by KSY
During those fifteen days of intense cultivation, Ryan’s Death Attribute Soul Core had two breakthroughs and advanced to the Late Mortal Elite Realm. Ryan successfully converted his Gaseous Death Attribute Spirit Power into Liquid Spirit Power, and two-thirds of his Death Attribute Soul Core was then filled with Liquid Spirit Power.
A Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist is able to use this Liquid Spirit Power but not directly. As a result, the Liquid Spirit Power automatically converts into Gaseous Spirit Power when the Martial Artist tries to use it in the Mortal Elite Realm. The presence of Liquid Spirit Power in the Soul Core in the Mortal Elite Realm leads to an overall increase in the Gaseous Spirit Power in the Soul Core, as massive quantities of Gaseous Spirit Power are produced when Liquid Spirit Power converts back to Gaseous Spirit Power. A Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist can also easily recover the consumed Liquid Spirit Power in a similar way to the recovery of Gaseous Spirit Power.
The overall quality of Ryan’s Death Attribute Gaseous Spirit Power also went up significantly after his Death Attribute Soul Core had advanced to the Late Mortal Elite Realm. The increase in the quality of Death Attribute Gaseous Spirit Power would increase the power of the Death Attribute Martial Skills and Yama’s Innate Abilities when he used them.
Ryan slowly opened his eyes, but he was unable to hide his delight. He had achieved two breakthroughs in his Death Attribute Soul Core, and it had advanced to the Late Mortal Elite Realm, and his understanding and insights in Death Elemental Laws had increased by leaps and bounds!
The bodily toughness and strength of his body had also grown manyfold. He was certain now that he could maim any Mortal Lord Realm Martial Artist no matter how heaven-defying a genius he was. His bodily toughness had increased to such a level that even Late Mortal King Realm Martial Artists wouldn’t be able to injure him and Early Mortal Emperor Realm Martial Artists would have a hard time injuring him.
His soul had also strengthened many times. Now, it was as strong as that of a Late Mortal King Realm Martial Artist, while he was still in the Late Mortal Elite Realm. This ensured that the Soul attacks of Mid Mortal King Realm Martial Artists would be unable to harm Ryan’s soul, while his Soul attacks could even endanger the life of a Late Mortal King Realm Martial Artist.
Ryan made Death Sword stop emitting Death Elemental Energy, then decided to use Death Sword’s Camouflage ability and change his Cultivation Level perceived by others to the Early Mortal Elite Realm. He had decided to use Death Sword’s second ability, Camouflage, as he knew that he would have a hard time explaining to his family about his consecutive breakthroughs and advancement to Late Mortal Elite Realm.
Death Sword started shining with a black light inside Ryan’s Soul World and soon it shrouded his Soul World. The black light formed a barrier around his Soul World, which made others unable to gauge his real Cultivation Level. Ryan was thrilled by this. His actual Cultivation Level was Late Mortal Elite Realm but for others, it was still Early Mortal Elite Realm. Ryan was unable to contain his excitement, as he could use this to his advantage.
Ryan knew his preparations were still not good enough, as he still didn’t know any offensive Martial Skills. One of his newly purchased Martial Skills was apt for dealing with wooden puppets, and that was the Corpse Poison Martial Skill, as Corpse Poison is unusually corrosive and would destroy a puppet within a few minutes.
Ryan took out the Corpse Poison Martial Skill manual from his Spatial pouch and started studying it.
He could tell after studying the Corpse Poison Martial Skill manual that it would be quite tough for him to transform Poison Spirit Power into Corpse Poison at the current understanding of his Poison Elemental Laws and the cultivation level of his Poison Attribute Soul Core. He needed to increase his understanding of Poison Elemental Laws and advance the cultivation level of his Poison Attribute Soul Core to Mid Mortal Elite Realm in order to conjure it with ease.
Ryan cultivated Poison Elemental Laws for the next eleven days. On the eleventh day, he was able to attain a breakthrough and his Poison Attribute Soul Core advanced to the Mid Mortal Elite Realm. One-third of his Poison Attribute Soul Core was now filled with Liquid Poison Spirit Power. Ryan didn’t get any boost in bodily strength and toughness after this advancement, and his soul didn’t strengthen any further either. That didn’t bother Ryan as he had already gained enough benefits from the advance of his Death Attribute Soul Core.
