820 Progress

Alex fought Letizia with only a sword, trying to see her progress in the sword. After that, he gave her a few pieces of advice and told her he would come every few days to check on her progress.

He then left her alone and began his training.

This might be the longest training he had ever faced because it took him a whole half-year to first create the three arrays. And it took him another half year to master it to make it combat-ready. Of course, Letizia became Alex's guinea pig for these arrays.

Luckily, Alex used his Simulation Room to create a battlespace that could replicate such a battle. With this, Letizia also got a precious experience.

She always tried to land a hit on his body while Alex used everything in his repertoire. Nonetheless, the fight lasted pretty long due to Alex could only use his array to attack. In the end, Letizia died many times in that Simulation Room.

What made Alex surprised was the fact that Letizia seemed to think nothing of her death in the training. Instead, she looked very eager to fight Alex. As a result, she often thought of something new to defeat Alex.

Whether it was intentional or not, what Alex did was precisely like the fight against that mysterious person. Facing overwhelming odds to unleash one's true potential, it was a unique but useful approach to the point he wished to experience it when he was only a Martial Master.

At the same time, when Alex used his array, specifically his Sphere Chain Array, he ended up in a very troubling situation… In a different meaning.

The chain wrapped Letizia's body in every corner, binding her to the point she couldn't move. However, the bulging area slipped out of that chain, creating a very erotic situation.

Alex didn't know what to say at that moment. Of course, Alex didn't let her go and continued using it to its fullest potential. In the end, she was wrapped and ended up like a cocoon.

Finally, one year has passed.

Letizia was able to master her sword to the point she reached Alex's level but, in a sense, where Alex had reached the mortal aspect of the sword. If he became a God Rank Expert, he would become far stronger than her.

Even so, Letizia was very grateful because this was a feat she would never hope to achieve. She didn't know why, but the foolish things she did in the past became the most precious memory of her. Because if she didn't have that attitude, she might not be someone close to Alex.

Alex, on the other hand, didn't understand what Letizia thought about the whole matter. He himself never felt he wanted to follow a person for the rest of his life, so he didn't know how she felt. Still, the smile on her face that looked pure and had no resentment behind it made Alex feel happy too.

Alex didn't forget to check the war situation.

It didn't take too long before they realized that the beast might be waiting for their boss to give an order.

They had promised Shakdi to not lay their hands on the 10-Star Martial Saint monster yet, so they continued fighting the normal monsters. Even if that beast came to the battlefield, they would only fend it off.

After settling the first issue, Alex decided to go for the second stage of training. He was planning to increase his cultivation from 6-Star to 8-Star within two years.

It was impossible at first glance, but Alex had reached 6-Star a long ago, so he almost broke through to the 7-Star. And it turned out he was right. In only five months, Alex managed to advance to 7-Star Martial Saint.

And with more than one and a half years to cultivate, it was more than enough for Alex to reach another level.

That kind of progress was terrifying in the eyes of the mass. Most people in this world didn't know they needed to consolidate their power anyway, so it was pretty hard to raise their power through Spirit Crystals alone. Hence, the geniuses might have the ability to advance faster, but they wouldn't be as abnormal as Alex.

In the meantime, Sherry and the others had reached 7-Star, making their way to 8-Star Martial Saint. Even if they were not going to be able to 9-Star, they wouldn't be far from it after these three years.

And due to Firia's Alchemy, the pill supplied by the Spirit Nest really helped many people. They recovered their Spiritual Energy faster and healed their wounds in an instant. After all, her pill was a rank 8 Perfect Purity pill. It was very hard to make, but her success rate was one hundred percent.

Of course, Alex also started making Sky Spear Array Plate and Saint Explosion Array Plate. The Saint Explosion Array Plates were a hit on the battlefield. They simply needed to place it on the ground and activate it from a distance when the monsters arrived.

Alex even specifically made a very big Array Plate since the explosion area was only inside the array. And just like that, many saint monsters fell in the hand of this array. Although some of them wanted to ask or buy some additional plates from Alex, they didn't dare to antagonize him with his current strength. With one wrong move, his Spirit Nest might chop your heads.

