Boom!
The black-robed man felt a massive ringing in his head, his soul taking a heavy blow. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at John, his voice trembling, “The Heaven enforcer! You… you’re The Heaven enforcer? How is this possible?”
He could feel the immense power of Heaven’s laws embedded in John’s earlier strike, and immediately deduced his identity.
But he couldn’t understand why a The Heaven enforcer—one of the most trusted followers of The Heaven—would be exiled to the Realm of Chaos.
“Not dead?” John was somewhat surprised. Judgment bypassed any soul defense, so could this guy’s Soul Technique be even stronger than his own?
Frowning, John didn’t bother with further thought. He raised the United Sword high, and a massive sword beam ripped through the sky, seemingly descending from the Nine Heavens above.
“Ninth Heaven Sword!” His cold voice echoed.
The black-robed man’s face turned ashen. He knew there was no way he could block this attack. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, “Human, I’ve already reported your information. The Celestial Vault will never let you go…”
Boom!
The massive sword beam struck, and his words were cut short as his body was instantly obliterated.
The Plunder ability activated, and John’s attributes increased slightly. His Dark Magic Damage also increased by another 0.1%.
These black magicians from the Celestial Vault all wielded powerful dark elemental laws. Killing them granted John a permanent 0.1% increase in Dark Magic Damage as part of the Plunder effect.
“Master, I’ll clean up the battlefield!” Avis flew over excitedly, diving into the swamp to collect the spoils dropped by the black-robed men.
Most of the items were Dark Magic Cores, which would give him a significant boost in power.
John was generous, telling Avis, “All these Magic Cores are yours.”
“Thank you, Master!” Avis’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly searched the swamp, not leaving a single body untouched.
John, on the other hand, returned to the sailboat.
“John, your power has increased so much,” Sini said, walking over, her face filled with astonishment.
The other girls were equally surprised.
Especially Xayah, who guessed that John must have refined the Primordial Gourd. Her last shred of hope vanished, and she knew she couldn’t avoid the punishment this time.
Now, she just hoped that their participation in the King Selection on behalf of Dragon Ascending City could help her avoid the consequences.
John simply nodded, his gaze scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. He asked, “Where are we now?”
“Big brother, we’re looking for powerful dragon-type magical beasts in this swamp,” Spoorate said excitedly.
John was a bit speechless and said, “Let’s head to Dragon Ascending City first. We can deal with this later.”
His thoughts were preoccupied with Ice Talker’s safety.
Some powerful figures in Forest City had already obtained control over Ice Talker’s ice and snow laws.
He had a sinking feeling that Ice Talker was being targeted.
It was the perfect opportunity to use Dragon Ascending City as a stepping stone to enter Forest City, participate in the King Selection, and rescue Ice Talker.
The girls nodded in agreement. While there were many magical beasts in this swamp, there were no dragon-type magical beasts here, so it didn’t excite Spoorate.
The sailboat cut through the waves as John once again chose to enter seclusion, refining the Black Magic Crystal.
He was deeply curious about what exactly the Dark Heaven Laws were.
He entered the cabin, took out the Black Magic Crystal, and began the process of refining it.
Whoosh!
Streams of pure dark power surged into his body.
He had already transformed into the Body of Dark Elements, so refining this Black Magic Crystal was easy for him.
[You have refined the Black Magic Crystal. Dark Power of Laws has been converted into 1% Dark Heaven Laws.]
A notification flashed, and John slowly opened his eyes.
“1% Dark Heaven Laws?” He furrowed his brow, sensing a slight change in the dark power of laws within him. However, the improvement was not as powerful as he had expected.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Perhaps only by fully converting the dark power of laws into the Dark Heaven Laws would there be a significant change.
That would require at least 99 more Black Magic Crystals.
He couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. The Celestial Vault organization placed great importance on this, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been relentlessly pursuing Avis. Acquiring so many Black Magic Crystals would not be an easy task.
“Master, we’ve reached the edge of the Dead Swamp,” came a knock on the cabin door, followed by Xayah’s voice.
“Got it,” John replied, no longer dwelling on the matter. He made his way to the deck.
There were now several adventurers around them, all from Dragon Ascending City. When they saw the suddenly appearing sailboat, some of them seemed eager to approach.
They quickly recognized it as the Swamp Pirate ship.
These pirates had not submitted to Dragon Ascending City; they were clearly enemies.
Then, they noticed Xayah standing on the deck. Realizing this was not a pirate ship, their excitement waned, and they dispersed, continuing their search for magical beasts to hunt in the surrounding area.
John observed this and couldn’t help but ask, “Why do I get the feeling that your position in Dragon Ascending City isn’t very high?”
Xayah smiled bitterly, “In this world, strength reigns. As for my father…”
A trace of sadness flashed in her eyes. She shook her head and didn’t continue.
John didn’t press her further. He looked toward the distant city, which stood tall and impressive, even more prosperous than Golden Tiger City.
This was the high-level city, Dragon Ascending City. The city lord, Thunderstrike, was an eight-star Awakened One, and his strength was not to be underestimated.
