531-540

Chapter 531 - Thoroughly Misinformed.

*Swoosh*

The arrow left the bow, targeting Tee whose back remained pressed against the wall but Tee would not be a Cosmic Pagoda realm expert if he could not evade the arrow.

Rolling over to the side, he evaded the arrow and it hit the wall with a bang, the poisonous gas quickly spreading throughout the region the Cosmic pagoda expert was in.

However, even though Tee did not allow himself to breathe in the vapor, he had not completely left the vicinity of the quickly spreading poisonous fog, it touched his hand and the green tinge that showed on his hand began to spread.

Tee's eyes widened and he quickly began to attempt fighting the fog in his system with Cosmic energy. Unleashing the might of his cosmic pagoda realm cultivation to fight the spread.

He did so successfully but had hardly a second to rejoice in the win before Sassy was striking at him with her fist. A fist that was coated with poisonous vapor.

Tee leaned to the side to dodge the blow and while his evasion was successful, Sassy raised her leg in a brilliant display of flexibility and struck into his side.

*Bam!*

"Nghh" Tee groaned as he rolled to a stop on the ground before quickly getting back on his feet to swing his spike at the oncoming lady and successfully smacked the familiar aside to smack into a wall not too far away.

Tee was filled with confidence as the strike had been made with the use of a Pagoda rank Artifact and there was no way this nude and seductive lady could survive a direct hit with no injuries.

It was why he was even more surprised when Sassy stepped away from the wall, a part of her body, specifically the part that had been hit with the spike was covered in green emerald scales that had protected her like Armor.

Once Demon beasts acquire human forms, their beast forms linger even in their human forms as beast physiques to be used at will. It was similar to how humans would make use of beast physiques if they ever got the opportunity to wield one.

However, their mastery of it could never match the Demon beast whose use of the physique would be second nature as it is how they have lived and survived up until the acquisition of their human forms.

Also the stronger they become, the stronger their beast forms (physiques) became as well.

As a Demon beast at the Mid Stage of the Aurora beast realm, Sassy had the physical capability to stand up to humans at the peak of the realm and that was without her being Hal's familiar.

As the familiar of the blue-eyed Devil, how could she not boast of having the capability of fighting even higher than her cultivation permits?

Why would she not be capable of defeating this early-stage Cosmic pagoda expert?

Sassy smiled at Tee as the scales went on to cover her entire body and even some parts of her face before she charged at the silent man with her body exuding poisonous gasses which she used to create a thick cover for herself to better shrink and evade Tee's senses.

Only to then enlarge and once again catch him off guard.

...

*Bam!*

The battle between Melinda and Dee had quickly turned physical with Dee attempting to overwhelm Melinda with the superiority of her blades to which Melinda merely sneered and met full on.

In all honesty, from the moment Hal had brought out Sassy, all the Assasins already realized that they were thoroughly misinformed in regards to him as he clearly had much more resources than they could have ever dreamt.

But that was Hal. What was it with this golden-eyed lady? Dee wondered.

*clang!*

That was the sound of Melinda somehow knowing where the dagger strikes were going to be coming from and striking at them with her sword.

Forcing Dee to take a few steps back.

The assassin could not believe how forceful Melinda's strikes were and how good she was in the use of her sword.

The whole point of a dagger was to be quick. To get in close to the opponent and overwhelm them with speed and dexterity that took advantage of how a sword was inappropriate for a battle in close quarters like a dagger user would prefer.

Alas, it did not seem to make a difference.

In fact, Melinda never actually tried to increase the distance between them to make it easier for herself but Instead made do.

Counterattacking with her fists coated with white flames whenever she could.

That was the other issue Dee had which was the danger signs the white flames were giving off in a bit of a warning to the assassin.

Already Melinda had managed a successful hit with the flames that showed the assassin how dangerous they could be as they burned her not only on the outside but on the inside of her body as well.

That said, Melinda had been cut a few times as well. Experiencing first hand, the sharpness of a Pagoda rank artifact.

The daggers had only grazed her skin but that had been more than enough to cause her injury.

The Dane woman was sure that if the strike ever hit better, it could very well prove fatal. Much more fatal than she could hope to recover from.

Not to mention that any brief moment of weakness was going to be the perfect opportunity for the assassin to take advantage.

After a particular separation between the two... A separation where Melinda was the one looking worse for wear, the Dane lady quickly retrieved a mending pill which she swallowed to heal all injuries she had sustained at that point and give her a clear head to do what she was planning to attempt next.

Which was the full unleashing of her insight level comprehension into the Ordinance of flames that saw her surrounded by a torrent of white flames that filled Dee with trepidation.

This happened almost at the same time Hal was going through a transformation as he faced the leader of the trio.

After he made the bold statement that Sassy would put Tee in his place, Hal had focussed his attention completely on the leader of the trio.

"You're a peculiar young man" the leader said but he said it with a frown as opposed to the confident smile had been having up until this point.

"Why, because I can open a portal and call for reinforcements? Because I am not truly alone?" Hal asked with a smirk.

The leader shrugged,

"As I said, 'peculiar'. That said, you have your helpers occupied and will be facing me all on your own. With nobody to help you" the leader said.

"Ah but I don't need anybody to help me" Hal said before he stretched his hand and released terrifying fiendish energy as he summoned the Fiendish Armament.

The large blood-red broadsword called Executioner.

At the sight of the sword, the leader frowned and put his guard up.

"What do I call you?" Hal asked suddenly.

"What?" The leader was caught off guard by the question which Hal decided to repeat,

"What's your name? Is it Bee? It's Bee, isn't it? I mean the girl is Dee and the silent dude is Tee so you have to be Bee" he said when a grin.

"I am called Cee" the leader said and Hal blinked and almost burst into laughter.

"My goodness, who named you guys?" Hal asked with a chuckle.

Cee frowned,

"They are code names. Code names picked out with the first letter of our names" he said as he retrieved a green saber from his spatial ring. A saber that he charged with Cosmic energy and showcased as being at the Pagoda rank like the weapons of his colleagues.

'Business must be good' Hal thought as he knew the pagoda rank weapons could not possibly come cheap.

That said, they could have been stolen.

They could also have been spoils from their assassination.

Either way, this trio knew what they were doing.

"It's a shame though" Hal said.

"What is?" Cee asked.

"The fact that your bright futures get cut short. All because you took a job you should not have even considered."

As he spoke, Hal's skin turned crimson marred with dark limes while his eyes turned black and released occasional bursts of nightmarish black fog as he took on the mid-World Devil form. Excluding the wings.

Cee's eyes widened,

"What the hell are you?" He asked as an illusionary pagoda with two floors appeared behind him as he also summoned his Cosmic Armament which was a dark sword that he planned to dual wield with his Saber Artifact.

Instead of replying, Hal gripped Executioner even tighter before dashing at Cee with a speed that caused the assassin's eyes to widen in shock even as he reacted fast enough to block the attempted strike with his sword Cosmic armament before swinging his Saber at Hal's midsection.

Hal pushed away from Cee.

Enough to avoid the saber strike but not too far that he could not leap to the assassin's side and reattempt the strike.

Once again, the assassin blocked the hit but Hal was not bothered as he grabbed Cee's sword hand by the wrist with his own free hand.

The assassin was briefly confused as to why Hal grabbed him and then, the Devil unleashed his large bat-like crimson wings which he flapped and flew upward, dragging Cee along.

Taking the assassin to the sky where he would be without a foothold and completely at his mercy....

Chapter 532 - The Trio's End.

In the air, Hal released Cee who fell fast towards the ground, falling even faster as the Cosmic pagoda realm expert released a blast of cosmic energy to propel him even faster to the ground.

Hal was not having it though as he flew even faster than Cee could fall to intercept him and kick him and send him back into the air where he moved to strike him with Executioner.

*Clang*

Cee actually managed to deflect the strike with his saber artifact before he tossed his sword at Hal who reacted fast enough in the air to avoid getting hit.

However, that brief moment of respite was enough for Cee to finally propel himself to the ground and finally get himself a foothold.

After which he surrounded himself with Cosmic energy to stop Hal from attempting another uplift.

Hal landed soon after with some distance between them while he watched Cee with a smile.

What annoyed the Assassin the most about this situation was how Hal was the one making him worried when it should have been the other way around with him having the stronger cultivation.

