two sides of both the front and the back.


    " Hoho, so that is the case...you can remove foreign mental energy from your body..." Ling smiled deviously.


    " Is something the matter?" The lady asked.


    " No, not at all. Let us continue this conversation." Ling took a sip of something from a bamboo cup as he overlooked beautiful scenery.


    ...


    In a certain tailor''s room.


    "..." Old gray sat in silence, a cup of wine in hand.


    He glanced with difficulty in a certain direction.


    " Little girl, how long are you going to gloomily sit there for?" He forced out a smile and spoke sweetly.


    "..." Nerezza sat silently, her head down as her hair covered her face.


    '' Gah! Not only don''t I have the money to buy proper wine, but now I can''t even drink my cheap wine in peace!'' Old gray screamed in his heart.


    '' Boy, hurry and come back! Save this only man from this tyrant!'' Old Gray prayed as a tear squeezed from his eye.


    ...


    Jade Sword Continent.


    Step! step!


    Three figures walked single-file.


    With every step, a crumpling or light crunch would sound as they climbed the fairly flat mountain.


    The fallen leaves, along with small dead branches would crack and break under their weight.


    "...Hey!" Adam suddenly called out.


    " Yes?" Mr. Tempest answered.


    " When we had arrived at the foot of the mountain, how did you find us?" He asked curiously.


    " Does it have something to do with the giant thing we saw on our way here?!" He asked.


    " Hmm, that is correct." Mr. Tempest smiled.


    " I found your location with this token." Mr. Tempest handed Adam a circular wooden token.


    " With this?" Adam looked at it from different directions, even tapping and poking it at times.


    " Haha, it is not a mechanism. The token is part of the array surrounding this place." Mr. Tempest chuckled.


    " Not a mechanism? Array? How does it work, then?" Adam scratched his head in confusion.


    " Well, along with that one, there are also many others." Mr. Tempest curled his finger.


    A drawer on the compacted table opened, as multiple tiny tokens flew out.


    After leaving the drawer, they grew in size.


    " The array works like this; Each of these tokens represents a certain distance around the array''s ''surface''." Mr. Tempest began explaining.


    "Let''s say that someone passes through the array at some point, depending on where they pass through, one of these tokens will shine brightly and release a sound." Mr. Tempest said.


    " Oh!" Adam''s eyes sparkled,


    " So that means that when leever went back and forth through that invisible wall, one of these tokens light up repeatedly?" Adam returned the tokens.


    " Oi." Levi grabbed the back of Adam''s head as he glared.


    " S-Say no to violence~," Adam said with a weak voice.


    Levi silently glared.


    " N-No...?" He asked.


    " What...do you think!" As if throwing a ball, Levi pulled back his arm before sweeping it forward.


    Adam''s body weighed his head down, causing his face to be planted in the ground.


    " And who the hell are you calling ''leever''?! ''Leh-vie''! My name is pronounced, ''Levi''!" Levi said.


    " Le-Le-" Adam looked up at Levi.


    " That''s it! Go on!" Levi stooped down as he spoke with an encouraging expression.


    " Leviathan?" Adam said inquiringly.


    " Y''know what..." Levi pulled his sword from its sheath.


    " Since you can''t use it properly, you don''t need it, right? Give me your tongue!" Levi squeezed Adam''s face between his fingers as he looked into his mouth.


    " Ah! ''ait! Shop! Shop!" Adam pleaded.


    " Ah? Ate? Shop? We''re on a mountain, no food shops for you here." Levi wore an exaggerated bloodthirsty grin.


    " Hmm? Wha! When did he get so far!" Adam suddenly got up from the ground.


    " Oops..." He looked down at Levi who rubbed his aching chin.


    " Yeah...I''m really going to kill you," Levi glared as he rubbed his chin.


    " Ahhh! Save me senior! There''s a maniac!" Adam ran towards Mr. Tempest.


    " Stick out your neck for me!" Levi shouted, hot on his heels, sword in hand.


    " Hmm? There you both are." Mr. Tempest looked over his shoulder.


    " Huff! Huff! Why did you leave us behind?!" Adam panted.


    " Hmm. Well it''s true that I''m guiding you, but it''s you two who should be trying to keep up with me, isn''t it?" Mr. Tempest asked.


    "..." Adam was rendered speechless.


    "Let''s continue then." Mr. Tempest said.


    "...Yes." Adam answered.


    "...When did we end up on a cleared path?" Levi looked down at the dirt path leading up.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "..." Adam and Levi walked behind Mr. Tempest silently.


    ''...Demon saint.'' Levi called out.


    '' Hmm? What are you calling this demon for again?'' Thd demon saint answered.


    '' Do you...want it?'' Levi asked.


    '' Want what?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' His body.'' Levi gaze shifted as Adam came into view.


    '' Huh? That guy?'' The demon saint saw Adam''s figure.


    '' Believe it or not, he has strong mental energy. That was one of the conditions you needed to fill to steal a body, right?'' Levi explained.


    '' Hehehe, how evil, offering up your friend''s body.'' The demon saint laughed darkly.


    '' Friend?'' Levi questioned as his sharp pupil dilated


    '' Although, regretfully, I will have to refuse!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...Why?'' Levi questioned.


    '' Well, it is true that the body needs to have mental energy.'' The demon saint said.


    '' But it has to be freshly awakened. Those who have awakened mental energy for a long time tend to be more resistant to it.'' He continued.


    '' I''m not gambling with my life here! If I had a choice between trying to steal your body right now or living in here forever, do you know which I would choose?'' He asked.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent.


    '' The latter! Neve the former! furthermore, after everything that happened, who would want the body of a freak like you?!'' The demon saint shouted with a trace of frustration.


    " Fre-!?" Levi mumbled as a vein bulged on his face.


    '' Tell the truth demon saint. You''ve...just gotten lazy, right?'' Levi asked.


    '' La?! Lazy?!?'' The demon saint shouted in a high pitched voice.


    '' Slander! This is slander! Apologize to this demon right now!'' The demon saint protested.


    " Humph!" Levi snorted triumphantly.


    "..." Adam looked back at Levi.


    " What is it?'' Levi asked.


    " Nothin'', just..." Adam paused.


    " Hmm?" Levi tilted his head.


    " You should probably lift your foot higher," Adam pointed down.


    " Huh?" Levi questioned.


    Bang!


    "..." Adam looked down silently.


    " You bastard..." Levi spoke with a trembling voice.


    " Wha?! I warned you, didn''t I?!" Adam ran up the stairs.


    " Warn me sooner jackass!!" Levi ran up the stairs behind him.


    " Wah! And how is it that the stone step broke instead of your face?!" Adam wailed as he ran.


    " So you wanted me to crack open my head, huh?!" Levi shouted angrily.


    They didn''t notice that the higher they went, the wider the steps became.


    " Hah! That bastard is quite fast! Where the hell did these stairs come from anyway? They weren''t in front of me the last time I checked." Levi mumbled.


    " That''s because you spaced out!" A voice sounded.


    "...Hoh, you''re really brave, huh." Levi said.


    " Haha, come look at this!" Adam laughed as he ran back up the stairs.


    " Huh?" Levi went up after some thought.


    "..." His eyes widened as he saw the picturesque sight.


    White stone lined where he stood, as well as all around the arced mountain top.


    Below, on the other side of the mountain, large, long buildings lined its surface horizontally.


    On these stone buildings were orange tile roofs with curved and pointed corners, along with black segments separating them.


    As he looked further, below those buildings was a giant forest.


    The roofs of square-shaped buildings stuck out of the large trees at random places.


    In the distance, there was a tiny blue spot that caught Levi''s attention for a few seconds.


    In another place was a tiny, out of place clearing, where no trees stood.


    " This place...is huge..." Levi remembered the size of the demonic god sect.


    " The imperial city is definitely smaller..." He mumbled.


    " Come now, you can''t stare forever." Mr. Tempest said.


    " Huh..." Levi shifted his gaze.


    He was lost in thought.


    " Well, the stairs are over here. Unless you are planning on jumping down?" Mr. Tempest asked.


    " Oh, n-no." Levi came back to his senses.


    He walked toward the large staircase.


    " Oh!" Mr. Tempest suddenly called out.


    " Yes?" Levi answered.


    " Welcome. To the Great Sect Alliance." Mr. Tempest smiled.

 Chapter 112 - Sect Rules

    " Great sect alliance?" Levi tilted his head.


    " Mhmm. This sect was once called the ''benevolence sect'', but at some point, we joined two other sects to form this great alliance." Mr. Tempest explained.


    '' Why had I not heard about this before?'' Levi thought.


    " Then...Am I right in assuming that these events happened so long ago that people forgot about them?" Levi probed.


    " Well, you aren''t wrong, but-" Mr. Tempest was interrupted by a shrill voice.


    " Great Elder?" The voice sounded.


    " Hmm?" Mr. Tempest looked back.


    Just a few steps down from him stood a man with short, swept-back gray hair.


    '' Ugh...'' Mr. Tempest groaned internally.


    " What are you doing, Sir?" The man asked politely.


    " Uh...I was just about to guide these new discip-" Mr. Tempest was once again interrupted.


    " What?! No! Nonononononono! Your esteemed self need not worry about such insignificant things!" The man''s voice was high and he spoke swiftly.


    With every no, he walked up a few steps, arriving before Mr. tempest in little time.


    "..." A stiff smile hung on Mr. Tempest''s face.


    " But i-" He was cut off quickly.


    " No need, sir! This little one here will take care of this small matter!" The man said hastily.


    "..." Mr. Tempest kept helplessly silent.


    " You have already exerted yourself by gathering and guiding the many prospective students!"


    " Elder should go get some much-deserved rest!" The man explained in an aggrieved tone.


    "..." The corner of Mr. Tempest''s lips twitched.


    "...Yes." Under the expectant gaze of the man, he could only respond in a soft, reluctant tone.


    He nodded to the man, then looked back at Levi and Adam, before wordlessly descending the large staircase alone.


    " Oh! Great elder?" The man suddenly called out.


    Mr. Tempest''s body suddenly stiffened, as he stiffly turned around.


    " Y-Yes, Mr. Swon?" He meekly answered.


    " Do you still have the array tokens?" The man, Mr. Swon asked.


    "...Yes." Mr. Tempest reluctantly answered.


    " You can leave them with me to return, so as to not trouble yourself!" Mr. Swon said.


    "...I understand." A drawer of the compacted table opened, as a few circular tokens flew out.


    "..." Mr. Tempest wordlessly handed over the tokens.


    " Thank you! Have a good rest, Elder!" Mr. Swon said, satisfied.


    "...Yes." Tears streamed down Mr. tempest''s face as he silently descended.


    '' I just want to get out and move around a little, ok? Can''t I even do that much?'' He thought.


    '' Even if I am the great elder, I don''t need such pampering! Furthermore, you look more feeble than me, maybe you should go rest!'' Mr. Tempest thought, a little resentful.


    ...


    '' Great Elder?'' Levi thought silently.


    ''...Is getting into this sect a blessing or a curse in disguise?'' He suddenly thought.


    It was only natural for him to come to such conclusions.


    For someone in such a position to test him, maybe something he would have rather keep hidden was picked up by him?


    " Hmm?" Mr. Swon scrutinized Levi and Adam, a stern expression replacing the earlier tender one.


    " You two, follow me." He said before turning around.


    "...What do you say?!" His head snapped back as he shouted with widened, bloodshot eyes.


    " Y-Yes, sir?!" Both Levi and Adam hurriedly spoke.


    " Humph! Kids these days!" Mr. Swon grumbled.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    At the bottom of the stairs was a large wooden door.


    "..." Levi looked to the side, noticing a few more staircases leading to similar doors.


    Shifting his gaze, his head tilted back as he looked at the towering building.


    Creaaak!


    " Come along." Mr. Swon said as he easily pushed the heavy door.


    " Um...sir?" Levi called out.


    " Hm? Speak up!" Mr. Swon said forcefully.


    " Yes! Mr. T-...No, the great elder was just telling me about how people forgot the name of the sect..." Levi spoke cautiously.


    "..." Mr. Swon stopped, his searing gaze stuck on Levi for a long time.


    " Sigh...Since the great elder already told you, I might as well clear things up." He turned around and began walking.


    " It was not that people forgot, but they were made to stop speaking the name." Mr. Swon said as they arrived at a wide hallway.


    Orbs of light sat in the high ceiling, half-concealed as they filled the indoor area with light.


    " What do...What does sir mean?" Levi asked carefully.


    "...The Benevolence sect was created by a few kindhearted cultivators hundreds of years ago." Mr. Swon said.


    " But as time passed, it''s original reason for being was shrouded by the multitude of things that are known as being human." He continued.


    " Greed, selfishness, arrogance, hatred. All of these things changed the once well-meaning sect." He paused.


    " After a few hundred years of this, three large sects within proximity of each other, in order to stop the feuds and strife, formed an alliance." He said.


    " After, the sect was slowly reformed. But this time, it raised its disciples not based on the flimsy notion of being kindhearted or charitable, but on respect." He glanced at Levi and Adam.


    " Because we were ashamed of our past actions, we felt that we no longer deserved the name ''benevolence sect'', and forbade the use of that name, knowing that it would be forgotten one day." Mr. Swon explained.


    ''...Raised disciples based on respect, hmm? No wonder this guy is so uptight. I hope that not everyone here is like this...'' Levi thought silently.


    " I explained all of this for one reason alone; With in-depth knowledge of our history, you have no excuse to spread that name, accidentally or otherwise." Mr. Swon said.


    " If it somehow gets spread..." A light flickered in his eyes as he glanced at Levi behind him.


    "..." Levi received the threatening glance silently.


    "...What do you say?!" Mr. Swon''s voice boomed.


    " Yessir?!" Levi and Adam shouted simultaneously.


    '' This is getting old real fast...'' Levi thought with exhaustion.


    '' Hmm?'' He suddenly realized something.


    "..." He glanced in Adam''s direction.


    '' I thought something was weird! So that was it...'' He thought with a snicker.


    '' So this guy can''t well deal with uptight people like this! No wonder he was so quiet.'' A playful smile bloomed on Levi''s face.


    '' Hahah, that pained expression is quite cute.'' He chuckled.


    ''...'' The demon saint''s mouth was agape as he wondered if Levi awakened sadistic tendencies in dread.


    " Hmm, come in." They arrived before a well carved wooden door, as Mr. Swon said.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    " So then, you are going to the Mechanism department?" Mr. Swon sat behind a broad wooden table, in a sizable room.


    " Yes, sir..." Adam said softly.


    He looked around curiously at the bookshelves on either side of the room, filled with metal plates.


    " Pardon? Speak up!" Mr. Swon said unhappily.


    " Yes!" Adam shouted.


    " Yes who?!" Mr. Swon glared.


    " Yes, sir!" Adam was on the verge of tears.


    " Humph!" Mr. Swon snorted as he pulled a rectangular metal plate from a drawer.


    "...This is Teacher Swon from the Inscription Department. I''m calling to find out if the Mechanism Department could send someone over?" Mr. Swon spoke after igniting his mental energy flame.


    A molten, circular pattern appeared on the metal.


    " Teacher Swon? For what reason?" A voice sounded from the plate.


    " A new disciple of the Mechanism department is currently here." Mr. Swon explained briefly.


    " A new disciple? The entrance examination hasn''t even been concluded yet, how could there be a new disciple? Mr. Swon, are you so bored that you want to cause trouble?" The voice asked.


    "...I am merely informing you of the disciple the great elder just handed over to me. If you do not plan to accept him, I will have someone bring him around the sect until he finds a suitable department to join!" Mr. Swon''s face darkened as he said.


    " Great elder? Hold on, the person should be arriving now!" The voice shouted.


    " Humph!" Mr. Swon snorted.


    Knock, Knock!


    Not even a few seconds later and a few knocks sounded.


    "...Come in." Mr. Swon was flabbergasted by the incredible speed.


    "..." A humanoid figure walked through the opened doorway.


    " Are you joking with me? When is the Mechanism department going to stop being so lazy?! To actually send a puppet to guide a new disciple?!" Mr. Swon slapped the desk.


    " Stop overreacting. Isn''t the Inscription Department''s teacher Swon just jealous of our...lucrative means?" The voice sneered.


    " Jealous?! preposte-" Mr. Swon was interrupted.


    " In any case, we from the Mechanism Department will be taking our disciple now. Thanks and goodbye!" The voice said.


    " You!!!" Mr. Swon shouted angrily.


    "..." The plate was silent, as the pattern slowly faded.


    " Don''t you dare leave with that thing, do you-" Before he could finish, he looked up, seeing only Levi standing before him.


    " Wh-Where is the other one?" He pointed to the empty space beside Levi, wide-eyed.


    " Erm...that, sir, is like this..." Levi paused as he forcefully suppressed his laughter.


    " Ahem...From the time that thing came in, his eyes became glittery. He left with it for quite a while now." Levi explained with his most serious face, his back straight as he looked over Mr. Swon.


    "..." Mr. Swon stood silently for a few seconds before smoothly sitting back down.


    " Ahem, so..." He cleared his throat.


    '' GAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAHA! He! He is! He is now acting dignified?! Ahahaah!'' The demon saint slapped the ground as he laughed his soul off.


    '' De-Demon saint...Stop...'' Levi stiffly said.


    '' Ahahaha, but it''s just too funny! How are you not laughing!" The demon saint lay weakly on the ground.


    '' Just shut up!'' Levi swiftly blocked out the demon saint''s voice.


    " Cough!...Cough cough! Cough!" He suddenly began coughing.


    He could barely hold back his laughter, as he disguised those that escaped as coughs.


    " Humph! Stop with the coughing!" Mr. Swon said coldly.


    " Cough cough cough! Yessir." Levi was on the verge of tears, from both holding back laughter and the fact that the more he tried to hold it back, the stronger the desire became.


    "...In regards to joining this sect, it is mandatory that I explain some rules to you." Seeing that his stern impression was shattered, with a tinge of red on his cheeks, Mr. Swon moved on.


    " #1, Do not kill. Although you will be in the inscription department, seeing as you are all cultivators, you should all still have some life-threatening capabilities." He said.


    " This rule also applies to any contracted beast you may have brought. And in regards to contracted beasts, any over a certain size will have to be shrunk down." He continued.


    '' Shrinking down living things?'' Levi found his attention gripped.


    " Seeing as you don''t have any such beast with you, I will leave it at that." Mr. Swon paused.


    '' Tsk...'' Levi thought.


    " Rule #2, Do not join, or continue to be a part of any other organization." His eyes narrowed.


    " !" Levi''s expression was still the same, but he was secretly startled.


    ''...Hmm? But I am not part of any organization, right?'' He thought playfully after a few seconds.


    '' Yeah, you are not PART of any organization, you are the bloody boss!'' The demon saint sneered playfully.


    '' Huh? What are you going on about? I am a slightly shy orphan who used up his savings to come to this large continent!'' Levi thought with a confused expression.


    '' Hehehe, you sly dog.'' The demon saint laughed darkly.


    '' Huhuhu.'' Levi laughed lightly.


    " This is to prevent the intimidation or assassination of any other disciples in case of sullen feelings or events of embarrassment." Mr. Swon said.


    " This will allow all disciples to start on equal footing, excluding the aspect of talent and also enable them to find themselves while they are without the aid of any outside force." He explained.


    "..." Levi silently nodded his head.


    "...Rule #3. I will first say, although this rule is placed at number 3, it should be perceived as, if not number one, at least number two on the list." Mr. Swon''s brows knitted together in seriousness.


    " Respect your teachers, your elders, and yourselves. Show everyone a certain level of respect." He said seriously.


    "..." Levi furrowed his brows, nodding slowing to show sincerity.


    " Hmm." Mr. Swon nodded his head in satisfaction.


    "...Student Olivia." Mr. Swon called out as he looked at the metal plate.


    The glowing, molten pattern appeared once again.


    " Yes? Is it teacher Swon?" A respectful, high pitched voice sounded.


    " Yes. Come to my office, I would like you to guide a new disciple to where he will be staying." Mr. Swon said.


    " What about a sect tour?" The voice questioned.


    " No need. He will naturally learn where things are as time passes." Mr. Swon said dismissively.


    " Understood. I will come right away." The voice said with a light laugh, as the pattern once again dimmed before disappearing.


    "..." Levi listened to the conversation silently.


    He didn''t know if Mr. Swon had refused the thought of a sect tour out of spite or what, but this turn of events was to his liking.


    " And here. Copy down your information onto this disk before bringing it back to me, or entrusting it to a senior or teacher." Mr. Swon held out a thin metal plate.


    " It works by infusing mental energy." He explained.


    "..." Levi nodded absentmindedly as he received the plate.


    '' Why waste time walking around when I can cultivate? It has been a few days since I could fully immerse myself in cultivation.'' Levi thought.


    '' You...You really need to get a life.'' The demon saint said disdainfully.


    '' Says the body-less soul lazing around in another person''s head.'' Levi sneered.


    '' Says the fool who trapped said bodyless soul here!'' The demon saint snorted.


    '' Ah? Are you tired of living? If you hadn''t tried to steal my body, would I have trapped something like you in my head?!'' Levi shouted angrily.


    '' Who are you calling ''something like you''?! And who told you to have a body that was so perfect for this demon to steal?! And I mean a body that was fitting for this demon''s soul, don''t let your mind wander!'' The demon saint spoke contemptuously.


    '' What?! So it''s my fault?!'' Levi shouted in a rage.


    Who knew such a light conversation would erupt into an argument.


    " Oh, and one more thing." Mr. Swon called out.


    " Hmm?" Levi absent-mindedly looked up, the flames of rage still in his eyes.


    " Er...Ah, yes, sir?" He asked with a smile.


    " Although this is a kind of unwritten rule that you would come to learn of later, I will tell you now. Don''t go close to the ice house." Mr. Swon said seriously.


    "...Pardon?" Levi asked in confusion.


    " Exactly what you heard." Mr. Swon said in all seriousness.


    " Um...I understand?" Levi felt quite funny, saying he understood something that he absolutely did not understand.


    Knock! Knock!


    Two crisp knocks sounded.


    " Come." Mr. Swon said, his tone softening slightly.


    The door was pushed open and a figure walked in.


    " This is your senior, Olivia." Mr. Swon gestured for Levi to look behind himself.


    "..." Standing by the doorway with a slight smile, was a girl with reddish-brown hair.


    She was the same hight as Levi and her slightly curly hair reached her shoulder blades, while at the front, her forehead was covered as it reached her collarbone.


    Her features were normal, while her skin was a silky, slightly pink color.


    Her welcoming smile instantly made one feel attracted as if she was an older sister that you could talk to about anything.


    "..." Levi looked at her silently.


    " Aren''t you going to greet your senior sister?!" Mr. Swon slapped the table in fury.


    " Er...Hello, senior sister." Levi nodded to her.


    " Hello?! And With just a nod?" Mr. Swon stared wide-eyed as if the most unimaginable thing had happened before his eyes.


    "..." Levi was at a loss.


    '' Do you want me to go down on my hands and knees and lick her feet or something?! If you are into that kind of thing, then be my guest, but leave me out of it, ok?'' He thought as he looked through the corner of his eye.


    " Come then, junior brother, I will show you around." The girl, senior sister Olivia said with a blooming smile.


    " Teacher Swon can rest easy." She nodded at Mr. Swon, who nodded like a pecking chicken in approval.


    " Uh...Thank you, senior sister." Levi bowed in thanks.


    ''...Seems like I did it right this time.'' Levi thought.


    '' That guy needs to go see a doctor and get that rod removed.'' Levi thought as he followed behind the girl.

 Chapter 113 - Weird Atmosphere

    "..." Levi followed Olivia into the hallway.


    They walked silently, one behind the other.


    " Don''t hate Mr. Swon too much." She suddenly said.


    " Huh? I don''t..." Levi said.


    " Him being uptight all the time is fairly annoying for many long time sect members, much less a new disciple like you." She glanced at Levi through the corner of her eye.


    '' Is she implying that I must be annoyed?'' Levi thought, slightly surprised.


    '' Hmm, Hmm. Never underestimate a woman''s intuition.'' The demon saint nodded, his eyes closed in seriousness.


    " Haha..." Levi laughed dryly.


    " Don''t like talking?" Olivia questioned curiously.


    " Haha, I''ve always been awkward around people I meet for the first time. E-Especially girls, it''s really hard on my nerves..." Levi scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile.


    '' Ugh! I feel like I''m going to throw up...'' The demon saint winced.


    "...Is that so? If you find yourself in need of help, you can look for me." Olivia slowed her pace, allowing Levi to catch up, as they walked side by side.


    " Thank you very much." Levi was about to bow as an outstretched arm stopped him.


    " No need for that stuff. It''s mostly the older generation who gripe about respect. While we youths do hold respect for each other, we don''t overly advertise it like them." She said.


    " Not when we aren''t in front of them, anyway." They turned at a wide staircase.


    "..." They descended the stairs silently.


    ''...This sight again.'' Levi thought.


    A long hallway stretched on.


    The end couldn''t be seen because of the building''s slight curved shape.


    On the left side of the hallway was a wide-open space a certain height from the ground, stretching the entire building, excluding the small pillars every few feet for support.


    "..." He looked out at the sight he saw at the top of the mountain, noticing the subtle difference due to the change in viewing angle.


    "...Oh! I''m so sorry!" Realizing that he was wasting Olivia''s time, he turned anxiously.


    " Don''t worry about it. It''s only natural to want to familiarize yourself with the scenery of a new environment." Olivia said calmly.


    " But...Although I doubt you would be stupid enough, don''t try to jump or climb through there." She pointed to the openings.


    "..." Levi tilted his head.


    " There is a powerful forcefield inscription tethered to these buildings. It''s there to protect against stray attacks or any flying mutated beasts." Olivia explained.


    " Stray attacks? This high up?" Levi asked in a surprised tone.


    " Hmm, that kind of this is common. You will get used to it soon." She said.


    " And although I don''t recommend it, you can go touch the forcefield, just to remind you to carefully look out for it in the future." Olivia narrowed her eyes.


    " Um...Okay?" Levi said as his body turned.


    " You don''t have to, you know. It is extremely painful even though it doesn''t leave any wounds. Unless you slam into it." She muttered the last sentence.


    "..." Levi went up and put his hand out, his fingers spread apart.


    Zizi!


    A light humming sound echoed, as tiny, vine-like red energy currents surrounded and stopped Levi''s hand from passing, twisting and sometimes coiling around his fingers.


    " Hey!" Olivia quickly strode up to and pulled down Levi''s arm in a flurry.


    " Are you ok? Does it hurt? If it does quickly eat this!" She spoke hurriedly while holding out a white pill on her palm.


    " Um...It doesn''t hurt, but...Are you ok, senior sister?" Levi asked with a strange look.


    "...Normally when people feel the prickling pain, they immediately remove their hands, but you..." She sighed as cold sweat trickled down her face.


    " Although this thing doesn''t physically hurt you when you touch it, if you keep touching it for a long time it will start to erode your flesh, so be careful." She explained as they began walking again.


    " Oh..." Levi looked at the empty space before following behind her.


    ''...That wouldn''t work on me because of the effect primordial cultivation, but


    you can never be too careful.'' Levi thought.


    Silence once again loomed.


    "...Your eyes." Olivia suddenly spoke.


    " Huh?" Levi responded.


    " Were they like that from birth? Your eyes." She asked.


    " Ah. I would think so? I wouldn''t be able to tell you for sure since my parents died when I was very young, so I never got the chance to ask why they are like this." Levi raised a hand to his eye with a sad smile.


    "...I''m sorry, for making you answer such a question," Olivia said.


    " Oh, no, don''t worry about it, it doesn''t bother me. In fact...I''m surprised." Levi said.


    " Normally, people either shy away from me because of these eyes or make fun of me since "such a wimp was blessed with eyes like these", they say," Levi said with a self-deprecating laugh.


    " Oh?... I just felt that they were beautiful eyes, although it feels like a stifling danger hides behind them." Olivia whispered.


    " In the end, they are your eyes, regardless of what others say. Accept that, and it won''t bother you anymore." She continued.


    " We are here; The new disciple dorm." They stopped before a door.


    " All of the dorm rooms are in there, so since you are the first to arrive, pick a room for yourself," Olivia said.


    " Ok. Tha...Thank you, senior sister Olivia." Levi stopped himself from bowing.


    " No problem. A piece of advice though." Olivia said.


    " Yes?" Levi answered.


    " There are mainly steam baths here, which are purposefully stocked with light soap so that you can wipe it off with a damp towel later, so if you brought your own soap along, I suggest that you don''t use it. At least not to wash your body." She explained.


    " You guys are lucky...For us females..." She muttered.


    " I''m sorry, I didn''t catch that part?" Levi said.


    " Nothing. Anyway, as I said, if you need something, look for me. I''m in the library sometimes. I hope you don''t have too hard a time." She turned around and started walking.


    " Thanks!" Levi shouted.


    "..." He silently turned around before turning the doorknob and pushing.


    '' What a strange woman." Levi thought.


    '' Strange indeed. Looks into the eyes of a blood-sucking freak and says they are beautiful. I even got Goosebumps.'' The demon saint sighed.


    ''...As if a wandering soul like you could get goosebumps...Also, we will all meet our maker at some point, but call me freak one more time and I will gladly allow you to meet them sooner. Do we understand each other?'' Levi asked.


    '' Eye eye, beautiful eyed captain, sir!'' The demon saint joked.


    ''...'' Levi silently walked through the door.


    On the other side was a similar hallway, but lined with doors.


    It also had orbs of light in the ceiling.


    " Oh?" Levi walked down the hallway, only to find an intersecting, narrower hallway, with a row of doors a few steps down.


    " Hmm." He continued down the long hallway, passing by many more narrow, intersecting hallways before arriving at the end.


    Another narrow hallway was beside the end of the main one.


    " Huh. Can''t escape having a room behind mine, hmm?" Levi muttered.


    " At least it''s better than the rooms with doors in those narrow hallways." He whispered as he turned the door''s knob.


    Inside, what immediately greeted his eyes was a narrow bed meant for one person.


    In the corner behind the main hallway was a small dresser with 4 drawers.


    "..." He silently moved toward the door that was at the foot of the bed.


    Hiding inside was a narrow bathroom.


    A shower, equipped with a white shower curtain sat at the very end, furthest away from Levi.


    Just in front of it, on the below side of the room sat a white toilet, minus the lever that was used to flush with.


    And finally, closest to him was a shiny porcelain sink, with a wide, clear mirror on the wall above it.


    " Huh." Levi stepped out before pushing back in the door.


    He put the metal plate down on the bed before taking off his shoes.


    His outer robe.


    His under clothes.


    " I should probably keep this out of sight." He muttered as he took of the spatial ring.


    Maybe for the first time, he seriously scrutinized its appearance.


    It was made from a greenish metal, with partial carvings close to the top.


    The top was flat, excluding the black, spherical material that was mostly embedded into it.


    He unscrewed the ends of the necklace around his neck, before putting the cord through the ring and letting it fall.


    It stopped beside the fingernail-sized jade cube.


    Levi screwed the ends of the necklace back together, before removing the hair tie from his red locks.


    " Siii." He winced softly as the tension on his scalp slowly faded.


    " Sigh, when will I be able to leave this place? The things I do for myself..." He muttered as he entered the small bathroom.


    ...


    " Tsk! I would like to meet the person who engineered this bathroom, to give my heartfelt thanks!" Levi cursed as he walked out from the room, slamming the door behind himself.


    " Have to use mental energy to activate the inscription on the tank to flush the toilet, Have to use mental energy to activate the steam producing inscriptions all over the shower!" Levi complained.


    " I''m just surprised that, in spite of needing mental energy to get water from the sink, the mirror works without it!" He sneered.


    " Sigh..." He looked at the robes on his bed, before bypassing then and walking toward the small dresser.


    Pulling open the drawer, neatly folded blackish-brown robes sat.


    "..." After deliberating for a few seconds, he put on the robes.


    Beside the dresser was a pair of similar brownish-black cloth shoes.


    After once again tying the sword to his waist, he then tucked the necklace into his collar.


    " Hmm, my ring finger feels naked." He removed the black ring, before putting it onto his ring finger.


    " Haah!" He fell stomach down onto the bed.


    "...I''ll refrain from using this unless I''m going out. My head is too delicate for this kind of torture..." He clutched the hair tie while mumbling.


    " For now...I''ll just sleep." His consciousness slowly slipped away.


    '' Hey! What happened to using this time to cultivate!'' The demon saint shouted.


    "..." Levi wavered, his eyes rolling behind his eyelids before he finally fell asleep.


    ...


    A while later.


    Step! Step!


    Step! Step!


    Heavy stepping sounds echoed from multiple people.


    " Ah, I''m so tired..." A voice echoed, devoid of life.


    " Who knew the test would last that long...It wasn''t easy either." A voice said, slightly dissatisfied.


    " At least we passed, even if by the skin of our teeth. Those guys who failed...They looked like their souls had shattered!" A voice sounded with a hint of gloating.


    " Hey, you guys wanna-" Before this voice could finish, multiple doors slammed shut.


    "..." At this point, Levi was thoroughly awakened.


    Although barely any sound seeped into his room, it still caught his attention.


    "...Go explore? No? Alrighty then..." The voice slowly trailed off.


    Click!


    The knob of Levi''s door turned with a click.


    "..." Levi''s pupils shrunk as he glared down at the door without changing position.


    " Wh-Huh? S-Someone was already here? But I thought...I''m so! soooo! Sorry! I didn''t know that someone had already claimed this room!" The boy had a head of light orange hair.


    He clasped his hands before his face with raised shoulders.


    Bang!


    He swiftly slammed the door as he left.


    "...There is a lock. I will remember next time." Levi mumbled.


    ...


    Nighttime.


    '' Since it would be risky to release my blood energy, I guess I will be doing just this for a while.'' Levi sat on the ground, engulfed in a large ball of blue, water-like qi.


    A spiral of qi leading down to Levi Slowly vanished.


    "...I guess I will nurture my primordial meridians. I wonder, will I reach a new ''layer''?" He muttered, eyes closed.


    ...


    A few hours later.


    The last bit of Levi''s qi seeped back into his body.


    His eyes cracked open and his attention immediately shifted to the metal plate hanging on the edge of the bed.


    Puft!


    "..." A dark, chilly mental energy floated towards the plate.


    "...How can that green-haired idiot be able to affect physical objects when I can''t?" Levi said after a while of silence.


    '' ''Cause it dudn''t got nothin'' to do with being smart.'' The demon saint sneered as he picked his nose.


    '' Oh? Oh, great lord-No, Great demon saint! Please impart a nugget of wisdom to this humble soul.'' Levi thought exaggeratedly.


    '' Humph!'' Ths demon saint simply snorted.


    '' Nothing? Then keep your useless thoughts to yourself.'' Levi got up, picking up the metal plate from his bed.


    '' This fool, when will he realize this whole room is designed to, at the very least, allow for mental energy development?'' The demon saint thought.


    " Hmm. Name...Age...Place of birth...Hehe, coming right up." Levi smiled deviously.


    Squiggly letters soon appeared on and sometimes below the provided lines.


    "...These people really want to infuriate people to death, hmm?!" A vein bulged on Levi''s face.


    ...


    The next day, Morning.


    Levi sat cross-legged, engulfed in qi.


    "..." His eyes suddenly cracked open, as he got off his bed.


    As he opened the door, he saw multiple people walking toward the main door.


    He realized that all of these people were male, regardless of height or build.


    " Hey, stop blocking the road." A disapproving voice sounded behind him.


    " Oh'' S-Sorry." Looking back, a black-haired youth with sharp eyes stood behind him, glaring up.


    " Tsk." The youth strode by after clicking his tongue in contempt.


    '' And I thought I had an attitude...'' Levi thought half-jokingly.


    "..." He shook his head and began walking.


    '' Don''t mind it, don''t mind. It''s my first day today. First impressions are important.'' The slight smile slowly vanished from his face, replaced by an anxious expression.


    After getting out into the hallway, he followed behind the chain of people since he had no idea where to go.


    " hmm?" After watching multiple people turn and vanish into the wall of the hallway, he curiously walked up to investigate.


    A doorless doorway appeared in front of him.


    He walked up the steep stairs while looking around.


    Bulky tables lined the large room in ascending rows.


    The closer to the back they were, the higher they were.


    "..." Some of the people he followed sat by themselves, while others sat beside each other, chatting.


    Levi walked up to the very last seat of the first row.


    " Hmm?" Beside the seat, a similar opening to the one in the hallway stretched across the wall, all the way to the front.


    " O-Oh! Hey! S-Sorry about yesterday!" A voice sounded beside Levi.


    " Huh? Y-You''re..." Sitting beside his desk was the orange-haired boy who opened his door.


    '' The home invader.'' Levi thought.


    " Don''t worry, I should have locked the door." Levi scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.


    " Oh, No, No! It was my fault! Hey, what''s your name?" The youth asked.


    " Me?...Levi." Levi said as he sat in the fixed stool behind his desk.


    '' Oh, you can see outside even while sitting, lucky.'' Levi glanced down through the two openings.


    " My name is heil, H-E-I-L, not H-E-A-L! People often get them mixed up, haha!" The boy, heil laughed stiffly.


    '' This is the first time someone talked back to me! I can''t mess up! I have to make at least one friend!...or at the very least an acquaintance.'' His inner voice lost motivation as it went along.


    " Oh, hi...Sorry...If I act kinda weird, I''m not too good with new people...Not good with people at all, to be honest." Levi mumbled the last sentence as he averted his gaze.


    '' C''mon, bite the bait!'' Levi taunted in his head.


    " Haha! Really?! Are you a child?! Don''t worry, I''ll help you out if things get too rough for you!" The youth turned his body to face Levi. He slapped his chest while proclaiming proudly.


    '' Haha! That was nice and smooth! This isn''t as hard as I thought it would be...I can do this!'' The flame of motivation was lit in his heart.


    Step! Step!


    " Hmm?" Levi''s attention shifted as he heard multiple steps.


    " Go take any leftover seats first." A droning voice sounded.


    " Yes, Ma''am!" A collective of mostly high pitched voices sounded.


    " O-Oh! Girls...The girls are finally here!" Heil whispered nervously.


    " Hey, how do I look?! Good, right? There is nothing on my face?" He shouted softly to Levi with a hand beside his mouth.


    " N-No..." Levi answered.


    ''...Why all of the excitement?'' Levi thought.


    '' That...Is called ''youth'' my boy!'' The demon saint spoke in a high tone, adjusting his glasses.


    '' The real question is, though...Why do you not feel excited at the thought of girls of the same age? Hmm? Did you become this way after obtaining your blood-sucking technique, or before?'' The demon saint questioned swiftly.


    '' And if before, why are you not attracted to girls? Don''t tell me, you- AGHHGHGH!'' He suddenly screamed out in pain.


    "..." Without even bothering to respond, Levi watched as a small swarm of girls walked up the steps and into the room.


    Some were already acquainted, as they looked for spots with two empty tables side by side.


    Finally, after they all entered; Donning a large, gritty looking black mantle, a tall figure slowly walked up the stairs, skipping a few stairs with one step.


    The figure had lengthy, curly black hair and very dark circles under their eyes.


    A gloomy air hung over this person as they walked behind the wide wooden podium.


    "...Starting today...Sigh...I will be your teacher. I will be for...well...until I''m not anymore." The person placed both hands on the podium, slouching slightly as they explained.


    ''...What is this person?'' The boys thought incredulously, with a hint of worry.


    " My name is...Miss Noble..." Miss Noble said gloomily.


    ''....It was a Miss?!'' The boys thought collectively, shocked.


    " Well...The females already know me, but...Ah, whatever...It doesn''t matter anyway." She sighed.


    '' What doesn''t?!'' The guys thought.


    " Ah, yes...Which one of you...took a separate test?" She swept her gloomy gaze over the wide room.


    "...Ah, I-It was probably me, Miss Noble." Levi suddenly realized.


    " Hum...It''s Teacher Noble...Sigh, does it even matter?... In any case, Mr. Swon explained your situation...Sit..." She droned.


    " Ah, yes..." Levi sat, slightly flustered.


    ''...Huh?'' He suddenly got a weird feeling.


    "...I-Is something the matter?" Looking around, he found that multiple dissatisfied gazes found their way to him.


    ''...What?'' Levi wore a confused smile.


    ''...You are soooo screwed.'' The demon saint said humorlessly.


    '' But what did I do?!'' Levi questioned.


    '' Nothing.'' The demon saint said.


    '' What?!'' Levi questioned again.


    " Er..." He didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    The atmosphere just got weird for no reason!

 Chapter 114 - Abandoned? Outcast?!

    ''....Alright, since I''ve been here, what have I done?'' Levi thought as he kept up his outer facade of awkward anxiousness.


    '' There was that test that Mr. Tempest issued and oversaw. All of these guys started acting weird when it was mentioned that I took it.'' He swept his gaze over the people in the room.


    '' Afterward, that teacher Swon guy explained the rules to me, then I went and chose a room.'' He concluded.


    ''...I also met that girl Olivia.'' He continued.


    ''...no matter how I think, I can''t come to any logical conclusion.'' Levi thought, his expression darkening.


    '' Did teacher Swon set me up because of the laughing incident?... Or did I offend that Olivia in some way?'' He thought seriously.


    " Hmm?" A bright orange color seeped into his vision.


    '' Oh, then there is this guy who walked into my room...Logically speaking, he just arrived here with the rest of these guys. Unless he had some kind of connection with someone, he wouldn''t be able to give me a hard time. Then...'' His thoughts came to a stop.


    " H-Hey, what is-Why is everyone looking at me?" Levi leaned to heil''s side slightly while whispering.


    "...D-Don''t talk t-to me...I don''t want to get dragged into this!" Heil''s unsteady gaze was fixed to the table before him, as he tightly gripped the cloth covering his knees.


    "..." Levi was speechless, but not shocked.


    ''...Abandoned?'' He questioned internally.


    '' Abandoned.'' The demon saint nodded, faking a sad sigh.


    '' Hahaha! Humans never change! And you had the balls to call that green-haired fool my friend? Ridiculous.'' Levi laughed loudly in his heart.


    '' Humans this, humans that. You say that like you aren''t human yourself. In the end, you are still one of us; A hypocritical, self-serving human.'' The demon saint sneered contemptuously.


    ''...Maybe so, but for how much longer? Maybe I''m already a monster. You should know what I mean...'' Levi thought.


    ''...Humph!'' The demon saint sneered unhappily.


    ''...In any case, I have to find a way out of this situation..." Levi''s gaze bounced around the room, taking in the many unfamiliar glares.


    " Huh..." He muttered, as his gaze stopped at the seat right below his.


    " H-Hey..." He reached out.


    "...What?" A somewhat familiar glare landed on him.


    " Uh..." Levi looked at the boy he met this morning.


    '' This guy...did he not get enough sleep or something? Does he just glare at everyone?'' Levi thought.


    '' Like you can talk.'' The demon saint snorted.


    "...Don''t waste my time again." The boy''s glare became sharper, as he turned his head to face forward.


    " Wait! W-Wait! I meant to ask why everyone was looking at-" Levi was interrupted.


    " Fool. What do you think they are annoyed about?" The boy asked forcefully.


    " I don''t know, that''s why i-" He was cut off again.


    " Obviously because you took a separate exam." The boy said.


    " But-" Levi couldn''t get any words out.


    " But what? They are angry because they put all of their effort into this entrance exam, which was gruelingly difficult."


    " But then some random guy just walks straight through the backdoor. He takes a different exam which was most likely way easier than the one they had to take." The boy explained.


    " Back door?! But I didn-" Levi was cut off.


    " You didn''t? It doesn''t matter, because they are jealous of your supposed easy time, and also arrogant as a result of their overcoming this particular hardship." The boy sneered.


    '' This brat...'' Levi felt like strangling the kid for repeatedly cutting him off.


    " Get used to it. Even if, by chance, this ''misunderstanding'' is cleared up, it won''t matter."


    " Because in the end, the first impression they got of you was " The guy who used connections instead of his own abilities", and a part of them will always remember you in this light." After a pause, the boy, surprisingly, chuckled lightly.


    " Hey, how does it feel? Being an outcast." He asked venomously, his gaze still fixed before him.


    ''...Outcast?'' The word appeared in Levi''s mind like a clap of thunder.


    " H-Hey, you said that you would help me out if things got rough, right? hey!" Levi reached out towards Heil.


    Slap!


    " D-Don''t talk to me! I don''t know you, so don''t talk to me you underhanded bastard!" Heil slapped away Levi''s hand.


    His voice slowly became stable, as he projected anger.


    '' Just leave me alone! I don''t hate you, but I don''t want to be hated like you! So just leave me alone!'' Heil thought.


    "..." Veins lined Levi''s arms under his robes, as his fingers visibly stiffened.


    He felt only one emotion at this moment; Rage.


    '' These eyes of contempt are directed at me? All of these bastards must want to die! How easy it would be to rip off their fragile limbs!'' Levi thought as his pupils shrunk.


    The yellow in his eyes became brighter, to the point of glowing.


    '' Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you are doing? What did I teach you about controlling your emotions?'' The demon saint spoke coldly, genuinely angry.


    '' You know how good my self-control has improved! But no matter how good I am at controlling myself, are these people not begging for me to kill them?'' Levi seethed.


    This situation brought to light a point that he did not want to be reminded of; Ever again.


    '' So you want to kill them that bad, huh? Go ahead then!'' The demon saint shouted.


    ''...what are you playing at?'' Levi questioned, as his brows furrowed.


    '' No no! Go on and kill them!'' The demon saint said.


    '' But before you do, I want you to know! Some people in this sect would make your revered Old Gray run for his money!"


    '' Even that great elder, do you know how old he is? Hmm?! Older than your pathetic little clan! Maybe even older than that desolate rock you call a fucking continent!'' He sneered.


    '' And you must be forgetting, that there are many more people weaker than him that could drive you to the brink of death, and me along with you!''


    '' Do you think that the woman down there that you call ''teacher'' will let you kill everyone here so easily? Get your head out of your ass!''


    '' You''ve gotten stronger in these past two years, but do you think that you can kill anyone you want to just because you feel like it?"


    '' Hahaha! But don''t mind anything I said! You want to kill them all right? Go on ahead!'' The demon saint laughed angrily.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent.


    "...Huuu." Levi very carefully released a calming breath.


    He turned to look at the black-haired boy.


    "...You...How come you aren''t doing the same thing?" Levi asked.


    "...Why? It''s quite simple. I hate all of you." He said.


    ''...His air changed.'' The boy thought.


    " Don''t talk to me again. Ever." He said coldly.


    " You hate all of us? Haha, exactly what I would expect from the genius prince!" A sneering voice suddenly sounded.


    " Humph, just the prince of a small kingdom and yet so arrogant. I guess arrogance flows through his veins, in place of the lowly blood we humans have to make do with." Someone snorted.


    "..." The boy sat silently, his eyes fixed forward.


    As if in his own world, he gazed down at the podium.


    "..." Levi looked at the boy for a few seconds before sitting back down.


    '' Aren''t you going to kill them anymore? Come on, I want to see some blood!'' The demon saint taunted.


    ''...Sorry.'' Levi said.


    '' Sorry? Fuck your sorry! If you are going to explode every time you hear the word abandoned, then you might as well kill me now!''


    '' Because at the rate you''re going, it will only be a while before someone kills you like a dog, and I don''t want to be caught up in that, ok?!'' The demon saint shouted.


    ''...I understand.'' Levi said.


    '' You need to grow up. And I mean now.'' The demon saint said as silence loomed.


    ''...'' Levi said nothing in retort.


    "...Are you all finished now?" A gloomy voice sounded.


    "!!" Everyone felt a chill.


    " This behavior is not acceptable." The gloom around Miss Noble dissipated as a raging flame burned in her glaring eyes.


    " Even if you are new here, not only did you not show a fellow disciple even a small amount of respect, you also openly cursed at another one." She said.


    " What do you think this place is? Answer." Miss Noble asked, her gaze scalding.


    "..." Some opened their mouths, only to shut them.


    " Making me use up my energy on useless things. Do you really want to be here? If not, leave right now and get off this mountain." She said coldly.


    " As students, teachers aren''t allowed to touch you. And even if you announce your departure from the sect, this rule still stands for a while, so don''t be afraid of retribution and fuck off." She spoke harshly.


    ''...Aren''t you just angry that you had to put effort into something? Why are you taking it out on us? And what happened to mutual respect?'' Someone thought incredulously.


    "...Tsk, since you are all still here, then let''s get to the lesson, class." Miss Noble slowly became gloomy once again.


    " Sigh...since all of you are new...we will talk about cultivation...sigh, the different types of cultivators and...stuff..." She turned to the large, flat metal plate fixed to the wall behind her.


    She suddenly paused.


    "...On second thought, tell me what you know of cultivators and cultivation..." She turned and said.


    '' Ugh! Why did I have to get stuck with the lazy teacher?'' Someone thought.


    " U-Uhm..." A timid whisper sounded.


    Sitting with her tiny hand slightly raised and trembling, was a girl with short pinkish hair.


    A pair of large circular glasses sat on her face, as her tiny frame was almost fully blocked out by the desk before her.


    " Uhmm..." Miss Noble nodded slightly.


    " B-Being a cul-cultivator means...B-Being stron...g...and co-confident..." The girl said while squeezing her eyes shut.


    " Pftt! Ha-!!" A boy burst out laughing before a gloomy gaze caused him to swallow it back.


    " Hnn...Next." Miss Noble grunted.


    " Cultivation is the carriage that takes you down the path to unlimited strength!" A forceful voice echoed.


    Behind a desk sat a muscular, sturdy-looking youth.


    His back was straight as he sat with his arms crossed, his short, washed-out brown hair curled slightly as it hung just above his eyes.


    " Mhm." Miss noble nodded.


    " Cultivators are superior to regular humans. We are free to do what we want, and we live much longer than any mortal." A sneering voice sounded.


    A girl with long, shiny black hair sat, the corner of her mouth curled up as she sneered. Adorning her beautiful hair was a single flower hairpin.


    One after the other, the youths shared what they knew, or what they believed being a cultivator meant or required.


    " Mhm." Miss noble grunted as her gaze shifted.


    " You...speak." She said as she looked at the quiet Levi.


    " M-Me?!" Levi asked, flustered.


    " Mhm." Miss Noble grunted.


    " U-Uhm..." Levi fell into a silent panic.


    " Haha! What would someone like him know?!" A person sneered.


    "..." Miss Noble''s body stiffened slightly.


    "...Get out." Her gaze shifted as she spoke.


    " Huh?" A boy asked, confused.


    "..." She raised her hand, before grabbing at the youth''s direction.


    " A, Ah! What is this!" A black mist materialized around the boy.


    Gasps could be heard as the boy was lifted from his seat and flung through the narrow doorway.


    " Ow! What!? What?!" The boy shouted.


    "...You! Didn''t you say that teachers aren''t allowed to harm students? What are you doing?!" The boy questioned as he looked into Miss Noble''s apathetic eyes and came to a realization.


    He got up, then walked toward the classroom.


    "!!...You...what are you trying to do?" He said with a shaking voice as his face paled.


    " You...You can''t harm students...what are you directing killing intent at me for..." He spoke while retreating step by step.


    " Student? Where? Scram from this mountain before my mood becomes poor." Miss Noble spoke calmly.


    " You...You..." The boy could only, in the end, walk down the corridor, his shoulders tucked in and his head low.


    " Now speak." Miss noble turned to Levi, ignoring all of the whispers and scared glances.


    "..." Levi sat silently.


    ''...Being a cultivator is to be stronger than anyone, or anything else.'' He thought.


    ''...Becoming a cultivator is walking down a path that will lead to happiness.'' He continued.


    " Being a cultivator..." Levi paused.


    '' Is being so strong, so dazzling, so appealing...that none would ever think of leaving you behind. That none would ever think of abandoning you...'' He finished in thought.


    "...Is the starting point that ends with eternal life?" Levi spoke in a questioning tone, as a stiff grin hung on his face.


    ''...Yes, slowly sink back down...there is no need for you to surface...'' He thought.


    '' These feelings... I just have to lock them away...hide them behind a smile...seal them in my frozen heart.'' He continued.


    ''...This is all for that, after all.''


    '' All so that I can reach it...''


    '' The top.'' He thought, as his shaky grin slowly became stable.

 Chapter 115 - First Lesson (1)

    '' Immortality?'' Someone thought.


    '' What a child. There is someone over the age of 10 who still believes those fairytales?'' Another youth thought.


    '' Haah...Why is it this kind of teacher? See what a waste of time asking him was?'' A youth sighed internally.


    '' Tsk, just what you would expect from a person who would go around a house to use the back door.'' Someone clicked their tongue.


    " Mhm." Miss Noble grunted with a nod.


    " Your answers..." She paused.


    " Are all both right and wrong." She continued.


    " Begining cultivation...can lead to you ending up in a variety of positions." She said.


    " My point is that cultivation has different meanings for different people." Miss Noble shifted her gaze from face to face.


    " Whether it might be becoming a god, or gaining confidence...the difference between these two things might be as far apart as the heavens are from the earth in your eyes..."


    " But in the end...they are not much different." She finished.


    "..." Grumbles of discontent were secretly released.


    Some of the youths felt as if Miss Noble belittled their ambitions by comparing them to the ''much less significant'' goals of their peers.


    " Always remember that...in comparison to other people''s goals or feelings, to you, yours will always feel more important..."


    " But in reality, you are the only person that views them with such importance." Sensing the discontent, Miss Noble said.


    " So in a sense, while you might think that your goals are more important than another person''s, they are probably thinking the same about their own goals and yours." She said.


    " If you think about it like this, what I said earlier wasn''t wrong, was it?" She asked seriously.


