"That's where the issue lies, I forgot about those Tainted Shards. There's a reason it's called the Tainted Temple. It seems a special type of energy is needed to form it," Apollo reasoned to himself as he looked at the obsidian shard resting in his palm.
Unlike the Spirit Shards, this one was nearly 3 times the size. Furthermore, Apollo could feel energy similar to the Demonic Anima coursing throughout it. It wasn't long before he understood this was an energy that liberated the mind.
'Is this something similar to the Spiritual Essence? If so, perhaps I'll be able to achieve this level early but then again, this is only relative. When in comparison to those others, then I'm lacking. After all, from Sapphyr's words, I'm willing to bet the youths of the higher families have already entered that stage.'
Although he continually compared himself to the talents of the higher families, Apollo was never discouraged. In fact, in all instances, he used them as a reference to trample upon because, at the end of the day, this was his supreme goal—to conquer all of this world. He would turn everything into his prey.
Thus, he tightened his grasp on the Tainted Shard until it cracked. He repeated this process until the ambient Tainted Essence in the air matched that of the Natural Essence. Additionally, he sat in a lotus position.
'I don't possess another Sin but I do possess Wrath. How about I attempt to learn its spirit-based counterpart. With that, I should be able to open my Tainted Temple,' Apollo thought to himself, glancing around the room.
Based on the information Azridan told him, unlike other cultivators, he didn't need to enter a serene state. The basis of Demons was chaos. As such, the more turbulent his thought, the more complete the following temple would be.
Naturally, this came with its own dangers. The more complete the Tainted Temple was, the higher the possibility of Carnal Corruption taking place. Ergo, Azridan recommended his possessing a will of steel before attempting this.
Unfortunately, the person in mention was a youth and the prime trait of youth was impatience. Additionally, there was no doubt Apollo was the epitome of impatience. He sought power as soon as possible. So much so, he was willing to undergo tortuous levels of pain now.
"I can do this… I must. If my starting point is too low, my climb to the top will be too lengthy. I have other matters to attend to rather than worry about the trivialities attached to a lower status in an academy," Apollo muttered to himself.
Soon after, he started absorbing the Tainted Essence, which in short, was the missing half of Demonic Anima, however, it couldn't be converted. This was due to his lack of a Tainted Temple.
Much like the Infernal Nucleus transfigured the Natural Essence, the Tainted Temple did the same with the Spiritual Essence or directly interacted with the Tainted Essence without those powerful shards.
As Apollo absorbed the energy, he did so differently. While he used his pore to absorb the Natural Essence, he utilized his nostrils to absorb the Tainted Essence. In a few moments, it felt as if blades were being stabbed into his mind.
Those same blades soon exacerbating a more terrible pain. Fortunately, it was still well within Apollo's tolerance but that couldn't be said for long. In just 3 minutes, streams of blood flowed from his eyes.
Screams capable of instilling the worst kind of trepidation was soon heard. Even though the floor possessed sound-absorbing qualities, Apollo's energy disrupted that, awakening all those within a certain perimeter. Luckily, however, the defenses of the Supreme Room were something he was unable to hamper.
Otherwise, he would have provoked existences above his own capabilities. Meanwhile, a group of youths stood before Apollo's door with annoyed expressions. If their cultivation was to be disrupted, so would his. Loud bangs could be heard from the door.
However, Apollo didn't respond, or rather, he couldn't. At this moment, the stigmata shimmered under his robes—wisps of pure Ira was invading his soul. While it wasn't to the extent of his trial, it was still powerful nonetheless. To deal with it required his complete attention to subdue.
Yet, even then, he was struggling to complete the task. Concurrently, the clamor against the door grew louder. In light of his lack of reaction, tendrils of blue energy could be seen seeping under the crack of the door.
Usually, there was a defensive mechanism of the room preventing anyone from interfering with the one using the room but as mentioned earlier, Apollo was the bane of this room. Therefore, he bought consequences to himself as well.
'BOOM!'
The door was blown apart showing 9 incensed youths of varying levels. Surprisingly, they didn't belong to the Supreme Families but rather the Great Families. More specifically, these were the Nine Glories Xezym mentioned. This meant their talents were at least above the Saint-grade.
Despite their appearance, Apollo still didn't spare them any attention.
"Oi, your ignorance knows no bounds! Don't you know others on this floor are cultivating? Not to mention… who are you? I've never seen someone like you," spoke a rough-looking youth with barbaric attire and wild chestnut hair. Between his eyebrows was an orange mark filled with savagery.