That was not to mention that he was still wondering what the hell Hal was.

He charged a cosmic attack and imbued it with a force befitting of his Cosmic pagoda realm cultivation which in the case of a successful hit was sure to put an end to this battle since the cultivational pressure Hal was giving off remained at the mid-stage of the cosmic aurora realm.

Hal suspecting what was on Cee's kind grinned before he slashed at the attack the assassin tossed at with Executioner charged with frightening Devil energy.

*Bang!*

*Boooommm!!!*

The blast sent Cee sliding back with widened eyes as he had not expected Hal to be able to meet the attack head-on and still cause a stalemate.

Hal who had flown up to avoid the blowback of the blast now started forming daggers with nightmarish devil energy, all of which he tossed at his opponent with a snap of his fingers.

"Hmph"

Cee let out a sound of contempt at the attack which saw as an insult to his strength.

The daggers were not even moving at a speed he could not intercept.

Dual-wielding his saber artifact and his sword cosmic armament he struck at the daggers but soon found himself unable to repel or deflect them. Instead, he was only cutting each danger in half.

Halves that soon formed individual dangers to continue on their course to make contact with his body.

Surrounding himself with cosmic energy which was Cee's last-ditch attempt at protection and one that he believed would succeed, the assassin was left helpless when the dangers pierced his cloak of cosmic energy to pierce multiple parts of his body.

"No more than scratches... As I would expect of a Cosmic pagoda realm expert" Hal said as he eyed the damage with a frown.

Indeed, Cee was not overly injured. The cuts by the daggers were not too deep to be life-threatening,

"Bastard" Cee snarled before dashing towards Hal with barely a care about the injuries he had sustained.

His urge to fight Hal and put an end to that confident pose of his caused him to neglect the possibility that there was more to the devil energy attack even as they lingered on him and seeped into his wounds.

Hal took a second to crack his knuckles with a smile before he met Cee's double weapons with Executioner which resulted in a loud clang sound after which they briefly separated, only to connect again and resume their weapons battle.

Making full of his dual-wielding, Cee managed to keep Hal's broadsword busy with his saber artifact while he swung his cosmic armament at Hal who stopped and grabbed the sword with his other hand...

... Without sustaining an injury.

This was the occurrence that caused Cee's eyes to widen the most...

He pulled his sword out of Hal's hand, -with the Devil not resisting too much- slashed it at Hal's midsection and watched it slash Hal's clothes but leave his actual body uninjured.

Hal's Mid world Devil form when accurately reinforced with Devil energy was not what a Cosmic pagoda realm expert (a mere realm above him) wielding a Sword, could possibly cut through.

Hal chuckled sinisterly before summoning his cosmic Armament with his free hand and stabbing it into Cee's midsection.

Cee had seen the stab coming and had made to leap back and out of Hal's reach, not willing to test how sturdy his body would be against the sword but finding himself feeling sluggish and unable to react in time.

The sword went through him and splashed blood over Hal's clothes but the devil ignored it and smiled on just as Cee finally managed to leap back, the sword getting pulled out in the process.

"*Cough" *Cough"

With a strong taste of blood in his mouth, Cee retrieved a mending pill from his spatial ring to heal his wounds but even as he swallowed the pill, he found that his wound continued to bleed nonetheless.

Even the superficial wounds he had gotten from the multiple dagger attacks were still bleeding.

Something he had not noticed all through his battle with Hal after the injury.

"What the hell?" He mumbled before Hal was suddenly in front of him and kicking at the already injured midsection.

"Shit" Cee cussed right before the hit connected with his body that was once again feeling too sluggish and slow in reaction.

*Bam*

When the assassin's back made contact with the Dome wall, he flicked his finger in a bid to most likely retrieve a trump card but Hal was there to cut off his hand and stop such an attempt.

"Arrghhhhh" Cee yelled before Hal shoved a mending pill into his mouth not to help him but to prove a point.

"You see that?" The handsome Devil asked as he raised the still bleeding stump of Cee's hand for the assassin to see clearly,

"That will never stop bleeding. None of your wounds ever will. The devil energy that lies in your system has corrupted all your wounds and made it impossible for any of them to close or heal. In other words, I don't really have to do anything..."

Hal said before stabbing Cee in the stomach once again to which the Assasin once again yelled out loud.

Hal continued,

"I don't have to do anything and you will simply bleed to death in excruciating pain since my Devil energy will make sure you keep hurting until you can no longer hurt I.e when you're dead.

But seeing as I am a generous devil... Oh yes, that's what I am, a Devil albeit a generous one, I shall end your suffering.

Besides, I feel you've learned your lesson enough to know there are certain jobs you should never take.

That should be enough to make you wiser in your next life... If you do have one, that is" he said before leaning away from Cee and then beheading him swiftly with Executioner.

The headless, one-handed body fell in front of Hal while the head rolled for a while before stopping.

Hal then looked back at the battle between his women and the other two assassins right on time to see it reach climax as well...

Thinking to take their opponents who despite having lower cultivation were more than holding their own against the assassin duo, by surprise, Tee and Dee switched opponents.

With Dee suddenly facing Sassy and Tee facing Melinda.

Neither Melinda nor Sassy were bothered by the switch.

In fact, Sassy welcomed Dee's attempt at going right for the kill with her daggers. With the female assassin moving even faster by boosting herself with Cosmic energy.

Sassy dodged one of the daggers which had been targeting a vital organ but still got stabbed in the shoulder.

The Familiar groaned but continued to smile as she used close contact to strike Dee's chest with her sharp nails.

The assassin was spinning her dagger, the one that Sassy had avoided getting hit by, to use it to finish the job when she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

The pain was not from the nails stabbed into her chest but the poison Sassy had used the opportunity to inject directly into her heart.

Sassy grinned as she took Dee's wide eyes of shock as a sign that her poison was already reacting even before she began to see the green tinge spread and show up on Dee's body,

Dee leaped back, leaving her dagger in Sassy's shoulder to attempt to fight the poison with Cosmic energy but it was too late.

She fell to her knees, looked to the side with her final view before she died being to see Melinda's sword sticking out of Tee's back with both of his arms limp by his side having been burned completely and rendered useless by Melinda's Ordinance flames even before she stabbed him and ended his life.

There were multiple burned scars on the silent Assassin's body that showed he had sustained even more injuries and the sword stab was merely a definitive end to a battle that was unequal in the favor of the golden-eyed beauty from the moment It began.

Chapter 533 - Ugh, That's My Man!

Hal reverted to his human form and walked towards Sassy who was looking at the dagger in her shoulder as though intrigued by the Artifact.

Hal gripped the handle and pulled it out of her shoulder after which the wound on Sassy's shoulder began to close up at a rate that was visible to human eyes.

After acquiring her human form, Hal found he could occasionally grant Sassy his Devil abilities and had now granted her his regeneration to drastically increase the speed at which she healed from the wound.

She lost the ability once she was healed though.

Sassy groaned a little as the dagger was pulled out before she flashed Hal a smile,

"How did I do?" She asked.

Hal shrugged,

"You did great" he told her with a smile before he went over to Dee's body to pick up her other dagger as well as her spatial ring.

The dagger, he gave to Sassy along with the one he had pulled out of her shoulder,

"Here, I think this will go quite nicely with the slinky look you're going for" he said to her and Sassy quickly imprinted on the now ownerless daggers that she proceeded to charge, not with cosmic energy but her poisonous toxins.

Then Hal went over to Cee's body to pick up the assassin's Saber Artifact and spatial ring.

While he did so, Melinda took Tee's spike and spatial ring and gave both to him while he told her,

"Spectacular as always"

"Really? I thought it was a bit of a dull performance" the golden-eyed beauty said before Hal wound his arm around her waist without a care for her bloody clothes.

Although, to be fair his clothes were bloodied as well.

It was quite interesting that while the two had their brief loved-up moment, Sassy did not seem like a third wheel.

That might have had a lot to do with her being more occupied in testing out the weapons that once belonged to her first kill in her newly acquired human form.

...

On the outside of the Royal Blue Dome of Astral energy...

Incredibly, both the rest of Hal's group on the outside (Nicole, Adeline, and Pierre) and the complete members of Han Doe's group had called a temporary truce which Pierre felt was totally in their favor.