    "..." The class was silent.


    Seeing the supposed lazy Miss Noble patiently explain something, and with such sound logic made some of the youths change their opinions of her, however slight.


    " All in all, thinking that your dreams are bigger and more important than others'' is selfish and tactless." She finished.


    "..." Levi looked down at the podium silently.


    '' Demon saint.'' He called out.


    ''...What?'' The demon saint answered, somewhat unfriendly.


    '' Isn''t cultivation supposed to be carried out selfishly for your own goals? What is she saying?'' Levi asked.


    When it came to the path he walked, his will was unshakable, but hearing such a thing piqued his interest.


    ''...Cultivation is a practice utilized by humans. Different people will have different thoughts about it. Don''t think too much about things you have no sway over.'' The last line was directed at Levi.


    '' I walk my path because it is the only one I can. I just wanted to understand an unfamiliar thought process.'' Levi thought.


    '' Such thoughts will only put your mind in disarray.'' The demon saint snorted.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent.


    "...Then...Now, we will move on to...cultivation theory...or at least, how your body allows for cultivation to work." A tinge of gloom escaped with her voice.


    Puft!


    Miss noble ignited her mental energy, causing a ghastly light-green flame to float before her.


    '' This mental energy flame suits her too well!'' The youths thought.


    With Miss Noble''s gloomy personality and this green flame, wasn''t she looking more like a ghost?


    Without a word, molten lines snaked across the large metal plate behind her.


    " Who can tell me...how cultivation works?" Miss noble asked.


    "... Simply, Qi is absorbed into the body and stored in the dantian. This process is repeated when one enters new stages. It also causes slight changes to the body." A scholarly youth spoke after a short silence.


    " Mhm...Look at the diagram." Miss Noble directed their attention with a raised hand.


    On the large metal plate behind her, a simple outline of a human figure sat.


    At the stomach of the molten figure, a circle was drawn just above the crotch, as multiple wiggly lines extended from the top half of it.


    "...Oi is absorbed from the air by the meridians." After a moment, Miss Noble spoke.


    " It passes through the meridians, is purified and compressed before being stored in the dantian." She explained.


    "..." The youths all silently nodded their heads, as this was common knowledge. It was just that, it was their first time hearing it explained so simple, yet so informatively.


    "...But while the dantian stores Qi, in this world, nothing is perfect." She said after a pause.


    " Qi seeps from the dantian, into and throughout the body, which, in turn, strengthens it." She said.


    " This also means that the more Qi stored in a dantian, the stronger...Or should I say, the more durable that body will become." She continued.


    " Does...Does that mean that, when your level increases, the strength of your body will also increase by itself?" Someone asked.


    "...Yes." Miss noble answered.


    " Suuu..." The youths sucked in breaths of cool air, their eyes twinkling with excitement.


    Who never dreamed of being stronger than what was considered normal? Even if they weren''t the strongest in the sect, outside, where the majority of people weren''t cultivators, who could be stronger than them?


    Molten lines snaked below the first figure, as Miss Noble tapped the second figure with a green pointer.


    " Then...What does this represent?" She asked.


    " What''s the difference from the first...?" A youth mumbled.


    " There is no difference!" Another one whispered.


    They all discussed among themselves quietly.


    " Is that..." A voice suddenly sounded.


    " Hmm?" Miss Noble shifted her gaze.


    ''...If the answer is wrong, I will answer it myself.'' She thought.


    " The outline of a fleshly cultivator?" Levi questioned.


    After looking at the two figures closely, he found that they were indeed identical.


    He then recalled that aside from ''regular'' cultivation, there was still another way of cultivating that wasn''t much different from what was considered the normal method, which was the strengthening of the body with Qi directly.


    "...Correct." Miss Noble spoke after a slight pause.


    " What?"


    " How could he know..."


    " So there was a difference between the two figures..."


    Some of the youths'' faces twisted in dissatisfaction.


    "...There was no difference." Miss Noble spoke up.


    " What? Then why did you ask if there was?" A girl with a flower hairpin stuck to her black hair blurted out.


    '' Then how did he notice the difference?'' The youths all thought.


    " I asked if you knew what it represented, not if the two were different." Miss Noble said.


    '' If anyone heard the question, they would all think " what''s the difference"...'' The youths were all speechless.


    " You all assumed there was a difference. Sometimes it requires deep knowledge to be able to tell two seemingly identical things apart." She said.


    "..." They all automatically turned to look in Levi''s direction, feeling indignant.


    "...But what is a fleshly cultivator!" Someone couldn''t hold back any longer and questioned.


    " If regular cultivators are known for their ability to command qi, then fleshly cultivators are known for their nigh-indestructible bodies." Miss Noble explained.


    " Oh..." The youths quieted in awe, waiting for her to continue.


    " The reason these two diagrams are the same is that the two types of cultivation are the same, aside from a few slight differences." She said.


    " Qi cultivators absorb qi into their dantian, while fleshly cultivators absorb this qi into their flesh. Their muscles, tendons, bones. Refining their bodies beyond the limits of humans." Miss noble said.


    " Instead of allowing the qi to be absorbed by their meridians into the dantian, they redirect it through the walls of the meridians, directly into their bodies." She explained.


    " But...But, if...If you did that..." A voice wavered.


    " Mhm. It is strenuous and painful as one might expect, which is why there are not many fleshly cultivators in the world. Some of them don''t make it through the pain, while others train continuously out of the sight of the world." She said.


    " And most don''t consider becoming fleshly cultivators from the beginning." She said.


    " To determine if someone is a fleshly cultivator, just look at their body type. Although different cultivation methods result in varying body types, most of them are relatively larger than normal people." Miss noble explained.


    "..."


    " What are you all looking at me for?" The brown-haired youth sat with his back straight, listening to the discussion quietly when he suddenly noticed multiple gazes.


    " Haha, my body was strong from a young age, so I figured that since it would be a waste to just get stronger by cultivating, I might as well learn how to make inscriptions instead!" He suddenly laughed out while scratching the back of his head.


    " Since I am already strong, what''s the point of getting stronger? I just want to learn how to earn some money! Not a fleshly cultivator!" He waved his hands.


    " Nobody asked for your backstory!"


    " So that means that whole speech about becoming a god was bullsh..."


    " No, No! Where I grew up, that was what everyone said!" He explained.


    " Humph!" No one listened to him anymore as they shifted back their attention.


    " Another trait of theirs is their scant amount of Qi. Since they wholeheartedly pour the Qi they absorb into their bodies, only a minuscule amount reaches their dantian. Intentional or otherwise." Miss Noble continued.


    " They also don''t awaken any of the abilities us Qi cultivators do." She said.


    " I don''t know much about fleshly cultivators, but I heard that they only gain one ability, called the " Heart Tree"." Miss Noble recalled.


    "!!" Levi''s eyes widened.


    "...Is something the matter?" Miss Noble questioned.


    " N-No...Nothing." He hadn''t realized that he stood up.


    '' Isn''t that the same little white plant shooting roots all across my body?! But I am not a fleshly cultivator!'' Levi thought.


    " In any case..." Miss Noble began speaking again.


    " Excuse me! What kinds of abilities do Qi cultivators acquire?!" Someone shouted in excitement.


    "...Well, the first ability Qi cultivators gain is the " Seed of knowledge"." Miss Noble slowly said.


    " Although it doesn''t seem like much, it''s ability is heaven-sent." She said.


    " Whether it be cultivation techniques or skills, inscriptions, mechanisms or pill refining, studying will allow you to become better at them to a certain extent." She said.


    " This is a result of the seed of knowledge''s ability to order information and filter out what is found to be wrong, allowing you to remember only the right methods to complete your tasks." She said.


    " Even more magical, while in the Mind Opening Realm, the more engrossed you are in learning about your future path will directly affect the automatic absorption of Qi." She continued.


    " Meaning, for example, if you were extremely engrossed in your study material, the absorption rate would increase. Of course, not everyone is the same, and it also works oppositely sometimes." She said.


    " So what I am trying to say is, while fleshly cultivators seemingly have to practice endlessly to understand a skill, in comparison, Qi cultivators, with the seed of knowledge, would already have a grasp of that skill as a result of the seed of knowledge."


    " The only reason Qi cultivators still practice is to allow the body to become accustomed to what the mind already knows. While the extent of this ability varies, you all should understand the value of it, yes?" She questioned.


    "..." Some of the youths felt their faces heating up in excitement, especially those who were close to breaking through to the "Mind Opening Realm".


    "...But, do you all remember the one ability of fleshly cultivators?" She seemed to recall something before asking.


    " Yes?" They answered obediently.


    " That ability is almost the same as with the seed of knowledge, but there is a key difference." She said.


    "..." Levi''s breath quickened.


    He had always suspected a thing or two about his current cultivation state, but without confirmation, who''s to say that his suspicions weren''t false?


    As he felt that a part of this long-awaited confirmation was at hand, he couldn''t stop the excitement welling up in his heart.


    " It focuses on the body instead of the mind. So if a fleshly cultivator picked up a ''Body-based'', as opposed to a '' Qi-based'' skill or technique, their bodies would be able to grasp it first. To have their minds grasp the skill, practice would be necessary." She said.


    "...Isn''t that just the opposite of the seed of knowledge then?" Someone questioned.


    "..." Miss Noble kept silent.


    "..." Levi wore a conflicted expression.


    '' That does sound like how it worked for me with the ''hypnotizing steps'', but...it didn''t take much time before I was able to understand and use it.'' He thought.


    '' While on the other hand, it sounds like it takes a while for fleshly cultivators to get a grasp on why the skill works, even when their bodies understand it...Is this rate of understanding related to the fact that my heart tree was once a seed of knowledge? Or because it was a skill absorbed through blood?'' Levi thought.


    ''...I''ve also been thinking... I can''t absorb any skill, can I? I''ve been using the blood evolution skill for a good while now, but the only skill I have ever absorbed from blood is the hypnotizing steps.'' He thought.


    ''As I thought, there must be a condition when it comes to what skills I can absorb...and that condition is, I can''t absorb any skill that isn''t body-related!'' He concluded.


    '' It has to be a ''body-based'' skill! Which would make even more sense, since the blood evolution skill was created to better the human body...'' He thought.


    '' Sigh...I''ve only been here for over a day and I have already confirmed a few suspicions that have been plaguing me for over two years!'' Levi thought.


    ''...I wonder though, will I be able to confirm or correct some of the thoughts I have about Primordial Cultivation?'' His eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 116 - First Lesson (2)

    " The second is the ability to control elements...to a certain extent." Miss Noble said.


    " This ability spans across two stages; The heaven and earth stage and the universal harmony stage." She said.


    " It first appears in the later levels of the heaven and earth stage and grows throughout the universal harmony stage." She explained


    " At the heaven and earth stage, you absorb the qi of heaven and earth. At a certain point after passing through the levels, you will be able to control certain elements, like wind, for example." She said.


    " But, splitting mountains or parting rivers would still be impossible at that point." She said.


    " Then why bother..." Someone mumbled.


    " Then, let me ask you." Miss Noble said.


    " Y-Yes?" The youth''s back straightened.


    " How would you feel about being able to change the weather as you please?" She questioned.


    " How would it feel to rain lightning down on your worst enemy?"


    " Or bury an entire city into the earth?" Miss noble asked in succession.


    " But didn''t you just say that-" The youth questioned.


    " As with everything else, becoming proficient at controlling elements takes practice. Even if you reached the heaven and earth stage, the ability will not be godly as soon as it awakens, you need to practice with it." Miss Noble explained.


    " This is not something the seed of knowledge can influence, either. Don''t assume there will be shortcuts in life." She said.


    " I''m not going to say much about the universal harmony stage since it''s basically the same as with the heaven and earth stage." She said.


    " Simply, meditation is used to help you harmonize with the world; Plants, animals, people."


    " You become more in-tuned with life itself, enabling you to be able to command difficult elements easier. Understand?" She asked.


    "..." The youth nodded silently.


    "...This is the last ability I will explain for now." Miss Noble said.


    "..." The class sat silently, some excited students even held their breaths unconsciously.


    " Imagine...being able to command any kind of physical object with just a thought." She said.


    "..." The room was still silent, but this silence carried with it a deflated, disappointed air.


    " This ability awakens at the Void level and grows stronger as you pass through the levels."


    " While, in some people, it awakens around the later levels of the universal harmony stage. Not like any of you are even close to that level anyway." She mumbled the last sentence.


    "..." Groans of discontent sounded.


    '' What is with this lineup? What is the point of such...'' Ugh'' abilities?'' Someone thought.


    '' Even if you try to make these things sound interesting, I can''t help it if the ability in question doesn''t interest me anymore...'' Another youth thought.


    " Again, it is a seemingly simple ability, but as you continue to learn here, you will naturally begin to appreciate it''s value." Miss Noble said.


    " Imagine being able to control any material down to even the particles it is made up of. Later you will understand this ability''s significance." She said.


    ''...Again. Another question answered.'' Levi thought.


    '' I''m guessing that ability to control materials is what the old man was talking about when he said to ''break down the material without destroying it''.'' He thought.


    '' That would also explain why he said I wouldn''t be able to do it since I''m not at the level at which that ability awakens.'' He thought.


    '' At that time, I probably just scraped off the surface, causing some of the cold Qi inside to escape a little.'' He thought.


    '' At this point, I will probably never awaken that ability...'' Levi thought.


    " But I wonder..." He mumbled aloud.


    '' Will I find out anything relating to Primordial cultivation?'' His heartbeat quickened at the thought.


    " But enough about cultivation for now. You are all part of this Inscription Department now, and while knowing about cultivation is important, you won''t really find a use for that knowledge. Aside from a few exceptions." Miss Noble said slowly.


    '' Oh, yeah...''


    '' I was so caught up in the discussion about cultivation abilities that I forgot what I will be learning here!''


    '' Sigh...Why did I not get into the cultivation department? I mean, I should be glad that they even allowed me into the inscription department with my talent, but... Sigh...''


    The youths thought.


    "...Now, since we have discussed for this long, I will take you all to the other place where you will spend the most time in, aside from this room." Miss Noble said.


    "Every day for a fixed amount of time, class will be held. I will teach you about inscription and...stuff." She said.


    " But while you can choose not to go to this place when you don''t want to, classes are mandatory. If you miss them, you will be punished." She said.


    "...Uhm, punishment...what kind of punishment?" Someone asked.


    " Depends on the severity of the offense." Miss Noble said.


    "...Then, missing a day of class?" They asked.


    " flogging." Miss Noble said simply.


    " Then what about fighting?" Someone asked.


    " You will be strung up by your legs while multiple people lash you with clubs." Miss Noble said.


    " Wha..." The youths were speechless.


    " But I thought teachers couldn''t hit us..." Someone questioned.


    " That is not hitting, it''s disciplining. Or if you wanted to interpret it another way, yes, we are hitting you, but for a good, positive reason, which is to discipline." Miss Noble said.


    " Isn''t it still just hitting in the end...?" Someone mumbled.


    " Furthermore, there is still the loophole of having a non-teacher whoop you." Miss Noble said.


    "..." The youths'' jaws dropped in astonishment.


    Was this how a sect drunk on respect operated? They all wanted to cry but had no tears.


    Puft!


    Miss Noble ignited her mental energy.


    Multiple lines snaked across the room, on the ground, the walls and the ceiling, forming a large pattern.


    The room shook as semi-visible walls of light shined from the glowing lines of the pattern.


    " W-W-W-W-W-hat is happening?!" The tiny, timid girl stuttered as she held her head, tucking it down between her shoulders.


    " Humph! How noisy." Sweeping her black hair over her shoulder, the girl''s hairpin shined as she said.


    "..." Levi sat, silent, but vigilant. He saw that, while the room was panic-stricken, the delicate-looking boy before him sat silently, in his own world.


    ''...Wait, I can''t be this calm!'' He thought as he put on a fearful expression.


    " I suggest that all of you stand." Miss Noble said.


    " ?!" Light exploded in the room, so much so that it felt fluffy to the touch.


    ...


    In a dark space.


    A weird vibrating noise echoed as glowing lines appeared on every surface in the space.


    " Oaf!"


    Crack!


    Puff!


    Multiple landing sounds echoed.


    " Where are we?!" A girl shouted.


    " D-Di-Did we...Did we...DID WE JUST!!" A boy repeated, but couldn''t finish his sentence.


    " Did we what? And when are you planning to get off of me? How did you even land on top of me? We sit a desk across from each other. Did you plan this? Do you want to die? Ah?" The girl with the hairpin spoke successively.


    " You shouldn''t sit on girls, they''re very delicate." The youth with washed-out brown hair picked up the boy by the back of his collar.


    " Oh! Unless you got permission. Sorry if I interrupted anything?" He let the boy go.


    " Ugh! I''m going to kill both of you!" The hairpin girl said as she flicked her wrists.


    Two straight, long daggers flew from her sleeves and into her grasp.


    Her arm blurred as it snaked towards the youth''s neck, but someone was faster.


    "... Miss Victoria valentine, even if you must joke, this is simply too much. You will receive your punishment after this explanation." Miss noble said as the tip of her green pointer stopped the dagger''s advance.


    "..." The youth now sitting just beside her looked at the dagger pale-faced.


    " You came to this sect in an attempt to separate yourself from the ''Valentine'' name and the meaning it holds, the fear it strikes in the hearts of people." Miss noble said.


    " For you, I think that jokes about murder would be in bad taste. You have to learn again from the beginning what is considered acceptable and what isn''t." She said.


    " Tsk! I get it, ok? Don''t you understand what privacy means?" The girl, Victoria, flicked her wrists, sending the daggers back up her sleeves. She stood with an unhappy expression.


    The youth shakily stood, all the while staring pale-faced.


    " What are you looking at?" Victoria shot him a glance, causing him to shrink back into the now distanced crowd.


    " Valentine! I knew I heard that name before...!" Someone whispered.


    " Yeah! As a child, my mother would tell me that if I didn''t behave, the valentine clan''s assassins would come and kill us!" Another one said.


    " She is from that clan! No wonder she is so fierce." Someone said.


    " I even heard that they have an entire island to themselves! And that anyone who goes there for anything other than ''business'', is killed and dumped into the ocean!" A girl whispered to someone.


    " Tsk." Victoria''s expression darkened as she stood silently, within the group of people surrounding her from a distance.


    " Quiet." Miss Noble said.


    "..." All of the murmurings died down swiftly.


    " Do I need to punish all of you too? Do you need the words " mutual respect" carved into your foreheads before you remember them?" She asked.


    These comments sent shivers down the spines of the youths, causing them to shut up immediately.


    "..." It was only after they became silent that they started to observe their surroundings.


    Orbs of light lined the ceiling, lighting the large room, but cold, gloomy darkness still lingered.


    Beside them was a door.


    On their other side, circular patterns were carved into the stone floor in rows.


    Before these rows, was a short rectangular pillar, with a fist-sized hole close to the top.


    " First of all, you will all put your hands inside of the pillar and activate the inscription inside of it." Miss Noble said.


    The youths complied, and one after the other placed their hands inside of the hole before activating the inscription.


    They then sat on the carved circular patterns as instructed.


    " You should have noticed the black patterns on your wrists?" Miss Noble asked.


    Some rubbed their wrists, while others admired the pattern''s design.


    " This pattern will allow you to enter the infinite world, " Fragment Forrest", where you can practice daily." She said.


    " Those with contracted beasts will need to bring them to get " keys" inscribed if you want them to be able to enter with you." She said.


    " Inside, you will be able to practice making inscriptions. You will gain experience in creating inscriptions while surviving in a perilous environment." She said.


    " In this infinite world, there are also memory fragments with certain little survival tricks and parts of inscription blueprints." Miss Noble explained.


    " Questions?" She asked.


    " What is an infinite world?"


    " Will we die?"


    " Are we going to be sent to the wilderness?"


    The youths questioned simultaneously.


    " Although it is called an infinite world, in reality, it''s just a space altered to realistically mimic the world." Miss Noble said.


    " You will not die inside because it is not real...although, who could say it wasn''t possible." She mumbled the last line.


    " And as I said, the fragment Forrest is a false environment for you to train in. You will be able to access it from this room, so you will not be sent to the wilderness." She said.


    '' A space?'' Levi thought as he recalled something.


    '' Old gray also has a place somewhere...come to think of it, he also teleported us into it from the little tailor''s workshop.'' He thought.


    '' That old man, does he have something to do with this sect? If not, this is a ridiculous coincidence...'' He thought.


    " Are there any more questions?" She asked.


    " E-Excuse me, but, wa-was...what happened earlier?... How did we...get into this space?" The youth who just had his first brush with death asked.


    "...Using a teleportation array." Miss Noble said, a glint in her dull eyes.


    "..." The youth''s jaw dropped in astonishment.


    " Then...Then! Teleportation?! Teleportation can be done?! But, but! How? How much qi-No, how much energy does it take?! And what is an array?" the youth forgot his fear as he questioned excitedly. Before he realized what he was doing, he already stood before Miss Noble with a flushed face.


    "...An array is a cluster of inscriptions put together for one or more purposes. You will learn more about them down the line." Miss Noble said.


    " As for teleportation...it''s...not that difficult..." She said slowly as if conflicted.


    '' Ugh! It''s so obvious that she is just trying to arouse interest in those quick-to-get-bored, dimwitted brats! How nauseating.'' The demon saint sneered.


    "..." Levi listened quietly, but an unrestrainable curiosity welled up inside him.


    " Then...what about spatial rings, teacher? How do you make them?" He asked.


    While it didn''t get as much attention as earlier, his question still attracted some unhappy moans and groans.


    "...You can''t." Miss Noble said.


    "...Why?" Levi questioned.


    " While both teleportation and spatial rings involve the warping of space in some way, teleportation is undoubtedly easier...Keeping a separate space inside an object..." She said.


    " It is not even known if there are any spatial objects that still work, or if the idea was even once put into practice, and it will remain unknown for a long time." She said.


    '' But, if I am not mistaken, that desk the great elder carried with him also has a spatial aspect.'' Levi thought.


    " For instance, if you found a spatial object like a spatial ring, would you reveal it to the world, much less donate it for research, knowing that it could be damaged or destroyed during the process?" She asked.


    "..." Levi subconsciously grabbed the ring through his robes.


    " Moreover, there is also the fear of someone of higher standing claiming it for themselves. Why would you risk losing such a treasure with so many uncertainties apparent?" She questioned.


    " I will talk more about why creating a spatial object is difficult another time. We will be going back to the classroom for now." She said.


    " But aren''t we going into the fragment Forrest...?" Someone asked.


    " If there is nothing else after you introduce yourselves, then you can come back." Miss noble said as she pointed to the door with her left hand.


    The door was pushed open, causing the sound of stone rubbing together to ring out.


    " Wha-The classroom?" Someone said, dumbfounded.


    " Then...why did we teleport when a door was right here..." Someone said.


    "...Respect." Miss Noble towered over the youth.


    " D-Did I say something I shouldn''t have...?" The youth asked.


    "..." Miss Noble silently walked on.


    '' Ahahahaha! Getting embarrassed when her little scheme was almost uncovered, this woman is quite cute!'' The demon saint laughed.


    '' How should I say...you have some strange tastes. And didn''t you call her nauseating just earlier?'' Levi asked.


    '' Strange is better than no tastes at all! And that was then, this is now. Leave me alone!'' The demon saint said.


    " Ahh! No wonder! I knew there wasn''t a door here!" Someone shouted.


    As everyone left the stone room and the door closed, the wall sealed as if it was just that. There was no trace of a door.


    '' You talking to me is surprising. I thought you were pissed to silence?'' Levi questioned.


    '' Don''t get me wrong, I am still unimaginably pissed, but being silent will only be torture for me, who is locked in such a cold and dark place!'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm." Levi hummed.


    " To open the door, you need to activate the right inscription on that wall. They are reset after a while, so don''t expect it to be easy." Miss noble said.


    " Hah..." A vein bulged on Levi''s cheek.


    '' The hell is your problem now?" The demon saint asked.


    '' Nothing. A strong irritation suddenly appeared...'' Levi said,


    '' Is it your time of the month every day? Why the constant mood swings? See, this is what happens when parents don''t teach their children properly, they end up..." The demon saint began spouting nonsense.


    " Then, from this side to this one, from the back row forward, introduce yourselves. You can talk a little about your life before coming here if you want to." Miss Noble said.


    " If not, just your name is good enough." She said.


    Levi was the first to introduce himself.


    A while later was the boy who sat in front of him. His name was Harlo Stilnight, the supposed genius prince of a small kingdom. Known for his ''arrogance''.


    Another 5 minutes or so and Victoria got up, said her name and sat back down. The room quieted eerily as she stood, while even the girl who sat at the desk beside her seemed to be trying to sit farther, which wasn''t possible since the desks were fixed in place.


    She seemed accustomed to this kind of reaction since she just sat silently.


    The muscular youth''s name was Axel. His background was that of a blessed child from a small village.


    The timid girl''s name was Blair.


    And finally, the scholarly youth who simplified the answer to the question introduced himself.


    " My name is Silas. I hail from a humble family of scholars. Unfortunately, I don''t have any interesting stories to tell. Apologies." He said.


    With this, the introductions were concluded.

 Chapter 117 - Late For Class

    "...Introductions are finished. For now, I don''t have anything else to say, so you all can either go about the building to look around or enter the "fragment forest" right away." Miss noble said.


    " For real?!"


    " Hey, which are you going to choose?"


    " Hah, I''m going to check out this fragment forest! It might be fun."


    " Haha, talk big now, just don''t piss yourself later! otherwise, you would just be slapping yourself in the face."


    A group of boys spoke among themselves.


    " Sigh, I want to go clean myself up."


    " Me too. Siii, these chairs are no joke. My back is killing me."


    '' Yeah, my butt is hurting too.'' One thought.


    " Do you guys have any cosmetics? Let''s go doll ourselves up! Since we have the time, we might as well. That fragmented forest thing isn''t going anywhere."


    " Oh, but...What about her?"


    " Shhh! What about her? Didn''t you hear about her background? If you want to get yourself killed, do it on your own!"


    A group of girls conversed.


    Many of the youths had formed little groups, while there were always those unlucky ones who were left out, and those who chose to be alone.


    " You can walk around, but remember to be mindful of your manners. If I receive any complaints, all of you will be punished." Miss Noble turned towards the door.


    " Eh! But!"


    When they heard this, the youths were stunned.


    No one liked the thought of getting punished because of others.


    " Miss Valentine." Miss Noble called out as she waited.


    " Humph." Victoria walked down from her seat and out of the classroom before Miss Noble said anything more.


    "..." Levi slowly got up from his seat.


    He turned to Heil beside him and opened his mouth, only to close it.


    He then walked towards the door with a dejected expression.


    '' I can take a look at that infinite world later. For now, I want to go back and work on that thing.'' He thought.


    " Student." After leaving the class, he turned, but before he could take another step, a voice sounded behind him.


    " Yes, teacher?" He asked with a weak smile.


    "...Don''t take it to heart. Diligently focus on learning and let your skills speak." Miss Noble said, before turning and following behind Victoria.


    "..." Levi stood with a blank face.


    '' Was she trying to comfort me? She''s so bad at it!'' Levi thought.


    '' Aren''t you always whining about being alone? Take what you get and shut up!'' The demon saint cursed.


    '' Old demon, is your memory deteriorating? When did I ever whine about being alone? Murder has been committed for much less than slander, watch your words!'' Levi threatened.


    '' Humph.'' The demon saint went silent.


    ...


    Click!


    The door of Levi''s room locked with a click.


    His mental energy flame squirmed as if it had been blown, before vanishing.


    " Sigh." A vein on his cheek bulged as he tried to sigh his irritation away.


    " This place will drive me insane." He said.


    "..." He slowly sat on the ground as if thinking about something.


    "...I guess, to be safe, I have no choice." He mumbled as he reached for the necklace around his neck.


    A thick book appeared out of thin air, dropping into his hand with a thud.


    "..." The pages blurred as they were shifted one after the other.


    They then suddenly stopped.


    "...Space sealing inscription, " Little World"." He said as he rubbed the page.


    " It conceals the presence of anything inside a container inscribed with it." He said.


    "..." He sat silently for a while, but his eyes never left the page.


    "...This small inscription, I doubt it will be enough to hide the presence of my blood energy, so I will have to modify it a bit...But that will lower the success rate." He said.


    "Also...I can''t continuously pour qi into an inscription while cultivating, so I will need a separate energy source..." After a bit of thought, he pulled out an ice-blue, fist-sized crystal. Concentrated cold Qi was still Qi, after all.


    '' The old man wanted me to keep practicing with this, but we both know it''s pointless now.'' Levi thought.


    " This should be everything I need." He muttered.


    Qi rose from his body, ''falling'' upward like a reverse waterfall, as he formed many simple oval patterns.


    They were spread across the room, close to the walls, the ceiling, and the floor.


    Levi then formed multiple "bridges", which were essentially just channels that would connect the separate inscriptions, allowing for energy from the power source to flow through the monster of an inscription.


    '' The teacher said that arrays are made up of many inscriptions that are put together for one purpose. Isn''t this an array then?'' He thought.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    " Sigh...Of course I failed." Levi said.


    " Qi is not a problem. The only thing worse than something fragile is something both huge and fragile." He said.


    " Plus, since I had already connected the individual inscriptions with those energy passages, spreading the entire thing in every direction to get it into the walls and floor tore it apart...That part was mostly my fault for not noticing something that obvious, though." He muttered.


    " And while Qi isn''t a problem, mental energy is a different story. Plus, since I came here, I''ve been using my mental energy a little too often." He said.


    " In conclusion, next time I will make the individual inscriptions, coat them all with mental energy and implant them in the walls and the like without tethering them." He exhaled heavily.


    " Then I will add the extra energy channels and fuse the entire thing with the room." He said.


    " Hmm, easier said than done, though." He said.


    " Well, right now, I can still cultivate...I will just leave working on this inscription, as well as ''that thing'' for another day." He hesitantly said the last line.


    "...Fuuu. I wonder, when will I be able to practice that hybrid technique again? Did I give it a name? I can''t remember." He talked to himself as his qi poured out.


    " That crippled guy at the city gate told me to relax instead of tensing my muscles." He said.


    " But, rather than helping, wouldn''t that have the opposite effect?" He said.


    He sat enveloped in qi once more, his eyes half-closed as a qi spiral formed above him.


    ...


    Next day. Early morning.


    Glowing blue patterns faced each direction respectively.


    The black flame flickered lightly as a Semi-Transparent, black mental energy cloaked the numerous patterns, dimming their light-blue glow.


    The patterns then passed through the surfaces'' of the room, some simultaneously.


    " Simple enough..." Levi said quietly.


    Balls of Qi varying in sizes floated to various positions.


    " Feeling around to find the right places and lengths to connect these patterns now is the hard part..." He muttered, his brows furrowing.


    "..." He silently began changing the shape of each ball of qi individually, before coating them in mental energy and sending them into the walls, etc.


    Crack!


    "..." A light cracking sound rang out.


    Levi''s brow twitched, as he quietly repaired a cracked pattern.


    Crack!


    Crack!!


    Multiple cracking sounds rang out in succession, forcing Levi to focus on both repairing the cracks and fusing the new passages, or " bridges".


    ''!!'' A stabbing pain assaulted his mind.


    " Mental energy...overuse.." He squeezed out as veins bulged on his face.


    Crack!!


    Shatter.


    "..." A few of the patterns shattered a few seconds later.


    ''...Fuse! Fuse! Fuse!'' He directly stopped trying to fix the cracks, instead frantically trying to fuse the falling apart, oversized inscription.


    His mental energy was running low, which meant that he had little time.


    In his mind, taking a gamble was better than waiting for his mental energy to run out and watching his hard work shatter.


    '' Done!'' He thought.


    Without a second wasted, Qi exploded from his body quickly. Not in its usual water-like state, but more like a vapor or gas.


    For the sake of speed, this qi was sent through every inch of the walls, ceiling, and floor, repairing any cracks and sealing any holes in the inscription, i.e., the ends of shattered patterns.


    " Ngnn." He groaned as he looked down at the floor before him.


    He had not fused every part of the inscription, instead, leaving a few channels that could still be modified on the ground in front of himself.


    '' Sleepy...'' He thought.


    A crisp dragging sound echoed as he swept the crystal along the floor, to a certain spot before himself.


    "...Humph." He snorted after a few seconds of contemplation.


    '' I will fall unconscious if I waste too much time, so I''ll just do it. I doubt a bloodline, especially this one, could do anything with an exhausted body.'' He reassured himself.


    Lifting his hand, he held out his index finger, as a liquid poured out.


    It splattered as it dropped, but as if being held in an invisible container, the liquid was kept in a perfect circle on the ground.


    ''...See? That wasn''t so bad...It''s just raven, that unruly brat who tries to take control of my body...Oh, but now there is also little spider too, isn''t there?'' Levi thought groggily.


    '' I wonder if Lil raven keeps trying to take over my body because he resents me? Or for revenge?'' He thought.


    ''...'' After a few minutes of silence, he got back to the inscription.


    A wide cylindrical hole appeared before him, as he placed the crystal inside, before weaving the inscription channels.


    Qi shrouded the crystal, while on the inside, hair-like qi shapes drilled to the center from all directions. This was a very daunting task since, if the cold Qi exploded this time, Levi would be flash-frozen.


    He allowed the soft, liquidized stone inside the floating liquid to pour back into the hole, before extracting all of the liquid, causing it to harden instantly.


    '' Ah, I can''t hold on anymore...'' His mind cleared for a moment before his consciousness began to fade.


    Before his last shred of consciousness faded, he tried his best to fuse the remainder of the inscription to his room''s floor.


    Only when he awoke would he know whether or not he had succeeded.


    ...If he woke.


    ...


    An unknown time during the day.


    "..." Levi''s eyes slowly opened, as an energized glow exuded from them.


    "...Shit." He cursed under his breath as he realized a truly horrifying fact.


    '' I overslept!'' He roared internally as he hurriedly headed for the compact bathroom.


    It was quite funny how he always woke early to cultivate, but just after entering a sect where one had to attend all classes from the morning, he suddenly overslept.


    ...


    A few minutes later, he sped from door to door, bathroom to bedroom, to the hallway door, before dashing down the hallway.


    "...Student Levi, to your seat." Miss Noble said.


    Levi awkwardly walked through the rows of people, scalded by the gazes of the youths.


    Just as he was about to sit, Miss Noble said, " Follow me to receive your punishment later."


    Levi could only smile helplessly as he sat.


    '' Well, if I get off with just that then that''s good.'' He thought.


    '' I will have to put on a good act.'' He thought.


    '' But...it''s not like I can change the state of my body. Instead of hurting me, won''t they just break their paddles or something?... Well, whatever. It will work out one way or another.'' He thought.


    "...As I was saying. Inscriptions might seem simple, for example, the multiple patterns, but they are much more complicated." Miss Noble said.


    " Each pattern has different roles in the end product, the stacked, or assembled inscription." She said.


    " For example, in a single inscription pattern, there are tiny veins which channel Qi throughout the inscription-" She said.


    " -Tiny structures that make seemingly insignificant movements that have huge roles in determining what an inscription will do, and when or how it will do it." She continued.


    " Excuse me, what are these structures called?" The scholarly youth, Silas asked.


    "...I don''t know." Miss Noble said.


    "...Pardon?" He asked.


    "...I was too incompetent to learn the names of these structures." Miss Noble said after a pause.


    "..." The class went silent.


    '' So, what you are trying to say is, you weren''t paying attention in class or something, right? Right?!'' The youths all thought.


    "...but, regardless, all you will have to learn it." She said.


    " But-" A girl raised her hand.


    " Because if you don''t- Punishment." Miss Noble said.


    The girl''s hand was stealthily lowered without a change in expression.


    "...There are many books about inscriptions that you will have to read in your time here, so you won''t turn out like me. Don''t worry." Miss Noble reassured.


    '' What kind of double standard is this?!'' The youths screamed internally.


    '' You didn''t learn it, but are threatening us with punishment to make us learn it?! Big sis! Grandma! Aren''t you a bit too much?'' They thought.


    " Continuing." Miss noble said as she continued the lesson.

 Chapter 118 - Madness!

    3 days later.


    Classroom.


    " Good morning." Miss Noble stood behind the podium.


    " Good morning, teacher!" The youths stood and bowed, before sitting once more.


    " I want to begin teaching you all about inscriptions as soon as possible, but today, that is not what I will be talking about." She said.


    " Then what are we learning!" Someone shouted enthusiastically.


    " On your first day here, there was a question regarding why the creation of spatial objects is not possible while teleportation was." She said.


    " Hehe, this might be interesting." A youth crossed his arms, his mouth forming an amused grin.


    " Isn''t it just going to be boring? Why is it important if you can''t make spatial rings anyway? Haven''t we lived up to now without them?" Another youth complained.


    " What do you know!" Another youth berated.


    " Can you boys be quiet!" A girl said.


    " Hey, don''t! They won''t listen to you anyway! Don''t create trouble for yourself!" The girl beside her whispered.


    " You-" Before the girl could say anymore, Miss Noble''s voice sounded.


    " Quiet." She said.


    " Yes." The class responded collectively.


    " Back to the main topic. Do you all have any idea why making spatial objects is not possible?" She asked.


    "..." The youths shook their heads in silence. Those who found the lesson boring could only bear with it until it was finished.


    "...Could it be that there is a possibility of being swallowed or trapped in the space?" Silas asked.


    " No." Miss Noble said.


    " Pft!"


    " Ha, Wasn''t this guy supposed to be smart?"


    " Can you guys not stop?" A girl asked.


    " What is wrong with the question? If that really could happen, I hope it happens to you!" Another one said.


    " You!-" The youth was incensed, but was cut off before he could continue.


    " The next person to speak out of line. Strung up, beat with paddles." Miss noble said expressionlessly. She even motioned with her hands Like she was speaking to an idiot.


    " Humph!" The youth began grumbling under his breath, while a glaring hole in the back of Silas'' head.


    " Suu.." Levi sucked in a breath of cold air.


    '' Thinking back on that beating makes me shiver. That bastard...'' He thought.


    '' As for that guy...'' He thought.


    '' What do you think, demon saint?'' He asked.


    ''...I think that those girls don''t want to help that book-worm kid in the slightest. If they did, they would stop defending the guy at every turn.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Don''t they know that saying? " Jealousy is the blanket that suffocates rationality".'' He said.


    '' They are only children so that''s to be expected.'' Levi thought.


    '' Well, would you look at this! An extremely rare adult-child! Native to the backstreets they are usually abandoned in, known for their begging and thievery, it is indeed rare to see them out of their natural habitat!'' The demon saint commented.


    '' When are you going to get off my back?'' Levi asked.


    '' Ohoh! Temper! Watch your temper now! We both know how you get!'' The demon saint said mockingly.


    '' Ha...'' Levi sighed, as his lips unconsciously curled into a slight smile.


    " The reason it is difficult can be summed up in one word." Levi focused as Miss Noble continued.


    " Troublesome." She said.


    "...Just troublesome? Not hard?" Someone asked.


    " Then wouldn''t making spatial rings be easy since it''s considered as just troublesome?" Another one thought aloud.


    " No, troublesome is the right word." Miss Noble said.


    " Listen to my instructions and construct precisely." Miss Noble then said.


    "..." The youths all became serious as they heard this.


    In these past few days, Miss Noble introduced a very interesting exercise where, anytime she felt like it, she could instruct the youths to craft something with mental energy.


    Multiple mental energy flames were ignited. Some small, some big, some bright and warm, and others dim and gloomy. In terms of gloom, there was a certain corner where the temperature even dropped.


    " A shoulder-width cylindrical shape, bent on both sides, with the bent edges parallel to each other." Miss Noble said.


    " At the end of both bends, long, flat ruler-shapes are to be fused, while the object should then be placed firmly on the table." She said.


    " Wa-" Someone struggled.


    " Aren''t you talking a little fast today?" Another youth muttered as sweat rolled down his forehead.


    " The flat shapes should go over the edges of your desks. Bend the excess around and under the table, then fuse the edges." She said.


    " And lastly, on both sides of the desks, make two flat, ruler-like shapes and wrap them around and under both sides, fusing the ends once again." She said.


    " Are you all done?" She asked.


    " W-Wait, miss, I haven''t finished yet!" A girl said as he hurriedly tried to finish the shape.


    "...Too slow." Miss Noble spotted multiple youths who hadn''t yet finished.


    ''...Why a railing?" Levi questioned internally.


    Secured on his desk was a shiny black railing.


    "...Your second exercise is to pool your remaining mental energy together and make a sturdy wall. And keep in mind," She paused.


    " The strength of those railings and mainly that wall will be directly related to your survival during these next few minutes." Miss Noble said.


    '' This lady...What is she up to?'' Levi''s eyes narrowed.


    " What did the teacher just say?"


    " Um, I think, I think she said something about our lives depending on these railings?"


    "...Hahaha, we must have heard wrong!" The youths laughed at each other in denial.


    Puft!


    " You can''t be serious..." The ignition of a green mental energy flame wiped the smiles from their faces.


    " I don''t know what you are doing, but don''t do it." The youth''s voice wavered.


    " Don''t say I didn''t warn you about the consequences of not making a wall." Miss noble said, a glint in her eyes.


    A strong wind suddenly lashed out, causing the youths to grab onto their railings.


    This air blew some of them back and lashed some forward, while Blair was blown about like a flag, as she clutched for dear life onto her small railing.


    " Mi- Cough! I can''t-" She coughed as tears squeezed from her eyes.


    "..." Miss Noble stood perfectly still.


    In front of her, an unnoticeable ripple spread out.


    '' Oi, Oi, Oi! This crazy-!'' Levi''s expression changed as a terrifying thought came to his mind.


    Zizizzi!


    The sound of buzzing electricity echoed with the occasional crackling.


    A weird sound rang out as a black spot suddenly appeared before Miss Noble.


    '' Brat!!'' The demon saint roared.


    '' She actually tore a hole!!!'' Levi''s heart pounded as he released his Qi.


    His right hand turned pitch black, as he stuck his fingers into the wall.


    Black, string-like things also shot into the wall from his fist, securing themselves tightly.


    The hole grew, as an incomparably strong suction force pulled everything in the room towards the spatial tear.


    " Wall!!!" Axel shouted as it was the only thing he could squeeze out.


    He was confused as to why no one reacted to him, but he did not yet know that the vacuum of space sucked up even sound.


    Noticing that no one listened to him, he chose to lead by example.


    His water-blue mental energy flame flickered, as he poured every last drop of his mental energy out in an attempt to create a wall to shield the entire class.


    He was unsuccessful, as before he could solidify his mental energy, it was already being sucked into the tear.


    He slammed his arm into the table, instantly smashing it in half, before leaping forward.


    He turned in mid-air, spreading his arms and legs as he mouthed the word " wall" so forcefully that his eyes squeezed shut.


    ''!!'' The other youths, although panicking themselves, caught his meaning after a few milliseconds.


    They all released the remainder of their mental energy, attempting to create a wall.


    Multiple semi-transparent mental energies pooled in the space between the podium and the front row.


    ''!!!'' Just as they thought they would succeed, many of the railings on their desks dissipated, causing multiple people to lose concentration to fear or concern.


    It may have been inevitable, but the mass of mental energy was sucked into the tear completely.


    Axel, along with multiple others were pulled swiftly towards the tear, despairing as their last line to survival was cut.


    "..." Miss Noble raised her hand, as she placed it on Axel''s broad back, stopping him instantly.


    Even the other youths who were not far behind him were frozen effortlessly in mid-air.


    The tear spiraled, closing faster than it was opened.


    "..." The youths sat silently, their ears ringing and their bodies trembling from both fright and fatigue.


    As soon as Miss Noble released the glass-like coating of mental energy from their bodies, Axel dropped to his knees, slamming his forehead into the wooden platform floor.


    " Thank you, teacher, for saving me despite my incompetence!" He shouted, his voice hoarse. He didn''t lift his head, as a sticky red liquid squeezed out from under it.


    " Get up." Miss Noble said.


    " You alone were the most outstanding this time." She said.


    Someone couldn''t contain their anger.


    " What most outstanding! Do you have shit in your head!! Are you trying to kill everyone here!?!" The youth raged as he picked up a large piece of broken wood, flinging it at Miss Noble with all of his strength.


    Still present on his face were wet tears, but at this moment, his eyes were wide and bloodshot as he felt bubbling anger, even stronger than the fear he felt before.


    "...The world is a dangerous place." Miss Noble said simply, as she stopped the piece of wood.


    " Screw you, you crazy bitch!" The youth cursed crazily.


    " You will accompany me to the disciplinary hall after class to receive your punishment." Miss Noble said.


    " Fuck after class! I don''t want to be anywhere near a mental case like you!" The youth madly left the classroom.


    The other youths silently sat or stood as if in a trance.


    Those who were pulled from their seats struggled to get up from the ground with their jelly-like limbs.


    " Now, after that demonstration, who can tell me why it is troublesome?" Miss Noble asked.


    "..." The youths were silent, but they could now sympathize with how that guy left.


    " The problem is after opening a hole in space, it is almost impossible to do anything more with it." Seeing that the class was silent, Miss Noble explained.


    " That was a very small hole I opened, but inside was potentially infinitely large. Nobody I know of would be able to shape infinity, much less tether it to a fixed shape or object." She said.


    " And if they could, said object would be destroyed by the space''s force directly after, maybe even causing a disaster." She said.


    "..." Some of the youths caught their breaths, but were still jittery and decided to keep silent.


    They had unconsciously developed a grudge as a result of this demonstration, but Miss Noble''s next words were like buckets of cold water splashed on their faces.


    " While I did intend to speak about the troublesome nature of space, I also wanted to give you a life lesson." She said.


    " All of you are now cultivators. You do not have the capabilities of the people in the cultivation department, and you probably never will." She said.


    " But regardless, you are cultivators. You all seem to have the misconception that cultivators are lofty and without worries, but you are wrong. Very wrong." She said.


    " You will not have the comfort of peace that the common people have, however little." She said.


    " Every place you go, danger will follow you." She said.


    " The sooner you accept that fact, the more days you will live to see in your lives." She said.


    " And trust me, while tears in space hardly open naturally, many other dangers will be looming over your shoulders." She said.


    " So these few years that you are here, treat them like gold. Work diligently and learn how to protect yourselves. Class dismissed for today." She finished, before leaving the room.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "!!" Levi got up loudly, alerting the class.


    He walked unsteadily down the stairs.


    " Is he okay?" A girl questioned weakly.


    " Are any of us ok right now?" A boy sneered.


    " No, I saw it! That guy...while everything was going on, his entire arm become black! It was even hard enough that he could stab through the wall with his fingers easily..." Heil said weakly.


    " What?"


    " Stop spouting nonsense." A boy furrowed his brows.


    Everyone was tired, but this guy still had time to look for attention.


    " If you don''t believe me, look beside his desk...Look at the holes and cracks and see if I am lying." Heil said.


    " He''s right..." The youths mumbled.


    " There were even...even these black strings growing out of his arm, keeping him secure by his seat," Heil said.


    " He also released a bunch of qi and only pro-No, never mind..." Realizing what he was about to say, Heil hurriedly stopped himself.


    But who wouldn''t be able to finish what he wanted to say by themselves? '' He released a bunch of qi and only protected himself.''


    While they were all struggling to help each other, he was protecting himself. Detestable!


    Their anger also stemmed from the fact that while they forgot that they could try to protect themselves with what little qi they had, someone they looked down upon was able to think rationally enough to do it at that time.


    "..." Levi wobbled down the stairs, disregarding all gazes.


    " Hey!" A youth grabbed his shoulder, shouting in an unhappy tone.


    Boom!


    "..." Levi had only intended to slap away his arm, but instead sent the youth flying, causing him to crash through a table.


    " Y-You..." The youth looked at Levi in horror, before passing out from either fear or pain.


    "...Is he really alright?" A girl asked weakly.


    " Who could be more ok than him?! Didn''t you just see him slap someone away like a fly!" A boy reprimanded.


    " But, no...Look at his eyes!" she pointed with a shaky finger.


    " W-hat..." The youth''s face paled instantly.


    " Huff!" Levi panted loudly as veins bulged across his body.


    His hand was still black as he held it tightly, hobbling towards the door.


    His eyes were unfocused and his pupils were as slim as lines.


    When he slapped the youth away, a pungent murderous intent exploded from his body.


    " What the hell is wrong with that guy..." A boy clenched his sweaty fists.


    " How freaky..." A girl muttered.


    " Do you...guys think that he''s going to...Die?" Someone asked in a small voice.


    "..." The youths all went silent, but no one dared to go up to Levi.


    Levi left the room, sweating profusely as he walked slowly.


    " Someone! Go look for a teacher! Tell them about this situation and...That guy!" Someone shouted.


    It took a while for them to react, as the words bounced around in their empty heads.


    Someone feeling a little better than the others ran out of the room shortly afterward.


    ...


    In the hallway.


    Levi walked, slouching as he clutched his arm, sweating from pain.


    ''Get...Away..'' He thought.


    '' Away...from prying eyes...'' He thought as he endured excruciating pain.


    '' Can''t...let anyone..see!'' He thought.


    Reaching his limit, he dropped to his knees weakly, before curling into a ball.

 Chapter 119 - Found Out?

    Unknown Time.


    Eyes opened slowly.


    A person''s blurry vision had adjusted after a few blinks.


    A white ceiling lined with orbs of light entered their vision.


    Looking from side to side slowly, towering shelves stood on both sides, lined with rectangular metal plates of varying sizes.


    " Oh, he''s awake?" A smooth voice sounded, as a pretty face came into view.


    "!!" Levi suddenly sat up, the sweat immediately pouring from his face as he looked at examined his body.


    " I-I''m still human." He said, his eyes wide with surprise.


    " I''m still human...i''m still me..." He grabbed his chest tightly, muttering as if to reassure himself.


    "...Yes, you are still you. What happened?" A familiar voice sounded.


    "..." Levi''s head snapped to the side.


    Only then did he notice the two people sitting at a table at his side.


    " S-" Levi''s voice was stuck in his throat.


    '' Did they see?'' He thought.


    '' Did I transform? Did they see me?!'' These questions swirled around in his head, as his heart pounded.


    He looked extremely frightened, as he began panting.


    " Junior brother!" Olivia called out to Levi.


    " Y-Yes. Huff!" Levi answered weakly, his gaze unfocused.


    " Calm down. Look at me. Breathe." She cupped Levi''s sweaty face in her hands, as she said softly.


    " Breathe, suuu, fuuu. Everything will be ok." She spoke softly, as Levi unconsciously followed her instructions.


    " Senior...Sister Olivia.." He finally managed to calm down.


    " Junior brother, what exactly happened for you to end up in such a state?" Olivia asked as she retracted her hands.


    "..." Levi''s heart began pounding once again.


    " Junior brother, do you want to come and rest your head on my lap?" Olivia asked suddenly.


    " Huh?!" The boy standing at the side shouted.


    "..." Levi stared blankly.


    " What happened?" Olivia asked the boy.


    " N-Nothing, nothing happened!" The boy hurriedly said.


    " I just suggested it since junior brother looked fairly shaken," Olivia said.


    " Junior brother, I will explain how you ended up here. If you find it hard to breathe or otherwise, tell me, I will help you." She said as she sat on the floor neatly in front of Levi.


    "..." Levi hesitantly nodded.


    He had to know what happened while he was unconscious.


    " While senior brother Yuri was on his way to the library, he saw you passed out on the ground," Olivia said.


    "..." Levi''s chest tightened as his breathing once again became haggard.


    " He went to check your condition, but your body was so strained that it was like feeling a rock for a pulse," Olivia said.


    " He came here to get me and we brought you back here." She said.


    " You were sweating a lot and had a painful expression on your face." The boy standing to the side, Senior brother Yuri said.


    " I can only imagine the pain you felt. I saw your veins twisting and...Suu, just the sight alone made me shudder." He rubbed his arms as if cold.


    "..." Levi was just beginning to calm down, thinking, '' So nothing happened..'' He sighed internally.


    But then, Senior brother Yuri continued.


    " Oh, your arm is back to normal now?" He asked.


    "..." Levi''s heart pounded.


    " You were clutching it very tightly as it went from black to normal, to black again," Yuri said.


    '' Because even when I lost consciousness, I was still trying to suppress the bloodline!'' Levi thought as his shallow calm deteriorated.


    " Junior brother, why don''t you tell us what happened?" Olivia asked.


    " If you don''t want to tell us, you can go to Mr. Swon or your class teacher instead." She said.


    "..." Levi opened his mouth but closed it.


    '' They saw!'' He thought.


    '' How much did they see?!''


    '' I have lie, they can''t know!''


    '' But what if they told me less than they know to test me? To find out if I am lying?!''


    '' What should I do?!''


    '' What?!''


    Levi''s thoughts whirled.


    " Junior brother?" Olivia called out.


    " Is he ok? His face is looking bad again!" Yuri peeked around the corner to make sure no one was close by.


    '' What? what? what? what? what? what?'' This word was endlessly repeated in Levi''s mind.


    ''..At...Brat!!'' The demon saint''s voice sounded.


    '' Oh, demon saint? What should I do? what? what? what do I do?'' Levi questioned repeatedly.


    '' Hey! Shut up!'' The demon saint roared.


    ''...'' Levi complied unconsciously, then, as he was about to start repeating "what" again, the demon saint spoke.


    '' Think carefully! If you break down now, then you will not have a choice but to leave here!'' He said.


    '' Then what should I do?'' Levi questioned.


    '' That depends on what you want to do!'' The demon saint said.


    " But I don''t know what to do!" Levi roared aloud, startling his seniors.


    '' Calm down and think! Do you have a reason to stay here? What is it? How beneficial is it? Against a valid reason to leave, how does it fare?'' The demon saint reasoned.


