"Errr... Master... What about the trade route?"

Lani sighed as he pointed at his chest. Lucio used his Divine Sense to look where his master was pointing and finally saw the deep gash that Tixan left behind during their last clash. Of course, it already looked much better since Lani had been healing it until now. It's just that the Sword Assimilation Power left behind by Tixan made it quite difficult to heal.

​​

"This... Are you okay, Master?"

Lani nodded as he replied.

"I'm fine, but I still lost in the end. Pretty badly at that."

Tixan laughed in response.

"Hahaha! Well, you did fight against me, after all. However, you didn't lose as badly as you mentioned. Don't forget, you were the first one to force me to use my sword since I reached the Sword Assimilation level."

Lani shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything.

Lucio, on the other hand, became puzzled.

"Sword Assimilation? What's that?"

Tixan looked at Lucio and felt the power of the Sword Heart coming from his body.

"It seems like you're also a sword user."

Lucio nodded, not trying to deny it. Lani then used a Divine Sense Message to explain everything to Lucio. Only then did Lucio understand what it meant to reach the Sword Assmililation Level.

"This... Senior Tixan is really terrifying..."

Well, that didn't clear up one thing.

"Then again, why are you two drinking tea after such a battle?"

Lani pointed at Tixan.

"Ask him. He was the one who forced this new friendship thing."

Tixan narrowed his eyes as he asked.

"What? Are you saying I'm not worthy?"

Lani shook his head in response.

"Of course not. It's just that I also find it weird that you would want to be friends with your enemy."

"Oh! So that's why. It's simple. You are the strongest cultivator I found in this Mortal Realm, so I obviously need to be acquainted with you. I don't think I can find someone like you anytime soon. Oh, I heard about the Dracophoenix, though."

Lani couldn't help but ask.

"Are you going to challenge Liriu as well?"

Tixan shook his head.

"Why should I? It's not like we have any grudge or anything like that. I'm happy that I fought you, but that only happened because it was a request made by that brat Jojle. He's the one at the top of the Thakulo Universe, after all. He knows my strength, so he always made things the way I liked. I had to come and pay the favor since I don't like owing anyone."

It was then that Tixan remembered something.

"Oh, right! Wasn't I supposed to fight against a wisp?"

Lani nodded.

"It's Krune. Were the Universe Powerhouses trying to test his power out?"

Tixan shrugged his shoulders this time.

"They just asked me to fight the guy defending the Luvile Universe in the trade route issue. If possible, kill him as well. Oh well, I'm not the type who would hold back to start with, so he probably would have died."

Lucio was taken aback.

"Why?"

"Who knows? I don't care as long as I finish my job."

Lani nodded.

"However, the one who appeared was me. Does that mean you don't need to go after him anymore?"

Tixan nodded.

"I only agreed to win that dispute for the trade route. Now that I won, I have nothing to do with you or this Krune anymore. Well, you were lucky that you were that strong. After all, I truly attacked you, intending to kill you from the very start. If it was anyone else, only a corpse would have remained."

Lani sighed as he said.

"Well, that's good for me, then. By the way, you still haven't told me why you're still here."

Tixan then looked deeply at Lucio before asking.

"You're planning to ascend, right?"

Lani nodded, not trying to deny it. He should be going through the ascension tribulation very soon.

"How about we ascend together? You might not know this, but if two cultivators ascend at the same time in the same universe, they will be sent to the same place. I don't know what kind of place the Godly Path Realm is. All I know is that there are definitely many cultivators and demon beasts stronger than me. I was planning to ascend soon as well, so your appearance was quite convenient."

Lani was surprised by that offer.

"I'm still quite weaker than you, you know?"

"Weaker? You are the strongest existence I know after myself. That should be quite good for both of us, don't you think?"

Lani pondered for a bit and nodded in the end. Once they ascended to the Godly Path Realm, everything in the Mortal Realm wouldn't be their problem anymore. Except for Krune's unique situation and the Wisp God, no one could come down that easily. Lani was sure that he probably wouldn't see the Mortal Realm anymore once he went away.

"Seems feasible. Having a partner to train would be very good as well."

Tixan smiled.

"Then it's decided."

Lucio, who had been listening so far, finally asked something else.

"Will these Universe Powerhouses come after Krune again?"

