Both Diamond and Cleo decided to leave the Nightmare Valley. Aranold is forced to stay inside the boundary, and with his active bloodline currently active, the yin stone in his neck is unable to suppress its drawback.
Cleo will go to Lilith and ask for a stronger yin attribute item; hopefully she will not charge him that much, but even if she did, he is unable to argue her asking price; in fact, he would probably have a harder time meeting her compared to discussing the asking price.
Aces are very busy most of the time; they do not have any free time to accommodate just about anyone, especially Lilith. The number of her suitors is incredibly high, and her status as a member of the royal family, her wealth, and her seductive appearance garner a lot of attention.
Diamond, on the other hand, will purchase food for Aranold; she will return to the boundary after obtaining a large amount of food to keep Aranold afloat.
The two quickly went to their respective destinations; unfortunately, just like he had expected, Cleo was barred from seeing Lilith.
The guards think that he is lusting over their mistress; they all know who he is, as he has been a frequent customer of this establishment in the past.
BANG! *CRACK* Just as he is trying to reason with the guards sincerely, someone hits him in the chest, causing him to fly backward and crash into a wall. He feels his ribcage cracking; multiple of his ribs were broken.
As the broken bones punctured his lungs, he could not help but spit out blood. Fortunately, his own regeneration ability started working, and his injuries started healing at an incredible rate.
Someone snorts loudly; he then mocks him.
"You dare lust after Lilith with your pitiful strength!? Not only are you stupid, but you are also incredibly poor; if not for the academy's rule for killing a fellow student in public, I would have already ripped you apart."
It was a Darkborn, beings that have a humanoid appearance but pitch black skin; they look similar to dark elves but have wings and horns; they are born with a natural affinity for dark elements, considered half-elementals.
"Young master Ban, you do not need to lower yourself for this scum; he is nothing but a warped toad trying to eat a Moon Raven," mocks one of the guards.
Cleo stands up and pats the dust from his body. He glares at the Darkborn; even if he is more powerful than him, he will not hesitate to retaliate.
Unfortunately, his mission is extremely important, and he does not want to have to fight inside Lilith's establishment. He clenches his fist tightly, trying to stop himself from punching the arrogant boss.
"Oh, angry are we? What are you going to do? Cry? Hahaha! Pathetic! As expected of a loser! You are nothing but a weakling, and yet you dare lust over my Lilith!?"
Unfortunately for him, after his words, Cleo accelerates towards him using Dragon Flight. When he gets closer, he activates Tiger Pounce, and unconsciously, his Malevolent Tiger spirit also comes out to assist him.
BANG! His fist hits the unprepared fellow; just like him earlier, the darkborn was also sent flying to a wall. Both of them are hit by attacks that they did not expect, but the punch that Cleo had thrown has more power considering that he had used his entire strength in this strike.
"Lilith is not yours; she does not belong to anybody." Casually saying these words, he, without shame, starts walking towards the exit.
He knows that his punch will not do much damage to his opponent, and while he is still bewildered by the sudden attack, he should use this opportunity to escape.
The Darkborn quickly realised what had happened, and he burst with fury, destroying the wall and floor of the establishment.
He lets out a loud roar.
"Where are you going, you toad!?"
He flies towards the exit; unfortunately for him, he no longer sees Cleo's shadow. He closes his eyes and tries to search for him via his psychic power, but this is proven futile.
Cleo, who was hiding on top of a tree, is watching the scene unfold with a smirk. He might not have the strength to contend against the Darkborn, but he has a trump card, and that is his stealth.
"Hahaha! You got him good." Suddenly someone speaks behind him; this shocked him, and because he was standing in a very delicate spot, he fell.
He quickly reacts and manages to stop himself from falling ungracefully; unfortunately for him, this made him visible to his raging enemy.
The Darkborn is glaring at him with rage. He roars and charges towards him, knowing that his situation is incredibly dangerous. He quickly prepares, but unfortunately, his sword was destroyed after fighting inside Nightmare Valley.
BAM! The Darkborn crashed against someone; it was the person that startled Cleo earlier; it was none other than Pure.
"Brother Pure!?" He did not expect to see his dear friend in this location; he also pranked him by surprising him in the tree.
"Hahaha! Brother, it is good to see you that you are still alive and well. Diamond had told me about your current objective, and I immediately came here, but who would expect that I would see such an interesting scene?"
Because of what Cleo has done for his group, he feels obliged to help his friend. Their race believes in karma, which is why they repay any gratitude given to them. What his friend has done has not only made him one of the most admired humans by the Golden Monks but also by other monks.
"Ban, I suggest that you forget what happened earlier." Even though he says this with a kind smile, the pressure he is emitting towards the Darkborn is massive.
The latter was even forced to the ground. Ban might be a top ranker who has a high chance of becoming an Ace, but the person he is facing is a long-time Ace who has just broken through to a much higher realm.