Shia's quick leave, Demon Beasts and their cunning ways

Ace rolled his eyes when he heard someone knock on the door, why were they always intruding on him right before his cultivation session?

Ace tidied his appearance and went to open the door reluctantly, but when he smelt the familiar floral scent from behind the door, he opened the door with a smile and asked, "What brings the Legacy Paladin here?"

Alice, who was also known as the Legacy Paladin, stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, before turning her attention towards Ace, who was looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"I'm here with regards to the incoming Demon Beast Invasion, how are the preparations going for the Nirvana Sect?" Alice asked calmly as she opened the window and peeked outside, the night breeze welcoming her arrival as it brushed past her face, her long blonde hair swaying with the wind.

Ace was charmed by her beauty as he stared at her with his mouth open wide, but still regained his composure when Charlotte's face came across his mind, warning him, "Don't you dare to find another woman just because I'm not by your side right now."

"What's the matter, are you alright?" Alice inquired in concern when she turned around to check on Ace, who remained silent even though she asked a question.

"It's nothing much, a thought just came across my mind." Ace replied with his arms crossed as he added on, "The Nirvana Sect is ready for the upcoming Demon Beast Invasion, that's something you can rest assured of, but if you're worried about Cidd, then you should check on him instead."

Alice folded her arms as well and answered through her pouted cheeks, "I wouldn't have come to you if he would bother to meet me in the first place."

"Are you saying that the only reason you even care about me in the first place is because of Cidd?"

"That's not the exact case." Alice chuckled and added on, "Cidd is the only reason I'll even care about you and the Nirvana Sect."

Alice's straightforwardness caught Ace off-guard as he brushed off the matter with a burst of awkward laughter. On second thought, this seemed reasonable, at least this went to show that the Paladin Haven would not become enemies with the Nirvana Sect and if that were to happen, it could only mean that there was a spy within them.

"Don't worry, Cidd will be fine, that's something you can rest assured of." Ace turned around and told Alice, who was already at the doorstep.

"I hope you keep your promise, or I'll make sure that the Nirvana Sect ceases to exist at all costs," Alice warned solemnly before leaving the room, pulling the door shut behind her before she left.

Ace was about to start cultivating, but when he turned around, he saw a peerless beauty unconscious on his blood, her body was covered in blood and grime, if it weren't for her brimming life force that Ace could sense from some distance away, he would have thought that she was dead.

*Ba Thump!*

*Ba Thump!*

Ace didn't understand why his heart was aching when he saw this woman, there weren't any impure thoughts that came into his mind, all he wanted to do was for her to recover and that was what he was going to do.

"Hopefully you can give me a satisfactory answer after you regain your consciousness." Ace used a drenched cloth to clean her face before utilising his Nirvana Flames to help her recover from her injuries rapidly. Ace's instincts told him that this was the method to use and since he has relied on his instincts countless times, he decided to trust himself once again.

After an hour passed, the woman coughed out black blood from her mouth as she opened her eyes, grinning when she saw Ace as she made use of the flickering flame in her body to recover instantly, the flame that was flickering regaining its power in a matter of seconds.

"Shia, pays respects to the young master, thank you for saving my life." The woman, known as Shia, got down on her knees and said.

The next moment, memories flooded into Ace's mind as he struggled to maintain his composure.

In the memories, he saw a Phoenix saying to her descendants, "The next chosen leader will be a young boy, remember to assist him at all costs because he'll be the only hope of the Phoenix race."

At this moment, Ace recalled the moment when he saw someone who showed him the true strength of the sword path through that one slash. It was also at that moment that he obtained the Phoenix Sword that was vibrating vigorously in his hands right now.

When Shia saw the Phoenix Sword, her eyes lit up in relief, "She had found the chosen inheritor despite being injured, not only that, she could feel her potential increasing just because the chosen inheritor helped her to recover from her injuries."

"Young master, I know that you have countless questions, but please forgive me for being unable to explain the details to you right now. All the Phoenix race can do to assist you right now, is give you a chance to enter the Holy Land of the Phoenixes, this token should help you to enter the Holy Land, but remember, you only have one chance and you aren't to expose your identity at all costs."

"At the Holy Land, you'll be pit against the top geniuses of the Phoenix race and don't be alarmed if you see other males as well, they are the ones who have received the inheritance of the fallen phoenixes outside of the Holy Land, which is why they're given a chance to become a part of the Phoenix race as well, but please rest assured that they'll never be a part of the main family."

Shia explained and left in a hurry. Her time was running out, if she continued to stay in the Fragmented Cultivation World for any longer, she was sure that the heavenly tribulations would take her life.

"Wait…" Ace tried to keep her, but Shia vanished the next moment.

Two more days passed in the blink of an eye, but the invasion of the demon beasts was nowhere to be seen, but this didn't continue for long when the first demon beast was spotted slaughtering the nearby cities that were a part of the Nebula Kingdom.

"Nirvana Sect Master, the Nebula Kingdom needs the assistance of the Nirvana Sect immediately." A soldier barged into his room and explained immediately, his panicked face telling Ace that the situation had already escalated and caught them off-guard.

"Lead the way, I'll gather my disciples."

"The demon beasts...they have already started their invasion of the nearby cities instead of the Nebula Kingdom first, please provide your assistance to the cities that have requested for help instantly with the Nirvana Sect you lead."

The soldier hurriedly explained as he took out a map and passed it to Ace, "The cities that have requested for help will have the representative symbol glowing in red, please help them." The soldier begged before leaving the room immediately to gather the other cultivation leader as quickly as possible.

"Sect Master, we're ready." Lancelot and the others had overheard the conversation and were already prepared. The same went for the Paladin Haven.

Ace nodded his head and opened the map in front of everyone, but when they saw hundreds of symbols glowing red at the same time, they were left stupefied.