688-700

Chapter 688 - Chaotic Spiritual World

After Leon spoke, the ladies immediately flashed him a glance before Duna sarcastically said, "Of course you would know that. You're a living example yourself."

"Ahem!" Leon nearly choked on his own saliva before he coughed awkwardly and asked with a helpless look, "You really going to do me like that in front of senior here?"

"Am I wrong?" Duna gazed back at him defiantly.

"Well, yes, but actually no."

Leon stated.

He might have spent intimate moments with his women on multiple occasions, but he has not impregnated anyone with his seed yet.

"Hohoho…" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled softly.

Shortly after, they reached Venerable Shaman Daal's abode of healing before an intense stench of medicine could be smelt—even before they stepped inside the building.

Nevertheless, Leon was immune to such a smell and did not find any problem with it as not a single change could be seen on his face.

On the other hand, Aria and Darlene's expressions crumpled slightly into frowns before they covered their noses.

"Ah, One Eye. You're back," Venerable Shaman Daal quickly greeted as soon as the group stepped into the abode before his eyes shifted to the others, "And who might these people be?"

"Allow me to introduce," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated.

Following his words, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly introduced both sides to each other before stating his purpose, "As I just mentioned, Young Master Leonhardt here is a Divine Doctor. I brought him over to have a look at Baskara."

"Oh? That Divine Doctor?"

Venerable Shaman Daal slightly gasped with surprise before he gave Leon a careful study from top to bottom.

"I've heard much about you, Young Master Leonhardt. A young man of your caliber has already reached a realm in medicine that this old man can only look up to and admire. I look forward to learning much from you," Venerable Shaman Daal spoke humbly.

"You're too polite, senior. You are my senior, and thus, it is I who should be looking forward to learning from you," Leon replied back with courtesy.

"Hahaha, nonsense. No need to comfort this old man," Venerable Shaman Daal chuckled and said, "This old man knows what he is capable of, and it certainly doesn't include the ability to treat Demonic Possessions. You've spoken top humbly, Young Master Leonhardt."

"Alright, let us cut the small talk short," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly interjected and stated objectively, "We do not have a lot of time. Please let Young Master Leonhardt take a look at Baskara boya, Daal."

"Fine, fine. There'll be plenty of chances for us to talk in the future," Venerable Shaman promptly stepped aside, making way for Leon to pass through towards Baskara's resting room.

Inside the room, Leon quickly discovered that the original chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe was not alone as the person was seen lying on the bed, unconscious, with several women gathered around.

'These are mostly his women—if not wives,' Leon silently assumed.

As soon as Leon stepped into the room, the women all shifted their gazes over and studied Leon curiously at the same time.

However, not all of them were Baskara's women.

At the very least, Sonia was not one of them. She was simply one of Baskara's confidantes and subordinates.

As she studied Leon's countenance with equal curiosity, her gaze suddenly paused on Darlene's figure before envy blossomed in her heart.

They appeared to be of similar age, but their statuses were vastly different, like the sun and moon or heaven and earth.

Even if she was ignorant to cultivation, she could feel power dwelling in Darlene's slim body.

The discovery puzzled her.

"This is Young Master Leonhardt, the Divine Doctor. Please vacate the room and give Young Master Leonhardt peace, free of distractions, to perform his diagnosis and treatment," Venerable Shaman Daal stated.

The women in the room quickly gasped with pleasant surprise as their eyes flickered with reignited hope.

Nevertheless, they did not forget to comply and promptly left the room as requested.

"We're counting on you, Young Master Leonhardt," one of the women curtsied politely on her way out.

While the women left, Venerable Shaman Daal remained in the room shamelessly to observe Leon's methods—not that it bothered Leon anyway.

Duna, Aria, and Darlene stood close to guard after Leon arrived beside Baskara's bed and swept out his divine sense for a quick diagnosis.

Very quickly, Leon began mentally ticking off points on his checklist.

Apart from burns on the surface of Baskara's back and head that turned into nasty-looking scars, there were no other injuries found apart from much older battle scars.

The body was in good shape, and so were the internal organs—most important, the brain was undamaged.

Baskara's head rested on a specifically designed pillow to hold his head in place without pressing on his burned areas, allowing it air to breathe and swifter healing process.

"How is he, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired.

"To be honest, his conditions look quite positive. Therefore, there's no reason for him to have fallen into a vegetative state with such physical injuries. I can only assume it was a soul attack that produced such results," Leon stated.

"That shouldn't be…" Venerable Shaman Daal denied before he explained, "Baskara Boya was struck by the explosive flames of our Demon-slaying Arrows. Our Demon-slaying Arrows relied on the power of runes. Its flames might be an elemental attack, but it shouldn't affect the spiritual mind directly."

"Well, we will after I take a look at his soul next," Leon said.

However, there were was nothing wrong with Chief Baskara's soul core either.

The soul core was perfectly fine and normal—at least it was until Leon discovered a hint of sudden fluctuations from it, which shows that Baskara's mind was active.

The person was conscious but not awake, trapped in his own mind.

'Seems like I will have to take a look inside his spiritual world,' Leon decided.

Shortly after, Leon condensed his divine sense and performed the Soul Dive technique, entering Baskara's spiritual world promptly.

The moment Leon's spiritual avatar entered the spiritual world, a chaotic battle filled with wanton destruction and billowing flames immediately greeted him.

It was the most chaotic spiritual world he had seen. In fact, it was the only chaotic spiritual world he had seen.

All the other spiritual worlds he had ever visited were peaceful despite various differences in the environments—as they should be.

Each other's spiritual world was different, but none should be chaotic unless a problem existed.

"Die—!"

Baskara roared furiously with red eyes as he held his halberd and lunged at two shadowy evil spirits that seemed infallible.

No matter how many times they were cut and diced up by Baskara's halberd, the two shadowy evil spirits would reform themselves before resuming their attack.

Witnessing this scene, Leon was slightly startled.

"How long has this person been fighting these two shadowy evil spirits inside his spiritual world for? If it has been happening since the start, Chief Baskara's willpower is seriously impressive," Leon commented with surprise.

It was a wonder how the person had not yet collapsed from all the accumulated fatigue.

Nevertheless, Leon did not remain idle in thought.

He dived straight into the battlefield and wave his hand, conjuring a streak of lightning that instantly vaporized one of the two shadowy evil spirits into nothingness.

It did not reappear again.

The lightning element was most effective in annihilating evil spirits among his elemental laws, followed by the fire element.

Energy suppresses the soul, and the soul suppresses the body.

It was not strange for the shadowy evil spirits to be undying if Baskara only knew how to use physical attacks.

Shortly after Leon prepared to finish off the second one, he was suddenly and unexpectedly attacked from behind by Baskara!

Swoosh~!

The halberd swiped at the empty air as Leon evaded the attack with a quick leap forward, nonetheless.

"I am not your enemy!" Leon shouted.

However, Chief Baskara appeared as if he had not heard him and continued to press his attack in his frenzied state.

"Die!!!"

Baskara swung his halberd at Leon wildly like an animal without technique and skill, simply relying on one's most straightforward and most primal form of basic attacks.

"Not good. Baskara has already lost his mind," Leon frowned but did not find Baskara's state surprising.

There were all sorts of unpredictable side effects and damages if the mind could not get the rest it requires.

"Even if it's just a spiritual world, everything here feels more real than reality. I will also suffer if I'm careless…" Leon contemplated while retreating from the Baskara's attacks.

At the same time, the remaining evil spirit flanked him from the back as if the two were working together—but of course, he knew that was not the case.

Bzzt!

Traces of lightning immediately covered Leon's body like donning armor before he twisted his body to face the evil spirit and rammed straight through it!

Chapter 689 - Perusal Request

Bzzt—!

The last of the evil spirit was obliterated into nothingness by the lightning's power of annihilation, the bane of all spirits and ghosts alike, beings of Yin and enemies of Yang.

With the last hindrance out of his way, Leon focused his attention on facing Baskara, who had seemingly lost his mind.

The person had entered a frenzied state of conscious-unconsciousness, awake yet not awake, an auto offensive-defensive state of mind that allows the body to attack everything it deems threatening without conscious thought.

"Seems like I will have to knock him out," Leon decided.

Even if it is just a spiritual world, conjured by the mind, his spiritual avatar's illusory physical strength of 1-million jin was still present, a strength superior to Baskara, who was only at the Mid-rank Battle Master Realm.

"This should be easy."

Swish—!

With a strong stomp on the ground, Leon's figure disappeared in a flash with extreme speed, reappearing behind Baskara before he swung his hand out with a horizontal chop.

Peng!

The blow was surprisingly blocked by Baskara's halberd on reflex with the person's back facing Leon, causing sparks to scatter from the clash between his hand and the halberd like the grind between two pieces of metal.

"Oh?" Leon exclaimed softly with surprise before commenting, "Not bad. I doubt this person would have been able to block my blow under a normal state of mind. Although he is not consciously thinking, his reactions and reflex have been pushed to the zenith, huh?"

Swish—!

With another stomp, Leon disappeared again, evading Baskara's counterattack, before flashing back in for another blow!

Peng, peng, peng!

Several blows were immediately exchanged as Baskara blocked them all with inhumane reflex!

Nevertheless, as Leon began to increase his intensity and speed, it became more difficult for Baskara to keep up with his strength before Leon finally landed a blow!

Boom!

Baskara's body flew and crashed into the ground in the distance, leaving behind a trail of ruined soil before his body came to a complete stop, knocked out.

