Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection

The Enchanter and I were just passing the time chatting while my clones finished the dirty work outside.

I purposefully made them underpowered and ordered them to make the fight as even as possible as it would be no fun seeing a bunch of hot-blooded Cultivators get curb-stomped. Conflict was boring if it was too unbalanced, and since they wanted a proper fight, I decided to give them one.

It didn’t escape my notice that the Enchanter was very much paying attention to the battle in the sky, where the warriors and my clones clashed with impressive force. No sound reached us through the barrier, but the flashes of light and the tremors served well to show just how brutal the fight was.

We also had some outside observers watching from afar, as well as some sneaking closer. They kept to themselves though, and didn’t seem like they had bad intentions, so I ignored them.

It was human nature to be curious and to look at flashy things, so I let them.

It was actually quite difficult pretending to be completely disinterested in the fight, but l luckily had a cheat, a powerful Spirit Sense with which I could observe everything without appearing to do so.

Soon the great Cultivators, most of them at the peak of their power, were cut down, with only their leader remaining. He was battered and bruised, his armor cracked in places, and completely torn off and destroyed in others. He gasped for breath as blood flowed down his hands and face, the immense amounts of energy he burned through having destroyed his body from the inside.

Pathetic. Even with all the stimulants he took and the gear he had, he couldn’t even approach a fraction of my power. My clones never used an energy technique, relying solely on their fists and feet, punching and kicking literal titans of Cultivation to death.

Those men, who could each lead a small sect of their own, were nothing but fodder for my creations, and finally, after much time and suffering, only one remained. Exhausted, he dropped to the ground, my two remaining doppelgangers flanking him from the sides.

I stood up and waved away the barrier, letting the scent of fire and death fill the air.

[Good work.] I nodded to my energy forms. They inclined their head back and dissipated, their unused energy returning to me. They all spent surprisingly little to win. Maybe 10% of the total.

After that was taken care of, I turned to the last remaining survivor.

[Looks like you failed. Even this little test was too much, huh?]

The guy just kept gasping for breath as he sat on his knees, barely having enough energy to lift his head and look me in the eyes. Well, that’s what he wanted me to think. I allowed myself a smile as he secretly gathered energy for a final attack. I had slightly underestimated him, the man was quite capable. It was just not enough.

[Any last words?] I asked him as I approached.

When I was just a few steps away, he lunged. The apparent fatigue vanished and a short blade appeared in his hand, shining with incredible power. His muscles strained to bring his limbs up to speed, and his hand extended, the dagger aimed at my stomach where the Dantian would be… if I was a human.

I just stood and watched with amusement in my eyes, and waited for the impact. Once again, I was left disappointed. The blade struck my body, piercing the outer layer of my clothes, but then went no further. All that buildup of energy surged through my flesh and was completely absorbed before even fully piercing my skin.

“Ah…?”

[Checkmate.]

I hugged the guy and opened my mouth wide, with my fangs growing longer. I then went for a kiss of death and sank my teeth into his neck, activating the Essence-draining technique I learned from Widowmaker.

My Qi invaded his body, ravaging his cells and organs, and plundering the Essence anchored inside. Like a flood, I came, and like a hurricane I left, destroying everything in my path, leaving behind only ruins, and an empty husk.

[Hmm. Delicious.]

I closed my eyes, enjoying the invigorating feeling the Essence gave me as it flowed through me, empowering my body even more. Unfortunately, compared to what I could have gotten had I been patient and extracted the Essence slowly, the yield was quite poor.

Much of it was destroyed during the extraction process, and even more spilled over during the process of absorption, consumed by the greedy Dreadstone all around us.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and accidentally bumped my fangs. It brought a fond smile to my lips.

[Guess I’m a vampire now, huh?]

I returned back to the Enchanter and placed a hand on his shoulder.

[So? Had enough time to consider my offer?]

The man fell silent, seemingly musing about something. Since I had all the time in the world, I let him think in silence. I then straightened up as saw him take a deep breath and speak firmly.

“I will go with you… under one condition.” He lifted a finger to emphasize his point.

[Which is…?]

“I want to be allowed to return here on occasion to study the rifts, or alternatively to find another out there in the wasteland. That’s my non-negotiable.”

[Ah…] I chucked. [I got something even better. Where we are going, there is a rift that opens every month at the same time like clockwork.]

“Really?!” The man exclaimed.

[Yeah. I think you will like it. The people there are also quite friendly. There shouldn’t be any problems with you doing your research there.]

“That’s even better! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

[Whoah! Slow down, cowboy!] I laughed. [All in due time. It looks like we’ve got a visitor.]

