The crowd remained silent. Even Elder Den wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed. Although he had played his part in labeling Dyon as a coward, that was little more than because it was what he was told to do. However, if there was one thing that was always respected in the martial world… It was strength.
It had become clear to everyone here that the likelihood either Tau Aumen or Lionel Belmont could survive the onslaught of Dyon’s death qi was minimal. The idea of a sixteen-year-old having access to a supreme law, a supreme law that hadn’t appeared in the world in thousands of years, and the fact he had somehow managed to learn it to the peak of the ninth level, was nothing short of ridiculous… And yet, hadn’t that been exactly what occurred before them?
However, where there was sympathy and remorse, how could there not be satisfaction and hatred?
Iris Ipsum’s younger sister after losing the love of her life to Dyon, had sent her very own blood of a fool’s errand. In the end, her sister had ended up crippled and listless. The fact of the matter was that although Iris Ipsum was alive, she might as well have been dead. Her dignity had been stripped from her and it was all to protect a younger sister that had never been in the right to begin with.
But, to Rose Ipsum, with Dyon’s death, justice had been served. She disgustingly chalked up her own elder sister’s sacrifice as a price worth paying.
Madeleine’s family breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Dyon was dead, there didn’t seem to be a reason for Madeleine to avoid them anymore, and she could reassume her position as the Sapientia first in line genius. Much like the rest of the naïve crown, they took the words of Head Sapientia as law. So, when he had said that Madeleine was only allowed to go with Dyon if her virginity remained in tact, they had believed it wholeheartedly.
Dyon, of course, had let Head Sapientia say whatever the hell he wanted because he knew Connery had no way of stopping him one way or the other.
‘She’s free…’ Madeleine’s former master squeezed her fists with excitement. She had been forced to watch as Dyon began to output power that even she would have problems matching again and again, and she was becoming helpless to the situation.
Connery Sapientia smiled lightly to himself. He was already thinking ten steps ahead. With Dyon gone, not only would there be no one to obstruct him in taking Madeleine back, he could also use Madeleine’s status as his widow to take the items Dyon left behind! Using the status of the Sapientia, he would not only have the moral high ground, many would concede that allowing the Sapientia to house things would be the least confrontational arrangement.
And, even beyond that, items in this universe capable of ascertaining virginity were practically nonexistent. Their rarity was on a completely different level. So, Connery could very well marry Madeleine off as he pleased!
The scheme came together so well that he almost lost his composure and chuckled.
All of this time, Madeleine hadn’t moved a single inch. With each passing moment, her face seemed to grow a new shade of white as it became more and more clear just what had happened.
Tears fell from Clara’s eyes uncontrollably. She couldn’t remember the last time she had lost control of her emotions in this way, and yet, it was as though a flood gate had been opened. She wanted to speak, to say something… Maybe it was to scream out her hatred for the world… And yet, nothing would come out.
Meiying, with her changed countenance was stunned. Wasn’t this the same boy that had saved her just a few hours ago? A boy with arrogance and pride seeped so deeply within his bones, and yet he didn’t hesitate for a moment to throw it all away for the sake of her life?
Even worse, Meiying knew something no one else here knew. There was something attached to the death of a mortal that she couldn’t even fathom bringing to light. It hurt too much. The pain in her chest only seemed to grow until she too felt tears streaming down uncontrollably.
However, in the midst of all of this, there was something those on opposing sides of the spectrum had yet to notice. Despite being dead, Dyon’s array on Meiying’s features had yet to disappear. Unlike his creations, something like that would have to be constantly powered by his soul and aurora.
But, maybe most glaringly was the fact his manifestations had yet to disappear from the skies…
There stood tall his humanoid manifestation, along with the Tree of Life and Death Dyon had used to tear apart Zabia’s darkness domain, and even still there was his weapon’s pagoda…
That left one simple question that no one had asked yet… How could a dead man still have a soul?…
Within an odd cut-off world, Dyon swore to himself for probably the millionth time. He couldn’t believe how ridiculous this situation was, and the more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got.
‘I’m in this situation because people can’t accept responsibility for their actions? Really? This bullshit martial world. I swear to god if I don’t wipe this entire place beneath my feet, I might as well not be Dyon Sacharro.’
What probably pissed Dyon off the most was how he assumed his wives were reacting. And what about Clara? They shouldn’t have to go through this. ‘Fucking Hell.’
However, all of the anger in the world wasn’t going to do a damn thing for Dyon right now.
There were a few things working in Dyon’s favor. But, unfortunately, there was much more working against him right now.
His first instinct was to immediately use his soul power to the maximum level to heal his body, but there were a few issues with that. But, none were more important than the fact the only reason he hadn’t died was because of Zabia.
How ironic. The person responsible for putting him in this situation was also the only one giving him a possible out.
During Zabia’s last attack, he had stopped time flow completely around Dyon. This was because without time flow, death qi became completely useless. As Zabia had thought at the time: How could there be any death without time progression?
