Chapter 126: The Power of Origin Divine Fist

Good tools made the work easier.

Cassian collected the results of his three Exchange orders, then traded more of his spare equipment toward the matching pieces he still needed. Once the additional payments went through, his spending on the equipment and Skill Book came to nearly forty million Aether.

The twenty-eight million he had already paid was part of that total. Even so, it was an extravagant sum to spend on himself.

He now had a full Legendary Seven-Star set, with a Level-7 requirement he could meet, and a Legendary copy of Origin Divine Fist, Volume I.

Only the first volume, and it was already Legendary. This was one of the signature arts of the Nine Heavens Sanctum.

Cassian used the Skill Book.

[Learned: Origin Divine Fist, Volume I.]

[Proficiency: Beginner.]

Without this Ranking, he would never have spent so freely. That much Aether could have gone toward two more Ghost Carriers.

But killing above his Level earned extra points. He had no intention of raising his Level and giving up that advantage.

Still at Level 7, he put on the Seven-Star Armor and the rest of the set, then took up the Seven-Star Sword. Strength surged through him as the equipment’s bonuses took effect.

He also had several new Monster Lures, recently bought and received through the Exchange. They could wait until he needed them.

Cassian opened the link to Ghost One, paid the Gate fees, and strode through.

The Carrier was already hunting in a Level-60 sea area. Hundreds of Elite frigatebirds wheeled around it, attacking the intruder that had entered their waters.

Liora was directing the defense. When she saw him, she quickly moved in front of him.

"Lord, what are you doing here? This is a Level-60 monster area. It’s dangerous." Her gaze passed over his new equipment. "That does look good on you, though."

"I came to try a new skill," Cassian said with a smile.

A new skill?

Before Liora could ask what it was, he moved.

Cassian drew a deep breath, aimed at the densest cluster of birds, and punched.

A deep rumble rolled across the deck. Ghost One dipped more than an inch beneath his feet.

The fist of light expanded as it flew, spreading across thousands of square meters. Dozens of frigatebirds burst into clouds of blood before they could even struggle.

It swept on for several hundred meters before fading.

A black streak remained in the air behind it. Within that mark, tiny pockets of space appeared and vanished, like worlds flickering in and out of existence.

[You killed an Elite Frigatebird. Battle Essence +1,468. Aether +180. Personal Lord Kill Points +12,288. Refined Chest ×1.]

[You killed an Elite Frigatebird...]

The notices kept arriving.

A Level-60 monster was worth six base points. At Level 7, he was fighting fifty-three Levels above himself: ten complete five-Level gaps, each doubling the points. Elite Quality doubled them once more.

Twelve thousand, two hundred and eighty-eight points from a single bird.

Cassian burst out laughing.

He had known the rules. Seeing the points pour in was another matter.

An Elite monster at Level 60 had a combat rating of seven to eight hundred stars. Several of his ordinary troops would have to work together to kill one. He had just killed dozens with one punch, and the attack had still had power to spare.

"So strong."

Cassian looked at his fist.

"No wonder Seraphine likes fighting for herself. This feels good."

His Origin Divine Fist was only at Beginner proficiency. What could it do once he truly mastered it?

The only problem was the enormous Aether cost.

The remaining frigatebirds screeched and scattered in every direction.

For a moment, everyone aboard the Carrier stared in silence. Then cheers broke out.

"Long live the Lord!"

"Invincible!"

"Invincible!"

Liora’s eyes were wide.

"Your attributes have risen that much again? And that fist art... What power!"

Aurelia descended onto the deck, staring at him with fresh respect.

"Is that really you, Lord?"

Mina’s projection appeared beside her, looking aggrieved.

"Lord, you nearly broke me under your feet!"

Cassian laughed again.

"Mina, head for a Level-70 monster area."

"Isn’t that a little dangerous?"

"We’ll be fine." He considered it, then added, "As long as we avoid Legendary monsters."

An Epic monster at Level 70 had a combat rating of roughly forty-five hundred stars. The force aboard could handle that. And he still had Battle Essence in reserve. If a Legendary monster did appear, he could raise Ghost One to Level 7 on the spot and get away.

"Hundreds of thousands of points from that one punch."

Cassian smiled. With the new Lures in his Inventory as well, first place no longer seemed out of reach.

Ghost One fought its way into a Level-70 monster area.

Even ordinary monsters here had combat ratings around a thousand stars. Only Liora and Aurelia ventured outside the Carrier’s shield. The other Dawnwings stayed beneath its protection.

"Pivot Star Swordlight."

Cassian stood atop the mast with the wind in his face. He gave the Seven-Star Sword a light swing.

A tightly focused arc of swordlight shot out and cut an Elite Tiger Shark Warrior in half a hundred meters away.

It was one of the sword attacks granted by the Seven-Star set. It could not match the overwhelming power of Origin Divine Fist, but it used much less Aether.

[You killed an Elite Tiger Shark Warrior. Battle Essence +1,880. Aether +180. Personal Lord Kill Points +57,344. Refined Chest ×1.]

The Battle Essence had not increased by much. The points had multiplied again.

A Level-70 monster gave seven base points. The sixty-three-Level difference meant twelve doublings, with another for Elite Quality.

"Very nice."

Cassian sent out dozens more arcs of swordlight, cutting down every Tiger Shark Warrior he could see. More than a million further points poured in.

He took a bottle of Clearwake Tonic from his supplies and drank it.

"Mina, patrol this area."

"Yes, Lord!"

He could handle the fighting comfortably, but there was no need to push farther into the sea.

While they searched for more monsters, Cassian opened the Marches Channel.

[Riftward Lord: Finally killed one! Level 25. Two points!]

[Riftward Lord: Aren’t you already Level 30?]

[Riftward Lord: F-grade Aptitude...]

Cassian sighed. Ordinary people still made up most of the population. His own Aptitude had once been only D. Not everyone had a way to change that.

[Riftward Lord: There are only a few tens of thousands of us. Does risking our lives to hunt personally really help?]

[Elara Vayne: Fighting above your Level earns far more points. We have some very strong Lords—Seraphine can fight twenty-five Levels above hers. Let’s all do what we can today and see where we stand.]

[Seraphine Valcrest: She’s right. I can earn over a hundred points from a single kill.]

Cassian knew that Seraphine had paid to raise herself from Level 30 to Level 40, then gone alone into a Level-60 monster area. Her Level-30 Epic guards would only get themselves killed there.

For a Lord who specialized in personal combat, the strongest member of the force was always the Lord.

Having his bottle of Life Water for an emergency had given her the confidence to push that far.

[Nessa Fenwick: Cassian has received so many attribute rewards. I’m sure he can fight twenty Levels above himself too!]

He smiled and closed the Channel.

"Time to get to work."

He had never hunted this hard since entering the Realm. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent the rest of the day killing monsters.

The following morning, he stretched and opened the Personal Lord Kill Points standings.

Ten minutes remained before noon and the first update.

He wanted to see just how much a full day’s work had achieved.