A gift? William wondered but he said nothing. Follow current novels on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
He watched as Riyald pulled out a small purple box from his Space Ring, which matched the same style as the boxes awarded during the trials in the Gravitas Ruins. The old man smiled amicably as he handed the box to William, then took a seat in an earthen chair.
William carefully opened the purple box, which produced a simple silver bracelet that latched itself to his arm automatically. The glow of many Complete Arrays surrounded the bracelet, and William felt his mind slightly pressured.
"This is just a precaution, Disciple William. I don't want to you accidentally reveal my existence or the nature of my Soul Cultivation Technique to others, who might do me harm in the future." Riyald explained as the Arrays tried to suppress William's memory of Riyald.
The old man continued his explanation while William inspected the Arrays with interest, "You'll completely forget about me in a few hours, but you won't forget your purpose of going out, and after you've completed your task your memories of me will return."
William nodded, although he felt that his Master's plan was a bit flawed. What the old man didn't know was that William had an SS-Rank Mind Talent, which allowed him to resist the Enslavement Array even before Flame Dragon Uri had removed it.
The Enslavement Array was only made up of a combination of Advanced and Perfect Arrays, but their purpose was to have complete control over William's decisions, while the bracelet was only a form of memory suppression. They couldn't be compared.
William could feel that the bracelet was trying to cloud his memories of Riyald, but he doubted it would take effect even after a few weeks.
Regardless, he didn't plan to reveal any information about Riyald to others. Even if his methods were a bit questionable, William understood that no one was completely innocent in the Cultivation World.
"It also has a life-saving function added to it, so don't be in a rush to remove the Artifact, my Disciple." Riyald added.
William nodded and thanked his Master. He returned to his room and pushed his Cultivation to the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, improving his strength a few levels further into the Soul Formation Realm.
The final breakthrough would require ten thousand Spirit Qi, so William committed all but one hundred Spirit Qi to his Cultivation, reducing his Cultivation Base to just under sixteen thousand.
Two weeks of Cultivation to progress through an entire Realm...I wonder how everyone in the Sect is doing?
William's Cultivation speed was even more ridiculous when considering how much time had actually passed in the outside world. Since time flowed four times slower in the Gravitas Ruins, William had only really taken a few days to reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
While he had been inside the Gravitas Ruins for four months, only a single month had passed outside. To progress from peak Golden Core combat strength to the Soul Formation Realm in a month was probably unheard of.
That being said, the latest batch of challengers made William feel as if his advantage wasn't as large as he thought. While William wasn't concerned with a group , he felt pressured to improve further.
He shook his head and returned to his Cultivation.
Five days earlier, at the portal outside the Gravitas Ruins.
A Cultivator enshrouded in a bright yellow light flew through the sky as he spoke the same words William heard when he entered the Ruins.
"The Gravitas Ruins will open in less than five minutes! Sect Masters, gather your disciples in a line with their Tickets to enter the gate!
I will say this one time only. There is a one-hour grace period upon entering the ruins. There will be no fighting during that time, lest a gruesome death awaits you."
While the Cultivator spoke, a group of middle-aged men was gathering off to the side of the entrance. Amongst the group was Supreme Left, whose young face and blonde hair stood out among the group.
These men had no intentions to enter the Gravitas Ruins, and even if they did, they would be blocked by the portal's restrictions.
As a burly man with long silver hair and a mean face approached the group on foot, the others looked to him in surprise.
A man with medium-length red hair and a similarly colored beard looked at the newcomer with a wide smile, "Even you've come, old man Brackley? Don't tell me the kid killed your Spirit Incarnation as well. You must have been quite weak in your youth!"
Brackley gave the red-haired man an icy glare as he stepped forward, "Ha, Wentor. You should be the one to talk, aren't you here as well? I bet the kid killed yours in one attack."
A third man with long greyish white hair and a peaceful smile flew in from afar and stepped in between the two whose faces were close enough that they could touch noses, "Alright you two, no need to boast your rivalry in front of the young 'ins. We're supposed to be role models."
Brackley and Wentor looked at the third man at the same time, "Shut up Gimley!"
The man looked at the two with a hurt expression, "I changed my name a long time ago, stop calling me that! My name is Hun Dao now."
Brackley looked away from Hun Dao and laughed, "Really? That's what you changed your name to? What does Hun Dao even mean?"
Hun Dao's face turned red with anger, "I hate both of you."
The three men laughed and proceeded to join the other middle-aged men, who were each among the leadership of their respective Continents.
For such a small matter like the Gravitas Ruins, this was a unique gathering of powerful Cultivators, who normally wouldn't be seen in public.
Other than Supreme Left, Brackley, and Hun Dao, they had all gathered here two weeks ago for one reason only, to meet with the young man who had killed their Spirit Incarnations while in the Ruins.
Supreme Left was only present as a formality, to mediate the sudden influx of Cultivators that were close to or equally as powerful as him.
When the last batch of Disciples left the Ruins, however, William wasn't among them. As powerful as they were, they knew William hadn't left the Ruins earlier, and with the help of a Mage with the Karma Affinity, they could tell that he hadn't died either.
There was only one outcome.
"So, is the boy still inside?" Brackley asked the group.
Supreme Left nodded, "You're welcome to do as you please once he leaves, but please refrain from damaging the portal, this training ground is for the younger generation and contains a few valuable items that might even interest yourselves."
"Are you saying that I have to wait, even if he doesn't leave for ten years?"
"Yes, but I doubt a child has the patience to explore a Ruin for so long. Rest assured, I've sent in a specialized group tasked to force him out." Supreme Left replied.
Brackley didn't ask any more questions and erected a throne made of ice to sit in. He didn't like the idea of waiting on a child, but breaking into the Gravitas Ruins would cause his Continent more trouble than it was worth.