Shizen and Venerate Maurice were surrounded. The Black Masks numbered in the dozens, and each one was more menacing than the next. Spiritual energies filled with random elements dominated the land as their devastating weapons were unleashed. There were at least five Spirit Adepts, three Spirit Spectres and two Spirit Lords among the Black Masks. Their spiritual pressure was enough to suffocate any regular expert, let alone a youth like Shizen.

Thus, the nature boy’s protector immediately got to work. Venerate Maurice instantly brought out his Earthen Salamander Spirit and cast his own Spiritual Body Enhancement. A dense spiritual pressure countered the Black Masks’ bringing their intimidating presence into an abrupt halt. No matter how powerful they were in their respective realms, there was no way that they could take on a Spirit Venerate.

“Leave that man to me...” A deep voice echoed through the valley that sent all of the Black Masks scurrying like mice. Ao took five steps forward, his soul pulsating out vast amounts of spiritual energy. At that moment, both Venerate Maurice and Shizen felt as if a mountain had collapsed upon their bodies. The World Serpent had not been idle. Over the three years, Ao continuously pushed himself closer and closer to the threshold of a Primordial Beast. At this point, his cultivation level was equivalent to that of a Rank 89 Spirit Venerate. So, unless there was a Spirit Saint present, the World Serpent could steamroll over his opponents with relative ease.

Venerate Maurice gulped once as he held back the goosebumps that were rife all over his body. He held Shizen by the arm and said: “Boy, I’m going to create a distraction… When I give the signal, we run...”

Shizen shook his head and slanted it to the side. “No, there’s no need for that,” replied the youth, utterly unfazed by the immense threat that stood before them.

“What do you mean there’s no need for that?! Do you have a death wish?!” Venerate Maurice exclaimed, his face turning beet red from anger and frustration. He even had the urge to abandon this suicidal nature boy and escape by himself. It took everything that his reasonable mind had to shake off that thought as he grabbed the young man by the wrist. “The Duchess has paid me good money to ensure your safety. Even if you don’t care about your life, think about those that do!!!”

Shizen looked up at the Spirit Venerate. Even though they’d only spent a few weeks together, Shizen felt that he knew Venerate Maurice well enough. They were forced together by a contract, one was an escort, the other, an escortee. On the surface, that was the only relation that they had. However, spending days and nights camping out with someone would force their true personality to show. Therefore, Shizen knew that the Spirit Venerate was a selfish man, one that would stop at anything to survive. For him to care so much about someone else, even though it might jeopardize his own safety… That was a feat in itself.

“Don’t worry, Senior… I’m not one to throw my life away...” Shizen smiled and looked back at the weeping willow tree. “Staying here to fight against them… Is the best way to survive...”

WHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

As if on cue, the Tree of Illusions shone with the resplendence of a thousand suns. One of the Shudras standing nearby Junius suddenly dropped down into the hard bedrock, engulfed on all sides by the wrath of the Illusory Canyon. Another Vaishya was thrown into the air, hung by invisible chains that dropped down from the heavens. One by one, the Black Masks, barring Junius and Ao, were all being decimated by weird phenomenons that were borderline on the supernatural.

Venerate Maurice dropped his jaw so wide that an apple could fit through it. At the same time, Junius and Ao were holding onto their grim expressions. With a victorious smile, Shizen snorted: “Are you really the Tree of Illusion’s champion? Did you really think that it’ll allow you to act as you please within its domain?”

Shizen’s words struck a nerve with the twin sword Kshatriya. He was right. The Tree of Illusions was perhaps the most enigmatic Empyrean Wonder. It had a mind of its own and never allowed cultivators to tarnish the soil that it laid on. The only reason why Junius and Ao were able to stand within its domain was because the Tree of Illusions wished for it to be so. If they got on the bad side of the Empyrean Wonder, they would be expelled instantly.

“...” Junius silently glared at the nature boy. For the Tree of Illusions to act so violently to protect Shizen… That could only mean one thing.

“HAHAHA!!!” Junius bellowed out in laughter, stunning the remaining three men in the region. Tears fell from his eyes, and his shoulders were trembling as if in immense pain. It took a while before Junius could fully compose himself. “Hah… The Tree of Illusions sure loves to jest… It hasn’t given anyone its blessing for thousands of years, and yet, it actually gave two people its recognition in quick succession? What a bloody joke...”

“Junius, what should we do?” Ao turned to the viridian-haired man, seeking guidance. It was one of the rare moments where the World Serpent felt inferior to Junius. After all, the Tree of Illusions was an entity that had killed Spirit Saints and Primordial Beasts in the past. Ao might be powerful, but he was nowhere near the might of the Empyrean Wonder.

“It’s just as he said...” Junius stabbed the legendary-grade Odachi that the Allfather had bestowed onto him into the soil, while his Obsidian Water Blade spun one round in his left hand. Everything that he had, his spiritual pressure, his abnormal mana, all crept out into the world, bringing endless amounts of dread to the upbeat valley. “If the Tree of Illusions wants the two of us to fight, we must fight! Without any interruptions from outsiders! The winner takes all!!!”

“So, what should I do?”

“Nothing,” Junius said unenthusiastically. “Just sit back and watch the show. If you interfere with the battle, the Tree of Illusions might deem you as an enemy. Or in the worst-case scenario, it might strip me of my champion status. I have to deal with this battle myself...”

