Era!

'So this is what real power feels like…' Minos thought, struck somewhat drunk by this sudden massive increase in strength.

Even he wasn't sure just how much stronger he had become, but what he did know is that he could now easily crush his former self.

Of course this huge strength boost didn't come at no cost, and this ability would only last a short time, meanwhile the cooldown was quite long, taking an entire month to recover.

But that was fine, and with this kind of strength, Minos didn't need long at all, a moment was more than enough.

With a confident smirk, he waved his hand somewhat lazily, causing a wind tempest to form around him.

"Haven't you already learned, your wind can do nothing here!" Nine laughed, though his joy wouldn't last long.

Almost immediately after he said that, Minos's wind tempest came in contact with the spikes, though rather than piercing right through this wind veil like Nine expected, the spikes shattered!

As if the wind was made up of millions of tiny razors, it easily diced through the wood spikes, leaving behind tiny dust-like fragments.

Soon enough the tempest expanded out to the Magma Wood itself, and while it was much stronger than its spikes, it faced the same fate against Minos's overpowering wind.

"I-Impossible!" As experienced as Nine was, even he found himself shocked by what Minos had just done.

According to logic, none of this should be possible, after all Minos should have just entered the Aperture Opening Realm!

As for him, his Magma Wood was so strong that it could allow him to fight well beyond his level, and in this case despite his middle-stage Aperture Opening cultivation, his true strength was comparable to a late-stage one.

The only real answer was that Minos's cultivation wasn't as it appeared, but that also shouldn't be possible with his tower suppressing it.

Unless of course one had strength greater than the tower itself, in which case breaking its suppression should be a simple matter, but that was even less likely.

"What have you done?" Nine asked, unable to reach a satisfying answer himself.

"I just grew up." Minos laughed, his response making Nine even more confused.

Without giving any more answers, Minos formed a large wind lance, sending it spiraling towards Nine.

In a desperate last attempt to survive, he immediately gathered all his power, forming a massive Magma Wood wall in front of him.

But alas, the Magma Wood wall couldn't even hold on for a second, immediately being pierced through as the wind lance nailed him against the wall.

"While I have no idea how you did it, a win is a win, congrats." Nine said, still scratching his head internally as his puppet body dissipated, cementing Minos's victory.

…

"W-w-what just happened…?" Orino said with a bit of a stutter.

"..." This time not even the Seventh replied, his brow just scrunched as he stared at the holographic screen.

As for Asumi, this just further confirmed her confidence in Minos, making her faith towards him even stronger.

The seed that had been quietly planted within her heart had now completely germinated, Minos's feats like the finest compost, accelerating its growth even further.

…

"Did you see that! I swear I thought he had already lost, but as per usual, he does something completely amazing!" Tylia laughed joyously.

"... Yes, he really is something else…" Suki said, not quite sure what to feel like right.

Part of him was happy, because the more brilliant Minos was, the more assured he was that he could truly heal his illness.

But on the other hand, he found himself overwhelmed by Minos's brilliance, questioning if he could ever escape his shadow.

'Even if I do awaken my physique, do I really have any chance of defeating Minos, or even matching him…?'

'What am I thinking!? Minos isn't my enemy, so why should I need to fight him, besides my ambition never lied on becoming king.'

'My only worry is that our conflict extends beyond kingship. According to all my studies of the historical records, the Golden Generation should be appearing soon.'

'There's zero chance Minos won't also fight to become Emperor, and if he does, can I really beat him?'

'For that matter, can I beat anyone? Will I even have the time to catch up to the others, after all, I'm so far behind at the moment…'

While Tylia was still busy watching Minos with all her heart, Suki was wrecked by an internal battle, his hands unconsciously clenching at his head.

"Breath, breath." He whispered to himself, the deep breaths helping tide his anxiety slightly.

'If I can awaken the Heaven-Grade Yin-Yang Physique like Minos said, then my chances are far from zero.'

'The problem is still the lack of a Yin-Yang Cultivation Method, which isn't easy to find at all…'

One had to know that Yin-Yang was considered a 'higher' element, somewhat similar to the Magma Wood the Nine-Tailed Emperor used.

To find Yin or Yang techniques by itself may still be possible, but to find bonafide Yin-Yang techniques that fused the two together was much more difficult.

Not finding it within the royal library was proof enough, and now Suki could only pray that Minos wasn't lying to him when he said he may be able to create one on his own.

To have to rely on the very same man he may have to fight in the future was definitely awkward, and it also made Suki worry that Minos may betray him at the last second.

After all, who would create a powerful potential enemy for themselves? Only an idiot or someone with absolute confidence, and Suki knew Minos was no idiot.

'Dammit, the problem is still my weakness at the end of the day. Even now I can only rely on the generosity of others. Curse this weakness of mine!' Suki shouted internally, his fists clenched hard.

'Calm down. Even if Minos does betray me, the important part is that I know the cause of my illness, meaning I can cure it myself.'

'If Minos truly isn't willing to help me, I'll be forced to gather what's left of my wealth and head towards the Holy Empire.'

'As the strongest empire on the Nine Continents, it should have a Yin-Yang Technique, or at least news of one.'

'I just hope humans aren't as xenophobic as us Cat-People, or else I may just end up running into another wall…'

With his future plans decided, Suki managed to calm down slightly, a bit more re-assured now that he had another option, albeit not a great one.

"Hey, what happened?" Tylia suddenly shouted, waking Suki from his thoughts.

As he looked up, he was somewhat surprised to find the holographic screen that had been displaying Minos, had completely vanished.

"Where'd the screen go?" He asked.

"That's what I was asking. Is it because he beat all the floors?"

"Shouldn't be, after all there's still the legendary ninth floor left."

"That just makes me wonder what's going on even more. I wonder what the Nine-Tailed Emperor put on the ninth floor to even hide it from all of us like this?"

"It's a mystery for a reason, but whatever it is, I have no doubts that it's incredibly valuable…" Suki said, his hands that had come loose after calming down slightly, suddenly clenching once more.

…

"Welcome to the ninth floor." A familiar voice said to Minos as he watched his surroundings change.

From an empty white room, the entire space rapidly transformed, turning into a lush green field with endless blue skies above.

With a deep breath, Minos could smell the scent of flowers, proving this space wasn't merely an illusion, and if it was one, it was incredibly advanced.

"It seems you really are immortal." Minos smiled, looking ahead at the phantom that was slowly manifesting itself.

"Hahaha, I wish that were true, but unfortunately all things fade in time, this is the one destiny we all share…" Nine said, his voice tinged with slight melancholy.

"Of course, death doesn't have to be the end of one's journey, especially not for those of us who are only half a step away from Immortal Ascension ourselves."

"Immortal Ascension?" Minos asked, aware that this was the last stage of cultivation, at least the last one available on this small planet.

"It's more commonly referred to as the Emperor Realm, and those who achieve it are bonafide Emperor's."

"It becomes more humorous the more you say it. Emperor… Maybe the title makes sense on this insignificant little planet, but those higher-beings would just laugh at us if they heard us call it this."

"Higher-beings?" Minos repeated.

"That's right, those ones, up in the stars…" Nine said with a long sigh.