Book 1: Chapter 32: Talk in the Clouds

Later that evening, Madeleine awoke due to the temperature in the room skyrocketing for an unknown reason. The first thing she noticed was a formation around her that seemed to be trying to regulate the temperature around her.

‘if it’s this hot in here, how hot must it be outside?’

Madeleine worriedly looked towards Dyon to find him gritting his teeth in silence. He was sitting cross legged across the room with sweat drenching his shirtless body. Usually Madeleine would have enjoyed this sight, but now she was only filled with worry. However, she didn’t disturb Dyon, knowing that he must be going through some sort of cultivation. Something that was so painful for even Dyon to display the pain he was feeling would require his utmost focus. She would only be distracting him by calling out.

The winter’s moon shone through the lake and into the room as Dyon’s breathing finally steadied and the pain faded away from his face.

He looked up to find Madeleine watching him with a worried expression, “sorry, did I wake you?”

Madeleine shook her head, “it only got a little hot, it wasn’t a big deal. I was just worried about you. I don’t need much sleep anyway.”

Dyon smiled, removing the array around Madeleine, “it’s just a soul cultivation technique. Although I’m waiting on energy cultivation, I want to start on my soul and build my foundation with body cultivating.”

Madeleine looked surprised, “you want to do all 3? I’ve only heard of people doing 2…”

Dyon nodded, “I get the feeling that you’ll only reach the utmost peak if you manage to bring all 3 paths to perfection. Your God Level Constitution is actually a kind of cheat for body cultivating I think. You just need to nurture it with spiritual fruits that match its constitution.”

Madeleine nodded, “my master has told me about that before. With a little stimulation, especially since its been awoken to 100%, my body should get stronger with time,” Madeleine said with a smile.

Dyon got up and stretched his back, ‘that Celestial Deer’s Rend is something else… but, I’m getting closer to the 4^th stage now. I’ve only been practicing for a few days, but, I’ve had good results. Since I was already at the peak of the 3^rd level, I should move ahead soon…’

“come here,” Madeleine said with a smile. Dyon still couldn’t get over how alluring she was in a simple T shirt. He shuddered when he realized she wasn’t even wearing sweat pants anymore. The faint line of her underwear could be seen through the shirt, but Dyon couldn’t take his eyes off of her long smooth legs.

‘she’s not even fully mature yet… won’t I die of blood loss when she is? This isn’t even fair,’ Dyon smiled bitterly as he walked over to Madeleine, letting her bring him onto the bed.

Dyon started as he felt Madeleine’s delicate hand slightly rub against his member through his sweats.

A whisper entered his ear that made him shiver, “why haven’t you let me return the favor. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you avoiding it.”

Dyon’s voice was caught in his throat, “I –“

Madeleine giggled, “it’s okay if it’s a little small, I can always have a harem. I promise you’ll be my only husband though. The rest will just be concubines.”

Dyon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, ‘too small?’

Madeleine kissed his neck, “let me help you for once,” she said softly.

The truth was that Dyon had been avoiding it, but not for the reason Madeleine thought. In fact, because his master had infused demon qilin blood into him, it was bigger than it should be. Dyon suspected that if he absorbed blood from any other promiscuous beasts, he’d be at a loss for what to do with his sexual frustration. He could barely hold it in as of now, and he had only absorbed 5%.

The true reason was that he never wanted to make Madeleine feel as though she had to do something. She had been through enough, so he never even tried to compromise with her when he realized she wasn’t ready for sex. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t thought of letting her service him in other ways, it was just that he wanted it to be her choice. Plus, he enjoyed bringing her to her peak as well, it gave him a satisfaction he hadn’t felt before.

Dyon shivered as he felt a soft hand play with the bands of his boxers as whispers continued to flood his ears with sweet sounds, “I love your smell right now…” Dyon felt another kiss on his neck.

“you’re going to make me go crazy,” Dyon’s voice came out in a low rumble. It was deep and made Madeleine’s face flush red as she slowly slid her hand in while she wrapped a leg around Dyon’s.

Madeleine started, then smiled, “I’ve never seen one before… but this can’t be considered small, can it?” Madeleine giggled, understanding something, “you worry too much about me.”

Dyon’s voice was too weak to speak, so he could only wrap his arm around Madeleine waist and kiss her, letting her hand slowly move, bringing him endless pleasure.

