"Let's start that again. I was rather confused why they gave me a list of pills rather than names," Elder Brent chuckled, "Anyway, in 5th place, we have the Blood Essence Revitalization Pill."
Everyone glanced at Kane Azurecrest, and he returned a nod to everyone and went back to looking at the floor.
Phew, I wasn't last. Stella sighed in relief as she tried to ignore the roaring crowd for her own sanity.
"Next up in 4th place was the Cosmic Alignment Pill," Elder B...
2023-08-08 04:21:08 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock watched the colosseum from high above. Tensions were high as the final round was nearing the end, and the majority of the participants had completed their pill and stood idly next to their workbenches while watching their competition.
Dante Voidmind and Celeste Starweaver had already completed Profound tier pills, and Kane Azurecrest was on his way to joining them. But Ashlock didn't care for them. His focus was on Kassandra Skyrend, and it wasn't looking good—her pill seemed ...
2023-08-07 04:35:20 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock looked around the colosseum from high above and found Elder Margret standing under the demonic tree's shade.
She was calmly watching the proceeds of the finals with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. It seemed she was a rather impatient and fidgety person.
"Sorry, Elder Margret, but this needs to be done..." Ashlock murmured as he reactivated {Abyssal Whispers} and targeted her consciousness. So long as she remained within the range of his roots, he could reinstate the...
2023-08-04 18:08:15 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock snapped the portal closed and watched as Titus stood at his full height out in the wilderness. In his cupped hands far above the ground was Roderick Terraforge, trapped within twisting black wood coated in 5th-stage Star Core Qi.
"There's no way Roderick can escape Titus, and even if he could, he wouldn't make it back to the tournament in time to meddle with anything." Ashlock almost felt bad when he heard shouts from within the wooden prison.
After taking a while...
2023-08-03 03:56:24 +0000 UTC
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Here is some cool abstract art of Ashlock.
I just gave the artist a description of my MC and sent some reference images, and let them have creative freedom, and I really like the result!
2023-08-02 20:03:41 +0000 UTC
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Stella ignored Kassandra's questioning of the masked people and glanced around the hyped-up colosseum. The atmosphere was ecstatic to the point that she began to fear that the giant stone building would collapse.
Eventually, the crowd's cheers calmed down, and Elder Brent continued explaining the tournament's rules.
"Now that I have finished the introductions, I believe it's time to explain what will happen today," His Qi-empowered voice made it sound like he spoke straight into h...
2023-08-02 02:56:34 +0000 UTC
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To kill the Skyrend family and blame it on Dante Voidmind was the focal point of the grand plan. Everything being done today was to set the stage for that moment.
Yet after Diana's great news regarding the agreement of the Redclaws and Silverspires to the insane plan that might start a great civil war within the Blood Lotus Sect, she remained excited as if she still had something even more ridiculous to tell them.
"Spit it out, Diana," Stella said, "I can tell you hav...
2023-07-31 04:28:42 +0000 UTC
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After watching Stella tour the city for a while, Ashlock switched his focus back to Red Vine Peak.
The day of reckoning was soon upon him, and he started panicking a little. The tournament's main event was set to begin tomorrow afternoon, and he had yet to devise a solid plan to counter Dante Voidmind's invasion.
Information about the invasion was lacking, and so were his options for counterattacking such an attack due to the destructive power of void Qi, which made anyone who cul...
2023-07-30 03:35:44 +0000 UTC
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Kassandra Skyrend glanced around the main hall of the Skyrend family mansion in Darklight City. The room was sunlit by massive windows obscured from the outside by a tapestry of runic formations running along the walls. Ten-foot-tall marble sculptures of the Skyrend family's heads encircled the room, with their stone eyes pointing toward a single seat that Theron was currently occupying.
Meanwhile, Kassandra sat beside him and noticed that her brother seemed deeply troubled as he drumme...
2023-07-28 03:04:27 +0000 UTC
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Stella ignored the examiner's words to start—her focus was entirely on the Qi Flowing Grass presented to her. She picked it up, and after spending a moment to check, she let out a small sigh of relief behind her mask.
"It's not one of yours, Tree," Stella said mentally, "Although I almost thought it was, thankfully, there are still some impurities in here, so there's no way it can be yours."
"That's a relief. I thought Elder Margret had let my plants enter circulatio...
2023-07-26 02:48:13 +0000 UTC
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Stella felt very uncomfortable in the test room.