This was an absolutely domineering and heaven defying technique that was currently costing Zabia his very life, despite the small scale it was being used on.
However, even with the sacrifice of his life, Zabia was still completely unable to lock Dyon’s soul in time – although he had been able to slow it significantly. Which meant that if Dyon so wished it, he could tear through this film of time-stop by exerting pressure on it with his soul. But… There-in lied a problem…
As soon as Dyon removed this time-stop, his body would speed toward death immediately. He didn’t have the confidence to ensure that he could preserve his life before that occurred. He would have to reconstruct all of his inner organs first, at a minimum! With how powerful Dyon’s body was now, even with his saint soul, that was too tall a task. It would take him at least half an hour, even if he was minimalistic and quick.
In the end, this meant that Dyon’s one saving grace was also acting like a ticking time bomb. The more time that passed, the more likely the time-stop would shatter without Zabia’s power backing it. Then Dyon would have no choice but to try his luck… and likely die.
‘Think dammit.’
Clones were useless. Even if he created a 75% clone, it still had to be powered by his original soul, that was simply how the technique worked. If he tried to stuff his soul into the body of a clone, it would implode. Dyon’s body was already strained enough carrying a saint soul, let alone if that body was suddenly 25% weaker.
And that was not to mention if that idea would even be feasible. Dyon didn’t have the experience separating his soul from his body that Arios had. He had no idea if it would be possible. And, even if it was possible, would his clone really survive such a process? Such a risk was ridiculous to take.
Dyon’s next thought was the demon sage’s technique. Hadn’t he extended the life of the demon generals by thousands of years, even to the point of stopping their aging completely, in exchange for their sanity and looks? Maybe he could use that technique?
But then, Dyon shook his head again. That technique required a level of body cultivation expertise maybe on the demon sage had ever had. That was not to mention the fact he didn’t know the technique, nor was he powerful enough to execute. Such a heaven defying technique, even with the concessions that were needed to be made, could definitely only be executed by a half step transcendent like the demon sage.
Dyon’s next thought was even wilder than the next. Wasn’t the Dragon King’s faith seed still here? He had been flooded with images the moment he formed a true connection with his weapon, but the Dragon King had fully submitted to him. However, that didn’t meant that the dragon king wasn’t capable of taking over his body if Dyon wished it… right?
The reason the Dragon King had submitted to Dyon, despite his otherworldly pride, was because when he forged his remnant into a weapon, he had taken on the aspects and aesthetics of a weapon soul. In every way, shape and form, no matter how much he remembered his previous life and glory, in the moment now, he was nothing but a weapon – one difficult to control and win over, yes… But, still wholly a weapon.
This was the price the Dragon King had to pay in order to continue to play his games in this plane of existence. Usually, the Dragon King was able to ignore its nature, because by all rights, it really never came across a worthy owner. As a man who had transcended and forged his faith seed into a weapon, how many could really be worthy to own him?
However, Dyon was a complete anomaly even the Dragon King couldn’t have ever thought of. This was a young man with the accumulated weapon talent of billions of people across millennia. The will to submit by the Dragon King so far outweighed his ability to fight back, that Dyon had barely had to fight back against him. It was even to the point where Dyon had never even felt the presence of the Dragon King.
But… There was a problem with this approach too. If Dyon allowed the Dragon King into his body, he would definitely cease being tied down by the laws of a weapon! It would have a completely new bridge by which to operate… Dyon’s body!
The other option was to do what his master had done… If Dyon allowed his soul to reach a severely weakened state, he could house his soul in the body of someone he trusted until they then came across a technique capable of reconstructing a body for him. In fact, that process might be easy for him considering how many body cultivating resources he had access to. In fact, considering who the demon sage was, he might, himself, already have a body construction technique. In fact, wouldn’t a powerful sect like the celestial deer sect have access to such a technique as well? Considering he wouldn’t be in shape to take the trials of the demon sage to earn that technique, his master’s sect was a good alternative.
The more he thought about that last possibility, the more it seemed to be the best route for him. However, there was still a problem with this… Like Dyon had thought previously, souls couldn’t exist without a body until it reached the celestial level. So, the question was could Dyon even do this? His master could house herself within him without having to rely on his body’s strength because her soul was strong enough, but would the people Dyon trusted enough to do this with be able to carry the burden of both his and their soul?…
Dyon descended into a torrent of curses again, ‘FUCK!’
“It’ll be okay Little Lyla, you don’t need to watch this at all,” Uncle Acacia tried to shield Lyla from the image of the boy she called big brother being skewered. He didn’t know how effective something like this would be against a true empath, but he had to try even though his heart was hurting.
He was quite fond of Dyon, and even more fond of his relationship with his niece. He couldn’t think of a better young man for Ri. And yet, there he stood with his life ended much too soon…
But, Little Lyla and Zaire suddenly said something simultaneously that shocked those around them.
“He’s still fighting.” They said with determination on their little faces.