**

Dyon lay gasping, trying to catch his breath, “that really wasn’t fair…”

Madeleine giggled, “it’s about time I see you be flustered about something.”

Dyon smiled bitterly, “it wasn’t even really me, the demon qilin blood in me was raging. When I absorb more of it in the future, I’ll probably break you.”

Madeleine’s light laughter filled the room, “then you’ll just have to bring me a couple sisters, won’t you? No more than 3 more though, I don’t want to share you that much.”

Dyon looked down at the girl in his arms questioningly. Usually when she said those things, she would be joking, but this seemed different.

Dyon smiled, “all I need is you,” Dyon said seriously.

Madeleine shuddered, but then a smile bloomed on her face.

“I’ve seen plenty of the human world entertainment now. It seems monogamy is the social norm there.”

Dyon nodded, “one woman. One man. That’s how it works in most places there.”

This made Madeleine’s heart quiver with happiness. It was one thing if Dyon had chosen her knowing he could choose more in the future. But, it seemed he had really planned on only ever being with her.

“It’s different here. My little brother is actually the son of a woman from a higher Sapientia Branch family. She’s often there since she’s an elder, so we don’t see her often. But, the reason I say this is because I’ve never seen my mom be bitter about it. When I asked her why, she gave me some ridiculous answer about how men and women are different. And how entering a woman’s heart when there’s another means the first did something wrong, while entering a man’s heart when there was another just means another day has passed,” Madeleine paused.

Dyon frowned. He didn’t like that answer too much either. He also didn’t like the idea that men couldn’t be loyal to a single woman.

“But, I think the answer is different. The reason you entered my heart is because you shone a light where there was none. You’re strong, resilient, and what you’ve gone through isn’t any less than what I’ve experienced, yet we both tried our very best despite the circumstances. You care for me and respect my feelings. You stood against a pillar family for me. You were stabbed by my brother for me. You accomplished something no other God Clan on the continent could do in curing me. Something like that can never be duplicated by any other man no matter how amazing or handsome he may be. You’ve impacted me in a way that makes it impossible for another man to ever enter my heart.

In fact, you did it so easily that I have no doubt in my mind you’ll soon do the same for someone else. In fact, you may have already done it and haven’t even given it a second thought. You do so many amazing things, yet you treat them as though they were routine. So, it hurts me to think that you might one day find a girl that you love as much as you do me. Who you’ve impacted as much as you have me. Just for you to walk away and destroy a life while tearing away part of yours.”

Dyon shivered at Madeleine’s words, not knowing what to say.

“Words cannot express how happy I am to have you in my life. And, I know that even if I banned you from other women, you would stay by my side. But, if you ruin the life of a girl you love, I’ll never forgive you! It’s not even necessary for me to tell you that I’ll only accept the best of girls as my sisters, because considering your mindset on monogamy, I have no doubt it would take quite a lot for you to consider another. You don’t have to go out and act on this if you don’t want to, just know that your lovely wife to be will always support you.”

Dyon slowly sat up and pulled Madeleine into his lap, slowly lowering his hands from her supple waist to her ass.

He looked up and deeply into her eyes causing Madeleine to tremble at the passion in his eyes.

“Plus, if I don’t have help, I don’t know how I’m going to handle that raging thing alon –“

Madeleine’s voice was silenced with a passionate kiss. Quiet moans filled the room.

**

A few days later, early in the morning, hundreds of expectant students stood on the deck of a silver yacht just outside the large open gates of Focus Academy.

“I believe it wouldn’t be a problem for us to join this expedition, correct? From your treasure you’ve understood that we meet the age requirements to enter this world. Our God Clans will of course compensate you properly.”

The elders smiled bitterly as they listened intently to what Elof had to say. They were well aware that no compensation was coming. And, they knew very well that the treasure had a limit of people it could teleport in and out. If they allowed these God Clan children in, it would mean taking the spot from someone else.

“We understand, and of course we humble elders will always do our best to please the best the younger generation has to offer. Just give us some time to clear spots as there is a cap in how many can enter,” a round elder of the Earth-Bound sect said respectfully.

A snicker came from Ipsum, but she said nothing further.

Elof nodded with a lofty air to him, “understood. We’ll be ready for when it opens.”

A tall Asian man with a sharp appearance stood nearby, watching the elders of the other factions bootlick, throwing away their statuses as elders. He had no need to as he represented the Kami God Clan, even the second young master of the Ragnor clan wouldn’t treat him too disrespectfully in acknowledgment of that.

