Chapter 36 - Master And System Upgrade

Patrick was left alone on the stage as he watched Asura dissipate into the atmosphere; he and everyone in the coliseum heard the resentful bellowing words of Asura. Over half the crowd was already knocked out from the mere domineering presence of Asura, but the strong powerhouses and some rogue cultivators remained standing while some knelt.

Everyone's attention was on Patrick, from the emperor, and his guardians, who were floating in the void to the least powerful servant of the families. Kang Mu and the other participants were already passed out when Lou Yan rose to the Saint realm. Even the competition referee held with all his might not to pass out.

Patrick looked up and saw the powerful families and sect representatives all gazing at him with fear and disparity like a monster; he saw the unconscious Lou Yan in her mother's arms. He walked calmly towards the stands; Lou Yan's unconscious body disappeared and appeared, suspended in front of him.

Lou Min and the others on the stands weren't shocked anymore by the impossible methods of this being, especially after when he slapped the spirit of a literal god to nothingness. She didn't retaliate when Lou Yan disappeared from her arms; even if she tried, she wouldn't even get a hundred meters close to Patrick if he wanted to kill Lou Yan. She thought that Patrick must also be someone from the immortal realm, and his original cultivation base must be at least saint realm and above.

Lou Yan's body suspended as she woke up the next instant Patrick willed it. Lou Yan woke up and saw Patrick standing in front of her with a bored expression. She noticed the disappearance of her summoned spirit, which gave her a foreboding sensation of Patrick; she was about to say something when Patrick interrupted

"Now that my experiment is complete, I would be taking my pill back."

Lou Yan heard Patrick's words the next instant; she felt the energy she acquired after becoming a Saint realm begin gathering from her meridians and veins. She felt the dominating and authoritative essence she acquired leave her body and will.

"What...is....happy...en...ing..?"

Lou Yan's voice was breaking as her suspended body began emitting essence from it; the energy left her the way it entered, through her mouth and eyes.

Everyone saw the energy leaving Lou Yan's body as even the guardians floating in the void held panicked and trembling faces. What Patrick was doing was something that had never been thought of, let alone happened or recorded. Even the heavens of the cultivation world could not achieve such impossible feats; they can kill, punish, seal, and reincarnate organisms, but they can't reverse the already achieved state of a cultivator. And it wasn't just any cultivation realm, but a Saint realm, the legendary realm that these people of the cultivation world look up to.

"Ju Shu, I think we should pay our greetings to this being before he perceives our spectating as annoying."

The elderly guardian spoke as he hurriedly flashed and headed towards the coliseum, followed by the second guardian, Ju Shu. He thought that if this unknown being misunderstands their intent, it could lead to the destruction of the Ju empire or the Eastern continent, or worse, the broken world. The only plausible action to prevent such a disastrous situation is to greet this being and clear any misunderstandings.

An unknown force sucked out the energy in Lou Yan's body as it returned to its original state as a pill. The pill Patrick had created floated above Lou Yan's mouth as it dissipated into the atmosphere and became normal qi moments after. Lou Yan's body floated in the air, emptied of the Saint energy and essence she once had; she was about to faint when Patrick returned her consciousness.

"Grace? Analysis."

"Master, according to my analysis, due to the invasion of the Demons ten thousand years ago, this planet and many more have experienced the exact situations; there is a 15% diluted demonic qi which devourers .000001% of the heavenly qi in these invaded planets every day.

If not for this demonic qi, the wisp of pure heavenly qi you used to create the pill should have been able to bring the experimented subject to five stages beyond the Saint realm; and the only reason the subject was able to reach the Saint realm was because of your presence. With how polluted the heavenly qi in this lower realm is, it will be impossible to reach the Saint realm even if one cultivates for a hundred thousand years."

Patrick asked Grace for analysis as he watched the floating Lou Yan looking at him with horror. Grace answered. The plan was to win the competition and experiment on the invasion level the demons had achieved. He could easily erase everything he wanted, but he enjoys his adventure with as minimal effort as possible.

"The demons are using this demonic qi from the cracked voids to contaminate the pure energy of these planets slowly. And when they invade, they would be able to use that demonic energy to supplement themselves, therefore eventually conquering these planets as they have stronger physiques than humans. That's quite a plan."

" Affirmative."

"I hope they entertain me when the time comes."

Patrick talked with Grace as he figured the demons' motive for invading these planets.

Lou Yan was still looking at Patrick with a horrific gaze as she didn't even struggle; her body straightened as she looked at this person, wondering just who is this being that can make all these unknown impossibilities happen.

"You have served your purpose; I will still let the heavens not bother you until you reach the Saint realm and have lived for a thousand years in the lower realm before you ascend."

Patrick still maintained his dull expression as he spoke to Lou Yan; he let her body stand on the stage as he saw the remaining conscious cultivators looking at him with horror and despair.

The sect representatives never expected that a simple sect selection competition would turn into an introduction of the most bizarre unknown being they will ever encounter in their lifetimes. Ju Han, who always had an arrogant demeanor, now looked like a servant afraid to meet his master's gaze. Though he had an ugly expression, he still held hopes; if the guardians haven't made their entrance yet, then it means this person is not deemed as a threat to them. He was about to raise his head when he and the powerhouses in the stands felt powerful Qis coming at fast speeds from the void space.

Patrick didn't bother to look at the torn space above the coliseum as he already knew about the guardians' reason for coming; he was standing in front of Lou Yan when the guardians made their entrance. Lou Yan watched Patrick with a fearful gaze as she saw the guardians appear on the stage.