After Baskara's unconscious mind was finally put to rest, Leon exited the spiritual world and returned to his body.

"How is he, Young Master Leonhardt? Can he be treated?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired again upon seeing Leon's eyes opening.

After Leon reviewed his soul-related knowledge, he nodded and said, "The problem has been resolved. I can give him a slight mental shake to wake him up immediately, but what he needs most right now is to allow his strained mind to get some adequate rest."

"Oh?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman exclaimed with pleasant surprise before praising him, "As expected of Young Master Leonhardt. Your medical expertise is unparalleled."

After a moment, Venerable Shaman Daal furrowed his brows with confusion before asking, "But what kind of problem did Chief Baskara have exactly? How did Young Master Leonhardt resolve it?"

"Right, Baskara Boya has been lying in bed unconsciously for many days now. Thus, he should have already been rested. So how come he still needs to rest, Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman added with doubt.

"While Chief Baskara appeared unconscious on the surface, his consciousness had been trapped inside his own mind, battling two evil spirits nonstop during this period of time. As a result, his mind has been strained greatly."

"Although the issue preventing him from waking up has been resolved, his mind will take time to recover. In addition, there will also be lingering side effects due to the strain. Therefore, it's best if he does not do anything strenuous that requires exerting his mental faculties," Leon advised.

There was a chance that once Chief Baskara exerts himself again, he will exhibit bloodlust and enter a berserk state that cannot tell friends from foe, much like being influenced by Wrathful Demonic Energy.

"I see…" Venerable Shaman Daal uttered before expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, Young Master Leonhardt. We will keep that in mind and let Chief Baskara rest for now. Our Crimsonfog Tribe owes you a big favor for this."

"Don't worry about it," Leon waved his hand nonchalantly before saying, "But now that Chief Blacktooth lost his position, I wonder if the new chief of the Crimsonfog Tribe will allow me to peruse their collection of primordial heritage?"

"He will. I will make sure of it. As such, you can rest assured, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable promised before asking, "When does Young Master Leonhardt want to take a look?"

"Since we're already here; the sooner, the better," Leon stated after some thought.

Reviewing the Crimsonfog Tribe's collection of primordial heritage took precedence.

Refining Fasting Pills was something he could do anywhere, but once he leaves the Crimsonfog Tribe, there won't be another opportunity to peruse them until he returns.

"Understood. This old man will see who the current chief is and make the arrangement for it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before leaving promptly without delay.

Shortly after, Venerable Shaman Daal allowed Baskara's women back inside the room to watch over the person before pulling Leon outside to talk.

"There's something I don't understand, Young Master Leonhardt," Venerable Shaman Daal mentioned before asking puzzledly, "How did Chief Baskara end up trapped with two evil spirits in his mind?"

"Why are you asking me about something like that?" Leon responded while looking back at the Venerable Shaman weirdly.

After a moment, he added with a nonchalant shrug, "I'm capable, but that doesn't make me omniscient. I wasn't present during the Crimsonfog Tribe's battle with the Liches, so I wouldn't know the details."

"Maybe the evil spirits belonged to the Undead Battle Kings, or maybe it was a curse conjured by the Liches for ruining their Undead Battle Kings? Who knows? Your tribe should be clearer on the situation than me."

"Ah… You're right, Young Master Leonhardt," Venerable Shaman Daal smiled wryly for asking a silly question.

The two shortly engaged in idle chats before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman returned before long and said, "Please come with me, Young Master Leonhardt. The collection is ready for your perusal."

"However, we'll be setting out in half an hour. Thus, how much you can read during this time is up to you, Young Master Leonhardt."

"Half an hour is more than enough," Leon nodded confidently.

Chapter 690 - Final Preparations Before Departure

Shortly after Leon and the ladies left Venerable Shaman Daal's abode with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, one of Baskara's women asked, "Venerable Shaman, how can you be so sure that Baskara has been treated when he still remains asleep?"

"What if this Young Master Leonhardt is just a conman, tricking us into owing him a favor? Not just anyone can peruse our tribe's collection of primordial heritage," another woman added with a frown.

Sonia and the other three women also silently agreed with a frown.

The Crimsonfog Tribe had sacrificed many good warriors and seniors to procure the amount of primordial heritage they have presently.

It did not seem right for an outsider to peruse it freely.

Nevertheless, Venerable Shaman Daal quickly reprimanded them, "Enough. Do not talk nonsense if you do not know anything. It's impossible for a person to fool so many experts."

"I have not met Young Master Leonhardt long enough, nor have I observe much of his ability. But since the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman respects him greatly, it must be true. Thus, if you say another word that discredits or disrespects the Divine Doctor, I will punish you."

"We understand, Venerable Shaman," the two women quickly lowered their heads with startled looks after being reprimanded.

"Just continue to tend to Baskara and inform me when he regains consciousness."

"Yes, Venerable Shaman."

Baskara's women complied after being instructed by Venerable Shaman Daal.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman quickly led Leon and the ladies to the Crimsonfog Tribe's Chief Palace before entering the Great Hall.

"You must be Young Master Leonhardt, the Divine Doctor I've heard much about recently. Welcome, welcome. Feel free to peruse the collection as you please," an Extremity-rank Great Warrior greeted inside.

"And you are…?"

"Ah, pardon my manners. I am Silverpalm, the new acting chief of Crimsonfog Tribe," Chief Silverpalm spoke before adding wryly, "Though, not for long. I plan to abdicate once Chief Baskara awakens—if I am not defeated by another warrior by then."

"It's the first time that I've heard a tribe undergo changes to their chiefs so frequently," Leon commented with amusement.

Chief Silverpalm and the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman immediately smiled wryly.

Sometime later, Leon was guided to the treasury, where the collection was kept, before he turned back to the ladies and said, "It seems like we are all permitted to peruse the collection together. Feel free to wait outside for me if you get bored, though."

"I'm quite curious what these primordial techniques look like, so I'm going to take this take to look at them," Aria stated.

She was going in with him.

"There's nothing else to do anyway, so I will also be joining."

"Then… I will also have a look too."

Duna and Darlene inputted.

"Very well," Leon nodded and said, "Let us enter together and see what the Crimsonfog Tribe has to offer then."

After Leon entered the treasury with Aria, Duna, and Darlene, the guide prepared to close the door before informing, "Enjoy your perusal time, Young Master Leonhardt. I will come back and inform you when the Battle Masters are about to depart for the Death Passage."

"Got it. Thanks," Leon nodded.

The door shortly closed with a soft thud before Leon shifted his gaze onto the mountain of scrolls, books, and manuals containing the techniques of Gods and Devils from the primordial age.

Without any surprises, Crimsonfog Tribe's stash was much bigger than the Darkmoon Tribe's collection.

As Leon watched the ladies pick up an item each and began flipping through its contents curiously, he silently mused, 'It won't take me half an hour to copy everything into the Archive.'

'I only hope that the Crimsonfog Tribe's collection will contain some of the missing volumes to the techniques I have chosen. Anyway, time to begin.'

…

…

…

Fifteen minutes quickly passed within the blink of an eye.

Inside the Crimsonfog Tribe's marketplace, the food supplies were quickly bought out by the Battle Masters before they began to leave and gather at the southern gate.

Although the food vendors were unwilling to sell so much to outsiders, they have received orders to allow it.

For a period of time, the tribesmen will be forced to live frugally until the next hunting expedition's fruitful harvest.

"Uncle Jizo, have you Big Brother Leonhardt? I don't seem to see him anywhere since we entered the tribe," Young Zion inquired.

The young master from the Battle God Palace had been glancing around, but the person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

"There's no need to look around, Young Master Zion," Jizo stated before saying, "Young Master Leonhardt is very sought after. So the Crimsonfog Tribe will not miss this opportunity to make some requests of Young Master Leonhardt."

"As such, we are not likely to see Young Master Leonhardt again until we are leaving for the demon's territory with the rest of the crowd."

"I see," Young Zion uttered before inquiring casually, "Have we brought enough supplies, Uncle Jizo?"

"Yes, Young Master Zion. This subordinate made sure of it before we departed from the Battle God Palace. Thus, there's no need to expend our wealth on inferior goods around here," Jizo assured.

At the same time, many warriors immediately cast their disgruntled looks over after hearing the Extremity-rank Battle Master's disrespectful remark.

However, they shortly recognized the person's status before giving up all thoughts of turning it into a big issue, letting it die down silently.

…

…

…

Back at Venerable Shaman Daal's abode, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly returned, causing Venerable Shaman Daal to be slightly surprised.

"Why are you back again, One-Eye?"

"The Battle Masters are gathering at the southern gate, readying to depart for the Death Passage shortly. I am taking Baskara Boya with me," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated his purpose.

Baskara's women were immediately startled before one of them quickly said, "Our husband has yet to recover, nor is he awakened. Isn't it inappropriate to take him to such a dangerous place under such circumstances, Venerable Shaman?"

"Be that as it may, I know for a fact that Baskara Boya will not want to miss the opportunity to enter the secret realm, hence, why I am taking him with me," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said.

"You also wouldn't want him to miss this big opportunity to become stronger, right?"

Chapter 691 - Death Passage

Inside the Chief Palace's treasury, Leon fully utilized the Archive to generate copies of every primordial book and scroll he got his hands on.

Due to time limitations, Leon did not even catch a glimpse of the names before quickly moving onto the next book or scroll.

As the three ladies saw Leon like this, they all raised their brows in wonder.

Darlene flipped open a scroll, but she could not understand a single character. Everything was just gibberish to her.

