Chapter 135: Demon King's Training Partner

Howard took out his small tattered duffle bag and pulled out the Ki Jar he'd gotten from Earl months ago.

He took a deep breath and opened up the Ki Jar and watched the bedroom turn into the gallery he'd witnessed months ago back in the West Branch. However, this time, when he opened the jar, the room seemed much bigger.

He could see 10 glass cases and 8 statues standing on a staircase a few feet away. He took a deep breath, and walked over to the statues while minding the furniture in the room. 

Last time he'd opened the Ki Jar, he'd heard the stronger he got the deeper he could explore. However, he didn't expect the room to still feel so incredibly vast.

'When I think about it, the Demon King was in the G rank. I still have the S rank the SS rank, and the SSS rank to go through before I can even get close to him in strength.'

'I also have a feeling the G rank isn't the final rank. I wonder how far I can go,' Howard stopped in front of one of the sets of armor, and gently touched it. It seemed to be made out of cheap iron, but had to be at least 2.5 meters tall. In its hands, it had a large spiked polearm with a huge set of gauntlets. Its hands had to be almost the same size of its body.

"Welcome back!" A voice appeared behind Howard. He turned and saw a man with golden hair with an extremely muscular physique. "I thought you'd never return. Congratulations on entering into the A rank."

"Thank you," Howard smiled and did a slight bow. "Are you Earl? How are heere? I thought you told me last time I was here you ran out of energy."

"It's simple. I stored five different Ki Manifestations of me in the jar. For every rank past the A rank, I can teach you one lesson. However, I'm also able to talk to you for 10 minutes. You can think of me as Earl, with all his knowledge. Unfortunately, it will only last 10 minutes. Hehe, couldn't do better than that before I died."

"That's great! I-I'm in danger," Howard laughed, "I-I have to fight someone two levels above my rank! He's in the SS rank I think. I-I just got in the A rank, haha!"

"That's impossible." Demon King Earl shook his head. He had on a set of black armor, but the thing Howard noticed the most when he observed him was his silver eyes. "What Nation is this man from? Why haven't you escaped already?"

"Escape isn't an option. We have 2500 people with us from another Nation," Howard took a deep brath. "He's a Jarkales. I-I don't know how to explain it! I just couldn't hit him! He was too fast!"

"Howard, do you see that armor," Demon King Earl's brows tensed. He looked irritated, but tried to remain calm. "I-I left that armor here to train my successor. It has my abilities, but is in the S rank. Let me watch you fight it real quick. Don't hold anything back! Now do it quickly! I don't have much time!"

"Okay," Howard cracked his knuckles and slowly paced over to Earl. "But weren't you terrifying in the S rank? Won't I get defeated easily?"

"The statues has a Ki array in its back. Go over to it and insert some of your Ki into it. If you want it to be easy to defeat, just give it a little bit of energy! However, hurry up! I don't have much time! Do it now!" 

Demon King Earl had waited thousands of years for a successor, and had left traces of his consciousness behind in various areas of the Furnace. All these consciousnesses combined communicated with each other and had awareness of the other Ki Remnants whereabouts. Thus, this Demon King Earl was aware of the training Howard had undergone in Valron Valley. However, a lot of time had passed since then, and he wanted to fully test Howard's strength.

Howard smiled and poured quite a bit of energy into the statues, and looked back at Earl before he hopped over to his side. A powerful flame began to burn around his body while he waited for the statue to activate.

"Demon King Earl. How can it touch me? I thought this is a fake space?" Howard looked into Demon King's Earl's golden eyes with a grimace on his face. "I-I'm still in the bedroom right?"

"It's both real and fake. It's made of of Dream Ki remember?" Demon King Earl crossed his arms. He literally only had 9 minutes to observe Howard before he disappeared, so he sounded impatient. "Now damn it! Hurry up and fight it already! Begin!"

###

Howard lost three times to the silver statue in a blink of an eye. His body crashed into the bed, and made enough noise that Monica screamed "What's going on!"

He sighed, and told her everything was alright before he returned to his feet.

"You-you can use Dream Ki and Dark Ki right?" Earl tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. "Have you ever though of using Dream Ki for just a second? In my opinion, you should always use your Dark Ki first, and use your Dream Ki to increase your speed! For the next six minutes, try switching them as quickly as possible! Conserve energy, Howard! Stop letting your opponent know all your cards!"

"Ugh, that's tough. Also, won't that decrease my overall power?" Howard didn't understand why conserving energy would matter in a battle against such a powerful General. Wasn't the best thing to do to defeat him immediately? After all, General Larklan knocked him out in three seconds, and sent him beaming into Priscilla like a beam of light.

His chest still hurt from the terrifying power and control of his fist. He didn't understand!

"Howard, I used to be like you. Think with my fists first. However, you have to remember one thing! The longer you survive, the more chances you'll spot a weakness!" Earl tapped Howard on the back. "Now fight the armor again, and this time, switch between the two Ki! If you do a good job, I may give you a life saving treasure, but only if you earned it!"