Dyon silently held Ri and Madeleine in his arms. He knew well that there was an instant of time just a few hours ago that he had fallen into a pit of darkness so deep that he never had any intentions of climbing out. If it wasn’t for his master, he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to stand here with them again. He had intended to give up everything to exact revenge…
But luckily, he had managed to defy the odds. Something in Dyon was telling him that this was far from over. The day wouldn’t be today, but some time in the future, these events would rear their ugly head again. Dyon would never forget the fact his master had said the entity allowed himself to be caught… He could never forget.
In fact, the entity hadn’t reacted at all during Dyon’s battle. He hadn’t even attempted to stop Dyon from taking the body and energy kernels. It was as though he looked down in amusement as everything happened… As though it didn’t matter what them as lesser beings did, he would win in the end regardless…
However, Dyon buried this for now. He wouldn’t forget, no. In fact, Dyon’s only goal now was to kill that entity with his own two hands. But, he wasn’t strong enough. It took an entire universe’s talent and energy to seal this one person. Even worse, this was no normal universe. It was lauded as the universe with the most potential ever assembled… And yet it took everything it had to imprison this entity. Knowing this, how could Dyon feel foolhardy enough to believe he was enough now?
He had to bury the feelings churning inside him. He had to let them fester in agitation, growing along with him, spurring on his improvement. Until one day he could turn that condescending laugh into cries of pain and mercy.
Ri and Madeleine seemed to have lost themselves in Dyon’s embrace. They could tell that something had fundamentally changed about their husband. It was to the point where his presence was intoxicating, as though the universe revolved around him, and them with it.
They blushed slightly, only now realizing they were hugging a naked man in front of so many, but they still couldn’t pull themselves away, unwilling to leave the comfort of his arms and his infatuating smell.
Outside, the battle was still raging, but a massive energy barrier had blocked the entrance of the cave. It seemed that ancestor wasn’t willing to allow even the slightest chance of Dyon and Madeleine being attacked.
Swaths of red and blue flames colored the skies, killing tens of Daiyu and Niveus God Sect members every moment.
With the cave, Thatch had taken his role in watching Evelyn and Lionel again. There was nothing Dyon wanted to do more than to kill the both of them, but in his giving face to King Belmont, he decided to let things rest for now. However, if King Belmont’s chosen punishment was too lenient, Dyon would not hesitate for a single moment to take matters into his own hands, even if it meant offending yet another celestial.
“Hey you two, what are you blushing for? Did I get more handsome?” Dyon lightly teased, allowing the black flames in his eyes to give way to his warm green-hazel pupils.
Ri pouted as Madeleine giggled, “Put some clothes on pervert.” They seemed to speak in unison.
Dyon sighed, “I can’t. My soul was sealed and I don’t usually carry clothes around with me.”
Lightly pushing his wives away, Dyon cupped their cheeks lovingly, staring intently as though he wanted to etch every perfect curve of their features into his mind.
“Sealed?” Madeleine asked worriedly.
Dyon shook his head, “I had to enter essence gathering earlier than I wanted because I burned my soul.”
Unfortunately, Dyon’s explanation had the opposite effect of what he wanted. Madeleine and Ri both paled when they heard Dyon had to burn his soul. Although they knew before hand that it had to be something of that level that caused Dyon to feel as much pain as he did, speculating and actually knowing were two different things.
“Ah, it’s not big deal.” Dyon hurriedly explained, not wanting them to worry. Even without his soul, he could see how fatigued they were. It was just that he couldn’t help heal them anymore…
Ri and Madeleine nodded, trying to hide their worry.
Suddenly, Dyon thought of something that dampened his mood. “How’s… How’s she doing?”
Ri bit her lip, immediately understanding who Dyon was talking about. Although Madeleine had been forced into a recovery-like state for much of these events, Ri had been awake, and much of her time had been spent with Clara before she started to deal with all of this.
“I’m not sure. I had to leave her with Delia, Little Lula and Zaire because of the chaos out here.” Ri rotated the ring that held them within on her slender finger.
Dyon frowned but picked up the obsidian plate to cover himself. “I’ll be back.”
Ri and Madeleine understood, so they only nodded as Dyon disappeared into the ring.
**
Outside of the Belmont Holy Land, Nora’s brows continuously furrowed more and more. The longer she spent analyzing the formation, the more problems she found.
“Nora, this isn’t like you. Even if it’s a rank 6 comet formation, it’s not too far beyond your capabilities.” Amell understood his wife better than anyone. It shouldn’t take her this long to undo this formation.
“The situation… Has changed…” Nora said solemnly, a bitter expression on her face. “The center piece of this formation was set by the creator to be themselves. The creator him or herself is the final counter measure.”
“You mean?…”
“The person who set this formation died. Normally that would be good news, but in this case, it’s horrible. The worst kind of formation has been set now. Even if I was a rank 6 moon formation expert I would have trouble breaking through this now… Not only can we not go in, they can’t come out!”
