CHAPTER 345: ERYKE CAME OUT OF SECLUSION!?

"How do I increase my progress with it?" Yi Xin was confused. He had already thought of many ways, but he hit a wall as soon as he began.

Sighing to himself, he resumed training his body and soul with mana, everything was ten times harder.

For now, he could do nothing but grind.

***

Eryke came out of his seclusion. Even though his appearance was exactly the same, his demeanour had changed significantly over these days.

There was a different vibe to him, not only was there sharpness, but also a sense of stillness followed by faint ripples.

Every movement caused the space itself to ripple outward.

"I have finally done it." Eryke’s blue pupils flashed as he extended his hand forward. A faint ripple spread from his palm and struck the mug in front of him.

The mug slowly began to crack before shattering completely.

"This was easy..." He stared at it in stunned disbelief.

Eryke had completely integrated a Sound Martial Art called Faint Ripple into his Sword Will, and he used mana as the fuel to power it.

He just didn’t expect the result would be so great, if he could destroy a mug, then invisibly and from a distance destroying a person’s internal organ shouldn’t be hard either.

’One of the trump cards I could use.’ Most martial artists’ internal organs were still weak compared to their exterior bodies; even Transcendent Martial Artists were the same.

"Now that this is over, it is time for the next stage."

He stretched his body with a deep gaze. "The Sound Sect, are they prepared to hunt me down? Also, I’ve never considered whether there are other, stronger Martial Artists out there."

Eryke suspected that there might be stages higher than Transcendent Martial Artist, hidden away from the world.

With so many cultivation techniques capable of reaching the Heavenly Realm, how could there not be?

According to Chun Ma’s heavenly cultivation technique, the final three stages were: Transcendent, Heavenly, and then Divine.

In all recorded history, there had never been a Divine Martial Artist. Even the founders of the Demonic Faction, the Shadow Faction, and the Orthodox Faction were only Heavenly Martial Artists.

Even though the path forward seemed clear for a Heavenly-stage Martial Artist to reach the Divine Realm, none had achieved it yet.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t know. There were no such records in any faction’s library, nor in the Sound Sect’s collection. The founder of this Sound Sect had been a powerful Transcendent Martial Artist, but not even a Heavenly one.

"Should I check on the other top two sects as well?" Eryke rang a bell inside the room.

Ting! Ting!

The door instantly opened, and the zither woman appeared with a respectful demeanor, bowing her head. "Why did you call me, master?"

Eryke looked at her with a speechless expression. "Why are you being so formal with me?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Then how should I be, then?" she replied, still bowing her head.

"Cough, cough, I don’t like women bowing their heads. Heck, I don’t like anyone bowing their heads." Eryke shook his head. "Raise your head high and just call me Eryke from now on. And you are?"

She lifted her head and smiled. "My name is Ma Zhilan."

"Alright, Ma Zhilan, guide me to the other two top sects," Eryke said, pointing his hand forward.

The Sword Will materialized from his body and behind him, tearing through the roof instantly.

"Okay." Ma Zhilan nodded, and the two were about to soar through the sky atop the giant Sword Will.

"By the way, how is the preparation going?" Eryke paused, remembering to ask.

"Preparation is going well," Ma Zhilan replied, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

He saw right through it and raised his brows. "What’s wrong with you?"

"I..." she bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before finally asking, "Why do you want to do this?"

"What exactly?" Eryke asked, expressionless.

"Portray yourself as a villain... wouldn’t it be better for you to be the good one instead?" Ma Zhilan asked tentatively.

"Huh?" Eryke turned his gaze toward her. "I don’t have time to play hero. I’m from a different world and wish to return as soon as possible."

"You wish to return... how much time do you have left?" she asked, her voice curious.

"I can return whenever I want." Eryke smiled.

"Wh... huh?" Ma Zhilan froze in place, barely moving a single muscle.

Eryke observed her state with amusement. "Do you want to see someone from my world too? Someone familiar?"

"Sure." Ma Zhilan forced a deep, cold breath. She had forgotten that this man wasn’t like the others who had come here from other worlds, he was far more powerful, far more mysterious, far more manly...

"Yes, haha." Eryke laughed as the giant sword soared through the skies, heading in a specific direction.

After some time, they could see a giant hill in the distance and two small shadows moving around it.

Eryke and Ma Zhilan landed on the ground, greeted by the little Devil and Geneva, who were playing together.

"Why are they living here?" Ma Zhilan looked at the familiar Geneva, she was the slave who had been auctioned.

"We were being chased by the Million Gold Sect. Where else would we be?" Eryke asked, raising his brows.

"You... you’re right," she stuttered.

"Master, master, you’re finally here! Your wife is so shy!" The little Devil, seeing him, immediately began nagging without pause.

Eryke rubbed his ears, trying to block out her noisy voice, "When will you stop chattering and work on your sword?"

"Hmph, Master, I am the strongest swordsman of my entire generation," she said proudly.

"Proclaimed by who?" Eryke scoffed. "At your age, I was—"

"I was what?" The little Devil perked her ears, listening intently.

"..." Eryke looked at her. He couldn’t exactly say that he spent his time playing video games and lazing around, could he?

He was a good master, that’s why he would never say that. Definitely not because he was embarrassed!

"Just go train your sword."