[Ding! 100 silver points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! You have successfully broken through to Bronze Rank (Rank 2)]
[Ding! 10k silver points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! You have successfully broken through to Silver Rank (Rank 3)]
Along with the continuous notifications ringing in his mind, Ash felt the unknown energy start to pour into his body, and he stopped for a moment.
The feeling was different from when he received the Voidwalker Dragon Bloodline and Eternal Void Chronobody Physique. Previously, the energy was too violent because he could only feel the pain from it.
However, this time was different, as a warm feeling spread throughout his body, causing some sort of augmentation and transformation.
Aetherion only glanced at Ash for a second before ignoring him as he continued his steps, while Li Jian stopped his tracks and observed at Ash, narrowing his eyes.
"Breaking through two whole ranks in one go... just like that?" Li Jian muttered softly when he sensed that Ash had broken through directly to Low-level Silver Rank from an ordinary person.
A few moments later…
Ash opened his eyes slowly, then raised his right hand and clenched it a few times, trying to feel the immense strength that he had obtained.
'My body feels so light, I bet I could outrun Usain Volt without even trying.' Ash smiled widely, feeling satisfied that he had become much stronger in an instant like this.
He then punched his fist to the side, creating a faint burst of wind that lightly rustled the dust on the ground and fluttered the edge of his robe.
"What are you looking at? Let's go!" Ash noticed Li Jian's weird gaze and continued walking when he saw that Aetherion was nowhere to be seen.
…
"How do you feel?" Aetherion asked, leaning lazily against the gate.
"I feel amazing—like I'm overflowing with strength. I can't wait to try it out." Ash walked over to him with an excited expression.
"Don't worry. You'll get your chance in just a moment." Aetherion answered with a chuckle and looked in the west direction. "They're almost here."
Ash was confused when he heard such an ambiguous answer but instantly forgot about it and raised his eyebrow the moment he heard that they were almost there.
"Oh? How strong are they?"
"There are three guys tagging along with your little girlfriend. One of them should be that young master who cuckold you, he's at the Low-level Diamond Rank." Aetherion smirked.
Ash rolled his eyes, clearly unbothered by the jab.
Aetherion then continued. "As for the other two, they are at the Lord Rank (Rank 8). Though one of them is hiding like a rat."
"Well, now that's interesting…" Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise, then thought to himself. 'Tch, no surprise she managed to drag in two Lord Ranks. That manipulative bitch is always finding ways to use people.'
Half a minute later…
The moment Ash's ex fiancee and the other two people arrived at a distance, Ash heard a young man's angry voice. "Hand over that treasure and Selen's hand! Or else…"
"Or else what? You're going to strip yourself and run around like an idiot?" Ash sneered with a mocking smile as if looking at an idiot.
'So the excuse is a treasure, huh?' Ash thought to himself, guessing that the reason why she was able to bring over two Lord Ranks was probably because of this.
"Kill them!" Ash waved his hand and gave the order, as he couldn't help himself to spend his precious time on these clowns.
He was also curious about what his rank was going to be if he were to kill the two Lord Ranks.
That's why, he decided to quickly wrap it up since he also wanted to try out his strength as soon as possible.
"It's your turn." Aetherion glanced at Li Jian.
Li Jian glanced at Ash, silently waiting for his confirmation.
"Go!" Ash only chuckled in response as he didn't care who was going to make a move.
Li Jian's figure immediately blurred. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the group without a sound.
Swissh!
A flash of silver light flickered through the air like a streak of divine judgment. Before the Lord Rank old man beside the young master could even react, his head was already flying in the air with a stunned expression forever frozen on his face.
The young man barely had time to widen his eyes in horror.
But it was too late as another arc of blade followed instantly, slicing cleanly through his body.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, painting the air as the two halves of his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Li Jian's third strike was already mid-swing, aiming with a precision at the neck of his master's ex fiancee.
The edge of the Radiant Severance Sword stopped when it exactly was one inch away from severing her throat.
The air around the blade shimmered unnaturally as invisible forces twisted space itself. The momentum of the sword halted instantly, as if time had stopped for the weapon alone.
Aetherion raised his finger lazily, space rippling at his command and twisted in silence as if reality would fold at a mere gesture.
"That's enough," Aetherion said casually.
Li Jian didn't flinch, his blade still steady and his eyes locked on Aetherion, visibly displeased that the order hadn't come from Ash.
"Why did you stop him?" Ash looked at Aetherion with a frown.
"You said you couldn't wait to test your strength, didn't you?" Aetherion responded with a faint smile.
"Huh? Don't tell me…" Ash deepened his frown.
"You guessed it right. You will fight and kill her on your own." Aetherion nodded.
"You're kidding, right? She's at Peak-level Gold Rank and I just reached Low-level Silver Rank," Ash said with a dry laugh, glancing at Aetherion as if expecting that he was really just teasing him.
"What? Are you afraid?" Aetherion sneered, his gaze sharp. "With your current condition, if this tiny challenge makes you hesitate, you might as well kill yourself now—because I can guarantee you won't make it far on this path."