After all, the opposing team had their members complete and were not in a state of total worry as to the well-being of their compatriots.

To an extent, Pierre wondered if Han Doe's group were simply waiting them out.

Waiting for their devices to go red as they all felt was inevitable.

After all, they had all felt the pressure the trio had been giving off... How the hell were two Cosmic Aurora realm experts supposed to emerge victorious against Cosmic Pagoda experts.

None of those present could boast of success.

And then the black Dome came down.

Evidence that the battle was at an end.

But since the dome of Astral energy which they all knew had been erected by Hal. was still standing, they wondered if that meant Hal and Melinda had won.

If incredibly, they had come out in top.

Those watching in the coliseum had their attention focused completely on the area of the rundown district they had not been able to watch due to a black done that had now been taken down.

They were quick to notice that two were missing and quickly sported the royal blue dome of astral energy as where Hal and Melinda were.

Almost immediately, the black dome was down, the exam came to an end with Elsa taking a few seconds to collect herself before she stood up to make the announcement that everyone in the rundown district heard.

Everyone except Hal and Melinda who could not perceive any sound apart from what was produced within the dome they were in,

"The First Stage of the Entrance exams is over. Of the Ten groups that have survived till the end, five have ten members, three have seven, while the last two groups have eight and five members. To all those who survived till the end, I congratulate your success"

As exciting as the news of success was to Pierre especially since it meant he had not failed the exam for the second time or more accurately, he had not failed yet, he was much more focused on what was happening within the dome.

It was a few minutes after the visual of the area was recovered before the dome came down to reveal a bloodied Hal and a bloodied Melinda standing together and chuckling as though they were enjoying a private joke.

The bodies of the cosmic pagoda realm trio lying on the ground with the only female's chest colored with a poisonous-looking tint.

Han Doe, having taken a mending pill and completely healed stood to his feet to stare wide-eyed at the Hal and Melinda duo who walked discussing and chuckling like lovers as though they had not just done what everyone looking at the bodies was thinking they had done.

The golden crow sect genius was speechless.

He was not just looking at the duo with incredulity, he was also looking at them with fear.

Fear that the rest in his group were quick to mirror.

The only one not looking too shocked and was mostly glad Hal was alive and well was Nicole.

"What is it?" Hal asked when they all suddenly paused to gawk at Melinda and him.

Almost as soon as he spoke, the portable teleportation devices ingrained in all the devices activated and took them all to the Coliseum.

Everyone who had participated in the exam and passed the first stage was now standing in the center stage where all those present in the coliseum would see those they had been watching on a screen in person.

While the thought of many as they watched Hal and Melinda was that the two had killed the trio, one individual in the entire coliseum was yelling out her support and making sure the entire coliseum could hear her yell due to her imbuing her voice with Cosmic energy.

"Just look at my man, looking all bloody and manly, ugh, I dare any of you to try and take him on. He'll crush you. He'll make mincemeat of you. Oh, you just try it. It will be so much fun watching him destroy you with one hand.

And in case I am not being clear, since a lot of you are idiots with minimal brain cells, I am referring to the most handsome blue-eyed young man standing side by side with his golden-eyed goddess.

Just look at them, they are such a picture-perfect couple..."

That was the end of Marla's supportive announcement as she was pulled back to her seat by Rita who cautioned,

"You've yelled enough"

Hal's lips were twitching but he had been introduced with a certain amount of dignity and needed to strike a pose befitting of that dignity.

As for the crowd, they actually never cared that Hal and Melinda had killed the trio.

This was a world where only the strong had a right to survive anyway.

What they wondered was who the trio had been and what had caused an alteration that saw a Doxon and a Dane fight against them together and actually be able to do so while wearing devices that were supposed to stop participants from killing or overly maiming one another.

Also how brutal were these two that such a clearly brutal battle did not seem like a bother to them at all?

Chapter 534 - One-year Probation.

VIP box...

Kirill was shaking his head with a smile,

"That sharp-tongued brat actually survived"

Devon turned to him immediately,

"What the hell is going on?" He asked the Ex-Doxon Duke who rolled his eyes but did not deign the question fit for a response.

However, when Isabella repeated the question with a bit less colorful language, Kirill answered as casually as he possibly could,

"An assassination or more accurately, an unsuccessful assassination" he said.

"And why would you want to assassinate my granddaughter?" Isabella asked to which Kirill answered with a bit of a sneer,

"No one cares about your granddaughter. The attempt was on Hal's life, not hers and she was only in danger because she decided to get involved."

"And why would you want to kill your grandson?" Tanya asked.

"Especially after you just claimed him in a very public manner" Isabella added to which Devon frowned in a 'who cares if he wants to kill that bastard?' Sort of way.

Kirill shrugged,

"I don't want to kill him. I won't attempt to save him but I have no reason to seek his life. That said, the assassination attempt concerns our family politics, or more crudely put, it concerns our issues.

So I implore you to leave us be and let us sort out our issues, ourselves"

The Empress decided it was the right time to chime in but not in an attempt to calm the tension but to simply remind all those present as to the reason they were here in the first place.

Nothing, at this moment, could be more important than the Royal academy's entrance exams,

"Elsa, recover the bodies of the dead trio. Since they disabled their devices, they had no use for our protection and we do not need to punish their killings.

That said, I would still like their deaths to be looked into.

Once you have ordered the recovery and the subsequent autopsy, I would like that we proceed with the second stage of the Entrance exam"

Elsa bowed,

"As you wish your majesty" she said before straightening up to follow through with the Empress' orders.

...

Meanwhile, in the center stage,

Hal looked over at the faces of those who had passed the first stage and he quickly crossed eyes with Valerie who was frowning at him having heard, just like every single person in the coliseum, what Marla had said.

Hal was actually glad she had passed the exam and wondered if the one leading her group was one of the leaders of the young generation Han Doe had been so confident would take up all ten spots but when he saw every other member of the group staring at Valerie with awe and a bit of fear, he tossed that thought aside.

And he was right to do so as Han Doe looked around before saying in disappointment,

"We're missing two"

A sentiment the other seven who Hal took as the rest of the ten so-called leaders of the generation agreed with, even though they agreed with a frown.

Frowns directed at the two groups they believed had no right to be standing on the center stage.

Then Elsa's voice sounded out for all to hear,

"This eighty-four have passed the first stage of the Royal entrance exams and have all become members of the Royal Academy.

Even without the second stage of the exams.

However, the royal academy has no need for wastes.

Because of the situation of the first stage which saw keeping the devices of every member of each group from going red being the priority, not every member of those groups actually had a hand in their group's success.

If this is the case, your points for the first stage of the Royal Academy entrance exams is Zero."

Elsa paused and let this sink in much to the murmurs of many of the Eighty-four on the center stage.

She let that continue and only when the murmurs had fizzled out did she continue,

"We understand that some of you believed fighting 'weaklings' was below you and while you had the strength to come out victorious, you preferred to leave the battle to those on the same level as those 'weaklings'.

Well, even for you, the verdict remains the same and you get a Zero.

If you're only going to participate in a group effort when it 'suits you' then you don't deserve to be a part of the Royal Academy.

But rejoice for you are not totally doomed just yet...

Every one of you is on a one-year probation period starting from now, at the end of which your tally of points would be reviewed and if it is lower than a certain number, you will be ejected from the academy.

There are many ways of gaining points, all of which you will have a chance to learn and attempt once you are in the academy fully but one of the most popular ways is by challenging your fellow Royal academy members to duels.

The winner wins points off the loser.

Which means the loser loses some of his points to the winner.

That is what the second and final stage of the exam is for.

To give those of you who 'could not be bothered to fight weaklings' a chance to get points off those who could be bothered.

For the duration of the Exam, the amounts of points to be won and to be lost is fixed.

We will give you a chance to prepare yourself and will convene in an hour for the start of the Second and final stage of the Royal Academy entrance Exams"

It was almost evening but none of those in the coliseum were weary.

This was the part of the exam that was most exciting to watch.

Seeing the best of the young generation battle it out was incredibly intriguing and none of them could wait.

Hal, Melinda, and Nicole went through the doors that led out of the center stage and into the many rooms below the coliseum seats to take off their bloodied clothes and clean themselves up.

When they actually found a room to make use of, it was merely a cover so that they could enter into the Harem space and prepare themselves in there.

