Chapter 658 - Their Future Course

The next day, Alex had recovered completely, no, he looked more energetic than usual. 

"Alex." Anna bowed to him. Although it wasn't exactly normal, she appeared to want to mend their awkward relationship even though Alex didn't mind it anymore. 

"Good morning, Anna." Alex nodded with a smile before looking at his spirits. "So… I suppose we are going to talk about our next plan."

"We heard it from Artur last night, so you don't need to worry." Anya stopped him. "I don't have any problem with the majority of the plan… Though I need to see the effect of Star Fruit first because our plan depends on it."

"True enough." Alex nodded with a solemn expression. "In any case, Nelson will be back in a few days, so I will refine my body first before discussing our plan?"

"Sounds good." Anya agreed with him while glancing at the others who seemed not to have any objections.

He glanced at Firia first, who said, "Don't worry about me. I will adapt to the environment."

He worried for a second since Firia came to this world not long ago. Seeing the latter want to adapt alone, he finally made his way to his bedroom again despite being there a moment ago. 

Inside the room, he sat down on the bed and took out the Star Fruit Firia gave him earlier. He activated his Spirit Eyes to see the fruit energy first before preparing himself to confront the pain once again.

"This is only the fourth refining process… and I will gain strength in this refining. Although I am pretty happy with the strength, I don't think I need it for the time being. After all, the Undying Fire Body only increased the percentage of my actual strength instead of gaining a fixed amount of strength. Due to this, I might not receive a huge amount of strength despite the pain… So it feels like I'm torturing myself…" Alex sighed. 

However, he knew that he needed to get it done.

After another five minutes, he finally took the fruit and bit it. The first bite tasted like an apple, but he realized all the pieces that had been grind by his teeth acc.u.mulated right above his stomach so as to avoid his stomach acid to process it.

It certainly felt weird, as if ants crawling around the stomach area, but Alex still finished the fruit.

As soon as the last piece of the fruit fell down to his stomach, the energy that had been preventing them from falling to the acid finally disappeared. Yet, no pieces of fruit fell inside the acid. They were melted before that and turned into energy that gradually spread all over his body, nourishing his tendons. 

Alex had yet to feel the pain but still prepared for the pain. There was no way this refining finished without it, and as he expected, it truly came five minutes later. 

"!!!" The pain was all over his body… No, all over his muscle. "Kh!"

Firia had come from the distant world. Even though the Sound Insulation was already up, he still didn't want to show Firia his weakness. Hence, he endured this excruciating pain just by biting his lips and clenching his palms until they bled.

This pain was also the start for the Fire Energy to refine his tendons. They flew inside each muscle, not expanded them, but made it stronger and flexible. If it was expanded, Alex might become a muscular man despite not wanting to be one.

Whether his experience with pain or his resistance, Alex found himself having no trouble in bearing this pain.

In the early second day, the energy in his body suddenly spiked as his cultivation increased, becoming a 4-Star Martial Monarch. It was truly unexpected to have a breakthrough at this point, especially since he had yet to finish all the refining.

He continued enduring this pain for another day and kept absorbing the energy inside this Star Fruit.

"As expected… I have become an M… Except I still do find them not pleasurable, and I won't find them pleasurable." Alex shuddered with the thought alone as he slowly opened his eyes after two days without a scream. "At the very least, I have become a 4-Star Martial Monarch… I should have Sherry reach it later."

Alex rose from the bed and checked his body. He really wanted to punch the wall, but afraid it would collapse. 'I don't know my current strength, but it has truly grown by a large margin. I will test it later.'

With that thought in mind, he came out of his room and marched toward the meeting room, where he found everyone present. They also noticed his presence and nodded at him. 

"Have you gotten something amazing from the refinement?" Firia greeted him with a question while waving her hand.

"Yeah. It's quite nice." Alex nodded with a smile. 

"So, what is the plan?" Firia asked after confirming Alex's arrival. They had been waiting for him this whole time, so they were pretty relaxed and could start the meeting anytime.

"I will send you guys first to raise your level there. Considering I have become a 4-Star Martial Monarch and soon will reach 5-Star, I will stay here until I finish my consolidation and reach 6-Star before going to the next continent. I know that it might take around four to six months, but the major change there should be as we predict," Alex answered.

