Shadow Dawn Forest, the temperature by this time of year was relatively cold and the scanty trees had already began to wither. Dried leaves layered the earth that shook frequently in the wind.
By this time of year, this forest had became an abandoned territory and home to terrifying beasts that patrolled in search of food and water for the winter. Despite this, a few people still ventured into it and lay waste to the wilder beasts they encountered.
Among the the group of five that lay waste upon the withering forest was a purple haired boy who stood at the forefront, acting as vanguard. There were no fluctuations of power around him, only a thick and chilling coldness that was condensed around his skin to form his aura of extreme cold.
"Hu…" Letting out a soft sigh that also released an icy mist with it, the purple haired boy lifted his head to gaze off into the darkness. A coldness that was sufficient to freeze the hearts of many surfaced on his face and his aura shook.
They've been waiting here for days, and darkness had already befallen this part of Shadow Dawn Forest, and the howling wind had gotten wilder, blowing a few leaves and dried shrubs into the air.
A tall and slender female wearing a hood over her head took a few steps forward, and gently lifted her hood. As soon as her hood was revealed, her round and delicate face was revealed.
She was a stunning green haired beauty with a symmetrical face and delicate features. She had a pair of swooning emerald eyes, a straight nose, and pale full lips.
When she was just a few metres from George, she opened her mouth to speak in a melodious and soft voice that echoed in the silent darkness,
"Prince George, we've been here for weeks and even after waiting in this spot for weeks we have not found anything except this eternal darkness and wild wind."
George's slender brows jumped at these words, and after a few seconds, he sucked in a deep cold breath before releasing another icy mist in his exhale - his long and thick lashes trembled lightly in the powerful blizzard but he didn't raise them.
"Avalyn, you're too impatient. If you want to leave, you can leave. As for me, I'm waiting here until the end of this solstice or the appearance of the Immortal Dream Gate…"
Avalyn scowled deeply as she crossed her arms, not knowing whether to leave or stay at this point. It's already been a few weeks, and if not for a few personal reasons, she would have left long ago!
'After all the time I've spent wasted here, if I go back empty handed I wouldn't mind stuffing myself directly into the mouth of a Celestial Drake! Precious time I should have spent- oh heavens!'
Avalyn who had left her thoughts to run wild without restraint suddenly froze, and her entire body trembled before going soft. With a bleeding heart, she turned to glare at someone besides her.
"Hahaha, quite some interesting thoughts you are having there, Avalyn." The loud silvery voice that resonated throughout the darkness shook the feeble heart of the female elf. The mocking pitch in her voice left Avalyn wondering whether to laugh or cry at her predicament.
Her name was Eleanor, a witch with a ability to manage the souls of any living creature. Reading their minds was just a bonus that came with her ability to completely alter and consume souls.
'This psychic witch! No, more like psychotic witch!' Avalyn's heart jumped as fear flashed past her emerald eyes, even her lips were quivering as the cold gaze of the dark haired temptress swept over her.
Since she was leagues weaker than the nefarious Eleanor, all she could do was shrink back and wish she could disappear off into the wind without leaving a trace for anyone to follow.
"Cough cough, Madam Eleanor, don't you know better than to intrude on the privacy of others?" A deep mocking voice sounded from above, and the towering silhouette of a bulky man crouching on a thick tree branch dropped down and landed upon the earth with a thundering "Bang!"
Dust rose following his descent, forming a thick brown fog that shrouded them team. After a few seconds, the scattered dust begun to settle down.
When the dust finally settled down, the ripped build of a muscular dark skinned male was now visible. The dark skinned male with a bald head and thin goatee, flashed a toothy grin at Eleanor.
Eleanor simply rolled her eyes at the bald headed man before parting her lips to speak in a soft, and cold voice that wiped the grin off the male's face.
"Tsk tsk. Azai, don't you know better than to meddle in other people's business?" Eleanor spoke as she glared at the dark skinned male, Azai with glistening pink eyes. After a while her scowl turned into a mean smirk as her eyes glistened.
Azai, the large dark skinned man, trembled under Eleanor's gaze and frowned deeply. His knees had gone weak and lips quivering.
