Condensing the Holy Grail

Having served a decade in the Star-Flicking Guard, taught for fifteen years at Truth University, and earned honors such as the "Royal Shield" and "Blazing Star" medals, the Sanctuary sorcerer Oleron—known as the "Master of Arms"—had weathered countless storms throughout his life. After appearing in a handful of films and plays, he had even come to be regarded as the quintessential tough guy. Yet at this very moment, every muscle in his body was strung taut. His hands gripped his weapons tightly, and without daring so much as to blink, he stared fixedly at the man standing in the center of the mound of corpses. This was a boundless prairie. Thirteen minutes ago, a total of forty-six Star sorcerers had gathered here, three of whom were Sanctuary sorcerers. Upon running into the Star-Flicking Guard in Dream Heaven, Oleron had decisively surrendered his holy grail fragments to march alongside them. As an Armor Baron—the highest rank among the Palace Guard nobility—dedicating life and limb to the stars had become second nature to Oleron. Even without receiving orders from the Throne Room (the throne seal being the primary means to trigger the Blessing of the Stars), Oleron had immediately set aside his personal interests in favor of the public duty. The Stars had never advocated for the equality of all living beings. In fact, from every angle of society, it laid bare that nobles were superior beings elevated above the masses, separated from commoners by an insurmountable gulf. The finest posts were monopolized by the nobility, and the finest resources were hoarded by them; thus, nobles were required to be the bravest warriors, the most ideal laborers, and the most fearless patriots willing to sacrifice their lives. The Stars never prayed for selfless saints, but it could churn out vast batches of nobles who put the public good before personal gain. Most of the populace voluntarily upheld this system, because only by fulfilling those rigorous duties could the nobles secure their privileges, and any noble incapable of satisfying those duties would plummet back into the commoner class. Yet having progressed from contempt to disbelief, and then to sheer despair and terror, Oleron no longer harbored any thought of fighting valiantly for the Stars. He only wanted to escape this living hell! A sorcerer army composed of forty-six Star sorcerers, including three Sanctuary sorcerers—Oleron had never imagined they would meet a match here, unless it were one of the legendary demons. Thus, during their first minute facing this man, Oleron had thought he possessed a death wish. By the third minute, it felt as though taking down this powerhouse might prove slightly difficult. By the fifth minute: Could they actually lose? By the seventh minute: The Sanctuary sorcerers are closing in, shouldn't you have the good sense to turn and run? Now, Oleron was left with a single thought: Was there any chance he could escape? Even though dying in the Void Realm at most damaged one's soul, Oleron had completely lost the courage to fight. Had his opponent displayed some realm-crushing combat power, he might not have lost his nerve entirely. But every stance and strike the man used remained strictly within mortal limits; his realm of cultivation was scarcely different from his own. The sole difference was precision. From the very first second of the clash, he had evaded every bullet and struck every vulnerability without making a single mistake. Like a surgeon conducting an operation, he had methodically slaughtered every Star sorcerer. It was not that Oleron could never achieve such a feat—on rare occasions, he too might slip into that profound, inexplicable state for a few seconds. But this battle had already lasted thirteen whole minutes! Just what kind of monster was hiding beneath that human skin?! Just as Oleron abruptly retreated to bolt toward a portal, a dark silhouette closed in at terrifying speed. Leaping up, the man stepped directly onto Oleron's parting spear thrust. Twin swords sheared across like a dragon's shears, sending a fine head soaring into the air. A sorcery spirit fled Oleron's corpse, set to dissipate in three seconds, but before it could, a hand snatched it up. "That should just about do it..." After looting Oleron's holy grail fragments, Yaxiu let out a soft breath. Although locked in fierce combat with a sorcerer army was exhausting, the spoils were generous. In addition to the holy grail fragments, he had plundered quite a few sorcery spirits. Hadn't Weixi been complaining that she had no sorcery spirits to use? Later he would pick out a few— *Slap!* Yaxiu slapped his own cheek hard and shook his head. Truth be told, his luck had been decent; fighting across six consecutive stages, he had not encountered a single other demon. But his luck was also terrible, seeing as he hadn't crossed paths with a single acquaintance. Originally, there were very few Sanctuary sorcerers, so even if scattered, they should have run into one another quite easily. But the influx of Star sorcerers severely diluted the Sanctuary ratio of the Angel Hunt. Currently, there were at least ten thousand sorcerers inside Dream Heaven, likely marking the peak of foot traffic since its inception. Still... Yaxiu examined the blade in his hand, observing the half of his face reflected on the steel. It looked faintly sinister. This was the first time he had slaughtered his enemies so ruthlessly, entirely on his own martial strength. In the past, he had either faced enemies far stronger than himself or fought shoulder-to-shoulder with his companions. But bullying the weak alone like this was genuinely a first since becoming a sorcerer. Looking back at the corpses blanketing the grassland, an indescribable sense of accomplishment and pleasure quietly rippled through the depths of Yaxiu's heart. *I am already a powerhouse who holds sway over the fates of others.* *All living beings are frail, ripe for me to trample, ripe for me to ravage.* *So this is what power tastes like... In this world, power is the only truth. As long as I possess power, everything will bend to my will, and all things under heaven must obey my decree, just like a Divine Lord ruling over the world.