"Greetings, young ancestor god, it is an honor to be graced with your presence on the mortal realms."

The elderly guardian was the first to speak as he went on his knees and kowtowed towards Patrick. He didn't dare call Patrick by Alex, the name for the competition; he thought Patrick could have given any random name because powerful beings like this don't care about names and reputation.

The elder guardian's name is Ju Fan. Ten thousand years ago, he was a young prince who witnessed the war between humans and demons. He and his younger brother Ju Shu were the only people who remained as witnesses from the battle ten thousand years ago; since then, he had ruled during his era and have cultivated to the full immortal realm while Ju Shu was at the peak half-immortal realm.

He and Ju Shu knew how powerful Saint realm cultivators are, especially the Lou family Saints who possess the Heavenly Eyes technique and its devastating stages. The humans would have had a chance to win if millions of demons hadn't cornered the Lou family ancestor.

Everyone saw the two guardians prostrating on the stage in front of this person named Alex. The sect representatives were shocked. Especially the Ju emperor who was above them; his last hope was now gone; the possibility of him acting arrogant because of the guardians had now vanished. He clenched his fist as anger and resentment rose in him, with a tinge of despair and helplessness.

Jiang Shi, on the stands, slightly raised an eyebrow as he was calculating and analyzing all the events that had happened; his wisdom is the reason the Heavenly Rain Sect sent him to this sect selection competition. Although he reacted just like the others, his reactions were not to magnify Patrick's strength and the battle that happened; but he focused on the skills and techniques that Patrick and Lou Yan used as he analyzed everything.

Another group that also was calculated was the families. The Kang, Dong, and Li families' patriarchs were hesitant to bow like the others; Although they have seen Patrick's strength, they still have pride in their family names, and besides, it is better to die a warrior and die a coward.

These family's sense of pride is justifiable because they haven't witnessed the true power of an actual saint realm cultivator like the guardians, so they can't comprehend the reality of the situation. To them, all they had witnessed may be an exaggeration. According to their historical records from their families, once one becomes a true immortal, let alone a Saint, they will face a devastating heavenly tribulation from the heavens before they ascend into the higher realms.

But when Lou Yan's power rose to the Saint realm, Which was a level above the immortal realm. They didn't see any tribulation or divine punishment, which may conclude that the pill Alex gave Lou Yan must have been a temporary cultivation boosting pill found in every alchemy institution in the eastern continent. Plus, the reversion of the pill from an essence state also defies all cultivational concepts and reasonings.

The Kang family patriarch was also extremely smart. He had used cultivational reasonings and concepts to counter the feats Patrick performed; they might seem powerful and otherworldly, but for all he knows, they might be a powerful illusion technique that can even affect them. With this theory in mind, Kang Mo and the other two families didn't act and even calmed down from the anxiety they felt before.

Jiang Shi is not worried because his sect is working with the Sacred families and the demons to rule the broken world themselves, so even seeing a Saint realm cultivator wouldn't faze him.

Patrick turned and faced the kowtowed guardians; he noticed the calm faces of the families except for the Lou family. Another calm group was Jiang Shi and the elderly representatives from the other sects who stood still; some stroked their beards, analyzed the situation, and talked, planning their future moves.

"Now I understand; humans cannot endure their beliefs and ideals being shattered; they don't want to face the reality of their beliefs being inferior to anything. So they create a secularized notion and deflect all other concepts that defy their notion. Sigh."

Patrick spoke and sighed calmly towards the kowtowed guardians; his words were not loud, but all strong cultivators have super hearings, so hearing Patrick's words was not hard.

Patrick actualized the general centralized thinking of humans. If one tells a religious person that the god or being they have been worshipping since they were kids was nothing but a lie or that there is a god greater than their's, that person will deny all the presented facts and still hold to his beliefs of his god being the absolute best.

This concept is what the cultivators are implying now; since they can't comprehend the impossibility of things, they neglect all presented actualities.

"There is no need for unnecessary ceremonies."

Patrick spoke to the guardians as an invisible force raised the two older men from the ground. Ju Shu and Ju Fan stood and looked at this being they were so scared of, but to their surprise, this person's appearance resembled a teenager's compared to them; and the mean ferocious-looking expression they expected was not there. Instead, they saw a dull expression as if nothing excites him.

"Young ancestor go..."

"Stop calling me that; call me Alex. Such exaggerated names and titles sound shady to me."

Before the guardians were about to speak, Patrick interrupted. The cultivation world mostly respects famous people by their titles. Like Alchemy king/god, blacksmith immortal, and so on. Though deserving of an exaggerated title, Patrick still finds it shady and unnecessary.

"As Young Master Alex pleases, please grant us the pleasure of hosting you to our great empire."

The older guardian spoke, inviting Patrick as a guest of the Ju Empire. Patrick looked at Ju Fan for a second as he nodded, agreeing with the idea. He came for adventure; he might as well enjoy it to his fullest.

"Very well, if Young Master Alex would kindly follow me."

Ju Fan spoke as he flew towards the imperial tower, Patrick behind him. Patrick turned towards Athena and Anna as both ladies nodded and rose from their seats, making everything disappear as they flashed next to Patrick.

Patrick and his two wives followed Ju Fan as he heard something that made him smile, a sound that he was expecting all this while from Grace.

[Due to Passive skill; Eternal/Absolute/Selective Transcendence, the master and the system, Patrick Alexandra King and Grace, will be upgraded.]