    ''...I have to find out what I can about primordial cultivation. That information is important for the future of my cultivation. Aside from this incident, I don''t have any other serious reasons to leave.'' Levi said monotonously after a moment.


    '' Then hurry up and think! Right now you can still salvage the situation, but if these two report what they know, your chances of having to leave will shoot up to 100%!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' Levi kept silent.


    '' Think for yourself how to get out of this situation!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...Seems like the kid is deeply haunted by what happened when he transformed the first time.'' The demon saint thought.


    '' To the point of doing what I say without objection...'' He thought.


    "..." Levi suddenly sucked in a deep breath.


    " Junior brother? How are you?" Olivia asked warily.


    " Senior sister..." Levi''s voice was terrible.


    " To tell you the truth..." He squeezed out.


    " This isn''t the first time something like this happened." He said.


    He then went on to explain what Miss Noble had done in the class earlier.


    " I don''t know why, but when I am in danger, my body changes in various ways." He said.


    " I don''t know if it does so to help me, or to deliver me to an early death." He drew his legs back, as he buried his face into his palms.


    " I just want to live normally, but..." He said.


    " Does it...have anything to do with your eyes?" Olivia asked, concerned.


    " I don''t know. One day, it just happened. At that time I had to run for my life since the people who saw thought I was some kind of demon...I.." Levi sniffed.


    " Then...Do you want to let Mr. Swon take a look and see if he knows what''s wrong?" Olivia asked.


    " No!" Levi shouted.


    "..." Olivia flinched.


    Yuri pulled out a circular piece of metal, as an inscription was immediately activated.


    " Senior sister, do you know how people considered freaks are treated?!" Levi asked.


    " Do you know...How they are strung up and killed? Just because they are a little different? Just because people are unnecessarily afraid?!" Levi questioned.


    " If! If that is going to happen to me, then I will just kill myself right now!" Levi formed a dagger with qi, before stabbing at his neck.


    " What are you doing!!" Olivia''s face paled instantly.


    She immediately moved, grabbing Levi''s neck with one hand in an attempt to stop the gushing blood.


    " Yuri!" Olivia shouted, startling Yuri greatly.


    "..." He caught her meaning almost instantly, dropping a pill into Levi''s mouth.


    " Agh!" A fiery pain exploded from the hole in his neck, as Levi gasped.


    " Don''t stop me! If I am going to die, I will die cleanly! Even if I have to do it myself, I!" Tears fell from Levi''s eyes as he said.


    " Stop! Stop! I won''t tell! Anyone! I won''t tell, so stop!" Olivia almost died from fright as Levi formed another dagger.


    She hurriedly hugged his head, bringing it down to her chest as he wept.


    Levi''s heartbreaking cries reverberated, as he grabbed onto Olivia''s small back.


    "..." Olivia turned her gaze toward Yuri, who stood still as a statue beside them, a few beads of cold sweat on her worried face.


    "..." Yuri motioned with his eyes, as he held out the circular piece of metal in his hand.


    '' Don''t worry, I already activated my sound isolation inscription...'' He thought.


    "..." Olivia nodded heavily.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "...Is he asleep?" Yuri couldn''t help but break the silence.


    " It seems so?" Olivia forced out, her face pale.


    " Junior sister...Eat this quickly." Yuri noticed her pained expression and said quickly.


    " No. You have already used one of your pills for my sake. I don''t know if I will be able to pay you back." Olivia said.


    " Sigh. You know that you don''t have to pay me back. Why are you so stubborn?" Yuri asked.


    " At the very least...let''s go to the physician department." He said.


    "...Ok," Olivia said.


    " He''s coming too," Yuri said.


    " What? But-" Olivia was cut off.


    " He''s coming," Yuri said.


    "...Fine, but make sure that you keep quiet about what we discussed." Olivia said.


    " Hmm." Yuri hummed.


    ...


    '' Brat...Oi.'' The demon saint called out.


    '' Mhm...'' Levi weakly responded.


    '' Those two are taking you somewhere.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Mhm, where?'' Levi groaned.


    '' Physician department.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Is that bad?'' Levi asked.


    '' You tell me.'' The demon saint asked.


    '' I don''t know...'' Levi said.


    '' What did...you do to me? So sleepy...'' Levi asked.


    '' Didn''t you ask me to help you? All you need to know is that I did.'' The demon saint said.


    '' You...'' Levi could only get this out before his small bit of consciousness faded.


    ...


    After an unknown amount of time.


    " Senior brother! Didn''t you say that you wouldn''t talk about that!" Olivia''s voice sounded from the distance.


    " I understand your frustration, junior sister, but this is to ensure the safety of others." Yuri''s voice sounded.


    " If that boy is telling the truth, then I understand his reluctance to talk about the matter. But if he is lying..." He said.


    " You..." Olivia was about to say something but decided to swallow her words.


    " Thank you for your help today, senior brother." She said formally.


    " I will go inform Mr. Swon about what happened in the new teacher''s class today, excluding what junior brother has revealed to us earlier." She said.


    " I will be back for him afterward, no need to trouble yourself. And about your pill, I will find some way to pay you back for it." She said, before turning and leaving.


    "..." Levi lay on his back silently.


    " That girl...Oh, you''re awake." Yuri said, before noticing Levi had opened his eyes.


    " You..." Levi''s hoarse voice sounded, but his eyes never left the ceiling.


    " I want to ask you straight up. Is everything you said earlier the truth?" Yuri asked with a smile.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    "...I wouldn''t have stabbed my own neck if I was lying." He asked.


    " But, what if you knew it would reinforce your lies?" Yuri opened his eyes slightly.


    " I stabbed myself," Levi repeated.


    " Yes, knowing that junior sister would save you," Yuri said.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " And what kind of new disciple has qi strong enough to pierce himself?" Yuri asked.


    " I got ahold of a cultivation manual and practiced before I came here," Levi said softly.


    " From where?" Yuri asked.


    " My previous employer..." Levi said.


    " Hmm. Then let me change the question." Yuri said.


    " You claim to want to live a normal life. Then why did you join this sect?" Yuri asked.


    " Then, senior brother!" Levi sat up.


    " Let me ask you a question! If you were in my position, what would you do?!" Levi shouted.


    " If I had the option of living in peace, do you think I would save whatever little bit of money I made to be able to come here??" Levi asked.


    " Do you think that I would choose to be in this place where people misunderstand and treat me like an outcast due to jealously? Hmm?" He asked.


    "..." Yuri kept silent.


    " If I could live normally, then why did even formers and children find their tools or tree branches and rocks to try to kill me??" Levi questioned.


    " If I could live normally, then why did people try to beat me to death for something I had no control over? Can you answer this question for me?!" Levi asked, fiery rage spewing from his eyes.


    " Do you think that I wanted eyes like this? That I wanted my body to grow or shrink without me wanting it or knowing about it?! Do you think so?!" Levi shouted.


    " Young people sure are energetic." An aged voice sounded.


    " Who''s there?!" Levi was alarmed.


    " Haha, sorry for the racket elder." Yuri turned and bowed to the door behind him.


    " Hmm." Yuri turned back to face Levi.


    '' His feeling on this subject seem real enough, but something still feels off about this boy. Regardless of if his story is true or not.'' Yuri thought.


    " Ok, ok. I''ll have to apologize for testing you." Yuri smiled.


    "Te-Testing?" Levi asked with a suspicious gaze.


    " Yeah, well, junior sister is somewhat gullible at times, you see." Yuri sighed.


    " Don''t worry, what we discussed earlier won''t be told to another soul." He said.


    " Right, elder?" He asked.


    "...Is that a request or an order?" The man in the other room asked.


    " Hmm, how about a little bit of both?" Yuri said.


    "..." The person silently accepted.


    " So. What do you think of this guy''s conditions, elder?" Yuri asked.


    "...It sounds like a bloodline is running amok in this student''s body." The voice responded after a pause.


    ''...He knows!'' Levi''s heart stopped.

 Chapter 120 - Supportive Senior Sister

    " A bloodline?" Yuri asked.


    " In ancient times there were a few people with unique bloodlines. Whether they were crossbred or inherited them naturally was another matter entirely, though." The old man said.


    "...Anyway, this boy''s only affliction is a lively bloodline." He said.


    " So there''s only one?" Yuri sighed in relief.


    " Maybe two. His eyes don''t seem to go together with what you described before. But who knows." The old man said.


    "..." Levi''s face was pale as a sheet.


    " Then, is there a way to control or get rid of such bloodlines?" Reading Levi''s expression, Yuri asked.


    " I wouldn''t know." The old man said.


    " Elder," Yuri said.


    " I am not an all-knowing old man, you know." The old man said.


    "..." Yuri kept silent.


    " If this boy doesn''t want anyone to find out about it, then he should find someplace to hide whenever it feels like something will happen." The old man said.


    " Aside from this, I don''t know any methods." He said.


    "..." Yuri kept silent, noticing some color returning to Levi''s face.


    " Then, thank you for the help, Elder," Yuri said.


    " No need for thanks. Leave and let me get on with my work, that would be more than enough."


    " Elder-" Yuri was cut off.


    " Oh, great timing, that little girl is back. Watch yourself now." The old man said.


    Barely a few seconds later, the door swung open.


    " Oh, you''re awake, junior brother." Olivia gasped.


    " Yes, senior sister..." Levi said sluggishly.


    "..." Her gaze trailed over to Yuri, as silently walked up to Levi.


    " Come with me." She pulled him along by his arm.


    " But-Where!" Levi questioned.


    " Ak-" Olivia''s face twitched as she stopped.


    " Senior sister? What happened?" Levi asked.


    "..." Yuri kept silent as his eyes narrowed.


    " It''s...Nothing. Come on." Olivia said.


    '' It was you.'' The demon saint said.


    '' What?'' Levi asked.


    '' You got too into your role earlier. When you were crying, did you control your strength properly?'' The demon saint asked.


    ''!'' Levi was alarmed.


    '' Frankly, I''m surprised that she wasn''t squashed into meat paste." The demon saint said.


    "..." Levi''s face paled.


    " Humph." Yuri, noticing his expression snorted softly.


    " Sigh, I''ll have to grovel again." He sighed.


    " That''s what you get for trying to act cool." The old man''s voice sounded.


    " Aren''t you working, Elder?" Yuri questioned.


    " Shouldn''t you be worried about more important things?" The old man asked.


    " Haha, I can''t argue with you there!" Yuri said.


    " Wish me luck?" He asked.


    " Scram!" The old man said.


    " Junior sister! I was wrong! Hear me out!" Yuri shouted as he ran.


    ...


    Library.


    " So, you are saying that you were checking to see if he was telling the truth?" Olivia asked with a suspicious look.


    " Yes," Yuri said with a sigh.


    " Then why didn''t you tell me?" Olivia asked.


    " Well..." He couldn''t exactly tell her that she was an open book, right? One look at her and anyone would know something was up.


    " And who would stab themselves just so they could lie? Any sane person would just give up on it!" Olivia slapped the table.


    " Er, Junior sister, calm down a bit..." Yuri forced a smile.


    " And if you couldn''t keep your promise for just a few minutes, why did you make it in the first place!?" This was what frustrated her the most.


    " That...I''m sorry," Yuri said.


    " But, I did what I did to ensure the safety of all students, including him." He said.


    " You don''t have to apologize. I was just frustrated since...Nevermind. It was my fault for not controlling myself, I''m sorry." Olivia hung her head.


    "..." Yuri kept silent. He was at a loss for words as a bead of cold sweat slid down his face.


    "...If anyone is to blame, then this is my fault." Levi spoke up.


    " Junior brother..." Olivia shifted her gaze.


    '' Yes! Help this big brother out!'' Yuri thought.


    " I shouldn''t have let myself collapse in the first place. Next time, I will make sure to find a place to hide...That way, I won''t trouble anybody." Levi said, his head down.


    '' NoNoNo! You''re going in the wrong direction! Was this guy born on a rainy day? How depressing!'' Yuri face-palmed.


    " And, senior sister, your...Sigh..." Levi stopped himself.


    " Oh, you don''t have to worry, junior brother!" Olivia seemed to recall something.


    " I have already reported your teacher to Mr. Swon!" She said.


    "..." Levi''s jaw dropped as a ridiculous expression grew on his face.


    '' I hope that doesn''t implicate me!'' He thought.


    " So, do you feel any better now?" Olivia asked.


    " Yes..." Levi said without raising his head.


    "...Are you sure?" She asked.


    " Yes, I-" Levi was cut off by a slap, stunned into silence.


    " Then it''s fine if I hit you! Ow." She shook her hand.


    " Why did-" Levi was interrupted.


    " You shouldn''t ever try to kill yourself. No matter how dire the situation, if you endure until the end, it will naturally reach its conclusion." She said.


    " It''s natural to be afraid, but! With a strength of mind, you can overcome almost anything! Can you see into the future to know what happens? For all anyone knows, you could be living a great quiet life down the line." She said.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " And if you die in the end, then at least you fell doing the best that you could do!" She continued.


    "..." Levi looked up.


    " Is that true?" His voice weak, he asked.


    "...Yes. I don''t lie." She glanced at Yuri.


    '' Ugh!'' Yuri felt as if he was struck by an arrow.


    " Hmm." He smiled.


    ''...She''s great, I know, but you better not fall in love with her, kid.'' Yuri thought as he smilingly rested his chin on his palm.


    " I never knew that you were acquainted with this student though, junior sister," Yuri said.


    " What do you mean?" Olivia asked.


    " I mean, when he was being punished in the disciplinary hall a few days ago, screaming for bloody murder, when we passed by, you glanced in then continued like you saw nothing," Yuri said with a smile.


    "..." Levi looked at Olivia.


    '' She saw that? How embarrassing.'' He thought.


    "...Don''t look at me like that. If you were in the disciplinary hall, then you did something worthy of punishment, right?" Olivia asked.


    " Mhmm...I got to class late..." Levi nodded.


    " See?" Olivia looked at Yuri.


    '' At least deny it!'' Yuri thought.


    " Why did you get to class late?" Olivia asked.


    " Overslept." Levi sniffed.


    "..." Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose, while Yuri contained his laughter.


    ...


    3 Days ago. Disciplinary hall.


    "..." Levi''s expression was blank.


    " Um, ''Scuse me, what is this?" He asked incredulously.


    He followed Miss Noble after class, only to be dropped off in a large hall with bald, muscular men who wore thin white robes.


    These guys kneeled at the side of the room in a long row, seemingly meditating.


    What caught his attention were the large triangular mounds sticking up from the floor, along with ropes hanging from the ceiling, all tied like nooses.


    He was starting to form a different idea about what was done here.


    '' Looks like this room was set up for a different kind of punishment, haha.'' The demon saint laughed.


    " Omph!" A muffled voice sounded.


    It was only then that Levi noticed the room was wider than he thought.


    " Ah, Ah! I was wrong! I was wrong!" Someone wailed.


    " Shhh, shh, shh, it will all be over soon." A man in white whispered to him.


    This disciple was tied to a vertical pole, while another man stuck long silver needles in certain parts of his body.


    " Ahhh!! Stop! You bastards!" The youth trembled from the pain.


    " When you leave, will you come back?" The man asked.


    " Fuck! Who would want to come back! I''m never coming back here! Never, never, never!" The boy screamed.


    " Are you sure? I don''t believe you." The man said softly.


    " Ahhhh!!" The boy screamed as the needle slid through his flesh.


    "..." This was not the only source of painful screams.


    Levi watched as people were strung up by both legs, while a small moving mechanism stretched their legs far apart into a forceful split, before repeating. They were always forced further than before.


    ''...This is blatant torture!'' Levi thought, speechless.


    Before another thought could pass through his mind, a gale brushed his face. Before he knew it, his arms were tied up and he was thrown over one of the triangular mounds.


    The rope used to tie his hands was secured on a hook.


    He was in the perfect position to receive a flogging.


    " Hello? I think I came to the wrong place. I meant to go to the punishment hall, not the torture hall." Levi smiled weakly.


    Woosh!


    " You are indeed in the right place." A well carved wooded pole was swung with perfect control, stopping just before Levi''s behind, before tapping it lightly.


    "..." Levi''s face went green.


    '' Fuck! Whose ass are you tapping?! Do you think this lord here won''t slap you to death?!'' Levi thought.


    He could understand getting clubbed as punishment, but did this guy have to play with his backside like that? Did it look like a toy?!


    " Ah, ok." He said.


    '' Ahem, I will read out the script for you. Remember to act as best you can today!'' The demon saint ''cleared'' his ''throat''.


    '' Ok. I just want to get this over and done wi-''


    " What the fuck?!?" Levi suddenly blurted out.


    The wooden rod seemed to be smoking, as it rested on Levi''s behind.


    Just now he was hit and to his surprise, it hurt like a Mother******.


    '' My skin is as harder than my sword, don''t screw with me! How could that hurt!'' Levi screamed internally.


    It hurt so much that he automatically cursed.


    '' Hehehe.'' The demon saint snickered.


    '' Old demon, don''t tell me you...'' Levi''s face paled.


    Thwack!


    " Motherfucker! Old ghost, what the fuck did you do to me!" Levi screamed.


    " Vulgar." The man said as he raised his hand once more.


    Thwack!


    " Ahhhh!" Tears squeezed from Levi''s eyes.


    '' Hehe, you should be thanking me. The best kind of performance is the authentic kind.'' The demon saint said.


    " Fuck your mum!" Levi roared.


    " Vulgar." The man said.


    Thwack!


    " Ahh! I wasn''t talking to you!" Levi shouted.


    " Lies." Thwack!


    " Aghhh! You!" Levi screamed.


    " Temper." Thwack!


    '' Gahahaha!'' The demon saint slapped the ground as he rolled.


    " You bastard! Let''s see how funny it is now!" Levi suddenly shouted.


    '' What? What are you...'' The demon saint stopped as he felt something wasn''t right.


    '' You! Turn off these things right now! I was just helping you! Is this how you-'' He was interrupted by the familiar sound of a rod cutting through the air.


    Thwack!


    '' Agh!! You can''t do this!'' The demon saint screamed as pain coursed through his ''body''.


    " Hahaha!" Levi laughed madly.


    '' I just did! You reap what you sow!'' He laughed.


    '' You, you, you! I''m just a soul! You can''t do this! What if I dissipate!'' The demon saint asked.


    '' I don''t care! Scream for me now!'' Levi laughed.


    "...Creepy." The man said.


    Thwack!


    " That is not a valid reason to hit someone, is it!" Levi shouted.


    " But I don''t care anymore! Come, come, come! Is this the hardest you can hit? How tragic!" Levi taunted.


    " Humph! Disrespectful." The man snorted as his muscles bulged.


    Thwack!


    " Aghhh-hahahaha!" He went from screaming in pain to crazed laughter.


    "..." Those disciples who had the luxury of focusing on other things watched as Levi fell into madness.


    Little did they know, Levi willingly sacrificed himself for a greater cause.


    ...


    Present.


    " Ahahaha! It was so funny-Hahaha!" Yuri teared up as he laughed.


    Levi''s face darkened.


    "...You know, senior brother, when you laugh like that, you look like a girl. Should I change your form of address?" Levi taunted.


    " Hahaha, I''m often told!" Yuri laughed without restraint.


    "..." Levi silently sneered.


    " Pft!..."


    "...You too, senior sister?" He was speechless.


    " That-Pft...sorry." Olivia couldn''t get out a word.


    " Sigh." Levi could only sigh, muttering incomprehensibly to himself.


    '' See how you ruined my image?'' Levi asked.


    '' What ruined? This was pulled off perfectly. You should be thanking this demon for guiding you.'' The demon saint sneered.


    '' Screw you! I''m sorry your soul is still intact!'' Levi cursed.


    '' Ha! Are you going to cry again? Come, come, this benevolent demon will comfort you!'' The demon saint said.


    '' As if you were any better!'' Levi said.


    '' Better than you! And let me tell you, I- Aghhhh!'' The demon saint began screaming in pain.


    " Humph!" Levi snorted.


    '' In the end, I win.'' He thought.


    " Is everything all right, junior brother?" Olivia asked, after finally sealing off her laughter.


    " Yes. Everything is fine." Levi flashed her a bright smile.


    "...Then I will be taking my leave." She got up.


    " What about you, senior brother? Are you going to stay here?" She asked.


    " Ahahah-Ahh. I can''t, I have to go somewhere." Yuri wiped his tears. He had slid down the chair to the point that the back of his head sat on the backrest.


    " Ok, then," Olivia said.


    " Junior brother, I hope that you will stay well. If you need me for anything, the chance of finding me here is the highest. Have a good evening." She waved before leaving.


    " Ok! Thanks for everything..." Levi mumbled.


    " Ha, haha. Don''t be too surprised if people stop to whisper when they see you! Gossip culture is strong here!" Yuri walked away laughing.


    "..." Levi looked in the direction he left in for a few seconds.


    '' What should I do now?'' He thought.


    '' There is no guarantee that they will keep quiet.'' He thought.


    '' The girl seems to value promises, so she will probably keep quiet in most situations. As for the guy...'' The demon saint paused.


    '' You should keep an eye out for him. He reminds me of that guy with closed eyes.'' He continued.


    '' Ling?'' Levi thought.


    "...I wonder how those guys are doing?" He said.

 Chapter 121 - A Small Revenge

    Library.


    " I wonder how those guys are doing?" Levi said.


    " Haa, whatever." He got up.


    '' I still don''t know how long I will be stuck here.'' He thought.


    '' I initially came to this continent to find a new source of mutated beasts, but after leaving that town, I came straight here. I thought that I would have at least enough freedom to leave after a few days...'' He thought.


    ''...I will be stuck in this sect for a while, so I won''t be able to search.'' He thought.


    '' But I have time...As long as I don''t get caught, I will have enough time to figure everything out.'' He thought.


    " hmm?" Something caught his attention.


    He walked toward the bookshelf in front of him.


    "...A book?" He questioned skeptically.


    Peeking out from behind the row of metal disks was the corner of something brown, most likely a book cover.


    It sounded strange since he was in a ''library'', but all of the ''books'' there were metal disks. That being the case, he found it strange finding a paper book.


    "...It''s a technique?" He flipped a few pages.


    Although he had never seen a ''Proper'' technique guidebook, with figures performing different actions in order, what else could it be?


    There was even the name " Cleaving Star Sword." Written on the cover, confirming his suspicions.


    " Hey! What are you doing there!" An angry shout caused him to turn his head.


    " I was just..." Levi paused.


    '' Wait...there is something suspicious about this guy...'' He thought.


    "..." The man stood, his eyes bloodshot as he clenched his fists.


    '' 1, Unblinking, nervous gaze. 2, Heavy panting. 3, Clenching fists. 4, Excessive sweating. Brat, are you hot right now?'' The demon saint listed before asking.


    " No..." Levi said.


    '' Hehehe, it looks like we caught a big one. You get my meaning?'' The demon saint snickered.


    "..." A weird smile crept onto Levi''s face.


    '' Do exactly as this demon instructs.'' The demon saint chuckled.


    " Yo, yo, yo! Come, come! Don''t be a stranger!" Levi walked up to the man, before throwing his arm over his shoulder.


    " You! Do you know who I am?!" The man shouted.


    " Shh, Shh, shh! No need to be so loud, I hear ya. Let''s talk a bit.." Levi coerced lightly.


    ...


    In a Hallway.


    " How did you know what was up with that guy?" Levi asked.


    '' He gave himself away! If he wasn''t so anxious, would I have found out?'' The demon saint laughed proudly.


    '' But who would have thought...stealing manuals from the cultivation department...'' Levi shook his head with a smile.


    '' Is that guy brave or stupid?'' He asked.


    '' That''s not for you to worry about! Didn''t you benefit from his actions? That is the only thing you need to remember. Foolish or not, you found a few treats because of what he did.'' The demon saint said.


    '' So what, you want me to grovel before him or something?'' Levi asked.


    '' Well, if that is your thing, go ahead! I for one don''t judge. But the most you should do is appreciate that you gained something.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Judging people to build yourself up is not a good practice. In the end, it blinds you to your faults, which is particularly dangerous as a cultivator.'' He said.


    '' I understand.'' Levi said.


    Click!


    " Ah...Ah?! Guys, he''s back!" A shrill voice sounded as Levi walked into the interior hall.


    " Come out, he came back!" Heil shouted at the top of his lungs.


    '' This guy sat out here waiting for me? What the hell?'' Levi thought.


    "...Why are you shouting? You could have just passed on the message." A few of the youths came out of their rooms, their expressions solemn.


    In truth, after they saw Levi''s earlier condition, they didn''t want to meet him again. They then concocted a plan to make heil, the attention-seeker, do the dirty work.


    Who would have thought that the moment Levi came back, the guy would start screaming?


    As a result, they had to come out, no matter what, or the fact that they were scared would be made apparent.


    As hot-blooded boys, which of them would want to admit that they were scared of someone their age? Much less someone who they shunned and made fun of?


    They would all slap themselves to death first before enduring such a humiliation.


    "...Did something happen? Why did you guys wait for me?" Levi asked.


    "..." The youths'' faces twisted.


    " We have a message for you from the department head, Mr, Swon." The one at the forefront said with a grim expression.


    " Then only one person had to wait for me, or you guys could have just written a note and left it in front of my door or something!" Levi scratched the back of his head as he smiled brightly.


    "..."


    " You!"


    " What are you shouting for? Look, the message is that you are to go see him in his office!" The ''leader'' of the boys said as he turned around.


    The other youths followed him as they returned to their rooms.


    "..." Levi looked at Heil.


    "...What are you looking at!?" Heil shouted. He ran to his room and didn''t hesitate to lock the door behind himself.


    " Humph." Levi snorted.


    '' You guys are scared? Trust me, you don''t know what scary looks like.'' Levi thought.


    '' What are you going to do now? The possibility of that funny old man knowing about what happened in the classroom is quite high.'' The demon saint said.


    ''...I''ll go and see first.'' Levi said.


    '' And in the worst-case scenario?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Worst case? I don''t think I would need to run for my life since I''ve only been here for a few days, but I will keep my guard up.'' Levi said.


    '' I can only hope that senior sister made it to him first and that he looks upon her so highly that he would listen to her over someone else.'' He said.


    '' Senior sister? Are you getting attached? It''s only been 4 days you know!'' The demon saint said.


    '' Get off my back.'' Levi said.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "...It was just a small demonstration." Miss Noble''s voice sounded.


    " A SMALL demonstration?! Small?!?" Mr. Swon asked.


    "...A few minutes at most. None of the students were hurt." Miss Noble said.


    "..." Mr. Swon was flabbergasted into silence.


    " Are you telling me that my eyes are too old and stuffy to see properly?! If that was what ''ok'' looked like, then people with broken arms and severed limbs must be ''slightly worse for wear'', hmmm?!" He asked.


    "..." Levi paused before the door as an interesting thought came to his mind.


    ''...It can''t be that...the teacher got into trouble because of me...right?'' He thought incredulously.


    '' Ha, you sure know how to get into trouble!'' The demon saint laughed.


    '' I can''t be that unlucky, right?'' Levi thought as sweat slid down his face.


    '' Hehe, who else but you would have the balls to report a teacher when they are just an insignificant new disciple?'' The demon saint snickered.


    "..." Levi stood in silence as if contemplating his existence.


    Knock! Knock!


    In the end, he still knocked.


    " Who is it now?! Come in!" Mr. Swon said.


    "...What is it? If it''s nothing important, go back!" Seeing that it was just a disciple, Mr. Swon waved dismissively.


    " But sir, I was told that you instructed me to come here," Levi said with a weird face.


    '' Did he forget me already? Is it so easy to forget someone who laughed at you to such a degree?'' Levi wondered.


    '' Hey, don''t blame him too much! When you get to that age things naturally slip your mind.'' The demon saint snickered.


    '' Is that so.'' Levi said.


    '' Why would I lie?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Oh? You are that student...Le-something was your name?" Mr. Swon asked.


    "...Yes, sir, Let-Levi is my name." Levi was about to make up some ridiculous name but remembered that Miss Noble still knew his name.


    " Hmm, Olivia already informed me of your situation." Mr. Swon said as Miss Noble turned her head.


    " I''m sorry, but, what exactly did senior sister..." Levi asked.


    " You don''t have to bother about it. Olivia mentioned that you are extremely worried about people finding out about your ailment. As long as I know, it''s enough. You can go," Mr. Swon waved.


    " Ah...Yes." Levi absentmindedly replied.


    '' Ailment? What exactly did she tell him?'''' Levi thought.


    '' What does it matter? Your problem is solved for the time being.'' The demon saint said.


    '' No, it does matter. What if he comes around with a cure for some imaginary illness? I would be screwed in a corner tighter than any wine cork.'' Levi thought.


    '' Well, worrying about it now is useless, isn''t it?'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm." Levi hummed.


    " Now back to you! Did you put on your head wrong this morning?! Come, come! Come let me take a look!"


    " I''m not a doctor, but I will examine you for free!"


    As soon as Levi left the room, shouts erupted once more.


    " But sir, when I asked, you said I could do it if I felt like it would be a good learning experience for them." Miss Noble said.


    " Yes, I said that! Do you know why I said that? Hmm?! Because generally, when one of your teachers come to you in the evening to ask; '' Can I rip open a hole in space as a demonstration for the new class of students'', it''s a joke!!!" Mr. Swon roared.


    " Sir-" Miss Noble was cut off.


    " Quiet! I don''t want to hear anymore!" Hs shouted.


    " I hope this doesn''t come back to bite me in the ass..." Levi cringed.


    Boom!


    '' That sounded a lot like someone throwing a table.'' The demon saint said deadpan.


    " I really hope..." Levi was on the verge of tears.


    " Come now, little ghost, don''t talk so much. Let''s go to someplace quiet so that I can read some stories for you, ok?'' He said as he tried to escape reality.


    '' Hehehe.'' The demon saint laughed evilly.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "..." Levi stood silently in the wreaked classroom.


    ''...It''s only me who hasn''t gone into the infinite world, so I''ll go check it out now.'' He thought.


    '' With nobody here, I might be able to do some things. But first-'' He looked up to his seat.


    He walked up to it, observing the cracks in the wall among other things.


    '' I don''t want to use this again...'' He thought.


    '' But on the other hand, everyone in this class saw the state I was in. If they needed proof to explain it to someone else, this is the most obvious choice.'' He thought.


    '' If the damage to this wall disappears while the rest of the room is still destroyed, it will be suspicious. But if no one knows who did it, even if they think it was me, there wouldn''t be any proof. Furthermore, right now I''m at Mr. Swon''s office, making this the perfect time.'' With this, Levi made up his mind.


    A pale green liquid rapidly poured from his hand.


    It streamed through the air, twisting and turning.


    In just a few seconds, that part of the wall was liquefied and resolidified.


    Crunch!


    "..." Levi''s gaze shifted.


    A person stood close to the door. Seeing who it was, Levi''s gaze became gloomy.


    " N-No, wait-I-I-" Heil stuttered.


    What could he say? That he didn''t see anything? But he did just see something strange!


    Although he only saw a liquid flowing into Levi''s palm, that was enough! Plus, there was also the issue of the few days of class, so he knew that he and Levi were long past being able to get along, much less ''see and forget''.


    "...So not only do you make false promises and throw people to the wolves, now, for the sake of making friends, you are even following me around to watch me?" Levi asked, as he slowly descended.


    " No-Wrong! You got it wrong!" Heil said as he waved, as if to clear away whatever caused the misunderstanding.


    " No?" Levi asked softly.


    "..." Heil no longer tried to explain. He turned, attempting to escape the room.


    "..." Levi''s Qi shot through the air like a raging river.


    It wrapped around Heil, engulfing him as he flailed.


    Boom!


    Levi grabbed him from the large ball of Qi, before slamming him into the wall by the neck.


    " M-M-It''s a misunderstanding-Misunderstanding-" Heil pleaded.


    " Assuming I care, what about the other few incidences? Also misunderstandings?" Levi asked.


    " I-I-Hel-" Before he could call for help, Levi''s vice-like grip clamped down on his mouth.


    " Shhh. What are you going to do if I get caught?" Levi whispered into his ear.


    "..." Heil couldn''t respond.


    " I don''t care about that thing on the first day. I never trusted what you said from the beginning anyway." Levi said.


    " And how you brought to the attention of the class my condition this morning? I care even less about that." He said.


    " But this is a different story." He said gently.


    "..." Heil trembled.


    " You saw some things that I would rather you not have seen," Levi said.


    " Don''t worry, I''m not going to kill you. I can''t. I''m just going to make it so that...You can''t remember a few things." Levi smiled as he ignited his mental energy.


    " Uhmmmmmm!!!" Heil screamed through his nose as he shook.


    " Of course, you being able to stand before me after forgetting your wrongs would piss me off to no end, so I will do a little extra. Just for you." Levi smiled coldly.


    ...


    A few minutes later. Inside the inner room.


    '' You brat, aren''t you becoming more vicious? Damaging his Yintang point like that, if it doesn''t cripple his mental energy, it will sure stunt it''s potential!'' The demon saint said.


    '' Didn''t I say it already? I''m a petty person. He should be happy to still have breath in his lungs.'' Levi said.


    '' And if I''m getting vicious, isn''t it because of your bad influence?'' He asked.


    '' Nope! Don''t put that on this me! I don''t have anything to do with it.'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm." Levi went up and sat on one of the circular patterns.

 Chapter 122 - Infinite World Fragment Forest

    In the stone room.


    " I guess I''ll need to use mental energy to activate this ''key''." Levi looked at the pattern around his wrist.


    " Let''s get to it then." He said as his mental energy flame erupted.


    " Hmm?" Multiple lines branched out from the pattern, bending and turning until it grew into a uniformed black bracelet look.


    " Oh?" Levi said as his body blurred.


    ...


    In a white space.


    " Huh?" Levi was surprised.


    " Wait, Isn''t tha-" Before he could finish, the white surroundings were replaced with the green of trees, light-brown rocky land, and clear air.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    "...Wasn''t that a person in there just now?" Seeing that he wasn''t ''transported'' again, He said.


    '' Demon saint, are you there?'' He asked.


    '' Yeah. What do you want?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Nothing.'' Levi replied, before looking at his surroundings.


    '' Trees, rocky area...I think I can also hear water?'' He observed.


    " But, isn''t this place too quiet?" He mumbled.


    " Hhnggg!" Along with a deep snort, warm air blasted Levi from behind as he turned around.


    " What the fuck?" He blurted unintentionally.


    Lounging behind him on a fairly flat rocky surface was a boar.


    It was at least 10 times taller than him even while lying down, as it''s worn saber-shaped tusks pointed to the sky.


    " Hnngff!" It snorted angrily as it got up, it''s wide, slightly moist nostrils twitching.


    " This is quite nostalgic." Levi grinned with a child-like excitement as he clenched his fists.


    " But I''m not that weak anymore." He calmed his excitement.


    " HRNNGGG!!" Seeing that, after repeated warning, this tiny creature still stood before it, the boar angrily swept its head to the side at an angle.


    " Humph." Levi lifted his arm to stop the pillar-like tusk speeding toward him.


    Crack!


    Boom!!


    The bone in his arm shattered as the tusk made contact with his hand.


    He was then sent flying off the cliff, before slamming into the side of a rocky hill.


    "..." Levi stared wide-eyed at the sky, unable to process what happened.


    " Cough!" Blood spurted from his mouth as he lay on his back. It also ran from his nose and slid down from his eyes like tears.


    " W-ell, that was unexp-ted..." He squeezed out.


    " We-ll, I-cough, should get up." He tried his hardest to get up.


    " Hrnggg!" Before he could budge, he heard a familiar snort.


    " Well, w-hat can I say, you''re not the most patient, are y-" Before he could finish, the boar smashed into him face-first, killing him instantly.


    ...


    In the stone room.


    "...Ha, ahahah!" Levi laughed.


    " I was killed off so easily!" He wiped a few tears.


    ''...That makes you happy?'' The demon saint asked in a strange tone.


    " Ha, it''s just funny!" Levi said aloud.


    ''...I mean, why did I assume that my body strength would be the same in there?'' He thought.


    '' The person that made this infinite world created it under the assumption that weak and frail new disciples would be the ones using it!'' He thought.


    '' Inscription masters with little to know physical ability.'' He wiped a tear.


    '' I still don''t see how this is funny. Doesn''t it hurt to die in there? I mean, of course, it does, there wouldn''t be any point if it didn''t hurt!'' The demon saint said.


    '' Ha, I bet I wouldn''t be able to take out anything from the spatial ring or even use any bloodlines for that matter. Not that I would use any bloodlines, to begin with.'' He thought.


    '' Huh. So what are you going to do now? Go back in and get killed again?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Well, it''s not like it''s too painful for me, so why not?'' Levi said.


    '' Says the guy who balled his eyes out from just a few lashes.'' The demon saint said.


    '' That was only because of your scheming.'' Levi thought as he activated the ''key''.


    ...


    He flashed through the white space once again, before dropping back into the infinite world.


    '' Hey, if you were killed, could you complain about scheming?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' Point taken.'' Levi agreed.


    " Hmm, I''m not in the same place? It should be close though. I could see this patch of trees from that cliff, so..." He looked around. Beneath his feet was shallow soil above. Surrounding him was a set of spaced trees.


    " If I go in this direction, I should get back there in a few minutes." He turned and began walking.


    "!" His head suddenly turned.


    ...


    A person sat, back against a tree.


    "...But you should have still helped him!" A voice sounded.


    " What for?! How many times do you need to be ridiculed before you''re satisfied?!" A similar, yet colder voice sounded.


    " I don''t care about that! We both know that I got where I am due to hard work! Even with talent, hard work is still the most important!" The first voice said.


    " ''We''! And you might not care, but when I hear people talking like they know anything, I want to kill them in the most painful way I can think of!" The second voice seethed.


    " Then let me take control!" The first voice said.


    " No, you...are too naive..." The person turned their head.


    ...


    On an ascending rocky path.


    " Who knew, that guy has a few screws loose!" Levi shook his head.


    " I never thought that one person could have a conversation with themselves like that." He said.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    " Oh, but I knew I saw someone in that white space. So it was prince glare-a-lot. And he even glares when talking to himself? What a badass." Levi said.


    '' You do realize that you are, to other people, constantly talking to yourself too, right?'' The demon saint couldn''t bear it anymore as he asked.


    "...Oh." Levi came to realize.


    " Then, what are the chances of something like you being in his head?" Levi asked.


    '' Not high.'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm." Levi hummed.


    '' You should still keep an eye out for him.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Why?'' Levi asked.


    ''...That guy, I''m sure I heard him say something along the lines of, '' On this infiltration mission, we don''t need your soft-heartedness getting in the way''. This was what caught my attention the most out of everything he said.'' The demon saint thought.


    '' But maybe I heard wrong. I am listening through another person''s ears, so...'' He thought.


    ''...Just do it!'' He said.


    '' Ok.'' Levi said.


    '' This guy, he might not handle the fact that there may be someone else doing the same stuff as him well. He''s prone to accidents too...'' The demon saint thought.


    ''...In the end, I just don''t trust his ability to handle it properly.'' He thought.


    " Oh, I don''t even have my sword since I don''t walk around with it anymore." Levi pats his side where the sword usually hung.


    " Well, Qi is both the sword and the sheath." He grinned.


    " Hrnggg." The boar snorted in annoyance.


    " Was it fun killing me?" Qi streamed from Levi''s out-stretched arm.


    " Huh?" He suddenly realized something.


    " I forgot...My Qi is not going to be even a fraction of the original amount!" He smiled helplessly with a pale face.


    " Harmph!" The boar scratched the ground before charging madly.


    '' You idiot!'' The demon saint roared with laughter as Levi soared.


    " D-Damn!" Blood sprayed from Levi''s mouth as he flew.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    " Alright, this time I''m going to kill you!" Levi walked up the slope proudly, sword-shaped qi in hand.


    " Hnngg!!" The boar was annoyed beyond belief.


    Why was it being annoyed so often today?


    " That''s not going to-" Levi raised the qi sword to stop the boar''s charge.


    The sword shattered on impact and his mangled body flew right back down the slope.


    ...


    1 Minute later.


    " This time! I''ll-" The boar didn''t bother to snort anymore.


    " Humph!" Levi jumped, flipping as he passed over the moving mountain.


    '' Ah, you fool.'' The demon saint face-palmed.


    " Huh?" Levi was confused, but as he felt something slice through his back, he realized.


    He was split in half by a tusk. Only from his neck up was still intact.


    " Oh..." Was the last thing he said before he died once more.


    ...


    A few seconds later.


    " Fuck! I don''t believe I can''t kill you this time!" Levi roared.


    He died and returned over and over without pause.


    ...


    At the foot of the slope.


    " We should go, I think this guy deserves some privacy..." A cold voice said in a strange tone.


    "...This is the first time we agree on something in a long time." The other voice said.


    The little prince silently turned and walked away.


    He then left the infinite world.


    ...


    An unknown time later.


    " Fuck your mum! How weak are they trying to make these bodies!?" Levi shouted.


    " It''s an overgrown boar for christ''s sake!" He kicked the unmoving corpse.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    " 97! It took NINETY-SEVEN TRIES! Are you serious?!" Levi shouted.


    His breath was haggard, his hair messy and he was bruised from head to toe.


    '' Gahahahahahahaha!'' The demon saint couldn''t hold it any longer and burst into laughter.


    " This isn''t funny!" Levi roared.


    " Huh?! When did the sun go down?!" He only just noticed the thick darkness blanketing the world.


    "...Hmm, should I leave, or stay for a while longer?" Levi thought aloud.


    " Oh, but I have to go to class again tomorrow." He recalled.


    " Well whatever, I''ll stay a little longer. I want to practice that agility skill. I''ll call it...Step of a thousand clouds." Levi said.


    "...Nah, that''s too long. Cloud step will do." He said.


    He slammed his foot heavily into the ground.


    Boom!


    "...I should have thought this through." He lay face-down on the ground.


    " I''ll go back and cultivate for now." He mumbled.


    ...


    Early evening.


    Boom!


    " HA, I did- Oaf!" As Levi''s foot touched down, his body dipped, before falling into a roll.


    " Ah, my foot is broken again." He spoke from a weird position.


    " I have to do it again, huh?" He said.


    Chik!


    ...


    Tap!


    Levi''s feet touched the ground lightly.


    '' Ahh, did you kill yourself again? Don''t you get tired?'' The demon saint yawned.


    " This place doesn''t allow me to heal myself and these bodies don''t heal by themselves. What other choice do I have?" Levi asked.


    '' How about, stop breaking or losing limbs? Or better yet, why not stay the hell out of here! All you do is trip anyway! And it''s not that the bodies don''t heal. It''s that you don''t give them the chance!'' The demon saint said.


    Watching someone repeat something over and over again could drive a person mad.


    " Shut up, old demon. If not here, then where would I practice my ''Cloud step'' technique? They don''t allow us to leave the damn building." Levi said.


    " See? We aren''t that different, you and I. We''re both locked-" Levi suddenly started climbing a nearby tree madly.


    Because of his weak body, he couldn''t flash and appear in the tree. Instead, he had to climb inelegantly.


    " Huff!" He looked down at his bleeding fingers, then to the ground below.


    " Wh-Why are you doing this?" A weak and timid voice sounded after a gasp.


    " Because your weak act rubs me the wrong way! Are you trying to get sympathy or something?" The girl at the forefront of a group of girls asked.


    " What are you talking about? I-" A kick to her face sealed Blair''s mouth.


    " I don''t want to hear it! You. You want to use this facade to win big, huh? But not on my watch." The girl said.


    The group of girls didn''t all agree with her reasoning, but since someone was being oppressed why would they not go along with it?


    Furthermore, better someone else than them. Who knew if it would be their turn next if they didn''t participate.


    "..." Levi looked down without a change in expression.


    '' Welp, time to get back to training.'' He thought.


    " But this is problematic. I keep running into these students from my class." Levi mumbled.


    '' You aren''t going to help that brat down there?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' You know I won''t.'' Levi said.


    '' It could lift your standing in class you know.'' The demon saint said.


    '' No, it won''t. People that hate me will continue to hate me no matter what I do. What''s the point in saving her? So that she can spit in my face? Pft.'' Levi said.


    Crack!


    The branch he stood on was quite thin, so when lept, the force broke it off.


    " Who''s there?! Come out!" The girl shouted.


    "..." No one responded.


    '' Phew. It would have been embarrassing if I fell on my face this time.'' Levi thought as he hid behind a tree as best he could.


    " What''s this? You brats sure know how to have fun." A voice sounded.


    "?!" The girl looked around.


    Standing behind the fallen Blair was Victoria. Her head faced up sightly as she spoke mockingly.


    '' See, demon saint? Someone came to save her. Now that she drew their attention away, I''ll make my escape!'' Levi said.


    " Oh? It''s miss Victoria Valentine. What business do you have here, my lady? I would like to remind you that this isn''t your slaughter island. In other words, watch what you say, bitch!" The girl said.


    " I''m glad you can''t die in here," Victoria said.


    " Hah, of course, you are! Weaklings like you will only feel safe in places like this." The girl sneered.


    "...That way, I can kill all of you whenever I see you, and not be punished," Victoria said.


    As she spoke, the white if her eyes became an eerie dark purple.


    '' Hmm? That little girl is using killing intent in an interesting way. Hmm-Hey! Look back, I''m still trying to observe that girl!'' The demon saint shouted.


    Since he saw things with Levi''s eyes and heard with his ears, he couldn''t see what he wanted to when Levi turned.


    '' Screw that! I''m not sticking around to die again!'' Levi said as he bolted.

 Chapter 123 - Im sorry

I won''t be uploading any chapters today, sorry. Yesterday evening i suddenly caught a cold. Don''t know how that happened, but i feel like crap. Even one of my eyes swelled up(eye lids). who knows, maybe i caught the coronavirus? This might be my last post. In any case, thanks for understanding.

 Chapter 124 - Collapse

    Levi''s feet sat more than shoulder-width apart.


    Under his robes, his muscles tensed and squirmed.


    " Fuuu." His eyes sprang open, shining as he exhaled.


    "...But practicing it would require having a sword." He said.


    The disciples weren''t allowed to walk around with weapons for obvious reasons.


    " Uhhh..." He stared blankly.


    " !" He went to the side of the room.


    " Not this, not that...Achoo!" Things were shifted and tossed.


    " This could work." He weighed a short wooden pole.


    " It''s light, but I''ll make do with it for now. Next time I can bring my sword in secret." He mumbled.


    " First of all, the motions." He shifted his feet.


    Woosh!


    " Nnn...That wasn''t it." He adjusted his stance.


    Vwoosh!


    "..." He brought his legs closer together, gripping the pole with both hands. He then swung it down.


    " That''s it!" He said. From the sound of the swing, he could affirm that it was done correctly.


    " And angular slash!" His foot slapped the floor as he swung.


    " Horizontal!" Stepping back, he lifted one arm while slashing across with the other.


    "..." He repeated these basic movements, unconsciously closing his eyes.


    From his roused imagination, an opponent appeared before him.


    " Haa!" A man thrust his sword toward Levi''s head.


    '' !!'' Levi cocked his neck as blood squirted from his face.


    " Humph!" The man turned his wrist as he swept his sword toward Levi''s neck.


    " Huff!" Levi stepped back, leaving the sword''s range.


    The man stepped in without waiting for him to breathe. His foot slammed against the floor as he swung down.


    Beads of sweat trickled as Levi blocked.


    Shing!


    With a tilt of Levi''s blade, the swords slid.


    He raised his leg, slamming it into the man''s arm, causing him to stumble.


    Levi one-handedly swung his sword, intending to lop his opponent''s head off.


    Clang!


    The man parried his attack as Levi''s sword was knocked away.


    '' Stubborn bastard!'' Levi thought.


    The man then thrust his sword at Levi''s chest.


    Levi took a step back, bending his frame as he swung his sword. He incorporated the horizontal slash into his strike.


    He swung it with precision as the tip of his sword pushed the man''s sword to the side.


    Woosh!


    The thrust flashed past his side as he changed his stance. He switched his legs while cleaving down at an angle with both arms.


    '' Got you!'' He thought.


    The man turned his wrist, before slamming his hilt into Levi''s ribs.


    " Oaf!" He stumbled to the side.


    The man changed his stance. With his sword aligned with his back leg, he swept it upward.


    " Dangerous!" Levi went all out.


    Thud!


    His back hit the wall.


    " Huff! Huff!" He slid down.


    " That, ha, was fun, haha..." He wiped some sweat.


    The wooden pole was no longer cleanly cut but instead had a rough and worn chipped point.


    " Did I make too much noise...?" He observed. All across the room were scratches and indents. There were also fragments from the pole on the floor.


    " Y-You..." A voice sounded.


    "..." Levi''s attention shifted.


    "...You saw?" This was the man who brought him to the room, the librarian.


    " Wha-what were you just doing..." The man gulped.


    " It was-It was like...You..." He said.


    " Why are you in the inscription department? With this level of talent, you could have gotten into the cultivation department!" The man said.


    " How long have you been here? It''s not too late..." He said.


    '' I''m guessing no one heard me aside from him, then.'' Levi concluded.


    " I''ll get in trouble for the manuals, but if I make a recommendation, you can still get in..." The man paced.


    " You-" He suddenly stopped.


    "...I''m sorry," Levi felt something foreign.


    "..." The man froze.


    " It looks like you have good intentions... I think..." Levi''s tone questioned.


    " But, I can''t let people know about certain things." A sigh passed his lips.


    "..." The man''s eyes lacked moisture.


    "..." Levi kept silent for a few minutes.


    " You...If I let you go, will you keep quiet about this?" He stood.


    "..." The man didn''t speak. It wasn''t that he didn''t answer, but that he couldn''t move. Not a single limb of his, at this moment, was his to command.


    " Right...You can''t move...What was I thinking." Levi lowered his eyes.


    ''...What are you doing?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Nothing..." Levi said.


    '' Demon saint, I want you to deal with this.'' Levi thought.


    '' Why not do it yourself? Do you feel sympathy for him?'' The demon saint asked.


    "...Is it wrong for me to want to trust someone?" Levi muttered.


    " Haha, I want to, but I know I can''t." He shook his head.


    '' Just do it. Make sure to use the method that would negatively affect him the least.'' Levi reminded.


    He didn''t feel indebted to the man. It was more like he felt ''thought of'' or ''cared for''.


    Even after being threatened, this man''s first thought after witnessing his performance was to help him. At the expense of himself, even.


    And while he somewhat tried to push his dream of getting into the cultivation department onto him, it all stemmed from his will to do good.


    Levi had not experienced this kind of selflessness before, thus, it greatly shook him.


    '' There are people like this? People I can put my trust in? Will I just be disappointed in the end?'' Were questions he had yet to answer.


    '' Hey, stop wasting time and release your mental energy. While his cultivation is not high, that doesn''t mean that my meager mental energy would be enough to alter his mind.'' The demon saint said.


    '' And you ought to keep in that you won''t be able to freeze him for much longer.'' He said.


    '' Oh, I understand.'' Levi said.


    A black flame crowned with a golden tip danced before his forehead.


    ''...Thanks, but I still have to be alone. At this point, trusting someone is not something I''m brave enough to do.'' Levi thought.


    '' But...I''ll remember you. Even after you forget.'' He said through gritted teeth.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    " Sigh, it''s time to practice the actual skill now." Levi exhaled.


    The librarian was released after having his memories sealed.


    "..." Levi stood in an attack stance.


    He swung the rod around like before.


    Gradually, Qi seeped from his body. As a result of his movements, currents were formed.


    Waves rolled from his upper torso to his hands and from his waist to his feet.


    ''...Am I doing this wrong?'' He stopped.


    '' Demon saint, how do you tell if you are practicing a skill wrong?'' Levi asked.


    '' Hmm, that''s a tough question.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Why? Are the signs too subtle?'' Levi asked.


    '' Not at all, if anything, there are too many signs! And all of them are painful!'' The demon saint said.


    ''...'' Levi''s brow rose.


    '' From stabbing pains to burning veins, to exploding organs. Maybe I exaggerated when I said they were all painful, but most of the time that is the case.'' The demon saint said.


    " Hmm..." Levi hummed.


    '' Why? Are you experiencing any of these symptoms right now?'' The demon saint asked.


    '' It''s nothing.'' Levi said.


    He started again.


    " Tsk." The waves across his body surged as he released more qi.


    " What...is this pain?!" It felt as if he was stabbed multiple times. He clutched his arm.


    "..." Qi surged as he clenched his teeth.


    Boom!


    "!" A shock rippled through his body as his knees hit the floor.


    ...


    In a bright room.


    " Hmm." Sound reverberated.


    " Ah, I mistake, mistake! Sigh, maybe I''m getting too old." The scratching of a pen sounded.


    " Wha...Where am-Ack." Levi flinched.


    " Oh, you''re awake? That''s good. How do you feel?" The old man asked.


    "...Who are you, elder?" Levi asked after a moment of silence.


    " I''m an old physician. How do you feel?" The old man asked.


    " I''m fine," Levi sat up.


    He noticed that he was seated on a long white table. To his side was an old man sitting at a desk. The old man scribbled as he threw sheets of paper onto large piles


    " Is that so? You should be sore from head to toe, not to mention the searing pain throughout your body, but it''s good that you''re fine. You can leave then." The old man drew out a drawer.


    " I can handle the pain," Levi said.


    " You''re still here? A busy student, huh." The old man said.


    " What do you mean, elder?" Levi asked.


    " You were here just a few days ago with Yuri, did you forget? Oh, you were unconscious that time, huh." The old man recalled.


    " But how did I get here again! I was..." Levi trailed off.


    '' I was practicing that skill! Now that I think of it, what was that pain?'' Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.


