Chapter 127

Chapter 127 Seclusion training—martial artists resorted to this training method when they hit a wall. It involved cutting off all external connections and remaining in one place to concentrate deeply. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The origin of this practice dated back to the ancient story of Bodhidharma, who meditated while facing a wall in a cave for nine years, aiming to sever the worldly desires of the mundane world and prove the purity of his mind.

While three months of seclusion training could not equate to the accomplishments of Bodhidharma, it had nonetheless been beneficial for Leonard.

When he opened his eyes after nearly fifteen days of continuous meditation, a brilliant light emanated from his eyes, sweeping across the room. The imbalance of his mind and body had been completely rectified.

After meditating some more and confirming his full recovery, Leonard finally uncrossed his legs. Although he hadn’t moved for nearly a fortnight, his body, now at the Transcendence Tier, was in perfect condition. Not stiff in the slightest, his body moved fluidly as he drew his sword.

Kiiiing!

As his will converged, the Five Elements Augmented Qi wrapped around his blade. The One Origin Five Elements Cultivation Method had finally reached Ten Stars, the ultimate level. At that moment, Leonard realized that the path he had trod as Yeon Mu-Hyuk had come to an end.

From this point onward, he had to walk the path of Leonard of Cardenas.

After defeating the heart devil, I realized it. I thought I had perfectly separated my past memories from this version of myself, but in reality, the consciousness of Yeon Mu-Hyuk and Leonard were mixed in an incomplete state.

Indeed, his discordant consciousness had caused the young Leonard to act impulsively and make decisions that the Sword Emperor certainly wouldn’t have made.

Yeon Mu-Hyuk never would have followed Frances, even if he owned her his life. Instead, he would have kept wandering as a lone wolf, endlessly seeking powerful individuals to challenge and welcoming danger with open arms.

However, Leonard believed that was not the right path.

“...Back then, I spent my whole life walking the path of Asura, only to end up walking in circles with no clue on how to break through to the Profound Realm.”

Blinded by the completion of the Five Elements Augmented Qi, Yeon Mu-Hyuk had failed to grasp its true worth. And obsessing over the One Sword Style, he had let countless opportunities slip away.

Sometimes, the shortest path only led to a dead end, while the most arduous one offered answers. Leonard had come to realize this through his adventures in Atlantis, and now he was reflecting on them once again.

Participating in a seemingly trivial expedition with Aquamarine had revealed the true power of his Cardenas blood, and sealing the Rift had allowed him to quickly break through the minor tiers and get close to the Transcendence Tier.

Fighting Pablo, a formidable opponent who could corner him, had also been possible thanks to those experiences. Leonard had even managed to rectify the imbalance of his Three Treasures—his essence, energy, and spirit—which otherwise could have taken him thirty years to accomplish.

Just because you walk forward doesn’t necessarily mean you’re advancing, and taking a few steps back doesn’t always mean retreating. Distinguishing left from right is meaningless, as there are also paths above and below that we don’t know of.

Leonard’s Mindscape had deepened ever so slightly. He accepted that while striving to be the strongest wasn’t wrong, neither was considering other possibilities.

“Three months, huh... It took a bit longer than expected.”

That was the price for using ultimate techniques that surpassed his level not just once, but twice—the Deep Frost Shroud he had used in his Mindscape and the Calamity Extinguishing Flame he had unleashed to finish off Moby Dick.

Those powers were too great for Leonard to handle at his current level, and using them in his unstable state after a breakthrough had certainly made it worse.

But now, he could perhaps use them once without overexerting himself.

Using them twice would result in internal damage, and using them three times could lead to qi deviation.

Unless Leonard reached or at least arrived at the doorstep of the Demigod Tier, he had to be careful not to overestimate his capabilities. After all, he had died over a hundred times to triumph over the heart devil that originated from his old days as the Sword Emperor.

If another heart devil were born at Leonard’s current level, he wouldn’t be able to defeat it even if he died and came back a thousand times.

With that in mind, Leonard sheathed his sword.

