The shadow tilted its head as it watched the blood drip from Dyon’s eyes. “Tut. Tut. That’s no good. I thought you wanted to avoid this? You’re not very intelligent if you didn’t already understand.”
Dyon didn’t respond, and neither did Patriarch Ragnor nor Elder Daiyu dare to have any outward showing of emotion. Regardless of the way this man acted, there was a deep fear in their hearts, and it all revolved around him. People who were always so calm were truly the most unpredictable…
“You’re quite odd. For people with such little intelligence and such a ridiculously small amount of talent, you should be following whatever martial path comes the easiest to you. Ai, maybe because it’s because I’ve been in seclusion for so long, meditating on the laws of the universe and creating my own. I’d forgotten how much I like to talk. In fact, it would be a perfect world if everyone listened to my teachings. Unfortunately, there are too many beings with negligible amounts of intellect.
“For those who are truly talented in the martial way, emotions are completely unnecessary in comprehending laws. But, I acknowledge that of the trillions of souls I’ve come across, maybe only four truly fit into this category – not including myself, of course.
“Quite frankly, that number was a lot larger than I expected. It made me finally understand the there’s a sky beyond a sky saying.
“However, for creatures of your stature, emotions are of benefit, although they limit the martial paths you can follow.
“This is why you’re so odd. You have so much useless anger built up inside of you, and yet you suppress it. Then you build up this fake aura of arrogance and confidence that you don’t truly have, and try to make that your martial path instead.
“If you acted like the scared child that you are. The child mad at the world for simply following its natural recourse, you probably would have traversed along the martial path much quicker.”
Dyon didn’t hear a word the entity said. Or rather, he couldn’t be bothered to process it all… But that didn’t mean he wasn’t correct.
Simple unbridled and unfiltered anger had completely shattered the body cultivation bottle neck he had reached simply because it was perfectly in line with the affinity of the demon sage’s blood.
However, Dyon continually tempered and pushed down his anger, trying to avoid becoming something he didn’t want to be.
The martial world pressed him and prodded him. Continuously taking without giving, and hurting without healing. And yet, he endured. Again and again, because this was the final wish of his mother.
Had he not come here, would the mortal world be gone? Wouldn’t their world be perfectly fine now?
When the world tournament ended, and they came to extract the seals, only Dyon would have died, and then the future generations of mortals would have a chance to build their own legacies and their own strength with him gone.
He wouldn’t have to deal with this pain in chest. He wouldn’t have to worry about the life or death of is wives or friends. He wouldn’t have to carry the burdens of the celestial deer sect and the demon sage on his shoulders. He wouldn’t have to think about the war between the chaos path and array alchemy.
He would just be asleep. Drifting away in a sea of nothingness as his memory faded from the world permanently.
His soul would be erased from existence like his parents, but why should he care? It’s not as though he’d be aware of it. He’d just be gone, and with him would go all his worries.
“See? Had you built your death one with heart on that despair, your erosion path would have been unmatched. Instead, you built it on something lofty and far beyond your station. Do you presume it to be easy to transcend the laws of the universe? Even I have yet to do so.
“Although, I am quite close now, that’s not a goal you could reach.
“You had the accumulated talent of so many yet failed so miserably. Only proceeding to the 8th soul stage with three years of practice and a peak divine level technique? Tsk tsk, your master must be rolling in her grave.”
The entities tranquil voice continued to spread through the lush greenery around them as he softly chastised Dyon.
“Ah, now I understand. Not everyone can figure out the truths of things without a guide, and your teacher put a block on the memories she gave you.
“Hm. It would do you good to know the truth of my words before you die, and who better to inform you of that than your own master? I quite enjoy puzzles… It’s too bad that this one is particularly low level.”
Maybe if Dyon cared at the moment, he would be shocked by the shadow’s statement.
The lock on his master’s memories was something that stumped Dyon completely.
Dyon was a person who not only had access to all of his master’s memories related to array alchemy, he had also personally studied the dao of array alchemy legacy he had received from dead kings valley. And despite all of his soul talent and intelligence, he couldn’t make heads or tails of the seal at all. And yet, this entity said it was low level and fun?
Almost the instant the words left he entity’s mouth, Dyon felt a rumbling and then a shatter sound off in head.
A flood of memories invaded his senses. However, that wasn’t the most fearful part… When the entity realized that Dyon wasn’t bothering to filter through and incorporate the new memories like he wanted, a hand seemed to forcefully seize Dyon’s mind before inserting the memories in with his consent.