    " The Inscription Department''s librarian brought you. Said you collapsed after wreaking the place." The old man said.


    '' Was it bad? Did anyone see me?'' Levi thought.


    '' I sealed specific memories, so the librarian guy should have taken care of it sufficiently.'' The demon saint said.


    '' Ok.'' Levi nodded.


    " Elder, I want to ask a question. When practicing a skill, is it normal to feel pain all over?" Levi asked.


    " Then let me ask you, have you ever been wounded deeply? Anything below skin level." The old man asked.


    " Yes, things like being stabbed or beaten was normal where I came from. Plus..." He recalled his bloodline issue.


    " But what does that have to do with my question?" Levi asked.


    " Hmm, do you know how qi travels throughout the body?" The old man asked.


    " The meridians?" Levi answered.


    " Well, you''re not wrong, but I''m talking about something else right now." The old man turned around.


    " Please." Levi lowered his head in a bow.


    " What I''m speaking of are called Qi Channels. You are from the inscription department, so you should have a grasp of what they are, yes?" The old man asked.


    " Anyway, Qi channels enable you to control and release of Qi from the body, making them essential for cultivators." He said.


    " What are you trying to say, elder? I don''t understand. Qi channels channel qi, am I missing something?" Levi asked.


    " Cheeky brat, watch your tone. Don''t think I don''t know you were practicing some technique you weren''t supposed to be. But I don''t care about that, so don''t give me a reason to." The old man clicked his tongue.


    " Continuing, when did you start feeling pain?" He asked.


    "...After releasing my qi while practicing the skill." Levi said.


    " Technique. It only becomes a skill when you have mastered it." The old man said.


    "...Yes." Levi nodded.


    " You''re not getting it, hmm?" The old man asked.


    " ???" Levi got more confused as time passed.


    " Alright, alright. Let me explain. Qi channels are fragile vein-like structures throughout the body. If you are injured and do not heal properly, they can be permanently damaged." The old man said.


    " They are what allows us to use of intricate techniques, as their main function is enabling you to use Qi with precision." He said.


    "..." Levi nodded at every point.


    " You just said that you were injured before. How many times?" The old man asked.


    " Um, I don''t know?" Levi said.


    " Then, were the wounds infected? Or were they healed at a rapid pace?" The old man asked.


    "..." Levi''s expression became strange.


    " If they were infected, that would interrupt the healing process, potentially damaging the channels. If the wounds were rapidly healed, then the body might not have been able to properly reform those channels, effectively blocking them off." The old man said.


    " You...You can''t mean..." Levi''s face paled.


    "...Didn''t I say it earlier? Qi channels give you precise control of Qi, in turn allowing you to use Qi techniques that require careful, subtle control." The old man said.


    " If some of them were damaged or blocked, every time you tried to do such things, it would be like ripping yourself apart from the inside." He said.


    " What would happen if a vein was clogged? There''s a chance it would burst, but the fact is that it would hurt. It''s the same with qi channels." He said.


    " And if you felt pain every time you used a skill, it would always throw you off, breaking your focus." He said.


    "...Ha, but I can use qi without feeling pain, see?" A ball of blue qi sat in Levi''s palm.


    " That? Humph, isn''t that because you''re using your primordial meridians? And even without them, as long as you weren''t using a technique, anyone would be able to do that much." The old man said.


    "..." Levi''s eyes widened.


    '' What?!''

 Chapter 125 - Primordial Cultivation

    Physician Department.


    " What...did you just say?" Sweat dripped from Levi''s face.


    " Hmm? If you felt pain-" The old man was cut off.


    " Not that! After!" Levi''s swept his arm from before him.


    " Haha, if you were trying to keep that a secret, you just exposed yourself! So you do have opened primordial meridians?" The old man''s eyes narrowed.


    '' He tricked me!?'' Levi''s face dropped.


    " I found it strange while examining you. Normally, Qi is stationary in the dantian unless commanded otherwise, but in your case, it flows throughout your body. In a way similar to how blood flows through your veins, the same constant flow." The old man said.


    "..." Levi clenched his fists.


    " I had my suspicions, but seeing your reaction, I''ll take it as I''m right." The old man said.


    " But why were you trying to hide it? Or did you keep quiet because you knew how rare opened primordial meridians were?" He said.


    " Then again, rare is an understatement. To my knowledge, you are the only living person utilizing these ancient meridians today." The old man said.


    " Elder, what do you know about primordial cultivation?" Levi couldn''t choke back his curiosity.


    " Primordial Cultivation? Never heard of it." The old man sneered.


    " Wha-" Levi''s jaw dropped.


    " I learned about your meridians from a friend. Although no one believed her when she said they could be used for cultivation." The old man said.


    " The person who wrote that book?!" Levi asked.


    " Hmm. I bet she regrets nothing more than writing that book." The old man shook his head.


    " Did she never tell you how cultivation would work with primordial meridians?" Levi asked.


    " No. She only discovered and theorized how to open them. She shared a few theories with me, but they were just that. Since there was no way to find out what was right, she couldn''t separate the wheat from the weeds." The old man said.


    "..." Levi''s eyes dimmed.


    " Why don''t you tell me how it works for you? Any distinct characteristics might help me in piecing together some of the theories." The old man sighed.


    "...I sometimes find my vision in a tunnel-like place. It glows and gets wider when I absorb qi." Levi said.


    " Any amount widens it?" The old man asked.


    " No, I have to absorb a certain amount first. After every widening, that amount increases." Levi said.


    " Oh, continue." The old man said.


    " The amount of Qi I absorb is way more than anyone I know," Levi said.


    " I don''t know if it has to do with this, but my body is becoming harder." He said,


    " Is it inhibiting your movement?" The old man asked.


    " No." Levi shook his head.


    " Mhmm, Mhmm." The old man closed his eyes.


    Levi waited.


    " Alright, this ''Primordial Cultivation'' of yours might work like this." The old man''s eyes shined.


    " The Qi you absorb nurtures these meridians. When they are sufficiently strengthened, they allow for the storage of Qi. This restriction on storing Qi should only be relevant for the first cycle." The old man said.


    "..." Levi''s eyebrows rose. These were his exact thoughts confirmed.


    " Secondly, with the strengthening of these meridians, your body is equally strengthened. From what Sophia explained to me, it should be a constant cycle. Another theory was that any creature practicing primordial cultivation would become huge as a result of the meridians'' widening." The old man said.


    " You haven''t grown?" He asked.


    " No." Levi lied.


    '' I maintain my size using the blood evolution skill, so lying is the best course in this situation.'' Levi thought.


    " Strange. In any case, onto the strength of your body. Or rather, it''s durability. Are you sure your entire body became solid?" The old man asked.


    " I don''t know..." Levi lied.


    " There is always the possibility that just your skin or surface flesh became harder, and nothing else. But keep in mind that these meridians tunnel through most of your body. Maybe just your skin hardened, but the possibility of your entire body, organs and all becoming tougher hasn''t yet been ruled out." The old man said.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    '' This old man...Who is he really?'' He thought.


    He had already formulated the idea that Primordial cultivation worked in layers. From skin to flesh, then tendons, organs, and bones. The order might not be exact, but he was currently nurturing the meridians throughout his tendons.


    He also theorized that he might find himself nurturing these exact meridians in the future, and thus named it the ''1st tendon layer''.


    But, him stumbling into these realizations couldn''t be considered unlikely, as these were things concerning his body. As for this old man, the fact that he came to similar conclusions based on so little information was very weird.


    '' I believe that after I reach the deepest layer in my bones, the process will need to be repeated from the skin, which I''ve already named the ''2nd skin layer''.'' Levi thought.


    '' As for how long this cycle could continue...'' He thought.


    '' But the way this old man is analyzing everything is strange. Is he some great figure or something?'' His brows furrowed.


    Even with the knowledge of the original theorist, shouldn''t it have been a little harder for the old man to piece these things together?


    " Finally, the absorption rate. Think of it like this, you have many times the meridians of a normal person, and they grow over time. You absorbing more Qi in shorter amounts of time than others was inevitable." The old man said.


    " Conclusion? When it comes to primordial cultivation, you have the upper hand in regards to qi, both quality, and quantity-wise. Your body is strengthened continuously, and you may potentially become giant." The old man said.


    ''...He pretty much listed all of the same points I came to. Aside from the heart tree and my ability to manipulate my body, you analyzed everything.'' Levi thought.


    " But back to the issue of Qi channels.'' The old man lifted a finger.


    "..." Levi''s face darkened.


    "...So I won''t be able to use any skills, regardless? Isn''t there any way to fix Qi channels?" He asked.


    " Techniques, and why do you have to be able to use techniques? You''re lucky enough, being able to cultivate with damaged Qi channels." The old man said.


    " With your abundant, rich qi, you could take over the inscription world in just a few decades." He said.


    "..." Levi''s fists tightened. He couldn''t explain anything, but if he didn''t, the old man wouldn''t give him an answer.


    " Sigh. Do you remember what I said?" The old man asked.


    " You said a lot, Elder. Which part?" Levi asked.


    " I meant the purpose of Qi channels." The old man warned with his eyes.


    " That they help with intricate techniques?" Levi asked.


    " Close enough. Right, so these channels are a big help when you need to be precise with qi, and since yours are damaged, you won''t be able to use any techniques because of the pain." The old man said.


    " I can handle the pain." Levi''s knuckles cracked.


    " Let me finish, would you?" The old man asked.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    " But that only refers to ''intricate'' techniques or those that you need to be precise with." The old man said.


    " Doesn''t that just mean that I can''t use skills?" Levi doubted.


    " It means that you can''t use certain skills, those that require precision. But what about more ''free'' skills? Those few with simple structures where precision doesn''t matter? Or at the very least, their need for it isn''t nearly as necessary ." The old man asked.


    "..." Levi Lowered his gaze in thought.


    " But I have to say, don''t get your hopes up. The techniques of today were catered to ''normal'' cultivators. Meaning, if you aren''t within that norm, you''re pretty much fucked." The old man said.


    " ''Free'' techniques are rare, mainly because their more intricate counterparts are generally more useful. They''re probably as rare as opened primordial meridians." He continued.


    ''...Is this old man giving me hope just to take it away?'' Levi thought, his head tilted.


    " Well, you''ve gotten your answers, now scram." The old man''s mustache sprung as he curled it.


    " How should I address you, Elder?" Levi asked.


    " Aren''t you doing it just fine right now?" The old man scoffed.


    " Elder?" Levi asked.


    " Yes?" The old man answered.


    "...What happened to the person who wrote the book on primordial meridians?" Levi asked.


    " Why do you want to know?" The old man asked.


    " I just..." He looked at the floor.


    " She''s become a big name in the Limitless Heaven Tower." The old man said.


    " Limitless Heaven Tower?" Levi asked.


    " Uh...Its branches were given a different name...What was it again? Enduring? No. Evernig-no...Everything guild! Everything guild is the name of its branches, maybe you''ve heard about it?" The old man asked.


    " Er, yeah. Someone told me that you must be registered if you want people to take you seriously as an Inscription master." Levi said.


    " It depends." The old man said.


    " But I didn''t know that it was called the Limitless Heaven Tower..." Levi said.


    " Is that so? Any more questions?" The old man asked.


    '' Only the main building is called that.'' He thought as he fluffed his mustache.


    " Is there a library here?" Levi asked.


    " Wha-You want to come back?! Why are you asking about a medicine library as an Inscriptor anyway?" The old man steadied himself in his chair.


    " I...feel I should read up on the human body, just in case something happens..." Levi said.


    " Fine, fine!" The old man rummaged through one of his desk drawers before tossing something.


    " When you''re going to the library, take that. Unless you want to be tossed out on your backside." He said.


    " Anything else?" He sighed.


    " No. Thank you, Elder." Levi bowed.


    He then left the room.


    ...


    Inscription Department.


    Levi walked silently through the hall. He reached his room.


    "..." He stood behind the closed door.


    " So I can''t use techniques...Or at least those that require precise Qi control." He muttered.


    " And surprisingly, even though I thought I healed myself perfectly...Ha, what did I expect? I just grew new flesh into any holes and called it a day." He threw his head back.


    "...Stuck a lump of meat on a stub and called it an arm." He said.


    " Come to think of it, this isn''t the first time I felt pain from this arm." He lifted his arm.


    " Not one scar, and yet this arm is supposedly damaged irreparably." Levi smiled.


    " But on the bright side, I confirmed some things about primordial cultivation...Kind of." His head tilted from side to side.


    " The fact that it''s most likely a never-ending cycle was confirmed, for now. Even the theory that the refining works in layers, from the skin to bones, could be considered confirmed." He said.


    " Size-inflation as a side effect was confirmed much earlier, though," Levi said.


    " Plus, I have a giant pool of qi, so even if I can''t practice certain skills, I can still become extremely strong." He smiled.


    " That elder said it himself, if I can find techniques that fit my needs, the problem would be solved." He said.


    " Who am I trying to fool..." Levi scratched his head as his hair fell, free.


    " Techniques that fit my needs? The old man just told me it''s essentially impossible." He said.


    " I can dominate the inscription world? What the hell do I care about that?!" Levi shouted.


    " Why the hell should I have to give up becoming strong?!" His fingers stiffened.


    " What the hell did I ever do to have my paths blocked time and time again?!" The wall vibrated as his body spun.


    " Why is it always me?! Suffering?! Why!" A hairline crack grew from under his fist.


    " Hey! Why are you so loud!" A voice fumed.


    "..." Levi opened the door.


    " Y-You?" The youth took a step back.


    " I''m sorry for the noise, but can you leave me alone?" Levi asked.


    " You''re...crying?" The youth pointed. Never had he imagined that he would run into the person who swatted him like this, much less see him cry.


    "..." Levi''s finger was wet as he touched his face. Even with deeply furrowed brows, tears slid down his face carelessly.


    " I''m sorry," He shut the door.


    "...Is he apologizing for crying? Or slapping me through a table?" The youth scratched his head.


    How would it feel to face your mortal enemy, only to catch them sniffling in sadness? Certainly not in the '' I''ll rip you limb from limb'' mood.


    "...What is up with the guy." The youth mumbled.


    "..." He left after glancing at the door once more.

 Chapter 126 - Flow Of Time (1)

    In Levi''s room.


    "..." He leaned against the door, his gaze unfocused. His hair resembled a bird''s nest, mirroring the disorderly room.


    ''...Are you done?'' The demon saint asked.


    "..." Levi''s unfocused gaze twitched.


    " When I broke down, where were you? And when you finally speak, this is what you say?" Levi threw his head back.


    '' There are things that you have to handle yourself. It wouldn''t have mattered if I advised you.'' The demon saint said.


    " I know. I know, but...When my mind is in disarray, can''t you just try? Couldn''t you have at least tried?" Levi grit his teeth as his fist tightened.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    '' His mental state is deteriorating further...'' He thought.


    " Ha. Haha." Levi got up.


    '' What are you going to do?'' The demon saint asked.


    " Why don''t you tell me what can I do?" Levi returned a question.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    " Of course. Silence. I can only do what I can." Levi walked to the bathroom.


    " In addition to studying inscriptions, I will continue to practice those skills," He said.


    ''...'' The demon saint chose not to say anything.


    " I can''t practice them to completion, but I can at least learn their forms," Levi said.


    " Since I was never formally taught any proper forms or stances, they should steady my foundation, at the very least." He washed his face.


    " I will continue to cultivate. And try to finish that thing." He combed his hair back with his hand. Looking back at him were tired eyes. Tired of fighting a seemingly futile fight.


    ''...'' The demon saint kept silent.


    " After some time, I will go back to the cloud continent and continue what I was doing there," Levi said.


    " I''ve already come so far, how could I give up?" It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself as he gripped the sides of the sink.


    '' I''ll help you where I can.'' The demon saint said.


    " Ha!" Levi mocked.


    " I''m going to cultivate now. Since I''ve confirmed that the inscription on this room works, I can do what I need to without worry." Levi said.


    He quieted before sitting cross-legged on the floor, as red qi engulfed him.


    ...


    Another day.


    "...So this is called the shell of the inscription." Miss Noble said.


    " It doesn''t do much in regards to protecting the fragile insides, but instead keeps everything in place." She said.


    Above the podium floated a Semi-Transparent patten. It turned at a consistent pace.


    " Oh..." Light murmurs sounded.


    " What would happen if you attempted to create an inscription without this outer shell?" Silas''s hand rose.


    " If the inscription was successfully tethered to an object, it would more likely than not explode on the first use." Miss Noble said.


    " I see." Silas nodded.


    "..." Levi''s eyes wandered.


    ...


    A few days later. Fragment Forest.


    '' Relax.'' Levi''s foot sunk into the soil.


    '' The second step is always the hardest.'' His foot touched down. His body tipped as he rolled.


    "..." He stood in a starting position.


    " Haa." His figure flashed.


    He gazed through the trees from the ground a few seconds later.


    '' It''s difficult to practice while dodging trees. But the only places without trees here are rocky hills.'' Levi thought.


    " Again." He got into position as his body flashed.


    '' Relax.'' Sweat slid from his face as he tried to loosen his muscles.


    In the next instant, he flew through a thick shrub.


    " And then-What the!?" A boy caught a fright.


    " You, what are you trying to do?" Another one asked.


    Could two guys not converse without a person diving through bushes?


    "..." Levi dusted himself as he walked off.


    "...Freaking weirdo. The hell is wrong with that guy?" One asked.


    " I know, right? Haha." Said the other.


    ..


    Boom!


    A short distance away.


    "..." Levi''s bloody fist sat on the trunk of a tree.


    He repositioned himself silently.


    ...


    Days later.


    "..." Dark circles sat under Levi''s eyes. He walked through the hall, carrying with him a depressed air.


    "...T-That''s not wh-what I meant." A timid voice sounded.


    " Why are you stuttering then?" Victoria asked.


    " T-That''s because I''m not confident when talking to people..." Blair said.


    " And you say you want to be my friend? You know that class hates me. It''s like you''re begging to be cast out." Victoria said.


    " I do-don''t mind, if it means-" Blair was interrupted.


    " You don''t care? Ha." Victoria sneered.


    " B-but you saved me," Blair said.


    " So what? You want to stick to me so that I can protect you? I should have minded my own business." Victoria puffed.


    " T-That''s not what I mean!" Blair shouted.


    " Then what-" Victoria was interrupted.


    " Th-The fact that you bothered to help me shows that you are already a better person than those girls! I just think you are a good person!" Blair clenched her fists before her chest.


    "..." Victoria was stunned into silence.


    "..." Levi found himself listening to the conversation.


    " Hmm?" As he walked by the two, Victoria stopped to look back.


    " Is s-something the matter?" Blair asked.


    "...No. Nothing." Victoria said.


    '' Killing intent? But it wasn''t directed at me. Was it that red hair?'' She thought.


    ...


    Night. Levi''s room.


    He sat in darkness as a large red ring floated before him. It turned and rotated slowly.


    "...Still not right." Levi muttered.


    He spread his fingers as a red mist shot out. A towering ancient gate formed, carved and decorated with bones and skulls.


    Levi beckoned as it floated closer.


    "..." His mental energy flame danced as blood energy streamed toward the ring.


    "..." Levi opened his eyes. His expectation was shattered and replaced by disappointment.


    "..." He closed his eyes.


    ...


    Another day. Library back room.


    Levi stood motionless.


    " Haa!" His palm shot out as beads of sweat flew.


    The sweat on his exposed upper body glistened in the sun''s rays.


    " There wasn''t a ''crack'' this time either," Levi said.


    This technique was called " Drill Palm". It utilized the rotation of the spine and shoulders, along with the force of the arms, to direct a compact wave of qi in any desired direction.


    Supposedly, if learned properly, one would be able to shatter boulders with ease, even without the use of Qi. To find discern whether you were practicing right or not, it was suggested to listen for a light crack during the movements.


    "...Again." Levi said under his breath.


    His legs were parted as both a flat and clenched fist hung before him.


    "..." His body rotated as he performed the strike again.


    ...


    Hallway.


    '' Why is it not working? Even when the form is already solid.'' Levi thought.


    " Have I just been wasting my time?" He muttered.


    " Junior Brother!" He heard a familiar voice.


    "..." He looked up with bright eyes.


    " How have you-" Levi turned and began walking in the opposite direction.


    " What just happened??" Olivia lowered her arm in confusion.


    " Maybe I''ve become ugly? Ugly enough to scare people." Yuri touched his chin.


    " Senior brother, can you not joke right now?" Olivia asked.


    " What? I''m telling you, his eyes clouded over when he saw me!" Yuri said.


    " But why would he do that? Did something happen between the two of you?" Olivia asked.


    " No? What could happen between us?" Yuri asked.


    " Who knows what you get up to when I''m not around?" Olivia asked.


    "..." Yuri was speechless. Where did his little junior sister learn to talk like that?


    " Senior, that g-Er, that classmate is always like that. You shouldn''t worry about it." Someone from Levi''s class said.


    " What do you mean?" Olivia asked.


    " W-Well, he''s gloomy, even in class, and he stares at people all the time with this dead look in his eyes..." The boy said.


    "..." Olivia''s breath quickened.


    " There are also numerous incidents in the infinite world. There are always complaints about him appearing out of nowhere. A group from our class wanted to kill a water viper to retrieve a memory shard, but because he dropped into the lake, the viper woke and killed everyone." The boy recalled.


    "..." Olivia was troubled.


    " Ha, but then again, what could we have been expecting from someone who used bribery to get here?" The youth mocked.


    " Watch your mouth. Don''t you know what respect is?" Olivia''s eyes narrowed.


    " I-I''m sorry, It was my mistake...!" The youth apologized.


    " Humph." Olivia walked off.


    '' When people speak without knowing, it still hurts as much as someone speaking with context.'' She thought.


    " Ha." Yuri laughed as he followed.


    " What the hell..." The boy shook his head.


    ...


    Night.


    Levi lay on his bed, sleeping.


    '' Ha..ahaha...'' A vague laughter sounded in his mind.


    Levi sat, knees to chest, with his head buried in his arms. His mental world was complete darkness. The dark world was still.


    '' Pa..tic...Pa...thetic...'' Broken voices chuckled.


    ''...'' Levi sat unmovingly.


    '' Wha..t...happened to...your arrogance? hehehe, stripped!''


    '' Forever...alone. Skulking..in darkness.''


    '' N-no-not even one person cares for you.''


    A ripple spread from beneath Levi.


    '' Huhuhu...Did you think...she wo-would care? laughable!''


    A more defined ripple spread out.


    '' Maybe-be a bit...But you will never be worth e-enough to sacrifice anything for.''


    Ripples shot out in succession.


    '' The o-one she treasures i-is not you!''


    '' Shut up!'' Levi lifted his head. Although the rest of his form was a discolored white, his eyes were a piercing gold.


    '' W-We are just speaking th-the truth, hehehe!''


    '' T-The tr-truth you deny!''


    '' What truth? What do you know about me? Stop disrupting my peace. Get lost.'' Levi slowly lowered his head.


    '' Wh-What do we k-know, he asks!''


    '' Wi-With this level of intelligence, i-it''s no wonder wh-why he was abandoned!''


    '' T-Tries t walk a different p-path, only to f-fail miserably. Hehehe.'' The voices mocked.


    Ripples expanded with force as Levi lifted his head.


    '' What...did you say?'' Black fire danced on his shoulder.


    '' Heheheheheheh! Y-You couldn''t have forgotten? Ea-Eating scraps, countless sneers. The sw-sweet, sweet beatings! The humiliation!'' A voice said.


    Flames erupted in the once still world, dancing madly.


    '' Who are you...pretending to know me?! To know how I feel?!'' Levi''s inner world shook.


    '' Don''t act like you understand the pain I feel! Everywhere, people have families! Companions! A rock or tree to lean on when they can''t walk!!'' He shouted.


    '' And me? When in a difficult situation, whether it be an empty stomach or a broken leg, I drag myself along! Alone! And for what?!'' The world quaked.


    '' I have to lock my heart off! To live in constant fear of betrayals, of abandonment! To make sure that I do not connect with anyone, for fair of them dying and leaving me!'' The flames quivered.


    '' Was I born to be thrown away? Scorned?'' He questioned.


    '' Become the strongest? What is the point anymore?! I have nothing! Not one thing that I want! Strength will give me what I want?! I doubt it! I don''t even know what I want anymore! But if I don''t convince myself of this, I will sink into the darkness and never return!'' Levi said.


    '' Hehehe. Y-Your rage overwhelms your inner world!''


    '' Isn''t your answer clear?''


    '' Release your h-hate onto the world!''


    '' Wh-why should they be happy when you are not?!''


    '' Allow all to suffer! A-As you did!''


    The voices said.


    '' Screw off!'' Levi clawed at air. The sea of raging flames parted in multiple places as a shadowy figure slowly faded.


    '' Hehehe! Y-You have lost yo-your chance to kill us!''


    '' Futile! Useless! Hahaha!''


    Many more shadows began appearing, giving form to different voices.


    '' Wh-What the hell? Get OUT!'' The black flames gathered around Levi before exploding outward.


    '' He...Hehe'' A creepy laughter disrupted the silence.


    '' Wi-With the crack in your heart of ice, w-we are free!'' A voice said.


    ''!!'' Levi got chills.


    '' We w-will not stop!''


    '' Will not die!''


    '' Yo-You cannot escape the demons o-of your heart!'' Two bleeding holes appeared on the shadow''s head.


    ...


    " Ahh! Huff! Huff!" Levi shot up.


    " There''s no peace in this world for me, huh..." Something dripped onto his sheet.


    " Fuck...Fuck!" He covered his eyes.

 Chapter 127 - Flow Of Time (2)

    In class.


    The youths'' breaths quickened.


    "...Begin." Miss Noble said.


    "!!" Qi exploded from their bodies as patterns solidified. Some shattered causing some people to start over.


    " Time is up." Miss Noble tapped the podium.


    " Fuuu!"


    " HA-hahaha, I finished on time!"


    " Tsk, mine broke..."


    The youths erupted.


    Boom!


    "..." Miss Noble''s attention shifted.


    " Teacher...Can I leave for some fresh air?" Levi asked. As he stood, his arm was lifted from the cracked desk.


    " You can." Miss Noble said.


    "..." Levi walked down.


    " Go to the disciplinary hall later." She continued.


    "...I understand." Levi said.


    ...


    A week later. Infinite world.


    " Huff! Huff!" A muscular tiger growled at the sword before it.


    " Grr..." The beast sidestepped.


    " Ha!" The soil was displaced as Levi''s stance changed. The Qi sword-shape lowered at an angle.


    A deep growl sounded as the tiger bit down on it, scattering the Qi.


    A second later, Levi lay on the ground, a bloody hole in his stomach.


    " Holy..." A voice rang out.


    " That was intense!" Another sounded.


    "..." With red vision, Levi looked up. A youth crawled out from a shrub, while another came out from behind a tree.


    " My hands are still shaking."


    " Mine too, Look!" The youths turned.


    " We should tell the others about this!"


    " Sure, but..." One looked back.


    " Should we help him?" He asked.


    " Huh? Why? He can just come back after he dies."


    " Oh. You''re right."


    " Plus, why should we help that guy? He''s a nuisance. I''m just sorry his death this time isn''t real."


    " Ha...Haha. Let''s just get back to the group."


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    He could only wait as his ''life'' slipped away.


    ...


    A few weeks later. Library back room.


    Levi''s foot slid across the floor as he punched out.


    Sweat hit the ground as he turned.


    Crack!


    He hit the ground with a thud.


    " Aghhh!"


    The wooden table shattered as it hit the wall.


    "...W-What''s going on?" The librarian peaked through the crack of the door.


    "..." Panting, Levi pulled up the top half of his robe.


    "..." He stumbled to the side as Levi brushed pass.


    ...


    A month later. In the classroom.


    " Student Levi, you have been acting out more recently. If this does not change, you''ll be sent to the disciplinary hall''s second level, do you understand?" Miss Noble asked.


    " Yes." Levi droned.


    " Are you feeling unwell? Or is something bothering you?" She asked.


    "...It''s nothing, teacher." Levi''s gaze focused briefly.


    " I will keep your warning in mind." He bowed from the hallway.


    "...It was more advice than anything else." Miss Moble shook her head.


    ...


    " H-Hey." A girl inched toward Levi''s desk.


    "...What is it?" He lifted his head from the table.


    " A s-senior student wanted you to go to the library a-after class..." The girl stepped back.


    "..." Levi put his arms back onto the table as he nodded.


    " Ahhh, that was so uncomfortable! Does he have to glare like that?" The girl ran into the arms of another girl.


    " Shh! Wa-Are you crying?! Next time, don''t do those kinds of favors." The girl said.


    " But it was a senior!" The girl sniffled.


    " I''m sure they would understand if you explained." The girl stroked her head.


    ..


    After class. Library.


    " That brat stood me up." Olivia ground her teeth.


    "..." Yuri slapped the floor as he rolled.


    ...


    Physician library.


    " Anh? Inscription department? What''re you doin'' here?" Behind a counter, a man chewed on a piece of meat.


    " I want to borrow books," Levi said.


    " Pa-hahaha! Ah! My dried meat!" His eyes were drawn to the floor.


    " Get out." His head rose slowly.


    "..." Levi stood in place.


    " Get lost!" He slapped the counter.


    "...I''ll come back again." Levi turned.


    " The hell you will! I dare you!" The man jumped up.


    ...


    A few months later. Levi''s room.


    " Mhmm. Nnng." His eyelashes trembled in the darkness.


    '' Yo-You can''t d-do it!''


    '' Fail! fa-failure!''


    '' C-Can''t succeed...!''


    Voices sounded.


    '' Shut up!''


    '' N-No talent! Worthless! Why do you live? J-Just die!''


    '' Quiet!''


    '' Pathetic! Can''t e-even do si-simple things!''


    '' Stop talking!''


    '' Wh-Why should we listen to you? Y-Your words hold no s-sway over us!''


    '' I-It is you, who should f-follow our orders!''


    " Huff! Huff!" Levi shot up from the wet pillow.


    ...


    Classroom.


    " Begin." Miss Noble lowered her pointer.


    '' C''mon! C''mon! C''mon''


    '' I''ll make it for sure this time! No one will beat me!''


    Crack!


    " Ah, it cracked!" A girl repaired her inscription.


    " Ha, if you repair it like that, the only thing that will do is blow up in your face!" A youth grinned.


    " You-"


    Crack!


    " Ahhh! What?! That''s not possible!" The youth pieced his inscription back together.


    " Humph!" The girl sealed the cracks in her inscription.


    A few minutes later.


    " Stop." Miss Noble raised her hand.


    " Aww..."


    " Sigh!"


    " The few who failed this time, you will stay for extra lessons." Miss Noble looked at specific students.


    " Yes..." They droned. Levi kept silent.


    " Take out your word plates. To text 17." Miss noble went behind the podium.


    " Yes." The youths'' mental energy spread through the room. Colored letters grew out from the square metal plates.


    " From this corner, start." Miss Noble pointed.


    " Yes." A youth stood.


    ...


    Levi''s room.


    "..." With the sheet draped over his shoulders, Levi sat.


    It fell onto the bed as he sat cross-legged on the floor.


    The room was brightened as Qi enveloped his body.


    ...


    Classroom.


    " I will be taking my leave." Miss Noble turned.


    " Yes, teacher!" The youth''s bowed.


    They took turns trying to open the hidden door. Few left the class.


    " Hello, senior sister!"


    " Oh, Hello." Olivia smiled.


    "..." A few boys tripped as they stared.


    "..." She tapped her foot as she hummed.


    A few seconds later.


    " Oh, hello, junior brother." She looked up.


    "..." Levi''s brows scrunched up as he nodded.


    " Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you going?" Olivia asked.


    " Let go, please. I have to go somewhere." Levi tugged.


    "?!" A clunky silver bracelet was placed around his wrist with a click.


    " Now, junior brother." Olivia closed her eyes, her finger raised.


    " I know that I can''t compare to your raw strength." Her brows tightened.


    " But if you can''t use it, you can never defy me!" Her teeth glistened.


    "..." Levi''s arm dropped.


    " Heavy?" Olivia smiled.


    " What did you do..." Levi asked stiffly.


    " The inscription on this bracelet tends to make you feel heavy. Really, really heavy." Olivia squinted.


    " The best part is that your real weight doesn''t change at all!" She weighed Levi''s arm.


    "..." Sweat poured from his flushed face.


    " Let''s go!" Olivia dashed down the hall.


    " Avoid me, will you? Hohoho!" Her voice resounded.


    "..." The youths picked their jaws up from the ground.


    " T-The world of cultivation sure is a treacherous place..." A youth rubbed his arms.


    " Does she have no shame, stealing men in broad daylight?!" A girl covered her mouth.


    " I-I can''t deal with people like that..." Another girl shook her head.


    ...


    Physician library.


    "..." Levi walked with something in hand.


    " Hey, isn''t that..."


    " Yeah. The kid that got kicked out last time."


    " Our fool of a librarian was pissed for days after that! This will be a great show."


    " Haha. Don''t forget we have exams soon. I''d advise you to study, seeing as your score wasn''t too high the last time."


    " Don''t be a wet blanket!"


    Two youths read from large books.


    " Zzzzz-Snort-zzz." The man whistled whilst sleeping.


    " Hey!"


    Pop!


    " Hu-Huh?! Nggg. What? What is it?" The librarian rubbed his eyes.


    " Look."


    " Tsk, just tell me what you-You?!" His chair almost fell.


    "..." Levi stood before the counter.


    " The inscription department''s students sure are brave, huh?" The counter dipped under his weight.


    " Let me congratulate you on your bravery." His fingers tensed as he leaned over.


    "..." Levi turned over his palm.


    Boom!


    "..." The librarian fell onto his face.


    " W-Wh-Where did you get that?" He asked.


    "...Can I come in with this?" Levi faced the token down.


    " W-Why, yes. In fact, please go in. I beseech you, read a few pages." The librarian''s eyes wandered between a few pieces of dust.


    "..." Levi sidestepped him.


    ...


    Night.


    "..." Levi looked at the bed from the side.


    ...


    Infinite world.


    Birds flew as Bursts of sound echoed.


    Deng!


    "...Ow." Levi rubbed his head.


    '' I''m making steady progress.'' He turned to see deep, spread footprints.


    Rustle!


    " Hmm?" A youth pushed aside a branch.


    "..." Levi turned.


    " Hmhahmm." The youth continued on his way with a nod.


    " Again." Levi''s muscles tensed.


    ...


    Hallway.


    " Teacher, are there communication Inscriptions that can work over long distances?" Levi asked.


    " There are, but why do you ask." She turned.


    " I want to contact someone from back home," Levi said.


    " You should know that connections outside of the sect are forbidden." Miss Noble said.


    " But...It''s to see if an old farmer who took care of me is well. He doesn''t have anyone to care for him..." Levi lowered his head.


    "...Fine. But it is a 40-plus pattern inscription. You also have to send one to the person in question." She sighed.


    " Really?! But...how can I get it to him?" Levi lowered his head once again.


    " The sect can take care of that for you. But first, you will have to be able to create the inscription. I won''t help you." Miss Noble''s mantle shifted.


    " Thank you, teacher!" Levi''s upper body faced the floor.


    "...Don''t complain if you fail." Miss Noble left these words.


    '' I will figure out a way to leave a hidden message for Aria and the others.'' Levi thought.


    ...


    A year later. Library back room.


    " Ha." A light voice escaped Levi''s throat.


    A small wave rolled out as his foot slid across the floor.


    Sweat dripped from his shoulder as his leg cut through the air.


    Splattering sounded as the sole of his foot slapped the floor.


    Crack!


    " Ha!" A light gust followed behind his fist.


    "..." He straightened himself as his eyes shone.


    ...


    Classroom.


    " This exercise is to test the speed at which you can finish a 20-pattern inscription." Miss Noble swept her gaze.


    "..." Some of the youths tapped their fingers.


    " Begin." She lowered her hand.


    "..." Qi streamed through the air not a second later.


    Vivivi!


    " Huh?!" The youths grabbed their desks for support.


    " D-Do you see that..." Someone in the back row trembled.


    " Teacher..." They called out.


    "...You can go." Miss Noble said.


    Some of them stumbled as they ran into the hallway.


    " Who''s strong enough to send an attack this far?!"


    " Aw! I wish I chose the cultivation department!"


    " Like you are good enough!"


    They watched as a mass of Qi was held in place.


    Vivivi!


    " They''re still going at it!"


    " H-Hey, watch where you''re stumbling!"


    " I could say the same for you!"


    In the classroom.


    "..." With a coated inscription before him, Levi looked down.


    "..." Miss Noble nodded.


    It shattered with a squeeze.


    ...


    Senior cafeteria.


    " And then-And then-Ahahaha!" Olivia slapped the table as her jaw sped.


    " Junior brother- You listening?!" Her head snapped to the side.


    "...Yeah." The corners of Levi''s lips tugged upward.


    " What did you feed her?" He looked at Yuri.


    " Don''t just assume I did something. She gets excited when it comes to food." Yuri lay his head on his palm.


    " She''s at it again, aye? Haha, that girl is a riot."


    " What I''m curious about is that little guy she''s dragging around these days."


    " Oh, him? I heard that he''s some kind of weirdo. Fit''s right in I guess, Haha!"


    The seniors conversed with their desk-mates.


    " Yo, Olivia! Have you heard the rumors going around about you?" Someone put their hand on the table.


    "...Move from behind me." Olivia tilted her head.


    " Sheesh, no need to be so prickly!" He waved.


    " But back to-" He was cut off.


    " Can we eat In peace, please?" Yuri smiled.


    " What? Bu-"


    " Please." His eyes narrowed.


    " Fine, fine! The lot of you need counseling, I swear..." The guy muttered as he left.


    " Haha, you thought you could get to her with Yuri around? How willful!"


    " Screw you!"


    " Hahaha!"


    The room erupted in laughter.


    ...


    Night.


    "..." With the sheet covering all but his head, Levi lay neatly on the bed.


    In his inner world.


    '' G-Give in!''


    '' Re-Relinquish your b-body...''


    '' It''s your only c-choice! You are nothing by yourself!''


    '' Useless without us! Useless!''


    '' Can you guys shut up?'' Levi''s eyes glowed as he lifted his head.


    '' N-No one cares...about you..''


    '' Do-Don''t be fooled by their smiles!''


    ''...'' He unfolded his limbs.


    '' You, can you come here? Please?'' He clasped his hands.


    '' Hu-Huh? Ok...'' A ghostly figure left the crowd.


    '' So, lay flat like this. Yeah, like that!'' Levi snapped his finger.


    '' Oh, you guys, come along!'' He waved.


    '' Uh, alright...''


    '' I mean, I got nothin'' better to do, but...''


    '' Ahem. My throat''s sore from wailing.''


    '' Mhm, nice. Great!'' Levi clapped.


    '' Now don''t move. I mean it!'' He pointed.


    '' Uh...''


    '' What are we doing again?''


    Poof!


    '' Hey, hey! You''re heavy!''


    '' Agh, my arm!''


    '' You! Stop nudging!''


    '' Don''t move. If this bed collapses, I won''t ever come here again.'' Levi yawned.


    '' Damn you!''


    '' Who said you could use us as a bed!?''


    '' Hurry and-Hey! Don''t go to sleep!?''


    ...


    Bedroom.


    "..." Tiny square patches formed in the red ring as blood energy rose.


    '' Sigh.'' Levi stood.


    A dense red mist swirled throughout the room.


    " Gather." He opened his palm.


    Before he could blink, a pea-sized gem-like red mass landed in his hand.


    "..." His eyes narrowed.


    " Wait, what!?" He stumbled as he tossed the tiny object.


    " It worked????" He caught the object while the floor caught his face.


    "..." With shining eyes, he examined it.


    " Extremely dense..." His jaw grew slack.


    " Not what I was expecting, but I''ll take it." His voice wavered.


    " After so long...Haha, it wasn''t pointless...not pointless!" He dropped onto the floor.


    ...


    Infinite world.


    Explosions of sound reverberated through the forest.


    '' Loosen...muscles!'' Levi thought.


    "..." Warm air exited his nostrils as he closed his eyes.


    '' To release the body, one must first calm the mind.'' He thought.


    "..." Opening his eyes, it appeared as if the world had slowed.


    '' Ah...'' He thought.


    '' Ahhhhh! I did it!'' He squeezed his eyes shut.


    " This isn''t a dream! Take a good look Levi, because this is only the beginning!" His robes fluttered as he blurred over a slope.


    " I''m flying again!!'' He shot through the air.


    " Snort!" A familiar snort sounded.


    " Sorry, there''s only room for me in this sky!" Levi shouted.


    " But wait...isn''t there a large hill behind this slope?" A bead of sweat slid down his forehead.


    His neck turned like a rusted hinge. " Ahhhhh!!"


    ...


    Another year later. In the classroom.


    " Begin." Miss Noble shouted.


    The youths scrambled as their Qi flowed.


    "..." Pattern after pattern formed before Levi. Each coated as they gathered.


    A minute later.


    " Stop." Miss Noble ordered.


    " Fuuu..." The youths supported themselves however they could as sweat covered their faces.


    " Present." Miss Noble pointed at the end of the first row.


    " Yes. This is a hundred-year-old inscription, the ''Water condensation'' inscription. It is an improved, more easily controlled remake. It is a tier 1 inscription." Silas cleared his throat.


    " And what is a tier 1 inscription?" Miss Noble asked.


    " Any inscription with a total of 100 patterns," Silas answered.


    " Mhm...It''s solid. Crafted well, but this elongated corner would shorten its life. Therefore..." Miss Noble examined the inscription.


    " 89 points." She said.


    " Thank you." Silas bowed.


    " Next." Miss Noble turned.


    " Y-Yes!"


    A few minutes later.


    " Next." Miss Noble turned to Levi.


    " Yes," Levi recited the inscription''s information.


    "...It is also a 100-layered inscription." He finished.


    " Hmm. Well coated. Solid. Nicely shaped. 94 points." Miss Noble allotted.


    " WHAT!?!" The class erupted.


    " This is blatant favoritism, teacher!"


    " The only person close to that score is ''thousand minds'' Silas!"


    They argued.


    " Quiet. If you worked as hard, you would also have gotten a similar or higher score." Miss Noble stood behind her podium.


    " But I did work hard...Excessively so..."


    " Humph! With two seniors helping him, this result isn''t even shocking!"


    " Quiet. Class is over for today. Those who placed from 3rd up, collect your prizes later." Miss Noble left.


    "..." Levi left shortly after.


    " Junior brother! How did you do?" Olivia rushed him.


    " I...fainted from the pressure...'' Levi lowered his head.


    " Wha..." Olivia froze.


    " You brat, stop lying." Yuri ruffled Levi''s hair.


    " Hey, don''t mess up my hair!" He grabbed his wrist.


    " Ah? I''ll ruffle if I want to. Show some respect to your betters!" Yuri lifted his free hand.


    " Ahh! senior sister! Is your master around? I can''t let him see this!" Levi turned his head.


    " Uh-uh." Olivia shook her head.


    " Good. He still hasn''t gotten off my case about getting a new hair tie since I lost mine." Levi closed his eyes.


    " Then why not knot your hair like this?" Yuri twisted his wrist.


    " Aghh!" Levi winced.


    " Ops..." Yuri raised his arms.


    " You bastard...You know I have a sensitive scalp!!" Levi''s arm snaked around Yuri''s back.


    " Ah! Ribs! Ribs!" Yuri whistled soundlessly.


    " If you''re going to be like that!" He gripped Levi''s hair.


    They took turns yelping as they waddled down the hallway.


    " Haha." Olivia giggled.

 Chapter 128 - The Lost Prince

    Golden rays brightened white tiles.


    " You''re doing material retrieval instead of the trials?" Olivia leaned against the black wall behind her.


    " I''ve been cooped up here for 2 whole years. Given a choice, I''ll obviously pick the option that would allow me to leave." Levi smiled.


    " Haha, I know how you feel!" Olivia threw her head back. With a swipe, displaced hair was removed from her face.


    " What about you, senior sister? Didn''t your master give you permission to leave? Aren''t you going to?" Levi looked up.


    " Hmm, he did. But I''m not desperate to leave anymore." She watched the drifting clouds with a smile.


    " Didn''t you just get lazy?" Levi''s eyes narrowed.


    " Brat! And who is it that tired this ancestor to the point of laziness?!" She whipped her head while pointing.


    " Sorry about that!" With glistening teeth, Levi reclined onto his back.


    " Oh, what''s this? Seems I was left out!" Yuri stood behind an opened door.


    " Come up if you''re coming! If we get caught, Master will scold me!" Olivia waved.


    " I don''t want to go back to the disciplinary hall either!" Levi''s brows rose as he looked up.


    " Hahaha! What difference would it make if you had to go one more time?" A slamming sounded as the door shut.


    " You shouldn''t spread your hair on the ground like that." Yuri side stepped Levi.


    " Don''t start with me. I''ve been nagged about my hair enough as it is." Levi sighed as he sat up.


    " But really, why are you both here? The punishment for coming up here is quite severe. Or am I interrupting something?" Yuri''s back bent as his face lowered to Olivia''s.


    " Senior sister caught me resting up here and stayed. The only thing you''re disturbing is my peace." Levi dusted off his backside.


    " Oh? You''re pretty brave." Yuri''s eyebrows rose.


    " Or pretty stupid." A chuckle passed by his lips.


    " Screw off. Or do you need another beating?" Levi''s tangled hair caught his fingers.


    " You would need to have the ability first." Yuri sneered.


    "...Ahh?!" They gripped each other''s collars.


    " Alright, alright. Don''t fight. You two never change." Olivia massaged her temples.


    " Haa, I''m leaving." Levi yawned.


    " Haha! Getting cold feet?" Yuri crossed his arms.


    " I''m going down to the trial forest to take a look," Levi said.


    " Senior sister''s master finally let me go. Quite surprising, considering that he hates me. Maybe he thinks I''ll die down there?" He shook his head.


    " Sorry!" Olivia clapped.


    " It''s fine. I already know why he hates me, as for understanding the reason...Let''s just say I''m too stupid to get it." A bead of sweat slid down his face as Levi glanced to the side.


    A while ago.


    Hallway.


    " Take this brat as a disciple?" Mr. Teigen looked Levi up and down.


    " Yes. Junior brother wants to leave the sect for a bit, but can''t because of a few rules." Olivia said.


    " Your master is little more than a petty liberator in your eyes, hmm? But even if he became my disciple, he would still need to be escorted by at least 2 senior students if he wanted to leave." Mr. Teigen said.


    " To my knowledge, this little failure has made just two friends, you, as well as Yuri, that scaly...Anyway, aside from you two, whether any others with free time would be willing is debatable." He paused.


    " And to begin with, you should know better than to think I will let you leave here." With spread hands, he glanced to the side.


    " Che! He caught on..." Olivia turned her head.


    " I can hear you...I worry about you sometimes. Your level of intelligence. I really do." Mr. Teigen shook his head.


    " Pretty please, master? With a cherry on top?" Olivia blinked.


    " Enough with the face, god. He''ll have to show me his mental energy flame first." Mr. Teigen gasped as he gripped his chest.


    " Master, how could you..." Olivia''s bottom lip crumpled.


    "..." Levi nodded as he ignited his mental energy flame.


    " Ahhh! Da-Dark mental energy flame. No-Cough! This is black! Get away from me!" Mr. Teigen shrank back.


    "..." Levi froze.


    " Bloody mother...Don''t you understand the meaning of ''get lost''?! Screw off, then! Piss off! Scram!!" Mr. Teigen''s finger trembled.


    " I''m so sorry junior brother! My master hates dark mental energy flames...Mainly the people who have them. I should have remembered this!" Olivia said.


    "...I wouldn''t have guessed." Levi turned to her.


    " He had a bad experience and hasn''t gotten over it, even after so many years." Olivia frowned.


    " I understand." Levi nodded.


    " Don''t tell this devil my secrets! And you! Don''t pretend you understand!" Mr. Teigen stomped.


    " Supposedly, you can tell a little about a person by the color of their mental energy," Olivia said.


    " Interesting." Levi held his chin.


    " Don''t ignore me!!"


    Present.


    " Come to think of it, he hated me even more openly after that..." Levi tilted his head back in recollection.


    " Well, it''s not worth stressing over. Mainly ''cause...He hates me too." Yuri sighed with a smile.


    " I don''t blame him for that," Levi said.


    " Brat!" Yuri swept a finger through the air.


    " Are you two coming with me a few days later?" Levi''s eyes lit up briefly.


    " To meet the person who contacted you?" Olivia asked.


    " Mhm. My teacher said I couldn''t go alone. Even though in a weak or two I''ll be leaving for my material retrieval mission. I can''t understand the reasoning of the people here." Levi released a long sigh.


    " I''ll go with you. I don''t have much to do anyway." Her fingers interlocked behind her back as Olivia said.


    "..." Levi''s gaze fell on Yuri.


    " Fine, I''ll take you out. Needing supervision at your age, such a disappointment." Yuri shook his head as the corners of his lips tugged upward.


    '' It was you who wanted to come along. Who''s the disappointment here?'' Levi waved as his robe shifted.


    " Then I''ll see you two in a few days." He said.


    " When will you stop picking fights with him? Sheesh." Slapping sounded.


    " But it''s fun." Yuri rubbed his shoulder.


    ...


    Outside.


    Levi stepped onto a pavement from the stairs.


    "...This is weird." He looked around.


    The pavement led through the forest.


    " Huh, these buildings are bigger than I thought." Head tilted back, he recalled the tiny square roofs he saw on his first day.


    " Grrr!" A sharp growl sounded.


    " Hurry and heal me! You''re a physician, aren''t you?!" A girl huffed.


    " Don''t rush me! If I gave you the wrong treatment you could be permanently disabled. Here, let me look at your leg." A boy reasoned.


    " What can''t you see from this distance? The bone is already sticking out! And-gasp-This is going to leave a scar, isn''t it?! You incompetent-!" Slapping sounds echoed.


    " Stop that! Hey-Quit playing around, it''s coming again!" The boy turned his head.


    " No, no! I don''t want to do this anymore!'' She began crawling.


    " You''re supposed to be defending the building! It''s only one rainbow spotted panther!" The boy said.


    " Then you fight it! I''m done!" The girl didn''t look back.


    " Why should I have to fight mutated beasts with a useless physician?! Why do I have to team up with you?!" She said.


    " I''m a bloody physician! Do you expect me to heal it to death?! Isn''t it because of your incompetence that everyone else avoided you?! I''m starting to see why now!" The boy began to lose his patience.


    " Incompetence?! Were all cultivators! Physician, Archeologist, what does it matter!? Who''s the useless one here anyway? Me, or the pig who can''t even do its job?! Treat my bloody leg already!" The girl said.


    In the end, they both retreated into the building, monitoring the beast through a window.


    " Hey, is that a person? They''re in danger!" The boy said.


    " The mutated beasts here are drawn to us because of these rings, they won''t attack anyone else, so hows about you shut up and treat me!" The girl said.


    " O-Oh..." The boy looked down at the bloody ankle.


    "..." The girl suddenly gasped.


    " What is it?" The boy followed her gaze.


    " I thought you said that it wouldn''t go after him!" He dropped her leg.


    " Sii! That shouldn''t happen unless it got enraged somehow! And even then, it''s rare for them to attack random people!" Cold sweat trickled down the girl''s face.


    Outside.


    " A black panther? With..." Levi squinted


    " The more you learn." He continued down the pavement.


    " Grrr!" He turned his head.


    " What are you trying to do?" The back of his hand paused before the beast''s nose.


    It trembled as a squeak escaped its throat. The beast attacked, as it felt the presence of a threat. The thing was, it hadn''t noticed that this threat was stronger than expected.


    " You attacked me. Remember that." Levi flicked his wrist.


    Thump!


    Blood spurted from the beast''s mouth as it fell from the trunk of a tree. A deep track was left in the path it flew.


    "..." Levi continued on his way.


    A few minutes later.


    " Who was that..."


    " How did they leave this thing in such a state?" The boy asked.


    " What do you mean?" The girl put her weight onto a pole as she limped closer.


    " Its bones were shattered while everything under the skin was turned to mush. To do something like this, I don''t even...It would have to be a powerful force or a very specific skill." The boy examined the corpse.


    "..." The girl watched nervously.


    " Oh, no-The gasses-" Before he could get out a sentence, the panther''s corpse inflated rapidly before exploding.


    ...


    " There''s nothing interesting down here." Levi kicked a rock.


    " Oh! If I remember right, there was a small clearing somewhere down here?" The image of a small patch in the forest appeared in his mind.


    " I''ll go take a look." With a light step, his robe fluttered as he shot off.


    '' This is the best feeling.'' He smiled.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "...Where the hell am I? Not in the clearing, that''s for sure. " He looked up. Leaves rustled above him.


    " Maybe this way?" He walked off.


    Not long after, voices sounded.


    " You persistent bastards! It''s already been 3 days, till when are you going to chase me?!" A lively voice sounded.


    " If you''re tired, stop for a break!"


    " If you didn''t run, would 3 whole days been wasted?!"


    Two more voices sounded.


    " Did you two not receive your share of common sense when you were born?" The first person asked.


    " Ahh!?"


    " What''s that you little shit!"


    " If I stopped, you two would take the chance to kill me! And if I didn''t run, I would''ve been dead for 3 days already! Having brains but unable to figure this out, isn''t that a reflection of your ground-level intelligence?" The first voice questioned.


    " Are you taunting me? This bastard''s taunting me, isn''t he?!"


    " Right now, you''re undoubtedly on your last legs. Don''t say things that will make your death more painful!"


    " That''s if you can catch me! Even in this state, you worms can''t compare to me!" The first voice huffed and puffed.


    " Worm? You-You-You-!"