“...” Unconsciously, Shizen’s Adivinar Tree grew over a dozen vines and roots, ready to strike the enraged Black Mask down. Or at the very least, protect Shizen from the menace that was Junius.

Worried, Venerate Maurice leaned in closer towards Shizen and asked: “Is this how it’ll be?”

“If you can’t trust me, feel free to run,” Shizen said, his voice as cold as can be. “No one can fight if the Tree of Illusions doesn’t want it. Right now, it wants a gladiator match between Junius and me. We have to oblige; otherwise, our lives would be forfeit. Though both of us have been given its blessing to level the playing field, Junius is still the champion of the Empyrean Wonder. There’s no guarantee that I’ll win...”

Naturally, Shizen was worried about soloing the Black Mask. He was Shin’s elder brother and an extraordinary talent in his own right. A master tactician and a cultivation genius. A Rank 50 Spirit Lord as well as a Kshatriya that received the baptism of the Allfather twice. Just one of Junius’ achievements were enough to place him as a man to watch. Taking on a person like Junius was never going to be an easy task. However, Shizen was up for it.

If he wanted to become strong enough to assist Shin, strong enough to carry his weight… Shizen had to overcome this hurdle. Once Shizen defeats Junius, he’ll take over as the Tree of Illusion’s champion. His cultivation, power and overall influence would increase by leaps and bounds. And most importantly…

‘Junius… You’ve caused enough harm already! It’s about time someone took you down!!!’

Shizen gritted his teeth and steam seethed out from the gaps. He’d seen how much Shin had suffered under Junius’ shadow. Even though they only interacted once or twice since the tragedy of the Frie Clan, Junius was always on Shin’s mind. He was the one that took Ariel away, the one that joined the fallen remnants of the Awter Clan, and the one person that Shin dreamt of bringing to justice. So, as one of Shin’s best friends, wouldn’t it be fitting for Shizen to defeat Junius and send him flying towards the young Prince?

The Adivinar Tree’s vines intensified, and razor-sharp spinning leaves leapt out from Shizen’s Spectre Soul. At the same time, the earth turned brown and mossy, as Shizen’s domain spread far and wide. Intense spectral light forced Junius to avert his eyes and Ao to leap back.

“The Mind-Element...” Junius remarked, wincing. If he, a Water-Elemental Spirit User, had been blessed by the Tree of Illusions, why couldn’t Shizen be as well? In fact, the nature boy’s Mind-Element control looked so stable that one might be inclined to believe he was the true Tree of Illusion’s champion.

‘Those days toiling with Shin and Kanari really have paid off, huh?’ Shizen remarked inwardly. All that time practising with the two monsters that had full control over the Mind-Elements had prepared Shizen for this very moment. He could sense and manipulate the spiritual energies produced by the Tree of Illusions in a far more acute manner. Shizen’s created roots and vines were now laced with an illusory coat of protection, making it hard for anyone to catch a clear view of the young man.

With no time to waste, Junius leapt up into the air and placed his Obsidian Water Blade parallel to his arms. His eyes locked onto the image of Shizen and vast amounts of mana flowed from his Spectre Soul and into his blade. It gleamed and gleamed, continuously being produced with a sinister light. And then… The signature ability of the Blade of Death was finally being unleashed…

“DIE!!!!”

The Obsidian Water Blade elongated at a rate faster than the currents of River Time. No arrow, no ballista… Heck, no living creature could reach those speeds without breaking some bones. A huge sonic boom clapped through the empty valley, as blood fell down from the remaining Black Masks’ ears. Junius’ innate spiritual ability, ‘Pierce,’ had improved drastically over the years. Before, it could only move at half the speed of a released arrow. Now, it was moving at a hundred times that speed. Not to mention, its destructiveness, versatility… Every single aspect of ‘Pierce’ had been bolstered up.

Shizen had no way of escaping. All of his roots were pierced through immediately, and the Adivinar tree was just another target for the Spirit Lord’s wrath. Junius watched in glee as his blade penetrated the heart of Shizen, sending rich crimson fluids flying everywhere.

‘Easy… Too easy perhaps...’

Junius took Shizen down way too quickly. Even if he was the superior cultivator, there was no way that a genius such as the Freak of the Dundlewoods would fall that easily. And, just as his suspicions deduced…

The ‘Shizen’ that Junius had pierced faded into nothingness, leaving just an afterimage of the young man. Before the blade of death could react, thousands of earthen power came flying over. Roots from the Adivinar tree, thousands of rapidly spinning razor leaves and most importantly… A colossal phantom of Shizen’s dominant Spirit towered over the barren land.

Junius didn’t possess any spiritual abilities to quickly weed out the roots and was forced to rely on his martial arts powers. He was tempted to reach for the Hofuku, his legendary-grade Spirit Armament that produced a potent force field. However, Junius knew that once he did that, the Tree of Illusions would instantly disqualify him as its champion, since he was relying on foreign forces to meddle with the sacred duel.

Somersaulting a few times, Junius struggled to find his footing for the first few seconds since the attack. That gave Shizen ample time to expand his domain and his sphere of influence. In just those few seconds, the Freak of the Dundlewoods had already created a mini-forest, one that impairs all sorts of martial artists like Junius from entering and attacking.

Taking a few notes from the Prince of Water himself, Shizen looked straight at the stunned Black Mask and let out an impish smile. “Now then… Shall we begin?”