Perhaps, this was also why her hubby was just simply touching each book and scroll before moving on. Maybe he was hoping he could find one that could be understood.

However, Darlene quickly recalled that this should not be the case.

As such, she could only leave the matter as is and not think too much into it. Her hubby must have his own methods of reading that she does not know about.

Just as Darlene gave up and placed the scroll down, she noticed that Duna and Aria were both perusing their books seriously.

She was immediately surprised that Duna and Aria were also well-learned in the runic language.

Not wanting to look bad in front of these two, Darlene quickly picked the scroll back up and pretended she was reading it seriously.

Sometime later, Leon finished copying everything into the Archive before he noticed the solemn mood surrounding the three ladies, causing him to be taken aback immediately.

Leon was slowly drawn to Aria's side before he peeked at what she was reading.

"Do you understand all this?" Leon asked with surprise.

Aria did not answer.

However, Leon quickly noticed her ears turning bright red as a result of being greatly embarrassed, allowing him to immediately understand that the answer was no.

"Why are you pretending to read if you can't understand?" Leon asked, taken aback.

Aria's face flushed even further before Duna snickered, "Dare to compete with me? You're not even on my level."

"That means you can read, right?" Leon turned to Duna and asked.

"Uh…" Duna was immediately tongue-tied before she responded untruthfully, "Of course, I can… a little."

Leon's lips twitched.

There was no need for him to ask Darlene.

Being the least confident of the three, she was most likely swept into their little game of who can read better.

"You are all… so silly," Leon smiled wryly while look at the three.

Aria and Darlene blushed awkwardly while Duna turned her head to hide her expression with a soft snort.

Creak…

The treasury door was shortly opened before the previous warrior returned and informed them politely, "Young Master Leonhardt, the Battle Masters are gathering at the southern gate and preparing to leave shortly."

"Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow in surprise before he said, "If I'm not wrong, it hasn't been half an hour yet, right? So it should still be pretty early."

"You're not wrong, Young Master Leonhardt," the warrior nodded before saying, "However, the Battle Masters are rushing to reach the opening location ahead of time. It seems like the phenomenon in the southern skies are making them feel a hint of urgency."

"I see. I will leave shortly," Leon nodded and turned to the three ladies, "You heard the guy. It's time to go."

"Mm."

The three ladies nodded.

…

…

…

Sometime later, Leon and the three ladies, Aria, Duna, and Darlene, reached the tribe's southern gate.

However, the group of Battle Masters had already departed for the Death Passage that lies inside the gorge of Darkness Mountain.

Even so, Leon's group only took a short time to catch up to the Battle Master's group after hastening their pace.

In the southern skies ahead of them, the gathering dark clouds swirled like a super tornado, descending from the heavens to connect with the earth.

It was extremely massive of epic proportions.

If a naturally-formed tornado had reached such enormous size, the wind pressure generated from it would have achieved a level capable of tearing apart everything in its path.

Even Paragons could be ripped to shreds.

Alas, the enormous swirling dark clouds were formed unnaturally through a mysterious power or activation of a grand formation, unknown to Leon

As such, he was uncertain whether it would possess the same destructive might of a naturally formed super tornado of its size.

If it did, how were they meant to get close, let alone enter the secret realm?

"Do we have to be inside the swirl before the dark clouds touch the ground? Is that why the Battle Masters are in a rush to reach the opening location?" Leon narrowed his eyes in thought.

As the group approached the gorge of Darkness Mountain, the surroundings darkened, and the view of the southern skies was obstructed.

After entering the vicinity of the Darkness Mountain alone, the density in Darkness Profound Energy surged by twofold.

Pi…pi…pi…

Two rows of lamps suddenly burst with crimson flames, expelling the darkness in the immediate vicinity like the receding tides and illuminated a clear path to the Death Passage ahead.

The shadows danced like living souls of demons and humans existed within them at the flickering of the flames.

Numerous buildings were seen, followed by a tall black wall that loomed over them all—the very wall that guards the Infertile Plains against the demon's invasion.

"So, this is the Death Passage?" Leon softly muttered among the curious crowd of Battle Masters trekking towards the Death Passage.

Suddenly, Leon was tapped on the shoulders before the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman chuckled friendly, "Glad to see you made it, Young Master Leonhardt. I was beginning to think that you weren't coming."

"There were some delays," Leon smiled wryly and said, "But what's important is that I'm here, right?"

"Right," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded before asking curiously, "But did Young Master Leonhardt find what you were looking for from among the stash of primordial books and scrolls in the treasury?"

"I hope so," Leon answered vaguely.

He had yet to look through the new stash in the Archive.

Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman was taken aback by his response before he said, "You hope so…? Did you not go for a look, Young Master Leonhardt?"

Chapter 692 - Demon Village

"I did," Leon nodded before he pondered for a moment and said, "Let's just say that I memorized everything but did not get time to review them. Thus, I am not certain if what I need is among them."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman opened his mouth, but he did not know how to respond to that.

How was it possible to memorize everything in such a short time? But say that it was the case, how can someone not know what they memorized if it was memorized?

It did not make any sense!

After waiting a moment without a response, Leon changed the topic, "Never mind. There's something I would like to ask, senior."

"Ask away, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said wryly, evidently not over the last topic.

Nevertheless, Leon was unconcerned with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman's doubts.

"How do we enter the secret realm exactly? What does the secret realm's opening look like? Is it a type of spatial portal?" Leon inquired.

"To be honest, I have no idea myself as I have never participated in the secret realm before, Young Master Leonhardt," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman spoke.

"But I have heard it was a type of spatial portal that opens in the ground like a bottomless abyss. But once entered, we would drop out of the sky."

"I see..." Leon uttered with a frown as the information provided did not tell him much.

"If Young Master Leonhardt wants to learn more about the specifics, you can try asking the B

attle God Palace. They have access to more reliable sources of history and special events," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman suggested.

At that moment, the Battle God Palace group was at the hem of the Battle Masters.

As such, Leon shook his head and said wryly, "It seems I will have to find another time to inquire about it."

"I suppose so, Young Master Leonhardt."

Sometime later, the garrisons quickly opened the black gates for the Battle Masters to enter the other half of the gorge leading to the demon's territory.

Leon studied the black wall briefly, but he quickly discovered the black color was not part of the material but dried bloodstains.

Whether it was the ground or on the sidewalls of the gorge outside the black wall, everything was also stained with dried black blood.

The amount adds up to a staggering volume.

Only the Crimsonfog Tribe was most clear on how much they had to sacrifice to hold the Death Passage and keep the demons at bay in the demon's territory.

Silently, the Crimsonfog Tribe earned some of his respect.

Sometime later, the large group reached the end of the Death Passage before the other side of the Darkness Mountain was revealed.

Without any surprises, it was primarily dark and lightless as one would expect of the place with the highest concentration of Darkness Profound Energy.

However, the warriors of the Infertile Plains were trained to see in the dark. As such, they were able to see much of the vast barren land ahead of them, devoid of life.

The soil was hard and cracked like severe drought while most vegetation had long withered into dust, turning much of what could have been a lush green plain into a barren wasteland with terrible dust storms.

The environment destroyed all hopes for the growth of ordinary plants, but it was the perfect breeding ground for darkness-attribute plants.

In the distance, a few patches of umbrella flowers grew with a soft yet eerie purple glow, slightly illuminating a small area around them, revealing a few shadowy movements nearby.

"Kree?" a horned demon quickly detected the group with a surprised look.

Once the Battle Masters were discovered, Young Zion immediately cautioned, "Uncle Jizo!"

"Yes, Young Master!" Jizo answered.

Within a split second, the Extremity-rank Battle Master flashed into the distance and killed the curious horned demon with a clean decapitating strike before it could put up a shred of resistance.

Shortly after Jizo returned, a Battle Master questioned with a frown, "Why did you kill it? We could have interrogated it and extract some vital information."

"You can speak the demon language?" Jizo responded coolly before stating, "We are inside demon territory now. Unless we want to be quickly swarmed by demons, it will be in our best interest to kill them on-sight."

"The Battle God Palace is right," Chief Valencia agreed with a nod and said, "Letting the demons summon their fellow brethren is the last thing we want to happen."

"Not only will it put us under unnecessary danger, but it will also delay us from reaching the location of the secret realm opening."

Once these words were spoken, the voices of disagreements quickly died down before the large group continued to trek forward in the direction of the enormous swirling dark clouds.

The deeper they ventured into the demon's territory, demon stragglers appeared more frequently, but they were all killed quickly without exception.

Leon took the chance to collect the rare and exotic plains that were able to grow in the demon's territory for later study.

At the same time, the wind grew stronger and stronger.

With the billowing clouds of dust getting caught in people's eyes, many Battle Masters found it difficult to keep their eyes open and were forced to cover them.

Aria and Darlene were among the first to fall victim before utilizing their abilities to ward off the dust from themselves.

Sometime later, the group suddenly paused their advance and scrutinized the distance ahead with narrowed gazes.

"Is that…?"

"A demon village, yes."

After encountering the first demon village, the group's vigilance immediately shot through the roof before a Battle Master suggested, "We should make a detour around it."

"We don't know how many demons are inside, nor their strengths. It's best to avoid this sort of confrontation if possible."

"Agreed."

As many Battle Masters voiced their agreement, another raised his eyebrow and asked, "I thought we were meant to kill all demons on sight?"

"This is an exception. We don't have time to waste," Jizo stated.

However, the Battle Master had another opinion and mentioned, "If we can't even overcome a small hurdle like this demon village here, what chances do we hope to have inside the secret realm?"