With all three taking off their clothes and sinking into the pool within the mansion in a bid for relaxation.

They had not been there more than a few minutes that Melinda already had her arms wound around Hal's neck while she kissed down his beautiful form, even going underwater to continue only to resurface seconds later and retake his lips.

Hal enjoyed the press of her ample breasts on him while he grabbed her ass underwater and kneaded it to his heart's content while Nicole swam closer to join in whatever way or form she could.

While Hal kneaded Melinda's ass cheeks, Nicole found space between their bodies to grab hold of Hal's massive cock and stroke it while her excitement heightened.

It had been months since she last touched any part of him or since he had ever touched any part of her and there was nothing she wished for more than to fully indulge in his touch.

She had nothing against the Dane present and just wanted Hal to bring her that pleasure she had been longing for ever since their wonderful time together in Doxon.

Chapter 535 - Fulfillment. R-18

The trio of Hal, Melinda, and Nicole had now adjourned to a much more appropriate (in their opinion and to their taste) location for the quickly heating up session.

The location was inside Hal's large room where the two ladies now had Hal lying on the bed so that they could worship his body with the amount of attention and care that was required.

If there was one thing both ladies agreed on as they peppered different parts of Hal's body with kisses, it was how it was a wonderful piece of art that would always intrigue them for as long as they breathed.

Not to mention that with Hal's body presently charged with {Erogenous touch), each kiss or touch they peppered him with had their bodies shivering with pleasure and their pussies getting wetter as fast as they possibly could.

Hal made no move to assist them in their act as he merely placed his hands behind his head and gave both ladies full reign to do as they wished to him.

A privilege both ladies quickly took full advantage of.

Especially Nicole who had mostly been at the mercy of Hal's touches and never had the opportunity to be in control like she could be right now.

That said, there was still a sense of hierarchy between the ladies.

A hierarchy that got Nicole knowing with certainty that Melinda was the one who should be first in all categories. She was the one to take the lead.

This was not just because Hal had called Melinda his first, a statement that almost automatically granted the right to always be number one in his ever-growing harem, it was also that Melinda had known Hal the longest.

She knew what made him tick.

In a subject of Hal's lines and disliked in bed, the golden-eyed beauty was in the best position to know exactly what to do and what to avoid.

Melinda took this unspoken but insinuated by actions leading role seriously as she indeed took the lead while Nicole followed.

Delivering many pleasurable nips on Hal's body as she ultimately led the way to his impressive but still-flaccid organ that was clearly meant to be the culmination of this session and the start of the two ladies getting something out of this since Hal had made no move to pleasure them orally.

Melinda took hold of the flaccid organ and stretched her tongue tentatively to take a long, confident, and enjoyable lick while she reached down to grab hold of his balls.

Nicole followed Melinda's lead and when the golden-eyed beauty focussed her attention on the ridge beneath the large head of Hal's cock, the Antonov woman took command of the rod itself.

Noting that Hal was groaning in pleasure at Melinda's teasing licks of the ridge beneath his cock head which got her (Nicole) realizing it was a sensitive spot for Hal.

As her feminine hand grabbed hold of the now semi-erect cock, Nicole's joyful smile shifted into a lustful one.

At long last, she would feel it again.

Feel it fill up her insides and make her feel more complete than anything else in the world ever could.

*Fap* *Fap* *Fap*

She began to stroke it. Her rhythm was always flawless and never faltered.

And the speed increasing steadily.

Not too fast and not too slow.

Actually moving in a somewhat equal rhythm as Melinda's licks of Hal's cock head.

Nicole knew what she was doing and why would she not?

She was an experienced dual cultivator after all.

Hal thought of the situation as intriguing.

Here were two women from differing and opposing backgrounds who had never actually been in this situation at the same time or place before and yet, through him, they had quickly formed a camaraderie.

'Should I call myself a peacemaker?' He thought with a brief chuckle that quickly ended when the pleasure he got from the two ladies pulled him back down to earth.

While Melinda still stroked the ridge with one hand, her mouth had now descended to the stem where she joined Nicole to double team Hal's cock, in the process of which the lips of both women made contact and they indulged in their half kiss. (Half because Hal's cock remained between them to be a constant interrupter)

While they shared Hal's cock, someone walked into the room and Hal did not need to check to know it was the only other person inside the Harem space apart from the three of them on the bed.

Sassy walked into the room with her eyes completely focussed on what was going on in front of her.

She had come into the room with a stool which she placed near the wall and sat on with the seriousness as well as the enthusiasm of a student who wanted to learn as much as she could in preparation for an exam.

This is of course assuming the student used in the comparison, wishes to learn and understand the subject in question.

Because Sassy wanted to learn.

She really did.

As she watched, the scales covering her nipples as well as crotch cleared away and almost subconsciously, the familiar raised a hand to her breast to grab and knead it which elicited a moan from her lips while her pussy got wet at the display before her.

A display that got even more heated since now that Hal's cock was slick enough, Nicole rose to be the first to take it inside her as permitted by Melinda who nodded with a sage smile that was clearly meant as a joke,

"You're ready" she said.

Nicole played along with wide eyes as she straddled Hal with her two legs on either side of him before reaching between her legs to grab hold of Hal's cock and aim it at her wet pussy,

"Are you sure? Cause I think I could have done more to prepare myself" she said with a tone that was meant to be unsure but merely came out as the lustful representation of how much she craved the large organ now pressed against her slit.

Melinda shook her head,

"Nope, you are as prepared as you are ever going to be" she said before Nicole lowered herself and took Hal's cock head inside her pussy.

"Mnnghhh" she moaned at the pleasure of his large cock head spreading her pussy lips and already giving her a taste of the fulfilling pleasure she had been craving for months.

For the first time since they had adjourned to the bed, Hal took his hands away from the back of his head to grab hold of Nicole's hips and help guard her down even further on his cock.

The deeper he got inside her, the louder and more pleasurable Nicole's moans were as Melinda soon grabbed both of the lady's breasts to begin kneading the assets and teasing her nipples.

To which Nicole grabbed a handful of Melinda's hair to pull her even harder against her breast and quite hopefully increase the pleasure she already felt.

Then she bottomed out.

Her ass smacking Hal's laps and announcing that his entire length was now buried within her snatch.

Almost as soon as this happened, Nicole pulled Melinda's head back and smashed their lips together in an ardent hiss that stifled the loud cry of pleasure that would have been quite vocal without the kiss.

Sassy enjoyed the show so much and it was evident by the fact that the hand not kneading her breast was now on her crotch and rubbing her erect clit while she moaned continuously in pleasure, heading ever closer to her first mini-orgasm.

While Hal enjoyed the show as well, he did not let that stop him from starting his thrusts and quickly establishing a rhythm that had Nicole grinding her ass at him and adding even more traction to the overall exercise.

*Pah* *Pah* *Pah*

Hal groaned at how tight Nicole made her pussy, not just due to involuntary pleasure spasms but also in an active, voluntary effort to get him to climax and spill his warm, essence-rich seed deep inside her.

Hal had nothing against the pleasure and encouraged it as he charged his cock especially with lust flames that saw the whole insides of Nicole turned into a pleasure Zone where the very presence of Hal's cock inside her already had her climaxing and groaning in pleasures of the first in the many orgasms she would have before the end of the session.

*Pah* *Pah* *Pah*

The intercourse went on for half an hour with Melinda never stopping her ministrations and merely moving from Nicole to Hal but usually spending more time on Nicole for no other reason than that she enjoyed the other Lady's reactions to her touch.

And then Nicole had her biggest orgasm yet as she yelled out,

"Oh, Yesss, Hal Fuck me... fuck me hard... Fuck me till I can walk no more... Fuck me Harrrrrdddddddddd"

All the while tightening even harder around Hal who stubbornly refused to release his seed inside her just yet.

As she quivered while coming down from her Orgasmic high, Hal changed their positions to have her lying on the bed, face first but with her ass propped up for him as he knelt behind her and placed his cock at her entrance.

Nicole grabbed handfuls of bedsheets and braced herself for fulfillment that she knew was soon to come...

.... Which did come as Hal thrust inside her pussy to the hilt and resumed their session that was clearly not at an end.

Chapter 536 - An Inheritance.

