Aiden nodded and did not delay it any further. Shrugging his massive body, he assumed a meditative position once again and continued with his session.
After forming a core, stabilizing his martial realm and controlling the power of his Inner Core was relatively simpler and did not carry any risk.
All he had to do was spend time to feel the Inner Core and familiarize himself with it while getting accustomed to the many changes to his body. At that time, his martial power realm would stabilize gradually as well.
As time passed by, the phantoms of the seven demon kings surrounding Aiden gradually faded.
His body was shrinking as well.
The wild energy surrounding him gushed into his chest continuously.
…
In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.
Morning, daybreak.
A ray of sunlight broke through the mist and landed on a clear and elegant face.
His black hair fell casually like a waterfall and swayed gently by itself.
The man's eyes were closed and the sunlight moved slowly around his body until he was shining from head to toe.
Against the shroud of the sunlight, his body shone with sparkles and was as shiny and flawless as jade.
The man resembled a deity that had just entered the mortal realm and was in a pure silence.
That was a true transformation!
All of a sudden!
The man opened his eyes and two divine lights shone in a dazzling manner that was even more intense than the sunlight!
However, the divine lights faded swiftly as well.
Calmness returned to his eyes.
Lowering his head, the man looked at his body that had returned to normal, and nodded in satisfaction. Retrieving a new, clean set of gray robes from his storage space, he wore them was more.
The man was Aiden who had just formed his core.
Right now, he was already able to master the power of his Inner Core completely!
As long as he did not make use of the power of his Inner Core, even if he channeled his bloodline, Aiden's body would not change in an obvious manner.
Before he knew it, the isolating pitch-black light barrier set by the old heavenly swan had already disappeared.
Aiden rose and took a deep breath of air, relishing the freshness of the mountains. His entire body was relaxed and every single one of his pores seemed to have opened up.
His cave abode had already turned into ruins and he couldn't stay in it any longer.
Rising slowly, Aiden flew past the ruins and headed outside without a sound.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Aiden's gaze shifted and he exclaimed softly, pausing in his tracks subconsciously.
Outside the ruins, a young girl sat on the ground hugging her knees. Her features were exquisite and she had golden hair, but it was messy and had many curls.
She had not rested for a long time and the girl looked extremely fatigued. Leaning on a cold slab of rock beside the entrance of the ruins, the girl was snoozing.
Aiden pondered and understood what happened.
He had created such a huge commotion with his core formation that it must have alarmed many people. Because of everything that happened, Lady Pyre was worried, she guarded the entrance and was unwilling to leave.
She was dirty all over and her petite face was filled with specks of dust. However, they could not conceal her moving and peerless features.
——
Perhaps the sunlight was blinding, or perhaps she sensed something after Aiden glared at her for a long time, Lady Pyre's eyelids twitched and she opened her eyes, stirring awake.
"Ah!"
She exclaimed and blushed slightly when she saw Aiden looking at her from nearby with a smile on his face.
Lady Pyre stood up hurriedly and patted away the dust on her body. Not daring to look at Aiden directly, she remarked in a shy manner. "Uh, I fell asleep by accident."
"How long have you been here?"
Aiden realized that his voice had already returned to normal and was gentle and warm.
"Uhm… For the entire time, Young Master…" Lady Pyre replied in a meek tone.
That warmed Aiden's heart.
It was now more than a full day ago when he had just formed his Inner Core and his cave abode had collapsed.
Because of his unique situation, and origin, a mere day without rest was nothing much to him and he was still energized. However, it was much more unendurable for a young lady like Lady Pyre.
Aiden said tenderly. "Go back and rest, I'm fine."
"Oh."
Lady Pyre nodded and continued. "Uhm Master said that your cave abode is destroyed and asked you to relocate to another one."
"Huh? Master?"
Aiden froze for a moment.
Lady Pyre replied merrily. "Elder Swan has accepted to take me in as her disciple!"
"That's great."
