Chapter 809: What more was left?
A few hours later, inside a rundown old wooden elven restaurant at a round table, Kyle sat across from James and Alec, a deep frown on his face.
"So, all in all, we need to locate the remaining Celestial spirits?"
He asked quietly, and Alec nodded with a somber expression. They had informed him of everything, and he had to admit he didn't expect the situation to be this dire.
"Now, we have two decades..."
Jian interjected from a distance.
"Nope, it's even less than 2 decades. You were away for several months. We actually have 19 years and half a year remaining."
Kyle rubbed his chin, and silence fell over the space. But his next words made James spit out the tea he was drinking.
"Well, many of us have seen the Celestial spirits before, so it's easy for us to recognize them if we ever encounter one."
Asher pulled the chair next to Kyle and settled in with his hands folded, chuckling at James, who was coughing and staring at Kyle with wide eyes as if he weren't human. Well, in truth, Kyle wasn't a full human anymore, given his current race.
"Yes, the ones we discovered in the Lost Treasure Tomb where I was trapped. But Azazeal captured those spirits right before our eyes the instant they appeared, and we could not do anything but watch."
James rubbed his chest, trying to process the revelation. So, this group of friends had even encountered Celestial spirits?
What more was left?
The air in the restaurant grew tense, with everyone on James's team staring intently at Asher and Kyle's backs. Nevertheless, no one among them dared to speak while the powerhouses were conversing.
Kyle tapped the rim of the cup of tea that James filled for him and dropped another bombshell. This time, James wasn't the only one who choked on his breath.
"Actually, the Lost Treasure Tomb was the second place where I met a Celestial spirit. The first time was in the No mana Land."
Jian stood up, causing his chair to skid backward, and strode over to Kyle's table with a wry smile.
"Why does it feel like meeting Celestial spirits is an everyday occurrence for you? Do you have some secret that the rest of us don't know about?"
James set his tea aside to avoid choking on it again and, like everyone else, focused intently on Kyle, eager to hear his answer. By now, they all understood that there was something extraordinary about him.
Kyle paused for a moment, contemplating how to provide them with a good answer without divulging too much information.
He didn't want to disclose the existence of his bloodline or the time he met Azazeal in the No Mana Land to James.
Jian and Alec were already aware of his bloodline, and now that it had merged with him completely, no one could take it from him. Still, he wanted to avoid unnecessary annoyance by sharing too much.
"I think they are drawn to me. Perhaps it's because of my cold temperature. Even in the Sacred Divine Land, the spirits seemed to like my presence, almost as if they wanted to devour me like a treasure."
His eyes gleamed with a chilling coldness as he remembered how those Celestial spirits tried to confuse his mind to eat his essence. If he could capture them, he would undoubtedly absorb them like Azazeal was doing. But since they needed them to reach the people in the Celestial realm, he had to set that plan aside for the time being.
James could see Kyle was hiding something, but he didn't probe. His face brightened slightly as a sudden thought appeared in his mind. He wasn't the only one; Alec and Jian also seemed to be planning to use Kyle as a bait to get their hands on the Celestial spirits.
Similar to the shadow generals, they had been searching for the Celestial spirits, but neither side had succeeded in finding even a single spirit. And Kyle was claiming that his presence could attract them? How can they let this opportunity slip away?
Also, Kyle had ascended to the Celestial rank, which meant he could subdue those powerful Celestial spirits, unlike them, who would be devoured if they even dared to approach the spirits' vicinity.
Kyle sensed what was going on in their minds through their bright expressions and shook his head in denial before they could even speak their thoughts.
"No, it's better if I don't search for the Celestial spirits. If I do, Azazeal will know. So, in this case, it's best for me to stay out of this task. The moment I discover a spirit, Azazeal will show up, and then we will have to battle. It's clear who will win."
Jian cursed under his breath. They could have easily lured the Celestial spirits if Kyle had gone around looking for them.
But no, when was there ever a time when things were so easy?!
"Why is that bastard always on your tail? Last time in the Lost Treasure Tomb, he had the audacity to call you a friend. I knew he had a few screws loose, but he's insane!"
