After two days of intensive search, Alm and Bruno felt satisfied to have collected a few hundred spatial rings. Unfortunately, the bone club they managed to retrieve was slightly weaker than the other, mainly due to the runic seal of the ’thorn’ type and the presence of a hidden gift sealed by Ruri’s power.
’Well, at least the weight and hardness are worth using.’ Bruno commented lightly as they returned to the desert city.
Upon their return, they went straight to the forge and gave orders to Almin, Langrum, and Ruri to focus on cultivation in preparation for the journey to the abyss. There was a single safe opportunity to enter the abyss, but they needed to confirm that directly. Based on the movement of the evil cultivators in the desert, Alm concluded that it would take no more than two weeks to have confirmation.
Alm and Bruno focused on examining everything they obtained inside the rings. They managed to recover half of the abyss crystals they spent in the fight, but the main benefit of these rings was access to the weapons of the high elders.
Evil cultivators were natural plunderers, and the high elders were centenarian old-timers who had accumulated numerous treasures over the years. Although these weapons didn’t compare to what the whale could forge, their materials were not bad, and some were made of very rare metals. So, everything was melted and refined with the help of the blacksmith dwarves.
Days passed with a lot of work, but everything was slower than usual. The whale couldn’t stay in the forge twenty-four hours a day; every day, he worked until dusk and then retired to sleep with Ruri, after all, she was still recovering. The technique could only be used again after Ruri recovered, and that would take years, but Alm and Bruno didn’t think about the technique for a second. They just wanted to see Ruri completely healthy.
The first two works of the whale, in collaboration with the dwarves, were completed. The next day, the whole city was preparing for an event organized by Alnia at the request of the whale. It was Ruri’s thirteenth birthday.
On that day, the girl woke up much more energetic than usual, eagerly awaiting the whale to wake up with bright eyes. They got up, and then Alm and Bruno sighed, watching her happy expression, which no longer resembled that of a child. Three years passed quickly, and Bruno regretted, thinking they should never have let her keep that saber or merge more deeply with the Yin of the prison. This time, not even Alm could call Bruno a lolicon; Their daughter really grew up too fast.
Regarding Ruri’s piercing eyes early in the morning, they didn’t delay in handing her the presents; obviously, they were the first two things they did with the dwarves. The first was Bruno’s idea. They decided to make a sword, or a saber, it was hard to say.
Ruri was skilled in close combat, but her physical strength was not considerable. So, the ideal type of weapon for her would be one focused on speed. A spear would be a good choice, or maybe a short sword. But Bruno insisted on using all the dragon glass and making something directly inspired by Earth memories, a legitimate katana.
This type of weapon was long and curved, with only one cutting edge, resembling a saber. However, its blade was not heavy, with its weight almost evenly distributed and balanced. Clearly designed to focus on speed rather than damage, it was the opposite of what a saber should be.
It was something exotic that no dwarf had ever seen. In the cultivation world, balanced blades with a sharp edge like the Messer or Falchion weren’t made. To everyone, weapons existed only to amplify the power already inherent in the cultivator—no one wasted time experimenting with new forms; it was more efficient to strengthen oneself than to look for something external.
At first, the dwarves thought the weapon was useless as a saber, and as a sword, it failed to offer the versatility provided by two sharp edges. However, after its completion, no explanation was needed; the dwarves’ sharp eyes quickly realized that the blade had unique characteristics, even though, at first glance, it didn’t seem exactly practical.
Alm remained silent, aware that Bruno let his Earth memories influence him. Ruri had a typical appearance of an Asian, and he wanted to see her using a katana like a female samurai from anime or ninjas from movies. Well... maybe Alm also wanted to see that.
As for the second present, due to the lack of aesthetics of both, with a lot of help from the dwarves, a beautiful dress was made. Among the possessions of the high elders, there were some light armors made of an extremely light and resistant metal. The eyes of the whale lit up as he analyzed it; it looked a lot like another metal existing in the Forge God’s Dao called Luminium.
