Chapter 382 - 382: Before departure (1)

After a few minutes completely devoted to persuading Cyrus, Derik was finally able to get through and follow up with his plan. By they returned to the underground training chamber at the palace of the dead, Francis and Diana were already shivering in fear, leaving behind Ahika who was the only one amongst the three who still had the will to fight. 

Contrary to their expectations, Derik and Cyrus didn't have them killed. Instead, they asked for their allegiance to the empire in exchange for their lives! At first, it came as a shock but when they saw the serious expressions on Derik and Cyrus's faces they realized these two were not joking.

After thinking about this for a while, they also found it reasonable. These two will soon break into the demigod realm in a few weeks and they will be forced to leave this realm, leaving behind everything they have created and all those they care about! When that time comes, Derik and Cyrus won't be able to protect them anymore. Now it's their duty to protect everything they have built!

Right in front of them, the three swore with their lives to protect the empire and everyone in it with their lives, in return the palace of death and the palace of life will support them in any way possible. With this, the conflict between the empire's top officials and the sects created by Derik and Cyrus had come to an end and no one from the noble families could ever speak against them since they finally have the support of all the gold realm masters in the continent.

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With this taken care of the duo returned to their sects to prepare their heirs and strengthen their sect members. With the acquisition of the inheritance and true forms of their power, Derik and Cyrus's aura had an effect even stronger than what it used to have. The cultivation speed of their people tripled and even the person with the crappiest talent was considered a peerless genius when compared to those outside. 

With this it didn't take long before the three demon generals quickly pushed from the low grade of the gold realm to the mid-grade of the gold realm and even at that, they were nearing their peak, preparing for a second breakthrough all within two weeks! The standard and overall power of their sect had increased greatly as even the weakest members of their sects had reached the low grade of the silver realm and the elite members were already at the mid-grade of the silver realm. As for the five disciples of the death mage, each and every one of them had reached the peak grade of the silver realm as well.

The most astonishing change in the sect was that of Blink, Derik's successor. Spending the whole time cultivating alone with Derik, Blink had reached the peak of the silver realm, jumping realms thanks to Derik. At this point, his hair had turned snow white and his eyes were just like a pair of silver torches, shining bright even in the day time. For Blink's training, Derik could not pass on his knowledge of dark magic since the kid was more inclined to spatial magic. To resolve this issue, he only gave the kid tips on the little he knew and also allowed Kalos to guide him thoroughly. 

As for his body, Derik had focused on using his aura to constantly strengthen Blink's body, granting him strength beyond the level of mere humans. At this level, Blink was capable of defeating supernatural beasts like vampires and Werewolves with just his brute strength.

Seeing the terrifying strength Blink possesses, he quickly gained the respect of almost everyone in the sect. Based on the analysis, at the peak grade of the silver realm. Blink could compare to the three demon commanders of the sect, meaning no one else below that level could defeat him. While many believed this, a few truly felt Blake was still superior to Blink, especially since his magic is closely related to that of Derik. At a point, the sect was already split into two factions, those that support Blink and those that support Blake.

In the end, Derik wasn't bothered much. Honestly, if Blink and Blake should fight even he wouldn't know the outcome and this was simply because Blake possesses a lesser version of the death magic but in the end, it is still the death magic, so its strength cannot be underestimated.

Finally, Derik had no intentions of interfering. In his opinion, a small opposition would be good for Blink's growth. If he wants the respect and admiration of these people then he must earn it with his own sweat and blood. 

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Concerning the palace of life, things were a bit different. While Cyrus refused to make Fernandos or Agus his successor for some personal reasons, he still helped them cultivate up to the mid-grade of the gold realm. There were his right hand and left-hand men so for the sake of whoever his successor is going to be, It is necessary Cyrus makes them strong! At least strong enough to rival the three demon commanders.

Just like Derik, Cyrus's aura had also strengthened greatly after consuming life inheritance. His aura's strengthening effects became so strong that the cultivation speed of his subordinates rose to its peak. With this, his sect's main force was not inferior to that of Derik both in cultivation speed and realm.

Concerning the selection of a new successor, Cyrus had different plans. The true nature of his life magic was the ability to give life to his spells. While some may think his spells were actually alive but in reality, he was simply sharing his consciousness with his spells, making them act according to his will.

For most of the time he had left in this world, Cyrus remained indoor and focused on perfecting this technique. While some believed he was focusing on his breakthrough, Cyrus was actually trying to find a way to perform a feat that only guardian spirits like Demos have accomplished.

Creating a living avatar of himself.