'My whole body's aching all over.' Ace struggled to get up from the ground, his clothes were tattered from the lightning Lorenz used but his own lightning was also surrounding him like an energetic snake.
Blood drip on the corner of his mouth. His left shoulder seems to have been injured although it wasn't to the point that he's unable to move it Ace will have a problem if Lorenz went all out right now.
"How are you still standing? Are you a beastman or something?" Lorenz looked at Ace and felt rage brimming inside his heart.
It took Ace a while but he somehow manages to straighten his back then he said, "I am not undying nor am I a beastman, but my family said that the only good thing in me is my tenacity so I can take this much beating."
Ace tapped his foot on the ground and red colored flames rose up from underneath his feet all the way to his shoulders. The flames surrounded his right side but it didn't make him less comfortable at all and the lightning that surrounds his body released sparks.
The <<Flame Serpent>> that he had been training was revealed and this time it was bigger than what he showed to Koji and the rest.
Ace's right arm had a coiled burning serpent on it while his body was coated by lightning, and after seeing this strange sight even Lorenz was caught off guard.
'Who the hell is this guy?' Lorenz thought but those thoughts vanish into thin air almost immediately after it appeared because Ace released the <<Flame Serpent>>.
A one-meter long serpent made of scorching flames burned everything that stood on its path. The image of the <<Flame Serpent>> was scary and nerve-wracking but Lorenz wanted to believe that he was stronger so he chose to stand his ground.
"<<Twin Lightning Fist>>" Lorenz's hands were covered with lightning and blue colored sparks met with the <<Flame Serpent>> coming towards his direction.
The <<Flame Serpent>> opened its maw and attempted to swallow Lorenz whole but two lighting covered hands stopped it and held it up to a standstill. Lorenz used his full strength as a seventh level Core Formation warrior and he forcefully ripped the serpent's giant maw in half.
Ace saw this happen and saw Lorenz rushing towards his direction with his right hand drawn all the way back and within a fraction of a second before Ace could even see what was happening a fist covered in lightning hit his face and sent him flying like a kite that had its strings cut.
+ 7000
'Ding… <<Lightning Demon Body>> raised to 8th level.'
'Ding… experience + 200'
It was but a single punch but Ace felt the whole world was flipped upside down and when he tried to get up a man wearing white suddenly appeared as he lay flat with his back on the ground.
"This fight stops now."
An observer stopped the fight against Ace and Lorenz.
This observer had been keeping watch to this match ever since it started and since the beginning he had also seen Ace get beat up, he had long wanted to stop the match after Lorenz used the <<Twin Lightning Fist>> but after seeing him get up with such serious eyes he thought that Ace just might have a trump card in his sleeves.
'This kid just might actually beat this guy.' He thought and when the <<Flame Serpent>> came out his expectations were met, but Lorenz's <<Twin Lightning Fist>> were simply too tyrannical and add the cultivation difference the <<Flame Serpent>> didn't stand a chance so after seeing Ace get pummelled by one a direct hit on the face the observer finally decided to intervene.
The observer took the single Restoration Pill from Ace's clothes and threw it to Lorenz then said.
"This fight is concluded. You and your group should leave this place already and move deeper inside the plateau, stop hunting for new disciples."
Lorenz wanted to at least hit Ace on the face one more time but after seeing the observer intervene with them like that the lighting on his hands slowly disappeared and he gestured his companions to leave that place.
The observer looked down at Ace who was lying on the ground and a rare smile appeared on the observer's face before saying;
"Keep trying and you may just climb your way up to the Demon Rankings."
With that little remark the observer left. Observers were neutral people and they do not take sides and judge everyone properly and this had never changed, but in rare occasions, they will find a hidden talent amongst the outer sect disciples and cheer for them to succeed.
Ace heard his bones making creaking sounds as he tried sitting up.
"Lorenz is too strong for me right now, but one of these days I will get him back for this."
Ace had a determined look on his face but after a while, that determined look disappeared after realizing one problem he currently had.
"I have no Restoration Pills to use as bet and I doubt that I can bet with someone with crystal essence, Koji was someone rare after all."
Ace thought as he tried thinking of a way on what he should be doing to get his hands on some Restoration Pills, it doesn't matter how many it has to be just one will be enough for him to bet against someone and if he were to go in the outer areas of the Lower Demon Plateau to bet, he just may collect enough Restoration Pill that Lorenz will fight him.