After some encouraging tests, they concluded that it was the same metal, but with different names. Soon, they melted everything, and thanks to the divine knowledge of the Forger Dao, they amazed the dwarves by creating metal threads as fine as divine linen. Thus, the dress was made, which was so light and soft that it seemed impossible to associate with anything metallic. At the same time, its defense was considerable.
With the knowledge of the Forge God, it was possible to put a runic seal on the dress, as if it were armor. The storage seal and the laws of the earth were deposited without a second thought.
After seeing Ruri injured after the last battle, they wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again. Ruri could use the laws of the earth to protect herself, so they postponed the creation of something defensive for her. However, a fight was unpredictable, and in a situation similar to the previous one, where they had to exhaust all resources and run out of available laws of the earth, Ruri would be defenseless. Now, she can use the laws of the earth from the seal.
Ruri smiled like never before as she felt her new weapon; the blade was as long as the bone saber that was destroyed. However, the blade was thin and light, and the cutting power of the dragon glass was hundreds of times sharper. Added to the runic seal of "sharpening," it could slice through anything anyone at the same level as Ruri was using. Of course, Bruno didn’t forget to make a sheath and put the katana on Ruri’s waist with excited eyes.
After Ruri put on her dress, Alm huffed, looking at her. ’Knew it would be necessary.’
Then he removed all the rest of the "tissue" made of metal, previously shaped in the form of a binding. Alm turned Ruri around, and she gave a shy jump feeling him lower her clothes. Then Alm helped her wrap it around her bust, not noticing her completely red face. Bruno couldn’t believe she already needed that, but Alm seemed to have attentive eyes on her, like a father should. There was already a much larger protrusion than one would imagine, and it would soon hinder her swift movements. Poor Ruri, even though she felt embarrassed, the two old-timers thought absolutely nothing of it. One would wonder if they were putting that on a man instead... that would be weird in its own way too, though.
After this small event, the two went out to the city, and Ruri was extremely energetic, with everyone in the city welcoming her for her birthday. Everyone was having fun, and Ruri didn’t allow the whale to return to the castle, making a crying face; they ended up being forced to stay, even hating this kind of thing.
Time passed merrily, then, at noon, the whale stood up slightly and called everyone to the gates. He spoke sarcastically. "The show is finally about to begin, right on time."
Everyone in the city moved toward the gates, and the whale, with a single motion, opened them completely. On the other side, there was nothing, making everyone feel strange. But, after just five minutes, a known giant figure came running, making the earth tremble.
"Pooh! You came for my birthday." Ruri spoke, looking into the eyes of the beast with a bull’s head.
The now-called Pooh looked at the whale, then Alm just waved, signaling that everything was fine. He soon turned to Ruri, doing something strange and eerie, trying to give a smile. Everyone behind twisted their faces, but Ruri just smiled back, understanding his intentions.
It didn’t take more than ten minutes for everyone to hear a great commotion from beyond the gates.
They were humans, a few of them that quickly multiplied to several dozens, then hundreds, then thousands. It was a gigantic army, and a dense and palpable aura of death rose to the skies above them; they were all evil cultivators.
Everyone became tense and apprehensive immediately, but in the next second, their eyes were drawn to the back of the whale in front. He didn’t need to say anything, and with just his presence, everyone felt warmth coursing through their chests, calming their minds. He was there; there was no reason to fear.
Alm, however, felt like he was about to explode. ’I don’t even need to look to feel all their gazes on our back, thinking we are some kind of god. This is ridiculous!’
Bruno sighed in response. ’Well, we are now using the power of worship and pray they are giving us, so we can only go with the flow...’
Then the evil army spotted the completely open city entrance, and sensing the pure and sacred QI from inside, their eyes widened in astonishment; was that a divine paradise? They thought. But soon, they stopped their steps several meters away. And calmly, two figures walked forward.
Quickly, the air in the world became heavy and suffocating, and all the laws of the world seemed to converge on those two figures. It was the half-human, half-beast patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect. And the other was the well-known black elf, patriarch of the Vital Yin Sect. Both had extremely sinister looks, and their lips curved in a strange joy.