Once the question was raised, the group immediately paused in thought.

Chapter 693 - The Weak Do Not Have Rights

After a few moments of silence, the Battle Masters began to nod with voices of agreement as they gazed at the distant village.

With wooden fences made from ordinary blackwood, cut and chiseled down into shape with primitive techniques, there was nothing distinctly impressive or extraordinary about the demon village at a glance.

It was just ordinary and simple, like most regular human villages.

Even so, it was not a reason for the Battle Masters to underestimate the demons while trespassing in their territory.

"What this person said has a point. If we cannot overcome a single village here, what chances do we have against the demons in the secret realm?" a High-rank Battle Master spoke.

"Right," another High-rank Battle Master nodded and said, "We've only killed lone stragglers so far. This does not tell us much about the demons' strength. Only by challenging a group of demons will we have a clear understanding."

"Let's make it quick then," an Extremity-rank Battle Master from the Battle God Palace nodded with a frown before turning Young Zion, "What do you think, Young Master?"

"Since it's decided, let's do it. But like you said, we don't have a lot of time. Once the secret realm fully opens, we will not be able to enter if we are not at the designated location," Young Zion stated.

As the most influential power in the Infertile Plains, the Battle God Palace had unwittingly assumed leadership of the entire group.

"Kill them swift."

"Don't give them a chance to retaliate."

Once the Battle Masters received permission, they immediately charged into the demon village with lightning speed for speedy extermination.

At that moment, there were not more than 500 hundred horned demons inside with distinct human features—or rather, they looked no different from other humans if their horns were excluded from the assessment.

They were just tending to their everyday lives, working menial jobs around the home like fetching water, fixing dust nets, repairing broken roads, and bartering with each other for daily necessities and essentials.

However, everything immediately changed when the Battle Masters swooped in for the kill, plunging the entire village into chaos and despair as startled cries of fear and sorrow echoed outward.

"Ahhh, please stop—!"

"Noo, don't kill me—!"

As the rest of the Battle Masters overheard the screams of women and children from outside, they began to question their moral values.

Evidently, the demons were evil, but why do they feel like they were the truly evil people in this case?

As the demons' voices died down into silence, the attack group rejoined the rest of the Battle Master and continued their journey to the secret realm's opening location

However, Leon lagged behind the group and paused in front of the ruined village with mixed feelings while Aria, Duna, and Darlene stuck close to accompany him.

"Young Master Leonhardt?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman turned back with a questioning look.

"Don't mind me, senior," Leon shook his head and said, "I will catch up shortly, so there's no need to wait for me."

"Alright then," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded, not thinking too deeply into the matter, before following the crowd.

Shortly after, Leon strolled through the village, silently inspecting the corpses, the buildings, and the rest of the environment, thereby allowing him to understand their demons' lifestyle.

A few moments later, Leon spoke with knitted brows, "There wasn't a single mature male among these demons, not to mention these horned demons lived not much differently from ordinary human folks…"

"No matter how similar they are, the truth is that the demons are evil and should all be exterminated…" Darlene commented before she hesitated and added, "At least, that is what has always been accepted by everyone."

"Demons were supposedly savages, cruel with barbaric lifestyles, and merciless to humans, but these horned demons appeared quite civilized and cultured. As such, I am not sure anymore. I have mixed feelings while looking at this scene…"

"The Infertile Plains also and always regarded demons as an evil force to be exterminated on sight as well," Darlene inserted softly. "Despising and fearing demons has always seemed to be the natural order of things."

"That isn't limited to just humans. The same actually goes for the demons and even beasts. This is because people are ignorant and have a natural fear of the darkness, of which contains the unknown," Duna said casually with a nonchalant look.

"And when people have these sorts of feelings, the first thing they usually do is resort to destroying it rather than understanding it—because fighting is easy, but communication is hard."

"Just as there are good and evil humans, there are also good and evil demons. But because demons are all aligned with darkness, humans deem them all evil. Given the volatile nature of demonic energy, it doesn't make it any easier for demons to respond kindly either."

Having said that much, Leon glanced shortly glanced at her before he asked, "Does this scene make you angry?"

"Why would it?" Duna responded nonchalantly before adding, "What do they have to do with me? I distinguish myself as myself, not a race—even if I consider myself as a devil."

"You see, this is the issue with humans. Demons have strong individual and independent traits, but humans are weak and like to band together and wine a lot. For example, if humans killed a demon, only the affected group of demons will retaliate. But if demons killed a human, the entirety of humanity will retaliate," Duna stated casually.

After listening, Aria furrowed her brows and said, "You make it sound as if the world's problems are caused by humans, but you seem to have forgotten that it is because of the demons and beasts that humanity is threatened with extinction."

"I'm not trying to justify beasts and demons killing humans, but do you hear livestock complaining when humans slaughter them for their meat? They can only be food because they weren't strong enough."

"If humans become extinct, it simply proves that they are not strong enough to co-exist alongside beasts and demons. The weak do not have rights." Duna shrugged.

Chapter 694 - Enemy At The Gate

Duna's words quickly made Aria tongue-tied without being able to refute.

Nevertheless, Leon shortly clapped his hands with a sigh and said, "Alright, we have seen enough here. Let us get going before we fall behind the group any further."

"Fine by me."

"Alright."

"Understood."

After receiving the ladies' responses, Leon nodded and took the lead towards the other end of the village.

However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly paused upon sensings a faint breath before his eyes eventually fell on a young demon boy, who was bleeding out from his pierced chest.

Sensing Leon's footsteps approaching, the young demon boy strained his eyes weakly to look over before asking unjustly, "Are we being punished for doing something wrong….?"

As if the words had sapped all his life, the young demon boy eventually took his last breath and died like the rest of his villagers.

He was lucky to escape a quick death due to his heart being positioned differently, but he still could not escape his fate.

Leon felt heavy-hearted after the young demon boy died.

Perhaps he could have saved the demon boy, but there was also a chance that he would be leaving behind a seed of hatred that would one day bite back at humanity.

He never thought he would sympathize with the demons, but he felt like it was a mistake for the Battle Masters to have slaughtered the demon village.

Even so, it was already too late to reverse what had already happened.

'Let's go," Leon said with a soft sigh.

…

…

…

Wildlands

"Everyone, just a bit further, and we will be home!" Lord Jorn informed the group as they were fast approaching the tribe in the distance.

"Yes, Lord Jorn!" the elite clansmen responded.

The Desolate Crow Clan was just within sight.

Clan Leader Lidoran, Lady Lilliana, and the elders all had heartfelt relief upon seeing the familiar outward appearance of their clan, although much of it had been changed.

They did not think that they could see it again.

Swish~!

Suddenly, a sharp whistling in the wind immediately causes a quick change in Lord Jorn's expression, forcing his fast footsteps to come to a grinding halt.

"Lord Jorn…?"

The elite clansmen all followed suit and came to a stop, casting questioning glances over to Jorn confusedly for a moment before they, too, picked up the sharp whistling sound of something fast approaching them at incredible speed.

"The enemy has caught! All of you, quickly get the clan leader and elders back to the clan and prepare the defenses! I will stay back and stall the enemy here!" Jorn instructed solemnly.

"Lord Jorn, let us assist you!" an elite clansman requested.

"Go!" Jorn immediately bellowed, "None of you can offer me any form of support against this sort of opponent without getting yourselves killed!"

"Yes, Lord Jorn…!"

Hearing the urgency and anger in Jorn's voice, the elite clansmen no longer hesitated and quickly took the clan leader and elders back to the clan to rally the clansmen for defensive measures.

"Jorn! Be careful!" Clan Leader Lidoran warned as he was being carried away.

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

Within a few moments, Lord Havoc quickly arrived like a sonic boom before Jorn shot up to confront the opponent in the sky.

"Oh?"

Lord Havoc's flight halted midair with a mighty flap of his black-feathered wings, causing two gusts of strong wind to billow against Jorn's face intensely.

Even so, Jorn remained unflinching with a grave look while his hair danced wildly in the wind

"When did the Desolate Crow Clan have another Mid-rank 2 Transcendent? No wonder you guys have the audacity to sneak into Nethergrass city and rescue the hostages from right under our noses."

As Lord Havoc scrutinized Jorn with narrowed eyes and fully gauged his strength, he added, "Since you are this strong, then it is most likely that Bahlzacs is dead."

"However, it is impossible for you to become stronger so suddenly. Speak! Who is your backer?" Lord Havoc interrogated with a commanding tone, not in a hurry to attack after realizing his opponent's strength.

"Our backer, huh…?" Jorn muttered softly and slowly, taking his time to respond to buy time.

…

…

…

Inside the Desolate Crow Clan, still unaware of the situation, Lilith arrived at an open field in the eastern corner of the clan where the Blue Luan was currently resting before she called, ""Soft Feather, breakfast is ready!"

"Great! I am starving!"

Soft Feather's lazed look was immediately energized as her head shot up instantly with eagerness and anticipation.

"Come to the square," Lilith smiled slightly, but her mind was evidently elsewhere, thinking about her parents in Nethergrass city.

If everything went according to plan, Jorn and the others should be returning soon with her parents and the elders.

As Lilith brought Soft Feather to the big square where breakfast was being distributed throughout the clan, the aromatic scent of braised meat infused with local spices whetted everyone's appetite

Plop!

A slob of heavy drool quickly dropped on Lilith's head, startling her with surprise before she subconsciously touched the slimy fluids and gazing back up at Soft Feather with a blaming look.