As for his Sky Spear Array Plate, they were used to fight high-ranking monsters. There were a few monsters that were either 8-Star or 9-Star, and they used this one, injuring it heavily. Although it was also an effort to stop them from moving, it was worth the effort because even a group of 5-Star Martial Saints could take down such a monster.

Nonetheless, the situation on the battlefield settled down. And in fact, turning in their favor due to the additional help from the Spirit Nest. Alex's titles such as Divine Slayer, Battle Emperor, or Harbinger of Death were almost replaced by a new title, Omnipotent.

Alex surely didn't care, and the spirits kept charging the enemies without looking at such a rumor. And not long after, the people started getting used to those items and began to treat them as normal items. Thus, it became the failure of the rise of the new title.

Though, the real person who received such a title was still in the middle of the training. When Rose returned from the battlefield and brought such information, Anya laughed out loud, teasing Alex with the new title.

Unfortunately, the same happiness and warm atmosphere didn't happen in another place.

In the Drunken Pavilion, a woman with long black hair hopped on a big rock near the pond of her courtyard. Sadness, anxiety, and longing were mixed in her expression. Under the night sky, she gracefully tied her hair into a ponytail to prevent the breeze from messing with her hair. The water on the pond became slightly wavy due to the wind, but it still gave a clear picture of her face reflected on the water.

The lady looked at the dark sky and let out a long sigh. "Not long after this… What will I become? Master doesn't have an heir worthy enough to lead the sect, so I need to watch over the sect in the future. This is the only thing I can repay Master for his kindness and for taking care of me for the past few years.

"But I never thought it would be this sad to be chained down…" The lady closed her eyes as tears flowed out of her eyes. She remembered a certain person that seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted or visited wherever he wanted. Even though he had the burden of a leader, he had the freedom to do many things.

She aspired to be someone like him, but it was all for naught. The shackles on her feet could never be removed in an ordinary way.

"Am I wrong to have such a wish? I have been with him for a long time before that incident… But the longer I know him, the longer our distance… Is it wrong to fall in love with someone? Is it wrong to fulfill one's duty and promise before talking about love? Is it… Wrong for me to fall in love with my own mentor? He is not my teacher nor my master, I don't break any taboo.

"Still, the way he sees me is just like that of an elder brother, why? Why wasn't I born a few years earlier? Why didn't I choose a different path that guaranteed me freedom? Master said, "I can be the strongest person in the world", but I know that the promise bound me to this place. If only there is someone who can replace me…"

She always had time to think about this because it actually gave her peace of mind. Sitting on a rock near the pond, looking at the moon reflected on the water, and reminiscing the past memory threw the stress from the cultivation away.

Suddenly, she remembered a certain line coming from him.

"No matter how low the probability is, it will never reach zero unless you give up. So, even if it's one in a million chance, I will gamble it all in that one."

The woman slowly opened her eyes as a thought came across her mind. "That's right. Master needs a worthy heir, right? If there are two worthy heirs, doesn't it mean one should lose their right so the other can become the next master?

"Senior Sister is a powerful cultivator and a talented one on top of that. Her talent might not be the best, but she can rival those geniuses from other influences. The only thing that makes her unworthy is her heart. She is too soft.

"In that case, if I can turn her into a worthy heir by changing her heart, doesn't it mean I can be free from this task? Can I continue to pursue my cultivation as well as my heart? Although it might be a long journey, it might be more fun for me.

"As long as I don't give up… Yes. If I don't give up, I can still chase his back. I don't know what the future will hold… Whether he still sees me as a younger sister or not, I will not give up. I will continue chasing him, so in the end, I can say that I won't regret it no matter the result."

The woman seemed to have found the answer she had been seeking for. Joy and determination fully replaced the previous expression.

She rose, jumped off the rock, and started walking to her own path that she chose. She smiled and muttered. "Future… I challenge you right now."