Way of the Knights

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Raven could be found lying on the ground while panting heavily. 

His robes are all messy and his hair dishelved. If one looked closely, they would see how his limbs were slightly trembling as he panted for breath. His face were covered with dirt but despite all of this, his eyes remained clear and filled with determination. 

The reason he ended up like this is because he went all out with his techniques, of course without displaying his Spacetime Laws. 

Using nothing but his fists and legs, he destroyed a large amount of forest around him. The scale of destruction was as large as a whole nation. And this was done by him in a span of mere hours, which was something incredible. 

During his onslaught, he used his raw strength to devastate everything that he comes in contact with. Partnered with his Destruction Laws, he truly became a humanoid calamity. 

Raven had been doing this kind of activities during the last year of the smelting trial. He truly tested his limit in this seclusion of his, completely getting used to his new found strength to the point that he could control it by pure instinct. 

What made his truly happy, is the fact that he saw it…

He saw the barrier that will lead him to the next Concept of Destruction: Shattering.

Law of Destruction has five total Concepts, they are: Breaking, Shattering, Pulverizing, Disintegration, and Annihilation. So far, Raven already reached the acme of the first concept and couldn't improve on it anymore, which caused his Destruction Laws to become slightly stagnant. 

The Breaking Concept of Destruction Laws allowed him to break anything he comes into contact with. As his mastery gradually rose, he was able to see and interact with Fault Signs. These Fault Signs are signs of imperfection and it is represented by lines, marks or points on his surroundings. Once Raven interacts with them, he could cause a wide area of Destruction, which means ganging up on his was just a bad idea. 

With his mastery of the first Concept, although he could interact with the Fault Signs at will, he could still see and use them multiple times within a day. Sadly, as time went on, this became more and ineffective to Raven. Specially now that he could achieve the same result just by unleashing his pure physical strength, which completely defeats the purpose of mastering the first concept. 

Right now however, Raven just saw and felt the barrier separating him from the first concept to the next. This might be due to the fact that Raven didn't want to give up on his Destruction Laws and proceeded to meditate upon its profundity every single day. 

That and along with his avatars who studied the 99 Destruction Seals, caused his horizons to widen and allow his stagnant speed to resume once again. 

The profundity of the seals brought endless wonders for Raven. Just the first seal alone was very mysterious and complicated. Raven doesn't even know what the use of each seals were but using them as references for learning was incredibly useful. 

By the time he unfolded all the mysteries behind the first seal, he might also be able to break the barrier which prevented him from gaining enlightenment for the second concept of Destruction Laws. 

***

"Hmm?"

A frown appeared Raven's face as he felt some sort of movement close to him. He sat back up despite his aching body and looked around to see where the sensation was coming from. 

When he turned around, he could see a swirling portal opening behind him. This startled him for a bit before he remembered something.

"Ah right, this might mean that the Smelting Trial is already over." 

As soon as he came up to this conclusion, the badge that he hid on the pocket of his robes suddenly emitted a buzzing sound. He took it out and sank his perception within. As soon as he did so, a brief message appeared on it. 

'The Smelting Trial is over. You are placed 10th on the rankings. Do remember to keep what you just experienced as a secret. This is not a threat but a warning. You'll find no peace within the sect once you revealed this matter. Once you arrive at the sect, choose the 89th abode as your dwelling.'

Raven's expression turned quite serious upon reading this message. As soon as he finished reading it, the message dissipated like smoke and could no longer be found. No traces remained at all, which caused Raven to think that whoever sent this message truly wanted to keep this matter a secret. 

"Fine. I'm not planning on revealing anything anyway." Raven muttered, he took out a bottomless gourd on his spatial ring, the one filled with Equinox Waters. He drank several mouthfuls in order to regain some if his strength, after that he put it away and walked towards the portal.

As soon as he stepped inside the portal, he disappeared from the 89th floor. He didn't notice that the devastated areas he left started mending at a starling pace. In next to no time, the place was back to its original state as if nothing ever happened at all. Even the flattened mountains returned to their original state, this includes the mountain where Raven received the summoning, but unlike before, something was missing from it.

An hour after Raven's disappearance, several silhouettes manifested from the soil of the 89th floor. They were similar to humans but weren't actual ones. Each of this humanoids had a blue-ish skin tone. Their bodies were filled with numerous cysts which differs in sizes. On some of these humanoids, the cysts on their bodies had burst open, and if one looked closely, they will see that there seems to be some sort of tiny creatures hiding within those cysts. 

Truly a sight that could make anyone's skin crawl…

However, such a thing doesn't seem to bother the humanoids. Instead, they walked aimlessly around the forest. They don't appear to be conscious of what they were doing. Their numbers were almost endless, and wherever they go, the soil beneath their feet will be filled with a rotting stench and disgusting creatures coming out from their cysts on their bodies. 

Deep underground, a pair of eyes which looked like miniature suns, opened. Its gaze was filled with hope and anticipation. It glared at a certain spot for a while before closing and falling into slumber once more.

***

When Raven's vision readjusted to the light, he arrived at a different place with a familiar feeling. 

The air was heavy yet vigorous, the boundless skies were blue and filled with fluffy clouds and the faces that welcomed him were new yet also familiar at the same time. 

At this moment, he realized that he's back at the Divine Realm's Azure Sun Great World. Precisely within the Azure Sun Great City where the Twin Star Academy was located and where the disciple recruitment of Ancient Elysium Sect was going on. 

Raven was inside of a completely different room. He was no longer within the Devil Emperor's Pagoda, instead he was somewhere else. 

In front of him - well, them actually, stood three figures wearing maroon colored robes. The people on the left and on the right side were both elderly figures, both of them were bald. One of them had a bulbous nose and long eyebrows while the other has a long gray beard that reaches his thighs. 

These are the elders from the Ancient Elysium Sect. Elder Felton which is nicknamed Toad and Elder Norman which is known by the title Graybeard.

The one on the middle was the one who possessed the eye-catching charm. He looked like a young and dignified scholar but people who truly knew who he was, won't think of him this way. This scholarly looking middle-aged man is currently one of the era's youngest and most powerful War God. 

He is none other than Heavenly Sword War God, Henry Laurent. 

Out of habit, Raven scrutinized the people in front of him. And as he saw them using his ocular technique, he couldn't help but feel chills going down his spine. 

'Damn, anyone of these three could easily kill me in a few bouts. What an impressive line-up, no wonder they dared to go here by themselves.'

'This Henry guy is just insane. He's not even holding a sword, nor he's carrying one yet just by his aura alone, I could feel a sword tip pointed at my neck. Just how much did he refined his Sword Intent to reach this degree? Additionally, he's just an Immortal Knight Emperor, yet he gives me the impression that's stronger than Empyreans.'

Just with a glance on their aura, Raven could immediately see the difference between him and these three people in front of them. Even though he unlocked his full capacity, he's nowhere near confident enough to say that he could take on any of these people. However, this just proves that his decision to join the sect was the correct one. 

Henry scrutinized them one by one before placing a smile and saying:

"Congratulations to you all. The ten of you are now formally Outer Disciples of our Ancient Elysium Sect. And since that's the case, I'll be your Senior Brother from this day onwards...."