It’s time to leave Atlantis.

He needed to return to the Cardenas family. His intuition, which had become closer to that of a primordial dragon, was advising him so.

* * *

The moment he stepped out of his cabin in the Aquamarine, Frances, who had learned that he was coming out of seclusion training, had already assembled the crew.

Upon hearing the news of Leonard’s awakening, the crew members scattered throughout the city returned at once. Normally, some might have been off the island, but lately, that had been rare.

For the past three months, the adventurers of Atlantis were entirely focused on stabilizing the Central City, having no time for regular expeditions. After all, the city guards couldn’t handle the ongoing disturbances by themselves.

The Outer God Worshippers were generally at least Rank B, and once mutated, they possessed regenerative abilities on par with trolls and extraordinary physical capabilities rarely seen in the External Force Tier.

“Last week, I fought a mutant with two heads. Even if I smashed one head, as long as the other was intact, it would just regenerate.”

“So?”

“Hah, not even twenty. Two heads are nothing, really.”

Galano recounted his exploits as he sipped on his drink. His family martial art, Maelstrom, was terrifying in its destructive power and speed. So for him to deliver two fatal blows in quick succession was not particularly difficult.

Ninian, who was listening across from him, grumbled, “You must have racked up a lot of merit, huh? I’m jealous. I’ve only encountered enemies with extreme resistance against me.”

“Is that so? Even mutants should be vulnerable to your arrows, right?”

“The problem is that they know that too.”

“I see.” Being a seasoned adventurer, Galano quickly understood the implications.

The vital points of mutants were typically the brain and heart, but for high-level monsters—truly monstrous beings—the heart was no longer a vital point.

Unlike swords or spears, arrowheads had a smaller impact area, making it relatively easy to protect vital points against them. Therefore, attempting to pierce a high defense reinforced with aura using arrows would lead to an almost impossible fight.

“Well, I’m content as long as I can protect Vivian.”

Ninian took a sip of her wine, glancing at her sister. Vivian was as lively as ever, chatting with everyone and sharing stories of the past months. She was glad to see her sister so cheerful, just like back home.

As a high-rank spiritualist, Ninian could have played a significant role, but she held back. She didn’t want to be involved in the grim task of killing creatures that were once human.

“You’ve grown a lot,” Leonard told Marianne, offering a concise evaluation of her past three months. “Though your form is not yet perfect, I see a proactive approach in your swordsmanship, which used to be passive. At this rate, you’ll break through to the Tenth Degree within three years.”

“R-Really?” Marianne asked in astonishment.

“Don't be too hasty and focus on your swordsmanship if you're aiming for the Transcendence Tier,” Leonard advised, his words carrying weight since he had already reached the Transcendence Tier himself. “There shouldn’t be any major disturbances for a while.”

Marianne listened with even more admiration than before. The title of Swordmaster could give authority to anyone, even a beggar. For a prodigy who attained it at just sixteen years of age, it was even more so the case.

After imparting his final teachings to Marianne, Leonard mingled with the gathered members of the expedition team, catching up on what had happened while he was in seclusion. He then looked around the hall; the atmosphere was lively, even in the relatively small gathering of Aquamarine. Even Lorelei, not known to be particularly social, was chatting animatedly.

Esther seems to have taken a step forward too. Has she eased her burden by resolving the grudge of Aquamarine? Leonard mused.

Although Esther herself didn’t realize it yet, Leonard’s discerning eyes assured him that she would advance to Class 6. With Russell's knowledge and the necessary mana stones at her disposal, her progress to the next class seemed imminent.

Indeed, Aquamarine’s future seemed bright.

“Leonard?” a voice called from behind him.

Unsurprised, Leonard turned around to see Frances with her calm blue eyes. She handed him a glass and invited, “Shall we talk over there?”

The Aquamarine’s hall was designed to be used as a banquet hall as well; there was also a space that resembled the balcony of a grand mansion, offering a view of the sea.

