315 Timely Arrival

As Balthazar pumped his blood and underwent his transformation, the core disciples had been incredibly shocked while they spectated at the back.

"Seriously, that brat is only at the 9-star Ranked Awakener realm with that much strength? Even if you guys beat me to death, I still would not believe it!" A core disciple commented with disbelief. Even now, he could not wipe the shock off his face.

It was known that no matter how strong Ranked Awakeners were, they were only ants in front of Transcendents. The difference in power was a great chasm; they could never hope to overcome. But right before their eyes, Leon had overturned their world views and shattered their beliefs.

"That's for sure! The strength of that little monster is very close to the threshold of Transcendents! And by the sound of it, he can still become stronger! When was there ever such an absurd existence as this?!"

"But no matter how strong that brat is, he is still no match for the Sect Master when he is serious. That kid is out of luck now. After all, he might have achieved the unthinkable and possess the power to rival Transcendents, but that only applies to newly ascended Transcendents."

"That's right, the Sect Master has been in the Transcendent Realm for so many years. The quality of Sect Master's blood refinement has reached a qualitative state capable of breaking human limits."

As the core disciples observed their Sect Master's transformation, they could feel their own blood boiling. Their bloodlust spiked with the urge to kill forming in their hearts like an itch that could not be scratched.

"Argh, I can't sit still anymore. I need to kill someone! I need blood to quench my thirst!"

"Hehe, my hands are feeling a bit itchy too. How about I join you?" A core disciple spoke while rubbing his hands as his eyes flickered with cold light. 

Their violent tendency and evil nature were aroused by the Sect Master's overwhelming bloodlust and began losing their mind. However, some disciples resisted and retained their rational minds.

Pak!

After smacking the head of a core disciple affected by the bloodlust, a senior core disciple spoke, "Help me clear the mind of these fools."

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Pak! Pak! Pak!

The infected junior core disciples all received a good nudge on the head by their senior brothers. After their minds regained clarity, they apologized, "Sorry, senior brothers. This junior brother's mental state is still lacking."

"Don't forget we still have a mission to accomplish. If we are divided, we will not be able to use our grand technique."

…

Knock! Knock!

The palace guards arrived at the Grandmaster's living quarters and banged on his bedroom's door. They urgently shouted, "Grandmaster Don, Grandmaster Don! Please wake up!"

The doors to his bedroom were flung open. Don swept his gaze through the palace guards before his doorstep with an angry look. Being woken up in the middle of the night, his terrible mood was to be expected.

"What the hell do you all want?" 

"Our apologies, Grandmaster! The royal prince is requesting your presence in the Upper District!" The palace guards all dropped to one knee in apology.

"That brat is? And he needed to send for all of you to fetch me? Are you all stupid or what? Isn't one of you enough?"

"T-This…" 

The palace guards did not know how to reply. They found it strange too, but it was the royal prince's order. They had to follow it. 

"Enough. No need to answer."

Grandmaster Don silenced them and turned towards a specific direction. He quickly understood the gist of the situation after sensing the disturbance in the laws.

"Transcendent." 

Grandmaster Don's eyes narrowed at the discovery.

"Go alert the palace and protect the king! The Capital is under attack by enemies! I will go help that brat!" Grandmaster Don ordered the palace guards before complaining, "Just what the hell was he thinking? Facing the enemy Transcendent alone."

"What! His Highness is?! Please allow us to assist you, Grandmaster Don!" The palace guards were startled. After being made aware of the situation, they were ashamed for not realizing the prince's intention sooner. 

"No need! I, alone, am enough!" Grandmaster Don firmly denied their request. 

They were sent away because they could not help. Sending the palace guards back would only get them killed. Not everyone was a freak like Leon.

Grandmaster Don did not bother changing out of his pajamas. He took to the skies and flew in the direction of the disturbance after flames exploded under his feet.

…

Crawford University, main building.

A person was seen sitting on the top balcony outside the principal office of the building. The old dean leisurely appreciated the beauty of the night sky during a time most people are found asleep. 

Flashing a glance in a particular direction, the old dean softly laughed, "They don't give up, do they? 

