135 Primordial Superhuman vs. Cultivator: Part 3
"*Sigh* I never wanted it to come to this…" Liao Zhen felt a little shaken up after beheading the last of his former students.
He let their bodies crash into the mountain side, having already decided that they wouldn't be treated to a respectable burial.
After everything they'd done to cause indescribable harm to the mortals who depended on the Sects help to survive against sudden attacks from monsters and beasts, Liao Zhen wanted their bodies to rot out in the open.
Though he felt pain for killing his former students, they'd long lost their way on the righteous path, leaving Liao Zhen to discard them just like trash.
He was about to head back to the Red Tortoise Outer Wing Wall, yet his mind drifted towards the turbulent air towards the centre of the Sect.
'Seems like the Child made his move…
*Sigh* I should see Kang Mu… at least one last time.' Liao Zhen thought, before moving towards the Centre Night Sect City, a place that use to exude excellence and gracefulness of the Sect Founder, yet now it reeked of blood, death, and chaos.
When he reached the Sect City, Liao Zhen couldn't help but reel back his disgust at the aura that rested over the city.
It made him want to throw up, yet his immense strength kept his gut under control, before moving deeper into the city.
As Liao Zhen neared the extravagant Grand Hall, he could hear the despair and anguish in the common people's heart and souls.
They feared the Sect wholeheartedly and no matter what one tried to do or say, they would always hate the Sect passionately.
'*Sigh* Today… the Exalted Night Heavenly Sect will perish…'
Liao understood the Sect had to die by the time the battle finished and be reborn under a new name and management.
He knew Esmond would revitalise the Sect and the surrounding region, but Liao Zhen worried the students and Elders who survived the aftermath would agree with the new changes.
Before any of them could try and split the Sect in half over a power struggle, Liao Zhen made sure he reached the Grand Hall and oversaw the battle between Esmond and Kang Mu.
But to his surprise, they seemed to be roughly the same in strength and overall power.
Only Esmond had the edge to increase his power further because of the Xrian but for Liao Zhen, who knew nothing about the Xrian Cells, couldn't fathom how Esmond could fight against Kang Mu.
One had to know Kang Mu had reached the Sixth out of Twelve Cultivation Grades, with each Grade containing Ten Stages.
Typically, Sect Leaders would be selected once they'd at least cultivated their power to the Eighth Grade, unfortunately for the Exalted Night Heavenly Sect, they would select the previous Sect Leaders child.
Kang Mu father was the last Sect Leader and led them to greatest during region tournaments and competitions, but it all went to waste the moment his son took over.
Though he kept the Sect in working order, the second Liao Zhen disappeared and went into secluded training, Kang Mu brought back all the former Sect students back and gave them influential positions.
Because the previous Elders were removed and placed with weaker former students of the Sect, the materials and resources largely went to them before being allocated to the students in their care, but even then, they had to fight tooth and nail for every grain of resource.
Very quickly the Sect of the past was no more and only a demonic and corrupted Sect remained in its place that settled on strength and power above everything.
.
Liao Zhen expected Esmond could easily cultivate the core martial methods and techniques to become a godly figure since his strength already could match the Sect Leaders, yet the Grand Elder wasn't aware Esmond possessed the knowledge of the greatest techniques and methods in his mind.
In a past life, Esmond was an orphan who joined a young and weak Sect which couldn't offer him anything but basic food to live.
Relying on the food to survive and protect the younger kids, Esmond used his System and hunted beasts to gain rewards that could help build up the Sects strength.
After a couple years, the Sect turned into a silent giant that the world believed was an orphanage, yet none knew about the monsters Esmond had created through his brutish training.
None died by his hand, but everyone matured quickly enough to understand the dark truths of the world, even if they wished to keep their innocence alive.
Unfortunately for Esmond, many people kept a grudge for their upbringing, even if the follow generation to come lived an excellent life, one generation needed to sacrifice their desires and dreams.