Aiden was delighted and nodded, quipping at her. "With her as your pillar of support, there's no limit of what you can reach!"
The old heavenly swan was the most senior and the strongest within this place, within this sect – Lady Pyre's future accomplishments would be limitless learning from the old heavenly swan directly!
"Don't worry, young master, my cave abode is right beside yours."
Lady Pyre explained hurriedly, "You can call for me if you require anything from now on. With a word, I will be ready to help you!"
Aiden smiled. "From now on, we're sect mates. There's no need for us to get along like before. We are equals!"
"That won't do. If you hadn't taken me in back then, I wouldn't be here today. Besides my life is yours! My strength is your strength forever Young Master!"
Lady Pyre shook her head and replied solemnly, "Young Master, no matter what martial power realm or status I reach in the future, I'll always be the same servant by your side."
"You're speaking nonsense again."
Aiden chuckled and did not take it to heart.
What he did not know was that the nonsense to him was a resolute oath in Lady Pyre's heart.
Aiden remarked. "Let's go, take me to the cave abode."
"Yes."
Lady Pyre nodded.
The two of them traveled on their flying swords one after another.
Along the way, Aiden pondered for a moment and asked in a seemingly casual manner, "Did anything big happen during this period of time?"
"Nothing much."
Lady Pyre thought for awhile. "There's just many itinerant martial artists that want to join the sect after all that transpired."
Now that Azure Myst Sect had a Lesser God realm expert in their midst and had undergone rebirth through nirvana after the flames of war, their rise was only a matter of time.
Those changes were naturally within Aiden's guess as well.
This place would now be akin to holy grounds in the eyes of this world.
Going silent for a moment, he narrowed his gaze and asked. "Iridescent Clouds Palace and True Fire Sect sent people as well?"
"That's right."
Lady Pyre nodded.
After a brief pause, she continued, "Don't worry, young master. The other major sects lost their Martial Grandmasters and many of their Quasi-Divine powerhouses, Martial Masters, and Martial Knight martial artists were injured and dead after this battle at Azure Myst Sect. Given the immense losses, they wouldn't be able to recover within the next thousand years and even then, they won't be a threat to us."
Aiden remained silent.
He did not believe that there would no more issues and that these arrogant top factions would remain submissive for too long. The humiliation they suffered were too great after all.
Still, Aiden was at Extreme Martial Knight realm. These matters did not matter to him in the end. He was an outsider, that's tenure was only temporary. Albeit longer than expected, he was still not of this world.
Before long, the two of them arrived at two cave abodes.
Lady Pyre chuckled. "We're here. Mine is the right one and yours is on the left, young master."
"Alright, go and have a rest."
"Alright, call for me if you need anything, young master."
Lady Pyre did not reject him because she was truly too tired and left that remark before heading into her cave abode.
"Right."
As he was left alone, Aiden couldn't help but ponder on the events that have just happened.
The old heavenly swan must have spotted something as well and that was why she chose to take in Lady Pyre as her disciple.
Of course, it wasn't because Aiden suspected Lady Pyre's intents.
Although Lady Pyre hid her background intentionally, she was a simple and energetic skink girl and harbored no evil intentions towards him or Azure Myst Sect.
Who didn't have their own secrets?
Aiden had his own as well.
He would definitely not tell anybody about his demonic cultivation casually!
Taking a deep breath of air, Aiden set the matter aside temporarily. He took a walk around and relaxed himself before returning to his new cave abode.
He was prepared to continue to formulate his power and get ready to ascend to a higher realm!
With his Inner Core formed, he was ready to become a true Martial Master!
Although he had already formed an Inner Core and his strength had increased exponentially, he did not dare to activate the power of the Inner Core and kill his enemies in his current form recklessly.
He could only be considered as a true Martial Master if he entered the Martial Master realm through his closed door meditation!
Furthermore, Aiden was excited to see the type of Martial Master phenomenon he would create!