22 A Roar and Screech

Three Days Later…

Blacky stared at Silver with his jaws dropped to the ground. A miniature qi gathering array begun forming under him, almost near completion.

Even though simple qi gathering array wouldn't cause Blacky to face to be exaggerated, but it was mainly the fact Silver truly took 3 days to master the array! It took him ten millions of years to fully comprehend, develop and utilize this array. One must know, [Void Qi] was extremely hard to cultivate with!

It took Blacky eons to get to his current cultivation, yet it seems Silver's potential was limitless.

In reality, the dragon was going to let him have the array either way. Due to his curious nature, he decided to assess the young man's skills. Although he was suspicious of Silver, he could only let it be. Everyone has their own secrets.

After seeing what Silver could do, Blacky finally decided on who he wanted as his inheritor. A void beast lifespan wasn't truly infinite. It had already been many eons since he was born and he hasn't picked a successor. The other void beings had mocked him for many eons because he had none too.

Except one.

'If he can comprehend this array . . .then he can comprehend anything else I throw at him. I shall take him away for a "few years". That shrewd founder is lucky. The calamity that's been clouding over White Lotus City and the Floating Cloud Sect has a single ray of hope,' Blacky thought, staring at the Silver.

Blacky was stared at Silver like he most juiciest and tender piece of meat before him.

A cold shiver ran down Silver's back as his eyes snapped open. For a moment, he felt a strong intent. As for what kind, he had never felt this type of intent before. Staying vigilant, Silver spread out his divine sense in the surrounding area.

After realizing nothing was wrong, he continued his focus on the void qi gathering array.

Blacky silently coughed, hidden in the void. He was nearly found out! Luckily he retracted his intent back into the void.

Two hours later, Silver finally made a breakthrough in comprehending the array. He could finally gain some understanding towards the void reaching a new level.

"Not bad. You actually took you a few hours into the third day to comprehend and execute the array. I can sense that your body has become more intune with the void. You've done okay, but you need to increase your cultivation realm," chided Blacky hiding his satisfaction, exiting the void.

"Right now, your body isn't completely transformed. This array can be inscribed anywhere on your body. It can even be inscribed to your soul. With a bit of tinkering, you can absorb not just [Void Qi] but other energies."

"This qi gathering array is truly diverse," stated Silver after finishing his comprehension.

"Of course. Once you get the hang of using it-"

Before Blacky could finish speaking, Silver had already began tinkering with the array. Every ten minutes, or so, the energy the was being gathered continuously changed. After an hour, Silver nodded his head in satisfaction.

"I didn't think you could even comprehend this far…" marveled Blacky.

"So, where is this place that you know of so I can temper my void body?" Silver asked enthusiastically after dispersing the array.

He was curious to see if was in this world or a secret folded dimension he had to traverse to.

"It's coming here right now," informed Blacky in a mysterious tone.

After Blacky answered, Jing Shi suddenly rushed out of the temple's doors. Her body was enveloped in blazing black flames. Yet, each step she took, froze the earth beneath her. Even the air surrounding her became a mist of shimmering ice.

Her aura and cultivation began rising at an increasingly fast rate. Jing Shi was close to advancing to the next cultivation realm, but it could be seen she was unaware of where she was.

Realizing what Blacky meant, Silver quickly prepared all of his materials and rushed to Jing Shi. Using his qi, the necessary ingredients to advance his body to the next stage floated nearby his body. With a few more steps, he reached Jing Shi and began circulating his qi through his meridians.

Watching the scene, Blacky formed a barrier around them once Silver came in contact with Jing Shi's black flames and mist of ice.

An unbearable pain assaulted him, as if billions of needles pricking into every single nerve of his body. The ice penetrated deeply into his internal body, instantly freezing him and the ingredients. Slowly the black flame began refining the ingredients, transforming them into a liquid-like substance that traveled into the crevices of his frozen body.

The ice somehow started to dissipate as Silver's body slowly transformed under the tempering of the scorching flames and numbing ice. An unending stream of void qi coated his body, entering through the pores helping the refinement process.

Before losing his conscious from the pain, Silver could hear a ear-splitting scream near him. Jing Shi had lost control in her advancement. The flames and ice unexpectedly became unstable, harming her in the process.

Silver, close to fading to the caliginous void, operated his qi immediately. Using all the strength he could muster and tapped Jing Shi's forehead. By doing this, he could send his qi to calm her down and help her alleviate the pain.

Jing Shi regained her clarity, clenching her teeth from the pain. She stabilized the unstable energy and slam against the bottleneck. Inside her starry sea, the blurry king's mark took shape and became clearer as she continued to slam against the invisible barrier.

Sounds of shattering ranged within her starry sea. Her secondary king's mark had finally made its appearance, advancing to the true Martial King level.

