Chapter 80: The Pursuit

"Whoosh!" A torrent of demonic blood surged a thousand meters into the sky, accompanied by the wails and screams of countless demons on the training ground. The head of a snake demon, twisted in rage and hatred, fell to the ground, followed by the body of an eight-armed demon riddled with wounds.

"Let's go!" Seeing the end of this legendary demon hunt, Hera Lois called to Muria to leave.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to them?" Muria asked, looking at the few remaining Titans and descendants of the celestial gods on the battlefield.

At the start, there were over thirty Titans and celestial descendants, but after the battle, less than half remained.

During the snake demon's final counterattack, most of the celestial descendants and Titans were severely injured and lost their ability to fight, activating their life-saving measures and being teleported out of the demonic training ground.

Even the remaining Titans and celestial descendants were barely able to stand, like Mikaella's brother, Sylvester, an eight-winged celestial descendant, who was still not out of combat mode, his incandescent flames nearly extinguished.

These Titans and celestial descendants were almost out of combat strength, utterly exhausted. This spoke volumes about the terrifying power of the legendary eight-armed snake demon. Despite having the advantages of time, location, and harmony, the Titans and celestial descendants were still pushed to their limits.

"There's no need, let's head back!" Hera Lois said as a teleportation array appeared under her feet. With a familiar ripple of spatial transmission, Hera Lois disappeared from the drastically altered abyssal training ground.

"Cassio." Seeing Hera Lois leave, Muria silently called to his spirit.

"Understood, starting to build the teleportation array."

...

"Sigh!" Immersed in a pool brimming with vibrant life force, Muria exhaled deeply and sank to the bottom. Streams of warm air flowed into him from every pore, the sap of the Tree of Life beginning to heal the nearly imperceptible internal injuries.

As Muria sank into the water, his mind replayed the breathtaking battle. On one hand, he marveled at the deep reserves and strength of the Titan race.

Within their territory, they built a massive portal connecting to the endless abyss, summoning infinite demons for the young Titans to sharpen their killing skills.

Even summoning legendary demons, true legendary adult Titans disdained to intervene, instead allowing groups of soul-tier Titans to surround and hunt them like prey.

And from Hera Lois's words, this was not the first or second time the Titan race had done this. Such confidence in their own kind to perform such astounding acts!

However, after watching the battle, besides admiring the strength of the Titan race, Muria learned a valuable lesson from the defeat and death of the legendary eight-armed snake demon.

Having a good weapon is crucial. If the snake demon had a weapon of the same caliber as those wielded by her Titan and celestial attackers—a kind that wouldn't break no matter how long the battle—her end might not have been so tragic. Being beheaded by a soul-tier Titan wielding a halberd was a profound humiliation for a legend.

From the moment the snake demon was summoned to the abyssal training ground, her fate was sealed. Even if she had repelled all her attackers with her legendary scimitars, she could never return to the endless abyss because then, an adult legendary Titan would personally step in to finish her. Death was inevitable, but this manner of dying would have been more dignified.

"Mikaella!" After reflecting on the hunt, Muria couldn't help but think of the ten-winged celestial maiden, whose face dimmed the rest of the world in his eyes at their first encounter.

"Am I in love?" Muria lay at the bottom of the pool, looking up at the pale green water, puzzled. "Love at first sight? Nonsense, it must be because she's too beautiful. The world is always superficial, and I am just another shallow onlooker."

From the moment Muria was born, he had seen all sorts of dragonkin maids with above-average appearances in the crystal castle of the Golden Dragon Mother, Atreis, and the maids of the crystal castle itself, whose beauty was beyond compare.

Later, when Muria established his own domain on Taiji Island, the half-human sea creatures who followed him, like the naga, sirens, and mermaids, had faces that could have been internet sensations in his previous world just by looking at their upper bodies.

Having grown up in such environments for decades, Muria's aesthetics became extremely discerning. Ordinary human beauties appeared mundane to him, but even so, Mikaella's beauty still stunned him.

...