Ryan could now finally start learning the Corpse Poison Martial Skill, as his insights and understanding of Poison Elemental Laws had also increased beyond the threshold requirement for learning it. It would now be easier for him to master Corpse Poison Martial Skill now.
Poison Attribute Spirit Power flowed like a mighty river from his Poison Attribute Soul Core to his right hand, and his right hand was covered in Poisonous aura. Ryan imbued the Spirit Power in his hands with Poison Elemental Laws as he tried to conjure Corpse Poison. It took Ryan two days before he was finally able to conjure a single drop of Corpse Poison. Once he’d done that, he knew the correct combination of Poison Elemental Laws required to conjure Corpse Poison. So, with a little practice, he was able to master the Corpse Poison Martial Skill, and then it took him only a few seconds to conjure a drop of Corpse Poison.
Ryan knew that only one day was left before Divine Martial Sect’s recruitment drive would end, and he had to hurry to the Combat Arena, so he ended his Closed-door session and exited the Spatial Cultivation chamber.
Ryan directly went to look for his family members after coming out of his Closed-door Cultivation session. His mother, who was sitting in the study, was so happy to see him.
“How was your Closed-door session?” she asked.
“Quite good and my insights and understanding in Poison Elemental Laws have also increased significantly. I was also able to master one Poison Attribute Martial Skill called Corpse Poison Martial Skill,” Ryan said with confidence. Emilia was quite happy hearing this, but she remembered another important matter.
“You will need to hurry up. Only a day is left before the Divine Martial Sect’s recruitment drive ends,” Emilia reminded him. She had been keeping up with news regarding the recruitment drive, which made her intentions quite clear. She seriously wanted Ryan to join the sect.
“I will be leaving in some time for the Combat Arena,” Ryan said with a smile. A smile bloomed on Emilia’s face after hearing this. She gave him a small hug and gave him a few pointers on combating puppets. She told him about the weaknesses of them and other things and after that, she returned to her work.
Ryan decided not to disturb his mother anymore, so he went to look for his brothers. They were sitting in the living room chatting.
“Hey, I am leaving for the Combat Arena to take the test for the Divine Martial Sect. Wish me luck,” Ryan said with a smile as he entered the living room.
“Brother, are sure you wish to go to Divine Martial Sect? Can’t you just learn from Grandfather?” Cris replied hurriedly. He was one hundred percent sure that if his brother went to take the test, he would pass for sure.
“No, I need to join Divine Martial Sect for some other reason,” Ryan said with an impish smile.
Seeing Ryan smile like that they knew that he was up to no good. He always created some sort of trouble whenever he had that kind of smile.
“Brother, then why do you wish to join the Divine Martial Sect?” Blake asked as he was worried about his brother. If he messed with the wrong people, then the consequences could be disastrous.
“I will tell you guys about that in the future,” and the smile on Ryan’s face became even more vibrant as he thought of his future wife, which only made Cris and Blake more worried about him.
“OK, bye. I will return home by evening,” Ryan said as he left the estate and headed towards the middle district.
“What do you think, Brother? Why is Big brother acting in such a way?” Cris could not help but ask after Ryan left.
“Don’t know. Let’s ho
pe it’s for the best,” Blake said.
Ch.5
Ryan walked leisurely towards the Combat Arena in the middle district as he had a lot of time on his hands. The one-month Closed-door Cultivation session had increased his confidence to a whole new level.
He wanted to defeat the wooden puppet by solely using the Martial Skills he had mastered, as he didn’t want others to know about him possessing a Special physique. He would have a hard time explaining it to them, as it was not Emerald Viper physique.
The tips and guidance from Emilia were also behind his confidence. Emilia had told him to attack the core of the wooden puppet. All puppets have Puppet core, which provides it energy for various functions. If the Puppet core is damaged, then the puppet will cease to function. She had further stated that if he was unable to find the puppet core, he should just drench the wooden puppet in Corpse Poison as a last resort.
