"I may be late, but you can't really blame me for it considering how much hassle I had to go through just to allow all of you participation in the Cultivation Forces Competition which is going to be held for the first time."
Ultric replied calmly, brushing away all fault from himself as he sat down on the last seat around the round table.
Besides Ultric, there were three other cultivators present. Each of them is renowned in a different way, not only for their strength, but because of the legendary achievements they've accomplished in this short but action-packed lifetime of theirs.
Graves, the legendary sharpshooter who was feared by others not only because of his cultivation, but because of his ability to destroy cultivation forces or enemies from afar without being seen or noticed.
Morven, the strongest array master in the fragmented cultivation world. Capable of casting two arrays at the same time, each of different manifestation properties while being able to hail about irreversible destruction according to his heart content.
Chloe, the walking mage who has mana constantly being replenished within her body, in simple terms, she was a mage that would be able to derive strength from the infinite amount of mana which was somehow contained within her body.
"Still having it your own way my friend?"
Graves who had a large muscular build laughed out loud and gave Ultric a pat to the shoulder which was dodged.
"Save it for your woman in the future."
"You're still as harsh and direct as ever huh?" Morven said while admiring the rings on his fingers, each ornamented with a precious gem which costs more than than the Nebula Kingdom if the values were to be added together.
"And still unwilling to accept me until now?"
Chloe said, pouting her crimson cheeks.
"Chloe, I need more time. Even if I'm going to get together with you, I don't want a future where we…"
Before Ultric could finish his sentence, Chloe had already planted her lips onto his.
Graves and Morven who were still fooling around a moment ago turned away from them before walking out of the room, leaving the two alone with a heavy sigh as they left the room.
They were the worst nightmares to most cultivators, but only they understood just how weak they were going to be in the upcoming adversity.
*Nirvana Sect*
The other disciples, while curious about how the Cultivation Forces Competition was going, still managed to shake that thought off their mind and focus on their cultivation.
Yes, they may be jealous, but would that be of any help?
"Senior Tiger, is it just me or is the weather especially hot today?"
One of the junior disciples who had just enrolled into the sect about a month ago asked Tiger who was half naked and doing handstand pushups on just his index fingers.
Doing one final rep, Tiger looked up into the sky and realised that the weather was cloudy with the sky nowhere to be seen.
Before Tiger could ask the junior if he was feeling sick or any weird symptoms, the sweltering heat got to him as well.
Looking around, he realised that this weird phenomenon was affecting all his juniors.
"Senior Tiger, the heat seems to be coming from that side."
One of the juniors pointed out while using his sleeve to wipe off the sweat gathering on his forehead.
Tiger looked towards the direction the disciple was pointing to, but when he realised what location that was, a tidal wave of shock stunned him.
The heat was coming from where their sect master was right now.
"Wait here, I'll take a look up ahead." Tiger turned around to tell the disciple behind him before making his way to where Ace was swiftly.
In his own dwelling, Ace was currently facing the greatest threat in this world of flames.
Even though the gentle heat was soothing, he was sure that the dragon he was facing right now posed great danger to him.
Ace wanted to move, but his body was immobilized by the chains of flame that were chained onto his limbs. The feeling was uncomfortable, but he was willing to accept it, especially when strength was constantly being absorbed by his body.
He desired strength for various purposes, he was fearless of death after having been through all those adversities. But if there was one thing he was afraid of, he was worried that his time would be up before he could save Charlotte and find the answers he needed.
Opening his mouth, Ace realised for the first time in such a long period that he was able to speak.
"Senior, I do not have any intentions of harming your life force or anything. If I have done so without knowing about it, please forgive me for it."
The dragon hesitated for a moment, its majestic body flying around in this vast dimension of flames.
"Young fella, you're a smart person, I hope you understand that nothing in this world comes without a price." The dragon said in its majestic voice, the aura of a being to never be defied encompassed in its voice.
Just like how the system and strength I possess now comes at a price which I have yet to discover huh?
"What do you need me to do?" Ace asked calmly, confident that the dragon had no intention to harm him in any way.
The dragon soared in its own dome of flames for a few moments, seemingly pondering. "If you do ascend to the Divine realm one day, help me look after the Cloud Dragon race."
Ace had a few questions related to this request, but he managed to restrain himself from asking those questions.
"I understand, senior, please allow me to ask one question before leaving this place."
"What is it?"
"Are you able to help me grow stronger before I leave this place?" Ace understood the gravity of the situation he's in right now, but he just had to do so before leaving this place.
It was just a gut feeling, but Ace knew that trouble was gonna come for him soon, once again. But unlike the past times, the feeling this time was much stronger, it was as though as if, a life was in danger.
It was a miraculous feeling which isn't backed up by any evidence, but Ace wasn't willing to take the risk, especially when life has been getting more perilous day by day ever since he gained the system.
"For what reason do you desire strength?"
"To protect those that I love and care for. Most importantly, to change my fate."
Ace said this so confidently, so calmly that the dragon was shocked. But what surprised him most was the determined sorrow in Ace's eyes, as though he has already grown sick of life only to cling onto his life because of his tattered fate.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
The dragon laughed, its voice reverberating in the world of flames it has created, its depleted life force gathering together into a spiral.
For the first time in this world of flames, the heat was actually scorching to Ace.
The inviting ignition of flame was trying to welcome Ace who was trying to back away from it. His mental instincts were telling him that it was trying to help him, but his natural body instincts were terrified of the flame even though he had already seen through life and death.
"Endure through the intense heat and what awaits you is a true rebirth deserving of the Nirvana flames which she bestowed upon you, young fella, don't let the Nirvana flames she gave you go to waste.
Even compared to my flames of zero scorch, it's only superior in comparison.
"Do you have the will to endure through this few minutes of living hell?"
"Do it!"
Ace said with determination flashing in his eyes.
Sneaking near Ace's dwelling, Tiger was about to back off and return to cultivation thinking that it wasn't a bad idea to intrude the sect master when he's busy, only to leap back in shock.
"Argh!"
Ace was groaning in pain, but to Tiger who was simple-minded, it sounded as though Ace was in danger as he tried to pull open the door, only for a barrier of heat to reflect his hands away.
"What is this?" Tiger couldn't help but cry out in pain as he pulled his hand back.
"Senior Tiger, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just burnt my own hand."
"Huh? I don't see any burn marks on your hand."
Tiger looked down at his own hand, only to realise that his skin was just as coarse as ever without any changes or discomfort to his body.
"By the way, what are you doing here?" Knowing that it wasn't a wise choice to continue this conversation, Tiger changed the conversation swiftly as he asked the junior who was the first person to be affected by the sweltering heat.
Before this junior could answer, someone else had already answered for him.
"We got Sky to check on you, considering how much you have helped us with our cultivation despite how occupied you are yourself, the least we can do is to prevent you from getting into any harm even though we might be too weak to defend you when the time comes."
"Hahahaha! Everything's fine already, let's head back to cultivating." Tiger laughed out aloud knowing that he had finally earned the respect of his juniors as everyone returned to cultivating, no one else besides Tiger curious about what exactly happened to their sect master, Ace.
Back in the world of flames, Ace was currently in the last step of dealing with the orb of flames the dragon had manifested for him.
"It's now or never!"