[Gaze Of Demonic Revelation]!
This forbidden skill allowed Eleanor to not just read the thoughts of those she sets her eyes upon, it also allows her to see the darkest aspects of her target - Their fear, their secrets, and their true agenda!
"This… This witch!" Azai roared out in fury as he released his aura - an explosion of spiralling red energy - and, glared at Eleanor who stood before him looking laid back and relaxed.
What Eleanor did was simply stripping Azai bare in front of a crowd - nothing less than that. He was enraged, she dared to use that skill on him without permission? It was an act of disrespect no matter what point he looked at it.
With Azai's aura rising and energy building up in torrential waves, Avalyn who was standing at the sidelines felt choked and unable to move. She felt like banging her head against the wall, but she fought it back by releasing her own aura - a green halo - as protection from Azai's aura.
As for George and the shadow sitting still in a meditative pose besides him, the red aura had no effect on them and they didn't bother stepping in to stop the brewing fight between the Barbarian and the Witch.
"Shouldn't one of you stop them before it's too late? I can't handle this!" Avalyn cried out loud with a frown on her face, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the nonchalance of the duo.
After waiting for a minute within getting a reply, Avalyn furiously stomped before looking away furiously with a scowl on her face. These two were hopeless cases, infact the four were all a bunch of battle fanatics who couldn't live a years without wrecking havoc.
"Roar!"
Azai who was now shrouded in the midst of his spiralling blood-red aura, released a beastly roar as his skin attained a reddish hue and gave off a metallic lustre. Soon, his entire body had become a strangely red metal that glistened softly.
Raising his hands and clawing at nothingness, he released a ferocious wave of glowing blood-red claws that flew towards Eleanor at shocking speeds! A single strike from one of those would be sufficient to tear diamond in halves!
Eleanor who saw this frowned as the pink light in her eyes dimmed. After waiting a split second to accumulate energy, she lifted a slender arm and drew a complicated series of seals in the air.
As soon as she dropped her arm, the seal bloomed and four pinkish blades shot out of the circle and flew towards Azai. These pink blades seemed to be ripping through space as they moved, their devastating power was enough to put down a Divine Soul Supreme!
"Heavens, if the two energies of those people who are above the Elementary Soul Supreme Realm were to clash, the entire forest might be ruined completely!"
Avalyn shrieked out in fright as she watched both energies close up the distance between one and other, if the energies truly collided - She might not get out of it without sustaining serious wounds!
Even George who ould help but frown deeply upon the actions of the two airheads. If they're energies crashed, he'd only protect himself and the forest and leave the others to their gods.
And so, he merely watched without moving an inch. He simply narrowed his eyes eyes as he averted his gaze to the side - staring at the mediating silver haired boy besides him.
When the boy heard Avalyn's words, the white robes on his body fluttered wildly as if under the assault of a fierce wind and his eyes suddenly opened. The moment his eyes opened, all life seemed to have stilled completely.
A profound and mysterious energy burst forth from his body in the form of a spiralling silver mist that shook the trees and blew away the dried leaves around him. A silver flame also flashed in his eyes momentarily before fading away.
Following his awakening, the two energies which were about to clash suddenly froze before exploding in a flash of silver light. Although the explosion was strong, the AoE [Area Of Effect] was low and not much damage was dealt to the environment.
Avalyn who had shut her eyes earlier waited and waited, and waited with her body tensed up and aura quaking but nothing happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around from the left to right- as cautious as possible.
Only after waiting for some seconds without any sudden outbursts of energy did she calm down. Her green pupils which was dilating earlier stiffened as a relieved sigh escaped her parted lips.
Eleanor and Azai both threw angered looks in the direction of the young boy, thinking it was either George or unbelievably Avalyn, but when they saw who he was, their gaze changed from cold to warm in a blink.
Swallowing back the curses which were about to erupt from the mouths, the both of them bowed to the young boy harmoniously. They seemed to have forgotten all their hate and fury.