In the skybox, King Acacia had narrowed his eyes. ‘Fight.’ He thought silently.
“Belmont.” He said quickly afterwards.
“Mm?” King Belmont looked up in a daze, still at a loss for words for what was going on.
“Lock everything down.”
King Belmont’s brows furrowed, “Wh – “
“The movements of the Ragnor’s are reading attack and it seems they won’t be alone in it. But, more importantly, my son in law still hasn’t given up yet.”
Although Lionel Belmont wasn’t in the skybox any longer, Elwing was. When he heard those words, he was shocked before he looked down toward Dyon. ‘Can you really survive this?…’
King Belmont’s surprise increased, but he slowly calmed down before nodding. “It’s quite convenient having you back.”
In the next instant, King Belmont’s order rang through the arena. Out of respect for the deceased, since they were two geniuses of unprecedented talent, there was be a pause of half a day. But, that was where the order became weird and those with intelligence began picking up on the fact that something weird was occurring…
They weren’t allowed to move from their designated areas.
Patriarch Ragnor chuckled at this order. He had long since known that King Belmont was wary against him, but even he was surprised that the usual passive king had acted so unilaterally for once. It seemed he had his hands-on information that was fairly tangible.
Either way, it didn’t matter. Patriarch Ragnor’s job wasn’t on a time constraint. All he had to do was bring the necessary pieces to the location because their planned sneak attack would no longer work. As such, pre-emptive action was needed. As long as he acted before the world tournament was over, it would be fine.
If he started acting antsy now, it would only raise suspicion.
Of course, Patriarch Ragnor was only reacting like this because he had gotten word just a few days ago that King Acacia’s true empathy wasn’t functioning properly. The Ragnors information network wasn’t to be underestimated.
Unfortunately, he had yet to be informed of a change. Or else, maybe, he would have reacted differently. After all, even he couldn’t predict just how heaven defying the scope of Dyon’s abilities were…
**
‘Power.’ Dyon thought. ‘Power.’
Why did he always settle on this? It wasn’t as though he needed a reminder. He was always chasing after becoming stronger. Even his wives didn’t know how hard he worked. Or, more accurately, they knew but decided not to comment.
Dyon’s obsession with cultivation was bordering on psychotic. Why? Because at the end of the day, the only way to avoid situations like this was to become more powerful.
Would he be worried about not being able to construct his body in time if he was more powerful? No. Would he even have to reconstruct his body if he was stronger? No. It just all acme wrapping back around to the penultimate measure of your worth… Your power…
A thick scent of death started invading Dyon’s senses. For the first time, he really felt like he was on death’s door. If he delayed any longer, he really would die… And everything he had built until now would be for naught.
Dyon knew that this scent wasn’t really a smell. It was just his soul being invaded with his imminent doom. A looming fact of life and an inescapable reality for all… death…
Dyon’s sensitivity to it far surpassed the normal human. He couldn’t help but think about why, of all the supreme laws, this was the first he had stumbled across. Why couldn’t he have stumbled across life instead? Wouldn’t it be a simple matter to save his life then?
How was understanding death better supposed to help him? So he could die quicker? What the hell was that? …
The death qi on Dyon grew as he inched toward the edge.
‘I can’t wait any longer… I just have to try it…’
Dyon focused his mind, trying to slowly sever the connection between his soul and body even as the death qi flooded him, sinking him further and further into the feeling of dread. The time-stop was clearly becoming weaker, and time went from a complete stop flow, to slowly inching forward.
At first, it was a tiny leak. Maybe a second would move forward for every ten minutes as Dyon strained to learn to control his soul in a novel way. But, even with his soul talent, dealing with flood of death qi made it difficult to focus. That coupled with the fact he was beginning to feel pain now that the time-stop was losing its effect, and it wasn’t a great recipe for success.
Then a second moved forward for every five minutes…
Dyon’s body was beginning to emit a thick and dense black aura imperceptible to everyone but him.
‘Focus.’ He reminded himself. His praise of Arios reached to a completely new level in this instant. Severing such a connection while maintaining your consciousness was nearly impossible. And, it was starting to become clear that the only source of pain wasn’t from Dyon’s body… But also the sheering of his soul away from it…
Dyon’s soul shuddered.
Time shifted forward again… A minute passed for every second that moved forward now…
Suddenly, Dyon’s body began to glow as death qi continued to invade his soul.
The crowd looked over, still solemnly contemplating the past day’s events. But, now they felt as though a miracle was about to happen. And yet, what really happened was beyond the expectations of everyone…
The glow intensified as a key slowly separated from Dyon’s forearm, before gently floating in the air, as though it was waiting for anyone to take it.
King Acacia’s eyes widened in shock. His kingly demeanor was completely shattered. He suddenly understood everything, but it all felt like it was too late.
There, floating before the eyes of everyone was the Epistemic Tower’s Key…
But, what stabbed King Acacia’s heart with pain was the fact that this would only happen if the key felt that it no longer had an owner… Something that would only happen if its previous owner died…