They turned to Ruri, who exuded satisfaction as she slowly sheathed her katana attached to her slender waist.
’The infinite mental power of this place, combined with her improvements in spatial laws, has made her a high-level assassin,’ Alm thought mentally, clearly proud. Obviously, she achieved this feat because that creature concentrated all its QI in one place, not expecting to encounter a power capable of truly killing it.
Their gazes met, and Ruri quickly advanced towards the front of the whale, waiting with shining eyes. The whale snorted and stroked her head in praise, making Ruri’s face blush slightly. It was at that moment that Sayqi approached with trembling steps.
Without emotion, the whale spoke without even looking back. "As I said, we don’t have time. We didn’t come to win this test; we came to destroy and end everything in this place."
Sayqi just looked at Ruri, repeatedly sensing her low cultivation, confirming the obvious over and over. ’How was this possible?’ She thought, incredulous, then looked at the whale, recalling the fight. ’He pretended to be weak to surprise him... what have I gotten myself into...’
At that moment, the robotic sound echoed.
"Victorious group recognized."
"Reward from the first island: An elemental rune of your choice."
"Which basic element do you desire?"
The whale promptly replied: "Earth rune."
In the next instant, the space in front of the whale distorted. An earth elemental rune, similar to those formed by cultivators in the Elemental Condensation Realm, emerged. Without giving them time to think, the rune advanced directly towards their chests as if it was already a part of them, temporarily separated.
Alm and Bruno felt the rune nestle into their cores, alongside the infernal rune and the faith rune. ’We haven’t even reached Elemental Condensation, and we already have three runes, excellent,’ Alm commented, satisfied.
Thus, the three soon felt gravity pulling them upward. The formation was at work, swiftly taking them to the skies towards the second floating island.
Sayqi struggled to control her emotions; her eyes trembled. It had been endless and lonely years within that tropical island. Now, finally, she was about to leave and experience a different environment. Even if she died shortly after, she felt an indescribable satisfaction.
Ruri smiled seeing Sayqi struggle to control herself. In less than ten minutes, they spotted the next island ahead. It was an island completely divided into two opposing sides. On the left, light vegetation emanated a welcoming purity. On the right, the land was covered with black and dry soil. It was a natural Yin and Yang world.
While still high in the air, they spotted another golden palace in the center of the floating island. Fortunately, the layouts were similar, and they only needed to advance quickly towards it. However, as they were about to land, Alm and Bruno felt a swift and silent movement towards them, perceived by their souls.
As they landed in the middle of the two divisions of the floating island, the whale remained still, leaving Sayqi confused for a moment. But it didn’t take long for her to notice a dozen auras converging on her, and she turned to the front.
"Orcs and dark elves..." she murmured, seeing those familiar figures.
All present were men, and within seconds, they moved in a circular formation, enclosing them in the center. Then, a slender figure took a step forward; he was the true hero, and the others were his companions.
"I remember seeing you before," said a dark elf, running his hand over his chin. "You weren’t on the first island... ten thousand years ago, maybe?"
Sayqi looked at him with clear disgust, not responding. The elf then smiled and chuckled. "You ran away from us, and we thought you were dead. But you survived all this time, excellent." Suddenly, the elf’s eyes and those of the others around became lascivious and gleaming.
"Be careful... they formed a balanced group, tough to deal with," Sayqi said anxiously. "I didn’t expect to see them alive. They kidnapped all the women from the tropical island a long time ago."
Ruri gripped her katana and whispered. "Master..."
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"Yes, no time for nonsense," they quickly replied, and their eyes glowed in an earthy brown color, then uttered the words. "Gravitational domain."
The sound of a blade being drawn echoed, and at the same time, all twelve felt their bodies freeze, as if gravity was pressing them in all directions. Then residual images appeared...
Slash! Slash! Slash!
It all lasted for five seconds, and bodies were split in half without any resistance. To Ruri, they were no different from evil cultivators; the fewer of them in the world, the better. She had no hesitation facing them. Only one remained: their leader, the dark elf.
Sayqui was frozen, unable to process what had happened. Then the whale stretched its arm, and the dark elf quickly levitated towards it. In a second, his soul was invaded, and his memories were read. It took three seconds, then the whale simply tossed him aside; his mind was destroyed with the memory reading. But... Ruri made a point to split him in half too.
The whale watched in silence. ’Maybe she’s a bit radical... well, technically, she’s still a teenager,’ Bruno commented with a sigh.
’It’s called puberty,’ Alm added.
Alm took ten seconds to read everything useful in those memories, then he spoke with the whale. "Let’s go, on the way to the center. That’s where their base was; it seems they kept people captive there too."
Ruri and Sayqi closed their eyes at those words, then everyone ran quickly. When they were at full speed, Alm and Bruno felt the tight and furious grip from Ruri. They sighed and their words echoed in her completely unsettled mind.
’Heroes, a rather peculiar name for these maggots. They gave up completing the test a long time ago and accepted living for fifty thousand years here. This time is already equivalent to the lifespan of someone at the peak of cultivation, so they have nothing to complain about,’ the whale told Ruri through the array, making her even more furious.