Not only were the other nobles showing open hostility, but so were the examiners.
Why did they look at me like that? Aren't the judges supposed to be from the academy to avoid being biased? Or is corruption unavoidable even in a situation like this?
Stella scanned the room and pouted behind her mask.
Maybe they are trying to appeal to one of the nobles here? Actually, now that I look a little closer...<...
2023-07-25 03:08:39 +0000 UTC
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As much as Stella wished to leave immediately, she was unprepared for the day ahead.
"I wasn't planning on attending, so I'm not caught up on what the preliminary round entails," Stella said while cleaning her face off with a towel she had summoned from her spatial ring, "Can you tell me before we go?"
Elder Margret had thankfully returned to her usual self after taking a moment to regain her composure.
"Sure, but first, let me give you this," Elder Margret brought out a bla...
2023-07-24 01:52:59 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock watched as Stella entered the alleyway behind the half-destroyed restaurant through her conjured portal. She looked understandably distraught, so he quickly opened a rift for her that led straight to Red Vine Peak.
"Thanks, Tree..." She said in a low voice through their telepathic link as she walked through. The moment the portal snapped closed behind her, she reached down with a grunt, hastily tore off her high heels, and hurled them through the air. Before they could hit the s...
2023-07-22 03:01:09 +0000 UTC
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Which family was she from?
Stella stood there, unsure how to respond. Her true identity would be easy to discover if she admitted to being a Crestfallen. Ashfallen was out of the question as it wasn't a known family or sect yet, and she didn't have the facial features of someone from the Redclaw or Silverspire family. So what should she even say?
Sensing her hesitation, Elder Margret stepped slightly forward, "She is currently with us."
"The Redclaw family?" Theron Skyrend n...
2023-07-21 03:03:42 +0000 UTC
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Here's some Ai art inspired by chapter 151 I made in Photoshop (I am not very good).
The first image shows what Stella could look like with a demonic tree tattoo, and the rest just show off her outfit, etc.
2023-07-19 16:50:49 +0000 UTC
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Stella sat on the bench with her back straight. Her gaze was deadset ahead on the demonic tree offspring in the courtyard center in a vain attempt to ignore the perpetual mystical fog hanging at the edges of her consciousness due to her open telepathic connection with Tree.
Her new pill may provide a decent amount of mental protection, but half-formed horrors still lurked beyond the fog begging for a single look so they may inflict nightmares.
Diana was behind her, leaning against...
2023-07-19 16:44:18 +0000 UTC
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"That will be all for this lecture on how to overcome the limits of your affinity. Are there any questions?" Elaine scanned the lecture hall for any raised hands or confused faces, but all she got back were bored looks or lecherous stares.
She stood on a raised wooden platform surrounded by rows of benches curved around the circular lecture hall. This was so all students, no matter where they sat, could get a good view of her, and the wall behind her that was painted in a thin sheen of ...
2023-07-18 01:58:52 +0000 UTC
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Elder Margret tapped her foot in annoyance while waiting in the empty airship station. The midday sun streaked through the windows and doorways, which could only mean one thing.
The Skyrend family was late... as usual.
"They always do this," Elder Brent grumbled beside her, "Pretentious bastards that make everyone wait on them."
"Careful, what if their god strikes you down for the insult," Elder Margret joked, and Elder Brent snorted, "Good one."
A moment of silence pa...
2023-07-16 01:42:53 +0000 UTC
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Through his Demonic Eye, Ashlock could see through the mortal flesh and gaze upon the spiritual nature of the corpses he had acquired. Rather than black fur sprouting from leathered skin, he saw the dormant underlying spirit roots that had once served as the passageways for Qi that had fueled the dead monster's power.
Holding one of the headless ape corpses by the spike of his vine in front of his Demonic Eye, Ashlock scrutinized it. The passageways were devoid of the demonic Qi—which...
2023-07-15 01:13:19 +0000 UTC
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Stella felt wild and free as she swung her sword and brutally slashed a mutated beast in half—the sheer force of her attack sent the two halves of the corpse hurtling through the air in opposite directions. One-half took out a small gathering of monsters nearby—while the other shot off toward one of the towering demonic trees forming a wall and splattered a chicken-looking monster against the tree bark, turning both into nothing but meat paste and making the tree shake.
She was whol...
2023-07-13 04:48:45 +0000 UTC
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Grand Elder Redclaw frowned as he gazed out his study's window at the distant Red Vine Peak. A perpetual mist swirled around the mountain, obscuring everything but the tips of the demonic trees from his curious gaze.
