When Ace arrived at the battlefield, he took a deep gulp of saliva when he witnessed the amount of destruction a war can cause in just mere minutes.
The rich taste of blood disgusted him, the pungent air made him feel uncomfortable, the crying of humans and demon beasts in pain agonized him.
Will Jay be able to protect everyone without any of my disciples getting injured? That was the main concern Ace had, but he was helpless against the current situation.
If only he was already in the Martial Master realm, he was confident that he would take up a pivotal role in this war, but his cultivation base wouldn't change with just his thoughts.
Down to earth, he wasn't even a Martial Apprentice, just a young cultivator still building up his foundation, someone who has seen the path to cultivation but still unable to step onto it due to a mysterious barrier.
"Charlotte, there isn't much we can do here." Ace told the young woman who was holding onto his hand with a complicated expression reflected on her face.
"Charlotte?" Ace called out again as Charlotte reacted in shock, "What is it?"
"You were in a daze just now, is everything fine?" Ace checked on her as they slowly made their way back into the Valor kingdom, only to be stopped in their tracks by a few cultivators in the Martial Apprentice realm.
"Young fella, go out there and help the other cultivators out! Are you trying to feign participation just for the rewards after we win this battle?" One of the men questioned as though he was in the right, only for him and his comrades to head back into the kingdom.
Backing down isn't my style you know. Ace returned their behavior with a smile as Charlotte released her hand, her eyes signalling for him that he should go ahead and deal with them.
"Aren't you guys returning to the kingdom as well?" Ace questioned the group of men who pretended that he remained silent as he unsheathed his sword, releasing his sword intent externally to form a barrier to stop those men in their tracks.
"Huh? What the hell is with this barrier?" One of the men ignored the barrier formed by Ace's sword intent and punched towards it with his bare first thinking that Ace was just a harmless young boy, only to be proved wrong a second before he lost his arm.
"Argh!"
"You…" Yet before the man could say anything, the chill had already travelled to his heart as the cold suddenly gained heat and burnt the man into ashes.
The process was short, maybe only a second or two, but the other cultivators also stared at this scene, petrified by Ace's actions as they turned their tail and ran for their lives.
"Ace, was there really a need for you to kill that man just now? He may have offended you, but he was only being truthful in the end wasn't he?" Charlotte wasn't pleased by his actions, Ace could tell that much, but he just knew that he was in the right.
"That man deserved death. Believe it or not, when someone has committed unforgivable sins and is likely to do so again in the future for their own pleasure, I can sense it for some reason. I didn't kill that man because I want to, but because he deserved death and most importantly, he would help me manifest my slaughter law."
"Ace, next time, control yourself and don't give in to those negative emotions. If you ever need help, just know that I'll always be by your side." Charlotte rebutted as she pouted her cheeks and turned away from Ace, it's a pity I only have a year left with you…
Of course, that was a secret Charlotte kept from Ace who was making his way into the Valor kingdom.
"Are you really going to do nothing but spectate in this war?" Charlotte who still believed that Ace had his own plans asked again while trying her best to not show any signs of pain or discomfort.
This cold, I might not even be able to hold out for one more year…
"I can't say for sure, but I have a change of plans. I need to head towards the ocean immediately. Stay here and wait for my return, this isn't something you should get involved with." Ace stopped in his tracks suddenly and explained quickly before leaving.
If only he was more attentive, he would have noticed that Charlotte was in discomfort, but the current war required him to pay attention to the overall situation at all times. In the future, this would be a day he both regrets and reminiscence about even later on.
Charlotte was going to follow Ace, but the sharp pain coming from her chest caused her to gasp for air as she quickly found an inn in the Valor kingdom to rest in.
The Snow family, if you idiots aren't able to rise to the Divine realm within five years, then be prepared to get eliminated.
Ace wanted to spend more time with Charlotte, he even wanted to walk with her and explore the Valor kingdom for a moment and gather some inspiration that can be used to improve the sect.
He may seem like a partner who prioritises his sect and ambitions above his woman, but he himself knew that if he ever decides to put her before his ambitions, she would snap at him immediately. The best Ace could do, was allow Charlotte to accompany him in everything he does.
But not this time, not when this involves the Divine realm. He may be an outsider, but he wasn't an outsider totally since that woman who was probably from the Divine realm has chosen him for some mysterious reason he has no clue to for now.
Knowing that the path towards the ocean was full of peril and that one misstep could lead to his death, Ace had no choice but to slow down his pace.
Since he wasn't able to make it there as quickly as he wanted to, he made use of his sword intent to deal with any of the demon beasts below the Martial Master realm that he came across on the way here.
Oblivious to him however, one of the demon beasts that possessed the ability of flight and long distance vision, spotted his actions and descended from the sky.
Sensing imminent danger coming from above him, Ace immediately leaped backwards to evade the demon beast that almost got him immediately.
"Oh? To think that a human cultivator would be able to dodge the dive of a Transcendent realm demon beast." The demon beast laughed as it descended from the sky.
It was a hawk with a sharp beak and it took on half the human form, but that doesn't change the fact that it proved more than dangerous to Ace.
Damn it!
"Since you have fast reflexes, why don't you try dealing with the starving tiger behind you. I wonder if such a young boy who isn't even a young adult like you can deal with an early stage Martial Master realm demon beast with strong survival skills." The hawk laughed as it flew into the air and spectated the scene from above.
Drawing out his sword, Ace turned towards the tiger immediately. Since it was impossible to negotiate his way out or even speak to that hawk demon beast which would most likely ignore him, the best he could do right now was stall for time and pray that someone came across this place by a stroke of luck.
"Imbalanced Harmony!"
Concentrating his sword intent into the tip of his sword, Ace stabbed towards the starving tiger which was pouncing towards him, only for it to actually change course mid-air and scratch towards him from the right.
Unable to retract his sword in time, Ace could only stab his sword into the ground and make use of it to spin towards the opposite side of the tiger while preparing to make his second move.
"Hawk, stop playing around and bring that human to me immediately. Take note, if he comes to any harm, then then you can forget about living."
Suddenly, the hawk who was enjoying the show in the air shuddered in fear as he hurriedly flew down and stopped the tiger as he threw some meat towards it.
"Young fella, come with me." The hawk said before grabbing Ace by the robe as it soared into the sky once again, bringing Ace who could only listen to its bidding against his own will.
It seems that the master is looking for me for some reason.
Still, why did Jay's vital status suddenly turn grey and go unknown?