Several days had passed since Azrael arrived in Radiance City, and the situation within the Kingdom of Light was becoming increasingly unstable.
Military skirmishes had broken out between the Faran Duchy and the Foyd Duchy. The clashes had yet to escalate into a full-scale war, but the tension between the two sides was steadily mounting.
Azrael stood before the window of his residence, silently gazing over the city. Gaya and Olivia were in the same room.
"It seems the situation in the kingdom is getting worse," Gaya remarked.
Azrael answered calmly,
"It is only the beginning."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
To him, the growing unrest presented an excellent opportunity.
The Infinite Races Guild.
The guild branch in Radiance City undoubtedly possessed a massive stockpile of beast cores and various cultivation resources. If he could seize it, he would obtain an enormous amount of wealth that the system could convert into System Coins.
There was another important advantage as well.
The System could convert stolen beast cores into System Coins without the restrictions normally applied to resources obtained through legitimate means.
A faint smile appeared on Azrael's face.
An audacious plan began to take shape in his mind.
He would raid the Infinite Races Guild branch.
However, he had no intention of doing it immediately.
I'll wait a few weeks. If the skirmishes continue and escalate into a larger conflict, the guild's defenses will inevitably become weaker as the major powers turn their attention toward the struggle between the two duchies.
Then... I'll take their entire stockpile.
It was worth waiting for.
But until then, Azrael had no intention of wasting his time.
"I'm leaving the city."
Gaya immediately raised her head.
"You're leaving?"
Azrael looked at her.
"I'm going to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains. I need to increase my strength as quickly as possible."
Gaya's expression changed slightly.
"What about me?"
"You'll stay here and continue cultivating."
Gaya lowered her eyes.
She did not want to be separated from him.
Over the past few months, Azrael's presence had gradually become a familiar part of her life. She had grown so accustomed to having him nearby that she could hardly imagine her days without him.
Azrael noticed her sadness.
"Don't worry. I'm not leaving you behind."
Gaya raised her eyes toward him.
"I'll return."
Gaya nodded quietly.
After preparing to leave, Azrael walked out of the residence.
But just before he disappeared, Gaya suddenly called out from behind him.
"Azrael, take care of yourself."
Azrael stopped.
He turned around.
Gaya was looking at him with unmistakable longing in her eyes.
Azrael smiled.
Then he vanished from her sight.
But a few words lingered behind him.
"Finally, you called me by my name. If you'd taken any longer, I would've been disappointed."
Gaya froze.
Her face immediately turned crimson.
She had wanted to call him by his name for a long time, but she had never dared to.
She had been afraid that he might consider it disrespectful and become angry.
Now...
She realized that he had actually been waiting for her to do it.
Gaya covered her face with both hands, feeling the heat spreading across her cheeks.
Olivia, who had been watching from the side, merely smiled.
"Your relationship has certainly become interesting."
Gaya's face grew even redder.
"Don't say strange things!"
Olivia laughed.
Meanwhile, Azrael was tearing through the sky at an astonishing speed.
He was heading east.
His destination was clear.
The Ten Thousand Beast Mountains.
The region consisted of a vast chain of towering mountains, separated by an enormous rainforest that stretched for countless miles.
The rainforest was teeming with spiritual beasts.
There were even ancient rumors that terrifying beasts who had reached the Divine Ascension Realm resided deep within the mountains.
To ordinary cultivators, the region was practically a land of death.
To Azrael...
It was a vast treasure trove of resources.
Three days later, he finally arrived at the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains.
He stopped in midair.
Then he released his divine sense.
WOOOOOM!
His divine sense swept across the region.
It spread throughout the vast forest, penetrating the trees, valleys, and mountains.
Several seconds later, Azrael opened his eyes.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
He had found his prey.
A group of beasts at the Spiritual King Realm.
He did not even give them a chance to escape.
He vanished from his position.
In the next instant, he appeared in the middle of the group.
BOOM!
A brief battle erupted.
Only a few strikes were needed.
One beast after another fell.
There had been no real battle at all.
Azrael approached the corpses and extracted their beast cores.
Then he looked at their bodies.
He raised his hand.
The Demonic Devouring Technique began to operate.
A strange force enveloped the corpses, and the bodies of the beasts began transforming into vast amounts of energy that surged into his body.
Azrael wasted nothing.
Not the flesh.
Not the blood.
Not the energy.
Not even the essence.
Everything that could be converted into power would be used.
And thus...
The massacre began.
The massacre never stopped.
Dozens of beasts.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Beasts of various realms fell beneath Azrael's axe.
The deeper he ventured into the Ten Thousand Beast Mountains, the stronger the beasts he encountered became.
But Azrael was growing stronger as well.
He fought without rest.
He killed.
He devoured.
Then he continued forward.
On the twentieth day, Azrael stood before a beast that had reached the Immortal Ascension Realm.
The beast was enormous, and its aura shook the surrounding mountains.
It lunged toward him.
Azrael raised his axe.
In the next instant—
SHING!
A sharp flash tore through the sky.
The beast's head was severed.
Its enormous body crashed to the ground, causing a small earthquake.
Azrael descended slowly afterward.
His clothes were torn and covered in the blood of countless beasts.
Yet his eyes remained calm.
Twenty full days of continuous battle had passed.
For the first time in a long while, Azrael decided to check his status.
He summoned the System.
A status window appeared before him.
Name: Azrael Netherval
Affiliation: Supreme Council Clan
Power: Spiritual Emperor — Ninth Stage
System Coins: 62,577,786
Azrael silently read the information.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
He said to himself,
"I've reached the peak of the Spiritual Emperor Realm..."
He raised his head and looked toward the sky.
"And now, it is time to break into the Immortal Ascension Realm."
His next realm was within reach.
He had reached the absolute limit of the Spiritual Emperor Realm.
The next step would be the Bronze Immortal Realm.
Azrael opened the System Store.
He began purchasing the pills and spiritual herbs required to advance his cultivation.
The number of System Coins he had accumulated during this journey was enormous.
With more than sixty million System Coins at his disposal, he no longer needed to worry about a shortage of resources for the time being.
Azrael held one of the pills between his fingers and examined it for a moment.
Then he spoke calmly.
"After becoming an Immortal..."
He remembered the Council Domain Card.
He remembered the Twelve Kings.
And he remembered the Heavenly Council.
His eyes narrowed.
"That's when the real game begins."
With that, Azrael began preparing for his breakthrough into the Bronze Immortal Realm.