Losing his patience, the elder of the Kami higher branch family walked forward, “where is this Dyon child that dared to kill members of our family? Why is he not here yet?” He said impatiently.

The elders felt their backs breaking out into a cold sweat. Dealing with pressure from the younger generation God Clan affiliates was one thing, but the Kami higher branch family was not only a member of their alliance, it wasn’t a rare occurrence for them to use their God Clan affiliation to pressure them. Dealing with so much at once was troublesome even for elders who had lived so many years.

“Elder Kami, please be patient. He won’t be missing this opportunity.”

Elof and Ace raised an eyebrow, “Dyon? Dyon Sacharro?”

The elders panicked even more when they heard this. There was no way this could end well. If Dyon was a friend of these God Clan members, then it would cause untold friction, placing the big sects right at the middle of it all. If Dyon was their enemy, it meant that all hope of saving him was gone. Without Dyon, the representatives of the big sects would take a blow. They didn’t think Dyon could match up to the younger generation now, but he’d only been in the martial world for 3 months! If he had more time to grow, their region could really benefit and their geniuses would have more of a drive to improve. But now, it seemed like all hope was lost.

Niveus frowned. Although she had a certain level of control over the Elof’s actions, if the Kami older generation wanted Dyon dead, there’d be little she could do.

The crowd of students that had once been bustling was now deadly silent. After news spread that some of them might lost their places, they were angry but not to the point of lashing out. How could they lash out at God Clan members? But now it seemed like dense killing intent was coming from the God Clan members… and it was all directed towards Dyon.

Ava, Eli and Venus stood in the crowd, frowning.

Elof smiled a smile that didn’t look too much like one, “this is simple then. Remove him and everyone he calls friend from the list of those who can enter. Since the Kami Clan would like to deal with him, don’t you think it would be a bit inappropriate for him to benefit from something the Kami Clan themselves spent centuries to open?”

The elders paled, but then had no choice but to sigh and accept the situation at hand. Now that Dyon had missed both the Elvin Forest and now the world opening, there would be little chance of him catching up to the rest of the geniuses.

Darius who was standing in the crowd with Red and Blue by his side smirked. Although he wasn’t entering the world as he hadn’t earned a spot, much of the crowd wasn’t entering either. They were just here to spectate. But, this was the perfect opportunity to not only get Dyon back for his humiliation, but to also pay Ava back for stopping him from killing him.

As Darius began to slowly walk forward, Tammy paled, ‘THAT IDIOT!! CAN HE NOT UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT HE’S ABOUT TO DO!!’

Dyon who was hidden in the clouds with Madeleine smirked at this situation. He had been trying to reach the 4^th stage before going down, but this turn of events was quite amusing to him. As soon as he saw Darius on the yacht, he was aware that this possibility might occur. As such, even after breaking through, he watched on silently. This was a happy coincidence that made his plan even easier to execute.

The Storm family members shook as well, except for their first brother who pretended he wasn’t a part of anything. They hadn’t bothered to hide their identities because they had no idea a member of the Ragnor clan would be coming. But, if they stopped Darius from moving forward with Red and Blue now, it would draw even more attention to themselves.

Darius’ voice boomed, “What are you still hiding for! Did you not hear the esteemed young master?! Eli! Ava! And I’m sorry to say, Senior Sister Venus!” Darius, Red and Blue politely bowed, “although this only makes 4 people total, I believe one additional person would not make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the treasure. I think the elders were being on the safe side with their estimates, correct?”

Tammy didn’t know how to react, she immediately went to the side of her elder brother, “first brother, immediately contact the elders and supreme elders. They must be prepared to act once we enter.”

An imperceptible nod came from the strikingly tall man as he crushed a talisman discreetly.

Elof’s eyes narrowed as he noticed Darius. But, just being blond haired and blue eyed wouldn’t have been enough for his suspicions. What really caught his attention were the scarred Slaves that followed him.

Ipsum and Saeclum froze before shaking their heads, ‘what an idiot!’

Elof crushed a talisman of his own before slowly walking forward, “thank you younger brother for your services. The Ragnor clan appreciates those loyal to them,” Elof’s last sentence was a clear probe, but Darius didn’t seem to notice. Instead, a beaming smile played on his face.