His voice dripped with sarcasm, but everyone in the restaurant caught the word 'friend,' causing them all to turn to Kyle with dreadful expressions. Alec and Asher, who were already aware, weren't fazed by Jian's words, but James was.
"Friend?"
The man asked in a voice that trembled, revealing his intense emotions, as he stared straight at Kyle, who hummed in response.
"Well, you could say that if you don't count the fact that we both want to kill each other quite badly. I wonder who among us will live in the end-him or me."
Eerie silence enveloped the restaurant. Everyone processed his words. Many were bewildered by what they heard, as Kyle had just ascended to the Celestial rank, yet here he was discussing killing Azazeal. Others were too overwhelmed to judge anything and simply stared at him
blankly.
Unlike James and his group, Jian, Alec, and Asher looked at Kyle with mild annoyance, visibly displeased by his words.
Jian confidently patted Kyle's shoulder.
"Of course, you will win. There's no doubt about it. You just need time to grow. So, don't even
think about dying."
Alec shook his head.
"No, I will kill Azazeal."
Asher didn't mind who would do it since he knew he was weak compared to them, but he wanted to join the battle.
"Azazeal is the reason my race has suffered, so I want to land a hit on him. I may not be powerful, but I plan to dip in the Sea of Consciousness. The Fruit of Fate we all consumed helped me reach the peak of the supreme rank. With the power of the fruit, we can learn natural laws more easily than others. I believe you all have already reaped the benefits, considering how easily you all reached the supreme rank after entering the Sea of Conciousness."
At that moment, the conversation was solely among Kyle, Jian, Asher, and Alec, with Kyle quietly listening to their plans.
James felt numb. Just recently, he had thought there was nothing significant left for this group of kids to accomplish. But no, he was mistaken. They had even consumed the Fruit of Fate-the legendary fruit that grows only once every thousand years!
If only James had known that Kyle had sliced it into several pieces and shared it with everyone in his group at that time, he would have been tempted to follow Kyle.
After a lengthy discussion, the group agreed that their first step would be to eliminate all the dark side individuals who were currently harming innocent, vulnerable people. Then, they would launch an attack on the planets occupied by the dark side, making them experience the suffering they were inflicting on everyone in the universe.
Kyle had no problem. He wanted to get used to his new body, and this was the best way to do it. If possible, he wanted to fight multiple supreme ranks at the same time.
He remained with James's group, and together they left the elven planet that had already
been rescued.
The group entered another small planet, and this time everyone with Kyle witnessed the power of a true Celestial.
It was nothing short of otherworldly. Kyle singlehandedly saved an entire planet in just one day right before their eyes.
Jian and the rest finally found out that Kyle had been holding back when he was beating them
up previously. If the tall man had truly used his full power, they would have already been buried ten feet underground.
Alec's eyes sparkled when he sensed what was going on in Jian's head. He draped his arm over
Jian's shoulder with a smirk.
"No, in Kyle's case, you would have become an ice statue, not buried underground."
He leaped back when Jian tossed a fireball at him to singe his hair and make him bald. The
red-haired man clicked his tongue.
"Next time, I won't miss."
It was at that moment, Kyle revealed to everyone that he had found a way to free the souls of those who had been forced to sign dark contracts by the dark side.
This time, James wasn't even surprised anymore and promptly asked Kyle to share the
technique, which he willingly did.
However, unfortunately, aside from Kyle, no one else could replicate the technique, even when he told them the whole procedure.
With a sigh, he quickly discovered a demi-human who had been coerced into signing a dark
contract. The demi-human fainted from fright, but Kyle didn't care and gestured to Alec, James, Jian, and Asher to focus on what he was doing.
"It's not difficult. You just need to find the person's soul using your spiritual energy, and without causing any harm to the soul, destroy the thin dark chains griping it."
Hearing his casual tone, everyone's eyebrows twitched violently. Indeed, it sounded easy, but only in theory. A soul represented the entirety of one's existence.
How were they supposed to find it and destroy the countless dark chains without inflicting any harm when those dark chains clung to it so tightly like a layer of flesh?