* *Yet Divine Lords are no longer the summit. The Prime Angel is my greatest opportunity. I will seize it step by step, all the way to the supreme—* Yaxiu suddenly shuddered. Gazing inward into his soul, he found the Substitute sorcery spirit being thrashed within an inch of its life by the Heart Sword sorcery spirit. This was nothing new to him. The Substitute sorcery spirit, having advanced through four-color contamination, was extraordinarily arrogant. Taking advantage of having a large bed, it would sometimes hug this sorcery spirit to sleep, and other times embrace that one. The other sorcery spirits, naive and muddled, usually let it have its way. But whenever it attempted to pull several sorcery spirits into bed at once, the others grew discontent. Sensing that it wanted to rule as king of the sorcery spirits, they revolted on the spot. And while the Substitute sorcery spirit possessed relatively high intelligence, it had no combat ability whatsoever, to the point where even a Two-Wing sorcery spirit could beat it up. The Heart Sword sorcery spirit was a Four-Wing sorcery spirit gifted to him by the Sword Princess; thrashing the Substitute sorcery spirit was as easy as turning over its hand. Not knowing how many sorcery spirits the Substitute had tried to sleep with this time to infuriate the Heart Sword, Yaxiu hurriedly used his sorcery power to hold the Heart Sword back. The Substitute immediately scurried back under its blanket, shivering in terror. Yaxiu didn't know whether to laugh or get angry—it was scared every single time, yet dared to do it again the very next. Yaxiu sheathed his sword and shook his head, thinking he must have caught this madness from Weixi. A mere legendary sorcerer daring to covet the supreme throne? He had better focus on surviving the Hell Trial first. Once he got through it, he could face an emotional trial with the Sword Princess and the Witch... one far more hellish than Hell itself. Only after looting the holy grail fragments from the other Star sorcerers did Yaxiu realize his own holy grail was now complete. But without Feili by his side, was he supposed to condense the rainbow holy grail himself— Just then, a stream of information flowed from the holy grail into Yaxiu's mind. He instantly grasped the four new rules: "Search and Summon," "Safe Abode," "Chaos Barrier," and "Battle Royale." Before joy could show on his face, a red portal unfurled before him. As he gazed at the red portal, he could vaguely make out the shimmering light and shadow of a rainbow holy grail swaying inside! "Is this a portal leading to the site of a holy grail summoning?" Yaxiu started, immediately realizing this was the result of a game played between the Divine Lords. The four new rules were undoubtedly meant to facilitate the demons. After all, aside from a wild rogue like Feili, every demon was backed by a Divine Lord, and it was only reasonable for the Divine Lords outside to grant their demons advantages. Yet this portal was likely spawning beside every single sorcerer, clearly intended to rally everyone to hunt down the holy grail bearer. Whether this was orchestrated by the Prime Angel or the Divine Lord of Stars, it was terrible news for Yaxiu. He glanced down at the holy grail in his grasp. "Search and Summon" could summon any sorcerer. Although the Sword Princess and the Witch were now legendary sorcerers, the Stars allowed even Two-Wing sorcerers to enter Dream Heaven, meaning they might very well have entered too. Therefore... After a moment's contemplation, Yaxiu silently recited a name in his heart, whereupon a blonde girl abruptly materialized before him. "...After a romantic dinner, we'll go watch a musical first, and then head to a luxury hotel's couple suite, pressing into clean, white sheets to gentle music. That's my idea of the perfect first night. What do you think?" Feili turned around, only to see Yaxiu standing there with a face flushed as dark as pig liver. She blinked, and within an instant, crimson flooded all the way to the tips of her ears. Her lips trembled, looking as though steam were about to spout from her head. "I—I was just discussing movie plots with Felix! Just a movie plot!" "Felix?" Hearing the name, Yaxiu froze slightly. "Yes, Felix!" the little sheep hurriedly added. "I've been traveling with Felix all this time. She told me the Sword Princess and the Witch both came in!" Yaxiu put two and two together in a flash. Felix belonged to the Four Pillar Cult as well, so it was only natural for her to travel alongside the Sword Princess and the Witch. Speaking of which, Felix's appearance... "Why is it just the two of us? Where are the others?" Feili looked around. "Where are Sister Weixi and Niya?" "I can only summon one person to my side." Yaxiu held up the assembled holy grail. "It's time to condense the holy grail." Feili nodded in realization, then let out a soft gasp. "If you knew the Sword Princess and the Witch were here, you could have summoned them instead—" Yaxiu shook his head. "I already guessed they would be here, but I still chose to summon you." "Huh?" Feili blinked. "B-But Yaxiu, haven't you been apart from them for a really long time? Felix told me they miss you dearly. If it were me, I definitely would have chosen to see the person I love." "I wish I could be as reckless as you." Yaxiu offered a faint smile. "But I have to be responsible for the future of the Sword Princess and the Witch. I have to be responsible for Igola and Harvey. I have to be responsible for Niya, and..." "I have to be responsible for you." Yaxiu passed the holy grail to Feili. "Demon, please fight alongside me." Feili nodded earnestly, performing the Sorcery Spirit Transformation on Yaxiu in the process. As she held the holy grail high, Yaxiu scratched his head and could not resist adding, "By the way, there's something I think you ought to know." "What is it?" "Quality control in hotel rooms is hard to guarantee. A private residence belonging to either side is actually much cleaner." Feili went still, only to realize a moment later what Yaxiu was referring to. Lowering her head in bashful embarrassment, she gave a gentle nod with her little head. "Mmh." The next instant, the two were teleported into a new stage. In another stage, Vosloda pulled his scimitar from a corpse and slotted it back into the Eight-Sword Case. He glanced at the red portal that had appeared beside him, showing no rush as he first looted all the holy grail fragments from the corpse. Just as he finished looting and prepared to step through the red portal, a second red portal unfurled.