"Typhir, calm down, do you feel that energy he's emitting? He should be making some type of breakthrough but I've never seen anything like this. It's rather interesting," a blonde-haired beauty spoke, examining Apollo's aura closely.
"Mn, you're right Claire," another female youth succinctly agreed, nodding, her azure hair danced in the wind. There was a refined oriental aura around her, however, if one looked closely they would realize a tinge of free will residing within her.
"Vellaria, be quiet. I say we disrupt him. It's not fair he had disturbed us all. It's bad enough we struggle to chase after those Scions let alone the even more nonsensical Paragons. This kid here is just making our progress that much harder," snarled Typhir.
"Oi. This is why you; 'll never come in contact with them. Such ardent chasing will only result in you making countless mistakes. You must remember, committing the act of comparison is to welcome the thief of confidence into your mind," Vellaria chided, offering Typhir a warning.
"Tch…" Typhir clicked his tongue not offering another word. Instead, the group of youths continued to watch Apollo as his countenance paled and contorted.
"Do you think he's trying to open his Soul Temple?" Claire asked, albeit faint, she could feel threads of soul fluctuation. This was her specialty, therefore, she was able to sense it better than the others.
"Mmm… he might be but might also not be. His aura is too chaotic to be doing so. Perhaps he's just mutilating himself. It may even be possible he is a madman. Going off the condition of this room, he must also be the source of the rumbling on this floor earlier," a calm youth added.
"You think so Aeon? That might be true," Claire nodded, a hint of adoration entering her eyes as she stared at the gentle youth Aeon. There seemed to be some underlying feelings present between the two. At her words, Aeon offered a faint smile.
"Damn! I don't understand why all the girls gravitate to you, what is it? I'm much better than you…" Typhir snarled, nearly walking out. Unlike Aeon, there wasn't a single youth amongst the Glories who could stand him.
Meanwhile, inside Apollo's mind, his consciousness entered a deep place.
"Hmm? Is this the Tainted Temple?" Apollo's consciousness looked at a crystal orb in his mind. The two technique tomes in his mind circled them perpetually but the murky grey crystal seemed unresponsive. Not only was it locked in place by black chains but it was trembling along with the chains. A foreign obsidian force was attacking the chains and damaging the entire space.
Needless to say, this was the Tainted Essence. Apollo continued to spectate this happening but after a certain moment, he was tempted to touch the crystal.
"I must. This is my mind, and to finish this process, it needs my help," Apollo insisted, placing his hand on the crystal. Countless emotions flowed through him turning his mind grey but it then dissipated.
Or rather, it seemed something was absorbing it. With the way things were progressing, it seemed he would be able to open his Tainted Temple! With this revelation, Apollo became ecstatic, his physical body trembling.
Afterward, a large diabolic shockwave originating from his forehead burst forward. The wave was so overbearing, even the youths standing before him guarded themselves with their nearly master Essence Aegis. If one looked closely, they'd realize two types of energies weaved within their barriers.
In other words, all 9 of these youths had already become Spirit Cultivators! The only thing they lacked was their first Contracted Spirits. Now, another one entered their ranks.
Quietly, Apollo opened his amethyst eyes peering at the people before him. Instead of wiping the bloodstains off his face, it receded back into his skin of its own accord. Closing his eyes, Apollo could perceive everything as if his eyes were still open.
'So this is the perception Azridan mentioned.'
"May I help you all?" Apollo questioned with a playful smile, alternating his gaze between the disgruntled group.
"Actually, you can. Your actions have disrupted us all. Thus, we have accounts to settle with you. What do you have to say for yourself?" Claire stepped forward, taking lead.
"Hmmm, my apologies. Well, now that you're out of your rooms. Mind if I take one," Apollo chuckled, rising to his feet. As his room was now, the circulation was faulty.
When they heard these words, they were all appalled. "D-did you not hear what we said? How do you have the gall to ask such a stupid question? You must have nuts the size of melons!"
"Well, you see. I have cultivation to undergo. As for you all… well, I couldn't care less," Apollo shrugged, walking past them, a dangerous gleam circulating in his eyes.
'If I provoke them all, I wonder how the selection trials will transpire. It seems three of these people are rather skilled. I'm unable to discern their strength,' Apollo mused, glancing at 3 of the youths; 2 females and 1 male.
"Oi, I don't like that attitude," Typhir grumbled, withdrawing a large broadsword. After doing so, his aura flared, presenting his Rank 9 Zul Warrior cultivation. Yet, when compared to Krone, his aura was at least 5 times thicker.
The atmosphere then turned hostile, Apollo halting in his steps. "Would you like to have a friendly spar then?"