I wonder what goes on over there...
His wandering thoughts were interrupted by frantic footsteps that echoed beyond the thick wooden doors of his study. He turned to face them just in time to watch a worried-looking middle-aged man push them open.
"Elde...
2023-07-12 01:53:44 +0000 UTC
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Stella let out a deep breath as her consciousness returned to reality. Her eyes fluttered open, and she squinted briefly as she was blinded by the warm midday sun.
Feeling within herself, she couldn't help but sigh. Even with the help of Ashlock's truffles, fruits, and residual Qi blanketing the mountain peak, it would still take at least a few months to move up a single stage in the Star Core Realm.
Yet despite the disappointing realization regarding the monumental amount of time...
2023-07-11 01:18:40 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock felt a little prideful watching Elder Margrets and the twin's reactions to him growing cultivation resources in the blink of an eye. The system may refrain from giving him many powerful attack skills, but it didn't shortchange him regarding production skills.
He was a tree, after all. A being that was here to nurture the world and those around him as well as kill those that threaten his existence. Luckily, even with his system being frugal with attack skills, he could use his sp...
2023-07-10 01:12:08 +0000 UTC
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Douglas looked over his shoulder as he saw the distorted sunset on Red Vine Peak through the shimmering portal. Stella gave him a little wave before the portal snapped closed behind him with a pop of air that ruffled his short hair.
With a sigh, Douglas surveyed the large cavern that encompassed his view. His wandering view was naturally drawn to the sound of moving water. Built along the stream's banks that ran through the cavern's center were farms with mushrooms and flowers. Stone br...
2023-07-07 02:17:52 +0000 UTC
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Ashlock observed the meeting occurring in the dining room from above. As he had planned, Elaine began to write on the parchment in ancient runes, which he and Stella could read without problem.
It was almost like a secret language, allowing them to communicate without looking suspicious.
Dante Voidmind sat a few tables away, and despite Jasper's constant attempts at starting a conversation with the scion, Dante's solid black eyes were set on Elaine's every move. Ashlock could also...
2023-07-06 00:28:55 +0000 UTC
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Elaine reluctantly left the void chamber with Dante.
He was insane, and she felt sick listening to his nonsense. But It wasn't often that she was allowed access to the void chamber, which was one of the only places she could get access to a substantial amount of void Qi to cultivate with. While they talked, she had been cycling the abundant void Qi in the chamber throughout her body and filling her Soul Core.
If only I could cultivate like this without the help of an array. Da...
2023-07-05 01:44:20 +0000 UTC
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After fusing with his children's roots, Ashlock could peer into many buildings by sneaking a root through a window or a doorway. With so many demonic trees throughout the city, people didn't really pay much attention to them anymore and wouldn't find it suspicious seeing roots growing into places they shouldn't.
Besides a few rooms in the academy, including Elaine's study, Ashlock also had roots sneaking into the airship station. With the tournament only a few days away from starting, h...
2023-07-04 01:17:21 +0000 UTC
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Elaine stood before a mirror hanging in her study with a frown.
She had made a window in the thick dust coating the mirror with her sleeve and now stared at her reflection.
"How?" Those words left her lips. She could see her mouth moving, so the mirror wasn't playing tricks on her. This was really her reflection. There were no odd marks or anything exactly weird about her face unless you considered her otherworldly beauty as something strange.
I saw my reflectio...
2023-07-02 16:15:36 +0000 UTC
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Diana placed Kaida down on the ground. The snake glanced back at her with deep golden eyes, and his pink tongue flickered out. It was obvious to Diana that Kaida didn't like being on the cold stone ground and would prefer to be wrapped around her shoulders, but it wasn't convenient anymore.
He was far too big to comfortably wear around her neck like a scarf.
After all, Kaida had completed his evolution and wasn't so small anymore. Diana had spent a long time with Kaida in the Myst...
2023-06-30 01:46:05 +0000 UTC
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A date?
Ashlock's initial thought—seeing Douglas standing before him and asking for such a thing—was how sad this was. Why did a grown man feel the need to ask a demonic tree whether or not he could go on a date?
Of course, Ashlock could see the concern surrounding this request and why Douglas had felt the need to ask him, but it still felt wrong. He firmly believed that people should be able to do their own thing and follow their dreams, yet now that he thought about it, he a...
2023-06-29 01:29:36 +0000 UTC
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