But John wasn’t worried. With his current strength, he was more than capable of slaying an eight-star powerhouse.
“Sini, I’ll help hide the Heaven Power of Laws on you,” John said, looking at her.
It seemed that people in this world placed great importance on Heaven Enforcers.
Both he and Sini were Heaven Enforcers, and if they didn’t conceal their Heaven Power of Laws, powerful individuals would easily sense it.
His World-in-Hand ability had been restored and had received a significant boost, allowing him to easily conceal the Heaven Power of Laws on both himself and Sini.
With ease, he concealed their Heaven Power of Laws and then reminded, “Don’t use the Heaven Power of Laws unless absolutely necessary.”
The Heaven Laws could be concealed, but if used, even powerful individuals could easily feel their presence.
“Understood,” Sini nodded in agreement.
The group disembarked from the sailboat and headed straight toward Dragon Ascending City.
As John had suspected, Dragon Ascending City was also a massive World-in-Hand. He could already feel its presence as he approached the outskirts of the city.
This World-in-Hand was powerful, but John was still confident he could easily destroy it if needed.
The gate guards recognized Xayah and didn’t cause any trouble for them, allowing them to pass without issue.
The city was bustling with activity, filled with people coming and going, most of them being Awakened Ones of four stars or higher.
“Master, you all should rest at a hotel for a while. I’m going to see my father,” Xayah said in a low voice.
She couldn’t let her father know that she had acknowledged John as her master, or it would bring them trouble.
John nodded, then asked, “Where is the Heaven Prison in Dragon Ascending City? Are there any recent prisoners of the Heaven criminal kind?”
“Master is interested in Heaven criminals?” Xayah was puzzled but quickly realized what he meant. She continued, “The prison in Dragon Ascending City isn’t in the city itself. If you want to find recent prisoners of Heaven criminal status, you can go to the arena at the city square. They hold matches there every day, and you can even purchase the ones you like.”
“An arena match?” John’s interest was piqued. He nodded and said, “I see. If you need to find us later, meet us at the arena.”
“Okay,” Xayah confirmed, pointing out the location of the arena before heading toward the City Lord’s Manor.
John and his group, in turn, made their way toward the city square arena.
“John, will we find our people here?” Sini asked curiously.
He shook his head, uncertain. No information had reached him about anyone in Dragon Ascending City, but this was a huge city, so it was likely that his people would be there.
The atmosphere ahead grew more lively, with crowds of people surging. A giant arena, surrounded by iron fences, appeared, with rows of seating surrounding it.
At that moment, the arena was filled with spectators, and the air was filled with cheers and boos from the crowd.
The arena battles were one of the few entertainment options for these adventurers.
John and his group found a few seats connected together on the elevated platform and looked down at the arena below.
The sounds of combat filled the air.
Below, a massive Minotaur was locked in battle with a white-haired woman.
The Minotaur, bare-chested, wielded two huge war hammers. His muscular arms bulged, and his face was fierce, forming a stark contrast to the fragile-looking, slender white-haired woman.
The two stood off against each other, tension thick in the air.
An elderly man with a goat-like beard appeared, scanning the crowd in the stands. He called out loudly, “This duel will determine the second strongest Humdwar! The Minotaur warrior Storm will face off against the White Sorceress, Deathbringer!”
“The duel will be to the death, and it officially begins now!” After speaking, the elder swiftly retreated from the stage.
The stands erupted with excited cheers.
The Minotaur was the first to move, his two war hammers whistling through the air as he swung them down upon the white-haired woman like a violent storm.
The woman, however, was no pushover. Her movements were quick and agile, easily evading the heavy blows.
Cheers and shouts erupted from the crowd as they cheered for their bets.
Sini, now intrigued, turned to John and asked, “John, should we place a bet too?”
Before John could respond, Tracy and Spoorate immediately showed interest.
“Sure! But what will the bet be?” The two women turned to Sini with eager eyes.
She casually took out a hundred seven-star Magic Cores, saying coolly, “I’m betting on the white-haired woman.”
Her bold move caused the people around them to take notice. However, they also realized that someone who could casually pull out such a large number of seven-star Magic Cores had to be a formidable figure.
“Wow, Sini, you’re so generous,” Spoorate exclaimed excitedly, reaching into her bag to pull out more than twenty Magic Cores, though she hesitated for a moment.
“Big brother, who do you think will win?” she asked, turning to John.
John wasn’t particularly interested, but he answered anyway, “The Minotaur will win.”
“Alright, then I’ll bet on the Minotaur.” Spoorate trusted him and didn’t hesitate to stake her entire fortune on it.
“I’ll bet on the Minotaur too.” Tracy also took out a hundred seven-star Magic Cores. Since she had the Plunder talent, these didn’t hold much value for her anymore.
“Don’t come crying to me if you lose,” Sini scoffed, looking down on the two women. It was clear they were completely enamored with John and couldn’t think straight.
Seeing that John hadn’t made a move, she quickly added, “John, place your bet already.”
She was worried that if the Minotaur started losing, John might change his mind.