The law of the martial world was known to all. It was a cruel place, but often times those who were willing to sacrifice more, were rewarded with more.
In this case, the death of Elder Daiyu catalyzed the bewilderment formation used around the Belmont Holy Land to all new heights.
Elder Daiyu knew from the beginning that if he somehow died, his clan would be doomed. Because of this, he set contingencies. The first thing he did was hand much of his belongings to his grandson, Chenglei. This was why Meiying was able to ‘steal’ the box in the first place.
However, the second thing he did was probably the most important. Elder Daiyu invested heavily into preserving this formation for this specific plan. It was a formation that was tied to the life and death of its layer, and was able to use Elder Daiyu’s death as a catalyst to become stronger.
His plan was simple. By locking his clan within the barrier, although they wouldn’t be able to leave, they wouldn’t be able to be harmed either. He hoped that by the time the formation ran out of energy, which wouldn’t be for thousands of years considering it was catalyzed by the death of a dao formation expert, the Daiyu clan would be once again capable of standing tall against the world.
The location was nothing short of perfection. Not only was the Belmont Holy Land the best location for cultivation in this universe, it also gave access to a ridiculous amount of legacy worlds that had been attracted by the dense flow of Gama energy. With Chenglei’s talent, giving him a few thousand years to grow and mature would allow him to reign supreme over this universe, without a doubt.
Before, Elder Daiyu had thought this might have been overkill. After all, who could possibly be enough to break through a rank 6 comet formation in this universe? Even the best, Connery Sapientia, or so he thought at the time since he hadn’t accounted for Dyon, was a mere lower grandmaster. However, his prudence had been rewarded. Because of his sacrifice, even Nora was stumped.
Elder Daiyu had died knowing that as long as the Daiyu survived this impending crisis, they would flourish. And maybe in the future, the Black Jade Dragon would careen through the skies again.
**
Dyon walked through the grasses of the inner spatial world, entering a small residential area made of elaborate tents that could almost be passed off as homes.
He first stopped by Alidor and his little sister’s tent to ask him to make a pair of sweatpants for him. Luckily, Alidor didn’t want Dyon tainting his little sister’s eyes, so he fulfilled the request as quickly as possible before shooing Dyon away.
The two of them had no idea what was going on in the outside world, and Alidor hadn’t bothered to ask. They seemed content on living peacefully and quietly cultivating.
Dyon avoided meeting anyone else, somehow knowing where he could find Clara.
Soon, he had made his way to the center of the camp and was now standing in front of his own tent. He knew that Clara would want to be alone, and he also knew that she would likely come to the one place she could be closest to the last thing she could cling to.
Dyon couldn’t hear any sounds coming from the tent, in fact the world itself was eerily quiet without the 3000 demon generals here. The others that had come were likely still in the tower in the distance, not having wanted to bother Clara.
Taking a deep breath, Dyon opened the flap, stepping into the dimly lit tent. It was still lavishly furnished, bathed in somber and dark reds with soft cushions and carpets. But now that color scheme just seemed to add a layer of darkness to everything.
“I’m sorry, I still don’t want to be bothered. I’ll come out when I’m ready.”
A familiar voice rang out, and although the word choice itself tried to remain as polite as possible, the piercing cold and deadpan delivery made even Dyon want to shiver.
Not hearing a response, Clara didn’t know what to say. So, instead, under the stunned gaze of Dyon, she waved her hand, causing golden lights to fill the room before she disappeared from view entirely.
‘That’s… A concealment array! But…’
A sudden realization hit Dyon… He was older than Clara!
This one simple realization hit him like a ton of bricks. How had he not thought of this before?!
Dyon birth shattered the soul seal placed on human kind. This meant that everyone born after him in the human mortal realm, had their souls intact, just like any other person would!
This meant that there was hope. Even though Dyon would never see his parents again, there were hundreds of millions of people that were birthed in the 16 years since he was. If he could improve in the martial way enough, he would be able to revive the mortal human race of this universe using the very same method the entity noted so nonchalantly.
However, this realization was shocking for an entirely other reason. Dyon’s master had been right! The talent of this universe had to far surpass that of others, or else Clara would never have been able to learn such an array so quickly. In fact, considering the speed she drew it with, it was shocking that this was truly within her capabilities.
But even more…. She had an innate aurora! What were the odds that the only two mortals to awaken their auroras would both have it innately?!
Dyon walked forward, flicking his finger and shattering the array.
Clara brows furrowed in agitation. “Leave me alone!”
A formless soul pressure gushed outward. Dyon made no attempt to defend. If he did so, he would hurt Clara and that wasn’t something he was willing to do.
Instead, he caught her hand as it swung outward before pulling her into a tight embrace.
At first, she struggled, screaming in anger as her fists pounded against Dyon’s bare chest. But, Dyon held on tightly, refusing to let go.
“I’m sorry…” Dyon’s voice caused Clara to freeze. Her shoulders trembled as she buried her head in his chest, unwilling to look up. “I won’t leave you again.”