In reality, nearly all the cultivators would instantly reach Martial King once they formed their king's mark but Jing Shi had two! Her constitution was truly frightening, allowing her to become one of the rare beings born with two innate marks.

Successfully creating her king's mark, black flames and an a ice mist of glacial blue spun rapidly around her and gathered to her upper back.

Soon to realistic-like beast projected from the consolidated marks on that were neatly place on each side of her upper back. A black dragon made of flames and a blue phoenix made of ice flew out, twisting around each other as if dancing.Both a loud screech and roar resonated into the world, announcing their supreme awakening. Even then, Blacky already made counter measures in case something went awry. No one but him knew of Jing Shi's great awakening as an extraordinary king.

Finally, both mythical beasts quickly faded and the king's mark near her upper shoulder blades formed. Immense power emanated from these marks. Her meridians were surging with power, flowing through every inch of her body.

Jing Shi quickly sat into a lotus position, consolidating her newfound cultivation realm. From here on, she became one of many hundreds of thousands stepping into the true world of cultivation.

After solidifying her cultivation, Jing Shi stared at the unconscious Silver with a bright smile filled with warmth. Her smile didn't last long, her facial expression soon changed seeing the startling scene.

Rays of violet, black, and white threads of light started wrapping around Silver. His body, still being tempered in ice and flames, had now become covered by the lights into a oval-shaped cocoon. This oval-shaped cocoon appeared like small universe, mysterious and awe-inspiring.

Blinking once, Jing Shi could discern that the foreign qi around the cocoon had a faint pulse. If she wasn't in the King's Realm, she would just see this as a giant floating egg.

She took a step forward, wanting to touch the cocoon yet it floated away from her hand. The cocoon began shrinking, stopping once it became the size of a melon. Slowly, it vanished into the spatial distortion it made. Hidden in the void, unaware of the reluctant Jing Shi.

"Will he be fine?" Jing Shi asked dejectedly.

For a split second, She nearly failed her advancement. But, at the very last moment, an encouraging qi spread through her mind and body. This allowed her to safely make it through the critical conjuncture to Martial King.

She knew this qi very well. It was the very same qi that saved her in the darkest moment 5 years ago.

"Alas, his transformation cannot be estimated. Return to the sect, he'll be safe within my care," Blacky replied urging the little girl to leave.

He had felt quite astonished from the events that occured within the barrier. Blacky's respect for Silver had reach a high place within this heart. Not many could stop and guide an individual, close to failing their advancement while enduring immeasurable amount of agony.

Even he could of never dealt with an incredible wisdom and precision within a situation similar to that. Truth be told, when Blacky saw Jing Shi close to blowing up, he was almost went in to save her and Silver.

"Since you have transform your body of true ice and fire, here's a treasure that can constantly nourish and allow your dual constitution to become even more powerful in the future."

"Yes, Sir Baruch and thank you for such a precious treasure. I will won't slack off in my path," Jing Shi glumly answered.

She took a quick glimpse at the treasure she received.It appeared as a plain necklace with a red and blue yin-yang shaped jade hanging from it. Even though it appeared plain, she could feel an something hidden within.

Curling her hands into a fists, she gave Blacky a final nod and left the Isle of Wisdom.

If her father, Old Yam, witness the scene where Silver saved Jing Shi, he would be jumping in exhilaration. Combining with his personality, he would definitely boast about it to the faction leaders and patriarch for many decades to come.

Of course, all the events that had happened would never resurface.

Blacky flew into the void after Jing Shi left the isle. Within the void, he was staring at a drifting cocoon absorbing the surrounding void qi. Obviously pleased with Silver's performance, he increased the qi density by 100 times which allowed the cocoon to absorb 10 times the speed.

'I should use this time to train him in the other world. It'd be interesting to see the choices he makes... ,' Blacky thought.

His enormous body transformed into a shimmering, black ray of light disappearing into the cocoon.

...

**RUMBLE**

**RUMBLE**

Earthquake-like tremors from a seal, deep within the center, spreaded outward.

Every single beings of every kind and race could feel it. Many ancient life-forms hibernating or deeply cultivating had been startled awake.

The flow of qi increased at a noticeable rate. With the qi becoming denser, vegetation began expanding at an immeasurable rate. Even the beasts roaming around became stronger and fiercer as they felt these subtle changes.

All the living beings and those with a spiritual will could feel something was about to happen. Something unpredictable.

Eight demonic gods stood in unison in the area they reigned.

They felt vexed by the sudden shake in the seal. Although the change was subtle, they knew within time they would lose their grasp amongst the ants. They had to find the cause of their plight or everything they've built up would crumble into ruin.

In a dark room, somewhere in the 9 continents, one of the demonic beings furrowed their eyebrows in contemplation.