As Leonard and Frances stepped outside, the cool breeze of the sea tousled their hair, the chill of the night invigorating them.

“Refreshing, isn’t it? Not humid at all,” Francis remarked.

Leonard simply nodded, anticipating the conversation to come.

Frances took her time before finally asking, “Are you... leaving?”

“Yes,” he answered firmly.

Most of the threats to Aquamarine had been eliminated, and with Frances now being part of the Council of Atlantis, the power dynamics had shifted in their favor. The crew had grown through the recent ordeal, and in a few years, Aquamarine could rise to the top of Rank A expedition teams without Leonard and Russell.

Leonard had repaid his life debt and then some. Knowing all this, Frances didn’t try to hold him back.

“To me, the seas of Atlantis seemed vast enough... But I guess the world you see is even larger, Leonard. I can’t even imagine the Arcadia Empire or the Cardenas family.”

“Who knows,” Leonard replied with a wry smile.

He was just acting gravely with the memory of his past life, but it was the same for him. He himself had no idea what the Arcadian Empire or the House of Cardenas had in store for him.

“Atlantis is the first place I’ve seen outside the Cardenas territory. The scope of one’s vision isn’t determined by who they are, but by what they wish to see.”

“What they wish to see, huh...” Frances repeated his words, pondering on them before continuing, “So far, I’ve lived solely to avenge my father and his comrades and restore the honor and glory of the Aquamarine Expedition Team. It’s been my one and only goal. Though the path ahead is still long, I no longer think it’s impossible... But then I also begin to wonder what comes next.”

Leonard recognized that as a common problem in the murim of his past life—those who lived solely for revenge often found themselves hollow once they achieved it. He hoped Frances wouldn’t end up like that.

“Do you remember what the young Frances wished for eight years ago before the thirst for vengeance took over?” Leonard asked, prodding her very soul.

“Yes, I remember.”

“Tell me.”

Though hesitant and rather embarrassed to talk about her young self, just like anyone would be, Frances began, “I wanted to restore the Okeanos Kingdom and become its queen. Even back then, I wasn’t particularly talented in magic or martial arts, so I wanted to make use of the skills my father praised. Thinking back, it was a childish dream.”

“Why did you give up on it?”

“Huh? No, it’s not that I gave up, but it’s impossible. The Okeanos Kingdom was a nation destroyed by Corrosion. Reclaiming it means confronting the center of the Corroded Realm in the Sixth Sea District. Doesn’t it sound like a fantasy?”

At that, Leonard cocked his head and challenged, “Before I joined, didn’t it also seem impossible to avenge your father and rebuild the Aquamarine Expedition Team with just you and Marianne?”

“Uhm... That’s...”

Frances had no refute.

“People deemed it impossible, yet you persevered for eight years and eventually succeeded. So then why are you so certain that restoring the Okeanos Kingdom is impossible?”

Some would say it was a wild argument, but Leonard’s words managed to strike a chord with the adventurer in Frances.

Her adventurous spirit, which had been fading as she successfully avenged her family and rebuilt the expedition team smoothly, flared up again. Her previously hollow eyes now burned with determination, the blue of her irises glinting like the Aquamarine’s hull.

Leonard remained silent, realizing he had said enough.

“You’re right. The captain should set an example for their crew, but I wasn’t thinking like an adventurer at all.”

An adventurer without a dream loses the favor of the Goddess of Fortune.

Recalling the old saying, Frances emptied her glass and gazed at the horizon with a radiant smile, more brilliant than when she used to speak of revenge.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll restore the Okeanos Kingdom and become its queen or whatever! That should make my name known even in the Arcadia Empire, right?”

“I look forward to it.”

“Ahahaha! Only you would take that seriously, Leonard. Even Marianne would’ve told me to quit spewing nonsense!”

From there, the conversation turned to fanciful topics, but they were both earnest.

In the Atlantis Maritime Alliance, a land of wanderers without a king, the heir of an ancient kingdom rekindled her old dreams. No one could yet foresee what this would lead to.