    " Don''t be too much now! You were injured so badly that you now have to run from US! So who''s the real worm here, Elias?!"


    " Well, considering the current circumstances...I''ll still have to go with you guys! Sorry, haha!" The person laughed.


    "...I must be seeing things." Squatting on a thick tree branch, Levi rubbed his eyes.


    Running through the forest were three people. One led the group, his robes bloodied, while the remaining two gradually slowed.


    " Why is that prince here?" Levi thought aloud.


    "...Phew! Why were you so far away! I almost died! Hurry and take care of these scrubs for me!" Elias shouted as he passed under Levi.


    " !!" Levi looked back at his departing figure.


    '' This guy!'' Levi turned to the front.


    " Hey, I''m not-" He was interrupted.


    " You''ll take care of us?! Ha!"


    " Die!"


    The two pursuers threw out attacks.


    The tree was broken into pieces as Levi vanished.


    " Now listen, I don''t know that guy. This sect is-" A fist closed in on his face.


    " Your bald, scar-head asses are begging for a beating." Levi squeezed the fist.


    " Ahah! Lossen! Your grip!" The man''s face contorted.


    " Let go you-" A bone-shattering slap sent the second man flying.


    " I''ll give you a few more scars on these skinheads of yours." Levi''s fist tightened.


    " You-You-You-" The man stuttered.


    " If you survive, always remember to listen to what people are saying." Levi''s chest puffed as he drew back his fist.


    The man bounced and rolled until he was no longer in sight.


    "..." Levi''s attention was drawn away as his figure flashed.


    ..


    A short distance away.


    " Huff Huff!" Elias leaned against a tree.


    "..." The air vibrated as Levi stopped.


    " You beat them? Not bad." Elias chuckled as he heaved.


    " Wait, you-"


    Boom!


    The top half of a tree slid off, kicking up dust as it pierced the ground.


    "...What are you doing?" Elias clutched is stomach at the side.


    " Paying you back." Levi tapped his sword''s hilt.

 Chapter 129 - Meeting Years Later (1)

    The dust settled slowly.


    " You know me?" Elias straightened himself.


    " Well enough." Levi smiled.


    " Oh. I tend to forget lesser characters, you see." Elias scratched his head.


    " Is that the case?" Levi chuckled.


    " You won''t remember me this time either. As they say, ''dead men know naught''." Levi''s figure flashed.


    " ''Fraid I''ll have to disappoint-Cough!" A broken and worn sword stopped Levi''s blade, as black Qi swirled around it.


    " Thanks to you, I recovered a bit." Elias wiped his mouth.


    " Uhm, healthy people don''t cough up blood." Levi pointed out.


    " You''ve just never met anyone as great as me," Elias said.


    " Haha! They say that excessive arrogance is bad for the body. It''s no wonder you''re squirting blood." Levi''s leg swept through the air.


    Clang!


    " This level of arrogance isn''t nearly enough to cause me harm. Clang?" Elias glanced at Levi''s leg.


    " Why is your body so tough?" His brows furrowed.


    " That''s a secret. Let''s just say it''s the stuff of legends." Levi tightened his fist.


    " Oaf!" Elias slammed into a tree.


    "...The stuff of legends? I don''t stand a chance." Elias slouched.


    " Don''t sell yourself short. I mean, you were running for 3 days straight right?" Levi shrugged.


    '' I''ll just play with him for a bit.'' He smiled.


    " You have a point." Elias nodded.


    " Well, if I can''t win...I guess-" His knees shook as he leaned on the tree for support.


    " Hm?" Levi''s brow rose.


    " I''ll run." Not even his shadow remained as Elias escaped.


    " Haha! I don''t even hate him for that!" Levi threw his head back.


    A short distance away.


    " Huff!" Sweat slid down Elias'' face.


    A blurry figure appeared before him.


    " You can''t run from me." The back of Levi''s foot sunk into his side.


    Crack!


    The prince rolled across the ground.


    " Ack! Uggg!" He clutched his side with one arm while supporting his weight with the other.


    " Damned if you do, damned if you don''t..." He muttered.


    " Hey, can you point me to an ice house? I think it''s supposed to be here somewhere." Elias looked up.


    " Never been there, sorry." Levi walked up.


    " Figures. Then give regards to my elder sister for me." Elias said.


    " I don''t know your sister, though." Levi tilted his head.


    " Heh heh! You can do it right now. I mean, don''t you feel her coming?" Elias looked through the corner of his eye.


    " Oh?" Levi Levi looked up.


    Boom!!


    An overpowering force blasted him, along with everything behind him away.


    " How are you?" Anastasia''s fan clicked shut.


    " Nothing serious." Elias stood with a groan.


    " Here," She tossed a pouch.


    " Siii." Elias sucked in a breath as his brows furrowed.


    " That was an overpowering greeting. Literally. " A shadow appeared in the dust.


    " Apologies. I do not take kindly to persons who attack my siblings." The fan was flicked open.


    " It does not please me either when they still draw breath." She opened her eyes.


    " I can understand. It pisses me off just thinking about how some people who pushed me around are still alive." Levi closed his eyes as he sighed.


    " But really. Given how weak he is, I could have killed him hundreds of times by now." He dragged the tip of his sword through the dirt.


    "...Are you saying that you spared his life?" Anastasia fanned lightly.


    " No, I was just about to kill him. You interrupted me." Levi grinned.


    " ..." She swept her fan as a large mass of wind shot out.


    "..." Levi''s leg swept through the air. The attack was redirected, plowing anything in its path.


    " Second whirlwind; Void cleaving saber." Turbulent winds gathered in the sky.


    '' How will I fare against a skill from someone this powerful.?'' Levi''s watched the creation of the giant one-handed saber.


    " Stop." The frills on her shoulder were crumpled as Elias said.


    "..." Anastasia''s brow rose.


    " I will deal with him on my own," He said.


    " It''s cute how you say things so confidently with buckling knees. You are injured, don''t forget it." She looked through the corner of her eye while turning.


    The saber dissipated.


    " Don''t nag." Elias scratched his head.


    " Huh?" He found that Levi had vanished.


    '' That wind saber must have drawn a lot of attention. I thought I''d play around for a little, but I should take care of this quickly.'' A blurry figure appeared before Anastasia.


    " You!" Elias'' sword flew, propelled by a black Qi vortex.


    Levi''s sword lowered diagonally as he swung the back of his fist, intercepting the attack from behind.


    " Don''t waste time, Elias. The young lady can''t be kept waiting." Anastasia looked down.


    " You''re a slippery pair." Levi looked.


    " Focus!" The back of Elias'' foot swept through the air.


    "...On what?" Levi''s forearm caught the attack.


    "..." Elias'' face darkened as he hopped backward.


    " Nine-ringed buddha; Slaughter prayer!" He clapped as a giant black illusionary buddha appeared behind him. With eyes closed, it clasped two hands. Two others were cupped as thumbs touched. The remaining two held out two triangular long swords.


    "..." Levi shaded his eyes as he looked up.


    " Ha!" Elias slashed barehandedly.


    "!!" Levi tucked his arms together, squatting slightly as a giant black blade swept through the air.


    His feet dug through the soil as he was pushed back.


    " I thought I would get cut." Levi ''ha-ed'' as a bead of sweat slid down his face.


    " Are you joking!" Elias threw down a sword.


    " Why are you so persistent? All I did was make you stumble a little!" He pointed.


    " I thought you forgot such trivialities?" Levi straightened himself.


    " Like anyone could forget a freak like you!" Elias'' finger shook.


    " Who''s a freak!" Levi kicked a large stone with force.


    " You! 100 merits!" Multiple longswords formed as they pointed at Levi.


    "..." Qi overflowed from his body.


    " Don''t fight." A voice sounded.


    "?!" The two looked up.


    " Young lady?!" Anastasia hid her mouth as she whipped her head.


    " Sera, It looks like even you fought." The girl glanced at the large patches in the forest.


    " Sera? Sis, Who''s this old lady?" Elias tilted his head.


    " Ol-? Elias!" Sweat trickled down Anastasia''s face.


    " You..." Levi stared wide-eyed. He could still remember clearly, that day many years ago on Desolate mountain.


    Standing on a plaque of ice, she vanished.


    Beside Anastasia was a girl with curly white locks. She wore a multilayered white and light blue robe, contrasting with Anastasia''s frilly white dress. The ornaments in her hair glistened in the sunlight.


    " Hello. We finally meet again." She waved with a smile at Levi.


    "..." A cool wave passed through his body.


    " Oh my! Your hair..." Anastasia gasped.


    " Sis-" Elias was cut off.


    " This is the benevolence sect''s young lady, Thana Wintherfrost. Don''t be rude, Elias." Anastasia stressed.


    " I got it. Nice to meet you." Elias nodded.


    "..." Anastasia cupped her forehead.


    " Likewise. Next time, try to resolve your conflict without violence, ok?" The girl smiled.


    " He was the one who- Never mind. I will keep that in mind." He nodded.


    " Good!" The girl clapped.


    " Do you want to come with me?" She turned to Levi.


    "...To where?" Levi asked.


    " Young lady! You don''t even know this person, what if..." Anastasia flicked open her fan.


    " It''s fine. To my house." The girl waved.


    " Why would you want me to go there? We don''t know each other." Levi''s eyes narrowed as his heart pounded.


    " Excellent point! Many times more likable than you, in fact." Anastasia fanned lightly.


    "..." Levi''s attention didn''t shift.


    " Then this would allow us to get to know each other." The girl landed before him.


    " For the love of-Young lady, if this conversation was recited without context..." Anastasia cupped her face.


    " You should know how your father would react if he knew what you were doing. Forget this and let us return, ok?" She said.


    " My father doesn''t have to find out, right?" The girl looked back.


    " But-" Anastasia said.


    " It''s fine." The girl said.


    " Haa, Fine. Excuse me. Come, Elias." A wind current wrapped around him.


    " Finally leaving?" He asked.


    " I wanted to introduce you, for your own good. But it seems your fortune, like your intelligence, has waned in recent times." Anastasia said.


    " What''s the point? I don''t need people''s help in dealing with my problems." Elias crossed his arms.


    " You...sigh." They shot off.


    On the ground.


    " Are you coming?" The girl turned, her arm outstretched.


    "...I can move on my own." Levi looked from her hand to her face.


    " Is that so? Keep up then." She rose to the sky.


    Levi became a blur as he followed from the ground.


    ...


    Waves splashed as they cut through the earth.


    Standing in a wide river was a giant block of blue ice.


    "...A house?" Levi squinted.


    " Come in." The girl said.


    " How am I supposed to?" Levi pointed.


    " Hehe." The girl walked towards the house.


    " I won''t fish you out when the river swallows you," Levi said.


    " No need." A bridge of ice bridge grew with her every step.


    " You don''t have to worry about water washing over." She waved Levi over.


    He walked over as water passed under, following her into the ''house''.


    ''...This girl has too much free time.'' Levi looked back at the intricately crafted ice curtain.


    " Would you like something to eat?" The girl asked.


    " Don''t bother. I don''t like cold food." Levi said.


    A rough, square table sat in the center of the room. To the side was a sink and a counter, along with a few pots and pans.


    They clunked and tinged.


    " The ice here doesn''t emit any cold." Steam rose from the bowl of stew as it was placed down.


    " Oh, you don''t need to worry about just now. I stopped the elders from going over, so no one saw you." Her hair fell as she pulled out multiple crystalline pins. The teardrop crystals clacked as she removed her hair ornament.


    " Elders? How did you stop them?" Levi watched as a chair formed behind him.


    "...I explained that it was my attendant making noise in the forest, so they left it for me to handle." A rich flavor flooded her mouth.


    " Just like that? Not likely." Levi muttered.


    " You''re not going to eat?" She looked up with full cheeks.


    "...Why did you bring me here?" Levi asked.


    "..." She chewed with a raised finger.


    " Why do you ''want to know'' me? Who are you?" Levi''s brows drew together.


    " My name is Thana, people say it''s quite a memorable name." She lightly pounded her chest.


    Light spilled into the dim room as the curtain was pulled across.


    " You''re leaving?" Thana got up.


    Levi let the curtain go.


    " I hope to see you again soon, Levi. Stay well." She waved.


    The wind in the room danced as a horizontal crack grew on the walls.


    "...Who are you?" Levi''s sword hovered over her shoulder.


    " My house! How could you! Wait, wait, wait. Wait." Thana lifted her arms.


    " I don''t like violence. Put away your sword, please." She pinched her nose bridge.


    " How do you know my name?" Levi''s brows furrowed as his eyes sharpened.


    "...The sect master is my father, r-remember? Are you going to hurt me?" She peeked through one of her eyes.


    "..." Levi stiffened.


    " See? Just put it away." Thana said.


    "..." The sword gradually lowered.


    " Phew. Look what you did." She sighed at the cracked walls.


    With a wave of her hand, they ''healed'' visibly.


    '' If it''s that easy then why the overreaction?'' Levi''s lip twitched.


    " How did you know my name?" His grip on the sword tightened.


    "...I found it out when you joined the sect." She glanced at him with furrowed brows.


    " For what reason?" Levi asked.


    "..." She looked away.


    "..." Levi''s knuckles cracked as his grip tightened.


    " After we met in the cave, I was drawn to you...I thought we could become friends! So when I saw that you came here, I asked for your name, ok?!" She balled her fists as her eyes squeezed shut.


    "..." Levi''s jaw dropped.


    " That''s called stalking! And we only met once! I admit that my heart races every time we meet, but even I wouldn''t go that far!!" His sword slid through the sheath as he pointed.


    "...Is wanting to make friends weird at my age?" Thana gasped.


    " You...You''re not getting the point." Levi pinched his nose bridge.


    " I''m leaving." Sweat slid down his face.


    '' Why am I so shaky?!'' He looked down at his hand.


    " Wait!" Thana reached out.


    " Huh?" He turned his head.


    " Are you going to come back?" She asked.


    ''...Well, I do need to keep an eye on her for a time.'' His eyes narrowed.


    " Yes." He said.


    " Okay. Until then." Her smile shone as she waved.


    " Hmm." Levi turned.


    ''...But why does my body react this way every time we meet?'' Levi''s figure blurred.


    '' It hasn''t reacted like this since the tattoo was damaged. Why is the reaction to her that strong? Why does she alone still get a reaction...'' The leaves of trees rustled as he flashed past.


    '' Is she just that strong? Or is it a powerful bloodline?'' His eyes narrowed.


    '' I''ll use this chance to find out.'' He glanced to the side.

 Chapter 130 - Meeting Years Later (2)

    Morning.


    "..." Levi overlooked the familiar scenery.


    " Junior brother! Did you wait long?" Olivia stopped for a breath.


    " Hmm? You should get around more before you get fat." Yuri came to a stop.


    " Leave me alone, ha! My fragile lungs were not made for this. The Mechanisms department should do something about this monstrous flight of stairs!" She glanced back with dread.


    " Do you want to rest for a bit?" Levi asked.


    " No. If my master shows up again, we''ll never get to leave. Let''s go!" Olivia led the way.


    They tread down the stairs.


    A few minutes later.


    " Oh, oh." Olivia looked around.


    "...What is she doing?" Levi hid his mouth as he whispered.


    " She was raised inside the sect, confined to the Inscription department for most of her life. I feel like anything outside of the sect would interest her greatly at this point." Yuri said.


    " I didn''t know about that. Also...What''s this you''re making me carry?" On Levi''s back was a large light-brown box with silver corners. Thin brown straps secured it onto his back.


    " You''ll see later, little snail." Yuri chuckled.


    "..." Levi tilted his head.


    " Hahaha!" Yuri caught up to Olivia.


    "...I will never understand that guy. Wait for me!" Levi shook his head.


    " Hurry up!" Olivia giggled as she spun.


    ...


    Later.


    " Are we there yet?" Olivia rubbed her eye as she asked.


    " Are you a child? Stop running around, its a waste of energy." Yuri wiped a drop of water from her eye.


    " Eh, what''s that?! Its tail is fluffy!" Olivia pointed with sparkling eyes.


    " A squirrel. Watch out for those little fu-Those little rodents. They''ll steal your food." Yuri shook his finger.


    " Ehhh..." Olivia drooped.


    " We can rest if you''re tired, Senior sister. There''s a city close to here so we can go afterward." Levi turned around.


    " A city? Will there be people? And food? And Sights?" Stars danced in Olivia''s eyes.


    " Yeah. Cities typically have those." Levi said deadpan.


    " No. We''re not going to any city. She''ll be tainted by people''s stupidity." Yuri held his arms behind his back.


    " And you''re the best influence." Levi rolled his eyes.


    " Y-You! Stop that! You''re starting to act like Master!" Olivia pulled his sleeve.


    " My words are final! Stop pulling!" Yuri tugged back.


    " Well, whatever. Camping could be fun too!" Her eyes lit up.


    ...


    The sky darkened slowly.


    "...Let''s stop for now." Yuri said.


    " Junior sister? Olivia? Hey." He lightly tapped her face.


    " How can you fall asleep while walking?" Yuri pinched his nose bridge.


    Olivia clutched his arm tightly while leaning her head against his shoulder. She stumbled occasionally as they walked.


    " You can put that down now." Yuri turned to Levi.


    Thump!


    " What is in here anyway?" Levi tapped the top of the box.


    " Nothing. Do you see a circle on the top there?" Yuri pointed.


    " Hmm? There is one." Levi swept his finger over it.


    " Push it," Yuri said.


    The circle sank with a click. The box split in half, then into four. The four then spread apart. Those four pieces then split in half, as those on top shot up.


    " The hell?" Levi looked up and down.


    " This is a portable room crafted by someone from the Mechanism department. Open the door so that I can get her inside." Yuri prompted.


    " You have to push that cube up." He pointed.


    Before them sat a strange structure. With a brown cloth pulled tightly and secured in place by wooden cubes at each corner, a small ''room'' was created. Levi pushed a piece of wood secured on a line, causing a piece of the cloth to peel upward.


    "..." Levi looked inside the empty room.


    " Ha." Olivia was made to hug her legs in a corner as her head tipped to the side.


    " Come in." Yuri sat.


    " I can just sleep outside." Levi shook his head.


    " If she found out that you slept outside that would be the end of me. Come in and take a seat." Yuri glanced upward.


    " Fine." Levi sat.


    " Don''t try anything, though. I sleep lightly." Yuri''s eyes narrowed.


    "..." Levi shook his head wordlessly.


    ...


    Late night.


    " Unnn...Bath...Bathroom..." Olivia swayed.


    " Ow!...Olivia?" Yuri was dragged back from wonderland as he drew his foot back.


    " Bathroom..." Olivia groaned.


    " Nnng, push down that piece of wood..." He rubbed his eyes as he pointed.


    Poof! Poof!


    She felt around.


    " Alright, alright, I''ll open it." He got up.


    Cloth peeled up, revealing a small room. Inside was a wooden toilet with lines similar to those of a puzzle.


    " Handle the rest on your own." Yuri scratched his head as he turned.


    "...And remember to move your clothes out of the way first." He said as the cloth unrolled.


    " Sigh." He lay on his side, using his hand as a pillow.


    A few minutes later.


    " Ahh! My foot! Oaf! How did you manage to kick me!" Yuri clenched his stomach.


    "..." Levi''s eyes opened and closed after a few seconds.


    ...


    Morning.


    " Ahhhh..." Olivia stretched.


    " I rested well." She yawned.


    "...Is that so? Great. Can you move your foot now then?" Levi asked. His words were stifled as a snow-white heel was pushed against his cheek.


    " Junior brother!? I''m sorry!" She hurriedly moved her leg.


    " Don''t worry about it. More importantly...Maybe you should move your arm from there. Your elbow is kinda..." Levi''s gaze shifted.


    "..." Olivia''s face reddened as she sat up.


    " What exactly happened?" She covered her face.


    '' You happened.'' Levi''s lips twitched.


    " I think he''s dead." He pointed.


    " Don''t say foolish things! Senior brother? Wake up!" She became progressively heavy-handed as she tapped his face.


    " A-Are those the rays of heaven..." Tears streamed from Yuri''s eyes.


    " You need to work on your sleeping posture." He looked up.


    " I-I''m sorry. I said I was sorry, okay!" She stomped.


    " Sleeping posture? That''s what that was?" Levi gasped.


    " You too?! Agh! Leave me alone." She covered her head as she sat in the corner.


    A few minutes later.


    " Senior sister, are you ready?" Levi peered into the room.


    " Yes. Are we leaving now?" She walked out.


    " Yes." Levi stepped back.


    " Alright. Climb up there and press the button to change it back to its portable form." Yuri pointed.


    "...Was the person who made this special in some way?" Levi''s brows furrowed.


    " And why do I have to? You do it. You''re taller than me." He said.


    " I''m also thinner than you. And after last night''s battle, I''m too weak for such things right now." Yuri crossed his arms.


    " Battle?" Olivia asked. She let out an "oh" before covering her face.


    " Oh, how tragic. If only you felt better." Levi droned.


    Qi spewed from his palm, enveloping the room. It had returned to its box form as he recalled his Qi.


    " As usual, you have more Qi then you know what to do with. Really makes one wonder who could have birthed such a gifted child." Yuri clapped.


    " GIfted? Ha! Let''s go." Levi threw the strap over his shoulder as he turned.


    " Let''s go, junior sister. Move your hands before you fall." Yuri grabbed Olivia''s arm.


    ...


    Evening.


    " Haaa. We''re finally here..." Levi slouched, his eyes red from exhaustion.


    " Is this what happens when you don''t leave your house for years? I''m never doing that again." He droned.


    " Oh! You said the town is behind this hill?" Olivia asked.


    " Yeah..." Levi dragged his feet.


    "..." She ran along the trail.


    " Don''t fall!" Yuri followed behind.


    " Sigh. How simple-minded. Looking at her now, it would really make someone wonder..." Levi caught up.


    A few minutes later.


    " Look! There are tiles everywhere! And the trees are so beautiful!" Olivia''s eyes glittered as she ogled everything in sight.


    Those walking by smiled at her enthusiasm.


    " Hey...are you the kid who left with that green-haired brat?" A voice sounded.


    " Huh? Mister? Did he come back and left without paying again?" Levi saw a familiar face. It was the burly Innkeeper, one of Adam''s many victims.


    " No, thankfully he hasn''t." The innkeeper wiped his face with his sleeve.


    " But this is a surprise! I was sure you had left for somewhere for away. You should''ve come to visit sometime!" He patted Levi''s shoulder.


    " Sii! What are you wearing under there?" He shook his hand.


    " Haha, I would have liked to, but I was locked up for two whole years." A bead of sweat slid down Levi''s face as he smiled.


    " Locked up?! What for? No, never mind. Just make sure to do better in the future. Or at least don''t get caught!" The Innkeeper threw his head back in laughter.


    " I''ll keep that in mind," Levi said.


    " Hmm? Who are these two? Friends?" The Innkeeper asked.


    " This is my senior sister and senior brother," Levi said.


    " Siblings, huh? You don''t look much alike. Hmm." He squinted while stroking his chin.


    '' I get the feeling this man is having a completely different conversation.'' Yuri thought.


    " Has anyone arrived here recently?" Levi asked.


    " Ah? Oh, there was an unfamiliar ship docked here a few days ago. It left, though." The innkeeper pointed down to the port.


    " It left?" Levi''s brows drew together.


    " Does that mean the person you wanted to meet isn''t here?" Olivia asked.


    "..." Levi glanced at her.


    " Oh, but a lady stayed behind. She''s staying at the old lady''s place that way. If you know ''er, you should have her come stay over at my place instead! The service is surely better." The man''s crossed arms restrained his puffing chest.


    " Say that first." Levi''s lip twitched.


    " Are we going to this other Inn then?" Olivia asked.


    " I suppose. Thanks for your help." Levi looked at the man.


    " No problem. Next time, bring the grass-head kid along! Preferably with money." The innkeeper grinned.


    " I-" Levi was interrupted.


    " Young-Levi!" A figure dashed.


    " Huh? A-Oaf!" Aria jumped onto him.


    " Oh my." Olivia covered her mouth.


    "..." Yuri crossed his arms.


    "...huuuuh!" Levi peeled Aria from his person as he inhaled.


    " What are you doing all of a sudden..." He gasped.


    " Why don''t you introduce us?" Yuri grinned.


    "...Ok. This is Aria. She''s looking after the old farmer who took care of me before." Levi said.


    " Oh." Olivia''s brows rose.


    " She used to pop up from time to time when I was younger, but I hadn''t expected to hear from her when I contacted the old man." Levi glanced at Aria.


    " I haven''t seen you since you were just this hight! Now you''re even slightly taller than me!" Aria measured.


    " Um...I''m introducing you..." Levi pointed.


    "...Uh-hunn." Yuri''s eyes narrowed.


    "..." Levi looked in the opposite direction.


    " So why an eyepatch?" Yuri asked.


    "...Because without it, this is visible." Aria slid her finger under the eyepatch as she lifted it.


    " You..." Yuri covered Olivia''s eyes with a dark face.


    " Little boy, you shouldn''t ask questions if you don''t want them answered," Aria said condescendingly.


    " Hey! Don''t be rude to my seniors!" Levi said.


    " Oh? Since when were you so brave? You used to cry every time I came around back then!" Aria buried Levi''s head in her chest.


    " You want to know how the old sack of bones is, right? I''ll tell you over a snack. You have no choice in the matter!" She dashed down the street with Levi in tow.


    " What are we going to do now, senior brother?" Aria peeled Yuri''s fingers from her face.


    "...What do you want to do?" Yuri asked after a short silence.


    " Sightseeing!" Olivia''s eyes glittered.


    " Ok then." Yuri chuckled as he placed a hand on her back.


    "...Oh. I forgot to tell him about the lady who''s staying here!" The innkeeper''s eyes widened.


    " Well, whatever. It''s not like this place is going to move. Not for a few more decades!" He went inside.


    ...


    Inside a simple bedroom.


    " How come you''re alone? Was it you who sent the ship back?" Levi asked.


    " I had them take it into the distance, far enough that it wouldn''t be seen. Given your circumstances, young master, I felt it was a reasonable decision." Aria bowed.


    " In any case, how are things? How are you doing?" Levi placed his foot over his knee.


    "..." Aria''s ''eyes'' widened.


    " What? Did something happen?" Levi frowned.


    " No, it''s just...Are you...really the young master?" Her brows scrunched up.


    " Who else could I be?" Levi''s brow rose.


    " But...would the young master ask something like that?" She pointed.


    "...Was I that bad? Maybe I shouldn''t come back." Levi fell back onto the bed.


    " No! That''s not what I-" Aria was cut off.


    " That was a joke. Tell me what happened, Aria." Levi''s eyes glowed.


    " Why are you being so stiff? It''s not like you. I won''t blame you, so tell me." He sat up.


    "...Yes." Aria nodded slowly.

 Chapter 131 - Meeting Years Later (3)

    In the room.


    " I''m listening." Levi''s hair draped over his shoulder.


    " I don''t know if you will believe me..." Aria lowered her head.


    " You''ll need to tell me before worrying about whether I''ll believe you." Levi pinched his nose bridge.


    " It decimated the imperial city," Aria intoned.


    " What?" Levi''s back straightened.


    " About half a year ago, it destroyed most of the city. Many people died." Aria''s eyes narrowed.


    " What did? What about the Inn? Are our people safe?" Levi asked.


    " I''m sorry. We couldn''t protect the Inn." Aria bowed.


    " Our people, did they all die?" Levi waved.


    " 20 or so." She straightened herself.


    " They were out of harm''s way since most of them were in the countries gathering mutated beasts." She said.


    " I see." Levi crossed his arms, his head lowered.


    " Wait, was Nerezza one of those twenty?" A bead of sweat slid down his face.


    "No." Aria looked to the side.


    " Phew. So what exactly caused this? Was there some kind of dispute? Did the king go on a rampage after being served cold tea or something?" Levi chuckled.


    " No. Apparently, it was a giant beast wreaking havoc," Aria said.


    " Apparently? What kind of beast?" Levi tilted his head.


    " I had left for the Half-moon belt. You may know it as the arc belt. Those who survived recalled seeing the silhouette of a huge monster through the fire and smoke." Aria said.


    " What were you doing there?" Levi''s brows tightened.


    " They mine many precious metals on the islands. I went to offer work. I also left some of our people to supervise and contact us when the products, and raw materials, we''re ready." Aria said.


    " Wait, wait a second. What products?" Levi grabbed his face.


    " Swords, knives, cutlery, and such. Things that our people will need. Since the finished products are more expensive, I chose to take back the ore and raw materials instead. Should I have gotten your permission beforehand?" Aria asked.


    " No, your judgment was sufficient." Levi massaged his temples.


    '' Why is she speaking so stiffly? It''s irksome.'' He looked up.


    " Will we trade with them regularly?" He asked.


    " Yes," Aria said.


    " Mhm. Back to this beast, then. It destroyed the Inn?... What happened to the old innkeeper?!" Levi stood.


    "...He passed away." Aria looked to the side.


    "...Damn." Levi clenched his fists.


    '' I can still clearly remember the night of the lantern festival...'' He clicked his tongue.


    " The old fool. I told him to take some time off." Levi sat.


    " What about Aron? He should have still been sleeping in there, right?" He looked up.


    " No. As his condition worsened, I had Old Gray look after him. There weren''t many other choices as when he wakes, everything catches fire. The sedatives started losing effect some time ago." Aria said.


    " Oh? Speaking of the old man, is he doing all right?" Levi grinned.


    "...More than that, the little store he works in was the only building intact for miles." Aria said.


    " Hahaha! The old thing just won''t die!" Levi threw his head back.


    " Ha, so did the monster just leave after destroying everything?" He asked.


    " The king drove it away but lost an arm. The beast injured him severely from what I''ve been told," Aria said.


    " Is he still injured?" Levi asked.


    " Some of his wounds should have healed by now, but a lost arm will never...Never grow back." Aria''s gaze drifted to his side.


    '' The king may be on his deathbed, so why are his children here pestering me?'' He stroked his chin.


    '' Then there''s that Thana. I''m not going to think about her right now.'' Levi shook his head.


    " Two years worth of information is hard to process." He said.


    " Where would such a thing come from, anyway? Ugh! And it destroyed my house. I have no place to go back to." Levi rolled on the bed.


    " The Inn has already been rebuilt," Aria said.


    " Then why didn''t you say so?!" He shot up.


    " I apologize," Aria said after a pause.


    " Where is Nerezza?" Levi pinched his nose bridge.


    " That..." Aria shrank back.


    " Hmm?" Levi tilted his head.


    " Where is she?" He asked.


    "...In...The Inn you were standing in front of." Aria gripped her sleeves.


    "..." Levi almost fell from the bed.


    " Why didn''t you say that sooner?" His brows rose with the pitch of his voice.


    "...I didn''t think it was important." Aria turned her head.


    " Something happened between you?" Levi pointed.


    " No-Never-Not at all." She said.


    " That''s the most energetic answer I''ve gotten from you all day. Something definitely happened." Levi''s elbows locked as he leaned back.


    " Nothing happened," Aria said.


    " Nothing?" Levi asked.


    " Nothing." Aria shook her head.


    " Then go get her for me." He grinned.


    "..." Aria oped her mouth only to close it multiple times.


    " Nothing happened, so it shouldn''t be a problem. Hurry back!" Levi waved as he made himself comfortable.


    Aria stiffly left the room.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "...Pft. Go wait outside for a minute, Nerezza. Please." Levi covered his mouth.


    "..." After taking a glance at Aria, she did as she was told.


    " Bwahahaha! So she rejected you? That''s what caused this stiffness?!" Levi kicked his legs as he rolled around on the bed.


    "...At first, it was like that. I was heartbroken. But that was a long time ago. I readopted this formal way of speaking to eliminate any lingering awkwardness while serving you, young master." Aria lowered her head.


    '' I feel like if the word ''awkward'' walked up and slapped you in the face you still wouldn''t know what it was.'' Levi''s brows rose.


    " I''m sorry for laughing, that was insensitive of me. But you''re misunderstanding her." He waved.


    " What do you mean?" Aria asked.


    " Whatever you think of her or what you thought back then, it''s a misunderstanding." He said.


    " I don''t understand." She stepped forward.


    " It''s not my place to tell you anything. Just know that you will understand someday, maybe sooner rather than later." Levi stood.


    "..." Aria closed her mouth soundlessly.


    " Don''t fret about it for now." He gripped her shoulders.


    "..." Aria''s head turned as Levi left for the door.


    '' What on earth could have happened during his time here?'' She thought.


    " Oh, before I forget. Did either of you see a group of divers here when you arrived?" Levi took a seat.


    " No. We saw a fairly old looking ship while sailing up to this point, but..." Aria said.


    " Did any of the people on it jump into the water? Or were any of them bare-chested?" Levi asked.


    " I can''t remember..." Aria looked at Nerezza.


    " Yes. They wore pants, but had their upper bodies exposed." She said.


    " Get those guys to work for me." Levi smiled.


    " Why? We already have people who know how to operate the ship. And if you''re looking for sailors-" Aria got cut off.


    " They do some interesting work. Who knows, if they fished the right thing out of the ocean, it could mean a huge profit." Levi said.


    " Am I to assume that this is a gamble and not an investment?" Aria asked.


    " Hmm, I guess you could say that." Levi tilted his head.


    " It seems someone took advantage of them before, so treat them well." He said.


    '' This should give them a little enthusiasm for their work.'' He smiled.


    "... We understand." The two looked at each other before saying.


    " Hmm. I''m leaving the sect in a few days for my material retrieval mission. Will you still be here a week or two from now?" He fell onto the bed.


    " You''re not coming back with us?!" Aria took a step forward.


    " Not yet." Levi looked up at the ceiling.


    '' It''s not like I need to stay but there are still a few questions I would like to get answered.'' He put his hands under his head.


    '' The demon saint refuses all the people I find for him to possess. He''s too picky. Too ugly, not enough potential, too short. I swear I will purge him from my mind if he doesn''t stop that.'' He closed his eyes.


    '' He also wanted me to find out about a ''brilliant star'' sect. But why wait until I''m this close to leaving to ask this? How troublesome.'' His eyes narrowly opened.


    " Do you need us to stay?" Aria asked.


    " It''s not that important. Even if you left, I would find some way to get where I need to go." Levi said.


    " Speaking of, Aria..." He called out.


    " Yes?"


    " Do you have my hair tie? As you can see, my head is a mess." He ran his fingers through his hair.


    " No, I didn''t bring it." Aria shook her head.


    " Is that so..." Levi exhaled.


    " But, I can do something with it if you would like?" She said.


    " Huh, sure." Levi sat up absentmindedly.


    A few minutes later.


    " Look." Aria passed over a palm-sized mirror.


    " Are men even allowed to have their hair braided?" Two loose braids hung at the sides of Levi''s face. Two smaller ones secured his combed-back hair in place behind his head.


    " Um, anyone can do whatever they want with their hair?" Aria said, unsure.


    " Hmm, then I hope people leave me alone now." Levi returned the mirror.


    "...Excuse me." Nerezza walked up.


    " Huh? What''s this?" A black bead cupped the end of the braid.


    " These beads will help your braids last longer. If not, they will become undone quickly." Nerezza placed the end of his other braid into an opening in the black bead. She then pushed in a small protrusion, securing it to the braid.


    " Oh. Feel''s kinda heavy." Levi tilted his head from side to side.


    "..." Aria smiled.


    " What?" Levi looked at her suspiciously.


    " You''ve become more handsome, young master. Have any girls confessed their undying love for you yet?" She covered her mouth as she giggled.


    "..."


    '' I think I liked her better when she didn''t say much.'' Levi thought.


    " No one is brave enough to approach me. My eyes are intimidating." Levi smiled.


    " What?! Who said that! Your eyes are one of your best features!" Aria stomped.


    '' Her shell was so strong, but as soon as he appears...'' Nerezza lowered her gaze.


    " Another thing. Can either of you communicate through mental energy?" Levi asked.


    " Communicate..."


    " Through mental energy?"


    The two questioned.


    " I have heard about it from my family, but I was never taught how," Nerezza said.


    " It''s not hard. Just think about the words you want to convey while sending out your mental energy." Levi said.


    " It works like this; when you think of words, the frequency of your mental energy changes. And when the mental energy flame of the intended person receives it, the information flows into their mind." He continued.


    " You both should learn how to do it. Practice together or something." Levi smiled.


    "... We understand." The two looked at each other.


    " Hmm. It was nice seeing you two." Levi got up. He walked to the door.


    " Wait! Young master!" Aria called out suddenly.


    " Huh?" Levi turned around.


    " I almost forgot to tell you. The house on Desolate mountain..." She paused.


    " Did someone come out?" Levi''s eyes brightened.


    "... The guards posted there reported that it was empty." She said.


    " What!?" Levi''s brows furrowed.


    " After switching out, one of them noticed that the black lines on the walls had vanished. That they could get so close to it was proof enough, but when they entered, it was empty." Aria said.


    " Not a thing was inside..." She repeated.


    '' It wouldn''t be impossible to survive without food or water for a while if one practiced the blood evolution skill. If your blood energy level was high enough, your body could live off of the large store of nutrition-rich blood until it ran out.'' Levi thought.


    '' This would cause your blood energy level to drop, but if it was so high that you could live in seclusion for years...'' He clenched his fist.


    " Tsk! When did this happen?" He asked.


    " About a year and a half ago..." Aria said.


    " Then why I told?!" Levi asked.


    " I-" Aria got cut off.


    " At the time you had already come to this continent, and there was no way to contact you. And even if there was, you wouldn''t have wanted anyone to contact you. Also, since we had yet to find a protective shield for the ship, we couldn''t have come here to tell you. She is not to blame." Nerezza took a step forward.


    "..." Levi looked at her.


    " Think calmly and you will come to the same conclusion." She said.


    "... Everything she said is right. I was venting my frustration on you. I''m sorry." Levi bowed.


    " Y-Young mas-" Aria got cut off.


    " If he can''t even apologize after making a mistake, he will think everyone but himself is at fault." Nerezza stopped Aria.


    " Even so! You shouldn''t talk down to him like that! You-"


    " Enough, don''t fight," Levi said.


    " I will see you in a few days." He looked back.


    ''...'' He glanced at Nerezza before walking through the door.


    ...


    At the other inn.


    " Senior sister is asleep?" Levi asked.


    " She fell asleep after dragging me around for hours. Who knew a small port town could be so large?" Yuri sighed as his shoulders fell.


    "Also... What happened to your head?" He looked up.


    " Oh, this was..." Levi glanced to the side.


    " Nevermind. Just go to sleep. We''re leaving tomorrow." Yuri turned over in the bed.


    " Where am I supposed to sleep?" Levi asked.


    " How should I know? Go rest your head on that lady''s lap or something. In any case, shut up." Yuri hugged a pillow.


    After a pause, Levi sat on the floor with his back against the wall.


    He fell asleep not long after.

 Chapter 132 - Descending The Mountain

    A few days later.


    "So that means that you won''t be able to visit me..." Thana''s brows crumpled.


    "I won''t be here, so no," Levi glanced at her.


    "Then why not come in and have something to eat?" Her eyes lit up.


    "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn''t waste time trying to find me." Levi shook his head.


    '' ''Cause I don''t need you making things more complicated for me.'' He thought.


    "..." He turned.


    "Wait, you meant that you''re leaving right now?!" She grabbed his sleeve.


    "I just said that..." Levi''s brows furrowed in confusion.


    "Hold on a second!" She ran into the ''house''.


    "..."


    "Here!" She held out her hand.


    "What''s this?" In her hand was a rectangular yellow slab with a piece of wood sticking out the bottom.


    "Frozen fruit juice. You can use the notches to break pieces off." Levi held the thin stick.


    "Oh." He nodded.


    "Be safe." Thana waved with a smile.


    "... Thanks." Levi''s figure flashed.


    ...


    Hallway.


    "I see no reason not to eat it." Levi looked it over before saying.


    Clang!


    "She gave her all freezing this, it seems." He took the steel-like piece of ice from his mouth.


    "Huh?" His surroundings changed. He found himself on a dirt path surrounded by tall grass.


    ''Illusion?'' The grass rustled in the wind as Levi followed a trail of blood.


    Leaning against a large rock at an intersection was a youth with shining golden eyes. He clutched his bloodied stomach as warmth escaped his body with every breath.


    "I-huff-shouldn''t have left the sect." The youth muttered.


    "I wish that I could have at least blamed someone for my current state, Ha." His lips curled up.


    "..." Levi looked around.


    "I should have known that without senior sister and senior brother-" The scene squiggled as he swept his arm.


    "What should I make of this?" Levi walked into the class.


    "What do you think?" A youth tilted his head up.


    "A desperate effort to keep your love from leaving? I''m flattered by your feelings, really, but I still have to leave." Levi gripped his chest as he shook his head.


    "You-" Laughter erupted in the room.


    "Hehe, I didn''t know you loved him to that degree." A girl giggled.


    "Oh? Let me tell you. It''s quite a bother. I try to explain that both of us are men, but-Sigh." Levi shook his head.


    "Damn you!!" The youth rushed down as he threw out a blazing fist.


    "Why are you getting angry? As the person in your illusion, I should be the only one upset." Levi slapped his fist away before grabbing his face.


    "Mmm!" The youth punched Levi''s face.


    "Unnn!!" His hand twitched from pain.


    "Let me show you something in return." Levi''s eyes narrowed.


    "Huh?" The youth found himself surrounded by black fog.


    "Wha-What? What d-do you want?" He stepped backward as two giant golden eyes looked down at him in silence.


    "W-Wait, wait!" Black fog snaked toward him, hissing and rattling.


    Thin but long snakes wrapped around him. With a single bite, his arm blackened as it fell off.


    "Ahhh! Get off!!" He flailed. Their forms scattered before gathering once more.


    "Ah-" The youth''s eyes widened as long fangs sunk into his throat.


    In the classroom.


    ''I''ll stop here.'' Levi loosened his grip.


    "Ah-Ah! AHHH!!" The youth stumbled backward as he gradually recalled what happened. He clawed at his neck madly.


    "Hey, are you ok?" Someone asked.


    "Ah! Ahh!" The youth clutched his head.


    ''I didn''t teach you that for you to use it like this.'' The demon saint''s voice sounded.


    ''I stopped before anything irreversible happened.'' Levi said.


    ''I told you before. Pulling another person''s mind into your inner world is dangerous, even if it''s not a deep level.'' The demon saint said.


    ''Even a cornered mouse can bite a cat. And you''re not even the cat in this scenario. Your mental energy capacity grew in these two years, but don''t be overconfident.'' He said.


    ''I''ll keep that in mind.'' Levi said.


    "What did you do to him? You went too far..." Someone turned to Levi.


    "And forcing someone to see themselves dying is not too far." He looked up before walking to his desk.


    "But still..." the person muttered.


    "Oh. I''m glad they''re still here." Levi reached inside the desk.


    "Wha-Is that the pouch of pills he won? He left them in there?! If only I knew!" A boy jumped up from his seat.


    "What are you getting excited about? What would you have done if you knew?" A girl crossed her arms.


    "What do you mean what? I would have-"


    "You would have taken them? Are you sure? Look at him, then tell me." The girl pointed.


    "..." The youth''s face scrunched up, but he didn''t say a word.


    " That''s what I thought. See how that guy sitting beside him shrinks away every time he gets close? I wouldn''t touch his stuff if I were you." The girl said.


    "Well, I won''t be here for a while. Which I''m sure will make a lot of you happy." Levi walked down.


    "But don''t get too comfortable without me." He looked back.


    "Enough nonsense! Get lost!"


    "Yeah! And I''ve been meaning to ask. What is up with your hair? Just cut it if you''re not taking it seriously!" Someone slapped the table.


    "But, isn''t it cute?" A girl covered her mouth as she giggled.


    "Yeah. He''s less intimidating like this, too." Another said.


    "It''s still a problem, huh." Levi scratched his head as he left.


    "Sir Levi." He bit his tongue.


    "Huh?" Levi turned, his brows furrowed.


    "I wish you luck on your endeavor." Silas nodded.


    "Uh, yeah, Thanks..." Levi nodded.


    "..." Silas went back to his seat with a nod.


    "Sir?" Levi mumbled as he walked through the hall.


    Pok!


    "... It''s sweet." He broke off a piece of the ice.


    A fuzzy warmth spread through his body.


    ...


    At the top of the mountain.


    "I''m free! Finally, freedom." Levi raised his arms with a smile.


    "Well, no point staying here." He began walking.


    "Junior brother..." He heard a voice in the distance.


    "... I have a bad feeling." Levi''s face darkened as he walked as fast, but as quietly as he could.


    "Why are you using this exit? There''s a path close to our department that leads down the mountain." A female voice sounded.


    "This is where I came up the first time. If I went down a different way, I would get lost." A boy said while humming.


    "Oh. I forgot how hopeless you were..." The girl cupped her reddened face.


    "But, senior brother, you will get lost either way..." Another girl said.


    "..." The boy tripped.


    "Hey! Even if it''s the truth, watch your words!" Another girl said threateningly.


    "Why are you being so loud? Can''t you see you''re annoying big brother?" Another girl clicked her tongue.


    "''Big brother''? WHO ARE YOU ADDRESSING?" A girl''s jaw dropped.


    "How desperate are you?!" She crossed her arms.


    "Can you not be so loud, old lady? Big brother likes the way I call him, isn''t that so? See? it''s saggy hags like you who should screw off." The girl sneered.


    "Sag-You!!"


    "Big brother?" The girl turned.


    ''That was his voice for sure! No mistake! I''m not getting caught up with him this time!'' Levi thought.


    "Hey! Is that you?" Adam shouted.


    "Big brother? Who is that?" The girl followed Adam''s gaze.


    "W-Who? You''ve got the wrong person." Levi stiffened before continuing.


    "Wait a minute!" Adam started running.


    ''As if I would listen to you!'' Levi thought.


    "Cloud step-Oaf!" Something crashed into him from behind.


    "It is you! What was your name? Lean? Uhh... Lenny? Hmm. Lilith?" Adam tilted his head.


    "... Get off me!" Levi shook him off.


    ''What the hell?! How did he catch me? How?!'' Levi ground his teeth.


    "Who is he, junior brother? Your f-friend?" A girl looked Levi up and down.


    "Couldn''t be..." Another one said.


    "..." The entourage scrutinized him.


    "What?" Levi''s brows furrowed.


    "Ugh..." Groans of discontent erupted.


    "I-I just can''t..."


    " His eyes... Ugh, his fingernails!"


    "And-Pft-What''s with his hair! He should cut it."


    They whispered among themselves.


    ''Are these people mentally challenged?'' Levi closed his mouth.


    "Hey, how come you''re leaving?" Adam asked.


    "... I''m doing material retrieval." Levi looked away as he crossed his arms.


    ''He''ll never give up if I don''t tell him.'' He thought.


    "You too?" Adam''s grabbed his shoulder.


    "Too?! You?!" It took a few seconds to sink in.


    "Yeah. I''m doing the material retrieval assignment." Adam smiled.


    "Why don''t we-"


    "No. No, never! Again!" Levi slapped his hand away. He pointed as he walked away.


    "He did not just!"


    "Humph. Junior brother doesn''t need someone like that to drag him down."


    ''See? These people had their common sense sucked up by that jinx. I''m not about to have that happen to me.'' Levi sped up.


    "See you, seniors. Juniors!" Adam waved as he walked off.


    "Good luck, junior brother!"


    "I''ll wait for you, so make sure you come back!"


    "I love you, big brother!"


    "..." The crowd went silent as their gazes shifted.


    ''This desperate... Sigh.'' They shook their heads.


    ...


    On the trail.


    "..." Levi walked in silence. The crunching of fallen leaves sounded behind him.


    "Stop following me!" He turned around.


    "I''m not. This is the only track!" Adam waved as he looked to the side.


    ...


    Night.


    A fire crackled.


    "... Why are you still here?" Levi''s eyelid twitched.


    "It''s just a coincidence. With outside this dark, I can''t complete my assignment." Adam sat on a large rock.


    "I can understand that. What I don''t understand is why you''re eating my food." Levi ground his teeth.


    "Oh. I was hung-"


    "I never asked!" Levi threw a piece of cooked meat to the ground.


    ...


    Evening.


    "..." Levi ground his teeth as he walked.


    "Are you telling me that this is also a coincidence? HM?" He closed his eyes.


    "Just a coincidence." Adam whistled.


    "..." A vein on his face burst.


    Levi walked up the hill in silence.


    "... That Innkeeper wanted to see you." He said.


    "Oh. Ok." Adam nodded.


    '' You don''t even know who I''m talking about.'' Levi shook his head.


    "Isn''t that him right there? Hey!" Adam waved.


    ''... Is this guy smarter than I give him credit for?'' Levi''s eyes widened briefly.


    "... And why is he always outside? Does he not have work to do?" Levi pinched his nose bridge.


    "O-Oh..." The man glanced at Adam before refocusing.


    Close to the port was an encirclement of people. Along with the occasional blue flashes.


    "Huh? Why is a crowd down there?" Levi waked up.


    "Two martial artists are fighting." The man said without a shift in his gaze.


    "Huh. Do they all want to die? Standing around a fight like that is just begging for death." Levi crossed his arms.


    "I would love to have a better look, but I have to stay here in case anyone wants anything..." The man craned his neck.


    "Did you not hear what I just said? Don''t you have more important things to do anyway?!" Levi glanced at him.


    "Shh shh." The man raised a finger.


    "Huh? What are you-"


    "Young master!" Aria huffed as she ran, her brows furrowed.


    "H-Huh? What did you call me?" Levi craned his neck as he cupped his ear.


    "Come with me!" She grabbed his arm as she ran.


    "Wha-What are you doing? You will get me exposed!" Levi shouted in a whisper.


    "Nerezza!" Aria looked at him.


    "What? What about her?" Levi''s brows furrowed.


    "She''s fighting!" Only then did Levi notice a crusty line of dry blood at the corner of her lips.


    "What? You''re hurt?" He asked.


    "I only got in the way. Help her, young master! He has a speer! I''m afraid..." Beads of sweat slid down Aria''s face.


    "Calm down." Levi gripped her shoulders.


    "But-" Aria got cut off.


    "I''ll take care of it." Levi smiled. A mist-like Qi swept the crowd apart, creating a narrow path.


    "Cough!" The end of a thick pole slammed into Nerezza''s stomach, causing her to vomit a mouthful of blood.


    "..." Levi stopped in his tracks.


    "Young master?" Aria reached out, her face pale.


    "Stop resisting. Did you think you could beat me because of this arm? Huh?!" With a spin of the speer, the end of the pole knocked Nerezza''s head to the side with a ''thunk''.


    "..." She panted as she picked herself up from the ground.


    "...L-Levi?" Levi''s presence drew her attention.


    "..." Levi''s pupils were paper thin as his eyes shone.


    Veins squirmed on the backs of his hands as he stood deathly still.


    "What are you doing?"

 Chapter 133 - not a chapter

Gotta take some time to build up some chapters. sorry.


    see ya then.

 Chapter 134 - Coincidences

    "What are you doing?" Veins bulged as Levi tilted his head.


    "Who are you supposed to be? Screw off." The youth had a head of short night-blue hair. Under his eyes were thick dark circles.


    "... Don''t get involved." Nerezza said.


    "..."


    "Come over here. I''ve had enough of your tantrum, we''re going home." The youth said.


    "I. Am not. Going anywhere. With. You." Crackling lightning crawled across Nerezza''s shoulder.


    "... All! All of you!" The youth''s teeth ground audibly.


    "All of you think you can walk all over me because of this arm, huh? Heh. heh heh, hahaha!" He grabbed his hair.


    "... Stop being difficult. Return with me."


    "Nerezza. Who is he?" Levi asked.


    "Levi, you shouldn''t-"


    The crowd froze.


    "Speak." A dark mist obscured Levi''s figure.


    "H-He..."


    The mist dissipated.


    Everyone scattered.


    "He is my cousin. Prince of the Ethereal dragon kingdom of the divine dragon continent." Nerezza looked at the ground.


    ''What was that?!''


    "His name is Leo-"


    A slap sounded.


    "Enough of this!" The youth gripped her collar.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    "Let go! I will not go! Not even my bones will go back to that place!" Lightning crawled onto his arm.


    "You!!!" The youth lifted his spear.


    "You''re making yourself a nuisance." A low voice sounded behind him.


    "!!!" A powerful shock passed through his bones as a blade slammed into the metallic rod.


    Boom!!


    Pieces of wood fell slower than others. They amassed themselves into the pile of the demolished building.


    "You shouldn''t get involved in this..." Nerezza massaged her trembling hand.


    "Who the fuck are you!!!!" Broken boards thunked as they hit the ground.


    "I am angry," Levi said.


    "Do you know why?" His knuckles cracked with a tightened grip.


    "I-I don''t..." Nerezza said.


    "Die!!" The youth thrust, sending out many afterimages.


    "..." The sword hung over Levi''s shoulder.


    "Humph!" Veins squirmed on his face.


    Qi spewed, enveloping his blade, swelling and bursting like a river. The whip-like stream of Qi coiled as Levi struck down.


    "Aghhh!!" The youth''s frame quivered as he slammed into the ground.


    An earthy scent spread through the air as chunks of the destroyed port hit the water''s surface. Water rushed to fill the long void which split the ocean.


    "Prince of a kingdom?" A blurred figure towered over the youth.


    "Am I supposed to care?!" Dirt exploded into the sky as a heavy foot slammed into the ground.


    "Cough!!" The rod sat between the youth''s chest and Levi''s foot.


    "Let me tell you something." Levi''s shoulders shifted.


    "..." A layer of moisture covered Aria''s face.


    "Do you see her? She is one of the few people who I consider family. My family."


    The youth shifted the spear as he rolled from under the pressure.


