1668 I Knew
Much of the treasures of this place had already been taken away by Orcus. However, the best treasure still remained with this pool of blood. If Dyon was too ‘scared’ to take it, wouldn’t that be too pathetic? What was he doing?
‘What’s wrong with me?’
Dyon stopped, gripping his fists.
[What a weak Path of Pride]
The voice was so sudden that it shook Dyon awake from his thoughts.
His head whipped around, but he couldn’t find where it came from.
[You’re the second individual to come here. The first didn’t even have any Pride to speak of, he was a pathetic fool that hid behind his little toy corpses… Well, at least you’re better than he was. I can smell it on you.]
Dyon could almost imagine a jagged, toothy smile appearing before him despite the fact there was nothing there.
[I can smell it. That selfishness. That unwillingness to lower your head. That Martial Intent of our Pride Clan.]
[Do tell me, child. Are you a descendant of our Clan?]
Dyon’s body shook more and more violently the more words were whispered into his ear. It was a physiological suppression and reaction. This wasn’t his mind bowing down like it had when he first saw The Entity hand, nor was it his mind giving up like it had when he first truly used his Chaos Flames… This was a bodily suppression … This was…
‘Presence!’ Dyon’s mind shook.
[Hoho, you figured it out more quickly than that other fellow did. It isn’t as though we can do anything to you physically considering we’ve long been dead. But, that won’t stop us from whittling you down in other ways…]
[Who do you think it was that created Presence, little boy. The perfect embodiment of bodily strength fused with martial intent. This was the treasure, the Magnus Opus of our Pride Clan. It’s too bad, with such a weak Pride Martial Intent, your Presence will always be lacking.]
[Do you think a real Son of Pride cares for cultivation?!]
Dyon fell into silence. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand what the voices were saying, but rather that this was all he could do to stop his pathetic body from collapsing.
Dyon knew that Presence was a very powerful thing. If two people of equal strength fought, the one with the higher Presence would win 10 out of 10 times. It was that simple.
Exuding a pressure upon another, your will upon another … Why hadn’t Dyon realized that this was the very definition of a Martial Intent until now?
But, this wasn’t all. Presence was directly proportional to bodily strength. Technically, Dyon had comprehended the second highest tier of Presence in existence, Emperor Presence, only second to God Presence. But, his Presence was completely useless against dao experts because their bodies were simply far stronger than his.
What these voices were saying was that he was foolish to treat Presence in such a way. A true Son of Pride cared not for cultivation because their Presence would shine through no matter what.
Dyon closed his eyes.
‘What did you leave this pool of blood for?’
[Isn’t it obvious? We want to use fools and snatch their minds. When a Martial Intent is strong enough, it becomes a Legend that spans across time and space. However, Martial Intents from our Pride Clan seek to devour.]
Dyon laughed despite his trembling body. Only someone with an obscene amount of pride would directly speak of a plan that should be hidden like this. Clearly, even in their demise, the Pride Clan kept their arrogance.
The Pride Clan was banking that their lingering Martial Intents were powerful enough to manifest themselves into Dyon’s body. If they shattered Dyon’s will and infused his body with their Intents, Dyon would die a different kind of death.
His soul would technically still be his, so would his body, but his will would be that of a different person. Simply put, his personality would change.
‘Is that so…’
On one side of the world, his body was facing a sea of calm. On this side of the world, his body was facing a sea of arrogance.
As though it was poetically divined, his body had reached 500 000 000 jin, leaving his body’s potential perfectly halved. Neither dominating over the other.
In that moment, Dyon made a decision.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm He began to walk forward. His steps quaked underneath him, his own ankle almost rolling over itself multiple times. But, he kept walking.
[HAHAHA, I knew he was a descendant of our Pride Clan. After the other bastard heard the truth, he ran with his tail between his legs, leaving these damned corpses here.]
A manifestation bloomed to Dyon’s back, shaking the Pride Clan’s hidden world.
The laughing and the jeering suddenly stopped as Dyon’s gait straightened and strengthened.
The Pride Clan Ancestors suddenly sensed something… They sensed a Pride above their own.
Dyon shed his clothing and unhesitantly stepped into the pool of blood.
His eyes seemed to redden as he stared toward an unknown enemy. “[DEVOUR]”
Two manifestations. Two men. Two worlds. Two Paths.
Calming Lake and the Sea of Blood quaked under Dyon’s rage.
His frustration vented outward. He was pissed off with the world. He was enraged that everything was so difficult, that he constantly seemed to be fighting an uphill battle, that even the Heavens themselves seemed to be against him.
Shouts of tempering his arrogance rang from one side, shouts he had been listening to for over a year.
On the other side, he heard nothing but shouts that fueled his anger, fueled his fury.
All the while, Dyon plunged toward the Calming Lake’s lowest tier and walked toward the Higher Existence Unicorn all at once.
Streams of Consciousnesses swarmed Dyon, attempting to devour his mind but only becoming boosts toward his mental energy.
Blood surged toward Dyon, trying to crush his will, but instead becoming the vitality that fed his body.
500 million jin … 600 million jin … 700 million jin … 1 billion jin!
A barrier shattered.