The entity sighed, “That wasn’t even worth being called a puzzle.”
Dyon’s mind shuddered as a mass of memories he didn’t want invaded his every sense.
“Oh?” The entity chuckled. “How clever. I can’t do much about this in this form, might as well wait for him to come out.”
The entity didn’t seem to care too much about what was transpiring. He had only broken the seal for Dyon so that he could realize his teachings were right. He didn’t only like to be right, he very much liked it when others realized he was correct too.
Interestingly enough, the seal placed on Dyon’s master’s memories was actually part a concealment array that hid a treasure.
What amused the entity was the fact that this treasure was truly of no real help to Dyon, not now anyway. It only allowed his master to directly explain things to him.
The treasure was among the 33 heavenly weapons, part of the 11 of the soul category, and the third of its kind that Dyon had collected. The first was the tome that held his energy cultivation technique and the dao of array alchemy, as well as the death qi abyssal core. The second were the aurora steps that fully awakened Ri’s aurora. And now this was the third, simply known as The Seal.
Regardless of what it was in the martial world, often, the simpler the name, the more powerful it was.
The Soul Tome.
The Aurora Steps.
The Seal.
All simple names, and yet with them came otherworldly power.
The Soul Tome was capable of cleansing the soul unlike anything else, washing away even the grievances of a True Empath. However, it was also capable of housing outstanding techniques. The energy cultivation [Inner World: Sanctuary] was first manifested within the tome when Dyon first formed his connection with it. This happened just after Dyon first manifested his soul. In fact, the tome had went out of its way to burst through its bindings to make its way to Dyon. Quite simply put, it was the wish of every soul weapon of the 33 heavens to be with a master of unprecedented soul strength. And who better than Dyon to fulfill that wish?
Over the years, the techniques that the Soul Tome housed had become numerous. In fact, there were many hidden in its pages right now that Dyon had yet to unlock. However, the scariest part about the Soul Tome was that it had the ability to convert everything into an array depending on the talent of its master. This meant that, theoretically, Dyon could learn techniques in an instant if his array alchemy was on a high enough level to do so. This was the same for wills and intents as well!
The reason the death qi was absorbed into the tome, and yet not turned into an array, was because Dyon’s array alchemy wasn’t on a high enough level to coax the tome into doing such a thing.
On the other hand, the reason why the dao of array alchemy and [inner world: sanctuary] were in the form of arrays, was because the previous master of the soul tome had had array alchemy abilities far beyond that of Dyon, and had thus been able to convert them.
However, Dyon was unable to absorb them, because again, his array alchemy level was too low!
The truth was, with a 8th stage soul, Dyon could currently learn ANY earth level technique in an instant, let along a common level technique. As long as he used the Soul Tome, it was within his abilities to do so.
Once he reached the 10th soul stage, he would be able to learn ANY heaven level technique in an instant, as long as he array alchemy matched up to his soul stage.
Once he reached the 12th soul stage, even divine level techniques would become a joke to him.
Such was the power of the Soul Tome…
The aurora steps were a much simpler treasure, but just as ground breaking.
The ability to awaken auroras to 100% would be enough to build a kingdom from the ground up on the back of this single treasure, but that wasn’t all it was capable of.
When anchored to a sufficient energy source, or an intricate enough array, it would awaken aurora. However, in battle, it was lethal.
The aurora steps had the ability to exert pressure directly onto the soul of an opponent, bypassing the need for its user to put his own soul in danger. This pressure would, of course, scale off of the personal soul strength of its user as well as the level of awakening its master had reached. This quite literally meant that anyone with soul strength below Dyon would be helpless against him, and anyone with soul strength above him would be slowed to a certain degree.
The only downfall of the aurora steps was the sheer amount of stamina needed to use them. For most, even using it for a few seconds was something to boast about.
Because of this downfall, this secondary use of the aurora steps is often forgotten. However, its use in battle as a defensive treasure still helped it to maintain its usefulness in such situations.
The last treasure Dyon had accumulated was something even he himself hadn’t known he had had. However, it was clear that this was something his master had left with him since the very beginning. In fact, maybe the very reason Dyon’s master’s memories didn’t have anything about seals within them was because of this treasure!