Esmond thought everyone had moved past this and onto building their strength as a Sect, hidden away from the world, yet some of his younger brethren wanted to get some pay back.
While they weren't exactly prepared to kill their 'Elder Brother', one person wasn't prepared to let his justice be unanswered and stabbed Esmond in the back.
He happened to be the youngest of Esmond's generation, so he couldn't understand why his treatment differed so greatly to the new generation of people who'd joined the Sect.
His raw anger was all directed at Esmond, who'd become known as the leader of their little Sect, so he couldn't refrain from causing Esmond harm once the trap bound him.
After Esmond died, the legacy he left behind remained in the knowledge of the martial techniques and training methods which filled the library.
Though Esmond's journey in that world came to an end, his knowledge transformed the small hidden Sect into a giant dragon that revealed itself to lead the world.
At first Esmond didn't consider his time creating the Sect to be meaningful but he changed his mind once Carter told him they'd done some great things.
His legacy as the first Sect Leader and legacy as the First Scholar of the Sect remained even after dozens of centuries.
The first generation who stood beside him still remained alive and watched over the Sects progression while the next generations maintained the legacy.
Out of all the lifetimes he'd lived, Esmond considered it to be one of the more successful ones, yet it endless still had issues went small internal strife's would occur between younger and more ambitious member, but Esmond paid little to such issues.
.
Easily able to think back to a past technique or method to help build his strength, Esmond chose to instead rely on his body and its capabilities.
Currently the Xrian were near their peak after absorbing a great deal of turbulent emotions and Internal Body Energy, but none had taken the final step and metamorphosised.
They needed something more to push them over the edge, but Esmond couldn't understand what it was.
The fight with Kang Mu had reached a critical point were either party could take the upper hand in the battle and win.
Esmond thought about using one the Primordiam Steel Swords, an alloy created from a mixture of Vibranium, Ogyrx, Phrik, and other strong materials from within the Space.
His Aeternus Swordsmanship could possibly trump Kang Mu Sword Art Style, yet Esmond preferred to continue fighting with his fists.
So far, the battle had shown Esmond how much raw power his punches and kicks contained, while adorning an MMA fighting style.
He used the Internal Universal Sentient Energy to condense completely around the body, increasing his defence and attacking power, but Esmond realised after a short time his attacks weren't harming Kang Mu enough.
Somehow, Kang Mu used his aura to cushion the attack, leading Esmond to believe the Sect Leader knew how to absorb another's Internal Energy as their own or a potent shield technique that fought against Auras and Spiritual Energy Body Shields.
Seeing that his attacks wouldn't work any further, Esmond decided to draw the Spiritual Energy back into his body so it could flow through his blood vessels and organs.
Even the Artus Anima Star forged with his heart burned alive as it continued to be fuelled, only to dispel a denser and purer form of Energy back into Esmond's body.
Quickly, the Xrian Cells burst alive as they absorbed the more potent energy and were ready to step ahead to perform metamorphosis.
Esmond knew the fight would turn at his point in his favour, yet he held off on pushing ahead.
Kicking Kang Mu away, Esmond gained himself a moment to breathe as he looked towards the newly arrived Liao Zhen, who floated down from the broken glass skylight.
.
"Kang Mu… you've changed quite a lot, young man… and not for the right reasons either." Liao Zhen couldn't hold back his disgust right now for his student.
Because Kang Mu was the son of the last Sect Leader, Liao Zhen happily trained the further Sect Leader, however he never expected the child would take such a dark turn in life.
Looking up at the sky as Liao Zhen floated down, Kang Mu felt conflicted after seeing his teacher and mentor staring back at him disappointedly.
"M-M-Master Liao…
… *Sigh* You don't understand…
Things changed once you left… and honestly, I don't care anymore…
Let me rest after this battle…" Kang Mu couldn't hide his turmoil and pain that'd solely ate away at his souls and emotions but after seeing his Master again, Kang Mu couldn't hold it back any further.
Like the weight on his shoulders and mind was finally gone.