"Indeed. Even if they are coming to this continent, the spirits already reach the Heavenly Continent while you can use Teleportation Array in case of emergency." Anya nodded, having no trouble with his plan. "I have one trouble though."

"What is it?"

"I simply need money to establish our influence there. Of course, I'm not going to reveal our presence first. That's why…" Anya turned to Firia. "I need pills to sell on Heavenly Continents. There are many rank 7 ingredients in the Inventory, which you can refine while there is supposed to be some rank 8 pills that you can refine… But I will procure a few more in the Heavenly Continent. Will that be alright with you?"

Alex was stunned. Normally, the spirits would use the money he actually made, or they got from destroying an influence. However, everything changed after Firia came. He wasn't needed anymore, and somehow, he couldn't help but thought, 'I see. I'm not needed to make a pill anymore. I—!" 

Alex's train of thought was stopped when Firia turned around and looked at him. "What do you think, Husband? I won't take it if you don't want me to."

The question was simple but misleading. He remembered that Firia told him he could rest assured and leave everything about Alchemy to her. However, this question was very contradictory. 

'It's as if Firia is taking the job away from me…' Alex closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and thought about it for a moment. 'I have been making pills for us, and that is the sole reason I learn Alchemy. Yet, Firia is more adept than me right now… Will I still continue wasting my time to practice Alchemy or I can solely focus on Array and Cultivation?' 

Alex found it hard to answer this question. On one hand, he could increase everything in his repertoire even if he needed to spare a few months. In this case, he would be able to increase his own worth and even help her produce a huge amount of pills. On the other hand, he might raise at least one star within that time.

'I might never use the pill again because I do not necessarily need it… But do I really want to leave everything to Firia? No, you build a relationship together even if it takes time, that's why I won't stop practicing Alchemy even though I know I won't need it anymore. There might be a time I need to do everything alone like how I teach Rose…" 

Alex opened his eyes and nodded. "Sure. You can take the job but balance it with your cultivation, alright?" 

"There you have his answer." Firia turned back to Anya, not knowing Alex's thought process.

"If you need anything, just tell me. I should be able to help you regarding Alchemy… Even though I'm still a rank 6 Alchemist." Alex nodded.

"I can handle my schedule pretty well due to the harsh training with my master." Firia smiled.

Alex looked into her eyes for a moment before continuing the discussion. "After I'm coming to the Heavenly Continent, it will be the time we will show ourselves." 

"Yes… Though I have a matter that I need to address to you." Anna finally broke her silence. Although it was slightly awkward, Anna still finished her pieces. "There is a gathering between all the influences on Heavenly Continent… Of course, it's only for junior. I think we can meet Blackwade Clan here to show that we have a little cooperation with them to make other influences hesitate first.

"After that, we should be able to see Evelyn here to check on progress. I'm sure you want to know about her progress. Last but not least, there is this thing called sparring between them. I think it is the place where we can kill another young master from Fire God Clan and throw another seed of furry… and also dominance. We need to tell them we are not afraid of trouble, which will make the Fire God Clan search for another ally, giving us valuable time to cultivate. What do you think?" 

Alex pondered for a moment. "That is pretty risky to be honest… and I don't have confidence in agreeing with the plan now. I will decide later… By the way, when is it going to take place?"

"Two years from now," Anna answered calmly.

"I will try to reach as high as possible, and the Fire God Clan's young master won't challenge me if he isn't a fool… unless he has a trump card that can negate my Pure Fire." Alex narrowed his eyes. 

"I agree with Alex. There are still two years anyway, we can slowly wait to see how it will resolve." Anya nodded. 

"Well, our plan will be like this. I stay here until 6-Star Martial Monarch while you all are raising your level and money there. We will hold another meeting after I arrive on Heavenly Continent." Alex summarized their meeting.

"Please leave the distribution of the pill to me. Unlike last time, Blackwade Clan is monopolizing the market, so I have many ways to get money from them without alarming anyone." Anya added. 

"Then, any question?" Alex asked and was answered with complete silence. He then turned around and said, "I will start training again. Tell me when Nelson come back, I will teleport you guys. Also, Sherry, come with me. We will evolve your Pure Fire."

"Yes, Master."