Tixan shook his head.

"I don't think so. After my battle with Lani, they should have understood that things weren't that easy. Since the Wisp Race is not taking a side in whatever is happening in Dalin, they really can't complain that much about anything else."

Tixan then smiled before saying.

"Well, the fact that a Godly Protection Formation appeared around Dalin's Universe Formation Core just a few days after Krune came back is quite suspicious, though."

Lani and Lucio's expression didn't even change from that comment. It was obvious that everyone would link that to Krune's appearance. However, since they didn't have a way to prove it, it was useless.

"What does Senior Tixan think about Dalin?"

"Me? Hmm... I went there when I was younger to cultivate, just like many others. That's indeed a great place for it. Laws are easier to understand, and Spiritual Energy is abundant. However, it was a long time ago already. Nowadays, I don't really care that much. You might not know this, but I'm lonely. I have never married or joined other sects or clans. The fact that others can't enter the Dalin Universe doesn't really mean much for me. I'm already at the peak of the Divinity Realm, so I have nothing to gain from there anymore either."

Lucio couldn't help but think how carefree this person was. Oh, well. Lucio knew his master's real strength. Since Tixan, who can still defeat Lani, doesn't care, then that's a good thing.

Tixan, Lani, and Lucio then changed the topic as they drank tea.

Lani also asked Lucio about what happened in the Soren Ruins with a Divine Sense Message. After listening to the whole explanation, Lucio passed the Soul Cultivation Technique's sixth and seventh realms to Lani. Lani was taken aback after hearing that their Elements Regulation Skill was just a sub-product of the Soul Cultivation Technique. But he also understood why it was so easy to fuse the Mental Energy into their Fused Elements and Law abilities. In the end, they made up their minds to both enter the Soul Source Realm.

Meanwhile, Liriu had finally arrived back in the Wisp Main World.

"Liriu!"

Tiane came flying at him, hugging Liriu straight away.

"You idiot! Krune told me just how dangerous the place you went was!"

Liriu smiled in response.

"Well, Heavin and I had no idea about it before. Nevertheless, we're fine, see? We met up with Uncle Krune in the end as well."

Ruik quickly arrived.

"Oh! So you're finally back. Don't make your mother worry that much anymore."

Tiane glanced at Ruik before saying.

"As if you were not worse off. Who was the one who couldn't enter the sleeping work state anymore?"

Ruik was taken aback.

"Ahem... leaving that aside, what happened in the Soren Ruins? No, wait! Where's Heavin and that idiotic wisp?"

Liriu nodded and used a Divine Sense message to explain everything that happened.

"Another god?! Just how many gods have we been dealing with already? Harold, Luvile, Soren, Zugen, Cinnia, Wally... Isn't that way too many of them? What kind of luck is that?"

Liriu shrugged his shoulders.

"What else could it be? Everyone knows that wherever Uncle Krune goes, calamity follows. This was just another side effect of his abilities."

Ruik and Tiane nodded as if that made a lot of sense.

Somewhere else, Krune and Feifei were making their way back to the Luvile Universe.

*Achoo!*

Feifei looked at Krune, surprised.

"Can you still sneeze at your level of cultivation?"

Krune didn't know what to say either.

"I'm as surprised as you are."

Sure enough, Krune and Feifei arrived back at the Luvile Universe a few days later. Krune then went straight to Lani, just to find out the same outcome as Lucio. However, Tixan wasn't there anymore when he arrived. The guys had already gone back to the Thakulo Universe, where he said he would prepare his things for the Ascension Tribulation.

"Anyway, it's good to see that you're fine, grandmaster. As for the trade route, Luvile Universe can try that again after a chaos cycle passes. The big four saw how you fought there, so they should know that none of them would be able to do better."

Krune was still surprised to know that Lani had a Purple Tribulation Lightning Source. Unlike Ula, Lani hid it very well. Only Luvile noticed that in the end.

"Well, the trade route will affect the sect's income, but we can deal with it. By the way, I will have to shamelessly ask you for another staff."

Krune didn't mind.

"It's fine. Though, I didn't expect that anyone in the Mortal Realm could damage it, let alone cut it in half."

Lani understood his thought process.

"Believe it or not, he used a simple iron sword. You should take a look next time."

Krune was even more shocked now.

"I definitely will."