Walking over the ruins and bodies strew across the ground was a middle-aged man. He wore simple clothes and lacked any sort of armor or weapons. His face was also nothing special, just above average in looks. Yet, the expression he carried was one of determination and resolve.

He came closer and looked me in the eyes, before bowing his head. “Senior! This lowly one’s called Bram.”

He then threw himself on the ground before my feet and kowtowed three times. “I have witnessed your greatness. Please! Take me in as your disciple!”

[Oh?] I chuckled. I hadn’t read his mind, so that was a bit unexpected. [Take you as my disciple? Why would I? I don’t even know you.]

“I was one of Lee’s guards, Senior. I believe we only briefly met once before.” Bram answered.

[One of Lee’s guards? So you abandoned your previous master? If that’s the case, why would I want to take such a liability?]

The guy frowned and became embarrassed. “I… Well…”

[Kidding! Haha!] I slapped the guy on the shoulder in a friendly manner. [You are lucky I need an extra helper. Besides, I don’t care who you worked for before. As long as you listen to me, you can join.]

“Really?!” Bram exclaimed, surprised and happy.

[Sure! Ah, but before you do… How knowledgeable are you in terms of Cultivation theory?]

“Uh… I mean, I know stuff up to my Level…”

[Hmm.] I rubbed my chin for a moment and squinted at Bram, judging him silently. The man became nervous and couldn’t keep his head up as he began to sweat. He glanced in the Enchanter’s direction for help, but the man pretended not to see it.

Silence stretched between us, and I could practically feel Bram’s heart rate rising with each passing second. After about a minute, something that must have felt much longer for the guy with his Cultivation ability to perceive time at a faster pace, I decided to stop messing with him and simply shrugged. [Meh. It’s good enough, I guess.]

I just needed a teacher for the little Felix. I didn’t have time to guide him every step as I would be busy mining the Dreadstone ore, same with the Enchanter who would be in charge of discovering new materials for me.

While the villagers in The Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn were decent in terms of Cultivation, they were just not good enough for my tastes. Even the Chief, the man with the highest Cultivation, wasn’t even close to reaching the peak of the Spirit Realm, and he was already an old man.

Bram, on the other hand, was still middle-aged, so his Talent had to be greater and his knowledge broader. Those with a higher level get better access to information after all. Especially if they are younger.

“So… I can join?” He asked with uncertainty.

[Yep. You belong to my group now. You are now officially a member of the Black Onyx. Remember that.]

“Yes, Master! Thank you for taking a chance on me! I’ll not disappoint you!” Bram exclaimed and bowed. I could feel the sincerity of his words and nodded with a smile.

[Right. I think I already did everything I wanted to do here, so…] I looked at Bram and noticed he was low on energy. [Need a boost?]

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine. I got my own Soul Stone, boss.” The man said and pulled out the crystal orb.

I sighed and shook my head. People in the Ashen Wastes for some reason refused to keep their energy topped off. It was probably because everyone was leaking all over the place and they were gradually getting drained. The lower the energy in their body, the slower they would lose it to the environment.

[We don’t have time for that. It’s going to take you days to recharge like that. Come here.]

I placed a hand on his chest and then pushed some of my Qi into him. He exclaimed in surprise and took a step back, holding a hand to his body. “Woah… Yeah, that works, I guess… Thanks.”

[You are welcome. Now, let’s go.]

I then looked at the Enchanter and gestured with my head that we were going. The three of us lifted off the ground and slowly flew over the village. When I flew over the pile of beast corpses and spotted Lee, I decided to give him a heads-up and descended a bit.

[I’m taking one of your guys, just so you know.]

“So you have made your decision, Bram?” Lee answered, looking at his ex-guard.

The man in question nodded silently.

“Alright then… Take care. Till next time.”

Lee didn’t seem too surprised or angry. In fact, he even gave a nod and mouthed a silent thank you. I just smiled in return as I ascended again.

[What a guy…] I grinned. The man was a schemer, that’s for sure. He sent those fifteen against me knowing they would die, and at the same time, he knew I wouldn’t mind. That way he got rid of his biggest competitors without doing any heavy lifting himself. And he only lost one of his guards for it.

What a guy.

[Alright, fellas.] I spoke to my two followers. [Let’s speed up now, the village we are going to is quite far. Just follow the line.]

“The line…? Oh, never mind, I see it.” Bram said.

The clear indentation in the ground from my arrival was still there, and all of us picked up speed, breaking through the sound barrier and beyond. Our speed back was much lower since that was as fast as the Enchanter could reasonably go. It took us about a day and a half to return.

[There we go, home, sweet home. Or something like that.]