In the martial world, there was few feared more than seal masters. However, often what decided how good a seal master was, were their legacies. The Sigebryht were so powerful, because their very bloodline allowed them a manifestation that defied the heavens, causing them to be capable of sealing even death qi.
But, on the other side, there was Ulu, whose seal was so weak that even Dyon, with little experience with them, was able to tear it away with little effort before creating one from scratch that even Ulu’s elders couldn’t do anything about.
That said, there was no seal legacy in the cosmos more feared than The Seal. It allowed you the capability of sealing solely based on soul power, without having to master sealing at all. However, that wasn’t all. Should you choose to understand array alchemy or sealing arts, you would be able to improve the efficiency of the treasure to seal even things far above your abilities to deal with, without it.
The reason why the entity could do nothing to Dyon right now even though his array alchemy clearly overshadowed the 25th White Mother’s by leaps and bounds? Even to the point where he shattered her array in an instant, calling it child’s play? It’s because of The Seal!
There was nothing in existence that could escape the might of the seal… Even when it came to the consciousness of someone long dead…
Within a sealed world of nothing but endless white, Dyon kneeled on the ground unmoving as a celestial beauty with long flowing white hair stood before him, a pained expression on her face.
The woman was none other than Dyon’s master, The 25th White Mother.
The 25th White Mother’s white eyes threatened to spill over with tears as she looked over her disciple.
All she had done for Dyon was hand him power, taking advantage of him while he was at his lowest point, before shoving endless responsibilities on his shoulders. And yet, Dyon didn’t complain even a bit. In fact, he opened up his heart with ease, wanting to thank her for her kindness, although she knew quite well that it was a kindness at all…
Dyon had often wondered and speculated on why his master had sealed his memories… Little did he know that she had done so because if he knew everything from the beginning… Maybe he wouldn’t have been so eager to help…
“You’ve done me so proud…” She said in a soft voice. She sounded exactly like the first time Dyon had ever heard her. A voice that made even nature itself want to sing…
“You fight with the pride of our sect on your shoulders. You treat Little Zaire just like he was your own little brother. You sacrifice so much… And expect so little… To have a disciple like you in my lifetime may very well be my greatest accomplishment…”
The 25th White Mother’s eyes reddened. She wanted to reach down and comfort Dyon, but she didn’t feel like she had the right to. The person Dyon wanted right now more than anyone was his mother, but it was impossible for her to give him something like that.
“I’m so sorry…
“All I’ve been able to give you back is pain. I can’t even help you in the situation you’re in right now… I’m nothing but a consciousness…
“The only thing I have left to give you is the truth. What you decide to do with it, is something I won’t ask. I’ve manipulated you enough. The decision that remains will be your own and without interference.
“I only ask that you don’t die.” She pleaded, her beautiful voice growing hoarse. “I never got to treat you as a master should, but I’ve watched you grow silently all of this time. I love you like I love my own son. I haven’t earned the right to be a mother to you, but I can’t watch you die.
“Whether you become a demon, or you become something else entirely, just please, fight. Struggle. Live. This is the last request that I’ll ever make of you.”
Dyon’s heart pumped. His anger was overflowing, but he had yet to have an opportunity to vent it.
A faint thought entered his mind. This woman in front of him, was she his master? Or was she his enemy? If he tore her apart, would it make the pain in chest stop? If he rampaged through the world, killing everything in his wake, would he be able to feel something again?
He wanted to know. He wanted to see if there was a reason to live. He wanted the beating of his heart to come with something other than a seething burn. No… He needed it…
The 25th White Mother could feel the changes coming from Dyon, and although they saddened her greatly, she could only nod her head. ‘Live. Don’t worry about your promises to me or anyone else. Just live.’
Her selfish request was what any mother would want. And although she wasn’t who birthed Dyon, the place he had taken in her heart was no different than if he had been…
“You can choose to do with this consciousness what you will after you hear the truth…” The 25th White Mother took a deep breath.
“It is first important that I explain what started all of this, and why we betrayed your mortal realm…”
**
Outside of the Belmont Holy Land, Ri and Lionel were streaking across the natural moat that surrounded it.
Lionel, having already broken into the essence gathering level, had flames of red and blue gliding along his feet, searing and freezing over portions of the water he traveled upon.
Ri had to make use of array footsteps. Although her array alchemy was much weaker and slower than Dyon’s, it was still child’s play to form common level arrays, and they were just strong enough to hold her weight before shattering, allowing her to move on to her next array.