    A metallic clash sounded as the spearhead slammed into Levi''s chest.


    "What-Cough!-are you!!" Blood dripped from his chin as the youth stood shakily.


    "In this world, there are countless people you could have tread on as you wanted. Instead, you went out of your way to injure a person equivalent to myself. How are you going to make up for this?"


    "So what if I touch your family!? I dare you to kill me! My celestial lightning clan will never let you or your stinking ''family'' rest in peace!!" Blue Qi swirled around the spearhead as he drew it back.


    Levi''s arm blurred.


    Vibrations rippled through the rod as his sword cracked.


    Boom!


    A wall rocked back and forth, steading itself after the forceful invasion.


    The blade of the sword shattered as it fell. Levi grabbed at his chest as he gripped a golden handle.


    The black blade shone as he lifted it overhead. The surface squirmed as large tentacle-like forms grew into the sky.


    "Should I fear your threats?" Levi asked.


    "This time will not be like previous incidents. If you think people will chase meˇ­ That those close to me will get dragged out and killed..."


    A geyser of Qi shot into the sky.


    "Then you should get those thoughts out of your head." Veins bulged on his arm.


    "I know I have yet to achieve my life''s goal. But this level of strength is more than enough to decimate one kingdom." A pulsing gold glow drew attention to Levi''s widened eyes.


    "Hey! Wait, wait, wait a minute!!" Adam waved.


    "Move."


    "Listen! If you attack like that, it will blast this town to heaven!" Adam said.


    People peeked out from behind trees and buildings.


    "So what?" Levi''s brows furrowed.


    "Huuhh?! Well, I mean... Uh..." Adam scratched his head.


    "... Do I look in a joking mood to you?!" Levi''s knuckles cracked.


    "That unimportant waste of life threatened me. My family. Threatened them dead!"


    " I WILL kill him and if you get in my way, you can go to hell together!!" The geyser of Qi surged.


    "But wait! These people haven''t done anything! Look, see?! That lady is still alive, right? Then there''s no reason to-" Adam got cut off.


    "Don''t talk as if you know anything! Still alive? And tomorrow? And the day after that?! How many years it took to find people I could call my own, do you know?! Can your little brain even comprehend?!" The geyser surged.


    "... How am I supposed to know?! I don''t!" Adam''s brows furrowed.


    "Then stop wasting my time!"


    "But these people have done nothing to you! You want the people you care about to be safe, but so do they!" Veins lined the backs of Adam''s fists.


    "If you''re like this, what makes you any different from him? HUH?! You''re being a hypocrite!" He pointed.


    "... Die for all I care." The pillar of Qi swelled further as Levi''s muscles tightened.


    "AH!" Adam ruffled his hair.


    "Levi..."


    "... What are you doing?" Nerezza stood behind him.


    "I''m... going back with him." She removed her hand from his back.


    "What?" Levi looked over his shoulder.


    "..." Nerezza''s mental energy flame dissipated.


    "Humph." He drew the Qi pillar back into his body.


    The black vine-like structures shrank as a thin, shiny black blade reappeared. It vanished from before his chest.


    "... Young master?"


    "You choose to go back with him?" Levi clenched his fists.


    "Yes." Nerezza looked at the ground.


    "Young master!" Aria''s eyes squeezed shut.


    "... Humph." A haggard figure drew Levi''s attention. He reached out.


    "!!" Upright, the youth flew toward him.


    "One of my most capable persons is being taken from me. How will you compensate me?" Levi looked into his eyes.


    "Your people? Her? Ha! She has the blood of royalty flowing through her veins. She will never be a person of yours." He couldn''t move.


    "Are you going to compensate me?"


    "No."


    "You won''t compensate me?"


    "Are you deaf?!" Spittle flew.


    "..." Levi''s gaze shifted.


    "This will do." A spear flew into his outstretched hand.


    "Don''t screw around! Put that down!!" Veins squirmed on his neck as he struggled.


    "Dead men have no use for spears."


    "Absurd!? WHY ARE YOU PATTING MY CHEST!!" The youth wiggled his head.


    Levi pulled out an embroidered silver pouch from his robes. Inside were fluffy white pills.


    "Return them to me right now!!!" Veins streaked across the youth''s eyes as his body loosened.


    "I''m going to let you go."


    "Return those!!!" He punched out.


    "Do you know how easy it is to squeeze your head from your body?" Levi caught his throat.


    "Don''t tempt me." His grip tightened.


    The youth stumbled back.


    "Cough!! Cough!" He clutched his throat.


    "We''re leaving. Right now!!" Nerezza received a baleful glare.


    "Yes." She stood beside him.


    "... Wait." Levi said.


    "What?" The youth growled.


    "You still haven''t compensated me for injuring her." He glanced at Aria.


    "... I have nothing else." Blood dripped from the youth''s clenched fists.


    "... That will do." Levi pointed.


    "?"


    "Ahhhhhhh!!!" The youth dropped to his knees as blood splattered.


    "My arm! My arm! I swear I''ll kill you! I swear it!!" Tears slid down his face.


    "Get lost." Levi turned.


    "I swear!!"


    Between Nerezza''s fingers was a wooden token.


    "Hey!!" Aria''s brows crumpled.


    "... I''ll be back."


    With the token shattered, a blue light enveloped the two as they shot across the sky.


    "..." Aria''s knees gave way as she covered her face.


    "... Eat this." Levi lifted her chin. He took out a pill from an embroidered black pouch, pulling her from the ground.


    "I''ll get her back."


    "..." Aria brushed his hand away as she walked off.


    "Aria!"


    "..." She stopped.


    "Ready the ships."


    Only her steps sounded in the silence.


    "Uhh-Epp..." Adam covered his mouth.


    Wind rippled out as Levi''s figure flashed.


    "... If he didn''t hate me before, he does now, for sure. Ha, haha." Adam scratched his head.


    "Hooray..."


    "Hooray!!"


    "Huh?" Adam turned.


    He got surrounded in but a few seconds.


    "Kid, we were wrong about you!"


    "You saved everyone!"


    "You can stay at my Inn! For free!"


    "H-Huh..." Adam stepped back.


    "Huh, but that red hair..."


    "Yeah, I know. I thought he was such a nice kid, but who knew?"


    "Wait, wait. He''s not like that!" Adam interjected.


    "Don''t defend him. He was about to kill everyone here, including you."


    "Yeah! He doesn''t deserve any defending!"


    "Listen to me! He''s prickly at times, but I don''t think he would have really done it! That''s how he always is!"


    "But we all saw it! That black thing! The pillar of water!"


    "Do you think we could have survived that? We are just normal people!"


    "Humph! Cultivators! Our lives hold no meaning in their minds!"


    "B-But, he didn''t kill anyone... "


    "Hey, I thought I saw him a few days ago! Was I mistaken?"


    "No, he was here! We even talked for a bit in front of the inn. But I didn''t know that human life meant nothing to him. And he seemed like a likable kid, too..."


    ''They aren''t even listening to me anymore...'' Adam''s jaw became slack.


    "It seems our judgment was wrong. That red-haired kid is no good. We did this green one wrong the way we treated him."


    "Well, I wouldn''t say our judgment was wrong. It was just that the little snake had hidden his true face."


    "I can''t refute that!"


    Adam shook his head. He walked down to what was now merely a cliff, dangling his legs as he sat.


    "The waves shouldn''t wet my feet, right?" He craned his neck.


    "Sigh." He watched the slowly drifting clouds.


    ...


    Late evening.


    "... What are you doing?"


    "... Oh. You''re back." Adam''s eyes cracked open.


    "Ahhh. I fell asleep. I was watching the clouds." He stretched.


    "The ships have arrived."


    ''... She still won''t look at me.''


    "Are you going to continue following me?" Levi''s pupils thinned.


    "Who''s following you?!" Adam sprung to his feet.


    Levi''s eyes narrowed.


    "It''s just a coincidence, all right? All a coincidence." He crossed his arms while nodding.


    "... Humph."


    "Hahaha!"


    "Heh."


    Aria briefly lifted her head.


    A bell rang in the distance as a ship cut through the ocean.


    The sun hid below the horizon as darkness cloaked the sky.

 Chapter 135 - The Oceans Beauty

    Morning.


    Salt was in the air as waves crashed.


    "Ahh!"


    "Hmm?" Levi opened his eyes.


    "Water splashed on me!" Adam pinched his robes.


    "Then move away from there." He got back to cultivation.


    Creak!


    "Huh?"


    "..." The Qi vortex swirled.


    " Ahhh!!"


    "What now!?" Levi recalled his Qi.


    "This stained my robesˇ­" Adam looked up.


    "This ship is old. Stop screwing around if you don''t want to drown." Levi said, grabbing his collar. He pulled him up.


    "Thanks. I hope they don''t get too mad about this hole..." Adam scratched his head.


    "How did you manage this? I''m heavier than you. You don''t see me punching holes." Levi looked down through the shoe-sized hole.


    "How should I know? Ah, my leg is sore."


    "That''s dried moss on your robe, it shouldn''t stain. Stop moving about so much." Eyes closed, Levi crossed his legs.


    "Haaah. You need to do something other than cultivate. It''s already been a day since we left port!"


    "..."


    "Where is this ship going, anyway?" Adam squatted.


    "... Divine Dragon Continent." Qi burst from Levi''s body.


    "Divine dragon continent? Oh..." Stroking his chin, he nodded.


    "Divine dragon continent... Ah, haha. Can''t be. Right?" He flicked a bead of sweat.


    "It can''t be the home of the prince who''s arm you exploded, right?!"


    "Are you going to keep talking?"


    "He swore to kill you! Why are you sticking out your neck?" A hand gripped Levi''s shoulder.


    "With a crippled arm and little strength to speak of, do you think he''s capable? Stop overreacting. It''s not like I told you to come along, anyway." Levi removed the arm as he stood.


    "Then what about his family? Isn''t he royalty? Even if he didn''t beg for them to beat you up, with him missing an arm, he won''t even need to ask!" Adam ruffled his hair.


    "It doesn''t matter." Levi watched the crashing waves.


    "You''re not listening... Don''t tell me you''re going there just to-"


    "I have reasons for going there. Regardless of what happened a few days ago. Worst case, I''ll kill everyone there."


    "... Fine, fine! But don''t come crying to me when people come out for blood! I can barely take care of myself as it is." Adam scratched his dry head.


    "Can you even do that much?"


    "Another thing. I''ve been wanting to ask for a while now, but I didn''t want to annoy you..." Adam looked up.


    "When have you ever not annoyed me?"


    "Why... Is that ship so far? Isn''t that lady on it? Why didn''t we ride on that one instead?!" He pointed.


    A red and gold treasure ship sat a distance away. Both sailed in the same direction and even at the same speed.


    Levi''s gaze shifted.


    "Uhhhh!" Someone burst out from the ocean, gasping.


    Minutes later.


    "Huff! Huff!" He hit the ground with a splat, as the knotted rope knocked on the ship''s side.


    "Did something happen?"


    "Th-Huff-There''s a Thunder shark down there! I got in the way, so..."


    "You''re new?"


    "You can tell? Oh. It''s obvious, huh? My skin is still light, after all." Water dripped his eyes.


    "This isn''t the first time I had to surface first either. Sometimes the cold-"


    "Uhhh!!"


    "Climb! Hurry!"


    "Don''t rush me! Stop pushing!"


    "Hey! Grab the knots, otherwise-"


    Splash!


    ...


    "Huff! Huff! Don''t you know how to climb a rope!"


    "Isn''t it because you guys kept pushing?!"


    "Oh! I''m so sorry! There was a giant fish with razor teeth right behind us. But I''m sorry for pushing! Next time, I''ll make sure to form an orderly line behind you, ok? Won''t happen again!!"


    "Do that! Staying calm in certain instances might save your dog life!"


    "What?!"


    "Can you all shut up?! I can''t warm up with all of your noise!"


    Silence filled the air.


    "Did you find anything?"


    The man looked up.


    ''... It''s this boy that woman talked about, right?''


    ''He''s that brat who said something about working for him that time a couple years ago. If I knew he was so well connected... Humph. I have to remember that these privileged people aren''t trustworthy.''


    "No. It''s just a stretch of coral reef." He shook his head.


    "Oh." Levi''s eyes narrowed.


    "Yea-"


    "What''s that?"


    "..." The man almost broke his elbows.


    "A reef... of corral?" His brow rose.


    "..."


    "I want to see what it looks like." Levi''s foot landed on the side of the ship.


    "Wait! There''s a huge thunder shark-"


    Boom!


    The ship creaked, rocking.


    "Is it the shark? That dammed persistent...!"


    "Do you think it will hold this time? What do you want to bet?"


    "... Is this really the time?"


    "Don''t be a wet rag!"


    "I bet my dinner. It''s going to hold!"


    "I hope you all understand that if it doesn''t hold, all of us will become the ''dinner''."


    "Mister Zale?"


    "I thought you cut out that gambling? Do all of you want the only thing keeping this ship together by a hair''s breadth to fail us right now?" Zale asked.


    They kept silent.


    "What''s a Thunder shark?" Levi retracted his leg.


    "It''ll paralyze you with electricity before chomping down. That it is both strong and fast doesn''t help either. And this one seems experienced. Who know''s how long that thing has been living down there for? One shock from him and you''ll be ready to eat." Zale shook his head.


    "You shouldn''t go into the water right now. If we leave it alone, it should leave on its own."


    "..."


    "Another thing. If you jump into the water like that, you''ll drown. And if you don''t, you''ll freeze to death. Unless something eats you first." He said.


    "Is that so? How do all of you manage to survive then?" Levi sat with a sigh.


    "... We use a certain method. Though it does nothing about the external danger."


    Levi''s diligence prompted him to continue.


    "By substituting air with Qi, you can stay submerged, while also protecting your most vital organs from the cold."


    "Is that all?" Levi crossed his arms.


    "Don''t underestimate the ocean, boy. Any excess Qi can be used to cloak the rest of your body, but don''t believe you will have any to spare. It''s only when you feel the chill biting at your bones that you grasp the seriousness of protecting only the most vital of organs." Zale''s brows crumpled.


    "..."


    "Not to mention the number of monsters hiding down there, those with subpar Qi can lose fingers or limbs, or even die. So if you aren''t taking things seriously, stay on deck until we get to your destination. It''s my responsibility to ensure the survival of my people. I don''t have time to protect either of you."


    "I understand."


    "... You channel Qi through your veins. This allows you to go without breathing for as long as you have Qi to channel. Control is important, otherwise, you could injure yourself. Knowing your limits is important if you want to survive."


    Levi nodded.


    "At the same time, you have to circulate Qi through your body, surrounding your heart and lungs among other things. Oh, and your crotch. Unless you don''t want that thing anymore. In which case, be my guest." Zale''s gaze lowered.


    "Thanks for your concern. I''ll be keeping it."


    "We''ll see. Have you ever experienced frostbite? When things want to fall off, what can you do about it? Vanny, show him your hand!" He turned, shouting.


    "Hmm." Washed-out hair fell over a man''s shoulder as he leaned forward.


    Missing from his left hand was half of his ring finger and the tip of his index. Gone from his right hand was his thumb.


    "This is what can happen when you''re lucky. Still willing to go?" Zale waved.


    "Yes."


    "Don''t blame me if you lose a finger or die then. I swear I will never understand you people..." Zale brushed pass the rotting curtain into the cabin.


    The other men went about their own business, leaving only two sitting.


    "That went from losing fingers to losing your life. Are you sure you want to do this?" Adam sighed.


    "Do you believe I will lose my limbs?" Levi tilted his head.


    "... Forget I said anything. Nice weather we''re having, huh?" A bright blue came into view as Adam fell back.


    Minutes later.


    "We''re going back down now. Are you coming?" Vanny stopped.


    "Yes." Levi got up.


    "Stay close to us. If you stray, don''t expect anyone to save you." Vale hit the water with a splash.


    "Yahoo!"


    "Humph."


    One after the other, the men jumped, dove or fell into the water.


    "You''re coming too?" Levi looked to the side.


    "I won''t have anything to do up here if you all leave."


    Adam got swallowed by the ocean.


    Levi shook his head as he jumped.


    ...


    As his vision adjusted, Levi beheld quite a sight.


    The glistening beams of light anointed him.


    Air bubbles escaped from his open mouth.


    "!!" Adam tapped him, pointing to his forehead.


    Levi''s mental energy flame bloomed.


    ''Get down here or go back up to the ship!'' Zale''s voice sounded.


    ''We''re sorry!'' Adam pulled Levi.


    ''... Can you even swim?'' Levi observed.


    ''Can you?'' Adam asked.


    ''No. But I don''t need to.'' They both descended.


    ''... Don''t get separated. Earlier was a thunder shark. Who knows if some ancient monster will show up next.'' Zale waved.


    Levi nodded.


    As they descended further, it became darker and colder.


    ...


    ''... Do you want to go back up?'' Zale looked back.


    ''No. I''m not cold.'' Levi shook his head.


    ''I can see that, but he''s turning blue.''


    ''Huh? What are you doing...'' Levi rolled his eyes as he reached out.


    ''... Siii! Ahhhh! Warm! So warm!''


    ''Why did you even come? Do you want me to send you back?''


    ''No! I would rather die from freezing than boredom.'' Adam''s brows furrowed.


    ''Ok then.''


    ''Ah! Q-Q-Qi p-p-please! I-I-I''m going to die!''


    ''I thought that wasn''t a problem?'' Levi tilted his head.


    ''F-Figure of speech! Just a figure of speech!!''


    ''Hmm.''


    ''Ahhhhh... ''


    ''You wanted to see a coral reef, right? Watch.'' Zale stopped beside Levi.


    The men formed a wide circle. Their mental energy rippled out, rebounding as they clashed. The repelled waves shot downward, widening as they gradually dissipated.


    As the waves became stronger, the color brightened. Light radiated, making visible what lay on the ocean floor.


    Levi inaudibly worded something as bubbles rose.


    Corals of varying sizes and colors stretched across the uneven ocean floor, almost like a paved road.


    His gaze shifted.


    Sliding through the water smoothly was a school of long, silver fish.


    ''Ugh.'' Levi''s face darkened.


    Ambling down the coral road were spider-like, shelled creatures.


    ''Huh? What''s this squishy thing?''


    ''Let that go!'' Zale whipped his head.


    ''Uhh-''


    ''That thing will sting you to death!''


    ''What! Why didn''t you just say so!''


    Adam tossed the soft creature as it floated out slowly.


    ''I told you not to do anything on your own! Do you want to die?!''


    ''How was I supposed to know that something like that was so dangerous!?


    ''That''s why you shouldn''t touch anything!''


    ''...''


    ''Boss!''


    ''Huh? Did you find anything?''


    ''No! It''s just natural rock under this coral.''


    ''Oh, then let''s move to another spot.''


    ''Boss, I think we should surface for a bit. The cold is invading our bodies faster. Has to be because we didn''t rest long-''


    ''Ahhh! That thing is back!''


    ''What? Calm down and speak!'' Zale grabbed the man.


    A muffled crackling boomed as a prickly sensation passed through the water.


    ''The shark!!''


    ''Get back to the surface!!''


    They franticly swam upward.


    A giant body glided through the darkness calmly. With a swish of its tail, the monster shot through the water.


    ''Ahhhhh!''


    ''Shut up and swim!''


    ''Ah... '' A current dragged someone away as a large silhouette dwarfed him.


    ''You?!'' Levi stopped.


    ''Damn it! Forget about him and go!!'' Zale roared.


    ''Sorry!'' Adam clasped his hands.


    ''Shit! I won''t make it! If I attack... Screw it!'' A wave of mental energy rippled through the water.


    ''Come to me! I''ve got something for you to eat!'' Zale roared.


    Uwe!


    A large tunnel opened beside Adam. Rows of jagged teeth lined the shark''s jaw. Equally spaced ridges sat on the roof of its mouth.


    ''I told you to come here!!!'' Bubbles escaped from Zale''s mouth. Pale white Qi gathered around his fists as a cloud of blood expanded before his face.


    ''Tsk!'' Levi reached out as he dragged his hand through the water.


    ''Woah!'' Adam slid through the water as a force pulled him.


    Zale heaved while clutching his mouth.


    Levi''s gaze shifted.


    ''If you could control water, you should have done it from the beginning! I thought that thing would suck up my little life!'' Adam grappled his clothes.


    ''Hold on to him, I''m sending both of you to the surface.'' A limp Zale got pushed into Adam''s hands.


    ''Ok! Let''s go?-''


    ''You''re not coming?!'' They rose speedily.


    ''No.''


    A shadow flitted through the darkness.


    ''I want to see if this is a worthwhile bloodline to take.''

 Chapter 136 - Waving Hidden Colors

    Adam rose swiftly.


    ''You''re not coming?!''


    ''No.'' Levi shifted his gaze.


    A shadow flitted through the darkness.


    ''I want to see if this bloodline is worth taking.''


    ''What''s the point? You''re not going to use it.'' A voice sounded.


    ''This isn''t the time-''


    Forcefully swinging its tail, the shark slid through the water with a mouthful of black lightning. Many bolts slithered out, accompanied by a high pitched wailing.


    Levi twitched rapidly, losing active control of his body.


    Clank!


    ''... That can''t hurt me. Not being able to move is dangerous, though.''


    A solid object obstructed the jaws, prying them open slowly.


    ''You should take better care of your teeth.''


    Black, jagged "v" shaped cracks lined every tooth.


    ''Good to know that these teeth can break my skin.'' He examined his body.


    Uweuweuwe!


    ''Don''t even try-'' Levi''s spasming body shot out.


    ''That tingling is annoying.'' He repeatedly clenched his twitching fist.


    The colossal vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a weak current.


    ''... Dammit.''


    The cold ocean water swept over his skin as Levi shifted and turned.


    Unbeknownst to him, the skilled predator flashed in and out of the deep darkness.


    Uweuwe!


    "?!"


    ''That sound is giving you away.''


    With its fins heavily coated in lightning, the shark sped.


    ''Don''t think you can hit me with that now!'' Levi reached out.


    It turned and slammed its fin towards him.


    The force knocked him through the water.


    Sizzle!


    ''Siii! That hurt?!''


    ''What? That hurt you?''


    ''I can still feel pain, you know! It burned! That had to be a huge concentration of power for me to feel it.'' A barely discernable pink hue deepened on his palms.


    ''Then what are you screaming for?! Suck it up!''


    ''Let me concentrate, old demon! I don''t have time for this!''


    ''Humph. Scared of some mindless creature. This day''s generation...'' The demon saint grumbled.


    Levi shifted continuously, sweeping his limbs through the water.


    ''Come out!''


    His muscles tightened.


    Swish!


    He spun.


    Bloop! Bloop!


    His gaze shifted.


    Uwe!


    ''Not this time!'' Levi grabbed for the fin once again.


    Crackle!


    ''Burn through this Qi if you can!''


    He got dragged along.


    ''This is for earlier.'' With his foot on the giant''s body, he pulled at the fin.


    The shark''s swimming became erratic and harsh. It bent its body, attempting to chomp Levi.


    Rip!


    ''Can you smell your blood? Hold on a minute, let me tear this off!''


    Crackle!


    Lightning passed through its gills, coating both fins as they sped.


    The shark made a sharp turn, flinging Levi from it''s partly torn fin.


    ''That slippery bastard! But it''s no use anymore.'' He steadied himself.


    ...


    Water splashed and flew on the ocean''s surface.


    "Hurry and climb up! That thing doesn''t give up!"


    "I-Puh! I can''t! Not while carrying him!" Adam spat seawater.


    "What?! How did?!? Grab onto the rope! I''ll pull you both up!!"


    "Ok!"


    "It may be slippery, but try to climb the side! That would help!"


    "Umu!!" Adam nodded heavily. He threw Zale onto his back and gripped the knotted rope.


    The man pulled them up.


    On the ship.


    "What the hell is happening now? What happened to the boss!? And where is the other kid?!"


    "Uh, Levi stayed behind. As for what happened to him, I don''t know..."


    "What do you mean ''stayed behind''?! Does he want to die!?" The man turned.


    "Wait! Forget about him for now! If you don''t help HIM, he''s going to die!" Adam gripped his arm.


    "Let go! You don''t know that kid''s background! If the people backing him find out he kicked the bucket under our watch, all us are dead anyway!"


    "Tsk! Listen to me! Levi is can deal with the shark! Are you going to abandon your boss when he needs you the most?!" Adam pointed.


    "... What would a kid like you know?!" The man pulled his arm away.


    He knelt beside Zale.


    "... Humph." Adam sat.


    The ship rocked as a wave crashed.


    ...


    Underwater.


    ''... Did it leave?''


    Levi Looked around.


    It was as silent as oceanly possible.


    ''... If it was so easily scared, it would have left after seeing how I got away unscathed from that lightning attack.''


    ''But if not, why hasn''t it come back?!''


    With a shift of his gaze, the shark, decked out in black lightning, drifted into view. With most of its body shrouded in a few protective layers, it stared Levi down.


    ''That looks serious.'' Levi narrowed his eyes.


    ''Are you going to go all out?''


    Levi''s brows crumpled as he trailed the creature with his eyes.


    The shark shot out, causing rings of air to ripple out from its force.


    Lightning clung to its jaws, ripped apart as it opened its mouth. Its gills flapped open before a densely packed lightning bolt snaked towards Levi.


    Bzzz!


    His body convulsed.


    The shark shot toward him at full speed.


    ''I know your tricks.'' Levi lifted his head.


    Noticing this, the shark changed course.


    ''Going all out? It''s only a fish.''


    Levi shot upward as he dragged his hand through the water.


    ''You''re too strong to drag out with blood control? Then I have more than enough QI to use instead!''


    The two figures sped rapidly towards the surface.


    ...


    The ocean''s surface bulged as a tongue of water shot out.


    "I can understand why you want to get out, but that''s not going to work."


    A large ball of water sat stationary in the air.


    The shark thrashed as lightning crackled, forcing out ripples and waves below.


    "I''ve learned my lesson. Your lightning is painful, even though it can''t damage my body." Levi crossed his legs.


    "So I''ll keep you in this Qi for my own safety. Although, you might find it... Difficult to breathe."


    Water splashed and crashed as the shark thrashed.


    "... Seeing as this isn''t water."


    It struggled harder with each passing second.


    "..." Levi sighed.


    He reached out and clenched his fist.


    Qi flooded the creature''s body, and in a few minutes, it was dead.


    ''What''s the point in making it suffer? It''s not like the thing murdered my father or something...''


    "It just so happened that we ended up fighting. It''s only natural that those who lose, die." He tilted his head back.


    ...


    On the ship.


    In the distance, a person walked leisurely.


    "... I-IS HE WALKING ON WATER?"


    "I meanˇ­ Walking on water isn''t anything unheard of, but still!!"


    "Are you kidding me?!"


    "... So he is fine." Adam muttered.


    "T-Th-That can''t be... "


    "... Sh-Shark? That shark?!"


    "Is he still alive?" Levi jumped.


    "Y-Yeah..."


    "Is that dead?" Adam pointed.


    "Mhmm. Feed him one of these." Levi took out a silver pouch.


    "Ok." Adam dropped a white pill into Zale''s mouth.


    "... Uhhhhhh!!" He gasped.


    ''Hmm. Healing pills.''


    "Cough! Cough! Th-Cough! What happened to the shark!"


    "Ow, ow, ow! There! Look there!" Adam pointed.


    "What the fu?!" Zale rolled over.


    "How are you feeling?"


    "I''m fi... I''m fine? The water should have crushed me, though?" Zale patted himself down.


    "Oh. That''s good. What were you doing anyway? Aren''t you supposed to be an expert? C''mon."


    "..." Zale''s face lips twitched.


    "Really?" Levi glanced at him.


    "What? I''m just telling the truth." Adam sighed.


    Levi shook his head.


    ''When dealing with him, you just have to let some things go.''


    "What? So it was your fault?!"


    "Huh?" Sweat slid down Adam''s face.


    "The boss told you two to stay in line. Now, because you didn''t listen, he almost died!"


    "Uh, you''re stretching my clothes. Let go?" Adam gripped the man''s arms.


    "Is this a joke to you? Huh?!"


    Levi turned to the ball of Qi.


    "Let the kid go. I went to help him on my own." Zale waved.


    "I knew the pressure would kill me and still did what I did. If I died, I could only blame myself."


    "Boss, you''re too nice! That''s why people take advantage of you!"


    "A current dragged me away-"


    "I don''t want to hear your excuses. Get off this ship!" He shoved.


    "There''s no place to get off at thoughˇ­" Adam stepped back.


    "They say the ocean is the cradle of life. If you meet the mother of all down there and beg, she might grant you new life. But who could say for sure?" He grabbed Adam''s collar.


    "So you admit that you''re trying to kill me!"


    "... That''s enough."


    Levi stood on a bridge of Qi as he examined the shark.


    "... Did you just say something?"


    "..."


    "You two... If it wasn''t for your immaturity, none of this would have happened!"


    "Hey man, that''s enough..."


    "Zale is already all right, ok?"


    "Furthermore... Anyway, just end it at that."


    The men said.


    "So all of you think this is fine? Hmm?! What about next time? If these two stay, how long will we last? Both of them should just get lost now."


    "Sam!!"


    "Boss?"


    "Didn''t you hear that everything is already over?" Zale''s brows crumpled.


    "... What''s with all of you?! Why are you so willing to harbor these dangerous brats?! Ya know what... I''ll do it on my own. Get off. Right now!"


    "Uh-Um... " Adam''s feet dragged across the wood.


    "Hey, can you stop this nonsense?"


    "... You got something to say, boy?" Sam ground his teeth.


    "You''re not impressing anyone with this behavior. If you didn''t notice, this commotion is doing less to hide your flaws than you think." Levi looked down.


    "Stop talking nonsense! Get down here!"


    "No thanks. Instead, let''s talk about you. Where were you while everyone ran for their lives?" Levi crossed his legs. A chair formed behind him as he sat.


    "Tsk! If you won''t come down willingly, I''ll make you!" Qi exploded from Sam''s body.


    "Sam! Hey! What are you doing?!"


    "You can''t be doing that on the ship!"


    "You''re taking this further than it needs to go!"


    "Shut up!" Sam snapped.


    "Careful with that." Levi narrowed his eyes.


    "Humph! Too late now!"


    A stream of Qi slammed into a wall of water.


    "As I was saying. You were one of the first to surface earlier. Isn''t that so?" Levi propped his head.


    "..."


    "And I''m sure before you left, you saw how that stray current dragged him away. But unlike Mister Zale, you didn''t think twice about leaving that fool behind."


    "Hey!"


    "... What are you trying to say!?" Veins bulged on Sam''s neck.


    "As for me, I pushed anyone still in the water to the surface. I even stayed behind to kill this thing."


    "Your point?!"


    "You felt guilty when you saw Zale''s condition. You got angry. Mostly at yourself. The thought of being shunned for your cowardly behavior led to you formulating potential solutions to an imaginary problem." Levi nodded.


    "Enough of your nonsense. GET OFF THE SHIP!"


    "But out of all of your options, instead of apologizing or even vowing, silently or otherwise, to do better next time, you tried pinning the blame on others. Trying to focus resentment onto the two of us. Killing two birds with one stone, right? This way, you could also get rid of two thorns in your side." He opened his eyes slightly.


    "You''re quite the scheming attention seeker, I must say. We haven''t been on this ship for more than two days, and yet you''re jealous of the little attention we received? But you know what they say about jealousy. It clouds the judgment of even fools."


    "..." Teeth ground audibly.


    "Ha! Even though people tried to stop you multiple times, you continued with this nonsense. I''m sure, as friends, they tried to stop you from doing something. A pity, though."


    "Y-You-"


    "Don''t bother with that now. What good will it do? You''ve already shown your true colors. Do you think anyone would keep calling themselves a friend of yours? That they would lower themselves to that? Pft." Levi''s eyes arched.


    "You-You..." Sam lowered an outstretched arm.


    "Wait! That''s not what...! That''s not..."


    "Your anger must be overflowing." Levi smiled.


    "..." Sam''s knuckles cracked from the strain.


    "But, have a look at this dead fish before anything else." Levi pointed upward.


    "... Are you saying I can''t touch you?" Sam lowered his head.


    "You can try. It''ll just not turn out too good for you."


    "Expect nothing more from me. Sparing you earlier was already the most I could do."


    "Fine, then!!"


    Levi''s gaze sharpened.


    Blood sprayed onto the ship''s deck.


    ''... He wants to screw me over whatever the means, huh?''


    Blood dripped from Sam''s mouth as he lay keeled over, a fist on his chest.


    "Help him!!"


    "What is wrong with you?!"


    "I-I don''t think he''s... His condition might be worse than Boss Zale''s was..."


    "But he only survived because..."


    "... I''m ashamed to ask, but, do you... Would you be willing to give us another one of those pills?!" A man walked out. His still wet hair stuck together as his tanned skin shone under the sunlight.


    "..."


    "W-We''ll pay you back! It''s just, right now-"


    Levi landed before him.


    "Here." A pill slipped from between his fingers.


    "Thank you! Thank you!"


    After rushing to his side, the pill landed in Sam''s mouth.


    "... I just hope that you all will learn how to listen."


    "We-Er... We''re sorry about Sam. He usually isn''t like this..."


    Levi turned.


    ''... This ''favor'' should make them more willing to co-operate. I hope that you all are worth my trouble.''


    The man scratched his head.


    ..


    Standing on the water bridge, Levi held up a clenched fist. He lifted his other fist before pulling the two apart.


    Flowing from the shark''s mouth was a stream of crimson.


    A ball of blood just a little smaller than the ball of Qi floated, littered with black spots.


    ''Separate the bloodline from the blood...''


    Black veins stretched across the blood as a black blob separated from it.


    "Now, to separate the ''bloodline energy'' from the ''pureblood''."


    A pale white liquid seeped from the black blob.


    ''This "bloodline energy" is what fuels the changes when I absorb a bloodline. It''s what make''s them grow. I can now freely change my body with any bloodline, but only after its initial growth. Since this is what feeds bloodlines'' growth the first time, it''s important to keep it too.''


    ''As for how this benefits these beasts...''


    ''Anyway, as long as it is in a closed container, the energy and nutrients inside will survive.'' A porcelain bottle appeared in his hand as the white liquid poured in.


    ''As for the ''pureblood'', as the blueprint of bloodlines, if it''s not frozen after being separated from the bloodline energy, it will die. Even then, it can only live for a while. Sigh.''


    Levi grabbed at his chest as a small wooden bottle appeared in his hand.


    "The old man inscribed these bottles himself, so there shouldn''t be anything to worry about but... Ha, If he knew I doubted his inscriptions, with his temper, who knows what he would do." He smiled.


    Levi sighed.


    "I only have a few more of these left..." He shook his head as the bottle vanished from his fingers.


    "As for this-" His touch sent ripples throughout the large ball of blood.


    "It should raise my blood energy level by at least one."


    Air whipped out as Levi absorbed the blood.


    His eyes shone as his body quivered.


    "If I don''t contain the explosions, this illusion will scatter. Although everyone on this ship aside from that guy works for me, I still can''t let them see too much. Especially him. He''s already seen things he shouldn''t have."


    "... But this is too similar to holding in a sneeze." Levi shook his head.


    With a wave of his hand, the pale gray surrounding him vanished.


    "Hmm?"


    "Hahaha! You! You''re funny!"


    "Here! Have a drink!"


    "I don''t drink, sorry."


    "Huh? Why not? You''re old enough, right?"


    "I am. It''s just that after years of drinking, my kidneys aren''t too good." Adam sighed.


    "Ahahahaaha! You''re not even 20, what years of drinking!!"


    "This kid is just too funny." Someone shook their head.


    "Ha, haha... Drunk people..." Adam rubbed his sore back.


    Levi shook his head. After lowering, he walked in the opposite direction of the group and sat.


    ''I don''t understand him.''


    ...


    A few days later.


    A mass of vegetation grew as time passed.


    "That is the Divine Dragon Continent?" Adam pointed.


    "Mhmm."


    "Come to think of it, I need to find a type of wood. Do you think I could buy it? Or am I supposed to chop down a tree myself?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Oh."


    ''Who was it making a fuss about coming here again? Come to think of it, my ass.''


    "Hmm?" Levi trailed the eye-catching ship with his gaze.


    A few minutes later.


    They were now close enough to make out the forms of trees.


    ''Divine Dragon Continent.''


    His gaze once again swept the ship.


    ''I wonder, did Nerezza succeed?''

 Chapter 137 - "Divine" Wilderness (1)

    "C''mon! C''mon!"


    "We''ll crash!?"


    "What''s screaming going to do!? Stop standing around!!"


    Aria overlooked the ocean from the bow.


    A ship, black from aged moss, entered her sights as she lifted her head.


    After a few minutes, the two sat parallel, one dwarfed by the other.


    "Get a plank."


    "Right away!"


    "No need."


    Water bridged the ships as two figures crossed.


    "Aria." Levi stood before her.


    She bowed at the waist while crossing her chest.


    "... Have this ship circle around to the ''claws of the dragon''. I''m going directly to the wilderness."


    "May I ask what I am to look for?"


    "I''m not sending you to find anything. Just to take him there." Levi pointed.


    "Hello!" Adam waved.


    "I understand." Aria maintained her bow.


    "... Are they all new?" Levi observed the hardworking crew.


    "Yes."


    "Bring them here for me." He waved.


    ''You won''t even look at me? Tsk.''


    "As you wish."


    A few minutes later, a group of over 400 people gathered before them.


    "Are they enough to run this ship properly? I remember the auctioneer mentioning something about it needing a minimum of a thousand people."


    "They''ve learned to manage." Aria stood to his side.


    "Hmm..."


    Levi''s mental energy flame danced as thumbnail-sized beads formed and shot into the heads of the people.


    "What..."


    "What was that? Who are those two..."


    "Hey! What did you do!?"


    "Miss Aria?!"


    "They''ve not had the chance to come to know you as you weren''t present for a time. Please don''t hold it against them, young master."


    Levi kept silent.


    "'' Young master''?"


    "Wait, the only person lady Aria would refer to as ''young master'' is... our employer?!"


    "So it was a boy?"


    "Shh! Watch what you say! Haven''t you heard about him back at the inn? Throughout the imperial city?!"


    "You all better watch yourselves. We''re just a few fishermen and some odd people. You could say this young master holds our lives in his hands. If you get on his bad side..."


    "Yeah. I hear you. But what was it he just put into our heads?"


    They all went silent.


    "... You work for me. You''re my people. Just remember that and everything will always be ok." Levi smiled brightly.


    "Look at that smile..."


    "There''s no way he''s a bad person!"


    "Oh! Young master! I will follow you anywhere!"


    "You shameless-!! Stop trying to curry favor!"


    "What?! I dare you to say it again!"


    "You guys are missing the point. He still hasn''t explained what he just did! We''ll drop dead in the next second for all we know!" Someone pointed.


    They paused.


    "Shut up, you bastard!"


    "Can''t you see we''re praising our saintly young master here?!"


    "Stop trying to throw dirt on gold!"


    "Ahhh! What''s wrong with you all!? I''m just speaking-AHHH!"


    "That''s the problem!!"


    "Don''t speak anymore!!"


    They bombarded the man with punches as kicks, but he had no tears to cry.


    ''Mom always said people hated hearing the truth. I should have listened. I miss you, mom!!''


    "They''re cultivators?"


    "A few. Most are common people from the continent''s countries." Aria said.


    "Hmm."


    "In any case, get them to circle around. You''re coming with me." Levi went back to the ship.


    "... I understand." Her brows creased slightly.


    ...


    Minutes later.


    "Bye!!" Adam waved.


    On the diver''s ship.


    "You want us to land there? There are no settlements or anything on this side of the continent. Aside from..." Zale crossed his arms as sweat slid down his face.


    "I know. Just do it."


    "Miss..." He turned to Aria.


    ''Can you explain to this kid what I''m saying? ''Cause he''s not listening to me!''


    "Do as he says."


    "... Fine." Shaking his head, Zale walked to the rest of the men.


    "I hope you know what you''re doing. The stories I''ve heard about the savages hiding there..." He shook his head.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not making you come with us."


    "If a God came down and begged me, I still wouldn''t go there. I like my crappy life" Zale walked off.


    They began operating the ship.


    ...


    "If... I may ask, young master."


    "What is it?" Levi glanced back.


    "Why did we come here? Because of your ''retrieval mission'' or..." Aria gripped her hands tightly behind her back.


    "... You''ll find out soon." Levi looked down at the ocean.


    "Yes... Of course." Her fingers loosened as she lowered her head.


    ...


    The ship slowly came to a halt.


    From the surrounding water protruded sharp rock columns of varying sizes.


    "We can''t go any further," Zale said.


    "That''s fine."


    Levi looked over the thick forest before him. Something drew his gaze as he backtracked.


    "We''re getting off. Wait for us here for a few days. If we aren''t back by then, circle around to where our ship is and stay with the others."


    A wall of water snaked toward the land.


    "Come." Levi held out his hand.


    Aria hesitantly accepted.


    "Careful."


    The Qi squished and shifted under her feet.


    She squeezed Levi''s hand as they walked.


    "... Wait for you? And what if you never come back? Wait here for the rest of my life?" Zale shook his head.


    ...


    A foot landed on the sharp rocky land, accompanied by a gritting sound.


    "Thank you." Aria released Levi''s hand.


    "... Stay close to me. If you''re too far, I might not be able to protect you in time." He brushed aside the branch of a small tree aside.


    "I understand."


    The two walked single-file, shifting the random leaves and branches as they went.


    "... This place has a lot of different plants." Levi looked back.


    After the initial thick layer of greenery, they stood in a quiet forest. The trees rustled occasionally, and a light earthy scent floated through the air. Littering the forest floor was a variety of wild plants, along with patches of moss and grass.


    "Young master..." Aria tapped his shoulder.


    "Huh?" Levi turned.


    "... I heard that aside from the savages, there was an abundance of both Qi dwelling herbs and mutated beasts. I guess that was true."


    Standing a short distance from the two was a muscular reddish-brown wolf. It bared its sharp teeth, panting as saliva dripped from its mouth.


    "So what kind of bloodline does this thing have?"


    "Young master... It could be dangerous..." Aria gripped his shoulder tightly.


    "I thought you didn''t care what happened to me anymore." Levi advanced.


    "That''s not..." Aria lowered her hand.


    "What can you do?"


    He stepped on a twig, causing a sharp cracking sound.


    The wolf ballooned instantly, blasting Levi with air as it roared. The sound echoed. Trees shook as it looked down at him with pale gray eyes.


    "Down... boy!"


    Levi dragged his clenched fist down. The wolf slammed into the ground, stirring up a dust cloud.


    "All you can do is grow bigger? Even I can do that."


    The wolf shrunk as it whimpered.


    "... Is something wrong?"


    Aria stood trembling in place.


    "N-No."


    "Should I let you go? There''s no point in killing you, seeing as your bloodline isn''t useful to me." Levi stroked the shiny fur.


    "Wait... A mutated beast of this level would sell for a good price." Aria stumbled over.


    "Hmm."


    "Then you keep it." He picked it up by the back of its neck, pushing it toward Aria.


    "I''ll put it up for sale as soon as possible."


    Levi retracted his arm.


    "No. I meant for you to form a contract with it. Or at least keep it as a pet."


    "Huh? But this mutated beast is worth a lot! Plus, I don''t need a contracted beast." She shook her head.


    "You said this wolf is strong?"


    "Yes?"


    "That''s good, then. Keep it. I don''t want situations like what happened a few days ago happening again anytime soon. Although this wolf isn''t much, it could at least help you escape if something happened."


    "... I''m sorry. I understand how weak I am. I''ll do as you sayˇ­" She lowered her head.


    "I wouldn''t say that you''re weak. Other people are just strong." Levi paused. " I, myself, am not the strongest person alive either."


    Aria kept silent.


    "Sigh. Make the contract." He lay the wolf on the ground.


    "Grrr..." It growled as Aria reached out.


    "Behave."


    Whimpering, the wolf lowered its head meekly.


    "Go ahead." Levi gestured.


    Aria nodded.


    She flinched as a cold blade slid across her skin. A red bead dripped from her finger onto the stuck-out tongue. A pattern similar to that of a snowflake spread out briefly before disappearing.


    It looked at Levi and whimpered. Biting down on its tongue, drops of blood fell onto Aria''s palm. A similar red pattern spread before vanishing.


    The wolf looked at Aria. As if sighing, it lowered its head.


    "She''s your owner now. Be good-" Levi released his mental energy. "or I''ll skin you."


    The wolf trembled.


    "Young master..." Aria watched the creature snuggling desperately, at a loss.


    "I just ''invited'' it to my inner world for a talk."


    "Inner world?"


    "Anyway, pick it up and let''s continue. I''ll change it back to its original size later."


    Aria picked up the cub-sized wolf carefully, a sparkle in her eye.


    With the adorable creature nestled in her arms, the two continued.


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "Young master, where are we going, exactly?"


    Levi glanced at her.


    "To meet the people living here."


    "But, the only people living here are..."


    "Exactly so."


    ''Her mood seems to have improved?'' Levi glanced back.


    "I just hope you know what you''re doing." She muttered.


    "... Something''s coming." Levi stopped.


    "Where?" Aria looked around.


    "From the sky."


    Just after he finished, the loud cry of a bird reverberated.


    "More than one?" His frown deepened.


    Five man-sized hawks swooped down from different angles.


    "There should only be one, though? What is this?" A red dome formed around the two. Small whirlpools swirled at different points.


    They stuck their feet out as they swooped down, slamming into the blood shield. It absorbed their momentum without a ripple, bringing them to a rough stop.


    The Hawks were being sucked into the whirlpools, feet first.


    Frantically struggling, they wiggled free and flew away.


    "Are they gone?" Aria asked.


    "No." As the blood shield collapsed, a bright red ring formed behind Levi. It hovered behind him, leaning forward at an angle. With a paper-thin blade, a red sword formed before him.


    Gripping the sword, Levi waited.


    The birds plummeted at a pace that caused the wind to whistle.


    "Young master?" Aria watched warily.


    Levi stood still.


    "Young master!"


    "Found you!" Levi turned and slashed down.


    A towering tree split down the middle. The leaves rustled as it fell with a resounding boom.


    With a splat, the hawk fell. The remaining four dissipated into black smoke.


    "They... were fake?" Aria looked around.


    "Didn''t I say it? There was only the presence of one creature." Levi reached for the two halves.


    He did what he needed to do with the blood.


    Levi looked at the bisected tree and the destruction following it, then at the sword.


    He held out a tensed arm and slashed down.


    Shatter!


    "Why did you do that?! The bleeding won''t stop!"


    "It''s fine. I didn''t think this thing would work so well. It shattered in the end, but to cut me almost to the bone..." He faced the ring as blood poured from his arm.


    "How is that fine?!" Aria grabbed the bleeding arm. "Blood clotting pill! I have a few, just-"


    "You''re overreacting." The blood climbed up his arm and back into the wound which, itself, then healed without a trace. The ring collapsed into a red mist as it dissipated.


    ''That one sword used at least 20 of my 34 levels of blood energy, though.''


    "Young master..."


    "Hmm?" Levi looked up.


    "Don''t hurt yourself. Even though it might not seem important to you... just... don''t do it."


    "... Fine. But how else am I supposed to test certain things?"


    "I''m sure there are materials you can use to test weapons. Next time, just let me prepare some for you."


    "Then what if I want some now?"


    "Right now...?" The question stumped Aria.


    "Ha. Let''s go. Before something else appears."


    "Ok." She nodded.


    They started moving again.


    A few minutes later, Levi stopped Aria. They stood on a small slope before a narrow path.


    "What''s wrong? Is it another mutated beast?" Aria stroked the wolf''s head.


    "..." Levi shook his head.


    "I just hope that they''re easier to deal with, ''cause they''re a lot of them."


    Levi could both hear and feel a subtle rumbling.


    A figure flashed, leaving a glittering trail in its wake.


    "Get back!" Levi grabbed Aria, shielding her with himself.


    With crystal-white antlers crowning their heads, deer galloped majestically down the path, resembling a bursting river. As they flew by, a white substance grew on the leaves and grass close to them.


    After all of them had passed, Levi released Aria as the little wolf gasped.


    "What were they... I''ve never seen mutated beasts like that before." Aria''s ''eyes'' shone.


    A whitened leaf shattered with a crunch as Levi pinched it.


    "Is this... salt?"


    "ˇ­ Let''s go. Who knows what else will show up here." He turned to Aria.


    "Ok." She nodded heavily.


    They once again set off.


    ''Those deer... could they turn me to salt, too?''


    ''... We''ve already run into 3 unknown species of mutated beasts.''


    ''As for these so-called savages. Living in a place like this... I''ll have to deal with them carefully.''


    Levi''s pupils slimmed as a gold glow rippled throughout his eyes.

 Chapter 138 - "Divine" Wilderness (2)

    Birds cried out indifferently as insects lively chirped.


    Fallen leaves crunched and rustled under pairs of feet. A natural and light scent permeated the cool air.


    Aria stopped.


    "What is it?"


    "No, it''s just... that plant..." She pointed.


    A small bush with long leaves sat at the side of a younger, slimmer tree. Three red, translucent orbs sat atop the stems protruding from the bush.


    "What about it?"


    "If I''m not mistaken... that''s a ''red jewel'' bush! Eating the fruit can help with cultivation, while the plant, with other herbs, can make the ''Scar Eating'' flame pill." Her gaze went back and forth between the herb and Levi.


    "... If you want it so badly, go get it." Levi waved.


    "Thank you!"


    As she stopped before the herb, a sharp hissing sounded.


    "Oh..."


    Aria froze. Dangling from the branch above her was a long green snake covered in leaf patterns.


    Levi''s face darkened.


    A light rustling sounded as the snake darted, its mouth opened to the extreme as venom dripped.


    "I dare you!!" Qi whipped as Levi swung his arm.


    "Pill killer." Purple flames burst from Aria''s palm, blasting the snake, tree branch and all.


    "... You-did you get hurt?" Levi hesitantly walked over.


    "Don''t you think too little of me, young master? I still have this little guy, too, right?" The wolf closed its eyes as she rubbed its head.


    A bead of sweat slid down Levi''s face.


    "... If that wolf transforms now, it''ll get bigger than its original size, at most. But that aside, what did you just do?"


    "Really?" Her ''eyes'' widened.


    To the side, the snake spat its tongue, glaring. After a moment''s hesitation, it scattered into a pile of dry leaves.


    "... Did old Lin teach you that?"


    "He only taught me how to make pills. As for this fire, it''s something I came up with when a pill refining failed." She shook her head as a tiny flame dance on her palm.


    "Then, did you use this against that prince?"


    "No, I..." She lowered her head.


    "... Don''t worry about it. Let''s go." Levi turned.


    ...


    "Huh? Why did you stop?"


    "I-I think I might be seeing things..." Aria''s fixed her gaze to something on the side.


    "What?" Levi followed her gaze.


    Under an exposed tree root, a troop of thumb-sized mushrooms sat.


    "Mushrooms?" He glanced at her.


    "... Completely white, aside from the black freckles on top. These are ''Spirit soothing'' peppered mushrooms!" Aria''s voice wavered.


    "Hmm..."


    A stream of Qi with a flat end shot out. It dug a clump of mushroom littered dirt from the earth.


    "So what do these do?"


    "If-gulp-If you eat them like this, they can help raise your cultivation level. If you''re injured when you eat one, it will heal you, and replenish any depleted Qi. Master said that if a person with a broken dantian ate one of these immediately after it broke, chances were, it would not only heal but get stronger and wider, allowing them to store more Qi than any other cultivator! It would also be almost impossible to break it again! Although that might be an exaggerationˇ­"


    "These are that amazing?" Levi broke one of them off.


    "Ah! They''ll lose their effects a few hours after being picked!"


    "Um, Sorry?"


    "Eat it quickly! It will help your cultivation. In addition to what I mentioned, you can also make healing wine, spirit cleaning oil for those of the mind-opening realm, Behemoth poison-"


    "Why don''t you eat it?" Levi shoved the mushroom into her mouth.


    "... Wha-why did you-Now my saliva..." She spat it onto her palm.


    "Just eat it. If you break your dantian before, it will get stronger, right?"


    "But-"


    "And if one isn''t enough, there is a bunch here."


    "These mushrooms are rare and worth a fortune! Shouldn''t we-"


    "What I want is for you to get stronger. These things aren''t useful to me. I doubt they contain even a bit of the Qi I absorb in one sitting. There''s no reason for you not to eat them." Levi tossed and caught the lump of earth repeatedly while gazing intently at Aria.


    A drawn-out silence filled the moment.


    "... Ok. But is it possible to make it hurt less? Breaking my dantian..."


    ''Well, I wasn''t talking about that part, butˇ­'' Surprise momentarily froze Levi.


    "ˇ­ Are you sure?"


    "Yes..." She nodded.


    He reached out as Aria braced herself.


    "Wait!" She stepped back, panting.


    "... I won''t force it if you don''t want to do it."


    "It''s just that... I want to prepare myself mentally. Pheeew." Her chest heaved while she took deep breaths.


    Levi waited silently.


    "Haaa... Ok. I''m ready." She stepped in.


    Levi''s finger merely twitched as she retreated swiftly once more.


    "Oi."


    "I-I wasn''t ready, ok?! Now! I''m ready now!" She clenched her fists as sweat slid down her face.


    Levi put a hand on her stomach. Sighting the trembling fingers and eyelashes caused him to pause.


    ''She''s afraid?... But thinking about it, who wouldn''t be afraid in this kind of situation.''


    "But don''t worry." He muttered.


    A few minutes later.


    "Huh? Is it done?" She stuttered. She felt no discomfort while caressing her stomach with trembling hands.