The middle district was still as chaotic as it had been during his last visit. Ryan didn’t bother with any other thing and headed directly to the Combat Arena, which was still packed with spectators like last time. Ryan checked the medics of Ring Number 4. His heart was beating wildly as he checked their faces one by one. He wanted to catch one more glimpse of that girl, but she was no longer on duty. He felt a little bit sad at not being able to catch a glimpse of her again.
Currently, Ring Number 4 had a Fire Martial Artist fighting with the wooden puppet. The Martial Artist had a handsome face and a heroic demeanor about him. He was a Late Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist. His clothing and demeanor were enough to tell everyone that he had quite a background. All the young ladies present in the audience were quietly stealing glances at him. This irritated many young men and they hated the Fire Martial Artist from the bottom of their hearts.
The wooden puppet he was fighting had six hands and each hand held a wooden sword. The wooden puppet slashed its swords at the Fire Martial Artist with full power. They made a roaring sound as they cleaved the air whenever the wooden puppet slashed them at the Fire Martial Artist. The power behind these sword strikes was enough to even injure an Early Mortal Lord! If the Fire Martial Artist didn’t avoid those sword strikes in time, he would be fatally wounded.
The Fire Martial Artist’s legs were covered in Fire aura as he dodged the wooden puppet’s strikes at high speed. The Fire aura resembled violent flames. This continued for some time, and it was clear that the Fire Martial Artist was playing with the wooden puppet, whose swords were unable to connect with the body of the Fire Martial Artist.
After playing with the wooden puppet for some time, he decided to finish it off. He created some distance between him and the wooden puppet as he took out his Soul weapon from his Soul World. It was a long sword with a red-colored blade, that had a few runes etched on it and its hilt had a red-colored crystal embedded in it. This crystal is called Lava crystal, which is found inside volcanoes and is capable of amplifying Fire Attribute attacks to a certain extent. Clearly the sword was a high-grade Mortal Artifact and one of the best in its category.
The Martial Artist didn’t stop at just bringing out his Soul weapon to finish off the wooden puppet. He even conjured his Martial Spirit. Fire aura erupted out of his body like a volcanic eruption and transformed into an Elemental Beast which was six meters in length and two meters in height. The Elemental Beast floated in the air above the fire Martial Artist as it looked coldly at the wooden puppet. The Fire aura shrouding the Fire Martial Artist then gave off a similar vibe to that of a Savage Fire Elemental Beast. The Fire Martial Artist had a Flaming lion as his Martial Spirit. The Fire aura around the Fire Martial Artist had become as powerful as an Early Mortal Lord Realm Martial Artist’s, which meant that his combat prowess was now equivalent to that of an Early Mortal Lord.
“Roar!” The Flaming lion roared and its roar was powerful enough to damage the eardrums of beings with a Cultivation Level similar to the Fire Martial Artist’s. If the ring had lacked a barrier many spectators would have become deaf. The Flaming lion stared at the wooden puppet with intense Killing intent.
The Flaming lion was a Normal Elemental Beast with the bloodline of an Ancient Elemental Beast called Fire Cloud Lion. If a Flaming lion is able to increase the concentration of the Fire Cloud Lion’s bloodline in its body, then it evolves into a Fire Cloud Lion with low-grade bloodline purity. Flaming Cloud Lion is one of the strongest Normal Elemental Beasts of Fire Attribute, and its specialty is its violent flames which are very difficult to extinguish.
The sword of the Fire Martial Artist started to burn with violent flames. The Fire Martial Artist looked at the wooden puppet that was charging at him at high speed with a mocking expression. He slashed his sword at the charging wooden puppet. A powerful sword beam condensed out of flames was shot out of from his sword and went straight at the charging wooden puppet. The wooden puppet sensing the sword beam approaching at high speed tried to dodge it but was unable to do so in time. A big explosion occurred following which violent flames gutted the entire ring – it had been utterly destroyed by the Fire Martial Artist.
The Combat Arena fell totally silent when the spectators saw the powerful combat prowess of the Fire Martial Artist. This was one of the most eye-catching performances since the start of the recruitment drive. Even the Divine Martial Sect Elders who were in charge of watching the recruitment process stood up from their seats in shock. The reason was not Fire Martial Artist’s powerful strike but his insights and understanding in Fire Elemental Laws. Without him having high insights and understanding in Fire Elemental Laws it would have been impossible for him to display such prowess.