As the time ticked on with only a few minutes left before the one-hour break was over, the Empress finally received the report on the bodies of the dead trio.

Reading through the report, the Empress's lips were upside down in a frown.

When she spoke, her words were directed at her daughter Tanya but as she was not lowering her voice, almost everyone in the VIP box heard her words,

"Exactly what cultivation realm is Hal Doxon at?" She asked and passed the report to Tanya.

She asked her daughter since she was Hal's sponsor and should quite rightly know more about him than even his family members.

A sponsor was not just someone who recommends a participant fit the Royal Academy exams, they are usually also tutor and train their participants and have full confidence in them when sending them off to attempt joining the Royal Academy.

Of course, Tanya and Hal's situation was not as such but it did not mean she could not answer these simple questions.

"The mid-stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm" Tanya said as she read the report with twitching lips.

All three had been at the Cosmic pagoda realm at the time of their death and one of them had actually died by having poison injected directly into her heart.

"And how old is he? I don't want a range, I want his actual age" she said.

"He's nineteen. The Doxon Duchess had him nineteen years ago, just a little while after she became duchess" Tanya said.

The Empress nodded with her face devoid of expressions,

"I would like to speak to him once the exams are over." She said to which Tanya gave a short bow but said nothing in reply.

Meanwhile, many in the VIP box had widened eyes as they wondered how the hell that Doxon brat had done it.

Such quick cultivation was something no one could boast of.

What secrets was the young man hiding?

And could it be that whatever it is, the Danes, despite their hatred of what the Doxons stand for, have a stake in it?

...

The one hour ended and participants finally revealed themselves, returning to the center stage for the second stage of the Royal Academy Entrance exams.

Hal, Melinda, and Nicole walked out as well after having spent ten warped hours indulging in each other's bodies while they were watched by an almost constantly orgasming Sassy who took in as much knowledge as she possibly could.

Soon everyone was present with the seven still present so-called leaders of the younger generation glaring at Hal and Valerie's groups with contempt at them being where they should not have been.

Hal however, focussed his attention on the circle that had been drawn in the center stage.

Then Elsa spoke,

"The final stage of the Exams is an elimination battle. You have all been paired randomly and will battle as you have been paired. The losers are eliminated and lose points while winners win points proceed to be paired again and battle it out.

You win when you are able to repel your opponent out of the circle or your opponent forfeits.

The fixed amount of points to be lost and to be won is fifty.

Feel free to fight to the extent of your abilities. Unlike inside the rundown district, here we have seasoned experts who will accurately gauge when to step in and interfere in your battles because we have no use for your deaths.

We are here for an exam not battles to the death.

Behold; your first opponents..."

The screens became covered with names and Hal's first opponent was Han Doe while Melinda's was another member of Han Doe's group.

The first pair to battle stepped on the stage with their points being displayed on the screens.

One of them had forty points while the other had a hundred.

Their battle ended quickly enough with the one with forty points losing and having to surrender all forty points to his opponent and still be left with a negative ten points.

The winner had his point tally increased to one hundred.

The next to fight was Valerie who stepped on the stage with one of the members in a group led by one of the so-called leaders of the young generation.

The board caused Hal to raise a brow when he saw that Valerie had amassed one thousand points as opposed to her opponent's points which were two hundred.

Clearly, Valerie had been quite active in the first stage of the Exams.

Valerie stretched her hand immediately to summon a four circle ring,

"Fourth-grade skill; Rain of Daggers"

Daggers composed of cosmic energy emerged from the skill ring and all targeted her opponent who sneered and unleashed cosmic energy like a shield around herself so that she could charge right through Valerie's dagger rain and attack her head-on.

Valerie had no issue with it and welcomed her opponent's approach while she stretched her hands and summoned two cosmic armaments in each of her hands.

One was a large green war hammer and the other was a blue broadsword. Both of which she wielded as though they weighed nothing.

Both of which were different from the cosmic armament she had used when she fought Hal in the rundown district.

Needless to say, the appearance of both caused the eyebrows of many in the crowd to rise.

One Armament...

That was what was permitted of every cultivator to create so why was this young woman wielding two clearly distinct Armaments.

Experienced men and women in the VIP box understood what was going on and thanks to Grimoire, Hal did as well,

'She gained an inheritance.

Speedy cultivation like yours is not the only way to spontaneously increase strength. There are techniques, considered forbidden because of their difficulty, which allow experts who are nearing the end of their lifespan to leave a piece of themselves behind. A piece that contains the core of their cultivation. What makes them, at that point in life, powerful and special.

That is an inheritance that can be absorbed and cultivated by a younger fellow that will almost instantaneously grant whoever the inheritor is, the cultivation that has been left behind.

However, while it is a kind of cheat that will speedily increase strength, there are downsides that the inheritor will only discover when they attempt to comprehend Ordinances or Comprehend Dao.

You see, these two things, Ordinance and Dao, have a lot to do with who the inheritor is, who they truly are.

But with the inheritance within them, being a source of strength, there now exists a different entity that will mess up the inheritor's equilibrium and make it impossible to find out what makes them who they are.

In other words, the inheritor loses his or her own individuality'

Grimoire explained and by the time it was done, which was a few seconds at most, Valerie's opponent had arrived in front of her.

Valerie used her large broad sword like a shield to deflect her opponent's weapon while she swung her hammer at her opponent's chest.

The opponent's eyes widened and she made to surround herself with Cosmic energy and while that indeed helped her avoid more serious injuries, it did nothing to keep her rooted to the spot as the hammer swing sent her flying out of the circle and away from the center stage completely.

*Bang!*

Many cheered Valerie on in her win but the lady ignored it, as well as the fifty points increase in her points, with an unsatisfied smile while she walked away from the stage, met Hal's eyes, and sneered as though to say 'I'm coming for you'.

Hal mouthed, 'I'll be waiting for you' to her just as it was Nicole's turn to ascend the stage.

Nicole had 1100 points, the one hundred more than Valerie had been due to the fact that her group had been actively hunting other groups and had taken down the most groups of all surviving ten groups.

Her opponent who was at the Early stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm and had four hundred points, wasted no time tossing a Cosmic Aurora at the Antonov lady who rolled out of the way in an impressive show of speed and reflexes.

After all, her opponent's attacking speed should have surpassed hers to the extent that she would be overwhelmed.

Cosmic auroras and attacks followed after one other as her opponent felt to keep the distance between them and finish it without getting in close contact.

He felt that Nicole being at the Cosmic Phenomenon realm did not deserve an up-close and personal battle with him.

With the disparity of their cultivation, he expected Nicole to want to keep her distance as much as she could which was why it surprised him when Nicole dashed towards him, leaving a trail of sweet-smelling, almost arousing purple streak behind her.

The young man frowned and wrapped his fist in a cosmic Aurora to strike at Nicole who was moving at a speed with which she should not have been able to maneuver well enough to avoid getting hit.

Alas, to his surprise, Nicole leaned to the side, easily evading his hit and reciprocating with a hard and loud punch...

*Bam!*

.... that got her opponent's eyes bugging out in surprise and pain as he sailed away from her and out of the circle.

Chapter 537 - I Admire You...

"Impressive display, You truly must be proud Andrei" Kirill said to the father of three who tried to show the pride that he was feeling but had a hard time doing so.

His face was colored instead with confusion.

Why was this?

Well, ever since this exam started and Nicole began showcasing impressive capabilities, he found that his daughter was now different from how he had always known her to be.

She was shining so brightly that he could hardly believe his training and tutoring were the reasons.

Add that to the look of absolute obedience and reverence she had whenever she looked at Hal and he began to wonder if the Doxon young man was the course.

If that was the case, he wondered just to what extent and with what method he had instilled such a significant change and boost in strength within his darling eldest daughter?

Dimitri, still stroking his beard took over and showcased the pride his brother should have been showing at that moment,

"Well, this display is only to be expected of Nicole. She is a progeny of our glorious Sensual palace after all." He said but in his mind, he was actually of the same mind as his brother.

Leading up to this entrance exam, one of Dimitri's sons (Boryan or Cheslav) had been the most likely to represent the Sensual palace not just because those they would be competing with for the honor (other young members of the Sensual Palace) were not up to their level, it was also because they were the most interested.

Both brothers had a zeal for becoming members of the Royal Academy.