"Hehe, sorry. I couldn't help myself. The smell is too appetizing!" Soft Feather apologized cutely.

Suddenly, the rush of hasty footsteps drew Lilith's attention away with a frown before she quickly pulled over passing clansmen and inquired, "What's the rush for?"

"Ah, Your Highness! The Clan Leader, Lady Liliana, and the elders have returned from Nethergrass city with Lord Jorn and the others! But, unfortunately, the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince still found out and sent a powerhouse, pursuing them to our doorsteps!"

"Right now, Lord Jorn is confronting the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's right-hand man, Lord Havoc, just outside our clan to buy us time to prepare our defensive counterattack move!" the clansman reported urgently.

Lilith was surprised for a moment, wondering why she was not informed immediately, but the situation had been anticipated and prepared for, nonetheless.

Perhaps, that was the reason why the clansmen forgot to inform her.

"Lilith!"

"Lilith!"

Two distinct yet very familiar voices suddenly called out to her before Lilith turned around with surprise and sheer joy.

Chapter 695 - The Obelisk And Floating Landmasses

"Mom! Dad!" Lilith burst into joy before leaping into their embrace before she choked on her emotion, seeing the state of her parents.

Lidoran and Liliana had yet the time to even wash up after returning to the clan as they were immediately brought to the food distribution square, where the food was said to be very potent in replenishing their malnourished bodies.

"Your daughter has been unfilial and let you both suffered!" Lilith cried guiltily.

"Hahaha, all is good. What's important is that we are all alive," Lidoran patted his daughter's shoulders while Liliana soothed her back before he added, "And at least you still remember to come home."

"Mm!" Lilith nodded before she suddenly shook her head and mentioned solemnly, "Right, I heard that enemy pursued us to our doorsteps."

"Un. It is Lord Havoc, the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's right-hand man. Lord Jorn is confronting him as we speak," Lidoran informed seriously.

"This person has been a Mid-rank 2 Transcendent for a long time. Although Lord Jorn has also ascended recently, he is still new to this realm of strength and won't be Lord Havoc's opponent."

"We need to send back up quickly, but I've been told not to worry about it. How can I not worry about it? This is a Mid-rank 2 Transcendent who is infinitely close to the Late-stage, not far from the Paragon level."

"Don't worry, father. We had made countermeasures for this," Lilith reassured before she suddenly added, "But just to be sure, I will go see the situation with Miss Soft Feather."

"Miss Soft Feather?" Lidoran muttered.

Shortly after, Lidoran and Liliana shifted their gazes to the big blue bird before they were startled with shock and surprise.

"This is…" Liliana uttered.

"A proud member of the Blue Luan Tribe, but also the princess of the newly crowned monarch, Bluewinter, a Paragon," Lilith introduced.

"What's a Blue Luan doing out here? And a princess no less."

"Ahem. I mean, it is nice to meet you, Princess Soft Feather."

Lidoran and Lilian were even more surprised after hearing their daughter's introduction, but they did not forget to greet Soft Feather shortly after.

After a brief chat, Lilith said, "Then I will go with Soft Feather now, mom, dad."

"Un."

"Be careful."

…

…

…

Outside the Desolate Crow Clan, Jorn continued to confront Lord Havoc and buy time as neither side appeared to be in a rush to battle.

"With someone of your caliber and stature, why do you continue to serve such a person like the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince? Does he deserve your loyally?" Jorn spoke.

"It doesn't matter how others view the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince," Lord Havoc stated coolly before saying, "I owe a great debt of gratitude to his mother, and I will see it through to the end that this debt of gratitude is repaid."

"Although I don't know what you owe his mother, I do believe that it isn't enough for you to serve her son for a lifetime," Jorn stated before adding, "All you get out of this is your own sense of repayment."

"With the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's character, he will not be grateful to you even if you save him many times. He will only take it for granted and demand more of you, working you like a dog until the day you die. Is that what you want?"

"Enough! I did not come here to be lectured on what and what not to do by you! I will only ask one last time; how did your Desolate Crow Clan suddenly grow stronger so quickly?!" Lord Havoc questioned sternly.

At that moment, a battle seemed imminent.

However, just as Soft Feather's huge figure appeared over the wall, Lord Havoc felt something shattered in his pockets, causing his expression to freeze.

After fishing out the shattered remains of a grey crystal, his expression quickly went from bad to worse.

"No! Something has happened to His Highness!" Lord Havoc bellowed.

Bam—!

He immediately stomped the ground and took off into the skies before rushing back to Nethergrass city at maximum speed.

With a short instance, his figure disappeared into the distance.

Jorn's tensed and solemn look shortly relaxed dumbfoundedly just as Lilith and Soft Feather arrived with astonishment.

"Was that the enemy? What did you do to get him to leave, Uncle Jorn?" Lilith asked with surprise.

Jorn shortly turned to Lilith with knitted brows before he answered puzzledly, "I didn't seem to have done anything…?"

"It must be my majestic presence that scared him," Soft Feather stated pompously before Lilith and Jorn gave a silent look speechlessly.

"What?" Soft Feather uttered.

After a few moments of pondering, Jorn shook his head and said, "No matter what Lord Havoc's reason for suddenly leaving, I doubt this issue ends here. The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince is vindictive and narrow-minded."

"Right. The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince will not leave us alone. We should make use of this buffer time to quickly improve our strength and prepare for the next attack," Lilith suggested.

"Un, that's our only option," Jorn nodded before adding, "Although, if Prince Leon was here, he would be able to provide us with more options."

"If… but we don't know when he will return," Lilith shook her head with a sigh, hoping Leon and the others would come back soon.

Although she has her parents and the clansmen, she still felt like she lacked friends.

…

…

…

Dark continent

As the Battle Masters rushed to the secret realm's opening location, passing several more demon villages, towns, and cities on the way, they wiped out the smaller demon settlements and slipped past the bigger ones.

In the heart of the demon land, an enormous abyss existed, where space was distorted and gravity was inverted.

Hundreds of earthen chunks of landmasses floated above the abyss like space debris and rose slowly but surely higher towards the heavens.

Thousands of demons gathered on these floating landmasses as the opening of the secret realm neared its completion.

On the top of the highest floating landmass, a large red-glowing obelisk stood tall, full of runic engravings.

A single black-winged demon stood at the foot of it, both hands on a slab that stuck out like a sore thumb, continuously channeling mental power into it as the peak of the obelisk shot a solid and steady beam of black and red light into the heavens.

The dark clouds shifted, gathered, and revolved around the abyss's perimeters, and the entire world seemed to pulsate, causing the floating landmasses to rise and fall as new ones descended from the dark clouds above.

Rumble…!

Shortly after, the large chunks of landmasses clashed together with loud booms that roared like thunder, echoing far and wide as the initial shape of a colossal staircase to heaven was shortly formed.

Boom, boom, boom…!

Each piece of landmass moved and connected loudly in order, causing few demons on the floating landmasses to lose their balance and plunge into the abyss, leaving their life and death's situation unknown.

On a piece of unconnected floating landmass, a group of horned demons gathered among winged and multi-limbed demons with ugly expressions.

"Soon, the secret realm will open, thereby lies the secret and opportunity to escape this prison world will come," a Four-armed Greater Demon spoke while gazing up at the distant obelisk in the high sky.

"…"

The horned demons were silent without a comment, causing the Four-armed Greater Demon to pause with a frown.

"Hm? What's the matter, Yomu? Why the silence?" the Four-armed Greater Demon asked the Double-horned Greater Demon.

"Something happened at home," the Double-horned Greater Demon spoke before adding after a brief delay, "My connection with my family is gone. They are most likely dead."

"If I recall, your village was the closest to the Death Passage," the Four-armed Greater Demon recalled before stating with narrowed eyes, "Seems like the humans are coming for the secret realm this time."

"Hmph! Those pesky humans are even more ruthless and evil than some demons! They didn't even spare the woman and children!" a different horned Lesser Demon spoke.

"Speak of the devils. They're here!"

Once a Triple-horned Lesser Demon shouted, the group of demons standing on the edge of the floating landmass immediately shifted their gaze down to one corner of the abyss.

…

…

…

"This is where the secret realm will open?" Young Zion muttered while standing on the edge of the abyss with folded arms.

As the Battle Masters gazed at the floating landmasses above and the seemingly bottomless abyss below, Chief Valencia frowned.

"Looks like we made it, but how do we get over there?" Chief Valencia asked.

"There will surely be a way once the secret realm fully opens," Young Zion answered calmly without a hint of urgency, seemingly waiting for something to happened.

"Seems we can only wait," Chief Valencia nodded.

Shortly after feeling the murderous gazes of thousands of demons above, Chief Valencia commented, "Seems like there won't be any other Battle Masters joining us."

"So it seems," an Extremity-rank Battle Master uttered calmly without fear.

Meanwhile, Leon studied the revolving dark clouds that shortly fell on top of them as they stood on the edge of the abyss.

"Interesting," Leon rubbed his thoughtfully while muttering, "Such a colossal movement of dark clouds but not a hint of wind is produced. These dark clouds are not normal—or rather, they're not really dark clouds."

"But it isn't important whether they are dark clouds or densely bundles of Darkness Profound Energy, but the fact that they seem to have the power to seal off this space…"

Chapter 696 - The Eternal Night Secret Realm Opens

After studying the dark clouds for a moment, Leon slowly shifted his attention to the bottom of the abyss.

He was not sure what it was, but his gut instincts were telling him that whatever was sealed down there was extremely dangerous.