"That's it, the Medicinal Pill Workshop should be accepting a trade right?"
Ace stood up from the ground and left the Lower Demon Plateau for the Medicinal Pill Workshop. Ace had his uniform all tattered up and upon realizing this Ace then remembered where the Medicinal Pill Workshop was and the fact that he was supposed to be memorizing the three books given to him.
"I can't be seen like this or else someone from the Alchemist Association and says something to senior brother Min Ren."
He remembered Min Ren's words about breaking his bone and how he can't talk about how he had already finished all three books by using the system Ace chose to change his direction and go back to his house to clean himself up and change to proper clothes.
There were two paths that Ace could take if he were to go to the Lower Demon Plateau from his own home, first was the normal and the faster path of passing the area where both Alchemist Association and Martial Pavilion were located as for the other was through the Forest of Dreams.
Ace left the Lower Demon Plateau and immediately he set out for the Forest of Dreams to get to his own house, at his current pace Ace estimated that he will reach his house in no less than two hours.
The Forest of Dreams didn't have anything special that it could offer other than a date spot for the young disciples who found themselves a lover inside the Immortal Demon Sect, although the Forest of Dreams also had another name in the past the Forest of Dream is now more widely used by the youths.
"Forest of the Beast, that's what this place was called right?" Ace entered the Forest of Dreams and after walking for a few minutes Ace saw nothing but thick leaves and some rare people resting and calming their minds.
The Forest of Dream was covered by thick leaves of trees and the cool breeze in the forest can be calming that could put minds at ease so other than a popular site for people to take their ladies to, this place was also a frequented place for people who wish to clear their mind.
Ace at this point had walked a total of one hour and he had yet to take a single break. Ever since he entered the Forest of Dreams he had felt that his mind had been at ease and even the pain on his body was ease down and after a while, it slowly started disappearing.
And after a short while Ace regained some of his strength and his body was finally able to move much better than before. Feeling his body was already fine Ace tried walking faster until it turned into a full sprint as he headed to his own house.
He had noted this before but the rate of his body recovers was much faster than normal people. The strength that he should have used against Lorenz was immense and the injuries that he got was dangerous but after a while, Ace was actually able to stand on his own and was even able to run after one hour.
Ace may have connected this directly to the fact that he has a system but it was specifically from the monstrous looking Soul Seed inside his body.
It didn't take Ace long before he reach his house that was located at the very back of the residential area. He entered his house and took out a towel from his few belongings then washed it in water before cleaning his body with it.
After cleaning himself Ace took one uniform from his leather bag, after cleaning himself Ace went out and left for the Medicinal Pill Workshop.
Standing in front of the Medicinal Pill Workshop Ace could already smell the sweet aroma coming from the pill being sold inside. He was about to enter to check out some pills but a hand tapped him from behind and a lady's voice called out to him.
"Ace what are you doing here? Are you here to look at some pills?"
Ace turn around a saw Lei-Lei standing right behind him. Seeing her at this time made Ace actually heave a sigh of relief that he went back to change his clothes and clean himself and made sure that he didn't have any trace of the fight he had with Lorenz.
"Yes senior sister, I ran out of Restoration Pill rather early so I am here to check if I can exchange my few crystal essences for it."
Ace answered back and simultaneously take out his remaining crystal essence to show Lei-Lei.
Lei-Lei saw him take out the crystal essences and nodded her head.
"You can exchange those for a Restoration Pill, but you can only get one for every three."
"So I can have one pill that should be enough for increasing concentration. The books were simply too much for me at the moment, I am too slow and at the moment I have only memorized the aqueous medicines from the Myriad Butterfly Ocean."
He was in front of one of the members from the Alchemist Association, so he gave some rather early entries from the <<Records of Medicinal Plant>> book to give the impression that he was actually trying really hard to memorize every book that was given to him.
What he didn't know was that Lei-Lei was actually surprise and he was even impressed by how hardworking Ace seems to be to actually start memorizing the three books, so to give him some motivations she said.
"Wait for me here I'll give you something that will help you in concentrating, also let me take this from you." Lei-Lei took the five crystal essence Ace had with him and entered the Medicinal Pill Workshop.
Ace was there wandering what reward she was talking about and why she was giving him one was it really for him working hard. ?