"There are at least several hundreds of them in the bag!" Sharon's eyes lit up like bright stars within the vast cosmos as she screened the contents of the bag. The bag was a large one, and the energy crystals were tiny existences. Just a handful of crystals amounted to about 15 or so in total. Which meant that there were at least a thousand Energy Crystals in the bag!
"Indeed. There are actually 2500 crystals in total within that bag." Shanxi pointed at the large bag and gave a more accurate estimate of the bag's contents. Sharon's mouth opened wide in an exaggerated manner as the crystals she held in her hands slipped onto the ground.
Sarong's body flashed like a dark comet as he disappeared from his initial position and reappeared right next to Sharon. His arms moved like the dark hands of fate as they grabbed the energy crystals Sharon had so carelessly let go of before they could hit the ground.
"Good catch," Celestial Emperor Atlas praised.
"And the right call too. Energy Stones are very precious but highly delicate. If they hit the ground, they will turn to dust." Shanxi stated, causing Sharon's face to redden in embarrassment. Shanxi had mentioned this before when he first gave them their weapons. At the time it had been mentioned in passing. And he asked them to read about Energy Stones in detail. Sarong did, but she didn't.
"Although you have quite the number now, do not misuse them or be careless about them. They are still finite. And everything that has a number to it, can be depleted." Atlas gave some advice as he reached for the bag and retrieved a few of the stones.
Both Sarong and Sharon nodded their heads seriously. They understood more than most how to preserve resources. They weren't going to use the Energy Stones unless they had no other choice but to.
"That said, you still need to understand just how much of a boost you can get from the stones," Atlas wasn't finished. He tossed two stones each to Sharon and Sarong as he was speaking. Both caught the stones without much difficulty. And without any hesitation, they retrieved their weapons.
"Canyon's Mouth"
"Reaper's Edge"
Canyon's Mouth was a huge axe that contrasted the delicateness of Sharon. It was as large as the girl herself and the axe head was two times wider than the width of Sharon's broad hips! Not only did it look big, it was very heavy. For Canyon's Mouth weighed nine hundred and fifty kilograms! Yet Sharon moved it around like she was playing with a toy, and the smile on her face was not forced.
Reaper's edge was very different from Canyon's Mouth. Unlike the aggressive looking Canyon's Mouth, Reaper's Edge had a very delicate look. It was a slender saber that was half Sarong's height, and it was very beautiful. Its dark blade was joined to a white handle that served to provide beauty by contrast.
On both weapons were small holes. These holes were located on the handles and the blades of the weapons. Reaper's Edge had five small holes in its handle, whereas Canyon's Mouth had nine. However, Reaper's Edge had ten slots in its blade whereas Canyon's Mouth had only 6. These holes were the slots for the Energy Stones. They were evenly dispersed based on the size of the weapons. Canyon's Mouth had a long handle, and that was why it had that many slots in its handle. The same applied to Reaper's Edge's blade.
The slots on the weapons were many, but not every slot had to be filled. The slots acted as extra boosts of power. Filling about 4 slots opened the doorway to the Divine level for their blades. Filling every slot was enough to push the power of the blades to the peak of the Divine Level!
"Shanxi," Atlas called out.
"Father."
"Test them," Atlas ordered. And Shanxi nodded his head in response. He calmly took off his top to reveal his robust trunk and clasped his hands together.
"Ready yourselves," he warned simply. His urging prompted Sharon and Sarong to speedily equip their weapons with the Energy Stones. That was because they knew that receiving a warning was already mercy. Immediately they slotted the stones in, their weapons glowed brightly as they grew stronger.
Sharon unleashed her aura without any hesitation, and her strength as a peak Earth Realmer filled the room. She could feel Canyon's Edge growing and feeding her with more strength. And her lips curled up in delight as she drowned in the power of the axe.
Sarong was no slouch either. Once he had his stones equipped, his eyes glowed brightly as his aura expanded steadily. Unlike Sharon, his aura didn't burst out like a broken dam. Rather it scaled the heights like a galloping fawn, and soon it was at its highest.