However, this danger was only concerning if he chose to foolishly venture down there without understanding what he is up against.

More importantly, the thousands of demons gathered on the floating landmasses poses a more significant threat presently.

"Lord Yomu, shall we head down and slaughter all these pesky humans to avenge our brethren?" a Single-horned Lesser Demon suggested on the unconnected floating landmass.

"As much as I would like to, no," the Double-horned Greater Demon, Lord Yomu, rejected the suggestion with a shake of his head.

"The secret realm is about to be opened after the staircase to heaven is constructed. It won't be too late to deal with the humans once we are inside."

"Understood, Lord Yomu," the Single-horned Lesser Demon slightly bowed.

"Glad that you understand the bigger picture, Yomu," the Four-armed Greater Demon shortly said to the Double-horned Greater Demon.

"Alright, our landmass is about to connect with the rest. Brace yourself for impact, and don't foolishly fall off to feed the abyss."

Rumble!

The floating landmass shortly connected with the colossal staircase-in-the-making, causing the entire landmass to shake terribly like an earthquake.

"Ahhh—!"

Several Lesser Demons fell off, nonetheless, despite the prior warnings of the Greater Demons.

However, a few winged Lesser Demons quickly broke their fall with a flap of their wings while the rest continued to plunge their doom, disappearing into the abyss beyond redemption.

"Hahaha, stupid demons. Look at them fall!" a Low-rank Battle Masters pointed with a hearty laugh as if he was looking at a bunch of clowns making a fool of themselves.

The other Battle Masters shortly joined in with short peals of laughter while making their own ridiculing remarks at the demons.

Leon squeezed his way to the front and met up with the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman and the others he was familiar with.

"Ahh, Young Master Leonhardt. You've made it," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman greeted before he chuckled softly, "You had me worried that you weren't going to make it. It would have been impossible for you to get in once the secret realm is fully opened."

"You mean inside of this wall of dark clouds?" Leon glanced back at the revolving dark clouds before he said, "I feel the power of space infused into these dark clouds of darkness. Is there any difference between being outside the dark clouds and being in the wall of dark clouds?"

Leon understood that they were meant to be inside the space within the wall and not inside the wall of dark clouds itself.

As such, he felt like there would be a problem.

"Difference? Of course, there's one!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman stated before explaining further, "Being outside the dark clouds means not being able to enter the Eternal Night Secret Realm at all."

"On the other hand, if we stay inside this wall of dark clouds, we will be transported into the Eternal Night Secret Realm, albeit randomly, meaning we will all be separated. Still, it's a better situation than facing all those Lesser Demons and Greater Demons over there directly."

"I see…" Leon knitted his brows together before he said, "That makes sense… We are, after all, severely outnumbered. If we had the entire elites of the Infertile Plains, then we might have been able to stand our ground."

"However, with only 700-odd number of us, it is impossible to take on the elites of the demon land. Otherwise, the demon's territory would have been conquered long ago if that was possible, right? Senior?"

"Precisely so," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman nodded.

"Still," Leon added with a deep frown before shifting his gaze to the side, "If we were going to be transported randomly and become separated, there's also a chance that we will land right in the middle of the demons or traps in the secret realm if we are unlucky."

"Yes, Young Master Leonhardt. That possibility certainly exists," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not deny the chances before saying, "However, there is no such thing as an opportunity without danger when seeking fortune in the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

"The Eternal Night Secret Realm is no ordinary place. On the contrary, it is extraordinarily full of danger—some of which are even greater than what the demons pose. That is why I have suggested not to bring your lovers along, Young Master Leonhardt."

The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman smiled wryly as he spoke.

Despite his advice, the Divine Doctor still decided to bring his lovers, especially the native one. There was a high chance that she was going to die on this trip—at least, that is what he believed.

Nevertheless, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not rule out the possibility that Young Master Leonhardt had some unique life-saving means to keep them all alive.

Leon frowned in deep ponder for a moment.

After flashing the unconscious Chief Baskara being held by a Crimsonfog Tribe's Battle Master beside the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman, Leon mentioned, "If I'm not wrong, there's a less likely chance of being separated if we keep contact with one another."

"You're right, Young Master Leonhardt. That method certainly works," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman admitted before adding, "However, the power of transportation will be strong and unstable, potentially forcing us out of contact. As such, it is not exactly a fool-proof solution and still possesses a certain level of risks."

Even so, if the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman did not even have some level of confidence, he would not be bringing the unconscious Chief Baskara either. Otherwise, he was practically sending the person to his doom.

Nevertheless, it should not be long before Chief Baskara awakens from his slumber.

Rumble…!

The skies suddenly shook from a surge of energy bursting out of the obelisk and shooting straight into the spiraling dark clouds above, causing everyone to pause and glance over.

"The staircase has completed construction," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman narrowed his eyed before grabbing hold of Chief Baskara's arm tightly and said, "Seems like the secret realm is about to be opened, Young Master Leonhardt."

"It's my first time experience it, but it does seem to be the case," Leon nodded before he quickly called, "Aria! Darlene! Duna! To me, now!"

"We're right here. No need to shout," Duna picked her ears nonchalantly as if her hearing had been affected before she said, "Just focus on your two little birds. I'm the least of your worries."

"Duna!"

"Fine…!"

After Leon shot her a stern look, Duna complied, albeit unwillingly and reluctantly, as they joined hands after Leon grabbed hold of Aria and Darlene's hands.

"Everyone, if you don't plan on going solo in the Eternal Night Secret Realm, now is the time to grab onto your teammates!" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman hollered.

"Young Master, pardon our offense!" a Battle God Palace's Battle Master said.

After Young Zion gave the nod, the twenty Extremity-rank Battle Masters bundled together with him like one big sausage fest.

At the same time, the other Battle Masters quickly formed small parties of their own, grabbing hold of their chosen teammates, who were mainly just members of the same tribe.

"What are you doing?" a Low-rank Battle Master questioned with a slight frown after one of his teammate's grubby claws latched onto his sword.

The teammate, who was also a Low-rank Battle Master, glanced back calmly and said, "No homo, bro."

"…"

Shortly after all teams were settled down, Leon transfixed his gaze on the talent point of the colossal staircase, where the obelisk was located, standing tall and pointing into the heavenly spiral of dark clouds that continued to feed on its string of red and black light.

"The Shaman King's Successor must be up there…"

"Right, but that demon shouldn't be of any concern since it is fated to die after the opening, Young Master Leonhardt," Chief Valencia spoke after reaching Leon's side, intent on joining his party.

However, seeing that the young master's party was already occupied with just his lovers, she decided to drop the idea and go solo in the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

"How do you know for sure that the Shaman King's Successor will die after the secret realm is fully opened?" Leon casually asked.

"This is because the Shaman King's Successor will be fully drained of all their strength, body and mind, after opening the secret realm and become braindead with multiple organ failures, eventually leading to death. It has always been the case—at least, according to what had been recorded in history," Chief Valencia explained.

"Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow and before asking further, "And does this history includes the past two secret realm openings that the humans missed out on?"

"Well… no," Chief Valencia paused with a frown.

Shortly after, Chief Valencia's expression changed abruptly before she asked, "Young Master Leonhardt is suspecting that the Shaman King's Successor will survive the opening drainage?"

"Well, I wouldn't rule out the possibility. If the past Shaman King's Successors' deaths were a result of lacking strength, wouldn't the problem be solved if they were stronger?" Leon mentioned.

Chief Valencia's frown deepened.

But before she could think further, another surge of energy shot into the spiral of dark clouds and finally opened up an enormous and gloomy-red portal.

In that instance, space quickly destabilized, sucking Leon and everyone else standing inside the wall of dark clouds into the heavens like numerous red vein-like streaks of lightning flashing through the cumulonimbus clouds of darkness, disappearing therein.

Chapter 697 - Nethergrass Plain

"The secret realm has been opened! However, those pesky humans have taken the lead and disappeared inside the secret realm ahead of us!" a Four-winged Lesser Demon in the lead spoke.

"No matter. We will catch those humans one by one inside. Their scattered mess won't be able to put up much resistance against our forces," said another Great Demon with six wings.

"Right!" a lizardman-looking Greater Demon licked his lips and said, "I'm going to enjoy hunting these humans down. They are all dead meat!"

"Onward!"

The booming volume of an Arch Demon's voice rippled across the skies before the army of powerful demons began marching into the red portal in the spiral of dark clouds at the top of the colossal earthen staircase.

The authority of an Arch Demon was something even Greater Demons could only hear and obey.

As the demons marched into the red portal uniformly like an army of disciplined soldiers, the Arch Demon shortly arrived by the foot of obelisk.

"Thank you for the hard, Sir Gusion. Fortunately, you have survived another round of secret realm opening this time," the Arch Demon stated.

"That is to be expected. The inverted gravity in this space does lessen the burden and expenditure of opening the secret realm," said the Shaman King's Successor, Gusion, before he added, "However, the opening has left me drained, nonetheless."

"I will leave the task of leading the demons to Sir Solas's hands. But remember, we mustn't fail again. We must complete the mission this time and absolutely not let the power fall into the humans' hands!" Gusion instructed gravely.

"You don't have to worry, Sir Gusion," Arch Demon Solas assured and said, "The humans won't get any chance—not without any Battle Kings to shield them! We will proactively hunt them all down!"

"They were simply too foolish to sneak into our lands. But since they've come, they can forget about ever returning!" Arch Demon Solas grinned insidiously.