"Are you not going to stop them?"

The old dean twirled his wine cup and appeared to be alone, but another voice was heard from an indiscernible direction.

"Why should I stop them? I'm not an Overseer." The old dean spoke indifferently.

"You're not an Overseer, but with your strength, you might as well be one. As long as you are here, the High Council deems it unnecessary to delegate an Overseer to this kingdom." The owner of the indiscernible voice appeared speechless.

"Heroes do not rise in peaceful times, my old friend. If we interfere too much, when will the sparrows ever learn to spread their wings and soar the skies like mighty eagles?"

"Aren't you afraid of the sparrows dying if you don't interfere?" The voice spoke in frustration.

"If it dies, then it dies. Simple as that. It just means that our human race lacked destiny and doomed to perish. We need an overlord, not a pampered chicken." The old dean spoke with an enigmatic view before savoring the wine in silence.

"Never mind. You do you." The owner of the indiscernible voice gave up on persuading the old dean. Before leaving, the voice owner asked, "Are you not going to return to the High Council?"

"This is some good spirit wine. Send the High Master my regards."

Hearing the old dean's indirect response, the voice did not press further. 

Shortly after, the balcony regained its original tranquility. 

…

"Little bastard, try not to die too quickly, alright?" Balthazar spoke in a warped voice.

In that instance, Leon's pupils shrank.

Balthazar's figured blurred and disappeared from his vision, followed by an impending sense of danger from the side. Without thinking further, Leon immediately lowered his center of gravity and lunge forward.

Boom!

A sword wave swept pass and formed a long crevasse in his original spot. Leon drew in a sharp breath as he gouged the force of that sword wave to be around 150 thousand jins. Transcendents were not to be underestimated. 

"Interesting, you managed to dodge that. Try this one." 

Balthazar sent out another sword wave of intense energy. The sword wave flew with more incredible velocity and carried a force of 180 thousand jins. Leon had no choice but to utilize his movement technique to evade.

Extreme Vanishing Step!

Swoosh! 

"Ah?! Everyone, quickly dodge!"

The sword wave flew past Leon but continued its trajectory towards the core disciples. The core disciples were shocked and immediately scurried out of the way.

The core disciples evade successfully with no casualties, but they were left in a disheveled mess. They looked at the newly formed crevasse in the ground with cold breath before retreating some distance.

When the Transcendents are fighting, the mortals will suffer.

Balthazar wrinkled his brows at Leon's speed in dodging his second attack. He might not necessarily be faster than this!

"Little bastard, you are very quick on your feet! It seems your speed is even more impressive than your strength!"

"Old bastard, watch my spear!" 

Leon dashed forward and swept out with his spear from a tricky angle, aiming for Balthazar's neck. Powered by the additional elemental force of fire and metal, Leon's spear strike reached a force of 100 thousand jins. 

"Child's play." 

Balthazar's blood boiling state increased his physical abilities, but it also heightened his sense. The spear strike's trajectory was easily anticipated.

Peng! 

Their weapons clashed, and the excess force of Balthazar's sword swing swept Leon off his feet and sent him flying up with spinning momentum.

The sect master was relentless and was about to give chase with a follow-up attack. But before he could, a timely blazing ball of hellfire shot towards his location from another direction and interrupted him.

After Balthazar retreated, he spat towards the newcomer, "Who are you?"

"Hahaha, old thing. How shameless are you to bully a junior? You do not need to know who I am. You only need to know that your opponent is me!"

Sensing the fire laws surrounding Don, Balthazar flashed Don a disdainful glance. 

"You must be the Fire Transcendent in the Capital. Hmph, a newly ascended Transcendent is nothing to me!" 

"Hahaha, we will see about that." 

Hovering in the sky, Don grasped the air and condensed a flaming lance in his hand before he flashed Leon a glance. "Brat, why don't you go deal with the small fries and leave this one to me?"

"Alright, Grandpa Don. Be careful. He is very strong!" 

Leon nodded.

Don's timely arrival allowed him sufficient time to regain his bearing in the sky and saved him from a dangerous pickle. It appeared he was still not strong enough to take on the Bloodfiend Sect's sect master.