Ava, Eli and Venus, oblivious to the underworkings, walked forward and stood before the crowd, hanging their heads in shame.

Seeing Darius’ reaction, Elof started to doubt himself, ‘could he have gotten these slaves from somewhere else? Maybe the Ragnor branch family had been forced travel lightly and sold some slaves?… No. Better to kill a thousand innocents than miss a single criminal. The team the clan sends should be here once we exit the realm. Then we can finally be rid of this stain.’

What Darius didn’t know what that a group of 3 Pakal God Clan members were hidden in the clouds as well. They stood on a floating boat that seemed to be swimming through the clouds. After analyzing the world that would be opened, they had reached the conclusion that it would be impossible for such small sects to power its opening. The only way they could is if they somehow got a hold of their blood sacrifice technique, which was a logical conclusion after one of their scouts received a tip that the Ragnor Branch Clan that had stolen the technique would be here.

A young man with tanned skin that almost imperceptibly shone a bloody red spoke, “alert the clan. We’ve found a lead.”

“but, third young master, can’t we just act now? There shouldn’t be anyone who can beat you here.”

The young man shook his head, “I’ve noticed a pair of eyes on me for a while now, but I can’t pin point his/her location. Elof and Ace may be relatively weak for their age, but they are still 3 years older than me. When I am 18 as well, I will crush them beneath my feet, but for now, caution is most appropriate. Also, have you not noticed that tall young man with the long hair on the yacht?”

The eyes of the young masters two servants shone, ‘how?…’

“Right. For him to be so massive in size, yet be nearly unnoticeable, he is definitely an expert. Considering how he just crushed a talisman, it seems his idiot of a Clan Member speaking out wasn’t within their plans. As of now, it would be 3 against 9. 11 if you count the person watching me and Ace. And that’s not even considering the fact none of them would have what we want on them. Alert the clan, it seems like I’ve have to join in on the fun of this world opening too…’ he said faintly.

“do you need us young master?”

“no… I alone am enough. Plus, it’s better if they don’t understand that I have any help at all.”

“Well said!” The Pakal Clan’s third young master turned to find a handsome young man shirtless with a ridiculously long sword strapped to his back. His sweats were rolled up to his calves and he had the most beautiful woman the young master had ever seen by his side.

The young master didn’t seem to surprised, “so… you were the one watching me? To be so young… it seems like this part of the continent hides its own talents as well.”

Dyon smiled, “you speak as though you’ve aged for centuries, you’re at most 15 years old. We can get along.”

Pakal smiled, “why should I be friends with someone who spies on me?”

Dyon shrugged, “if it makes you feel any better, you wouldn’t have known I was watching you if I didn’t want you to know.”

Pakal’s eyes narrowed a bit, but he said nothing.

“Since you want to go to the legacy world opening, how about you come with me?”

Pakal didn’t answer, instead choosing to ask a question, “what do you know about this situation?”

“I know that your Pakal Clan lost something valuable. I know that that something valuable is a blood sacrifice technique. I also know that the clan who stole it is here and the clan who stole it from them is also here. And, I also know that whether or not you act, whoever it is both clans decide to bring will die.”

Pakal looked startled for the first time since their interaction began, “whether or not we act?…”

What Dyon didn’t say is that if it wasn’t for him, the Pakal and Ragnor clans wouldn’t even be here.

“Truth is that the Ragnor Branch family has many idiots in its younger generation. One of them actually offended the only daughter of the continent’s law enforcement unit.”

“The Royal God Clan’s Protectors has a daughter that goes to focus academy?!”

Dyon smirked. The truth was the assassin network of the Sicarius family was kept secret for obvious reasons. The only reason Arios even came to Focus Academy was for the Elvin Forest because his understanding of wills had reached a bottleneck he wanted to break through as soon as possible. This led to his little sister Ava coming to find clues to his death.

The reason Focus Academy had no idea about Ava’s origins was because the name Sicarius wasn’t synonymous with Protector. In fact, Ava’s father was a man who climbed up in the world through his own sheer will power. The actual Sicarius Clan was a little known backwater one which would be lucky to send even a single member to even a school as small as Focus Academy. How could the Storm family know that the children of one of the most powerful men on the continent would willingly come to such a place? Especially when intent fruits found in the Elvin forest were no better than what the Royal God Clan could provide.

But, Protector Head Sicarius was an eccentric. He believed that he would only be spoiling his children if he gave them everything they needed. Other than his daughter, who he dotted on, his sons had all adventured on their own at some time or another.

