Prince of destruction.

Yao Jun's body instantly tensed up when he heard the words of Arthurius. Without wasting any time thinking, his body shot backward, putting distance between the two of them. Yao Jun watched Arthurius with narrowed eyes, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what he should do. But faced with the actions of Yao Jun, Arthurius did not budge a single inch, merely chuckling slightly.

"No need to look so tense. You helped my clan, so there is no way I am going to do anything to you. And besides, I said I was going to give you an additional reward, didn't I?"

Yao Jun did not ease up immediately, still looking at Arthurius with narrowed eyes, his mind still racing. How had Arthurius figured out that Yao Jun held a God Gate? Yao Jun had not sensed any trembling from his God Gate when Arthurius launched his attack, so it was unlikely that Arthurius also held a fragment of a supreme law. But even with his thoughts racing, he could not come to a conclusion, so he was left with no other choice but to actually ask Arthurius.

"How did you figure me out?"

If people without fragments of supreme laws could detect the energy of Yao Jun's God Gate, he would have to be far more careful in the future, doing his best to avoid battles. but his worries were quickly shot down with a laugh from Arthurius.

"You are careless. Did you really think that the supreme law fragments didn't release any energy while not in use? If you don't hide it properly, other fragment rulers will be able to sense it."

Yao Jun found that Arthurius's words made sense, not being used didn't mean that they would not constantly radiate their fearful energy. But from his words, Yao Jun also picked up another piece of information.

"So you are a fragment ruler too?"

Since Arthurius went as far as to emphasize, 'other fragment rulers' it was likely that he too held a fragment of a supreme law. Yao Jun had not been able to sense the slightest thing, so it seemed like Arthurius was capable of hiding his own fragment properly. The lips of Arthurius curved into a faint smile as he gave a slight nod of his head.

"Indeed. I am the 2nd fragment prince of destruction, Destroying Fist Arthurius."

He raised his hand, two tall towers appearing above his palm. Once the towers appeared, Yao Jun's God Gate trembled fiercely, so there was no doubt that these were fragments of a supreme law. But why were they in the shape of towers, and not in the shape of a gate, like Yao Jun and Guo Luo's?

But Yao Jun did not pay too much attention to that piece of information, a terrifying thought entering his mind. Arthurius said he was a fragment prince, which meant that he held two fragments, rather than just one. But he also said that he was the 2nd prince, did that mean that there was at least one more fragment prince of destruction? Arthurius did not give Yao Jun any time to think over what he had just heard, returning to the main topic.

"Now for your reward, what do you want? Diana has told me about your situation, so I'll tell you now, I don't know anything about the planet you came from. You are still better off going to the closest Heaven's Secrets Company branch and checking with them. "

Yao Jun could not help but be disappointed after hearing Arthurius immediately shoot him down. He had indeed planned on asking if Arthurius knew anything about his planet, but that seemed useless now. He tapped his chin slightly, trying to figure out what he could take as a reward instead. Since asking about his home planet was impossible, he decided to ask about something else he was in dire need of.

"Do you know if there is anything that will heal a completely ruined body part, something like an eye that has been completely torn out?"

Yao Jun had never forgotten the fact that Guo Luo had lost her left eye while they were separated in the hidden realm. Arthurius knew more about the world than Yao Jun, so it was likely that he knew about any medicine that could completely heal her eye. Arthurius seemed rather surprised at Yao Jun's request, examining him up and down for a short moment before nodding his head.

"Medicines like those do indeed exist, but they are mostly created by the Merged Heaven Clan. And they are valued rather highly because of the current war, so buying them is going to be very hard. But there is a way you can get your hands on at least one portion of that medicine, even with your funds."

Yao Jun was so excited upon hearing that such a medicine indeed existed that he failed to notice Arthurius's lips curling into a somewhat amused smile. He stayed silent for a bit, building the excitement that Yao Jun was feeling, only speaking after staying silent for almost an entire minute.

"In three years, a competition for the younger generation will be hosted by a collaboration of the various clans and sects. The winners will receive rewards given by the various powers, and they will also be given the opportunity to join those powers. According to my sources, the Merged Heaven Clan will offer up one portion of that medicine for each of the top 10 competitors. If you can reach the top 10, you can get your hands on that medicine. Of course, first, you have to raise your strength to a proper level. Anyone below the middle stage of the Earthly Deity realm can take part in the competition, so there will be some very powerful people taking part."

The rewards for the competition were rather extravagant, especially for the higher ranks, so it only took place around every 100 years. Arthurius could only say that Yao Jun had great luck. Not only was one of the rewards of the competition one of the things he needed, but the beginning of the competition was not far away. Yao Jun quickly pushed down his excitement, thanking Arthurius with a slight bow.