Whenever she made a mistake or slipped up, she easily and comfortably used her ice will to freeze the water below, recovering expertly.
Soon, they had reached the outer island of the Belmont Holy Land, but they could immediately tell something was wrong.
Everything was much too quiet. Not to mention the fact that there were none of the signs of conflict you would expect in an area where battle had just taken place.
When they got close enough, the answer suddenly became obvious, there was a barrier!
Lionel’s deadpan expression twitched. This was his home, and no matter how he acted, he didn’t like the idea of it being trampled like this.
“We have to use a separate entrance. If we forcefully break the array, they’ll detect it.” Without another word, Lionel turned and dove into the lake behind them.
Ri frowned, but had no choice but to follow in the end, using water will to propel herself to catch up to Lionel quickly.
As martial artists, holding your breath for hours wasn’t a problem. However, the depth to which Lionel was diving was starting to put untold pressure onto Ri. She couldn’t help but wonder why a lake would be so deep, did that even make sense?
In order for water to affect a martial artist, let alone a half beast and elf like Ri – who obviously had a very powerful body – meant that it had to reach thousands of pounds of pressure at the very least.
Luckily, Lionel abruptly stopped before the pressure became too much for Ri. He faced a small inner cave, which he very quickly entered.
The cave was an inexplicable oddity. Despite swimming up for far less time than they swam downward, Ri and Lionel soon popped their heads out of the surface of a fountain.
Seeing that the surroundings were silent, they both jumped out. There was no need to actively dry their clothes. The water had never touched Ri because of her water will and Lionel had his flames.
“This is a passage within the castle itself. I do not know if they’ve occupied my home, or if they haven’t, but we must be cautious.” Lionel explained.
However, despite his worries, there was not a soul in the castle. In fact, they managed to navigate their way though the large maze the castle was and exit through a back channel, remaining out of sight as they inched their way forward.
There was no doubt in their minds that Dyon would be where the most people were gathered. At the very least, that was the best place to start their search considering they had come up with nothing in the castle. Plus, Lionel was here to specifically navigate through the catacombs. Unless he proved he could do so, he wouldn’t receive Madeleine’s faith seed.
Ri crushed another array plate, handily concealing the two of them as they silently made their way through the throngs of encampments and toward the entrance to the true Belmont Holy Land.
Ri’s anger threatened to spill over as she looked over the Daiyu. These were the people who dared to harm her husband for their own personal gain. How could she not be angry?
In fact, when she recognized Chenglei’s figure at the entrance of the cave, she nearly reached out and ended him where he stood. But, she knew that she had a higher purpose here. She couldn’t afford to reveal herself now. There were too many Daiyu around, clearly ready to protect the cave entrance with their lives should their enemies arrive. Plus, Dyon’s life was more important now.
Calming her breathing, Ri grit her teeth as passed by Chenglei, following closely behind Lionel.
Suddenly, in all her distraction, Ri slammed into something hard. When she looked up, she realized it was Lionel’s back, so she quickly backed away.
“What are you doing?” Ri didn’t have time for nonsense usually. And this was definitely not a time that she’d accept it.
Lionel didn’t turned back and only shrugged. “I just thought that this was far enough.”
Before Ri could react, violet flames burst out from Lionel, crashing into the concealment array and shattering it completely.
Ri stood there unharmed, blinking and processing what just happened.
The loud noise alerted the Daiyu, sending them into an uproar. The sound had clearly come from within their camp!
“Intruders!”
Chenglei turned back to find Ri stunned figure, completely still. First confusion played on his features, but when he saw Lionel standing in front of her, a sudden realization hit him.
In an instant, hundreds of Daiyu surrounded the cave entrance. Even after their battle with the Belmonts, it was clear that they had invested heavily into recovery medicines for this war, and very few showed any signs of fatigue whatsoever. In fact, it was likely that they had raided the Belmont’s castle itself for the resources they needed.
Ri’s blue-silver eyes turned a dark shade of black. Her canines lengthened, allowing a growl to escape from her hips.
However, whether she was angry or not didn’t change the fact that she was completely surrounded, having clearly been betrayed.
“Hand over Madeleine, and you might leave this situation with your dignity and life.” Lionel said calmly, turning around to meet Ri’s angered gaze. “Choose to fight, and I promise that the punishment will completely disregard the fact you’re a married woman.”