"Young Master Leon, this lowly one greets you." The both of them spoke at once with a short bow, Thier palms sweaty and feet cold. They didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Aunty Eleanor and Uncle Azai, please don't disturb this young one when you're fighting. Especially when I'm painstakingly cultivating my Supreme Qi." The young silver haired boy smiled innocently as he spoke, but in contrast to his innocent expression, he was as cold as George when it came to serious matters, "If you disrupt my cultivation again, I'll kill the both of you."
"It is not as we really need you both… Two of you are worth nothing more than deadweight I have to shoulder…"
For a young boy who was not even a teenager yet to spit out such cold words that shut both Eleanor and Azai up, he must have considerable strength and backing.
Eleanor and Azai simply smiled bitterly at Leon's display of 'respect'. No matter how bad they felt, they had neither the strength or backing to stand against Leon, the son of the Immortal Star Overlord - a man who slaughtered an army of gods just to build his Citadel Of Darkness.
"Big brother George, I can feel it… It's here." Ignoring the two idiots, Leon turned to George to speak in a warm and friendly voice as he scowled cutely. His eyes had narrowed slightly after he spoke and his pupils had turned silver.
'Huh?' - Everyone thought in shock as they stared directly at George's back with raised brows. They couldn't make a move without his permission, and wanted to hear was his was going to say.
George nodded at Leon's words, and closed his eyes softly - he had begun his building up of energy. His accumulation of Supreme Qi in his soul space, and gathering of Elementary Energy.
No explosive power, no destructive shockwaves, just a terrifying outburst of extreme cold. An otherworldly cold enough to freeze the depths of hell for eternity!
Everyone's eyes glistened as they watched George build up his energy, each of them wanted to know what realm he had reached after eons of supreme qi cultivation…
Mortal Soul Supreme Realm, Warrior Soul Supreme Realm, Elementary Soul Supreme Realm….
Avalyn gulped down a mouthful of saliva as she began to calculate George's strength from the waves of energy being absorbed by his body. Her jaws dropped lower and lower by the every passing second.
Supernatural Soul Supreme Realm, Superior Warlord Soul Supreme Realm… H-Heavenly Soul Supreme Realm! Avalyn's heart froze with shock as she stared dumbly at the purple haired boy who was greedily absorbing the energy from his surroundings.
Even the cocky Eleanor and wild Azai felt fear in their hearts as they stared at George. If he had suddenly got angry and attacked one of them with a single strike, wouldn't they be slapped into paste? Or if he was a used a bit less strength in lesser paste?
Divine Soul Realm! Supreme Peak! This was the pinnacle of strength, a realm most cannot even imagine of reaching. A being even more powerful than a god, a being with limitless power, one of the strongest in the Plane Of Reality.
Anyone who was at the Divine Soul Realm had the capabilities to conquer galaxies and lay waste to trillions! The 'primitive' weapons of war used by various alien civilizations would become toys before such a being.
George's eyes suddenly opened and the long awaited explosion of purple energy occured, a bright purple light flashed in his eyes for a second before fading away. Clenching his fists, and feeling the power built up in his body and soul, a satisfied expression surfaced on his face.
The entire forest had turned as silent as a graveyard, even the restless wind earlier had quietened. The temperature had increased drastically and the stale air had regained it's freshness.
Dumb and adoring gazes all shifted to the young boy who had his fists clenched. Avalyn was unable to cover her mouth or conceal the love in her heart. If not for everyone here having high mental strength, that single second of George's strength exploding was enough to trap the hearts of men and women alike.
"Everyone, garner your strength. The gate to Supremacy Ascension Realm is opening!"
Immediately George's voice fell, everyone broke out of their daze looked up to a certain position just a dozen metres away from George. When they focused their Supreme Qi on their eyes, they could see that the elemental energy in that area was distorted and turbulent.
In an explosion of light and energy, a wide ink black door appeared out of nowhere before everyone's eyes. On the door were various complicated runes pulsating in a faint golden glow.
Following a soft creak, the gate which appeared from nowhere before the party suddenly began to open up slightly. When the door was fully open, George and the others looked into it only to see an endless darkness.
Everyone's eyes constricted as they began to swiftly absorb the energies from the forest without wasting a single second worth of energy. Today, they would not hold anything back!