Far away in the First Abyss, a poker game was still ongoing.
“All in.”
“Call!”
Maxen was dominating the poker table, winning hand after hand without breaking a sweat!
Three demon gods were playing cards with him; probably the only place in the world where such a game could happen.
During the game, the three demon gods would casually chat.
Any information they mentioned would be absolute secrets in the outside world.
Maxen always listened but never spoke, keeping his lips tightly sealed.
“Did you hear that madman escaped?”
The Fifth Demon God yawned, feeling a bit sleepy, “He’s a good person, unlike you guys.”
To the Fifth Demon God, there was only one good person among the human powerhouses- Calderon!
Calderon was great; he genuinely wanted to kill demon gods!
Other top human powerhouses spent their days scheming, trying to suppress the abyss and kill the Supreme Demon God.
Calderon was different; he just wanted to kill demon gods.
Mentioning Calderon, the Archdemon fell silent.
The Second Demon God sneered, “Big bro, isn’t he coming to kill you? If I remember correctly, you did a lot of things to piss him off back in the day.”
The Archdemon snorted, “Play cards, less talk.”
“Speaking of Calderon, I remember something.”
The Fifth Demon God said leisurely, “He walked both the paths of slaughter and death, right? I heard he killed Thanatos?”
Maxen suddenly spoke, “That question requires an extra fee.”
“No problem.”
The three demon gods readily paid the fee, waiting for Maxen’s answer.
Maxen answered seriously, “I don’t know.”
You took the money and said you didn’t know?!
The three demon gods almost flipped the table in anger!
Suppressing his inner rage, the Fifth Demon God continued, “If Calderon won against both Thanatos and Hades, he should have the corresponding authority in the Tower of Truth.”
“That’s right, but there aren’t many floors related to those paths.”
The Second Demon God counted on his fingers, “Only the Slaughter Stele on the fourteenth floor is interesting. But the floor level is too low, and the challengers are too weak. Calderon probably won’t bother them.”
Listening to the demon gods’ chat, Maxen yawned.
He had just received news that Thor had reached level 300.
Having cleared 26 floors, there was no reason for a level 300 Thor to return to the fourteenth floor.
Nothing to worry about.
…
…
In the slaughter space, Mike slowly opened his eyes.
Surrounded by white mist.
He instinctively felt something was off, different from his previous challenge of [I Want to Be the First]!
Before Mike could exit, an old voice came from the depths of the mist.
“Thor, I heard you want to fight me ninety-nine times?”
As the mist cleared, an elderly man with a kind face appeared before Mike, sitting cross- legged on the ground.
With white hair and eyebrows, the old man looked extremely aged, his face full of wrinkles.
“Sit.”
Calderon pointed to the spot opposite him, indicating for Mike to sit down.
Mike also sat cross-legged, obediently.
“I can only stay awake for a short time each day.”
As Calderon spoke, an ancient wooden tea table appeared between them, with two teacups and a pot of tea placed on it.
Calderon explained, “Yesterday when you came, I wasn’t fully awake. I was afraid I might accidentally kill you, so I didn’t show up.”
Mike didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, self-deprecatingly saying, “Thank you.”
Calderon continued, “I’ve fought countless battles, slain countless demons, never been weak, and have no regrets in life. If there’s one thing I regret, it’s not seeing Maxen get married and have children, fearing I’d fail his father’s trust.”
Calderon’s words made Mike’s expression serious.
Generally, such dangerous statements indicated that Calderon had a death wish.
Mike knew that Maxen’s father had a deep relationship with Calderon.
According to Maxen, Calderon wasn’t his godfather, but their bond was as strong as that of a father and son.
“Fighting a potential Supreme Being, I no longer have such residual will. I’m over three hundred years old now; how can I bully a child like you?”
In his clear state, Calderon was unexpectedly reasonable, even gentle and amiable!
He continued, “But there are two other things I can’t let go of.”
Mike nodded in agreement, “If you can’t let go, then hold on a bit longer.”
Calderon: …
Mike couldn’t possibly misunderstand Calderon’s underlying meaning.
He had a death wish, on the verge of exploding.
If he let go of these two things, Calderon would truly have no attachments and go on a killing
spree.
Ignoring Mike’s comment, Calderon continued, “The first thing is Little Nine. He’s been with me for so many years, suffering a lot. Having him stay with Shadow Nine isn’t a long-term solution. In the future, please take care of him.”
Saying this, Calderon looked at Mike with hopeful eyes.
Mike tentatively asked, “If I don’t take care of him, will you wait a bit longer?”
“No.”
Calderon shook his head, “You are someone Shadow Nine treats like a grandson, so I know you wouldn’t do such a thing. Or rather, you all have kind hearts but just don’t say it.”
Calderon saw through it clearly.
After mentioning the first thing, Calderon continued,
“The second thing I can’t let go of. In my life, I’ve mastered all kinds of weapons, and my hand-to-hand combat is unparalleled. But I have no true successor, which is a regret.”
Mike raised an eyebrow slightly. Was this leading to him becoming a disciple?
Mike had already thought of how to refuse.
Calderon’s next words made Mike feel a bit awkward, “But you’re a mage.”
Mike was silent for a few seconds, then asked, “Should I leave?”
Calderon muttered to himself, “Maxen is good. I planned to teach him everything I know. But
he seems to prefer using a sword and has a better instructor, so he doesn’t need me.”
Calderon shifted the topic,
“Your talent should be related to your eyes; otherwise, you wouldn’t have seen Gregory’s
talent awakening method.”
Mike openly admitted, nodding, “Indeed, I can see some strange things, but it’s not very
useful most of the time.”
[How dare you say that about me? Wait until the 95th floor, and I’ll show you my power!]
After the second awakening, Mike’s talent seemed to have become a bit ‘cheeky,’ even daring
to threaten Mike.
Calderon candidly said, “I want to ask for your help to ‘see’ my skills properly. If you find a
suitable successor in the future, pass them on for me.”
Calderon’s meaning was clear.
How much of his skills Mike could learn depended on Mike’s ability.
If Mike truly mastered everything, Calderon would have no regrets.
Though proud, Calderon had a broad mind.
In fact, Calderon had served as an instructor in various corps, teaching without reservation
and with great patience.
Among his registered disciples, there were several nine-tier Lords.
Dozens of Lords and countless Chiefs.
In the mid-to-high-level combat forces of the United Corps, most had benefited from
Calderon’s teachings.
However, Calderon had faked his death decades ago, causing his name to be gradually forgotten. The new generation knew little of his deeds.
In fact, Calderon’s prestige and influence in the United Corps were second only to the three
Supreme Beings!
Thinking about it, this made sense.
There weren’t many Ultimate Lords among humans.
Shadow Nine preferred to stay in the shadows, and while [Guardian Shadow] revered him, few
in the sunlight had witnessed his terror.
For a long time, Calderon had been the ‘First Ultimate Lord’ of humanity on the surface.
The first under the Supreme Beings.
What he wanted now was to find a true successor through Thor’s eyes.
Mike was silent for a moment, knowing he had no reason to refuse.
“Alright.”
“Please.”
Calderon raised his hand, and a training ground appeared before them, filled with various
weapons.
Calderon’s so-called see.
Wasn’t just him performing a set while Mike watched.
It was real combat!
Mike stood up, stepped into the training ground, took a deep breath, and bowed.
“Please instruct me!”
“Enough with the bullshit.”
Calderon snorted, beckoning with his hand, “You attack first.”