    "... Since it''s not certain whether these mushrooms are as useful as they''re made out to be, I only made small cracks in your dantian. Small enough that even if this doesn''t work, you''ll recover naturally."


    "Huh? How can you-"


    "You should hurry and eat that. The Qi inside will make the cracks worse." Levi pointed.


    "Ok!"


    Aria sat with her back against the tree. After swallowing the mushroom paste, sweat poured down her face. A massive amount of Qi cloaked her as it seeped from her body. Not long after, Qi began spiraling above her.


    "... I''ll help you a bit." Levi stretched out his arm. A spiral of Qi dwarfed Aria''s as it floated above his standing figure. Unrefined Qi spewed from his palm as the spiral above Aria grew.


    Later.


    "Cough!" Blood ran down Aria''s chin like a waterfall. Immediately after, Qi exploded from her body. Followed by another explosion.


    "It looks like she''s done." Levi lowered his arm.


    "I... broke through?"


    "Looks like it."


    "Twice-I went through two levels, which means-" She looked up at Levi, wide-eyed. "-I''m at the heaven and earth stage?"


    "I guess so?" Levi tilted his head.


    "... Young masterrrrr!" She ran toward Levi.


    "Don''t get your blood on me. Let''s go, It''s already dark." He dodged to the side before walking off.


    "... Okay." Aria hugged the wolf as she followed gloomily.


    "How is your dantian? Was it healed? Does it feel like you''ll explode?"


    "Don''t joke like that, please. But now that you mention it... It does feel like my dantian has more room than before. Or ratherˇ­ it feels like I have less Qi than before." Blood stained a white handkerchief as she lowered it from her face.


    "Good. ''Cause you ate plenty of these. And that wasn''t a joke." Levi held up the partly bare piece of dirt.


    "I-I-I-But I was cultivating, how could?!" Aria froze.


    ''Because I fed you? It seems my fears were unfounded, though.''


    "... Give the rest to the old man for me when you get back," Levi said after a pause.


    "O-Ok."


    "It''s good that your level increased. See? Even that thing is looking at you differently."


    The wolf licked Aria''s finger with what one could only call a smile.


    "Oh."


    "... Thank you!"


    "You found them in the first place, don''t worry about it." Levi waved.


    "That''s not what I-" Aria froze.


    "... Deja vu?" Levi muttered.


    "What is it now?"


    She could only point since no sound would leave her throat.


    "... Didn''t you just say these things are rare?" Levi''s brow rose.


    "But, isn''t that how it''s supposed to be???" Aria tilted her head, at a loss for words.


    ...


    "What the hell is this?"


    Levi stood motionless in his spot. He watched tiredly as Aria ran around picking every plant in sight.


    "Young master! This is ''invigorating dew''! And look at this moss!" She brought her finds to him.


    She clutched a plant''s roots tightly as if to prevent it from escaping. A Lilly pad-like ''leaf'' resembling a blown-out umbrella cupped a thin, transparent membrane containing a water-like liquid atop its long stem. She held in her other hand a piece of rotting, moist bark. A vivid pale green moss blanketed the black, decaying wood.


    "... What about it?"


    "It''s called ''Illuminating star'' moss!"


    "Is that so?"


    "Mm-hmm!" She nodded deeply.


    "... Why is it called that?" Levi sighed.


    "Glad you asked! Because it''s prickly! It''s known to have a distinct prickly texture on your tongue when dried!"


    "I don''t get it, but more importantly, why would somebody eat moss??"


    "Because it-Ahh! A ''hundred spine'' sword leaf!" She ran off.


    ''... Well, whatever. The sun will go down soon. She won''t be able to run about as much in the dark.'' Levi sighed before a smile crept up his face. He found a relatively clear spot and sat, his back against a tree.


    Light fluttering followed the occasional belch of flames.


    Minutes later.


    Boom!


    "... It sounds like she ran into another mutated beast." Levi got up, dusting himself off.


    "It''s about time to go." He leered at the black sky.


    "Young master!! Run!!" Aria shouted with a distorted voice.


    Levi searched for the voice''s source, only to catch sight of a ball-like shape bouncing toward him with a passenger inside. Purple outlines formed a mostly translucent, oblong cauldron shape. It rolled weirdly because of its shape with Aria secured in the center.


    "???"


    "Young-" A low growl drowned out her voice as she shot off, ricocheting off of the trees after a slap from a large paw.


    "A bear? Is it strong?" Levi craned his neck.


    "Ye-Yesh..." Aria''s head bobbed as she groggily replied.


    Illuminated by the moonlight, an average-sized brown bear stepped out from the shadow of a tree. It''s abnormally long fur twisted and coiled strangely as it stared Levi down.


    "Y-Young master! It attacks with its fur! The hairs are as hard as iron! If not for my ''pill in a cauldron'', it would have minced or skewered me already!" Just as the words left Aria''s mouth, the giant trotted toward Levi.


    "Well, my body is-" Levi clenched his fist tightly as his foot slammed into the ground before him. "-Harder than iron!"


    A boom resounded as the beast''s head, imprinted with the shape of a fist, rested motionless in a small crater. The fur which had twirled into spikes stopped twisting back and forth as it, too, fell motionless.


    Blood seeped from the creature''s uninjured body. One of two blobs burned to nothing as a red flame flickered, while the other splashed onto Levi before vanishing.


    "You''ve done enough gathering. We''re going."


    "B-But... Fine." Noticing Levi''s seriousness, Aria restrained her reluctance. She picked herself up from the ground, still shaky from her earlier encounter.


    They navigated the forest, brushing branches and leaves aside when necessary.


    ...


    Along the way, Aria gradually closed the distance between herself and Levi. She held her hands before her chest while glancing at their sides nervously every now and again.


    "Young master! Don''t walk so fast..." She gripped his sleeve.


    "Something the matter?" Levi glanced back.


    "I-It feels like we''re being watched. Like someone is licking me all over with a dirty stare..." Aria''s gaze shifted rapidly.


    "Hmm? You''re probably imagining it. I mean, how could anyone be out here?" Levi shrugged.


    "Ah..." A soft cry slipped from her throat as Aria froze.


    "What''s the matter now? Keep walking." Levi paused mid-step. He twitched like a stuck gear, wanting to move forward, but unable to do so.


    "Young master... I think..." Aria''s almost inaudible voice trembled like her finger as she pointed.


    "Enough with the talking. Move your feet, not your mouth." Levi reprimanded, unable to escape the vise-like grip.


    "Mutated beasts... A lot of them... Too many!" She whispered like a light breeze.


    "Didn''t I just say not to talk? If we acknowledge that they''re there, then we have to deal with them." Levi''s head snapped back as he enunciated every word through clenched teeth. He had noticed the multitude of glares hidden in the shadows for a while.


    "B-But, pretending they aren''t there won''t make them go away..." Aria began shaking, rooted to the ground.


    "It''s been doing a great job of keeping them in those shadows, though, hasn''t it? So how about we continue on our way?" He laughed woodenly.


    "But, I can''t walk! My legs are shaking too much..." Both of them looked down. Before they could lift their heads, a sharp, but soft growl announced the interest of one of their hosts.


    "Goddammit."


    Levi grabbed Aria''s wrist before plucking her from the ground. She released a surprised gasp, landing softly into his arms as he shot off.


    "... I think we have company." A wry smile crept up Aria''s face as she looked over Levi''s shoulder. The trotting sounds announced the beasts fearless chase. The furious grunts and snorts, along with bouncing, glowing glares only made the occurrence of the unwanted situation more obvious.


    "See what I said about ignoring them?!" Levi peeked back. The wave of creatures stuck to his heels with no signs of giving up.


    "Stop trying to escape reality, young master! They would have done this regardless!" Aria was on the verge of tears.


    "Even so! We would''ve had a few more minutes in peace!"


    "Are you serious!?"


    "Obviously!"


    "Just keep running!"


    "I don''t have a choice now, do I?!"


    Levi flashed through the trees with ease, but it seemed like the beasts were passing through a regularly used yard.


    "How are these things so fast! Are you-?!" Levi shifted his body as a "clang" sounded. Aria squeaked because of the sudden shift.


    Levi''s feet ripped surface level roots apart as they dug through the ground. He stopped, his brows crumpling as veins on his face squirmed.


    "Who the fuck is shooting arrows at her?!" His body radiated a cold and gloomy black fog. The beasts, as if smelling a putrid substance, twitched briefly before scattering.


    "Ahhhh!" A figure jumped from above, accompanied by a horrendous cry, a cleaver sword in hand.


    Levi''s gaze shifted.


    A gold glow pulsed through his eyes as his pupils slimmed.

 Chapter 139 - "Divine" Wilderness (3)

    Plummeting, cleaver in hand, the figure screamed as he chopped down.


    Levi slapped the sword to the side with the back of his hand as Aria grounded herself, her shoulders still secured between his arm and chest.


    Sou!


    "... Again?" Levi''s tone darkened along with his expression as he plucked an arrow from its course.


    "Ahh! HAHH!" Disregarding Levi''s dissatisfaction, the man chopped out continuously.


    After parrying and dodging every strike, Levi jumped back, thinking,'' What should I do? They should be the people I''m looking for, but...''. He glanced at Aria. She looked back into his eyes.


    "Young master."


    "... What is it?"


    "Don''t let worrying about me stop you from doing what you need to do." She said.


    Levi''s gaze lingered on her for a second, before it fell onto the figure charging him once more. Illuminated by the moonlight, his appearance came into view. He wore a beasts'' skin around his waist, which was the only article covering his body, aside from the primitive paintings on his face. He wasn''t particularly big but had a muscular body.


    ''His strikes are heavy.'' Levi swept his hand out like a sword, stopping the cleaver''s advance.


    ''... A fleshly cultivator?'' His eyes shone.


    Sou!


    "!!" An arrow flew toward Aria after curving around Levi. A glowing outline appeared around her as it inched closer. An invisible membrane sunk in from the arrow''s force, before springing back out, flinging it a short distance away. It landed with a hollow thud.


    Levi appeared before the man as he chopped down with his hand.


    "Kek!" Forced into a kneeling position, the man coughed blood as a loud boom echoed. Although he had blocked the strike with his blade, the strength of the blow was more than his body could take.


    Boom!


    Levi''s foot slammed into the side of his head as he flew. He then turned his malevolent gaze in a certain direction as a black blade appeared in his hand.


    "Young master!"


    "What?" Levi glared.


    "I wasn''t told why we came here, which is why YOU have to remember!"


    Levi paused.


    "While I''m thankful for your concern, you''re overreacting. I''m not worth so much that you should sacrifice your plans."


    Levi''s eyes widened.


    "You... You, as a person who knows about my early life, and about me as a person, should know why I''m angry. You know why I react the way I do when you are in danger. As a person as important to me as you are, you know why I won''t forgive that comment. Especially from you."


    Aria flinched. She opened her mouth but seeing Levi''s face as he slowly turned around, closed it without a word.


    "... Sigh." Levi''s shoulders lowered with his sigh. After a pause, he sighed again.


    "Sighhhhhhhhhhhh." and again.


    Aria was at a loss for words. ''... Is he trying to sigh the anger away???''


    "Sigh... I know that all of you are there. Come out." After a final sigh, he rubbed his neck with a vacant expression.


    "... Is he talking about the archer?" She muttered.


    "Sigh." Pushing out a long sigh, Levi reached out. A ball of Qi brought something back to him.


    "Guess I have no choice..." He sighed as he held the unresponsive man up by his shoulder.


    Sou!!


    Multiple arrows, tinted by a pale blue Qi, tore through the air.


    Levi grinned. "What''s the matter? I was just thinking of returning him to you."


    "You don''t want him anymore?" He cast a playful glance to the side.


    As if someone pulled a blanket of darkness away, flaming torches appeared, brightening the otherwise moonlit night. Encircling the two were people who wore either the skins of beasts or crude cloth, standing shoulder to shoulder. Some carried blades, swords, or knives, or spiked clubs, either bone or metal. There were also some carrying bows and arrows. The bows screamed in protest as they drew them almost to breaking point.


    ''But you''re not the ones who were shooting earlier.'' Looking around, Levi''s sight stopped on a strange group.


    Surrounded by four tall mask-wearing men was a shorter figure, also clad in black. The men wore skirt-like pieces of cloth around their waists, down to their knees. But while others covered only their crotch and chests if female, cloaked in black cloth, this person stood at the center, covered from head to toe. They held a deformed wooden staff, watching silently.


    ''They''re crazy people where ever you go...'' Levi pretended he saw nothing and continued his search.


    His gaze fell onto a certain tree. Sitting with her back against the trunk was a girl with short and curly water-blue hair. One of her feet hung freely, while the other rested on the branch she sat on. She held a drawn bow lazily, watching.


    ''I''ll remember you.'' Levi reluctantly shifted his gaze to the man walking up to him.


    "Hmm?" He looked up. This man was taller than him by a few heads. He looked down his nose at Levi.


    "Harmph!" The man shouted something incoherent before sweeping his hand out. The back of his large hand struck Levi, sending him bouncing a small distance away.


    "!?" The cauldron outline faded as Aria''s gaze chilled. She advanced.


    "Wait."


    "... You''re ok, young master?"


    "What do you think." Levi didn''t get up.


    "What are we going to do?"


    "Hmm. This is problematic." Levi groaned.


    "They outnumber us ridiculously, but I''ll get you to safety no matter what." Aria surveyed their surroundings as a small head popped out from her collar.


    "Never mind that for now. First..." Levi pressed his palms against his face.


    "Never min-Young master, did you hit your head? You do understand our situation, right?" Aria almost choked.


    "Of course. Perfectly. But the thing is, do they understand us? In other words, can they understand what we''re saying?" He sighed heavily while pointing.


    "!"


    After listening closely, she heard the incomprehensible dialect from the group''s murmurs. As her gaze swept over the people, their faces would twist into less than likable expressions, but there were no signs of them understanding their conversation.


    "This makes things slightly difficult." Levi got up with a sigh.


    ''... Is he still angry?''


    "Uhm, can anyone understand me? Hello?" Levi spread his arms in a welcoming manner as he slowly turned.


    "None of you can understand me?" His shoulders dropped as he sighed once more.


    "Oh? Can you understand me?" After retrieving the unconscious man, the man returned, towering over Levi once more.


    He shouted something, causing a few people to walk into the encirclement, before grabbing toward Levi with a sneer.


    "What do you want?" Aria''s frosty gaze fell on the two men standing before her.


    "..." Levi''s expression slowly faded.


    "Humph!" The man snorted. He shouted something, directing a twisted expression toward Aria as the men cackled.


    "..." A flame grew on her still figure, threatening to burn everything in its path to nothing.


    ''I''m not weak anymore...'' Aria stood unflinching.


    '' But, Young Master hasn''t explained how he wants this situation handled.'' The flames died out as she looked back. Seeing this, the two men chuckled disdainfully. They reached out.


    A vacant expression found its way to Levi''s face once again.


    "Huh? Ak!" The two men suddenly froze, their lips twitching.


    "... What is the matter with these two?" Aria retreated a step, muttering curiously.


    Seeing that his subordinates refused to carry out their orders, the man''s expression dropped as he shouted. Neither responded. Noticing something off, he pushed Levi to the side before advancing.


    He shouted something again but got no response. The two men twitched continuously. They blinked and rolled their eyes lively as if trying to convey something. The man shouted angrily at the two. He turned to Aria, and, grasping her throat, bellowed something along the lines of "Useless! I will do it myself!", before he, himself, froze.


    "Seeing as I can control your blood so easily, you are many times weaker than me. Even that shark was harder to control than you." Levi appeared beside Aria. The man''s grip slowly loosened as beads of sweat appeared on his face.


    "Look at her like that again, hmm. See if you don''t die a painful death. Or maybe I should alter your bones and turn you into a statue, like those two?" After he released Aria, Levi pushed down the stiffened arm.


    ''Is that why they suddenly stopped? Is that just something you can do as a cultivator?'' Aria looked at Levi curiously.


    "Now listen." Levi turned, sweeping his gaze over those present.


    "I came here for a specific reason. I have no interest in fighting you." He began walking, his hands behind his back.


    As their leader was still, the encirclement also stood in place. They didn''t know what was going on, but since the man had not made a move, they, too, would not. Their expressions twisted every time Levi''s gaze passed over them.


    "The natural resources in this wilderness has caught my attention, so I came here to procure some of them with your help."


    "I obviously won''t take something while giving nothing in return, so tell me what you want and I will provide it." He stopped.


    Small murmurs here and there disrupted a small pause of silence. Impatient shouts bombarded the man, but one could mistake the target of these cries.


    "... So they can''t understand anything I say?" Levi muttered.


    "... Well, I can''t blame Nerezza if she failed. But if she did fail, why leave a marker here? So that I can find them and work things out myself? Hmm."


    ''... Nerezza? What does she have to do with this?'' Aria''s ear twitched as her brows crumpled.


    "Ah..." A small cry escaped the man''s throat. He released this sound multiple times.


    "Young master... Is he trying to say something?" Walking to Levi''s side hesitantly, Aria whispered.


    "Hmm?" Levi walked up to him.


    " Do you have something to say?"


    "... Not like I can understand you anyway, though." Levi turned around with a sigh.


    "Ah... N... e..." Indistinguishable sounds brushed past the man''s lips.


    Aria went closer, curious about what he might have to say.


    "Ne...za.."


    "Hmm?" Her ears twitched.


    "Ner...zza!"


    "Why do you know that name?!" Purple flames grew on Aria''s body as a dominating pressure crushed seeped from her being.


    The people surrounding them became restless as they shouted, ready to attack.


    "What''s the matter?"


    "... Answer me! How do you know that name?!" A sizzling sound, along with the smell of burnt flesh wafted out as Aria gripped the man''s neck. He trembled from the pain and the pressure.


    "Aria." Levi put a hand on her shoulder.


    "?!" She whipped her head.


    "You''ll get burned!" The flames quickly vanished from the shoulder before dying down.


    "I''m fine. What happened?" Levi flipped over his hand, spreading his fingers as he asked.


    "... It wasn''t clear, but I''m sure he just said ''Nerezza''." Her furrow deepened.


    Levi''s face twitched. He looked at the man silently.


    "... Young master."


    "I know, don''t worry."


    After a slight pause, the man found that he could move. Instead of attacking, he stood silently for a few seconds, catching his breath and examining the burn on his neck.


    ''Quite an amazing flame, strong enough to burn a fleshly cultivator.''


    "Ne-Nerezza?" He seemed to have trouble speaking, but forced himself to say this one word while pointing at Levi and Aria.


    "You-!" Lifting his arm, Levi stopped Aria''s advance.


    He nodded at the man since saying anything would be pointless.


    "Nerezza!" The man pointed in another direction. He walked by the two before looking back and pointing once more.


    "Nerezza! Nerezza!" He pointed.


    "Is... Is he saying that she is there?" Aria asked.


    "... It looks like he wants to lead us somewhere."


    The man said "Nerezza" once more as Levi and Aria started following him. He said something to the people surrounding them, causing them to open a path. They followed behind and at their sides, ready to attack if ordered.


    Like this, they led Aria and Levi through the forest.

 Chapter 140 - "Divine" Wilderness (4)

A sizeable group walked through a forest in the dead of night.

 Chapter 141 - "Divine" Wilderness (5)

''Something is wrong with these people!! Something worse than the disease!''

 Chapter 142 - "Divine" Wilderness (6)

Levi sat silently.

 Chapter 143 - "Divine" Wilderness (7)

    Levi and Eljha stared at each other in silence.


    "Proposed... marriage..." Levi muttered.


    ''Marriage? Propose?'' he thought.


    "Pft..." Aria quickly covered her mouth.


    "Aria."


    "Ye-bft-Yes? Young master?" She failed to keep a straight face.


    "''Proposed marriage'', can you tell me what it means?" Levi asked.


    "Ah, yes... Of course." Aria paused. "A marriage proposal is when a person from one family expresses their desire to be forever joined to someone of another family, to put it simply."


    "Hmm." Levi nodded a few times.


    "Eljha, was it?" He looked up.


    "Yes?" Eljha observed Levi''s reaction suspiciously.


    "Where is the water?" Levi asked.


    "Water?" Confusion showed in Eljha''s expression.


    "Huh? It''s beheading, right? Should I wash my neck with something else?" Levi frowned.


    "..." Aria trembled at the side as she clamped her mouth shut.


    "... I think you have misunderstood something?" Eljha almost fainted.


    "Misunderstood? No, no. No misunderstanding here. I support his grueling search for love on ''this side'' of the world. A pity I was already sentenced to death prior to the proposal." Levi''s mouth moved Like that of a doll as he spoke woodenly.


    "No! You''ve definitely misunderstood something here!" Eljha felt faint.


    "Hey, what are you guys still standing around for?! You''ve sharpened your swords right?! My neck isn''t getting any cleaner, let''s get this execution over with." Levi turned to shout at the group of men. He let his hair down over his shoulder and pushed down his collar, making visible the nape of his neck.


    ''... He spoke our language?!''


    "Bwahahahaha! I-I can''t! Young master!" Aria could no longer suppress her laughter.


    "Laughing in the face of death, hmm? Admirable!" Levi nodded his head with furrowed brows.


    "Listen to me!!" Eljha could no longer take it as he roared. "Tribe leader proposed that you marry his daughter!!"


    "Well, you should have said that sooner!!" Levi slapped his knee. "Are you bastards trying to scare my soul out of the reincarnation cycle?!"


    ''Why are you blaming others for your crazy imagination?'' Eljha became speechless.


    "Ahahaha..." Aria''s stifled laughter caught Levi''s attention.


    "What are you laughing at?! Isn''t my misunderstanding because of you two ''broadening'' my horizons?" He turned and said.


    "Wha-Don''t blame this on me! And besides! You said that you didn''t see a problem with it..." Aria pouted.


    "This and that are two separate matters. Don''t try to change the subject." Levi sneered.


    "You are so-!" Eljha cut Aria off.


    "Enough. Have you made your decision?" He squeezed his eyes shut.


    "... I''m sorry..." Levi paused. "But I''ll have to decline."


    "What?" Eljha''s bloodshot eyes flicked open.


    "..." Levi kept Silent.


    "Humph. This is a perfect example of people not knowing what''s good for them." Eljha sneered as he turned to his leader.


    He then said something to a few men, causing them to leave the tent.


    Minutes later, they entered through an opening that led onto the platform Eljha stood on. A woman followed behind them quietly.


    "Hmm." Levi''s expression showed no change.


    The woman stopped, before turning and looking down at Levi. A grey-white fur coat hung from her shoulders. Like the other women, both her chest and crotch were covered, with seemingly specially made garments. Wavy brown hair zig-zagged down her back. An apathetic expression adorned her sharp features.


    With a hand on her hip, she observed Levi before speaking.


    "What did she say?" Levi''s gaze shifted to Eljha.


    "T-That..." Eljha turned to the tribe''s leader. After exchanging a few words anxiously, he turned to face Levi.


    "Young miss Terra said, ''You want me to marry this person?''" Eljha translated.


    ''Was that all? This guy sure enjoys overreacting.'' Levi thought. He hummed in response.


    From that point onward, Eljha translated automatically.


    "Father, what is going through your head? Asking me to marry some useless brat, have you gone senile?" Terra questioned.


    "Heh heh heh, little brat, aren''t you getting more out of control?" Her father released a low laugh.


    "Aren''t you the one out of control here? Basil?!"


    "Did you forget who you''re speaking to? Show some respect." The tribe leader, Basil, looked down from the corner of his eye. His piercing gaze brushed over Terra briefly as she froze, in awe of his brilliant brown eyes which seemed to belong to a deity.


    "... Yes. Forgive me, leader." Terra bowed.


    "So? What do you think of my daughter?" Basil''s gaze shifted. He ignored his daughter''s clicking of her tongue.


    "Um, even if you ask that... I already said that I can''t marry her." Levi scratched his head.


    "Tsk! Stop making things difficult and agree. Do you think I have the patience to deal with incompetent people?" Terra seethed.


    "But as I said, I can''t marry you. Sorry." Levi smiled apologetically.


    "You... Do you want to die?" Terra narrowed her eyes.


    ''Is something wrong with her ears? Let me explain a little clearer.'' Levi thought.


    "It''s not you, it''s me. I just can''t find it in myself to like you." He bowed his head.


    "Yo-... You dare humiliate me?!" Veins bulged on Terra''s neck.


    "Huh? Humiliate? When?" Levi blinked innocently.


    ''Is something wrong with this lady''s head?'' He thought.


    "..." With gritted teeth, Terra lunged. The force from her step blasted a Shockwave in the opposite direction. Basil sighed while Eljha squatted slightly to steady himself.


    Boom!


    "What... do you think you''re doing?" Terra glared down.


    A flaming hand clamped onto her arm just before her fist could touch Levi.


    "..." The flames dancing on her body hid Aria''s expression, leaving visible only one bright eye blazing with determination as she looked up at Terra from her crouching position.


    ''Oh! Aria could stop her? Interesting.'' Levi thought. ''But it''s too bad that she just advanced. She can''t use her power properly yet.''


    "Hmm. Is this woman the reason for your refusal? Then..." Basil paused.


    "Let go!" Terra snatched her hand away.


    "..." Aria jumped a few steps back.


    "What if she''s gone?" Basil continued.


    A black blade slid down before Aria as a slim arm hung over her shoulder. A woman covering only her essentials appeared behind Aria. A dog mask hid her face. Aria glanced over her shoulder but didn''t move.


    "..." Levi turned his head to observe this person.


    "You all are misunderstanding." He smiled.


    "Hmm?" Basil''s eyes narrowed.


    "It''s not that don''t like her, but that I ''can''t''." Levi glanced at Terra.


    "... What nonsense are you spouting?" She sneered.


    "The ability to love, or even like another person... is not something I was born with." His gaze shifted to Basil.


    "?!"


    "What do you mean," With a frown, Terra spoke before her father could open his mouth.


    "Exactly what I said." Levi looked at her. "Even as my mother died right in front of me, I couldn''t find it within myself to feel anything. There was only emptiness."


    "..." Terra''s frown deepened as she listened.


    "..." Aria listened silently. The rims or her ''eyes'' became red, as traces of tears lined them.


    "You asked what would happen if you killed Aria?" He asked.


    "..."


    "Nothing." He lowered his gaze.


    "..." Aria squeezed her eyes shut as a tear streamed down her face.


    "She is merely a limiter of sorts to me," Levi said.


    "Since I can''t sympathize with, or understand other people''s feelings, she, instead, does it for me. Leading me in ''the right'' direction.


    "It was her who suggested helping your people, if not, how would a person like me be able to have such thoughts?"


    "..." Basil listened silently.


    "And of course, because I lack those which are essential for you to be considered human, in addition to not being able to care about other people, I can''t even care about my own life." Levi looked up.


    "..." An image of Levi giving up on his life, to the point of even offering it up entered Basil''s mind.


    "So when you ask what would happen if she were to die, the answer is nothing. Really." Levi chuckled.


    "I will just do things the only way I know how. As time passes, people will label me a monster, a demon. They will band together and attempt to kill me and fail. And every land that I pass through will face death and destruction. Because, the only thing resembling ''emotion'' I was born with, was an instinct to destroy." Levi whispered. Strangely, chills went up the spines of all who saw his serene expression.


    Terra''s frown loosened slightly as she whispered, "... How pitiful", before turning and walking away.


    "Ah, but don''t worry. She''s still here to make sure those things don''t happen!" Levi threw his head back in laughter, but the gloomy atmosphere continued to linger.


    "... I see." Basil said. Levi just made Aria untouchable. His words indicated that without her, the chances of them getting ahold of the pills they desperately needed would drop below zero. One could also interpret it as him threatening to come back and kill them all if they killed her. Basil saw all of this and more.


    "... If you want to make sure we are keeping our side of the deal, you can just send someone to go back with us. Marrying off your daughter just for her to observe someone is a bit much if you think about it." Levi muttered the last line.


    "Ha, I guess you''re right. For someone like you to say that, it really must be too much." Basil laughed before sighing.


    "Hahaha, thanks! If not for her, I wouldn''t have been able to do this much." Levi turned to look at Aria. She stood with her head down, her fists clenched and brows furrowed deeply.


    "It seems she cares for you a lot." Basil noticed Aria''s expression. "It looks like she blames herself for your condition?"


    "Sigh. She thinks it''s her fault that I''m like this. And since my condition isn''t something you can cure with medicine or pills, she tends to feel responsible. Useless, even." Levi sighed.


    "Hmm. Did you say that she often helps and guides you? Then you should also ease her mind when you can. You don''t need emotions to help those close to you. Just observe and act accordingly." Basil said after some deliberation.


    "Haha, I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your wise words." Levi bowed.


    "No need. Since you rejected my daughter, hurry and scram!" Basil''s thundering laughter sounded.


    "Hey, you should be thanking me! Aren''t you happy you get to keep your only daughter around for a few more years?" Levi slowly got up.


    "My only daughter? How na?ve!" Basil slapped his armrest in amusement.


    "Hurry and go! All of my children have strong personalities. If one of the older girls saw how innocent you were, they would definitely eat you up!" He waved Levi away. This casual action created a small gust.


    "T-Then I''ll take my leave. Aria." Levi anxiously left with a dejected Aria.


    In the tent.


    "My lord... Do you believe what he said?" Eljha asked.


    "Hmm." Basil didn''t answer.


    "Then... Then, do you think that we should tell the other tribes about this...?" Eljha questioned carefully.


    "Why would we?" Basil looked down from the corner of his eyes.


    "Well... I''ve heard that the silver python tribe have people with similar symptoms..." Eljha explained.


    "They can deal with their problems themselves. What does it have to do with us?" Basil rested his chin on his fist.


    "We don''t know if we can cure all of our people with the pills that guy is supposed to be providing, why thin out that already small number by bringing people into the mix unnecessarily?" He closed his eyes.


    "Yes, lord..." Eljha bowed before leaving quietly.


    ...


    Outside.


    "... How long were we in there?! It''s already evening!" Levi looked at the sky speechlessly.


    "..." Aria followed behind him with her head down.


    "Hey," Levi called out.


    "..." Aria looked up.


    "Can you fly yet?"


    Aria shook her head.


    "Hmm. You''re at that level, so you should be able to do it." Levi said after some thought. "We''re a good distance from that tribe, so don''t worry and try."


    "... Ok." Aria whispered with a nod.


    "Oh, but we don''t have much time! Mutated beasts will find us soon."


    ...


    A few minutes later.


    "... Y''know, your talent is frightening." Levi shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched Aria glide through the air clumsily.


    "... If my talent was so great, then why couldn''t I do anything to that girl earlier?" She asked coldly.


    "Ah... I''m sorry." She averted her gaze.


    "... What now? Do I carry you?" She broke the brief silence after landing beside Levi.


    "No, thanks." Levi waved.


    "Oh. I forgot you had wings, young master."


    "... I can''t use my wings anymore." Levi said.


    "Huh? Why? So you can''t fly?"


    "I can, but not using my wings. But It''s tiring, so I won''t. Truthfully, flying with wings is much easier." Levi sighed.


    "Then why don''t you? You''re confusing me." Aria held her forehead.


    "... Aren''t you curious how that pill cured the man earlier?" Levi narrowed his eyes.


    "!!" Aria froze. "How did it work?!"


    "Simple; I can control blood," Levi said.


    "..." Aria opened her mouth, but no sound came out.


    ''What kind of wild ride is he taking me on?'' She furrowed her brows in suspicion.


    "I can take the bloodlines of animals or mutated beasts and use them to change or add parts to my body. Which is where my wings came from." He continued.


    "So that''s how..."


    "I can also do a lot of things by controlling the blood of living things. For example, I could make a person''s head explode if I wanted to. It also depends on the strength and state of mind of the person, but that''s not the point." Levi paused.


    "So you... You did something with that man''s blood? Does that mean you just made it look like he got better?"


    "No. I expelled the disease from his body. You saw him sweating a lot, didn''t you?" He pointed upward with his index finger. Qi seeped out, forming a blue sphere with a light blue center.


    A transparent glass tube appeared between his fingers as he held it below the ball of Qi. A clear liquid poured into the tube before Levi stuck a stopper into it.


    "This is what was expelled from his body." He swirled the contents.


    "..." Aria listened silently.


    "I said all of this to say this; When you get back, find a cure for this disease and make the pills to send back here," Levi said.


    "But..." Aria''s brows furrowed.


    "If you can''t do it yourself, hire some of those guys from the everything guild. Use as much money as you feel is reasonable. And it doesn''t necessarily have to be pills, just find a cure." Levi said.


    "If it comes to that, just make up some kind of story explaining why the cure isn''t in the form of pills."


    "... Ok. I understand." Aria nodded with difficulty.


    "Then let''s go." Levi smiled. He put the tube back into the spatial ring.


    "Where are we going this time?" Aria asked.


    Levi grinned at her as Qi burst from below his feet. A lengthy tongue of Qi lifted him into the sky, far above the trees'' reach.


    "Wha! Wait for me!" Aria hurriedly followed.


    "To get back Nerezza!" Levi shouted. The Qi changed form. It rolled across the sky like ocean waves as Levi stood on it.


    "!!" Aria''s eyes lit up.


    "... Another thing." Levi suddenly said.


    "Yes?" Aria beamed.


    "There can''t only be one tribe on an entire continent. Find the others and make offers based on their circumstances." He said.


    "Ok." Aria nodded.


    "And monitor that god slaying bear tribe. If they get out of hand, let me know." Levi glanced at Aria.


    "... Yes." She flinched at his gaze.


    "As for the things I said, forget them. They were just lies to get what I want, anyway." He turned his head away.


    "... I understand." Aria bit her lip.


    ''I knowˇ­ Much of what you said were undoubtedly liesˇ­ but I also know that a lot of what you said was the truth.''


    ''Young master... Levi. Do you even know to what extent I worry about you... ?''


    An emotion-filled gaze laid on Levi''s back, but he paid no attention to it, and, instead, kept looking forward.

 Chapter 144 - Im Back (1)

    "Phew!"


    A sigh sounded shortly after a woven basket was put down. An elderly man massaged his lower back as he looked up at the sky. Every few seconds he would puff a bit of air softly.


    "Sigh, rest was saved for the dead, huh? Ha, then I guess I ain''t that far from a good rest, then!" The old man cackled.


    "Hah. This time''s festival was too much for me. If I knew these brats would drag it out for another 2 days, this ancestor would have rested my old bones at home!


    "Making rice dumplings for 3 days in a row..." He pounded his shoulder. "Maybe if I was younger, but this daddy here is already 89! Have a conscience, youth-rich bastards!"


    Although he cursed and berated, a wide smile sat on the old man''s face. His occasional chuckle also contradicted his words.


    He turned and left through the bright alley exit, bringing himself onto a messy stone-paved street.


    "All that''s left of my dumplings are those bamboo leaves in that crate, heh heh, at least they know what''s good when they see it!" Waddling, He burst out in narcissistic laughter.


    "Ah, but, hehe... I wouldn''t be a master if I didn''t save some for myself!" He rubbed his chin with a sly grin. "When I get back, how will those little shits welcome me, hmm? ''Grandpa, grandpa, welcome back!'', wishful thinking! Who raised them to be this way!? Ahah, well, grandchildren are grandchildren. I''ll spoil them all the same!"


    After walking a short distance, the old man entered a small wooden stall. It wasn''t very big, as only 3 people at most would be able to fit in together. Its back was up against one of the many compact stone buildings, in an inconspicuous position, so as to not impede the building''s owner''s moves. The old man bent over, causing the counter to hide him as he fiddled with something. Like a lot of the other empty stalls lining the street, the old man''s was partly painted in red. Vaguely depicted, a red coiling dragon sat stationary on the overhead front trim board.


    "Somebody there?" A voice sounded.


    "Ah? Give me a second!" The old man loudly packed away stuff. He thought, ''They''re young''uns who move about this early? And after that monstrous festival??''


    "Ahh!" His line of sight barely went over the counter when he screamed.


    "Dra-Huff-ah..." Sweating like a pig, the old man gripped his chest and pointed. "Dragon mask!"


    The person standing before him wore a carved and painted dragon mask on their face. Parts of its thick brown mane spilled over their shoulders while the rest slid down their back.


    "So that''s what this was? I thought it was a demon." The person said. "Or at least some kind of weird monkey!"


    "Mon-Have your parents never taught you not to disrespect the sacred dragon?!" The old man slapped his counter.


    "That would require having parents. But how is it my fault that this thing is ugly? Can you blame someone for mistaking it for a monkey? Maybe the craftsman should try harder next time." The person shrugged. "And... siii! What is this... fur made of?! It''s itching my skin!"


    "... Its look is right." The old man said through gritted teeth. "But enough about that for now. Are you trying to send me to an early grave?! Showing up wearing something like that, you''re trying to kill this old man, aren''t you! Huh?!"


    "How could that be possible. I just found this mask and put it on out of curiosity, aren''t you thinking too highly of yourself? And, ''enough about that for now''? What happened to your respect for the sacred dragon?" The person asked. "Furthermore, for all you know, I''m older than you."


    "Heh heh, anyone older than this immortal here is either an ancient cultivator or dead!" The old man sneered. ''Ahh, this kid sure knows how to ride my nerves!!''


    "And don''t pretend to care about dragons now!"


    "Hmm. What''s there to be proud of? That just means you''ll kick the bucket soon, doesn''t it?" The person tapped the counter casually. "Don''t you have any chairs around here?"


    "What kick the bucket! I still have another hundred years in me!" Rolling up his sleeve, all wrinkles vanished as the old man''s arm bulged. He then frowned exaggeratedly, saying, "I ain''t got no chairs for you, so run along now!"


    "A shame." The person sighed.


    "... Young master... How long are you going to wear that? Are you going to continue scaring people? Yesterday, until the sun went down, you..." Aria''s doubtful voice sounded.


    "What scaring! How is it my fault that people scare so easily? And by their own creations?! They made this thing. If it''s anyone''s fault, it''s theirs, isn''t it!?" Levi spread his arms while explaining.


    "So you were walking around with that thing on purpose, you lying brat!!!" The old man trembled.


    "Young master? Hah, it''s sad how believable that is. These nobles are quite ''unique'', after all." He sighed while scrutinizing the two.


    "Old man, you said that out loud. What if some young master heard you?" Levi asked.


    "Urk!" A bead of sweat slid down the old man''s face as he covered his mouth. ''A young master DID hear me, didn''t he?!''


    "Well, whatever. What are you selling?" Levi craned his neck to look over the counter.


    "W-Well, I''ve been selling some rice dumplings, but now I''m sold out-" He didn''t allow the old man to finish properly.


    "Didn''t your parents teach you not to lie? I sense at least 2 dumplings in this stall."


    "Goddamit! here! Can''t a man feed his grandchildren?! What kind of senses are those?!" Two rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves hit the counter with a smacking sound.


    "Sheesh. What kind of salesman hoards his own goods?" Levi sneered.


    "You... Thank you for your patronage..." The old man ground his teeth.


    "Well, I''m not heartless. You can keep that one." As he said this, Levi motioned to Aria. She took out a pouch and paid.


    "Young Master, the only thing left in my money pouch is air..." She said.


    ''So can we go get Nerezza now?'' She sighed.


    "Hmm. Just take out some when you get back. Here." Levi handed her the partly opened dumpling.


    "You don''t want it?"


    "I already ate my half." Since the mask was bigger than his face, he could eat without removing it. Licking his lips, Levi turned to the old man. "This is quite a rich kingdom."


    "Huh? Is it?" The old man tilted his head.


    "I haven''t seen any beggars, or people living on the street, scraping up whatever they can to survive. Just that alone shows how well off the people living here are. Moreover, the fact that people can go all out with festivals like this is the biggest proof. And to my knowledge, the one that just past is done every year, right?" Levi looked down the street. Although it was littered with trash like broken lanterns or disposable food containers, he couldn''t find a single person lying among it.


    "Well, if that''s what painted that picture for you, then you''re wrong." The old man narrowed his eyes.


    "Hmm?" Levi lifted his gaze to look at the old man.


    "You don''t see anyone on the street mainly because of slavery." The old man hid the remaining dumpling.


    "Slavery? What does that have to do with anything?" Levi tilted his head.


    "Yeah, well." The old man sighed. "There is a law that says anyone caught sleeping on the street can be forcefully enslaved for at least 10 years. People thought it might be a joke at first, though that convoluted idea got yanked directly from their heads when soldiers combed the city, dragging away any and all squatters from the streets. Even if you were as tired as the dead, would you dare sleep then? There''s also another law allowing you to sell yourself into slavery. In return for your rights, your owners will have to provide shelter for you, at the very least. The lack of homeless people is a result of these two laws. That doesn''t mean your treatment will or has to be any good though. And the shelter they provide could range from a relatively normal, to high-class room with a soft bed and clean sheets, to a pigsty.


    "And don''t think for a second that just because it''s a law, that some people don''t screw up and end up in tragic situations. Their faces when reality hits them... Sigh. Let''s just say there''s no pill for regret."


    "Hmm. I guess I was wrong. But anyone looking at this place for the first time would think everyone here was rich. I mean, on my way here, I heard about all the amazing and valuable resources this place is home to." Levi snuck a glance at the old man.


    "... Humph! Let me tell you. We aren''t rich in the slightest. And part of it stems from those bastards!!" The old man huffed.


    "Bastards?" Levi gasped. The mask hid his grinning visage.


    "Who else but those wilderness savages?!" Slapping the counter, the old man cursed.


    "Although we live on the same continent, even though they were lucky enough to chance upon a treasure-filled land, they hog all of the heavenly materials for themselves! They even refuse to let anyone enter the forest. They really believe the entire place belongs to them!"


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    "Do you know how many of our countrymen, after venturing into that wilderness, come back wounded? On the verge of death?! Ask them to negotiate, and those brainless simpletons still attack! With all of those precious resources, do you know how many people we could save from sickness? From hunger? If they were willing to hand over a few trees, do you know how many people it would save from slavery? Nevermind the number who die from overwork at the quarries, cutting and shaping stone to build houses. They wouldn''t have to sell themselves just for shelter! But those guys. They keep their I-don''t-care attitudes in spite of our hardships! Even though they know how dangerous mutated beasts can be, they insist on protecting them. Even though they know their patterns and mannerisms, they keep quiet to watch our people die. And if they aren''t watching, they''re with the beasts killing!!


    "With all of their privileges, they still refuse to help those with less fortune. Any time we send people over, they drive them out, just so they can selfishly hog the wilderness'' resources. How can people like that exist?!" The old man panted.


    ''... They attacked you because they''re selfish? And it has nothing to do with the fact that you kidnapped and enslaved their people?'' Aria thought.


    "Ha... hehe." Levi''s grin widened under the mask.


    "Hah. But then, although I don''t approve of it..." The old man sighed. "People started going on about ''taking back what they lost''. Basically, an eye for an eye. Or in this case, replacing those who were killed. ''A life for a life''. People began sneaking into their camps and kidnapping children, since they were the easiest to handle. And let me tell you, from what I heard, the children are also quite a handful. After a few beatings though, even those ''little beasts'' would ''calm down''. Then, they would brand them with three marks on their foreheads, supposedly so you could differentiate between our people and theirs."


    "..." A person''s face flashed in Levi''s mind.


    "But that was just an obvious way to humiliate them. If telling them apart from us was the goal, just the fact that they speak a different language would be enough. Their mannerisms and customs, even their appearances, differ from ours. And lets not even get into the ''training''. For the older ones who have no chance of learning our language..." The old man shook his head.


    "In the beginning, there were even rumors going around that the talk of enslaving them originated from the Aqua palace."


    "Aqua palace?" Levi pondered.


    "... Oh, you just mentioned that you aren''t from our kingdom, right? Here, the Aqua palace is where the royal family lives. Over there, see?" The old man pointed down the street. In the distance, a large, sophisticated building stood.


    "Oh? A palace? Instead of a castle? This must be one peaceful kingdom..." Levi said in a strange tone.


    "What do you mean?" The old man crossed his arms in confusion.


    "Well, normally, royalty would prefer castles over palaces since they have walls to keep ''lesser people'' out, right?" Levi said.


    "What?! You can see it from here?! Young man, are you a-" Levi cut the old man off.


    "Am I a what? You just told me it''s a palace. Don''t jump to conclusions."


    "Oh... It''s just... I met a strong martial artist in my younger days. I tried to make him take me in as a disciple, but... Sigh. Well, anyway..." The old man averted his gaze.


    ''This old man is quite interesting. Maybe I should play around with him a bit more?'' Levi chuckled internally.


    "Uhh, what was I saying..." The old man rubbed his temples with a frown. "What was I say- Oh, right! I heard that talk of using those people as ''free labor'' originated from the Aqua Palace. But that can''t be, because the..." The old man paused abruptly.


    "Hmm?"


    "Well anyway, it just couldn''t have come from there. They have more important things to worry about." The old man went back to what he was doing before Levi arrived.


    "... Well, let''s go back." Levi stuck his hand under the mask to cover his yawning mouth.


    "Young master?"


    "Back to the Inn."


    The two walked down the street, opposite the Aqua Palace.


    ''I''ll have to confirm my suspicions tomorrow.'' Levi looked up at the sky.


    ''Just wait until then...''

 Chapter 145 - Im Back (2)

    "Young Master..."


    "Mmm."


    "Young Master, it''s morning."


    "Unnnnn. Leave me alone..." As he turned, Levi slapped the bed, resulting in a soft sound. He secured the pillow to the side of his head with his back to Aria.


    "..." She had an unreadable expression on her face as she looked down at him.


    "Young Master!"


    "What!! AHH! WHAT IS IT?" Levi''s upper body sprang from the bed as he glared with bloodshot eyes.


    "Sorry to wake you this early, but..."


    "But what?!"


    "It''s morning."


    "..." Levi''s eyes narrowed into a squint. ''The one day I sleep instead of cultivating, and this is the result?''


    "Is something the matter?" Aria''s eyelashes fluttered as she blinked.


    ''You''re the problem!!''


    "Why are you looking at me like that?" She tilted her head.


    Levi closed his eyes with difficulty. "Like what? My eyes are just sore from LACK OF SLEEP."


    "You didn''t sleep long enough? Unacceptable! You need quality sleep for good health! We must rid you of this unhealthy lifestyle at once!" Aria''s brows furrowed as she clenched her fist.


    "... You''re screwing with me, aren''t you?" Levi cast her a glance.


    "So you noticed." Aria lowered her arm and loosened her brows, reverting to a much simpler pose.


    "Why are you so impatient with her matters, anyway? You gave her the cold shoulder for two years. What''s a few more days?" Levi scratched his head. He strode to the window lazily.


    "That was a misunderstanding. I''m impatient because I want to clear it up. I also want to see her safe and sound with my own eyes! Do you remember what that guy said? Besides being worn out, she was bleeding when she landed!" Aria''s voice gradually rose.


    Creak!


    The window''s hinges squeaked as Levi looked back at Aria.


    "And then, even in that state, she had to run from some unknown group of people!"


    "... All right, all right. I get it. You can go. I''ll come down now." Levi waved lightly.


    "Ok. But please don''t take too long." Aria cast him one last uneasy glance before leaving the room.


    "... Haaah. What''s the point of sleeping in if she''s just going to wake me up? Early morning cultivation for life then, I guess." He slumped over the windowsill and watched the lightly occupied street with sleep in his eyes.


    On the street, a burly man with the upper half of his robe peeled down to his waist, and an elderly man with a severe slouch, carrying a deep basket on his back conversed.


    "Ay, Mr. En, where are you going so early in the morning again? Down to the shore to collect shells?"


    "Hyo Hyo, good morning, little Dom. I am."


    ''Little? HIM?'' A passer-by thought.


    "What do you do with those, anyway? You''re a farmer! Don''t tell me you take them back to make jewelry for your plants?! Bwahahaha!"


    "Well... You wouldn''t understand even if I explained. Muscle-heads like you can''t handle complicated thinking."


    "Watch it, old man, oi!"


    "Hyo Hyo Hyo!" The old man took his time to walk down the street.


    "Haah. The old guy sure knows how to have fun." The man shook his head. "... It''s concerning how he comes back so late, though. Going from the heart of the city to the shore on foot and back..."


    "Sigh, whatever. He won''t listen to my warnings, anyway. Let''s just hope nothing happens..."


    By the second-floor window.


    "... Sigh." Levi picked himself up.


    ...


    A few minutes later, on the now bustling street.


    "Sigh..."


    "Huh? You okay? What''s wrong?"


    A man squatted down, clutching his shoulder as cold sweat beaded his forehead. This caused his friend to walk before him, probing him with concern.


    "Sigh. You know how it gets after a while of quarrying and moving stone... It wears the joints, and you damage your muscles faster than they can healˇ­ Sighˇ­ My suffering is probably only beginning."


    "What?! I thought you got another job! And what happened to your son? Didn''t he get a..."


    As Aria and Levi walked further away, the conversation became softer.


    "..." Aria walked behind Levi silently. The two stuck close since people swarmed the street. ''He''s wearing that mask again... Sigh.''


    After a few minutes, they made it onto the main street. Although it was still heavily populated, because of its width, people had more space to move around. Levi turned to his left to look at the palace in the distance.


    "Let''s go." He glanced at Aria.


    "That''s where your precious Nerezza is."


    "... No offense, Young Master, but how would you know? Over the past few days, all you did was..."


    "!!?" Aria''s eyes widened.


    "..."


    "Y-You... You purposely went aroundˇ­ with that mask on... to gather information?" Her finger shook as she pointed.


    "Do I seem like a person who enjoys talking to other people?" Levi tilted his head. Aria didn''t answer his question.


    "You''re making yourself anxious by thinking about her possible injuries, so you aren''t seeing things clearly. You want to make sure she''s safe. Does that mean that I don''t?"


    Aria flinched before lowering her head. "N-No, I-"


    "Four years ago after I transformed, and all that happened, happened, it wasn''t only you that was there. She was also with me. Before even you. So I don''t understand why you believe that I, ME, would not take getting her back seriously."


    Although he didn''t use a harsh tone, even though the Dragon mask hid his expression, Aria could feel Levi''s disapproval. She gripped her sleeves tightly. With her head buried in her chest, she bit her bottom lip. ''That''s rightˇ­ Why did I act like the only person who cared about her wellbeing? How selfish can I getˇ­?''


    "I''m sorry..."


    "Besides, she''s royalty here. The chances of them harming her are low. She most likely got injured while escaping." Levi snorted softly.


    "..."


    ?????ˇ­ Whatever, forget it. This should be a heartwarming reunion for you two, I''m not going to ruin it." Watching her expression sink, Levi clicked his tongue before turning.


    "Young-"


    "Get out of the way! Out of the way!!"


    "Hey! Watch where you''re-"


    "Shut up and get out of the road! The young duke is coming!"


    "The Silver Duke''s son? Dan Sielvar?"


    "Don''t call him by name! Do you want to die?"


    "... What''s going on?" Levi grabbed the screaming man''s shoulder.


    "Let me- Wah! Dragon mask! Shit! Lemme go! He''s coming." The man broke out sweating. He slapped Levi''s arm from his shoulder before retreating until his back touched a wall.


    Looking around, Levi saw that it wasn''t just one person doing this. They continued to pack themselves closely together on both sides of the road until a narrow path, wide enough for a carriage to pass through, formed. Levi brought Aria and followed suit. Not long after, deranged laughter echoed in the distance, along with the crack of a whip.


    "What do you think is going on, Young Master?" Aria leaned toward Levi.


    "... Who knows?" Levi''s eyes narrowed behind the mask. ''But it better not have anything to do with Nerezza.''


    Standing with his arms across his chest, Levi waited with everyone else. Noticing the change in his mood, Aria stopped talking.


    Splat!


    The hearts of the people pounded with dread. Slowly, something resembling the steps of a person sounded in the distance. These steps weren''t clear or crisp. Instead, they sounded wet. Like the hoofs of a horse trampling on wet mud after a rainy night. Or the steps of someone who just left the sea. Along with these steps, the shrill sound of stone scraping on stone entered the people''s ears.


    Soon, a figure came into view.


    Behind her followed a horseless carriage. Behind it dragged multiple stone blocks. These blocks varied in size and were all individually chained to the back of the carriage. The shiny brown carriage carried two persons. One passenger and one whip-clutching coachman.


    "Huff! Huff!" The woman''s once dark-green clothes stuck to her body. Veins bulged on her neck. As she lifted her foot, the crack of a whip sounded.


    "Agh!"


    Levi''s eyes widened as he glared.


    Sticking his head out of the window, the passenger spoke.


    "Heh heh heh. Your skin can''t stand up to this whip, can it? Course not! They say all of you wilderness savages are fleshly cultivators from birth. I don''t know if that is true or not. What I know for a fact, though, is that the bodies of fleshly cultivators are stronger than normal cultivators. It''s difficult to injure them, butˇ­ heheˇ­ not impossible!"


    "As long as the cultivator is stronger by a bit, even your iron skin is just like the rest of ours! No, more like paper! Gyahahaha!"


    The coachman''s eyes were empty. He sat with the black whip in his hand, waiting to strike.


    "..." The woman gritted her teeth. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to take another step. The sound entered the ears of the bystanders once again. Now they knew what caused this sound: It was the blood and sweat of this woman, flowing so profusely that it made it down her legs, to the soles of her feet. Fresh footprints stained the bricks of the street with her every step. With every movement, the thick chains shackling her to the carriage jingled. With every step, she dragged a carriage many times her size, forward. Without regard for her wounds, or the blood pouring from her back, or the purposely added weight, she slogged on with determination.


    "What do you think, hmm? My bed seems quite attractive now, doesn''t it?!" The youth''s expression went from gloating to gloomy. "Your face is average, but you have an exceptional figure. I offered you, a slave, a golden opportunity, but you dared to spit in my face? HM? Well, I want you to know, you aren''t going to die a peaceful death. And did anyone ever say that one had to be alive to, hmm, partake in the pleasures of the flesh? Hehehe... Hahahahahahaha!"