As he turned to face Esmond, Kang Mu couldn't help but grin as he understood the future before him.
"Come, successor!!
Let's end this, Monster!!" Kang Mu screamed as he charged at Esmond.
Prepared and ready to unleash his might, Esmond let the Xrian Cells perform metamorphosis, completely unaware his transformation would be unlike the Super Saiyans.
It was enough to draw Liao Zhen to stare at him with puzzlement and shock, whereas Kang Mu felt indescribable satisfaction that the future would be brighter than the present.
The Xrian Organism Cells exploded one by one in a chain reaction until it reverberated throughout his entire body, changing his organs, muscles, and bones to enhance themselves into a stronger state.
Esmond's body started to swell up in size as his muscles became more defined and his minds focus increased by double.
When Esmond heard the System notifications ringing off in his head, his new stats left him utterly stunned.
…
..
.
*Ding*
[Xrian Organism Cells had reached peak state!]
[Xrian Organism Cells can perform Metamorphosis to increase Hosts strength!]
[Metamorphosis Started!]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Metamorphosis Achieved!]
[Status!]
[Name: Esmond Manston]
[Xrian Organism Count: 1,250]
[MP: (2,100,000/2,100,000) → (4,200,000/4,200,000)]
[Strength: (545) → 1,090]
[Endurance: (545) → 1,090]
[Stamina: (545) → 1,090]
[Dexterity: (590) → 1,180]
[Intelligence: (630) → 1260]
[Agility: (535) →1,070]
[Magic: (450) → 900]
[Wisdom: N/A → ?¿?]
.
..
…
"Time to end this…" Esmond whispered as he felt the surge in power and strength through his body.
His whole appearance changed, from his hair returning to its natural colour of silvery scarlet rose, and his eyes similarly coloured with a denser shade, Esmond appeared holy and immortal before Kang Mu.
Liao Zhen could feel the aura of an Emperor that'd shaped and built many different nations, whose knowledge could not be matched.
Esmond even exuded the cold and calm temperament of a Commander that was born on the first battlefield of creation, only to die as the battle finished when all life died out.
Liao Zhen understood Esmond wasn't as simple as he appeared, making the Grand Elder wonder if there was a peak to the man's strength.
Kang Mu, knowing his end was imminent, took off his Spatial Ring which he threw towards Liao Zhen before Esmond punched him square in the jaw, sending the Sect Leader flying back to crash into the marble walls of the palace.
Knocked out by the force of Esmond's punch, Kang Mu didn't notice Esmond backed off when Liao Zhen interrupted the second attack.
"Let me deal with him, Child…
There seems to be something more at play here.
Leave…" Liao Zhen said to Esmond, while his mind tried to comprehend what kind of technique caused such a great transformation in Esmond.
It didn't seem to cause any harm to the body, rather it appeared in harmony with Esmond's body, meaning the rebound on the body would be beneficial instead of affecting his health.
Esmond wanted to stay and fight further, especially now that his mind focused greatly on his battle with Kang Mu, it was hard to push himself away from further inflicting death on the Sect Leader.
His body was also supercharged at this moment, so Esmond had no choice but to attack those remaining in the air around the Red Tortoise Outer Wing.
Leaving behind Liao Zhen to deal with Kang Mu, Esmond asked Carter to keep an eye on the Grand Elder.
In no way could Kang Mu escape and survive, so Esmond left the job to Carter while he went searching for what remained of the enemies.
The battle was mostly finished at this point as the Spiritual Essence forged modern weaponry blew apart the Sects forces.
Majority of the leadership was dead or trying to escape, leaving the rest of the forces to not know what to do, other than follow their previous order of attack.
Soon enough, Esmond's transformed state blew apart the remaining Sect forces until the last few people were left to be handled by the Cultivators Wang Jie had gathered to fight.
With things clearing up over in Astelan, Esmond left for the Spatial Ark Star World urgently after Echo finally reached him through a HoloCall through Esmond's HUD wristband.
'You need to get your ass back to Melbourne now!'