Clara lost track of how long she spent crying. In the past twelve years, not once had she cried. The last time her had was when her mother died, but afterwards, it was almost like a silent vow she made to herself.
But, when she saw Dyon ‘die’ right before her eyes, she had finally broken down, unable to contain it any further. And then her entire world was destroyed. Never again would she be able to see her friends… Never again would she see her father…
She tried to hold it all in again. In fact, she had succeeded… Even when she saw Dyon being taken away, her eyes only continued to become colder and colder… But then, for some reason, when she felt Dyon’s presence just then, she completely melted again, unable to control the flow of tears from her grey eyes.
Clara kneeled on the bed, wrapping her arms around Dyon tightly, unwilling to let go. Dyon had no intention of pushing her away. He only continued to hold her, waiting silently as her trembling shoulders began to calm.
Dyon pulled back, cupping Clara’s cheeks before lightly pressing in, causing her lips to make an 8 shape. She looked so adorable with her red and puffy eyes that Dyon couldn’t help but tease her, “Since when did my Clara turn out to be such a crybaby?”
A spurt of laughter came from Clara’s lips as she slapped Dyon’s hands away, trying to stop them from squishing her cheeks.
She sat back on her knees, wiping her eyes as Dyon plopped down next to her on the soft bed. Clara couldn’t help but inadvertently lean her head to rest on his shoulder, still trying to calm her emotions.
“He’s gone?” Clara couldn’t help but ask one final time, knowing what the answer would be even though the light inflection in her voice carried the faintest of hopes.
“He’s gone.” Dyon didn’t sugar coat it. He knew Clara wouldn’t go for that approach anyway.
A light sigh escaped Clara’s lips before she closed her eyes. A part of her couldn’t help but wonder if she would have been satisfied just dying with the rest of them. It likely would have been too quick for her to feel much pain, and she wouldn’t have to deal with the garbage that was the martial world. But then she thought about how that would mean leaving Dyon alone.
She shook her head furiously. How selfish would that be?
“You sure learned array alchemy pretty fast.” Dyon chuckled.
“Faster than you?” Clara jeered.
“Absolutely not. Your concealment array was so weak that it only took me a single finger to poke through. Pathetic.”
“Yea right. You wouldn’t tell me even if I was, you egomaniac.”
It had only been two days since Clara received the books on array alchemy from Dyon, and good portion of that time was spent dealing with the nonsense brought down by the Ragnors. When Clara found time to learn, Dyon had no idea. But, it seems that he was right in his assessment. Array alchemy really did suit her.
“Well, regardless, you’ll have quite a few years to catch up to me.” Dyon sighed.
“What do you mean?” Clara asked, clear worry in her voice. By now, she understood much about the soul and how it related to array alchemy. If Dyon couldn’t practice for years, did he injure himself too badly to do so?
After Dyon’s explanation, Clara was still worried, but still let out a small sigh of relief.
“So, what you mean is that I’ll have almost 20 years to surpass something you reached in less than 3? Pft, how easy.”
A mysterious grin appeared on Dyon’s lips. “Let’s make a bet then. If you can draw a peak grandmaster array in 20 years, you win.”
Clara was off-put by Dyon’s confidence. Was he really looking down on her so much? So, she decided to test him.
“If I win, I’ll castrate you. How about it?”
“Sure, as long as you let me try anal for the first time. I read in a magazine somewhere that cold and domineering girls like you always have that single weakness. Deal?”
“Ah…” Clara’s brows furrowed, pouting and looking particularly aggrieved. However, she felt a small bit of gratification in her heart.
It may sound odd, but a large part of her and Dyon’s relationship had always been his sexual harassment. Although he never took it too far, he would bully her with his words all of the time in the past. But, when he came back to see her for the first time in what seemed like forever, he stopped all of that. To the point where he didn’t even call her beautiful anymore. It was like he put up a wall to that sort of relationship between them, unwilling to allow her closer.
Then, when Clara had her talk with Ri on the matter, Ri had helped her understand why. Clara knew more than anyone how stubborn Dyon could be. If he didn’t change his mind on his own, it was likely no one person could change it for him. It was just unfortunate that it took something so horrible for him to let her back into his heart.
Dyon laughed with a hint of mockery in his voice, “Scared?” He teasingly leaned back, glancing at Clara’s round and plump ass, almost imagining his victory already.
“Not on your life.” Clara harrumphed. “I’m changing my side of the bet. You’ll be my slave for 5 years when you lose.”
Dyon grinned. What Clara didn’t know, just yet, was that Dyon would never underestimate her intelligence. There was no doubt in his mind that within three years, Clara would understand just as much array alchemy theory as him, and he was planning to give her all the same resources.
The reason she would never be able to draw a grandmaster array in 20 years is because no one could soul cultivate that fast. Only Dyon could, and that was because he had the accumulated talent of billions. And it still took him 3 years to reach the 8th soul stage. That’s how difficult soul cultivation was.
“Deal.”