"The humans will never have thought that there will be multiple Arch Demons participating in this time's secret realm opening."

…

…

…

Eternal Night Secret Realm

True to its name, it was a lightless place, cold and dark like the night and without a shred of sunlight despite the starry skies shown above.

The entire realm was brimming with Death Energy, Yin Energy, and Darkness Profound Energy.

When Leon recovered from the displacement of teleportation, he began perceiving his surroundings with divine sense.

"Aria, Darlene! Good, you're both here!"

Leon sighed with relief, knowing that he did not get separated from them even though they have been separated from the rest of the humans.

However, he suddenly froze when he did not detect Duna's presence anywhere.

"Aria, Darlene, what happened? Why isn't Duna with us?" Leon inquired, knowing that they were the ones holding Duna's hands.

The two girls knitted their eyebrows together and tried to recall what happened when they got swept away like a powerful underwater current and transported inside the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

"I… I was sure that I was holding Duna's hand very firmly…" Aria answered with a surprisingly meek voice, feeling guilty for Duna's disappearance despite being innocent.

"I know you were," Leon stated before shaking his head and said, "I am not blaming you. I just want to know the details of what happened."

"You two were holding her, so you two should have a better grasp of the situation during that moment."

After saying that much, Aria and Darlene pondered harder as they tried to recall what happened during the teleportation.

"I think Duna purposely let go of my hand, but I'm not too sure… It all happened too fast, and the suction force was powerful as well…" Darlene answered unconfidently.

However, her words shortly helped Aria recalled better as she added, "I seem to recall a similar situation… I think Duna purposely wanted to separate from our group, although I am not sure why…"

"Haiz…" Leon issued a long sigh before he waved his hand and said, "Let us just leave it at that then. It seems that Duna has her own plans for the Eternal Night Secret Realm. We can only hope that she will be fine on her own."

And hopefully, they will bump into her again soon.

Nevertheless, after scanning the surrounding with the maximum range of his divine sense, Leon could tell that the Eternal Night Secret Realm was extremely huge when he could find another human besides them.

"Let us explore the area and see what good stuff we can find around here," Leon stated.

"Mmm."

"Alright!"

Aria and Darlene quickly straightened up, ready to set out on an adventure with Leon while eyeing the surroundings for anything of interest to point out.

"Hmm…" Darlene hummed a low contemplating tune.

"Is something the matter, Darlene?" Leon was quick to notice something was on her mind before Darlene responded with a nod.

"Mm, it's just that when I heard about this place being full of treasures and opportunities for Battle Masters to become Battle Kings or even a Battle God, I just didn't expect the place to be gloomy like this," Darlene spoke her mind.

"Understandable," Leon nodded and said, "I also thought the same, but at the same time, I am not surprised it turned out like this when it is called the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

"Still, I wonder where this Eternal Night Secret Realm is located?" Aria questioned while gazing up at the starry skies.

"That's a good question," Leon stated before saying, "I suppose we can only slowly find out as we explore this place."

That being said, the trio began trekking through the grassy plain in their region that seemingly stretches far and wide as they discussed the Eternal Night Secret Realm.

The grasses were all surprisingly vibrant and full of vitality, but contrary to ordinary grass found anywhere else, these grasses were all black with hints of other colors.

Leon spots tints of red, purple, silver, and blue among the black grasses, but no matter where he looked, not a single stalk of grass contained three or more colors.

At the same time, Leon was not familiar with them.

Chapter 698 - Tomb World

"Nethergrass?"

Leon shortly found a name for the colored black grasses on the plain after a quick mental search in the Archive.

​​According to what he found out, Nethergrass only exists in environments with a heavy density of Darkness Profound Energy.

Back in his past life, the only place with such Darkness Profound Energy could only be found in the Divine Demon Region, the north region of the Divine Realm, a place forbidden by most races beside demons.

It was no surprise that all herbs local to such a place were foreign to him.

Leon shortly crouched down and harvested a few stalks of Nethergrass with tints of red glows on its tips, causing Aria and Darlene to pause beside him and glance over curiously.

"Is there something special about these black grasses, Leon?" Aria asked.

"Un," Leon nodded before he said, "But rather than special, I'd say it is simply interesting. Have you heard about the Law of Devouring?"

"The Law of Devouring?" Aria muttered, taken aback before she furrowed her brows and asked, "The Law of Devouring is a Higher-order Law of Darkness, right? But what does it have to do these black grasses?"

"These stalks of Nethergrass contain the power of devouring, allowing them to devour other elements and absorb them. Nevertheless, the power of devouring is so minuscule, these stalks of Nethergrass can only devour a single type of element each," Leon explained.

"For example, this stalk of Nethergrass with red tips contains some fire attributes after devouring fire elements, while these blue tips contain water attributes after devouring water elements."

That being said, Leon had yet to find a usage for the Nethergrass.

Their ability to devour specific types of energy seemed helpful in cultivation somehow, but he had yet to figure out if they can be used for pill concoction in alchemy.

"I see…" Aria uttered while gazing at the stalks of Nethergrass in Leon's hands.

After a moment, she furrowed her brows and said with a frown, "From what I can see so far, this Eternal Night Secret Realm seems to benefit demons more than it does humans."

"Well, we've only seen one part of it so far. Perhaps there will be something useful to us in other areas," Leon said before adding, "Although I doubt it will be much different if it's called the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

"Still, the Battle Masters all utilize Darkness Profound Energy to cultivate their bodies, so this sort of environment is also perfect for their cultivation."

That being said, none of the three practices the Dark Continent's body forging methods, which is why Aria could not see the benefit in them.

A few minutes, Aria knitted her brows and muttered, "I wonder how far this field of Nethergrass is going to extend."

"We can only find out once we reach the end of it—whenever that is," Leon replied.

"More importantly, looking at the alignment of stars in the skies, it doesn't seem we are still on Gaia, but at the same time, I don't think we left Gaia either… How strange…"

"There seems to be something up ahead!" Darlene suddenly tugged Leon's sleeve and pointed into the distance ahead.

"Hm? Let's check it out."

A few moments later, the trio arrived in front of a large slab of stone embedded in the ground with intricated carvings on its surface, seemingly in a language foreign to both Gaia and the Divine Realm.

"What is this? A gravestone?" Aria wondered with surprise before asking, "Can you tell what is written on it, Leon?"

Leon shook his head.

"These aren't runic symbols, and they don't look like your average demon characters either…" Leon shortly stated with a hard gaze while studying the intricate engravings before saying, "They feel more ancient… a more primal language of the demons, perhaps?"

Shortly after, Leon noticed Darlene's contemplative expression before asking, "Do you know something, Darlene?"

"I don't understand what is written, but if I am not wrong, this should be a tombstone," Darlene stated.

"Yeah… We kind of established that already," Leon smiled wryly before saying, "But you seem to know something else about it?"

"Eh?" Darlene gazed back at Leon with surprise before she asked, "The chief and Venerable Shamans haven't told hubby about what a tombstone in the Eternal Night Secret Realm signifies?"

"No," Leon replied with a frown before saying, "I didn't have time to ask them about everything related to the Eternal Night Secret Realm."

"Oh…" Darlene nodded with understanding.

"Each tombstone in the Eternal Night Secret Realm signifies that there's a hidden space with a trial in the area, containing rich rewards if we can clear them— or at least, that is what I heard," Darlene added unconfidently.

It was just bits and pieces of information that she had gathered from the rumors and records she had read when she was still working in the palace.

"I see…" Leon's eyes quickly flickered thoughtfully as he repeated softly, "Each tombstone signifies a trial with rewards in the area, huh?"

"That is to say that the Eternal Night Secret Realm is full of these tombstones?" Leon seemingly questioned himself with a deep pondering look before muttering, "Tombstones would usually mean there's a tomb…"

"And if there's a tomb, then there is bound to be someone buried inside along with their treasures… So this means the so-called trial is just overcoming the traps laid by the tomb owner to rob their treasures…?"

In other words, the Eternal Night Secret Realm was one Tomb World.

At the same time, Aria also seemed to have understood something from Leon's words before she uttered, "Full of tombs… This would make this place seem like a…"

"A Tomb World? Exactly that," Leon nodded.

Being unfamiliar with the term, Darlene was quick to ask, "What's a Tomb World?"

"Exactly as it sounds, it's a world full of tombs. However, these tombs are purposely constructed by their tomb owners when they know they are about to die or going to die for the purpose of entering eternal rest along with their treasures."

"A Tomb World only exists when a mighty powerhouse with many loyal followers and subordinates pass away… As such, all tombs in a Tomb World are usually affiliated to a single power or big faction," Leon explained.

"Nevertheless, the real question is whose tombs are these?"

Chapter 699 - Hidden Formation

"Looking at the dense presence of Darkness Profound Energy in this Eternal Night Secret Realm, I would say it belongs to a demon—or at least, a cultivator of the darkness attribute. Furthermore, he would have to be at the Divine King Realm or higher," Aria speculated.

Divine Cultivators would have successfully formed their inner world at the start of Divine Origin Realm, but only at the Divine King Realm would the inner world become stable enough to sustain life.

​​"Divine King Realm, huh?" Leon muttered with narrowed eyes before he said, "If the Eternal Night Secret Realm is the inner world of a fallen divine powerhouse at the Divine King Realm or beyond it, then this world could be anywhere."

Just like an interspatial ring that could contain varying sizes of storage space inside depending on its grade, the Eternal Night Secret Realm could appear as a regular pill to the outside yet contain the size of an entire world not inferior to Gaia or greater within.