    The woman bit into her bottom lip. With the pain distracting her from her turbulent emotions, she took another step.


    Aria covered her mouth.


    "That..."


    ''They chained the stone blocks to the back of the carriage instead, hmm. That would make dragging that thing many times more difficult, so I guess they achieved their goal?'' Levi hummed.


    "These people sure know how to have fun," He said.


    "Let''s go."


    "Young Master..."


    "..." Levi paused before looking back slowly. "You want to help her?"


    Aria kept silent.


    "That would be easy, just get rid of the chains." He turned around.


    Aria''s face brightened.


    "But before that, can you deal with the consequences?" Under the mask, a gold glow pulsed through his eyes.


    "!!"


    "Why do you think they are watching this so quietly? They know that if something displeases the person on that carriage, it wouldn''t end there. He will call for more people to come and destroy their lives, no matter how small the offense. Knowing this, they won''t put themselves in danger foolishly. That''s the kind of situation this is.


    "Oh, but there are always those who enjoy watching other people get trampled." Levi sneered. His words resulted in muffled grumbles and moans from those that heard him.


    "Boy, um... I don''t know how to address you, but your thinking is not right. We don''t have any ability to help that woman. Don''t you see that coachman? He''s a martial artist, a cultivator! How are we supposed to help her? It''s best to just save yourself by keeping quiet. She''s not even one of us, any-Op-" The man realized what he was saying a little too late. With his hand over his mouth, he glanced over at the two.


    "... Do you see now? Disguising unwillingness as inability. Why would I waste hours of my time talking to things like him for no reason? Just the thought of it is turning my stomach." Levi turned to Aria.


    "You..."


    "And I know what you''re thinking. I have the ability, but still, I don''t want to help. Aren''t I worse than them then?" Levi asked.


    "I wasn''t-" Levi cut off Aria.


    "But let me pose a question to you. Between that woman and Nerezza, who do you consider most important?"


    "What? I don''t know her, I justˇ­"


    "Don''t you mean, ''I don''t know her, so how could I compare them''? Obviously, Nerezza is more important. Now let me ask another question." Levi paused briefly.


    "You can save that woman, but as I just explained, if you do that, it will greatly displease the person in that carriage, which will complicate things, making Nerezza''s retrieval more difficult. What will you do?"


    "You make the final decisions Young Master. You don''t need to ask meˇ­" Aria looked at the ground.


    "ˇ­ I won''t force you to answer. But don''t misunderstand either. I''m not saying that wanting to save her is bad, but if you can''t handle the inevitable consequences, then don''t bother. Helping her would without a doubt make things more complicated. And complication leads to uncertainties. If helping that woman makes retrieving Nerezza more difficult, who knows, maybe she might die while we''re trying to leave. In all honesty, with or without helping that woman, something like that could still happen, but the former would make the chance of it happening more likely."


    "..." Aria opened her mouth, but couldn''t say anything.


    "It''s human nature to put certain things before others, lives included. And I know I am a hypocrite when it comes to my dislike and disdain for others and their actions. But can you refute anything I just said? Knowing all of this, would you still go out of your way to help that woman?" Levi asked.


    "I-I-" Aria bit her lip.


    "ˇ­ And there''s nothing wrong with that. Really. You and Nerezza are family. Why should you risk her safety for someone you don''t know? Nerezza is one of us, so when something happens to her, we will naturally help. As for this womanˇ­ Helping her might very well do us, and her, more harm than good." Levi said.


    The face of the man at the side changed as Levi went on.


    "Remember, Aria. You can save whoever you want to, but before you do, think about the consequences. About how it will affect you. And the people associated with you. About he guys back home. And your very precious Nerezza."


    "... Boy, your thinking is very wrong. Weighing saving lives based on whether it might bring you trouble? I don''t even want to know what happened to you for you to develop like that..." The man shook his head. Hearing Levi''s reasoning made all the hairs on his arms and legs stand on end.


    "My thinking is wrong? When I reached out my hand for help but had it crushed under the foot of someone instead, was I in the wrong too?" Levi tilted his head. The dragon mask hid his expression.


    "I just want the people I care about to take care of and look after each other. To shelter them from the things people can do. To save them from any potential suffering. And, if I need to turn their eyes away from dying strangers to do that, then I will. I will personally cover their eyes and lead them away.


    "Human beings are ''dirty''. If you want to kill, ravage, or twist each other, then do it. I don''t care. But when you people overreach and walk into ''my world'' and negatively affect the people inside, that is when you force me to lift my hand. Don''t overreach, and maybe you all will live a bit longer."


    "You..." The man shook his head. "How selfish. You want only those who would look at you with admiration to live, while everyone else dies? Aren''t you too selfish? Do you want people to praise you that much?"


    "Hehehe. There is that stomach-turning righteousness you people exude in times like these. What happened to, ''It''s best to just save yourself by keeping quiet''? You''re thinking about saving yourself, aren''t you selfish then?"


    "..." Levi''s words startled the man. He didn''t think about it like that.


    "So you can be selfish, but I can''t? Y''know, I might be a hypocrite, but I don''t hide it. Maybe I''m depraved, or even twisted, but I have my reasons. As for you people... Hehehehe." Levi laughed for a time before stopping abruptly.


    "We''re leaving."


    Aria paused briefly. She turned to look at the slowly advancing carriage before following behind him.


    After they left, a man stopped in the space that had just opened up.


    "ˇ­ Why would you open your mouth, trying to speak righteousness when you had just said yourself that it was better to keep quiet? Y''know, adults like you are the reason people like that lad develop the way they do." The man spoke, and without waiting for a response, walked off.


    Being admonished in public, the man felt rage and shame pumping through his veins.


    "Thoseˇ­ Thatˇ­ I didn''t mean it like thatˇ­ He''s weighing lives because he can do something and chooses not to. But I can''t. If I do, they can destroy my life easilyˇ­" He mumbled.


    Someone who heard him paused. "Are you saying that you CAN''T do something? Nothing is stopping you from doing anything. You might die if you do something, so you stop yourself. But in the end, YOU are stopping YOURSELF. And that''s what makes you and that guy different. He''s open about the fact that he weighs the lives of people, and he firmly believes what he is doing is for the best of his family. But youˇ­ While fearing for your life is also a factor, we both know it''s not the only oneˇ­"


    The man sighed, shook his head, and walked away.


    "ˇ­ Why are all of you acting like you aren''t the same as me?! Don''t pretend to be different!"


    ''I just couldn''t explain myself properly and all of you try to humiliate me?! Just to make yourselves feel better!? Just to pretend that you didn''t all turn a blind eye to what just happened?!? As humans, we all judge things based on how it will affect our wellbeing! Don''t act like I am the piece of trash here!!'' The man clenched his fists, glaring with teary red eyes.


    Those who were still in the range of his voice paused and looked at each other. They could only leave in silence.

 146 Im Back 3

    The two garnered much attention.


    Compared to the natives who stuck to the sides of the road, someone in a dragon mask with a woman wearing such an eyepatch attracted as much attention as one would think.


    Luckily for them, though, the young noble spent all of his attention tormenting the woman. Not once did he look in their direction. This made their withdrawal an uneventful, but satisfying one.


    They walked silently with one in front and the other at the side, slightly behind.


    Left with no choice, the two searched for "cracks" in the wall of pedestrians that appeared before them. After a certain distance, no longer needing to worry about offending the god-like scion, the people went about their business as normal.


    "... Why are you still wearing it?"


    "Huh?" Levi turned his head.


    "You used the mask to gather information and found Nerezza''s location. So then, why are you still wearing it? That dragon mask... Hasn''t it served its purpose?"


    "..." Levi looked at her.


    "If you don''t want to tell me, then..." Aria smiled softly.


    "... No. It''s nothing important. If you want to know, I''ll tell you," Levi said.


    "I wore this mask for two reasons; The first one, you already know. During scary situations, people are more open to talking about certain things, so I just took advantage of that.


    "As for the second reason... In the sect I joined, there is a rule that prohibits people with important backgrounds from joining. And if they join, to protect those disciples with little to no backing, the rule forbids those people from coming into contact with their group or background until they leave the sect for good."


    "Then... You''re breaking that rule? But would the sect even know?" Aria muttered.


    "It''s better to stay cautious. I have an unrivaled amount of Qi, but no techniques to use it. That''s the only reason I''m going back after all of this.


    "And I would rather they not throw me out or hunt me down when I go back for what we''re going to do now."


    "... What we''re going to do?"


    "We''re here." Levi stopped.


    Standing at the end of the road, he looked up at the palace. It had a spacious perimeter, as no buildings stood within a certain distance.


    "Somehow..." Aria''s voice drew Levi''s attention.


    "It''s peaceful... walking from the tightly packed street... into this quiet space..."


    Levi squinted behind the mask. "... This isn''t a vacation."


    "Wha- I know! What do you take me for?! Besides. If I wanted a vacation, I would''ve taken one when you weren''t around." With crossed arms, Aria snorted.


    "... So you didn''t?" Levi lifted his mask, before asking in a strange tone.


    "W-Why are you looking at me with that disgusted expression? Was I supposed to?! Is not taking vacations something you can condemn people for?!?" She gripped his shoulders and shook him vigorously.


    "I-T''s no-t th-at..." Because of the shaking, Levi''s voice broke up. He freed himself before speaking.


    "It''s just... You should live a little while you can." After a brief pause, he walked toward the illustrious palace.


    "Oh..." Aria followed while thinking, ''... Is he still thinking about the old innkeeper?''.


    ''Well, that''s normal. Only a few days have passed since he found out about what happened... So what he''s trying to tell me is...'' She looked up at Levi.


    The two once again walked in silence.


    "... Hm." Levi''s pace slowed, and naturally, so did Aria''s. He began counting his steps internally. ''... five... Six... Sev-''


    Powerful winds picked up, stopping the two where they stood.


    The clouds above them began whirling, picking up speed as the seconds passed. Their clothes flapped in the chopping wind. They covered their ears in response to the deafening gale, but the air-sailing dust stung as it hit their skin. This forced Aria to take drastic measures: She set herself ablaze, protecting herself with a coat of flaming Qi.


    Not long after, the stormlike winds died down.


    Aria grumbled while rustling with her hair. As the Dragon mask covered Levi''s head, she suffered her plight alone. Above, an eerie cloud-crafted ring sat, as if crowning the palace itself. Its inner face was detailedly sharp, while the outer part blended with the blue background, fuzzy and uneven.


    "... Like royalty would ever leave their place of residence open for anyone to enter." Levi sneered.


    "Is thatˇ­ a shield made with Qi?" Aria''s voice shook.


    A giant dome enclosed the Aqua palace. It encompassed even a percentage of the outer perimeter, while its blue hue gave some insight into the name of the place it protected.


    "Heh heh, this wall is as thick as the first half of a person''s arm!" Levi rubbed his chin, grinning.


    "That''s not funny..."


    "Well, I suspected this. On a continent like this, it''s guaranteed that the people in charge will have a few tricks. It''s nothing to get worked up about." Levi knocked the thick translucent wall with his knuckles. He reached before his chest while saying, "What else can you do when a wall blocks your path?"


    His fingers tightened around a short golden handle. The long, pitch-black, single-edged blade attached to it looked fairly large compared to a handle like that of a dagger''s.


    "I never got the chance to ask, but what is that sword?" Aria seemed to recall something as she pointed.


    "Oh? This? I named it ''Silk Black''. It''s just a normal sword," Levi said.


    "Normal swords don''t turn into tentacles that can grow beyond the clouds. Stop being lazy and explain properly, Young Master!"


    "Sigh... Right. Remember how I can take bloodlines and change certain body parts?" Levi asked.


    ''Is this something hard to talk about?'' Despite thinking this, Aria still answered "Yes".


    "... I killed a giant spider, took its bloodline, and gained the ability to make spider silk from my fingertips." Levi explained.


    "Oh... Huh?! I-Is that how spiders work? I thought spiders shot webs from..." Aria''s gaze lowered.


    "Oi. Banish those disturbing thoughts."


    "B-But I didn''t even say-"


    "Moving on. Because this ''silk'' is made from my own flesh, I can control it like you would a limb. Even when it''s detached from my body. Understand?" Levi finished.


    Aria nodded. "Yes."


    "Then-"


    "But that doesn''t explain why it gets bigger?" Aria pointed at the blade.


    "..." Levi stuck his hand up under the mask. No one but himself knew what he was doing. After a lengthy pause, he spoke.


    "Two reasons. I am a primordial cultivator. My meridians expand as I absorb Qi. This cultivation method increases the size of those who practice it. But because I can control blood, I can also manipulate my growth by removing certain proteins and such, hence my normal size. Because my flesh makes up the blade of Silk Black, I can also change its size due to both the meridians and blood inside of it. Needless to say, yes, my blood inside of the sword. In another state called blood energy, which is the other reason I can change its size. The only reason I can use it as a sword is because Primordial Cultivation hardens the body. In addition to that, I compressed the originally giant silk strands, which were hard to begin with, to make Silk Black, increasing its durability." Levi paused.


    "... Right. Back to blood energy. Blood energy is made from the blood I absorb. It''s like Qi in that it can be both solid and also not. I can also change it back to blood if I need to heal myself, but if I use too much of said blood, my blood energy level will drop."


    "... It took all of this for me to get a sword that can withstand both my physical strength and my Qi. It''s a good thing I got the idea to make this, too. Otherwiseˇ­" Levi sighed to himself. He looked up.


    "ˇ­ Everything coming together?"


    "Uh, yes." Aria looked at him strangely. ''This is not any weirder than what he said before, so why be so reluctant to talk about it?''


    As Levi lowered Silk Black to his side, tiny red lines appeared intricately across the blade. "Since blood energy is inside, I don''t have to transfer any from my body, unless I need more of it. Also..."


    ''Because blood energy is in the blade permanently, my blood energy level has dropped. But since now isn''t the time to be explaining this stuff, I''ll keep that to myselfˇ­ He says after the everlasting monologueˇ­''


    "Yes?" Aria urged him to continue.


    "You should get ready."


    "For what?"


    Seconds after she asked, footsteps entered their ears. The stepping sounds trampled over each other, as a group of men wearing black robes surrounded the two. The swords at their sides rested quietly in their decorated sheaths.


    "What seems to be the problem, Sirs? My companion and I are touring the city. Did we offend you in some way?" Levi asked.


    A man walked out of the group. With his long gray hair tied with a white ribbon behind his head and a fat, gray mustache sitting on his upper lip, the man''s grainy voice flew out. "What need would a tourist have for such an eerie sword?"


    "As you know, sir, crime is everywhere. A while ago, someone kidnapped a person I know well enough to call a close family member. I haven''t seen her since. Because of this, I feel more comfortable when I have something in hand to protect myself with." Levi sighed.


    "... Go back. To the street. Then to your inn. Pack your things and leave this country. There is no need to have something this small blown out of proportion, right?" The man narrowed his eyes as he asked.


    "Wait, wait, wait, brother! Aren''t you being too rash? All we did was accidentally spring up this wall. Do you really have to kick us out of the country?!" Levi asked in an aggrieved tone.


    "ˇ­ For a cultivator of your level, don''t you find this game of yours in poor taste? We might not be your match in terms of levels, but we are not fools. Don''t think that you can play us to get what you want easily!!" The man clenched his fists behind his back as a vein bulged under his eye.


    "..." Levi kept silent.


    Qi fire burned on Aria''s shoulder.


    "Hehehe, it seems negotiations have broken down." Levi chuckled darkly. Aria readily leaned forward, her figure blazing grandly.


    "Aria!"


    "Young Master?" She answered gravely.


    "You deal with them." Levi picked his nose.


    Aria stumbled a comical distance. After steadying herself, flameless, she turned to Levi.


    "... Pardon?"


    "You need some fighting experience, right? I''m gifting you this opportunity." Levi turned.


    "You say that, but..." Aria was unconvinced.


    "Plus, I still have to get rid of this thing." Levi knocked the Qi shield.


    "..." This truth forced Aria''s words back down her throat.


    "And anyway, weren''t you upset because you couldn''t stop that woman back at that tribe properly? Use this chance to get accustomed to your power. Maybe even learn something." Levi snickered.


    "... Ok."


    Flames washed her body as Aria swept her gaze over the men.

 147 Im Back 4

    ''So this is what he meant.''


    Aria withdrew her gaze.


    ''... Am I this infatuated with her? So much that I would miss something this obviousˇ­? Why? She rejected me anyway...'' Her heart and mind slowed, bringing a downcast calmness. With narrowed eyes, her gaze became vacant. ''Young master said that she has her reasons, butˇ­ maybe she never even liked me. But how am I supposed to differentiate? Expecting her to reciprocate feelings I formed based on something as loose and flimsy as a joke... Maybe that is what this was to her these past years... A jokeˇ­? Or is she disgusted by us, as two women, being together...? What am I supposed to say when I see her again? Can I even be happy when I do? Can I tuck away my so-called feelings and smile happilyˇ­? ha, I ignored her for this long, and yet, now, I''m hoping for some satisfying reunion... Have I always been this selfish? Is this whyˇ­ No, that bastard is the one person I will never forgive, no matter his reasonˇ­''


    ''... Didn''t I promise myself that I wouldn''t do this again? That I wouldn''t set myself up? So why... Why did I...? Why did we have to...''


    "Does she-" Before she could finish raving, a forceful strike landed on her cheek. Every joint in her neck popped as this force pushed her head to the side. Her world spun. Landing hard on her side, the surge of pain returned her senses to her.


    "... That should wake you up." Levi''s murmur entered her ears.


    "Witnessing your acquaintance''s peril, not only do you show no sign of concern, you don''t even care to help her? Perhaps the person you spoke of left of their own will after witnessing the apathy with which you regard their life?" The man goaded. The older man''s display of strength gave the younger palace guards goosebumps. It filled them with confidence. Subconsciously, they knitted their brows and puffed their chests. With ragged breaths, they clenched their fists.


    Levi''s gaze coincidently swept over the man as he turned to Aria, calling out to her.


    "Y-Cough-Yes?" Aria cleared her throat while climbing up from the ground. The earlier strike''s force extinguished the flames covering her face and head. Something tickled the skin above her upper lip. Rubbing it, she smeared the liquid across her face. ''Blood?'', she thought, looking down at her stained fingers.


    "You won''t have any more problems here, right?"


    "Gulp-No..." A taste of iron entered her mouth as she swallowed. Levi swept his free hand out in her direction, after which, the discomfort in her neck eased and the blood on her face seeped back into her body.


    "Good." Levi took a glance at the man before turning away to face the Qi shield.


    Holding its side, Aria cracked her neck. Her flames crawled back up and covered her face.


    "... Although I''m not accustomed to my strength, my level is still higher than yours." Aria lowered her center of gravity.


    "ˇ­ Is that so?" Sighing, the man''s figure blurred.


    "!!" Although trying her best to follow with her eyes, the figure consistently stayed one step out of her field of vision. Before she knew it, a paralyzing fist to her ribs sent Aria stumbling. With bulging eyes, she crouched, coughed aggressively.


    "Level is important, yes. But skill is also detrimental." The man looked down at Aria. She noticed that his posture didn''t change. He still stood with one arm behind his seemingly unbendable back.


    The sea of guards watched in awe, whispering, and murmuring among themselves.


    "... Is she really at a higher level?" One fidgeted.


    "Why are you so nervous? Don''t you see Mr. Wolfgang is cooing her like a child? So what if her level is higher!" Another one put his hands behind his head.


    "Maybe I am overreacting, but you''re relaxing too much. I mean, what if he loses? Although Senior Wolfgang is number one in terms of technique, levels are also very important. I mean, if you get hit by Qi strong enough to shatter a mountain, technique alone won''t be able to save you."


    "Peh! None of us, not even together, have beaten Mr. Wolfgang in training! Ever! And this is a serious fight, meaning he won''t need to hold back. Do you believe he will lose?! But whatever, who gives a rat''s ass what you believe. You''ve never been good at hand to hand combat, anyway!"


    "..." The guard clenched his fists. He muttered, "So what if I''m bad at it? The reality is, hand to hand combat alone can''t topple mountains or part seas."


    ...


    "Ugh! Oof!"


    "ˇ­ Heartbreaking. Your ally has turned a blind eye to your suffering. To the extent of allowing it, really." Wind rippled out from his body as the man stopped.


    "Huff! Huff!!" Aria breathed unevenly.


    "It''s saddening to watch you suffer for a person who would leave you to die at any moment." With creased brows, the man spread his arms. "With such achievements at your age, it would be unfortunate if you stay with this person who will use and throw you away. Seeing this man''s true colors, even I am shocked, nevermind you. If you wish to clear your name, step aside. I''m sure everyone will understand your situation. If you''ve nowhere to go back to, you can stay with us. We, at the very least, take care of our own."


    "Huff... Huff... You know nothingˇ­"


    "... Is that your answer?" The man sighed. "A shame. Forgive me."


    With both hands neatly at his side, Qi slithered up and off of his shoulders. It spilled from his fingertips and crawled up his arms.


    Seeing this, a guard remembered something.


    "Hey, hehe, do you know Mr. Wolfgang''s nickname?" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.


    "Huh? Why so excited? What is it?"


    "It''s, heh hehˇ­ ", the guard chuckled. "They called him, ''Silver-fang Wolfgang''!"


    "Oh... I''m guessing that name has something to do with... that?"


    Silverish gray Qi enclosed the man''s arms. With his thumbs folded under and pressed up against his palms, the man''s arms ''transformed'' into two ''fangs''. Without a word, he vanished.


    ''He''s going to attack from behind. This time I''ll-?!'' As she turned, Aria caught sight of a silver glare through the corner of her eyes. Her thoughts swirled as she reached one conclusion. ''I''m...''


    ''Going to die.''


    Screech!!!


    A tooth aching screech sounded along with an explosion of force. Everyone hurriedly covered their ears, including Wolfgang. Aria used this chance. With her hands over her ears, she retreated a few hops. No one noticed the faint blue peeking out from under her hands.


    "Wait..." A soft voice sounded.


    "You!! Hurry and get him!!!" Removing blood-stained hands from his ears, Wolfgang pointed at Levi, roaring furiously.


    Levi had buried ''Silk Black'' deep in the glass-like Qi shield. A giant crack sat on its surface, rapidly healing. Hearing the howl, Levi turned his head. The lines on the black blade dimmed. "Hm?"


    "Agh! My arm! Put it out!" Following the blood-curdling screams, the guards froze. Aria had arrived beside Levi. With a wave of her hand, flames bloomed and scorched those in its path.


    "Dammit! If my arm is useless after this, I''ll kill you! I swear I''ll kill you!" Tearing up on the ground, a guard cursed.


    "Huff! Huff!" Aria looked at Levi, at the partly restored Qi shield, then back at him. "Huff... Are you ok?"


    "... I should ask you that." Levi cast her an apathetic glance.


    "Huff... I''m fine... Huh?"


    The pain and fatigue she felt vanished.


    "Did you...?"


    "Change of plans." Levi sighed lightly.


    "Yes?"


    "We''ll have to deal with this bunch before that thing."


    "Ok." Aria nodded. She looked back. ''... Why did I think it would be that simple? Young master isn''t all-powerful.''


    "Are you only realizing how stupid you are now?! What gave you the confidence to think you could get past this shield?!! Don''t think you''re getting away from here!!" Clutching his scorched arm, a guard said. He laughed crazily as beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.


    "..." Levi looked at the guard, but the mask obscured his expression. "Listen, Aria. At the base of this Qi shield is an array. To destroy it is as simple as shattering this outer shell. It''s not the only way, but one based on a simple concept."


    "As if you could even do that! Stop fucking dreaming!!" The guard''s eyes were bloodshot.


    "An... Array?" Aria''s heart sank.


    "I''m assuming they had it for, hmm, a few hundred years, collecting Qi continuously. But you don''t have to worry about that." Levi looked at Aria.


    "I can get rid of both the shield and array with a bit of effort."


    "I understand." Aria nodded. "I''ll keep them off of you until-"


    "But I don''t want to." Levi crossed his arms.


    ''... He already expressed that we''re going to Nerezza no matter what, so I don''t think he would joke at a time like this'', Aria thought.


    "... What do you mean?"


    "I mean, I want to take home a gift." Levi chuckled.


    "?" Aria tilted her head. "... Oh!"


    "But can you do it...?" She leaned in, whispering.


    "That depends." Levi crossed his arms.


    "On what?"


    "On you."


    "... Huh?"


    "Overriding an inscription is already dangerous enough, but an array? Hah!" Levi chortled.


    "ˇ­ When I''m dealing with the Qi shield, I won''t be able to help you."


    Aria paused. "... I understand. Don''t worry about m-"


    "Meaning." Levi rolled his eyes under the mask. "Wrap this up now so we can move on."


    "... Ok!" Aria stared at the dragon mask for a time. The dull flames lining her body seemed to gain life as they brightened. She arched her back, readying herself to jump back into the fray.


    "Stop! Stop! Stop!" Levi pinched his nose bridge. "..."


    "Yes?" Aria knitted her brows.


    "... What, sigh..." Levi pointed at her, up and down. "What is it you want to do with that?"


    "This?" Aria pointed at her flame cloaked arm. "... It''s supposed to be the best defense and offense."


    "How is that working out for you?" Levi quipped. "What is the use of your defense when someone can still hit and injure you?"


    "..." Aria kept silent.


    "Sigh. Highly compressed QI makes up this QI shield, about the same amount as I store in my meridians." Levi scratched his head, sighing. "Why was I able to crack it?"


    "... Because the quality of your Qi is better?"


    "You''re not wrong, but I''m trying to point out something else. Although this shield is strong, it''s not unbreakable. This shield has the same amount of thickness all the way around. So although it has the same amount of Qi as me overall, the surface in front of me doesn''t." Levi said.


    "Get it?" Levi knocked the shield with his knuckles like you would a door. "All that means is if I concentrate more power than this part of the shield holds, I can overpower it. Meaning, I can do things like this-" As a water droplet seeped from his knuckle, Levi knocked the shield once more.


    The wind howled as force blasted from the rapidly growing cracks on the shield''s surface, Blowing Aria''s hair back.


    Boom!


    A giant shard slammed into the ground before breaking down and blowing away with the wind.


    "-Easily." He finished.


    "..." With her eyes glued to Levi, Aria thought, ''He... isn''t all-powerful... right?''


    ''... Phew, showing off isn''t easy. Added to the fact that I don''t normally use such an amount of Qi, sigh... Well, I''ll just use this time to relax.''


    Aria wasn''t the only person watching Levi in shock. Wolfgang lost his composure a second time as he stared at Levi with widened, bloodshot eyes.


    "Get him!! Before he can break the shield!!!" He ordered.


    "..." Levi kept silent. Silk Black warped. The blade became rounded, like a rope. It lengthened considerably, and like a rope, it sagged.


    "We won''t let you endanger our masters!!" A guard roared. Ahead of the others by a bit, he swiftly closed the still considerable distance and even clenched his fists in advance.


    Just then, the sharp cracking of a whip sounded, and the man froze.


    "You..." He began sweating. He had a feeling that if he moved, something bad would happen.


    "See what you can do by concentrating force in one place?" Levi turned to Aria.


    "But what did-"


    "Ahhhh! Ahh-ugh!!" A man screamed, then threw up.


    "Wh-What happened!?"


    "I-Ugh! I barely brushed him!! And he just-He just split in half!!! Oughhh! Ughhh!" The man could barely hold himself up from the ground as he retched.


    "H-Hey man, get it together! Are you-Obviously he isn''t fucking okay, you idiot!" A man cut himself off, slapping his forehead in self-deprecation.


    "What are you doing!?! Use your swords, don''t you have any common sense?!?!" Wolfgang screamed, on the verge of puking blood.


    ''!!!''


    His scream reminded the men about something important.


    "W-We were so caught up in Mr. Wolfgang''s display that we rushed in for hand to hand combat...!"


    The guards looked at each other. They uniformly drew their blades, shuffling around to give each other space.


    "... So what do you think, Aria?" Levi glanced at her. Her gaze still hadn''t left the puking man, or what lay beside him.


    Levi snapped his fingers. "Focus."


    "Y-Yes?"


    "What are you going to do? They aren''t playing around anymore, they want to kill us. How are you going to deal with this?" Levi crossed his arms.


    "... I can''t die right now." Aria''s brows tightened. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A few calming breaths later, she opened and closed her hand.


    Flames spewed from her palm, causing the guards to shuffle back.


    "Not like that..." she whispered.


    Once again, she closed and opened her hand, but only a tiny flame formed.


    "Hehehe, if this isn''t terrifying talent." The mask hid Levi''s dark grin.


    "Although it''s fire, it''s also Qi. It''s Qi before fire, but is still fire..." Aria muttered.


    "W-What is she doing?" A guard muttered.


    "I don''t know, but I don''t want to find out!" A man charged. Before he could close any distance, the wind rippled and his head disappeared.


    "-oud stepˇ­ Do not. Disturb her." Following a dripping sound, all gazes landed on what was in Levi''s hand.


    "His-His head...!"


    "But he didn''t even move!"


    The men spoke with shaking voices and pointed with trembling fingers.


    "How would the likes of you know if I moved?"


    In response to Levi''s question, the man instantly closed his mouth.


    ˇ­


    "... If it is both Qi and fire, then I can weave it as Qi. But with the strength of fire: Heat." While muttering this, a glowing object began growing above Aria''s open palm. She grabbed onto it and lowered her arm.


    "Hmm, It''s too thin to be the handle of a sword," Levi mumbled. "Then..."


    "..." Strands of Qi grew from the flame-colored cylinder and began weaving. The chord-like object drooped as its length increased. Slithering, it continued growing on the ground.


    ...


    Following the object''s formation, Aria opened her eyes.


    Those who saw it all had the same thought.


    "What a beautiful whip."

 Chapter 148 - Im Back (5)

    Aria observed her whip, smothering the plaza in silence.


    A fiery Chrysanthemum sat on the end of its handle, in place of a wrist loop. The flower''s petals also decorated the ring, hiding it and the vibrant woven thong''s connection with their collective fur-like resemblance. A sputtering flame squirmed at the end of the whip, while a delicate orange glow wrapped it in its entirety, completing its look.


    The whip''s temperature betrayed Levi''s expectations as he swept a finger through the light aura. "Huh?"


    ''... A normal whip?'' He glanced at Aria before chuckling and retreating. ''Well, it''s up to her.''


    Aria scrutinized the whip. With a constricting grip, she stared at it in silence.


    "Take care of the woman, all of you!!!" Wolfgang dashed between the men. With the fanglike coating of Qi on his arms, he advanced with purpose.


    ''This one is the actual problem!''


    "... Why don''t you just follow the rules?" Levi muttered. Following the loosening of his grip, a hollow thump echoed as the now dried out head rolled on the ground.


    ...


    "Ahhhh!!!"


    The air rang as a reflective blade slid through it. Aria instinctively leaned back, but a cutting sensation tugged on her skin, shooting pain to the surrounding area. Blood squirted from the light mark on her neck. The force behind the attack caused a sensation akin to choking on water.


    "Cough!"


    Aria reached for her neck. Confirming the amount of blood flowing from the wound, she sighed.


    "Don''t run!!"


    Hearing the same whistling again, her hair stood on end. That very blade slammed into the brick road seconds after she sidestepped, stone powder sticking to its bloodstained tip.


    "Why aren''t you attacking?!?" The guard palmed his pommel, preparing to thrust. The sword stabbed through the air, dragging the solitary guard along behind it.


    "I-"


    "Attack her!!!"


    The immobile guards flinched. Light returned to their eyes as their slack postures tightened.


    ''... Oh.'' Red pulsed across Aria''s cheeks.


    "Ouu!!" The men charged with clicking footsteps. Metallic ringing accompanied their attacks.


    "..." Aria ducked a sword cutting for her neck. Crouching, she hopped to the side, avoiding a downward slash. This focused state allowed her to dodge strike after strike. Her reactions became so natural that she once again lost herself in thought.


    "Tsk! Strong cultivations allow even amateurs like her to...!"


    "Remember, all of you!! The higher the level, the harder the skin! For us Mind Opening Realm cultivators To injure her, coat your swords! Reference our QI control exercises! She''s only one person. We can do this much at least!!"


    "Even Mr. Wolfgang is only at the 6th level, but he suppressed her! Don''t lose yourselves!!"


    "Tsk! Stop moving around so... much!!" A man thrust at her chest.


    Aria''s brow twitched before both knitted. Her shoulder throbbed as a warm liquid ran down her arm. The cool air flowing through the hole in her sleeve made the deep gash more uncomfortable.


    The assault continued, with Aria sustaining multiple inconsequential wounds, either slightly more or less severe than her shoulder.


    ...


    Standing before a blue rivaling that of the sky, a figure watched casually the scene before him. The immediate surroundings of this youth, eerily dark, continued to darken unnaturally. An elongated black flame burned before him, adding to the gloomy atmosphere.


    "Aghhh!!"


    A man lay on his back. The ribbon that once hung gloriously from his locks lay strewn beside him. He gripped his unkempt gray hair, following which echoed the sound of tearing. Blood beads soon rushed out of each strand''s previous base. The man continued to thrash, staining what remained of his hair. Tears streamed from his eyes and saliva from his mouth, wide as he roared.


    "... ''Staring Abyss''." Levi tilted his head back, allowing the clear sky into his view.


    On the ground, Wolfgang curled up. His heart-wrenching cries became soft sobs. With shattered fangs, he lay trembling.


    "... Sigh." Gazing down without lowering his head, Levi''s mental energy flame drew the darkness in before dissipating. As his surroundings quieted, shouts and gasps entered his ears, drawing his attention.


    "... Why isn''t she using her whip?" He grumbled. "It''s not like she needs techniques right away to use it. Just control the QI and the whip will go where it''s supposed to."


    Levi turned to watch Aria''s fight. As he lifted his foot to complete the turn, a blade pierced Aria''s stomach and out through her lower back.


    Levi''s foot paused.


    Aria''s eyelids flicked open, displaying her eyes'' whites. She drew the whip''s handle over her shoulder, then swung. Following a sharp crack, a roaring explosion of flames ravaged the group of palace guards. Those in one piece screeched as they flew.


    The man who impaled her had vanished, but his sword remained in the side of her stomach as a gust, born of the earlier explosion, dragged a mass of ash along with it.


    Levi''s foot met the ground as he observed the remains of the explosion, a giant flaming crescent burning on the now upturned brick road. The upper half of a corner building, partly destroyed, began burning as a small percentage of the attack had reached it.


    "Huff! Hu-Cough! Cough, cough..." Aria''s pupils finally rolled down. She wobbled as weakness, followed by a delayed burst of pain, overcame her. As she looked around, her brows tightened. Added to the partly destroyed street, buildings within a certain range suffered damage from the explosion''s shock-wave. Scorched lumps and raw chunks of flesh also littered the ground.


    She looked at the sword still buried in her stomach and, noticing the ash-dusted handle, began retching. She grabbed the blade to avoid touching the ash, and clumsily pulled it out, carving herself up more.


    Levi watched as Aria covered her mouth, but unable to settle her stomach, soiled her hand instead.


    ''So that was the case... The only other time she should have ever killed someone was back at that colosseum, but... I''m sorry. You keep expressing an intent to shield me, but if a person comes intending to kill and you haven''t found your resolve to do the same, you will be on the losing end. I didn''t do this because I wanted you to hate me... But even if you do, I''ll accept it...''


    "Knowing that this moment of hatred will save your life someday," Levi muttered. "Or maybe I''m just doing something unnecessary..."


    ...


    "Huff... Huff..." A man, drenched in sweat and blood, looked around with watery eyes. Hearing a crunch after he stepped forward, he looked down at a charred lump. Its hollow inside became viewable after he removed his foot. The man hobbled a few steps, clutching his broken arm at his side.


    "Ron...? Hughs? How... How many of you..."


    The lump in his throat remained immovable, no matter how he swallowed.


    Kneeling before the crackling flames in the distance, a sickly figure heaved. Following the knitting of his brows, tears streamed from the man''s eyes.


    "Sniffle! You... don''t have the right... to be crying..." He wiped his nose. He scanned the ground before picking up an abandoned sword. Its tip scraped the ground as he limped forward.


    A pale-faced, red-eyed Aria looked over her shoulder.


    "... Stay away from me".


    "Isn''t it too late for that...? Haha... These black chunks scattered around...? We both know what they are." The man''s choked voice became grim. "Don''t delude yourself into thinking both of us will walk away from this... Either all of my brothers and I sacrifice ourselves to kill you and fail, or we succeed. But as long as even one of us still draws breath, we will never stop."


    Aria''s grip tightened so much that the whip in her hand began trembling.


    Dragging steps and muffled groans became commonplace as others picked themselves up from the ground and began converging. Whether they bled from bloodied eye sockets, stumbled with twisted legs, or lacked balance because of a newly missing arm, the men didn''t stop.


    Biting her lower lip, Aria said, "Just stop! You''re all wasting your lives!!", spraying tiny droplets of blood.


    "I beg to differ. We are serving our kingdom and its leaders. This is the highest honor we could ever have!"


    "You should worry about yourself." The man continued. "Your hand is shaking so badly... do you have a condition?"


    Aria''s lips trembled.


    "Brothers!!!!"


    "OUUUU!!" The men responded by charging. To reach their goal, some had no problem with crawling.


    Aria froze.


    Leading the charge, the man lifted the ownerless sword as he arrived before Aria.


    In her confused state, she was in no position to react.


    ''Compress the Qi in your body and release it.''


    She followed the directions of the foreign voice in her mind. Lacking Qi, she re-absorbed the whip.


    The man ignored this development. His thoughts were simple: One of them would die. But he had long stopped caring about who it would be.


    Aria shone brilliantly as he lowered his sword.


    Blazing Qi streamed from her body, flowing outward in every direction with force, scorching whatever it came into contact with.


    A water bubble formed around Levi as the black flame before him scattered.


    ...


    In the quiet space, the only sound was that of crackling smolders.


    The heat acted like a vengeful spirit; it refused to dissipate.


    The scorch marks on the ground led back to their still origin.


    Aria stood in place, looking at the ground. Even as the brittle wall of a building collapsed in the distance, she remained immobile and unresponsive.


    "Sigh." Levi walked to her.


    "Hey."


    Aria twitched. He called out to her a few more times but didn''t get a response.


    "... I can make you forget."


    Aria turned her head, but not enough to see over her shoulder.


    "This only happened because of me... You don''t have to suffer because of it."


    "I can block out those memories... Destroy them if you-"


    "No."


    Levi closed his mouth a few seconds later. The two stood in silence.


    "This choice was one that I made, so I will live with it. I will..."


    "Yeah...? Sigh." Levi pet her head. "Then hurry and fix your face."


    "... Ok."


    ...


    Crunching steps sounded behind him, causing Levi to turn away from the Qi shield.


    "Feeling better?"


    "... How are you going to deal with this array?"


    Whereas the ground had scorch marks staining it, the shield still shone a brilliant blue. Meaning the heat that was strong enough to scorch people to ash did not affect it.


    "Well... This is just a feature of the array. The actual thing should be somewhere close. I would say... At the base of this shield. Somewhere underground."


    Levi peeked at Aria.


    "But where it is isn''t important."


    "..."


    "..."


    "Heh heh..." He laughed dryly.


    ''How awkward!''


    Facing the shield, he reached out both hands while thinking, ''To locate the array is easy... Just send some Qi through, opposite to the shield''s Qi flow, until you find the source...''.


    Qi spilled from between his palms and the shield, followed by a constant screeching. Because of the resistance given by the shield''s Qi, Levi had gained a weird sight as his QI passed through it. He "followed" his Qi as it moved toward the source, i.e. the array.


    ''And when you find it...''


    Beads of sweat formed on Levi''s face.


    ''Gradually replace the creator''s Qi with your own... using your body as a filter to release the original Qi...''


    "What isˇ­" A popping sound caught Aria''s attention.


    "?!"


    Similar to her earlier attack, Qi poured from Levi''s every pore, pushing her back. But unlike her destructive, blazing Qi, this one was more like a very, very forceful wind.


    The sound became more distinct.


    As Aria searched for its source, her eyes rounded.


    "Stop!!"


    Boiling blood seeped from rapidly forming boils on Levi''s arms. Although unsure, Aria felt that the percentage of his body hidden by clothes might be worse.


    Levi didn''t respond. The Qi spilling from the cracks between his hands and the shield increased. Steaming blood splashed onto the ground.


    "..." Aria clenched her fists. She reached out to rip Levi away from the shield, but the Qi output from his body increased, forcing her further away.


    She watched as blood poured out the bottom of the dragon mask.


    ''His body can''t take this... ''


    An indescribable feeling caused her stomach to ache.


    "I have to stop him..." She tried to gather her Qi, having forgotten her earlier expenditure.


    "Cough!" Levi''s body shook as he hacked up more blood.


    Aria forced Qi out in a panic.


    "Agh!!"


    Shocking pain forced her to her knees as cracks grew across her Dantian.


    "Ugh... Don''t... Why now...?"


    Cold sweat slid down her face as she struggled to get up.


    The Qi spilling from Levi''s body increased exponentially, as did the blood.


    ''No...''


    Aria''s vision became cloudy as a tear slipped from her eye.


    Suddenly, Levi''s grip tightened, tearing through the shield''s surface. Parallel cracks spread out as if to represent his ten fingers.


    Following the initial shattering sound, tremendous force spewed from the cracks.

 Chapter 149 - Im Back (6)

    Reduced to a dull and feeble version of itself, with spiderweb cracks throughout, the Qi shield threatened to collapse.


    Glass-like shards tumbled down the steep dome with hollow clinking.


    "Huff... Huff..."


    Levi ignited his mental energy, causing a slick black flame to form before him. A translucent wave of the same color spread out, lowering the surrounding temperature.


    His voice rough, Levi said, "Come", with difficulty.


    Following a feeble gesture, the earth quaked, quickening the shield''s collapse. Glittering blue particles fell from its center, prompting the crumbling''s spread.


    A dull light popped out from the ground before streaking toward Levi and stopping before him.


    Dulled by the mental energy coating, a blue palm-sized crest shone.


    Lifting his arm, Levi paused. The blood on the ground evaporated into a red cloud before surrounding him and vanishing. He then plucked the crest from the air with slight difficulty, ignoring the spots of blood still clinging to the ground.


    "Tsk, that hurt like hell. For this kind of nonsense, two years was too short a break."


    Levi''s fingers trembled as he clenched and released them. Noticing an object beside him, his eyes gradually drifted.


    "... Huh? What happened?!" He rushed to pick up Aria, twitching. She stood with his help, but soon after, a shocking pain crippled her.


    "Tsk!" Levi took control of her blood, using it to inspect her body. "... How the hell did that happen?! You-"


    "I... think my dan... tian is breaking..."


    "How very observant of you!!"


    Levi took the necklace from inside his robe and grabbed the ring while muttering, "mushrooms", as beads of sweat on his forehead swelled.


    ...


    "Finally sitting still, are we? I had thought you''d lost the capacity."


    Following the entrance of a well-dressed lady, overwhelming sweet scents wafted out.


    Sitting on the only piece of furniture in the room, a person observed their bandage-ridden wrists, expressing no intent to respond.


    These two, as the only occupants of the elegant yet empty room, controlled the mood between them. So when the sitting figure gave no response, the courteous atmosphere crumbled to gloom.


    "... How disrespectful must they be for a child to stay silent following the words of her mother?"


    "Carefulˇ­ As this kingdom''s lady, such fibs could devastate your image."


    "Fib?"


    Along with her folding fan, the woman''s smile hit the ground with a resounding smack.


    "What fib?! Do you mean to say that your upbringing by me is fiction?!"


    "''This kingdom''?! For how many years has ''this'' kingdom provided for you?! Now you believe that you are above us?!"


    "... You misunderstand, Aunt. That you brought me up in place of my mother, ''our'' late queen, is an unshakable fact. That I, however, am required to refer to my biological brother as ''cousin'' though we are of the same father, might cause some... confusion in the minds of lower folk. Therefore, I strived to ''assist'' you in remembering your important image."


    "Nerezza!"


    A sharp smacking sound echoed throughout the room, softer with every resound.


    "It is a known fact that his highness did not fancy your mother, my elder sister, but as the throne''s inheritor, tradition demanded that his future wife excelled in the ways of martial arts and cultivation!"


    "No one expected complications to riddle your birth, leading to her passing!"


    "Because of her outstanding talent, your mother became our queen, and I who joined the royal family with her followed as his majesty''s concubine. Following her tragic death, I took it upon myself to bring you up with my only son, as my daughter, to allow my sister to rest without worry. With love and care, I toiled day and night for you both! How could you be so indifferent as to insinuate that I paid you no heed?"


    Nerezza, having re-centered her face, looked down at her wrists like before.


    "Having you refer to him as ''cousin'' was for other... unimportant reasons. Leo has always been kind to you, as have I. That it troubles you this much to favor him now, as the cultivation world has weathered him so, baffles me to no end."


    "... Do you know?"


    "Know what, dear?"


    "... The ''favor'' my cousin is asking."


    "Naturally. ''Tis why I''m convincing you."


    Nerezza lifted her head, taking in her foster mother''s looks for the first time in 4 years.


    "You... look the same... so... how is it you changed this much?"


    "Speak up, dear. How am I to understand if you don''t explain?"


    "I''m talking about the fact that your son wants to marry me off for cultivation resources!!"


    Nerezza grabbed the chair''s arm and flung it at the wall as lightning trailed behind.


    "About how you know about it, but still think you can convince me to do it!"


    Flinching, The Lady retreated a step.


    "... Y-You... To think your cultivation would improve so much... I''ve never had a significant aptitude..."


    "How did you become like this, hmm...? Huh?! From a mother who shared love without prejudice to what?! A person who gripes about gender importance?!-"


    The ground shook after a light boom.


    "What on earth is going on?! Don''t tell me Leo has gotten into some kind of trouble-"


    The woman turned to exit the room, but a lightning bolt flashed past her, blasting a hole in the wall. Lightning crackled as it crawled across Nerezza''s body. "We''re not done yet!!"


    "You would dare-"


    "Shut up! It''s my turn to talk!" The electrical output increased.


    "Eek!"


    "When I was younger, every day you would reassure that I could do whatever I want! That I could chase any dream I had! That even though I was a girl, I still had that freedom! But then what?! You try to coerce my father behind my back?!? To arrange partners for me without my knowledge?!? ''For the kingdom''s gain''?!"


    "... AND SO!?!" The lady bit her lip.


    "Were you the only child cheated in such a way, dear?! How many young ladies before you, how many misses of prominent families watched their homes shrink in the distance with tear-blurred gazes as their parents sent them off, calculated smiles carved on their faces?! All ladies of status have experienced this stage in life. Or will experience it! Because that is how this world works! So why would you be any different? Why would you believe your stage would not come?!"


    "Because you made me believe!!" Nerezza''s shoulders rose and tightened.


    "Because you, mother, promised me that such a thing would never happen...!!"


    Water droplets splashed onto the ground.


    The Lady stared at her, at a loss for words. Following a loud boom, the room shook, causing her to tumble.


    "Ah!"


    "Careful!" Nerezza caught her wrist in time.


    Regaining her balance, the lady snatched her hand away. "Release me!", she said.


    Nerezza stared at her empty hand.


    "Right..."


    "... Don''t act as if it was only me at fault. As women, we will all experience this at some point. Later, as a parent to a daughter of your own, what will you tell her? That she can never be free? Such a thing would destroy the child! At least when they''re older, processing such a thing would become much more practical..." The Lady fidgeted.


    "No... You''re just using your experience as an excuse to let your child suffer alone because you aren''t brave enough to help them through a tough period in their life..."


    She flinched at those words. At her silence, Nerezza chuckled softly.


    "You know... When I left on that army ship, I had a plan..."


    "To repay the soldiers who helped me, I married a local sect master, who in return allowed them a certain amount of freedomˇ­"


    "What?!? You married?!"


    The lady''s finger trembled as she pointed. Nerezza didn''t reply.


    "T-Then... your brother won''t be able to compete with the other princes with their cultivation rates... A person from such a sect would scorn even the most prestigious woman if she was no longer pureˇ­"


    Watching the lady bury her face in her hands, Nerezza kept silent.


    "... All I wanted was for my son to reach the heights I couldn''t... Sniffle! I didn''t want someone to overshadow him as my sister did me... But your aptitude had always been exceptional... Sniffle-But as a mother, even though I loved you like a daughter, nothing would change the fact that you weren''t... Added to the fact that you''re a girl, as you grew, I invested more in the child that society had deemed more precious... Because even if it was selfish, even heartless, I wanted my child to shine brighter than anyone, including you... Sniffle! Now, with only a useless arm left, how is he to shine at all... Can you tell me...?"


    As her mother wept, a dull pain pulsed through Nerezza''s c.h.e.s.t.


    "... So I wasn''t a daughter in your eyes... but an obstacle."


    After a brief silence, she continued the recount of her time on the Cloud Continent.


    "But even though I had married, I had no intention of, nor did I give myself to anyone..."


    The Lady looked up at Nerezza, wide-eyed.


    "-Because that would have defeated the purpose of leaving here."


    "My plan was simple. I would hide in the shadow of that man until my trail had gone cold, and the soldiers left. And afterward, I would leave that continent too, because if someone from here knew where I was, I couldn''t sleep comfortably."


    Nerezza sighed with a languid look.


    "But someone destroyed my planˇ­ That same someone then brought me along, providing another shadow large enough for me to hide under and wait-"


    "Was it the person who cut off your brother''s arm?!? Leo brushed me off when I questioned him about it... I only barely heard him growling about how he wouldn''t let someone off!"


    "... Although we found issues with each other at first, we soon resolved them. And I found that he wasn''t as bad as I first thought... So my thoughts of leaving wavered."


    "... And after staying with him for a bit... I met a strong person... Who, although ill-treated by life, carried on living with a smile."


    "So I stayed... For both of them... But I knew that you people would never leave me alone... so when... When..." Nerezza''s fingernails were on the verge of cutting through her palms as she clenched her fists.


    "You... Fell in love...?"


    "... And then, what I dreaded had happened... Your son, my very own brother, appeared in the same place as that person I left to greet after two years... On such a massive continent, he was in the same town..."


    "And what did my brother say to me after four years...? ''... Senior brother has been lacking a play-thing lately, so come with me''. What a tear-jerking reunion! He didn''t even hide the reason for such a greeting. That taking me to this Senior brother of his would earn him medicine to fix his crippled arm, along with a few cultivation resources..."


    Nerezza lifted her head, laying her gloomy gaze on The Lady.


    "Imagine the heartbreak I felt then, and now, after seeing how the once two most precious people in my life viewed me all this time."


    "N-Nerezza... Please understand! Your brother-"


    The door flew open and slammed into the wall.


    "Leo...? W-Why are you-"


    "Nerezza, you bitch!! You called that bastard here, didn''t you!?!" Having just kicked the door in, the spear-wielding prince, Leo, stomped into the room with bloodshot eyes.


    "... What are you talking about?" Nerezza cast an empty gaze.


    "Stop playing dumb! I''m going to f.u.c.k.i.n.g kill you!!"


    "Leo, please calm down! Your sister can still-Ahh!"


    "Get out of my f.u.c.k.i.n.g way!!!" The prince threw his mother to the ground. Nerezza glanced down before meeting her brother''s mad eyes.


    "... I treated you as a brother before, even when you lifted your hand against me. Please think carefully before you act this time..."


    Her words seemed to have enraged the prince further as he broke into a sprint. His running was awkward because of his newly missing arm. Before Leo could close in on Nerezza, beside the door, the wall shattered as pieces flew into the room. A black flash cut through the thin dust cloud, shooting toward Leo. It lifted him off his feet, sweeping him across the room before slamming him into the wall.


    The dust slowly settled, revealing the prince''s figure. With blood dripping from his chin, he gripped a golden hilt as best he could, but couldn''t muster the strength to pull its black blade from his torso. This blade pinned him to the wall securely, making it impossible to remove it with his semi-useless arm.


    "Do you ever learn?"


    Nerezza''s eyes widened at the familiar voice, but even more surprising was the person swiftly moving toward her. A soft poof echoed through the room as she caught the dashing figure in her arms, stumbling a few steps backward.


    "... Aria...?"

 Chapter 150 - Important Notice

    Hi, everyone.


    This notice is a bit late... well, about a year late, but what can ya do, right? Anyway, I just popped in this time to talk about the fate of this novel.


    I know there are a few people who are wondering if it''s dropped or what. If you are one of the few who is dreading that possibility, well don''t worry, I haven''t dropped it. I''ll be rewriting my first, relatively successful novel, "The Blood King". But it''s not going to happen tomorrow, I mean, it took me a flipping year just to come back to write this note. And the reason it''s not progressing faster is that this is just one of many novels I''m working(or trying to work) on. I''m trying to make this rewrite the best version of this novel, which will also take a lot of time. All in all, what I''m saying is, I''m sorry for keeping you, this novel''s readers, out of the know when it comes to the novel''s fate, as well as for the long time it will take to have it up and running again.


    What I''m striving for in this rewrite is what every writer strives for. Outstanding characters that develop along with the story, an expansive world, tantalizing plot, fluid prose, and many more things that would allow for a great read.


    I''m not telling you to keep this novel in your library. As a reader myself, I know how much of an eyesore a giant cl.u.s.ter of novels is, so if you need to regain some peace in your library, get rid of this. ???? Because when The Blood King rises again, it will appear in front of you once more. And then you can scoop this novel of mine back up!


    Thanks for your time, and thank you for reading!