"Thank you for the information, It seems I will have to do my best to take part in that competition."

He promised Guo Luo that he would heal her ruined eye, so he had to get his hands on at least one portion of that medicine. As to whether or not he could become strong enough to secure a spot in the top 10 within the next three years, he could only do his best. Once Yao Jun finished his slight bow, Arthurius spoke up again, somewhat surprising Yao Jun.

"Alright, that information can't really be considered a reward, so you can still mention something that you want."

Yao Jun had expected the information about the medicine to be the only reward he got, but not it seemed that Arthurius was more generous than he had first assumed. He spent a short moment thinking, listing the two things he was currently most worried about.

"Then, can you teach me how to hide the energy that my fragment releases? If you can't, can you help me increase the strength of my body?"

Yao Jun was not worried about increasing his cultivation, that could be done rather smoothly by absorbing Demonic beasts. But increasing the strength of his body had started slowing down quite a bit, so he was uncertain when he would be able to continue carving channels for his Crumbling The Nine Heavens technique. Arthurius did not even spend a second thinking about it, nodding his head immediately, warning Yao Jun.

"I can easily do both, we can even do both at once to save some time. But I must warn you, strengthening your body is going to be extremely painful."

The body was one of the three most important parts of a person, so there was no way strengthening it was easy. Yao Jun did not even flinch in the face of the warning, he had long become accustomed to pain, so it would not be enough to deter him. The smile on Arthurius's face grew brighter upon seeing Yao Jun's determined expression, a laugh escaping his lips as he stepped forward and pat Yao Jun on the shoulder.

"It seems you aren't deterred, good, I like your guts. Then let me give you one more piece of advice. As quickly as you can, absorb a Demonic beast with a monstrously strong body. And I don't mean one with a tough shell or something, I mean one that has an all-around strong body. Doing so will make it much easier for you to strengthen your body, something that will aid you greatly in the future. The higher one's cultivation, the more they use the laws in battles. This means that they often have weaker bodies, so having a stronger body that lets you tank some hits while you cross the distance is very useful."

Yao Jun had not even been able to see how Arthurius had crossed the distance between them. He had only taken a single step, suddenly appearing in front of Yao Jun, his hand already on his shoulder. Yao Jun was once again reminded of the sheer difference in strength between the two of them. While Yao Jun was marveling at the difference in strength, Arthurius took half a step backward, bringing out his two fragments once more.

"Alright, let's move on to the actual reward then. I assume you have already sensed the energy that your fragment releases? Sense that energy, bend it to your will, order it to gather within your fragment. Once you manage to do that, no one will be able to figure out that you have a fragment unless you show it off to others."

Yao Jun gave a slight nod of his head, he had indeed sensed the unique energy that his God Gate released, even controlling it slightly. After Yao Jun nodded, Arthurius pointed at the air in front of him, four pitch black orbs appearing at the tip of his finger. While Yao Jun was feeling the horrific energy that the orbs contained, Arthurius explained their usage.

"These orbs will launch attacks whenever they sense the energy of a fragment. Each attack will bring your body to the brink of destruction, allowing it to grow stronger by healing. You will have to resist the attacks, focus on healing, as well as working on getting your law under control. But don't worry, even if you fail, there is no way you are going to die."

Arthurius did not even give Yao Jun any time to prepare, the four orbs instantly raining attacks in the shapes of droplets down upon him. Each droplet felt like a mountain as it struck him, his bones creaking and his flesh and veins trembling. Yao Jun could only grit his teeth and focus on what Arthurius had said, healing himself and trying to control the energy of his God Gate.

Without Yao Jun noticing, Arthurius had vanished from the pitch black space, returning to the camp where the army was stationed. He sat on the exquisite water-bed in his tent, an amused smile on his face as he chuckled to himself, his gaze turning towards the distance.

"Things are really getting interesting. Not only he, who holds a strange fragment that can make mine shiver in fear, but there are also three other fragment lords taking part in that competition, as well as one fragment prince. Those outsiders have also gotten very rowdy in these last few months, so it seems that things are getting very chaotic now."

If Yao Jun had merely held a normal fragment of the Supreme Law of Demons, while Arthurius would have an interest in him, he would not bother giving him an additional reward. But whatever fragment Yao Jun held, it had caused the two fragments that Arthurius held to shiver in fear. Such a mysterious thing had never happened before, so Arthurius decided that getting on Yao Jun's good side would not lead to a loss for the World Tree Clan. His chuckling slowly grew louder, turning into a loud laughter as he threw his head back and gazed at the distant sky.