"Finally, we found you. Who would have thought that you actually hid so much from my eyes?" The black elf spoke lightly, and the two patriarchs continued to walk toward the city entrance. "This QI... it certainly is something that came from the divine world... everything makes sense. Those weapons, that power, and abnormal talent."
The two patriarchs were ten steps away from crossing the gates. "Don’t worry, we won’t kill you. We have to give some face to those in the divine world." The other patriarch spoke dryly. "But, from today on, this place will belong to evil cultivators. And... there are many people to be refined here; it will be a great initiation offering."
The two smiled slightly, not hiding their excitement. Behind them, standing in the crowd, there was another prominently featured human; he should be the new patriarch of the Sect of the Infernal God. He was a senior elder who was hastily promoted, and his cultivation was much lower than the other two patriarchs; thus, he had no influence or power to choose anything. But he followed the two since he couldn’t afford to lose the benefits of this city completely.
When the two were five steps from the entrance, the whale waved slightly, and a faint glow was seen in their fists. Then he spoke lightly.
"Hm... you really saw me kill that other idiot. And you think I have nothing to deal with you? I thought evil cultivators were just focused on their strength, not that they were idiots who couldn’t think."
"Hahahahahah." The two patriarchs laughed lightly. "Are you bluffing against us, kid? We know very well about the divine pill that fool used to try to kill you. That was something the three founders of the sect brought back from the divine world, and the three sects have detailed information about the effects of that pill." The patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect spoke.
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"He underestimated a young man with connections to the divine world. If he knew that, he would never have risked sealing his cultivation like that. You are too young and impulsive, and you ended up being forced to reveal yourself; he gave you a golden opportunity." The black elf added calmly.
"Aren’t you afraid of the wrath of the divine realm?" The whale commented without emotions.
"We are evil cultivators, kid, not pathetic cowards. Strength is all that matters; we’ll swallow everything to strengthen ourselves. We’re already doing a lot by not killing you; if we still die, it’s because we were weak and don’t deserve to live. That’s our fundamental principle." The patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect said, emanating a sinister aura.
The whale then snorted with his hands on his back. "Hm... and what about the promise of me finding someone in the abyss? I’ve fulfilled my part of the deal; will you go back on your word and break the contract?"
The black elf smirked in ridicule; what nonsense was he talking about? He thought. But then he felt the steps beside him abruptly stop. He turned a bit bewildered to the side.
The patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect felt a squeeze in his soul, and his legs stopped. It all lasted a second, and his soul returned to normal, freed. At that moment, a smile appeared on the whale’s lips, and internally, Alm laughed uncontrollably like a villain. This was the confirmation they needed.
The patriarch then looked forward a bit strangely and murmured to the elf, "The soul contract you placed on me activated for a moment. You were very serious about protecting this disciple, but it was only for a moment, and now it’s gone."
The elf nodded in understanding. The soul contract he placed was indeed serious; he didn’t want Goku to be stolen, and that patriarch to go back on the agreement. He spent many resources to create that contract, but he was the creator. If the patriarch violated the agreement, the black elf would feel it, and only he could activate the contract, potentially destroying the soul on the other side easily. But the contract activated on its own now? That was very strange, and even stranger was him saying the contract was gone without removing it.
The black elf thought deeply for a second, then decided to investigate this further later. The two then took a step forward again, and they crossed the entrance and the gates of the city. But it was in that second that the bodies of the two patriarchs froze, and both felt as if their souls were leaving their bodies.
"Now that you’ve come, entertain my girl on her birthday," the whale spoke lightly.
Then, from the skies, a pair of black eyes appeared. Soon, all the willpower and greed of the two patriarchs seemed to drain from their bodies. The primal instinct of survival made them turn their eyes upward, even though their bodies didn’t obey their commands. In that second, muffled explosion sounds echoed like an avalanche.
They didn’t need to turn around; the smell of blood and the Yin of death were easily recognized, making both of them panic. All... all the common elders immediately exploded into blood. The two thought in synchrony.
Then, a creature descended from the skies, touching the ground slowly. Only its gaze was enough to kill the weaker ones; its wings unfolded. It was a pure divine demon, and in its eyes, there was no sign of life.