Cultivation Through Artifacts

The Practice Grounds was built at the center of the city, if anyone wished to fight with others or practice their skills without them risking their lives in the wild.

And just like on any other day, today it was full of creatures too. Some practiced on one section by punching several meters thick metal boxes, while some simply tested their techniques on standing or moving targets on another section.

There were even a few individuals that battled against each other, exchanging pointers in a friendly manner.

'What a lively place. It's completely different from the First Realm.' Khal looked around the place with awe, but not for too long. He too wished to practice as he too wished to get stronger and get back to Liza and the others as soon as possible. 

"This spot should be perfect." Khal glanced around and when he noticed no one was around, he withdrew his weapon and fixed his gaze on the target on his front.

It was a steel puppet with a black luster. It was shaped like a humanoid beast that had a lower part that represented a snake while its upper body was akin to a human's. It looked somewhat similar to a Naga.

'Yeah, it will make the perfect target.' Khal nodded and summoned the white technique scroll he just bought right into his grasp.

Now that it was his as he bought it, the seal on it was lifted completely, thus he was able to read the whole context without a problem.

After going through it slowly several times and memorizing it, Khal tossed it back into his spatial ring and raised his weapon.

Clang!

With a sharp metallic pitch that traveled far and earned a few individuals' attention in the close distance, Khal extended his fan to the side and closed his eyes.

"What is he doing with such a weak-looking weapon? Wait... Don't tell me that's his weapon?"

"Huh? Why? What weapon is he using?"

Those that stopped practicing all shifted their attention at Khal, only to sneer out loud with ridicule.

"A fan? Haha! How boring! I bet my money he is just as weak as that fragile-looking to-"

BOOOM!

However, they couldn't even finish their sentence before the whole sight before they turned crimson and a huge explosion in a form of a lotus broke toward the skies with terrifying might! Everything around them shook like crazy to the point where some even fell back onto their butts, unable to keep their balance any longer!

"Woah! A mere Mortal Grade Technique is capable of causing such destruction? Then how good will be the Earth Grade Lightning Step?" Khal looked flabbergasted, hardly believing what his eyes were seeing.

Where the training puppet once stood, now there was only a huge, three to four meters deep crater with melted chunks dripping toward the bottom, showing the might of the previous strike!

'Interesting... This Flame Lotus was capable of melting Void Steel away as though it was only butter!' Khal thought as he glanced at his weapon, which was covered in a mixture of crimson flames and essence.

According to what the old Berserker told him back in the store, every training puppet was created from a so-called Void Steel which was able to consume huge portions of energy to a limited degree, so anyone could use any type of Martial Techniques freely without worrying that they will get destroyed accidentally.

Yet, who could have guessed that there will be someone that will succeed to do the impossible and not destroy one training puppet, but completely erase its existence! It was shocking!

Of course, it was all possible because Khal used a but more than a thousand units of his essence. And because average people had only a maximum of a hundred units in their reserve, it was no surprise Khal just used his technique ten times more efficient than anyone else!

While Khal recalled his previous strike with a pondering look, trying to find any mistake in the process, a figure suddenly approached him before standing right before him.

"Hm?"

Raising his gaze slightly, the very first thing Khal noticed was a pair of silver eyes, staring at him with indefinite coldness but at the same time made him feel captivated for some strange reason.

Then, he quickly realized that the owner of those cold eyes was in truth a female, who looked breathtakingly gorgeous.

Her figure was slender and petite. Her long silver hair shone brightly under the sun's glow while they carried a kind of alluring fragrance that was the first for Khal to smell. However, her most eye-catching trait was not her physical features, such as her sharp curves at the back and the front, but her ice-cold expression that made her look like a frozen fairy, an ice goddess.

"And you are?" Khal raised a brow, finding it strange that an unknown individual, such a beautiful female on top of that, came before him just for no reason.

[She is from the Fairy race. They are usually friendly, but because their Blessings is associated with the ice element, they can be rather hostile toward fire users.]

'So you mean I should be careful around her, huh?'

[Yes, just in case...]

Khal gave a slight nod, and examined the Fairy before him. It seemed she was on the same Cultivation Stage as him, maybe a little bit higher as her presence was closer to the Third Cultivation Stage than his.

The two stared at each other for many minutes, neither of the two talking or moving. However, this quickly reaped many individuals' attention from all around the Practice Ground, especially because of the Fairy. One simply needed to be blind or needed a strong will to completely neglect such beauty.

After many minutes of silence, the Fairy finally moved, but to everyone's surprise, it was not her hand nor her feet, but the ice particles that appeared above her through her skin which quickly materialized into a solid state. 

In a blink if an eye, it became a huge ice spear with a length of at least two and half a meter!

Whoosh!

With a quick and firm grab, the Fairy swung the weapon forward, and stopped its sharp tip just an inch before Khal's face!

"You will fight me!" said the Fairy with deep coldness. Although many thought such a declaration was funny, some, including Khal noticed the obvious, knowing that he had no other choice but to accept the challenge or the consequences will be dire!