Dyon had made the connection because of a few things. For one, he knew he had heard the name Sicarius before after he read a book on the Royal God Clan in the outer pillars. He had dismissed it at the time because of the same reasons as everyone else: why would someone with such backing be here? The second reason for his suspicions was Ava’s whip. The way she used it, Dyon suspected it wasn’t her ideal weapon. Yet, he still noticed that there was something special about it. It wasn’t until he had learned about concealment arrays that he finally realized what he had picked up were the fluctuations of that array. Since his innate aurora was already at the first stage at the time he noticed, it wasn’t surprising that he’d feel it faintly. Yet, despite it not being her primary weapon, it was actually a master level weapon!

The third reason and most important reason was the life saving technique she used to escape Baal. Such a technique had to be at least a heaven level one. Couple that with the fact there would be no small clan in existence with soul stones for their younger generation and Dyon could only conclude that Ava’s father was the most powerful Sicarius on the continent.

“you won’t be the only one surprised when he gets here to wreak havoc. Once he gets here, knowing what happened to his daughter, he’ll rampage. At that time, do you think the Ragnor family would escape his wrath?”

Pakal smiled bitterly, “it seems you have all of this planned out.”

“Not particularly, the Sicarius Clan’s involvement wasn’t planned by me. It was just a lucky coincidence. My real plan won’t come into effect unless unknown variables come into play,” Dyon’s eyes shone with a cold light before returning to normal.

‘he would be quite a troublesome enemy… it’s better if I accept his extended friendship.’

“Oh! I haven’t even introduced my beautiful fiancée. This is Madeleine Sapientia,” Dyon said with a smile.

Pakal was startled again, “The… The first in line genius of the Sapientia God Clan is your fiancée?”

Madeleine smiled. She was happy to bring prestige to Dyon.

“I have heaven defying luck,” Dyon said with a smile.

Pakal shook his head to make sure he was still in reality, “I don’t mean to be rude, but, I’ve never heard of you. From our talks and what’s going on below, I assume you’re Dyon Saccharo… but I’ve never heard the name.”

Dyon waved his hand, not minding, “I’m not all too well known yet. I’m the Celestial Deer Sect’s successor.”

BOOM!

Waves of shock hit Pakal. Although many may not understand the significance of what Dyon just said, he did. To be willing to accrue so many enemies to himself without a single worry… Pakal couldn’t tell whether Dyon was just a prideful idiot or an unyielding genius. Only time would tell. If he died, he could only be an idiot. But, if he lived…

‘Those clans that have been recuperating in the dark are going to have their hands full,’ thought Pakal.

“I have one last question to ask you before we go down…”

“Ask away,” said Dyon with a smile.

“Since you know my clan has such an evil technique on hand… why are you willing to work with me? I could clearly see the disgust in your eyes when you mentioned the technique. What are you playing at?”

Dyon sighed, “techniques aren’t evil. Only people are. If I could protect the ones I love, I would gladly become a demon. I was disgusted because I’m fully aware of how many students were sacrificed in the Elvin World for the sake of powering this legacy world opening. However, I’m also aware that your Pakal Clan has had this technique for so long, yet you haven’t risen above the other God Clans.

Sure, you could say you didn’t want the retaliation of the Royal Clan, but what kind of martial artists wouldn’t seek power for such a cowardly reason? It’s clear you use the technique in moderation and most likely only with enemies. If nothing else, it seems like you’re more-so protectors of the technique than anything else.”

Dyon stopped, not wanting to say anything else. He had seen the technique in his master’s memories and he was fully aware of its origins. He knew exactly how powerful a clan who used it freely and without restraint could be. If you could survive the influx of death qi by constantly replenishing yourself with god level constitutions and transcendent beast blood, wouldn’t you be invincible? But, the Pakal clan didn’t do that. Despite their sinister appearances, Dyon had decided to reserve judgement for now.

Pakal looked into Dyon’s eyes, ‘I can truly respect this man.’

Pakal stretched out his hand, shaking Dyon’s firmly.

“Let’s go have some fun, shall we?” Dyon said with a grin, slowly lowering himself and Madeleine through the clouds and into the slowly falling snow.

He lightly held Madeleine’s hand. His back straight and his eyes sharp, ‘seems it’s time to mess with some God Clans.’