8Th Level Earth Realm!
Sarong gripped his saber with utmost concentration. Although he could feel his body being filled with strength from the blessing of Reaper's Edge, he didn't dare lose his focus. He and Sharon were vastly different. Not just in terms of character, but in their fighting styles as well. Actually, it was their characters that fueled their fighting styles.
Sharon fought better without a plan. Just like her aggressive blade, she was a charger. She moved forward relentlessly, and being restricted was detrimental to her. And that was why Sarong never tried to constrain her or create a plan for her to follow. All you had to do was point at someone, and Sharon's overwhelming ability and active aggression would take care of the rest. And this also meant that she was more prone to killing her victims than she was to capturing them. So she was never given such missions.
Sarong was the direct opposite of his sister. Not only did he always have a clear head during battle, he was highly elegant with his movements and focused on passively accepting strikes before dishing out counters based on observations of his opponents. He was highly knowledgeable in several biological sciences, and he wasn't afraid to apply this knowledge in battle. His highly practiced and planned strikes were deadly, and he was more suited to being an assassin than he was to being a bruiser. Sharon could kill a person in a single strike, but Sarong could torture a person in just three.
"Hah!" Sharon exclaimed as she rushed towards Shanxi carelessly. Her eyes were slightly clouded, yet they brightened in excitement when she reached her destination. Her mouth was wide open in a maniacal smile, and her arms which held on to Canyon's Mouth shook in the excitement of the battle to come.
Sarong moved once Sharon moved. However, he deliberately made sure to keep a distance of two meters between them. They had fought together all of their lives and knew each other well. Sharon was careless, and the best way to support her was to stay out of her way. However, against vastly superior opponents like Shanxi, that wasn't possible. So the next method had to be adopted.
"The Cheetah stalks whilst the Lion roars," Atlas smiled in appreciation seeing Sarong's actions. The Cheetah stalks whilst the Lion roars was Sarong's most preferred strategy. Using Sharon's aggressive nature as a decoy, Sarong observed the opponent by baiting him or her with a series of quick strikes to glean some important information. Then when he had recovered enough of the information he that needed, he would strike.
"Good," Shanxi smiled, his eyes narrowed in delight. Along with his simple statement was a violent aura that threatened to swallow all.
*Crack*
*Boom*
Several fiery sparks appeared and disappeared just as quickly as Shanxi's power was revealed. Like a violent tempest his restraining aura caught the throats of the Sharon and Sarong like powerful vices and refused to let go.
"So heartless," Sarong smiled bitterly as he was forced to his knees without the opportunity to even put up a fight. Sharon was no different. Her crazed smile was no more, and just like her brother she was forced to her knees. For the one who stood before them was no mere man that they should be capable of facing him.
He was a Noble!
Shanxi, the Conquering Prince!
That was his title, the mantle given him when he ascended to his position. And he wasn't going to be slighted.
"It is foolish to think that someone will have compassion on you and fight you like an equal just because you are close. And it is an even greater folly to think that a son will always heed the words of his father." Atlas who had been merely spectating all this while slowly walked to the siblings helplessly kneeling on the ground and touched them. Once he did, the pressure that engulfed the two disappeared, and their powers were restored.
"This time, reduce your strength Shanxi. I think they have learnt not to assume wrongly." Atlas ordered, before retreating. Shanxi nodded his head slowly before rapidly retracting his aura. His aura grew weaker and weaker until it hit the 6th Stage of the Earth Realm. It was then that his kindness ceased.
*Crack*
Shanxi slowly extended his joints and lifted up his arms. Although he held no weapon, Sharon and Sarong felt like they were facing a powerful hammer, a rod of punishment that could easily smite them off the face of Planet Celestial. And for a brief moment, they wavered. Soon their eyes resumed their vigor, and they pounced on Shanxi with little to no fear. Shanxi smiled seeing them so easily break his pressure.
"Good! Come my siblings! Engulf me with the thrill of battle!"
And so they did
*Boom*