At Purimu’s orders, the thousands of cultivators turned and headed west. They were incredibly fast, quickly vanishing from sight.
*Whoosh!*
"Die!" The fierce young woman roared, her saber slicing through the air.
She was over a hundred meters away, but suddenly the space behind her warped. By the time Alm and Bruno noticed, the blade was already inches from their throats, carrying a powerful surge of Yin.
*Clang!*
The tattoos pulsed lightly, and the whale caught the saber with his bare hands.
The woman’s eyes widened immediately; that round figure was only at the elementary level of the Heavenly Saint Realm. She, on the other hand, was at level nine of the Divine King Realm, nearly two realms higher!
If she were a weak or average cultivator, it wouldn’t be so surprising. But she was the youngest cultivator at this level in the entire universe. In talent, cultivation, technique—by any standard—she was among the elite. How could this ogre hold her strike as if it was nothing?
Bruno looked at her and said, "Hold on, young lady. I’m..."
"Screw you!"
She shouted, enraged. Her red eyes flashed, and an intense soul power flared up. A dark aura enveloped her body, followed by a tremendous physical energy surge. Her saber was soon covered in a potent mix of energies, and she broke free from the grip, swinging with a strike a hundred times stronger.
Alm and Bruno were briefly startled, but they snorted and activated their tattoos. All her attack power was nullified. With a simple wave of Yang, they pushed her back, making her spin in the air without a scratch.
Alm observed: ’That was Instinct Manifestation and Will Manifestation. They’re techniques of the Soul Eater Clan.’
"YOU FILTHY OGRE!" she stabilized in the air and shouted, as an aura of infernal laws erupted around her.
Bruno sighed, realizing how reckless she was: "Wait. Why are you attacking me without even talking? I’m not your enemy; I know your parents..."
"Big deal! The whole universe knows my mom and dad!"
She interrupted him, as a powerful surge of Yin, soul energy, and infernal laws distorted reality around her. Two ethereal forms appeared and, in a second, solidified.
’Is that true Inner Manifestation?’ Alm murmured. ’She’s using the original Soul Eater techniques, not the versions we adapted.’
In the legends about Inner Manifestation, its effect was to create copies of the cultivator; although their defenses were mediocre, their physical power and Qi and law attacks could reach up to half the original’s strength.
When Alm and Bruno explored the abyss, they adapted this manifestation to bring out the hybrid bloodline of half-demons. It was a weaker version since it depended on the density of the hybrid bloodline. But this young woman was using the original technique.
And the surprises didn’t stop. One of the clones began radiating pure Yang, which turned to flames, while the other exuded dense Yin, gradually fading. The original, meanwhile, manifested earth and space laws around her.
’She’s definitely a monster...’ Bruno had to admit. ’She’s using Yin and Yang separately in the clones to avoid conflict among the laws. And these Yang flames clearly came from Lansha, while the Yin was likely taught by Rehvka. The earth laws are an inherited affinity from her father, who had Behemoth blood.’
Alm sighed: ’She’s also at an extremely high level with space laws. And by her clothes and soul techniques, her master is Calirer. They all trained her together. And this little monster picked it all up with ease.’
Bruno tried to stay calm: "Young lady, I just arrived. I don’t know why you’re attacking me, but listen: your father is my brother..."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Purimu screamed, turning red with fury, as if he’d cursed her parents. "I swear I’ll make sure you don’t die easy!"
Bruno began to feel worried. "Wait, I’m telling the truth! Your father must’ve mentioned me. I disappeared for a while, but I’m back. There’s even a statue of me at the sect..."
"Oh, sure, sure! Like I’m gonna fall for that!" She rolled her eyes, clenching her fists tightly. "That’s a secret of my sect! I know exactly what my uncle looks like; everyone told me about him!"
She practically spat fire from indignation: "He’s a divine and imposing figure! Just looking at him makes anyone want to kneel. I saw his statue! He’s massive with muscle, a colossus of power that no sculptor could capture! Not this... lusty ogre I see in front of me!"
"Wait a second, lusty ogre?" Bruno retorted, stunned. "The statue is round and large because... well, that’s actually how I am! There’s nothing muscular about it, it’s just... solidness. And a different kind of beauty! And I’m not lusty!"
"Don’t be ridiculous! And I saw you eyeing me!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "My uncle has a divine aura, he’s invincible, graceful, handsome! If not for him, I wouldn’t even be alive!"
Bruno sighed in frustration. "Purimu, please, didn’t your parents teach you to be so irrational..."
"Of course they taught me right, you clown!" she snapped back. "Everyone in the alliance is my friend, and I’d die for them! I’ve already lost countless friends in this war. I’m not trusting anyone who doesn’t have the alliance mark! Enough talk!"
The moment she yelled, a dark shadow appeared behind the whale, aiming for his blind spot. Bruno huffed, clearly annoyed.
*Puff! Puff!*
The Yin and Yang clones burst under the power of his tattoos. But the original reappeared above, diving down on them with her saber in a devastating strike.
Her whole body glowed a deep yellow, manifesting earth laws to their extreme, making her weight comparable to that of a planet. This weight was supported by space laws, compensating for the lack of mobility. It was a powerful attack—physically impossible to block for any common cultivator, and even the most talented would likely die.
But the whale just looked at her with a serious expression. With a single thought, a wave of power surged from his body, activating his physical cultivation to its peak.
Their eyes met, and his faint irritation and steady gaze made her feel as if the air froze in her lungs.