However, when the preliminary list of participants (a list preceding the most official one. A list preceding the one Pierre showed to Hal) was delivered to the Palace and Nicole read through it, she decided she would represent the Sensual palace instead of Boryan who had as of them being chosen to the jealousy of his brother.

No one knew the reason she wanted to represent the sect and she never saw a need to explain herself.

She and Boryan sparred and she defeated him in an impressive show that established neither of the brothers was on her level.

As the Antonov brothers (Dimitri and Andrei) watched her walk off the stage and smile at Hal with that twinkle in her eyes, they wondered if the reason they had been searching for was not the name of the blue-eyed young man whose turn to battle Han Doe of the golden crow sect drew close.

-

Before it was Hal and Han Doe's turn to battle though, it was Melinda's and as she stepped on the stage and stood opposite her opponent with a readiness to end this as swiftly as she possibly could, her opponent uttered two words,

"I forfeit"

Silence...

"Are you sure?" Elsa's voice asked and the opponent nodded his head with certainty,

"I'm sure. I don't want to fight her. She's a monster" he said and stepped off the stage.

He had been a member of Han Doe's group during the first stage of the exams and had felt the pressure being given off by the trio that Hal and Melinda had supposedly killed all on their own.

In a bloody manner no less.

Of course, it is worth noting that no one had actually seen what happened within the dome and had no idea what means the duo had used or even if they could reproduce it for their battles.

Even then, the young man standing opposite Melinda saw no reason to try.

Maybe it was cowardly and a stupid way to lose fifty pints to the golden-eyed beauty who had one thousand five hundred points, but that was what felt right to him.

As he stepped off the stage with a fair amount of boos as well as sneers from the seven leaders of the young generation, two of which had already battled and won their battles, only one man looked completely accepting of his decision...

"Wise choice, Deen. Fighting any of these two will be pointless with no hope of victory. I forfeit as well" Han Doe yelled out with his hand raised.

His battle with Hal was next after all.

"Han, what the hell are you doing?" Asked one of the leaders of the young generation as Han Doe's decision to forfeit was accepted after he reiterated that he was sure of forfeiting.

Adding fifty more points to Hal's two thousand.

The most points any participant had ever been revealed to have during this entrance exam.

Hal and Melinda received the forfeit in good faith. Not acting as though it bothered them in any way.

Han Doe shrugged,

"Lyle, if you ever face either of the two, then do what I just did. Forfeit"

The next battle was between Pierre and Lyle.

The battle was over almost as soon as it started.

Through no fault of the Silva young man though.

He was simply outclassed.

Lyle was at the early stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm while Pierre was still at the peak of the Cosmic phenomenon realm.

Pierre didn't care about the loss.

He had passed the Royal Academy entrance exams.

He had acquired nine hundred points, now eight hundred and fifty due to his loss, and thereby had a headstart in regards to the one-year probation period.

He was definitely not ranked last at least.

That said, he wondered how geniuses like his sister or Nicole battled over the limits of their cultivations without the obvious use of Artifacts to boost their prowess.

He declined to mention Hal or Melinda in his thought comparison since he saw those two, not as geniuses but as monsters. Agreeing with the word usage of the young man who forfeited against Melinda.

The battle to end the first stage of pairings was between Adeline and a young man at the Peak of the Cosmic phenomenon realm just like her and was using an Aurora rank shield artifact along with his mace Cosmic Armament.

He used the two weapons ingeniously as he engaged Adeline in close contact. Constantly bashing her with his shield artifact and throwing off her equilibrium as the pale-eyed young lady tried her best to smack him with the flat side of her large Ax cosmic armament.

The shield proved quite capable of protecting the user from cosmic attacks and phenomena and helped the young man remain rooted to the spot while he successfully caught Adeline with his mace.

That ended soon enough though when Adeline caught very close, grabbed the edge of the shield, and pulled it towards herself.

The young man kept a good hold of the shield and prepared to once again ram Adeline with it but the Silva lady was not having it as she tossed a Cosmic attack behind the shield where the shield could not offer its protection.

*Bang!*

Despite being quick enough to protect himself with Cosmic energy, the explosive hit still separated the young man from his shield.

There he tried to rally and return to his feet but a strong toss of his shield accompanied with another dose of cosmic attack sent the young man out of the circle and smacking into the wall surrounding the center of the coliseum.

After Adeline's victory, the Twenty-two winners were randomly mixed to be randomly paired once again.

Hal looked over and saw Valerie's hands clasped in want looked like a prayer. He could guess what she was hoping for. Probably to be paired against him next.

Her prayer was not answered as her opponent was definitely not Hal who would be facing Lyle, Valerie's opponent was Melinda and their battle was happening first.

The spectators cheered as both Melinda and Valerie stepped on the stage.

The monster against the enigma who could use two distinctly different Cosmic Armaments.

"I admire you, miss Dane..." Valerie said to which Melinda replied with a smile,

"I appreciate the admiration" she said before she realized Valerie was not yet done,

"... But I want to face HIM. So excuse me, I'll be going on ahead" she said and began releasing frightening cultivation pressure. (Frightening to those below the Cosmic Aurora realm)

Melinda smiled with a raised brow,

"Oh, I take it you're getting serious now" she said and summoned her cosmic armament just as Valerie opened her eyes with her cultivation now at the Cosmic Aurora realm,

"I can't hold this for long, So I'll be going for the win right from the start" Valerie said before summoning the green Hammer and Blue broadsword as she charged at Melinda who grinned and dashed forward to meet Valerie's progress.

*Clang*

Their swords gave off a ringing sound as they connected while Valerie thrust her hammer at Melinda who smacked the large hammerhead with her free bare hand and actually knocked it out of the way at the same time she pushed Valerie away from her and separated their connected swords.

Valerie slid a few steps back before swinging her sword in a bid to toss a Cosmic Aurora at Melinda who met it with a Cosmic Aurora of her own while she blazed with the golden flames of her bloodline that she charged for an attack....

Chapter 538 - Don't Blink.

Valerie dodged to the side to avoid the column of golden flames Melinda attacked her with and when she was back to her feet, there was a five circle ring of a fifth-grade skill in front of her.

Out of the five circled ring extended a sort of paralyzing effect that held Melinda in place. Stopping her from making any moves.

However, despite being stuck in place, the Golden-eyed beauty smiled as Valerie closed the distance between them in a short amount of time to swing her giant hammer at her prone form.

However, when the hammer looked to be close to making contact with Melinda's body, she shone brightly with the golden flames of her bloodline, and the flames detonated in a massive explosion...

*Boommm!!!*

... That swept Valerie away from her opponent.

Out of the still-smoldering but quickly fizzling out flames walked Melinda, swinging her sword leisurely as she approached Valerie with a smile,

"I have nothing against your focused zeal and your clear aim. I find it interesting and a part of me is actually rooting for your victory in a situation where you do face off with Hal even though I know you being victorious is highly unlikely.

However, I have to say it kind of irks me that you feel you are just going to 'go on ahead' or that you're going to 'go right for the win'.

What am I, cannon fodder?

Am I just here as a stepping stone to your greatness?

If that is what you think, then you are sorely mistaken" Melinda said to Valerie, never seeming in a hurry to take action.

Which Valerie took as overconfidence on the Dane lady's part.

Taking advantage of the time Melinda used to speak, to charge a Cosmic attack imbued with an Aurora which she instantly struck at Melinda point-blank when the golden-eyed beauty was close enough.

*Bang!!!*

*Boom!!!*

In the midst of the cosmic attack explosion, a small tongue of white flame could be noticed and when the explosion fizzled out, Melinda remained standing. Thoroughly unbothered.

*sigh*

"I have been talking too much haven't I?" Melinda asked herself before deciding to correct her mistake and actually be serious for once.

Almost as soon as she was done talking to herself, she raised her leg to kick Valerie who was still close to her.

Valerie leaped to the side and evaded the kick before retaliating by swinging the flat side of her broadsword towards Melinda who met and stopped it with her fist and then struck a cosmic attack against it.

*Bang!!!*

"Ack" Valerie groaned as the cosmic attack repelled her a few steps away but she was able to get grounded before it tossed her completely out of the circle.

Once she had retained a foothold, she tossed her broadsword at Melinda with the weapon being charged with a cosmic aurora.

