Two powerful men stood in front of a fuming pool inside one of the restricted areas of the new Royal Academy. One of them had silver hair, a slender body, and shining golden eyes, which were the common traits of a member of the Elbas bloodline. Instead, the other had long red hair and a pair of dark eyes.
They were both peak rank 5 cultivators, but they belonged to different organizations that wouldn't usually hold those kinds of meetings.
"So," The red-haired man said, "This is the miraculous item that you have mentioned. Are you sure that you have the authority to show it to me, First Prince?"
"Of course," First Prince said, "My father has stopped caring about these matters. Us princes and princesses handle the family now, and you are the most promising ally. Don't you think the same, Ravaging Demon?"
Ravaging Demon didn't answer, but he kept on staring at the pool with a mixture of eagerness and hesitation.
The war against the Shandal Empire had opened the path for unforeseen and strange alliances. The departure of the two gods had even left an empty spot that every organization would be willing to fill, but that none of them had the power to cover alone.
There were only a few forces that were worthy allying with, which led to the current situation, where the higher-ups of the Elbas family and Ravaging Demon were working together.
First Prince let Ravaging Demon think, but a message suddenly arrived on his inscribed notebook. As he proceeded to take it though, the Demon spoke. "Don't bother to listen. They failed."
First Prince didn't let his words discourage him and listened to the mental message. Yet, his usual arrogant smile flickered for an instant when he heard the report.
Ravaging Demon didn't even look at him since he was confident of his previous statement. His whole focus was on the pool and its murky oily water.
However, First Prince couldn't let go of the matter so quickly and probed the Elder. "How did you know?"
Ravaging Demon ignored him for a while until he eventually snorted and explained himself. "My Master has chosen that kid as his heir. An ambush can't defeat him."
"Why did you decide to send your underlings then?" First Prince asked. He had always known that the so-called Demons had unusual methods, but it was merely idiotic to risk rank 5 cultivators in a mission that was bound to fail.
Ravaging Demon turned toward the Royal at that point and showed a smile brimming with confidence before speaking. "I needed to send a message. It won't be long until I seize what is rightfully mine. I'm the only one worthy of being the heir of the Divine Demon."
First Prince had many questions. After all, he knew about the betrayal and that the Demon had traded his allies for a share of Divine Elder Tabitha's inheritance.
If he cared so much about his Master's inheritance, he should have remained on the side of the unorthodox sects instead of help destroying them.
Nevertheless, First Prince didn't give voice to his confusion and let the topic end there. Curiosity was something that every inscription master had to learn how to control, especially when dealing with a probably unstable existence that had a lot of influence in his country.
"The pool is constantly in function, and it doesn't lack power since many cultivators of the last batch have died inside it," First Prince said as he pointed at the barely visible floating corpses in the murky water. "You can start by sending your oldest heroic cultivator to test its effectiveness before passing to the stronger ones."
That was the approach that the Elbas family had applied once they discovered the exceptional properties of the pool. The Royals had sent all the heroic cultivators that had no hope in advancing there only to switch to those in the fifth rank slowly.
"Do you know why they call us Demons?" Ravaging Demon asked.
"You don't respect the political limitations and rules of any nation," First Prince replied. "And you are powerful enough to earn a title of your own."
Ravaging Demon shook his head as he exploded in a loud laugh. It took a while for him to suppress it, but he corrected the Royal as soon as he stopped. "That is just part of it. Demons don't understand the basic ethic of life and act as they want. All their bonds, organizations, and items are mere tools meant to make them stronger. In the end, a true Demon cares only about his power. Anything else is a liability."
"Is the Elbas family a burden in your eyes?" First Prince asked in a challenging tone.
"Of course," Ravaging Demon replied before he started to undress.
His actions caused a series of complaints from the Royal, but the Demon ignored them and walked toward the pool once he was naked.
"We never tested it for beings on our level!" First Prince shouted as he watched Ravaging Demon stepping inside the pool and sitting in a casual posture.
"I've already told you how a Demon acts," Ravaging Demon said once he was inside the pool. "My centers of power are a burden too. I've stagnated at this level for centuries by now. If I have to risk death to advance, I'll gladly do it."
First Prince could only sight at that sight and leave the restricted area. He had no power over someone like Ravaging Demon, but he had to prepare for when his father ascended. One way to do that was to form alliances with powerful and promising existences.
As for what concerned Ravaging Demon, it would be up to him and the pool to decide if he was worthy of the sixth rank.
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Noah and Daniel returned to the new continent a few weeks after the ambush. They had split with June and Faith on their way back to the Archipelago, but the hybrids had followed them since Noah had submitted them.
Also, they had been in contact with Elder Julia for the matter concerning the ambush and the horned head.
The main issue with that was that the political situation in the world was quite messy and tense. No one wanted to alter it before the complete defeat of the Empire.
So, Elder Julia had declared that it was better to keep the matter a secret and take it out only when the Hive could benefit from it.
After leaving the hybrids in Danelle's care, Daniel and Noah returned to the neutral city.
The city had changed a bit. A few new buildings had appeared in the territories near the Stele.
The outskirts had grown too, and the appearance of many new habitations had expanded the city by a lot. There were even more heroic cultivators in there, and no sign of the usual tension among powerful organizations could be seen in those days.
As for Noah, he had already isolated himself in his training area, set on coming out of it only once he completed his project with the higher energy.