As such, Leon did not know how far they were transported to enter the Eternal Night Secret Realm and would not know where to begin searching for it directly the next time.

However, he suddenly recalled that the two seniors in the center of the world mentioned that Gaia was a prison world sealed by a Celestial Conqueror.

In that case, the location of the Eternal Night Secret Realm should exist somewhere within Gaia.

Although it could be any random pebble on the side of the road, Leon suspected that the object containing the Eternal Night Secret Realm was most likely hidden in the dark clouds of the Dark Continent somewhere.

Nevertheless, that was not important to think about all that.

Leon shook his head and said, "Let's look for the tomb entrance."

"Mm!" Aria and Darlene nodded.

Shortly after, Leon spread out his divine sense and attempted to sweep the area below the ground surface.

However, his divine sense was obstructed before it could seep through the ground, causing his brows to knit together.

"Is there a problem?" the attentive Aria quickly noticed.

"Not really," Leon shook his head before casually replying, "I was just trying to scout the ground, but my divine sense got obstructed by the Nethergrass's power of devouring."

"It's not very strong, but with so many Nethergrass in this area, they basically form a barrier that interferes with any form of spying that tries to get past it."

"Should we uproot all these Nethergrass then?" Darlene suggested while glancing down at the field of black grasses surrounding the tombstone.

"Logically speaking, that method would indeed resolve the inference problem. However, this Eternal Night Secret Realm is supposedly very dangerous. We don't know what trap could be triggered as a result of uprooting this field of Nethergrass," Leon stated.

"Perhaps it will also trigger a mechanism to destroy the tomb itself. It won't hurt to be prudent in our action and look for the tomb entrance with alternative methods. Perhaps, this is also part of the trial to see whether we are worthy of the treasures."

"But… hubby just plucked a few stalks of Nethergrass a moment ago, and nothing bad seemed to happen," Darlene mentioned with a puzzled look.

"Un, I did," Leon nodded and said, "But that was quite careless of me. Luckily, I've only taken a few and not a lot. Otherwise, we would not have known what could hit us."

"Treasures aren't usually left unguarded."

"Only you would see these grass as treasures," Aria giggled softly as she threw a jab at Leon for being too cautious.

"Aren't you being too cautious, Leon?"

"I would rather be too cautious than lose either of you due to a stupid of mine that could have been avoided," Leon stated seriously.

Aria and Darlene opened their mouths before closing them again shortly, unable to refute Leon's words.

Nevertheless, they smiled slightly, feeling warm inside.

"I suppose making a mess around here would also leave traces behind that could be tracked by the demons and put us in an unfavorable situation," Aria mentioned.

Recalling the large number of demons entering the Eternal Night Secret Realm, it was best to stay under their radar or only confront small companies.

Being targeted by the entire group of demons would mean certain doom.

Sometime later, Leon and the girls studied the tombstone for a clue, but to no avail.

"There seem to be four white gemstones embedded in the tombstone, but I'm not sure if we are meant to do anything with them or not." Darlene inserted her opinion.

The four gemstones did seem suspicious.

Leon and Aria shortly focused on the four gemstones, but they failed to produce a response from the four gemstones despite their efforts in touching them, attempting to remove them, and even instill energy into them.

"Maybe we can find a clue among the Nethergrass," Leon stated.

"The Nethergrass?" Aria muttered before asking, "What kind of clue can we even find from the Nethegrass?"

Leon frowned.

At a glance, there was nothing special about the unassuming Nethergrass and their absorbed elemental attribute.

But upon careful observation, Leon could see them forming an intricate pattern and share a special relationship with the tombstone when grouped into their matching elements.

The Nethergrass with darkness, fire, water, and wind attributes each formed an incomplete runic symbol around the four directions of the tombstone.

The runic symbols were all incomplete due to a few stalks of Nethergrass with mismatching elemental attributes in each of them.

"This… this a formation that makes use of heaven and earth's natural resources," Leon muttered with narrowed eyes, drawing Aria and Darlene's attention over.

"Did you figure something out, Leon?" Aria asked with surprise, not expecting him to discover any clue from the Nethergrass.

"Un," Leon nodded and said, "I understand the trick now. There's actually a hidden formation that we have to complete. "This might be the reason why we can uproot some stalks of Nethergrass without any problem."

As Leon explained, he removed the mismatched stalks of Nethergrass from the runic symbol and planted the correct Nethergrass with matching attributes.

Rumble…!

The four runic symbols quickly lit up the moment they were completed, followed by the four gemstones lighting up with each color of the four elements before the ground rumbled.

The big tombstone shortly sank into the ground before an entrance to the underground tomb was revealed.

"Bingo!" Leon smiled.

Chapter 700 - Eternal Night Demon Emperor

Aria and Darlene shortly appeared beside Leon before they glanced inside the tomb entrance curiously.

"To think that the tomb entrance was this close to us. With this much distance between us, we could have broken inside with force if we knew," Aria said with surprise.

​​"Un, yeah," Leon nodded before he suddenly said, "Except, like I said earlier, there could be hidden mechanisms to destroy the tomb if we had forced our way in."

"In the records of tomb raiding, the instances of hidden tombs collapsing due to forceful entries that do not conform with the rules of the tomb are quite common."

"True…" Aria nodded.

There does seem to be information such cases within Aria White's memories as she silently perused them.

"These fallen experts are already dead, yet they go through to such lengths just to keep others from getting their hands on their treasures. I must say that they must have all been greedy people when they were alive," Aria spat.

Leon smiled wryly and said, "Perhaps."

"However, some of these tombs are designed with challenging trials—not to keep others away from their treasures but to find successors worthy of inheriting them."

"Anyway, let us head inside and see what awaits us ahead," Leon shortly urged.

"Mm."

"Okay!"

The party of three shortly took the flight of stairs leading down into the darkness of the tomb entrance.

Swish, swish~!

Two rows of green ghostfire suddenly burst into life, hovering on either side eerily and illuminated the passage while giving it an ominous and gloomy vibe the moment they step foot inside.

Darlene subconsciously moved closer to Leon and held onto the right side of his clothes.

When Aria noticed this small action of hers, even though she was not afraid, she also moved closer held the left side of Leon's clothes.

At the same time, Leon glanced left and right at these two before he smiled wryly without speaking a word, thinking it was not a good situation to say anything.

…

…

…

In another part of the Eternal Night Secret Realm, the surroundings were similarly filled with Nethergrass across the field.

However, the Battle God Palace group in the area headed north under the lead of their young master, passing several tombstones that did not seem of interest to them—or at least, to their young master.

"Young Master, these are all tombs with hidden treasures inside of them. Are we going to ignore them all?" an Extremity-rank Battle Master asked, seemingly reluctant to leave so many goods behind and unexcavated.

"According to the palace's records, these tombs only belong to the lowest level of demon servants and subordinates that followed the Eternal Night Demon Emperor. Therefore, there's no need to waste our time on their tombs," Zion stated calmly with hands linked behind his back.

When the Extremity-rank Battle Master heard this, he smiled wryly.

"Even the lowest level of demon servants and subordinates under the Eternal Night Demon Emperor were all Arch Demons, Young Master," the Extremity-rank Battle Master mentioned.

However, the young master remained uninterested.

"The inheritance of Arch Demons are only worth looking into if you only want to reach the Battle King Realm. However, my ambition is much greater than that. Only a Demon Lord-level tomb or higher will interest me."

"Since there is someone back at the Battle God Palace who seeks to harm me, it is imperative that I grow much stronger—as to not fall for their schemes again. These Arch Demon-level tombs are only a waste of my time and talents," Zion stated, narrowing his eyes with a cold glint.

He had always been well-behaved and friendly to everyone in the Battle God Palace, yet he was still harmed by someone, whether it was due to jealousy of his talents or for something much bigger.

Either way, the person was malicious and had to pay for their deeds.

"Young Master is right," the Extremity-rank Battle Master was surprised before he nodded subserviently in agreement and said, "It was this subordinate who was being short-sighted."

"Each time the Eternal Night Secret Realm is opened, the amount of time spent inside is all different. However, one thing we can be sure about is that our time here is limited. As such, we should be going after the best treasures and resources here."

"Right," another Extremity-rank Battle Master agreed before mentioning, "We also have the demons to worry about. If they find the Demon King-level tombs or even the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's tomb first, we would not be able to get close."

"But if the Demon King-level and Demon Emperor-level tombs are all surrounded by demons, we will not be able to escape. We might even be forced to leave empty-handed if they get there first," said an Extremity-rank Battle Master wearing a horned helmet.

The Extremity-rank Battle Masters began debating between the pros and cons of going after the highest level tombs back and forth while their young master listened silently.

"Enough."

After some time, Zion demanded silence before the group of Extremity-rank Battle Masters quickly stopped speaking and shifted their attention to their young master.

"It seems that promised treasures within this Eternal Night Secret Realm have blinded you all from the most important point here," Zion gazed at his subordinates solemnly with the flair of a natural leader.

"It's not up for debate whether we are going for the highest level tombs or not. We ARE going for them. Do not forget that we are from the Battle God Palace, the strongest power in the Infertile Plains."

"While it is not our duty to safeguard humanity, I do believe we all have a certain level of responsibility to carry it out. As such, we are not just going after the Eternal Night Demon Emperor's inheritance. We are also trying to stop the demons from claiming it and become a huge threat to everyone! Understood?!"

"Yes, Young Master!" the group of Extremity-rank Battle Masters answered in unison with respect and veneration after they were enlightened.

Their young master understood the bigger picture.