’They settled here and happily waited for someone new to arrive. All men were pursued; if they were strong, they simply let them go without a fight, after all, they were cowards. If they were women... you can imagine.’
’This island is a training center, so all those who lived here had an obvious advantage over newcomers; they only had problems occasionally. Soon, most women were captured and had to choose between... suicide or submission.’
Ruri swallowed hard. They shared all this so that she would understand something important: none of them were human, and Ruri had formed a mistaken impression by living among evil cultivators. Goodness and evil exist in all races and places; wherever there is an opportunity to subjugate people, there will be someone willing to enslave them.
’True strength isn’t about being powerful. It’s about having an unshakable mind that can withstand the worst of tortures and remain steadfast.’ They spoke, and at that moment, they arrived at a small place serving as a base with dozens of rustic tents.
Then the whale approached a larger tent and, with a motion, destroyed the whole place, throwing it up and revealing its interior. Inside... there were obviously two women; both naked, covered in wounds, and tied up. One elf and one dwarf.
’Look into their eyes. They chose to live even in the face of humiliation. As long as there’s life and an impenetrable mind, they can turn things around.’ They spoke to Ruri, while the two women opened their eyes and stared at the three of them.
’That’s true strength. Something simple, but out of the probable millions of women they captured, only these two remained steadfast. And the opportunity to turn the tide has finally come. In the future, the two will become high-level cultivators that no one called ’genius’ will match. That’s the warrior spirit, refusing to succumb.’
Ruri’s eyes trembled, becoming moist. The whale remained still in silence and then turned to Sayqi. She recognized these women, and they must have been imprisoned here for about five thousand years. So, with the whale’s confirmation, Sayqi quickly ran to help the two women.
"As a man, they might now feel an instinctive disgust towards me, which is understandable. I won’t approach. Go talk to them; you have fifteen minutes, and then we’ll have to leave," the whale said gently and took a few steps to distance itself even more.
Thoughtful, Ruri nodded as if her world had expanded hundreds of times; now her mind was in disarray. It would take time to digest this, but they didn’t have time. She then ran forward.
Alm and Bruno sat on a log a bit away, sighing. They were wasting precious time, but neither of them complained. This was important for Ruri. They couldn’t stay by her side forever, and she needed to live her own life. Desperate situations would occur, and she needed to learn to face them head-on without giving up. Maybe that example was a bit exaggerated, but in the end, Ruri was smart enough to understand.
Half the time passed, and the whale opened its eyes, strangely surprised; they saw Ruri and Sayqi approaching. In front of them were the elf and the dwarf.
They were now dressed, as Ruri had many clothes stored, although she had never worn anything that hadn’t been made or given by them. The dwarf, being small, and the elf, being slim and almost the same height as Ruri, fit into the clothes without looking too strange.
Both were heroines in their own universes. Therefore, they had lived like queens before and must possess an aura of superiority, along with a shocking natural beauty in the standards of their races.
But, just like Sayqi, who went through a lot, the looks of the two conveyed only coldness and indifference, something inherent to those who have been through much. Perhaps it was a mental defense mechanism, and Alm and Bruno certainly knew it well. The mind is peculiar and closes itself off from the outside, preventing any feeling from emerging. It was a defense that quickly turned into a curse.
The four walked slowly towards the whale, and quickly, as they reached in front of it, the two knelt without hesitation.
"Lord, we want to follow you," both said softly, and the whale only responded with a deep snort; it was expected.
"I know I’m not trustworthy since I’m from a different race, but I would give my life without hesitation to repay your help," the dwarf spoke quickly.
The elf then spoke right after. "My race knows how to repay..."
"Why would I take you? All the others have been killed. Just live here and continue cultivating. I’m sure, with time, you’ll be able to get out of this place," the whale cut in sharply.
The two then raised their heads and looked deeply into the whale’s eyes. The dwarf then said, "We got rid of the chains of those men, but we feel other chains still binding us in our minds."
The whale listened attentively, its eyes showing interest. ’They felt the queen’s shackles... When you have a strong mental force, and the queen hasn’t completely mastered the hero’s rune; the user can feel it... Good to know,’ Bruno commented mentally.
The whale then spoke, "Are you sure? Don’t you prefer to stay away from any man..."
"Lord, you are already committed. And Ruri..." The elf began to speak but stopped feeling Ruri’s penetrating gaze. "I mean... as a sign of our loyalty, we will hand over our treasures that we have hidden until today!"
Suddenly, the elf pulled out several meters of high-level elven fabric. It was so pure that it made the entire environment suddenly feel light and natural. "My name is Sesel. This was a gift from my mother on my birthday. On the same day, I was forcibly summoned to this place. And I kept it as a treasure and memento."
The whale sighed, satisfied. This fabric was something shocking even in the Divine Realm. They could make a true armor for Ruri with it.
Then, the dwarf pulled out a green axe and raised it with both arms extended to the whale. "My name is Oria. This weapon is my family’s treasure. It was crafted by a disciple of the God of the Forge countless years ago."
The whale widened its eyes. In the center of the axe, it saw a runic seal! And it was something they didn’t know!