"Good, good! Things have been too boring lately, bring on the chaos and let us all have some fun!"

--

While Yao Jun was enduring the training that Arthurius had prepared for him, Guo Luo was slowly walking down a very rural road that passed through a dense forest. Her stomach had swelled a bit more, only making her pregnancy even clearer. In her right hand, she held a purple jade slip, the one that had been given to them by Wan Yi before Guo Luo and Yao Jun returned to the grand Quan continent.

"Have you talked with the others?"

After leaving the hidden realm, the jade slips had started working again, so Guo Luo made sure to stay in contact with Yun Yantian and the others. There was a slight moment of silence from the jade, but after a bit of time, it lit up, the sighing voice of Yun Yantian coming from it.

"I have, but you have probably already guessed their responses. Ren has no ambitions, so he has no interest in leaving this planet. Yi wants to continue her mother's legacy and create places where everyone from the Demon Race and Human Race can live in peace. Yuhuan and Long are working on rebuilding the Yang clan, so they don't really have the time to join us. Are you still sure you want to do it?"

Guo Luo raised her head after hearing the response, her eyes gazing at the sky with determined eyes as if she could see the barrier that sealed the planet, that trapped them there. Her expression quickly softened as she spoke out with a soft laughter.

"I am. You know how Jun'er can be when he is on his own. With his single-mindedness, he has probably already gotten lost and then dragged into something troublesome. If I am not by his side to keep an eye on him, he will just continue to get dragged around by others. And I don't want the child to grow up unable to see their father, so I will shatter the binding on this planet, I will find Jun'er."

Yao Jun had told Guo Luo about the words of Heng Jiang, that those who held God Gates were able to shatter the barrier around the planet. Yao Jun had said that he would return to her, but she was not content with just waiting quietly. She wanted to see him again, to hold him close, to hear his voice. The sound of Yun Yantian's laughter quickly sounded out from the jade.

"Listening to you, I can only say that birds of a feather truly flock together, there really is no wonder why Brother Jun is so captivated by you. The others have no interest in joining, but there is no way I am going to let you wander the wider world alone, no way I am missing out on all that much fun. So let's quickly raise our strength and shatter this bothersome barrier, otherwise, Brother Jun is going to steal all the fun for himself."

What Yun Yantian did not mention was that another one of the reasons he was going to join Guo Luo was his feeling of guilt. Yao Jun had forgiven him, but it was still Yun Yantian's fault that Yao Jun had ended up caught by the Guo clan and forced to endure torture. Yao Jun had also listened to his selfish request and gone to save Yang Yuhuan and her brother after they were captured, ignoring the risks he took to do so. Yun Yantian never mentioned it, but he felt that he owed Yao Jun a great deal. Guo Luo let out a light laugh after hearing Yun Yantian's excuse, suddenly changing the topic.

"Have you finished constructing the teleportation array?"

The teleportation array she mentioned was the one that Yao Luying had left behind for Yao Jun and Guo Luo in the Southern Tundra. The actual jade plate with the array had been inside Yao Jun's interspatial ring, so it was already lost within space. But Guo Luo was after all a cultivator with an excellent memory, so she had memorized the array on the plate. As long as she could get Yun Yantian and the others to recreate the array on their side, she could do the same here and activate it. The sound of Yun Yantian's agreement quickly came from the jade slip.

"Yup, we are ready to receive you the moment you meet up with his parents."

It had already been almost half a year since Yao Jun was forced into the spatial rift, so Yun Yantian and the others had plenty of time to find all the items needed to make the teleportation array. Guo Luo's smile grew a bit brighter as she nodded her head and bid Yun Yantian goodbye.

"Wonderful. I will meet them very soon, so I will send you a message then."

After she had arrived in Golden Moon Town, she had been forced to spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out what had happened. No one was willing to mention the battle that had taken place, and they certainly weren't willing to talk about Yao Jun's parents, people who had been branded as traitors to the clan.

But thanks to the message Yao Jun's mother had left behind for him, Guo Luo managed to find a clue. The message was very simple, only stating 'the first bolt of lightning' but it was enough for Guo Luo to figure out where they had headed, the place where Yao Jun had first acquired Little Thunder. Guo Luo continued to make her way towards Flying Fish Town, gazing at the sky with a forlorn gaze as she muttered to herself.

"Jun'er, just wait for me, I will come to find you as soon as I can. I will show you that you can put your trust in me, that I am not someone you always need to save."