Chapter 51: Solitude and Emptiness

As Neo grew, so did this world grow alongside him.

Or it should be said that the inhabitants of this world, the strange creatures matched his every increase in strength.

Every tiny increment.

It wasn’t only the rise in his cultivation they matched.

Even as his combat abilities grew, they grew side by side with him.

Before, he might have been able to easily dispatch these strange creatures.

But ever since the Ancient Supreme left, things here had gotten even more heated.

She seemed to have increased the difficulty of his training.

Despite her haste on that day, it seemed she hadn’t forgotten about some things.

She had made the arrangements for his training.

He felt himself being truly forged as she had promised, into the most amazing being existence had ever seen.

He wasn’t at that level yet.

Nowhere near, at all.

But he could feel the early signs.

They were there, the very first tells of a true expert.

The thoughts he held about strength and potential had transformed.

It was a steady transformation that shook his world view.

A transformation that destroyed every flawed view he had held.

Before, he thought he had reached the limit of his potential.

But with every little growth he experienced, he realized the fact that he still had more to give.

From places he never knew he could give from.

He felt like a well of endless potential, but he never let that fill him a sense of complacency.

That potential was useless if it didn’t transform into strength.

With relentless effort, he pushed himself beyond every limit he thought he had reached.

His combat ability grew, as did his cultivation.

During the time that passed, the strange creatures had reduced.

But that didn’t mean the end of his training had come.

The difficulty had only increased further.

The dragons that had been appearing at rare moments before, had now become his regular opponents.

At this moment, Neo was being chased by a group of dragons.

The battle had began with him battling two dragons at the same time.

He had gotten even better at fighting the creatures.

After getting used to fighting them, he had become familiar with their quirks.

Now, there was no need for him to run when he met two of them at the same time.

He could easily engage them.

In fact, he sought such battles.

The battle had been a very smoth one for Neo.

He even had the leisure to try different techniques.

It had been more like practice for him.

No pressure at all.

Perhaps, it was the ease with which he handled the dragons that had triggered something in the world.

Another dragon had appeared out of nowhere and joined the battle.

That hadn’t been a bad development at all.

Neo had discovered he could still handle three at a time.

Even if it required more of his focus.

But the world didn’t seem to have been pleased with that.

Three became four.

Four became five.

And the numbers kept increasing, until Neo had no choice but to make a run for it.

Now, he was being chased around by ten dragons.

If they had been scattered, he might have found it easy to pick the dragons off.

But they were glued to each other sides.

The dragons chased him, releasing their breath of fire that scorched the land they flew above.

If any strange creatures had been here, he knew even they would have abandoned all their directives, and made a run for it.

He felt fortunate for his increased cultivation.

The range and power of the techniques he could use had become even more astonishing.

The breath of fire didn’t only scorch the land.

Even the air was heated to an unbearable degree.

Nothing could remain untouched in the presence of the dragons’ breath.

Neo’s body glowed with a red-golden light.

As the chase continued, his body glowed even brighter.

It was as if his body was being forged.

It was indeed as it seemed.

Neo used the heat that pervaded everywhere to forge his body.

It wouldn’t necessarily increase his strength.

But his body would slowly become as hard as armor.

Yet retain its flexibility and softness.

The chase was long, but it wasn’t pointless.

Neo was drawing out the chase to prepare his ultimate move.

He would, in one move, end this.

The ultimate move he prepared was just that strong.

He looked to be in a dire situation, but his heart was serene.

His mind operated with a smooth flow.

Even his essence had no obstruction, flowing like a clear stream.

In one move, he turned and swung his sword.

It was a wide slash.

Its target?

The dragons in the air.

There was no flashy display.

No aura.

Nothing.

It looked no different from an ordinary sword slash.

But it was different.

There was not even the slightest point of comparison.

The dragons fell from the air.

There was nothing to hold their body together, or to hold it still in the air.

All life had fled from their mortal shells.

With mighty thuds their bisected bodies shook the ground.

There wasn’t much time for Neo to admire their bodies which had been cleanly sliced at the middle.

Devour had already reared its head.

It wasn’t one to waste time.

The bodies dissipated into nothing.

A satisfied growl resounded in the quiet that had descended after the dragons fell.

Neo didn’t mind Devour.

At the moment, there was something that drew his attention.

The sword in his hand.

He looked it all over.

By the mortal world’s standard, it was a fine piece.

Strong and sturdy, suitable for F-Rank adventurers.

It was usable even till the peak of the rank.

But that wasn’t what drew Neo’s attention.

He already knew all this.

This was the sword he had chosen for himself, after all.

This sword had been with him, since he became an Adventurer.

His first companion into the true outlands.

Even if Neo wasn’t one to be attached to things, he would find it hard not to have some sentiments for the sword.

His sentiments aside.

He had been using this sword, and it had no doubt taken a lot of lives.

But in the moment when he used that last move.

He felt the sword resonate deeply with him.

This was a sword he couldn’t be more used to.

That resonance didn’t feel like the sword suddenly became more compatible with him.

It felt like...

He frowned.

But he relaxed as he took a deep breath.

It didn’t matter.

He would keep the sword for as long as he could.

"I am halfway there."

Neo said to the empty space around him.

A growl answered him.

This was the usual for him now.

This empty world bore down on his soul.

He felt a loneliness he had never experienced in his life.

Before, he never appreciated how great it was to have the Ancient Supreme around.

But now, he felt her absence deeply.

She had been the only other soul here he could communicate with.

He could almost claim to miss her.

Devour could understand him.

At least, he thought that was the case.

But he couldn’t be too sure.

He laughed.

But he was quick to control himself.

This solitude.

He shook his head.

He still had a goal to work towards.

The goal of breaking the limit.

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This Chapter is dedicated to Midnightfrozenmoon for gifting the first Inspiration Capsule.