Chapter 99: David.

Chapter 99

Elijah was guarding the ship at night while everyone else slept. He was cultivating his Chi and Elemental Cores within his Spiritual Dimension.

The volume of his Chi had increased tenfold compared to before. At this stage, his focus was on enhancing the quality of his Chi.

He understood one thing clearly: to further strengthen himself, he needed to elevate the quality of his Chi to match or surpass Mana itself.

While the volume of his Chi was already greater than that of others at his level, his Chi Core was exceptionally large, giving him an edge.

In his Spiritual Dimension, time moved differently. Currently, 1 second outside equated to 1 hour inside, and 1 minute outside translated to 5 minutes inside For his physical dimension—five times faster than before.

Elijah continued merging his Chi until it could no longer be fused further. He could feel the quality of his Chi improving gradually as he held the Silver Core in his hand. The silver energy particles glowed brighter and brighter with each moment.

After seven days, he reached a plateau where the quality of his Chi could no longer be increased.

The Chi circulating within his body radiated richness, a breathtaking sensation to him.

His strength increased slightly, bringing him just one step away from reaching E+ rank. However, in the process, the volume of his Chi had decreased drastically.

He spent two days recovering his Chi and enhancing his Chi Core. With this basic improvement achieved, the next step was to compress his Chi into liquid form.

However, that required greater strength and more Chi—a challenge for another day.

Exiting the Spiritual Dimension, he reappeared on the ship to find it still night. Only four hours had passed outside. As he looked around, he noticed Kai standing nearby.

"Couldn't sleep?" Elijah asked.

Kai, wearing an open T-shirt that revealed his muscular frame, stood silently. A blood-stained bandage covered an injury near his side.

He wore black pants and shorts, with his swords hanging at his waist. Gazing at the ocean, he responded, "Yeah, and it seems like you had a breakthrough or something, judging from the burst of energy coming from you."

Elijah scratched his head. "Well, I needed to improve the quality of my energy."

Kai nodded before saying, "I'm sorry again."

Elijah frowned in confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"Your scar, idiot," Kai said.

Elijah chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You even injured yourself to show how sorry you were, which wasn't necessary."

Kai's expression shifted to anger, and he shouted, "Yes, it was!"

Elijah was stunned into silence as Kai continued, "You're my leader, Elijah. My friend. And I couldn't even control my own swords—they ended up harming you with a cursed scar."

"I destroyed most of the energy in the scar, so I should be fine," Elijah reassured him.

"That doesn't matter," Kai replied, staring deeply into Elijah's eyes. "You're a good leader, a good friend, and a good brother. But being good isn't enough.

That's why I injured myself—why I nearly killed myself. Because, Elijah, fighting against the leader, whether by choice or by power, is the same as betrayal."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Letting my swords take control and fighting you is the same."

Elijah didn't know how to respond. Kai's frustration was evident as he sighed. "I know I'm asking too much of you, my friend."

Elijah smiled. "You always do this."

Both fell silent, letting the calm waters serenade them.

Somewhere Else

The Emperor-Tier Zen sat inside his ship, holding a communication device. Strange noises came through the other end as Zen muttered, "Why the hell would you answer if you're busy doing something?"

A man's voice, heavy with exertion, replied, "Zen, is that you?"

"Just call me when you're done," Zen said, preparing to hang up.

"Wait, Zen!" the man exclaimed before addressing someone nearby. "Babe, can you wait a minute?"

After a few seconds, the man spoke again. "So, what's up, Zen? How have you been? And how's my little Faith?"

"Is sex always on your mind?" Zen asked flatly.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Well—" the man began.

Zen sighed. "I'm not fine, and Faith is dead."

A heavy silence followed. Then the man asked, "Who the hell killed her?"

"That's why I called you," Zen replied. "A group of powerful kids, aged about 17 to 19, is headed your way. The weakest is at Advanced Tier, with one at King Tier. Be careful."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Zen, have you fallen so low you can't handle a group of low levels?" the man mocked.

"David, don't underestimate them," Zen warned. "If you do, I might soon hear you're dead. If they step foot on your land, you'll be lucky if only 80% of your people die."

"80% dead? Hah... What about Matt?" David asked.

"He's dead too," Zen answered.

"Are you holding up, Zen?" David inquired.

"I can manage," Zen replied.

David sighed. "Don't worry. I'll kill those fools for my beautiful Faith. She was too young and pretty to die. I wanted to keep enjoying that body of hers, but those idiots took her away from me."

"You're insane," Zen said sharply. "And remember, two weeks from now, we're ordered to meet at the Base by the Leader. We know where the Treasure Key is. Also, Sofia is coming to see those kids."

"Ooooh, Sofia, Sofia, Sofia!" David sang gleefully.

Zen cut the call abruptly, muttering, "Such an annoying guy."