Cultivation Through Artifacts

Chapter 137: Unexpected Encounter

Beast Cores as their names suggested were cores that could be obtained from Alphas from different Beast species. By consuming such a Core, Cultivators were able to obtain a power akin to a second Talent, boosting their strengths several folds.

However, only a few knew that once a Cultivator consumes a Beast Core, the Core itself won’t become completely one with the body as a portion of it will always remain intact.

Once consumed, the Beast Core will gradually reconstruct itself over time and once the body was destroyed, the Beast Core can be obtained by others!

Of course, it was only possible if the Beast Core reconstructed itself in the body. If not, then even though the Cultivator was killed the Beast Core won’t appear ever again!

“Your Beast Core… When did you obtain it?” asked the guy abruptly, increasing his distance between him and Khal once again.

Right now, he stared at Khal not like an opponent, but instead as a treasure box that hid great and priceless treasures once one opened it!

Though, what surprised him that instead of answering, Khal simply lowered his body while the weapon vanished from his hold; his left arm extended toward him while his right palm rested above his left elbow.

“What is he doing with such an ugly stance?” the guy stood in one place in confusion only to widen his eyes the next second.

Swish!

BOOM!

With a flicker that was impossible to follow, Khal’s figure arose before the guy and swung his palm that was already covered with Essence.

The guy seeing this was surprised but snorted coldly right away, “Courting death!”

With a wave of his hand, jet black liquid flew toward Khal, ready to cover his body too just like Rubie’s.

Khal watched with a calm expression as this happened, but instead of panicking his feet shifted to the side together with his body.

Swish!

Like a phantom under the night sky, Khal’s body vanished from sight and a second later reappeared, but this time behind the guy.

“Wha-” the guy was shocked to see this and was about to turn around, but Khal didn’t let him. With a solid and powerful thrust onto the middle of his back, the Essence around his palm broke forth, crashing into the guy’s body like a tidal wave!

BOOOM!

In a split second, the guy’s entire physique exploded into thousands of pieces, while the trees and ground before Khal turned to smashed dust and broken debris!

Simply put, from the guy’s body remained nothing but a pond of blood and mincemeat!

“Scre…ech!” with a weak cry, Rubie fell onto the ground, the black material no longer covering her body as it evaporated into thin air.

“You okay?” asked Khal as he picked up Rubie, checking his body for any injury.

But luckily, it seemed that except for the lack of oxygen she was doing perfectly fine. She seemed a bit weak, but in a few moments she will regain her strength right away.

“Unexpected. You have quite an intriguing Secret Art.”

“!?”

Turning around as fast as lightning, Khal watched as a girl in a breathtaking golden robe stepped out from a tree’s cover, her delicate eyes fixed on him.

She had a long brown hair braided into a pigtail that crashed over her shoulders, while her amethyst eyes below her slender eyebrows stared at Rubie in Khal’s hold quite nonchalantly.

In her right hand was firmly holding a long sword that seemed to be crafter out from some kind of white material akin to marble.

When Khal saw the girl before him he immediately raised his guard as he was clear about this person’s identity; Fifth Stage Cultivator, Seila from Heaven Academy!

Noticing that Khal didn’t talk, Seila shifted her delicate eyes at Khal and opened her small lips, “When I first saw you fight that guy, I thought you will die as he restricted your Talent right from the beginning. But who would have thought you will have such a powerful Secret Art that could back you up even in such a disadvantageous situation. What is it called?”

“Why does that even matter for you?” asked Khal coldly as he put Rubie onto his shoulder once she regained a bit of her strength.

Seila seemed surprised by this reply as shock flashed in her eyes but unexpectedly began to smile.

However, when Khal saw her smile he was immediately taken aback. Her calm smile was akin to the starry sky at night; gorgeous and breathtaking!

Never in his entire life did he seen such a glamorous and warm smile that almost made him want to kneel before her!

“How can a simple smile hold such power?” wondered Khal as he raised his guard even higher. Whatever Seila wanted, he knew he was only bad news!

Out of all the participants in this tournament, he knew that only Seila could pose him a problem as she not only was stronger than him in the Cultivation Stage but even had a special aura covering her that he only saw once!

“A Natural Born Cultivator!” thought Khal and took a step back unconsciously.

Smiling for a while as her eyes imitated two crescent moons, Seila turned indifferent once more and gently raised her sword.

“I was just simply curious as I wanted to learn it once I win this tournament. But it seems you are unwilling to tell me, hence…”

Without talking any further, Seila’s sword lit up with golden light, illuminating her surroundings with a lustrous glow akin to the sun!

Upon seeing the raised sword and its glow Khal’s abdomen turned extremely numb and knew if he didn’t move right at this moment he will surely die!

This attack before him was something that not even his Diamond Skin could repel, and trying to defend against it would be clearly a foolish choice.

Seila’s expression remained indifferent all this time and without any hesitancy swung her sword vertically.

Swish!

BOOOM!

As though a small nuke was dropped onto the ground, everything was engulfed with golden light whilst the grass and trees around and in the distance evaporated into thin air, leaving only a several meters deep and wide crater where Khal’s body stood a moment ago!

Staring at the pit her attack just formed, Seila lowered her sword, but her eyes were fixed in the distance, her gaze holding unknown thought.

–

Running among the woods all the way to the next section, which in fact was a huge jungle filled with sapphire blue woods, Khal stopped and hid into a small hole under a tree’s roots.

His nonchalant face was kind of pale, his chest heaved up and down while the muscles inside his legs seemed to twitch continuously.

“That was no normal attack… What the hell was that? Her Talent? No, that can’t be… Then it must have been a Secret Art!” said Khal as his breathing gradually slowed and calmed down.

Just a few moments ago, he was only a hairsbreadth from dying but thanks to his Third then First Form of his Secret Art together with his Diamond Skin, he was able to escape safely.

Yet, the fact that his Diamond Skin was full of wide and deep cracks all over his body was something Khal wouldn’t have expected. Just simply from the shockwave that a Fifth Stage Cultivator’s attack created, his Diamond Skin was cracked and almost destroyed!

This was madness in itself!

And not only Khal was shocked by this, but several others too, especially the teachers and experts from Moon Academy.

“I wouldn’t have foreseen that the legendary World Devouring Strike would appear in this tournament in the hands of such a young Cultivator,” mumbled Jas, his eyes flashing with both tremor and fear.