Chapter 43: Powers Reforged
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The wind carried whispers of the group's growing power as they regrouped on the plateau, their trials behind them. Each of them had returned stronger, more focused. But they could feel eyes on them—watching, waiting.
"People are staring," Nox said, her voice low, shadows swirling around her. She hadn't even needed to look; the darkness spoke to her.
"They're curious, scared," Rex added, his arms crossed as Blitz flickered in and out, his lightning spirit ready for action. "But what they're really thinking about is loot."
Azaymos nodded. "They want what we've taken. They think they can get it."
Darius smirked, tossing a coin into the air. "That's the thing about greed. People forget that sometimes the treasure isn't worth the fight."
"They're going to try anyway," Mara added, her eyes scanning the horizon. "We should be ready."
Azaymos stared into the distance. He could feel it—the tension building, the greed in the air as cultivators whispered among themselves. They weren't strong enough to confront them directly. Not yet. But there would be a time when they would.
Rex cracked his knuckles, sensing the same thing. "Let them come. They can try to take what's ours."
Nox stepped forward, her voice a whisper, barely audible but full of confidence. "They don't know what we are. They're selfish, thinking only about their own gain. They'll throw themselves at us for the sake of power... but they're not ready for what comes next."
Azaymos drew the dagger from his side, the wind humming in response. "Then we give them what they want—a reason to fear us."
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High above, on the edges of the plateau, a group of cultivators gathered. They were not elite, nor were they particularly brave, but the allure of the treasures the group carried was too much to resist.
"They're outsiders," one of them hissed, eyes gleaming with greed. "They've taken treasures that belong to this world."
Another cultivator, younger but equally desperate, nodded. "They've absorbed the Qi of the ancient relics. If we could just take that power..."
The leader of the group, a man with sharp eyes and a worn robe, studied the scene below. "We strike when their guard is down. Outsiders or not, they bleed the same as anyone else. We'll take what they've gained and leave nothing for the sects."
The group murmured in agreement. They weren't warriors, but the prospect of unimaginable power was enough to push them forward. And greed always made people forget one crucial thing sometimes, the price of power was too high.
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"Here they come," Darius said with a grin, his hand resting casually on his blade. "These fools really think they can take us on."
"Desperation," Nox muttered. "It's driving them right to their deaths."
As the cultivators descended the plateau, trying to flank them, Rex was already moving. His speed, enhanced by the Thunderstone, turned him into a blur. In an instant, he was in their midst, his fist crashing down with the force of a storm. The first cultivator hit the ground, unmoving.
"Should've thought that through," Rex growled, his eyes glowing faintly.
The others hesitated, but it was too late. Nox stepped forward, her shadows wrapping around her like a second skin. The air chilled, and the cultivators froze. She didn't need to fight—her presence was enough to paralyze them.
"Go home," she said coldly, her eyes narrowing. "This world has nothing left for you."
But they didn't run. Instead, one of them charged, driven by desperation. Azaymos moved faster than the wind, his dagger flashing. In a single strike, the cultivator fell, his greed undone in an instant.
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As the last of the attackers fell, Mara looked out over the bodies, her face unreadable. "They were selfish. Greedy. But that's all people are when power is on the line."
"They didn't care about anything but themselves," Darius added, kicking aside a discarded blade. "No sense of loyalty, no thought of the consequences."
Azaymos wiped his dagger clean. "It won't be the last time. People will always come after what they think they can take."
Nox looked around, her shadows retreating. "It's human nature. They'll betray each other, fight each other, just for a taste of what we have. But in the end, none of them can handle it."
Rex grinned. "Good thing we're not here to play nice."
"Agreed," Azaymos said. "We need to move on. The dagger's not fully charged yet. One more place."
Mara stepped forward, her voice calm. "There's only one place left with enough Qi to charge the dagger completely. The Celestial Garden."
Azaymos turned to her. "We'll go there. Finish this."
"The Guardians won't let us pass easily," Mara warned. "They protect the garden with everything they have."
"Then we make them stand down," Rex growled.
Nox glanced at Azaymos. "Or we take it by force."
Azaymos looked at his companions, the winds swirling around him as Gale stirred. "Whatever it takes, we'll do it."
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Far away, in the depths of the cultivation world, sect leaders were beginning to take notice of the outsiders' actions. The word was spreading fast—outsiders who had taken ancient treasures, absorbed their power, and left a trail of devastation behind them.
But something else was happening. The people of the cultivation world—those who had witnessed the group's battles—were starting to see them not as invaders, but as something more. There was a shift in the way they were spoken about—a mixture of fear and admiration.
"Maybe they're gods," one villager whispered after hearing the news of the battle. "Or demons. Either way, they're powerful."
"Powerful enough to make the sects nervous," another replied. "Maybe they're what we need. Maybe they'll bring change."
But for the sect leaders, there was no room for admiration only fear. The Celestial Garden was sacred, and these outsiders were heading straight for it.
"We will not let them defile it," one elder growled, his fists clenched. "Prepare the Guardians. They will not enter the garden without a fight."
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End of Chapter 43