*BOOM!*
A thunderous blast reverberated through the white sky, but it was just space warping and cracking slowly. The whale simply caught her saber with his bare hands once more, not budging an inch.
"Brat, I’m not saying it again," Alm said, coldly. "I’ve been gone a long time and just came back. I don’t know what happened while I was away, but if you keep pushing this, don’t blame me for being harsh."
Her eyes gleamed coldly, but before she could react, the tattoos pulsed again. All her cultivation was sealed, followed by the power of her soul a second later.
Her eyes widened, surprised, but she soon let out a dry smile. In her blood, a unique bloodline began to burn… but at the same instant, the whale huffed and snuffed it out as well.
"Impossible! How can my bloodline be suppressed? Even the Azure Dragons acknowledge my bloodline is superior in this regard!" she murmured, incredulous.
"Big deal, Brat. I created your race, gave you your name, and I’m the reason you even exist," Alm replied, irritated.
"My uncle’s a kind and heroic figure, not some evil and ugly brute like you! You pervert! What do you want with me? Kill me already!" she shouted, furious.
"I only sized you up because the last time I saw you, you were just a baby. So what? You gonna die if I take a good look?" Alm roared, clearly furious now.
Bruno quickly stepped in, trying to defuse the situation. "Seems you’ve been well-trained as a cultivator, but you lack social skills."
She was completely immobilized, unable to move, so they took her saber and put it away. "If you’re not gonna cooperate, I’ll have to read your memories. What is this alliance, and what’s this war? What happened to the Yinblood Sect?"
"Kill me! My uncle will return someday, and my mother said that when he does, he’ll end this war in less than a year. And you? Hahaha," she taunted.
’Damn it…’ Alm thought, mentally, but didn’t act. It was clear something huge had happened, and this young girl had to cultivate and train nonstop. In times of war, anyone not an official ally was seen as an enemy; it was a matter of survival. She was too young and hadn’t had much peace to interact with people normally, so she acted exactly as she’d been taught, without question.
"Take a look at this…" Bruno pointed to her forehead. Soon, an image of a baby being held in Ruri’s arms appeared. Ruri was smiling brightly as she cradled her niece.
"This is you, and that’s your aunt. I am who I say I am; think it over."
She murmured, a bit shaken: "But… you don’t look like..."
"Enough of that. You’re judging me just by appearances, and that’s really cruel," Bruno said, seriously. "Are the Yinblood Sect people here?!"
As he spoke, he looked her straight in the eyes. His celestial soul activated, and at that moment, she opened her mouth and spoke as if she couldn’t help it.
"Ladies Rivine and Lansha came… with their soldiers and our allies…" she replied, emotionless.
"What is this alliance? Who is this war against?" Bruno asked the essential question.
She began to explain gradually. She belonged to the Alliance of Heavenly Will, made up of the Yinblood Sect, Dragon Ascent Sect, Nine Star Tree Sect, Three Sovereign Gods Sect, Phoenix Cry Sect, and the Dwarven Kingdom.
Their enemies were the so-called Alliance of the Righteous Path, which included the rest of the universe, with main leadership from the Heavenly Spirit God Sect and the Shadow God Sect.
The reason for the war was simple. As soon as the whale left, the heroes summoned every sect in the universe and ordered the most powerful to search for the hidden fugitive. They informed them of what happened at the Nine Star Tree Sect, but took the affected disciples to a secret location.
After ten years without clues, distrust toward these disciples grew among common cultivators. Without clear evidence, they speculated that the disciples might be involved somehow.
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The five sects and the Dwarven Kingdom, however, fiercely countered any accusations. They presented evidence that such accusations were baseless, but in those ten years, the young people from these sects came to dominate the sealed worlds and claim karmic fortune.
The Yinblood Sect, in particular, ascended like a dragon to the heavens. Even the Dragon Ascent Sect didn’t want to compete with them.
Soon, the Heavenly Spirit God Sect and the Shadow God Sect, driven by envy, intensified the accusations. They claimed these sects had connections with a mysterious "round and indescribable" figure or the fugitive himself.
The result? All-out war.
The universe split into two alliances. The Alliance of Heavenly Will had only six members, but was still powerful enough to rival the rest of the universe. This fueled suspicion among other cultivators.
As for the heroes, they didn’t care about what the cultivators did. The war didn’t affect them, and the universe’s strongest continued their searches as usual.
To them, a war was actually beneficial; with everyone hunting each other and the fugitive not belonging to any side, it was easier for him to slip up. The accusations against the alliance were clearly motivated by envy and greed, not by real evidence.
To the heroes, a Heaven-Defier was a lone figure, focused solely on himself. He wouldn’t waste time forming allies or helping others. True power was individual, and others were just disposable tools once used; surely this vile figure would use them and then kill to leave no trace.
Among the affected disciples, that round human even stood out, but his power could be explained by his talent, luck, primordial bloodline, and his connection with the God of Forge.
The battles of this war were fought by the Empyreans and average cultivators. Theoretically, it didn’t interfere with the heroes’ investigation.
So bloody fights took place in both sealed worlds and outside them, but it was all among those with intermediate cultivation... of course, this was just a front; the powerful found ways to interfere.
It had been 22 years since the whale’s disappearance, and this war between Empyreans had lasted 12 years. Until some news made Alm and Bruno narrow their eyes.
"Lady Kaiyka and Sir Venjio… died in a battle three years ago."