Chapter 74: A Childhood Friend

In front of the Soul Sect Gates, a young man with long dark hair and eyes looked at the majestic entrance. The giant red gates radiated bloodlust like they were made by the blood of thousands of sacrificed people.

A white-haired maid was standing in front of the entrance. "Please wait for an undetermined amount of time. Master Alex will come and meet you."

The young man's name was Wudong, a man that used to be a servant in the Royal Palace. When he was young, he and princess Ya Fei used to play around, and she had always been kind to him when the other Royal Children picked on him.

When they were young, they had promised to marry each other. Of course, that had been when they were five years old, but Wudong knew that she remembered the promise, just like he did.

…

Two hours later and there were no signs of Alex showing up. Wudong was getting angry at this, but the maid in front of the gate was calm. "I can sense that you are getting angry. Don't worry, master Alex will be here soon."

"You said that two hours ago!!" Yelled out Wudong in rage.

The homunculus maid was unbothered by this. Instead, she still had an emotionless look. "I am sure that Master Alex has a reason for doing something like this."

Wudong wasn't willing to wait anymore and he decided to go towards the doors by himself. But suddenly a small figure jumped off from the top of the gate and landed in front of him.

*Oink!* *Oink!*

A small boar with red fur appeared in front of him. Wudong frowned and decided to walk past the small little creature, but he suddenly stopped because as soon as he passed the creature. A breath hit the back of his neck.

"{Brat, look out!}" Yelled out a voice inside Wudong's mind, causing the young man to immediately jump up at incredible speeds and flat midair using his Ki. 

He then saw that the small boar had grown to become a gigantic red boar the size of two houses piled together. Red flames came out of its snout with every breath.

Wudong looked at a bracelet in his hand and asked. "What is that, old man?"

"{That's a Fire Boar. A rare creature that rarely enters the Legendary Rank. But it has already done so, and its firepower is quite high. We need to escape immediately! One breath attack from the creature and it can obliterate a mountain. Also, Fire Boars are known for their thick skin. None of the attacks you know will even put a scratch on a Legendary Rank Fire Boar.}" An old man's voice rang in Wudong's head.

"No!" Wudong yelled out definitely. "If we escape now, who knows what will happen between the Blood Mage and Ya Fei. Even if I die, today will be the day I take care of this!"

"{Don't say such stupid things. This Blood Mage young man seems to be talented, but even then. His body is way too young for him to do anything with the Princess. So run away now!! You barely are even considered peak Nascent Stage (Rank 4) of power!}" The old man argued. 

Wudong contemplated this advice. Normally he could never interfere with a royal marriage, he was only a servant with no parents. But one day, he had accidentally stumbled into a bracelet with an old man sealed inside, with the old man's help, he had risen to the peak of Rank 4 within less than three years. Something unheard in the last two thousand years. 

These three years hadn't been easy, but the results showed themselves. As not even royalty could achieve such speed of advancement as warriors. Wudong's genius had been recently compared to the late Human Emperor's.

The old man's origins were very mysterious, and he never seemed to want to talk about his life. Wudong didn't even know his teacher's name, though the old man trapped in the bracelet did say that he was a big historical figure in the past. Even to this day he was widely known. Though he never said his name.

Also, the old man's advice has always led him true. Wudong clenched his hand and released a breath. "Okay, I understand, I will listen to you old man. After all, what can a 10-year-old even do with a woman like Ya Fei."

Suddenly the Fire Boar opened its mouth and a ball of flame gathered into it. Wudong's body filled with sweat as he sensed the massive power gathered into it. 

"{DODGE!!}" Yelled out the old man in panic. 

BOOOOOOM!!!

A huge pillar of fire was shot at Wudong, he was at close range but he could already see that the fire obliterated everything in its way. 

Wudong was able to dodge it by ripping apart a talisman that teleported him away from the blast.

"That was dangerous." Said the young man as he looked behind him and saw a mountain in the distance which had its top demolished. "So this is the power of a Legendary Rank Beast."

"{This one is even more dangerous for some reason. It's likely already in its middle stages of Legendary Rank.}" Explained the old man, feeling that something was very strange with the boar. "{Escape now, at least Fire Boars aren't very fast due to their big bodies. So it should be easy to escape.}"

Wudong nodded and ripped out another talisman. This one for long-range Teleportation, but to his surprise nothing happened. "Huh?"

He was confused at this, as it had never happened before. But the old man in the bracelet had already figured out what had happened. {"It's a trap!! Run!!}

It was late midday with the sun shining very brightly. But in a split second, the sun was covered by a dark object, causing an eclipse to happen and the sky turned red.

"You know, while you were waiting around here for two hours. I wasn't just twiddling with my thumbs." Said Alex as his figure slowly simmered into existence in the sky. "Nor was it some kind of power move to show who is in charge by making you wait longer. 

Unfortunately for you, I am the kind of guy who would use all his power even when fighting a rabbit. Though you are only peak Rank 4, I will be fighting you the same way I would fight a God in the sky. By giving it my all."

Wudong looked at Alex with hate. But the physically younger man didn't seem to mind. 

"Old man, is there a way to get out of this?" Asked Wudong, a trace of fear was apparent in his voice.

"{No.}" The old man answered without hesitating. 

"{This is the Reality Barrier, a truly genius invention. It could hold back even the Beast Emperor who was said to have broken through Legendary Rank and reach a whole new stage of power. It's impossible to break this barrier for anyone below that level of power, the last time it was used it required over a dozen Legendary Rank mages to work together and activate it. 

But being able to activate it by himself, this Alex, the Blood Mage, he is a whole different kind of monster."} The old man had a voice of true admiration as he spoke about Alex.

"{The best move to make right now is to give up and offer to work under him. 

Normally saying something was impossible wouldn't be true. But at this moment, yes, survival or escape from this place is impossible if you decide to go against the Blood Mage in front of you."}

Alex smirked, as he looked at Wudong, his eyes wandering to the bracelet he was wearing. "Well, isn't that quite interesting?"

...

 Don't forget to throw some power stones :)

...

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