The violent flames that were burning the ring were extinguished by one of the Elders of the Divine Martial Sect. The condition of the ring and disappearance of the wooden puppet stunned every spectator in the Combat Arena. The ring had been replaced by a big crater, and the disappearance of the wooden puppet meant that it had mostly likely been turned into ashes.
“Awesome! Keep it up,” one of the spectators shouted and soon the arena was raucous with cheers.
An Elder of the Divine Martial Sect came to the Fire Martial Artist and took him inside the Administrative Building of the Combat Arena, where most of the Elders of Divine Martial Sect were seated.
Before the audience’s excitement could calm down, another explosion shook the entire arena. The source of this explosion was Ring Number 5. A young man was going toe to toe with the wooden puppet in Ring Number 5 and his body was utterly covered in electric currents. This was Thunder aura.
“A Thunder Martial Artist!” many in the audience exclaimed. People with Thunder Attribute Martial Spirits are rare, so people usually get hyped up upon seeing one. Thunder Martial Artists are known for their destructive power, which they get from their Thunder Attribute. That destructiveness is the specialty of Thunder Attribute, and even Martial Artists and Elemental Beasts of other attributes with powerful physiques can get their bodies burnt or destroyed if they are under attack by Thunder Attribute beings.
The Thunder Martial Artist dodged the attacks of the wooden puppet with lightning speed. He was faster than the Fire Martial Artist by a whole level. Numerous after images were created in his wake. The attacks by the wooden puppet were not able to connect with him, but it was getting bombarded by powerful attacks from the Thunder Martial Artist.
The Thunder Martial Artist had an unrestrained demeanor around him, unlike the heroic demeanor of the Fire Martial Artist. He had already struck the wooden puppet more than forty times, but the wooden puppet was still as good as new. The reason was quite simple – the wooden puppet’s attributes were wood and metal which could easily suppress the Thunder Attribute. The Thunder Martial Artist had just had a bad match-up, but it irritated the Thunder Martial Artist.
In the end, he conjured his Martial Spirit to deal with the wooden puppet. Thunder aura erupted out of his body as it took the form of a Serpentine Elemental Beast. Electric currents crackled around his Martial Spirit as it floated ab
ove the Thunder Martial Artist and looked at the wooden puppet with indifference. His Martial Spirit was a Serpentine Elemental Beast about ten meters in length and as thick as a tree trunk. The most eye-catching thing about it was the color of the electric current around it – purple. Clearly it was a Variant Thunder Attribute, as generally, electric currents are either yellow or white in color. Variants Attributes are many times stronger than the attributes they are a variation of.
The aura around the Thunder Martial Artist became as strong as that of an Early Mortal Lord Martial Artist. People seeing the Serpentine Beast Martial Spirit were shocked, as it resembled a Thunder Basilisk.
The Thunder Basilisk is an Ancient Elemental Beast and is one of the most powerful Elemental Beasts of the Thunder Attribute. The Thunder Basilisk possesses a variant Thunder Attribute and is known for its trademark, Innate Ability Thunder Stare. Anything that comes in its vision gets electrocuted. It is rare for someone to possess a Martial Spirit which resembles that of an Ancient Elemental Beasts or a Divine Elemental Beasts. Such Martial Artists have very high Innate talent and breakthrough to higher realms very quickly compared to other people.
“Die!!!!” the Thunder Attribute Martial Artist roared as the Thunder Basilisk Martial Spirit opened its mouth and spat out a huge ball of purple-colored electric currents at the wooden puppet.
The purple electric current ball moved at a terrifying speed and struck the wooden puppet even before it could attempt to dodge it. The wooden puppet got disintegrated instantaneously but the purple electric current ball didn’t lose any momentum and struck the barrier of the combat arena. A massive explosion rocked the arena. The ring was veiled in dust following the explosion, the intensity of which was many times greater than the explosion caused by the Fire Martial Artist.
The spectators seating behind the barrier felt profoundly grateful for the barrier. Without it, they would have doubtless died.