*Boommmm!!!*

Unlike before, Melinda did not remain in place and leaped away from the explosive armament before she ran towards Valerie who was right at the edge of the circle and needed only a little push to be completely out of it.

A push Melinda quite wished to deliver.

Valere grinned at Melinda's approach,

'That's it, get closer' she thought.

The way she saw it, she was not at the edge of the circle about to be pushed out of it, she was at the prime location to surprise Melinda and get her out of the circle instead.

Stretching the hand now free of a Cosmic armament due to the tossing of her broadsword, she summoned her longsword which Hal suspected was actually her own Ordinance and not the product of her inheritance, she parried Melinda's sword attack before attempting to hammer her out of the circle.

An attempt Melinda met with a hit of her fist like she had before even though it did get her even closer to the line.

Suddenly, the two ladies were engaged in a weapons battle as each attempted to get the other one out of the circle.

*clang* *clang* *clang*

For a second, Melinda's free hand, while she battled Valerie's dual wield of hammer and longsword with one hand holding her white sword cosmic Armament, looked to be lighting up with the flames of her Ordinance but it fizzled out soon enough.

She saw no need to use her ordinance in a battle with someone in her cultivation realm.

And in all honesty, she did not need it.

Which was something Valerie learned firsthand when Melinda's strikes became too heavy to deflect. They became too heavy to counter and they became too fast to avoid.

The young lady quickly cast a body skill which was another one of the many skills she had in her arsenal due to her inheritance, to somehow outrun Melinda and have a chance at victory.

Sadly, it was not enough.

When Valerie had one foot out of the circle though, Melinda stopped and smiled warmly at her just as Elsa's voice sounded,

"Winner, Melinda Dane!"

Valerie's eyes become red in frustration at not being victorious but she tried to be accepting of the results.

After being announced as the winner, Melinda did not look at Hal, and nor did she walk off the stage. Instead, she got closer to Valerie and put her arm around the lady's shoulders,

"You had the right spirit. If your opponent had not been me, I am sure you would have won" Melinda said.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Valerie asked as Melinda led her away from the stage.

Melinda shrugged,

"Not really I was really just stating a fact" she said.

Valerie then looked over to Hal who waved jovially at her,

"So if I faced Hal, I could have won?" She asked to which Melinda paused and looked up to the screen to see that once again, Hal would be fighting after her,

"Well, I want to say no, but since that might sound a bit harsh, I think it would be better if you just saw him in action." She said as Hal walked up to the stage to stand opposite Lyle who was cracking his knuckles with a mean smile,

As the battle was about to start, with Melinda's arm still around Valerie's shoulders, the golden-eyed beauty said,

"My advice: Don't blink" she said to which Valerie was very confused.

"Begin"

Elsa said and Lyle immediately went all out.

Throwing out everything he had in his arsenal in terms of cosmic attacks, cosmic Auroras, and skills.

Out of the midst of the seemingly overwhelming attacks, dashed a still immaculate Hal who closed the distance between he and Lyle before the other could blink.

Reflexively, Lyle attempted to block Hal's palm strike and Hal merely grabbed Lyle's wrists which were joined in front of his face to pull them down and punch the young man in the chest...

*BAM!*

*crack*

... Cracking his sternum and sending him out of the circle to smack right into the wall around the stage...

*Bang!*

... with a force strong enough to crack it.

*Crack!*

Chapter 539 - Summoned By The Empress.

Silence...

The whole coliseum went silent at this absurd display of strength as well as nonchalance from Hal as he stepped off the stage after clearly defeating Lyle who slipped to the floor, unconscious.

Valerie then asked Melinda the question almost everyone seated in the coliseum was thinking,

"What just happened?"

Melinda shrugged once again,

"A mix of a disinterest to play to the gallery and let the battle drag on as well as an overwhelming strength that places Hal above the so-called leaders of the young generation."

While Han Doe had suspected Hal could have easily defeated him when they faced off in the rundown district, it was now clear as day that he never had a chance.

Not to mention, with Hal not holding back, his (Han Doe's) decision to forfeit in which he avoided any injury seemed all the more like the smart choice now.

As the second stage of the Entrance exams neared the end, there were not many battles to provide as much excitement as the ones preceding, the most notable of which was Melinda and Valerie's battle but one did come quite close.

It was a battle between two ladies with the strength to defeat those with stronger cultivation than them.

A battle between two extraordinary progenies of powerful families.

A battle between Adeline Silva and Nicole Antonov.

Nicole summoned the large Blue war hammer that was the standard Cosmic Armament for all members of the Antonov families while Adeline retained the use of her Large Ax cosmic Armament.

The battle between the two ladies was impressive with neither actually seeming to have an edge.

Nicole could not go all out with her succubus bloodline (courtesy of Hal) but more than held her own to the point of a spectacular explosion due to a collision of cosmic attacks by the two at the end of which, both ladies were out of the circle.

The battle ended in a stalemate but judging from the glare they gave each other, Hal knew there would be a sequel especially with duels being allowed and encouraged among members of the Royal Academy.

Hal hardly bothered with how he was paired and simply stepped on the stage whenever it was his turn to either accept the forfeit of his opponent or crush them with overwhelming strength.

Why should he water it down?

He needed this over as soon as possible.

The faster it ended, the faster he could get to dealing some idiots the swift ass-kicking they deserved.

When the second stage finally ended, in quite an anti-climatic fashion (Melinda and he had been paired together to battle for who would be proclaimed the winner of the second stage of the Royal Academy entrance exams and they had both fought like they were mildly sparring with each other. It was almost like a dance) the rankings based on points was revealed and unsurprisingly, Hal clinched the top spot.

An honor he truly cared nothing about.

That said, when the Empress appeared on the stage to address them all as new members of the Royal Academy, he listened attentively and she had his full attention.

Every participant was present.

Including those who had been rendered unconscious after their battles as they had been quickly resuscitated.

Many were in awe of the Empress, most especially the manner in which she instantaneously appeared on the center stage along with two others who were clearly her attendants.

This had to be the highlight of the evening for almost everyone in the crowd.

The chance to see the Empress so close was an incredibly priceless experience.

And yet, not only were the new members of the Royal Academy so close to her they could feel the power radiating off her body, but they would also get more chances to see her up close since she was principal of the Academy.

'They are so lucky' many thought.

Hal, however, did not feel lucky.

He felt the pressure was targeting him specifically.

At first, he thought to shake it off as mere paranoia but he could not...

'Yep, she's definitely targeting you'

... after Grimoire confirmed his suspicions.

"Well done, all of you. It is no small feat to become a part of the most prestigious structure on the Haron continent. Hal Doxon, I congratulate you for proving the best among your peers. You must feel proud" she said to which Hal furrowed his brows but said nothing.

The Empress continued,

" I will now award you all with badges of honor badges that will show you as a member of the Royal Academy and grant you the required honors wherever you go"

After that, the ones with her produced cases which they opened up in front of all participants to pick out a badge each.

As they picked, Hal felt the Empress' attention on him and did his best to ignore it.

Once everyone had a badge, the Empress said in a fairly emotionless voice,

"Once again, I congratulate you" with that she vanished along with the two with her.

Returning to the VIP box while the coliseum applauded the new members of the Royal Academy.

While many participants indulged in the applause and swelled with pride, one and most evident of whom was Pierre who looked almost teary-eyed at finally being successful in getting into the Royal Academy, Hal stared at the badge and sighed.

'Thank goodness it's over' he thought as he walked off the stage.

...

It was nightfall when the Entrance exams ended and the crowds in the coliseum finally dispersed.

It had been quite a watch and many were talking about it as they went to their respective homes or hotel rooms in case of not actually living in the Imperial city.

The hottest topic was the young man, Hal Doxon who was clearly a hidden gem, hidden because no one knew of him until this exam, and the best of all participants, not just in terms of points but also in terms of performance.

While they discussed the young man who had now returned to his suite with Rita, Marla, Karmen, Lillian, and Olivia who joined him once they were out of the Coliseum, Hal received a message on his communication Talisman.

The Empress had summoned him.

To what location, he had no idea but was to board a carriage sent to pick him up at the hotel he was staying.

Having no idea what the Empress wished to see and speak to him about and thinking how somewhat comical it would be for the carriage to explode once again in an assassination attempt, Hal prepared to obey the summon.