Muria pondered in the pool for several minutes before abruptly sitting up. "So be it, I'm just shallow. I don't care anymore, I'm going to pursue her!"

"Muria, who are you pursuing?" Cassio, his spirit, floated beside him, frowning.

"I want to pursue a celestial descendant."

"Why pursue her? To race against her?" Cassio asked curiously, misunderstanding the term.

"Uh!" Muria was embarrassed. He explained, "What I mean is, I want a celestial descendant to become my companion."

"Understood!" Cassio nodded. "It must be the one who knocked you down in the demonic training field and made you not want to get up."

"Yes!" Muria stiffly nodded. "You saw the fight between Mikaella and me?"

"I know most of what happens in our territory."

"The fight between Mikaella and me was completely unfair. She's stronger than me and was wearing legendary armor. How was I supposed to fight?"

"Muria, if Mikaella wanted fairness, she would have challenged you at the fourth gold tier. But your future enemies won't talk about fairness."

"I know. The celestial race is an ally of our Titan race. If it's an enemy of the Titans, I'll never surrender, even in death."

"That's what you need to do."

"Enough of this!" Muria looked at his spirit with a hint of hope. "How should I pursue Mikaella to make her my companion?"

"After you reach the fourth gold tier, defeat her with absolute superiority. That's the best way to pursue her."

"What?" Muria was bewildered. Although he had no experience chasing girls in his previous life, he had never heard of winning a girl's favor by fighting her. How could this method possibly make sense?

A normal creature's way of pursuing should be like the celestial descendant who played the harp to win Hera Lois's heart on the first day he arrived, creating new music every day to play for his beloved.

"Is that your advice?"

"Regardless of the species, creatures always prefer a mate who is superior to themselves. That's the conclusion I've drawn from the data. So, to pursue Mikaella, defeating her is your best and only option."

Muria silently stared at Cassio. Her logic was sound, leaving him without a rebuttal. But using violence to pursue a female felt... absurd.

"Is there really no other way? Must I use force to pursue her?"

"Muria, remember Mikaella's wings," Cassio said quietly. "Her wings are always ablaze with celestial fire, which never extinguishes."

"That's true."

"What

 does the fire on a celestial descendant's wings signify?"

"Combat spirit! Celestial descendants only ignite when they're in combat," Muria closed his eyes, facing the truth he had been avoiding. "Mikaella is always ready to fight; that's why her wings are always aflame."

"Now, do you know what to do?"

"I understand." Muria stood up from the pool, donned his robe, and instructed Cassio, "Build a teleportation array to Gerald's residence. I just thought of something and need to ask him about it. I'll return afterward."

Cassio was silent, but outside the pool, a colorful display of magic emerged, quickly forming a teleportation array on the ground.

...

"Muria, what brings you here?" Gerald, holding a long spear, looked at the approaching Muria. "Aren't you training with Hera Lois?"

After more than a month, Muria saw Gerald again, the Titan youth he had defeated using dragon scale armor.

"I was taken by Hera Lois to the abyssal training field for combat, just got back," Muria smiled. "I met a celestial descendant there and had some thoughts, so I came to ask you something."

"What is it?" Gerald was curious.

"Well, when I first arrived in the territory, I saw a celestial descendant playing the harp in Hera Lois's yard, pursuing her. Did he start pursuing her after their first meeting?"

"No." Gerald looked at Muria in surprise, not understanding why he suddenly asked this, but still answered, "He fought with Hera Lois and was cleanly defeated by her. Then he fell for Hera Lois and began to pursue her fervently."

"I see." Muria nodded, confirming Cassio's earlier assertion. However, his situation was different from that of the celestial.

That celestial pursued Hera Lois after being defeated by her, while Muria thought Mikaella was incredibly beautiful from the start and felt even more compelled to pursue her after being defeated by her.

"What? You met a celestial descendant in the abyssal training field and had some thoughts?" Gerald looked at him curiously.

"The celestial descendant I met, her name is Mikaella." Muria stroked his chin. "I want to pursue her!"