Not with joy though.

Even if he did not care about passing the Entrance exams, it was still a wonderful avenue to celebrate with an Orgy. An orgy his women, excluding Melinda and Nicole who had returned to their respective families for the meantime, were prepared and excited for.

Anyway,

When the carriage entered the territory of the Imperial palace, Hal chuckled to himself as the location being the Imperial palace should have been obvious.

The carriage ride was long but they soon arrived at the destination which had to be the most luxurious and the grandest residence he had seen so far in the Imperial Palace.

A residence worthy of a woman second in status only to the Emperor.

At least that was what Hal presumed without seeing the residence dedicated to the Emperor.

"Get out" said a guard that was clearly meant to guide him about the residence.

Hal frowned lightly at the guard's tone but said nothing and let himself be herded deeper into the residence to two large double doors, the type of which Hal had seen enough of (though not this grand or of this quality) to know was a door to the Empress' study.

That said, when the doors opened, he was left speechless as the dimensions and contents far surpassed anything he had expected.

Chapter 540 - I Would Hardly Know What To Do With It.

Shelves that could be akin in height to those in a well-stacked library lined the walls of the study which in itself had a tall and arching ceiling that finally explained to Hal why this part of the residence was higher than any other.

That was not to say the only things of interest to see in the study were books because that would be a wrong assumption.

There were also decorations that were made with the purest of gold and silver goblets bejeweled with the most fashionable of gems. Some of them even gave off a strong presence that told Hal that they absorbed Cosmic energy and could most likely release it as well.

Making those gems even more valuable.

When Hal walked through, the sides of the doorway also had shelves built into them, shelves stacked full with books.

This 'Study' would be better described as a library of sorts and behind the large desk in this library was the Empress with her hands clasped and a light smile on her face as Hal admired her study.

"How do you find my collection, is it to your taste?" The Empress asked and considering she did not admonish him for not acknowledging her presence before starting at her possessions, Hal felt she clearly had no issues with his wandering gaze.

Hal shrugged and did not stop looking around,

"It's definitely impressive" he said.

To which the Empress nodded in appreciation,

"It is, isn't it? Knowledge is the true definition of wealth. This craze for gold or blue gems is misguided" she said as she gestured for Hal to take a seat.

A gesture Hal saw and could not possibly ignore as a gentle force pulled at him and steered him towards the seat opposite the Empress in front of the large desk.

Hal chuckled lightly to which the Empress frowned lightly,

"Is something funny?" She asked with a dangerous edge to her voice but Hal ignored the edge as he had actually not meant any form of mockery with his sound of merriment.

"It's just that I wonder how many would appreciate being paid in knowledge as opposed to blue gems" he said.

The Empress' expression relaxed as she said with a bit of merriment in her tone,

"Actually, considering quite a number of these books hold skills or secret and almost forbidden techniques, I would say they would appreciate getting paid with knowledge" she said.

Hal tilted his head a bit to the side before he said,

"Fair point. Maybe I should correct myself then, what I meant to say was 'I wonder if I would appreciate getting paid in knowledge'. I feel I might prefer flashy or volatile things as payments instead"

With gold or more preferably blue gems, he could get even more information or better put 'knowledge' from Grimoire. The Artifact itself already further reiterating that wide as the Empress' collection was sure to be, it could not hold a candle to the knowledge within the Grimoire's pages.

Besides, when the time came to upgrade the techniques used by him and his forces, he could only use gold or more preferably blue gems in exchange.

That said, if he was being gifted knowledge from these books, he was not so stupid as to say no.

The Empress snorted lightly, a sound that Hal found to be cute, as she said,

"You youngsters and your eagerness for wealth. There are more important things.

Isn't bolstering your knowledge and widening the range of things you know and understand as you move in an almost never-ending pursuit to understand the world we live in as well as the Cosmic realm as a whole much more important than flimsy coins and gems?" She asked.

Hal paused and then smiled,

"Are you perhaps planning on hiring me and then paying me with knowledge?" He asked in what would be a tentative tone to which the Empress shook her head,

"No, I don't plan on hiring you for anything. But I just thought it will be good you understand that receiving anything from me besides knowledge is nigh impossible"

Hal nodded,

"Noted. I will keep that in mind and any bit of knowledge I receive from you, I will treasure. I meant no disrespect with my earlier comments and was merely stating my preference." He said.

The Empress shook her head lightly,

"You showed no disrespect. Besides, your comments and preference were a tad expected.

After all, why would you admit to a love of knowledge when that might expose your means of speedy cultivation"

With that, Hal paused,

"My means of speedy cultivation?" He asked in confusion while he asked Grimoire what the hell was going on? To which the Grimoire replied,

'Don't worry, she definitely knows nothing for sure'

The Empress took a deep breath,

"You are unique and intriguing but I feel like I have a relative understanding of how your cultivation progress is so swift.

It's knowledge.

Years ago, when I was segregated by my kinsmen for not being enough of a Haron, reading, and studying were what felt right with me.

In case you did not know, although I suspect that you do, the Nexus world used to be a paradise for gods. Mainly inhabited by gods.

However, something happened that changed everything. Something that the few books I found that spoke vaguely of the matter called 'The Catastrophe'.

Because the Nexus world used to be home to gods, there are vestiges of their era littered all about the world, if you know where to look. A lot of the books in my collection are from those vestiges.

I spent many years, before I was made Empress, searching and retrieving as many of this I could find.

While any book, scroll or script that is related to the Divine, that surpasses the Demi-god level cannot be read by anyone who is not a god due to a lack of a connection to divine energy with which those books were written, I have still been able to source out information that helps me better understand your speedy cultivation progress.

You possess knowledge of a Divine cultivation technique that surpasses our most impressive purple grade cultivation techniques and somehow are able to read and understand it."

Silence...

She was right.

He did have knowledge of a Divine cultivation technique and the means to read and understand it.

The Divine cultivation technique being the Primordial Cosmic Art and the means to read and understand it being the Primordial Cosmic Grimoire.

However, there was something about the way the Empress phrases her words that genuinely caused Hal to chuckle rather than hyperventilate,

"Are you perhaps suggesting that I, who is even farther from godhood than you can read a script written by gods?" He asked, his tone making it clear how silly he thought the very idea was.

The Empress shook her head,

"I'm not suggesting anything. Anyone who knows your age and prowess in regards to cultivation is sure to be coming up with their own theories. This just happens to be mine and much more plausible than any other.

Your ability to read a Divine script could very well be due to an artifact which could also very well be the reason you have the script in the first place.

Of course, I can't sense anything from you despite having checked as thoroughly as I possibly could but that is to be expected. If a Divine Artifact or anything remotely Divine hiding within you can't remain hidden, then it wouldn't be divine and surpassing all preconceived mortal ideas, would it?"

'She is good' Grimoire praised.

The Empress paused as though to take some time to let that sink in before she added,

"Not to mention that even if I did sense its presence inside you and somehow got it out, I would hardly know what to do with it. After all, this is an entity whose very existence is likely to be more sentient and powerful than a mortal cultivator like me could comprehend.

With there being the very likely possibility that it would not choose me and get away from me before I could even attempt to understand it.

It would be like attempting to store the monument of ordinances inside my spatial ring and better understand it which is impossible. Trust me, I tried."

Hal finally found his voice,

"You tried to store the monument of ordinances inside your spatial ring?" That was the part of her words his mind picked as a topic for discussion.

"Well of course. It was clearly a Divine Artifact stuck in a loop to keep leaping from world to world and could almost guarantee the comprehension of an Ordinance. What was an inquisitive three-hundred-year-old girl supposed to do?" The Empress asked with a shrug.

She let a few seconds pass before she added,

"Of course I tried again five hundred years ago when the monument appeared for the second time in my lifetime but that was more to see if being a Cosmic saint would make a difference to the immobile monument. Especially with a newly reinforced Spatial ring with an even larger space that would have been perfect for storing some of my books. I believe I don't need to tell you my second attempt just like the first failed.

Anyway, the reason you are here before we got sidetracked by so many unimportant things..."

"Attempting to store the monument of Ordinances inside a spatial ring is not what I would consider unimportant" Hal said quietly and the Empress ignored him as she continued as though she had not been interrupted,

".... Was to ask you what exactly my daughter has you doing for her"