Chapter 6: Spireprimus, Do You Know the Arcavis Sword Master?

"Arcavis Path activated!" The instant Elder Vernell saw Taylor Yale wrapped in that golden radiance in the distance, his face turned ugly. He had never imagined Taylor would dare to charge the Arcavis Path. Arcavis Path. Whether Taylor could clear it was beside the point. The moment the Arcavis Path activated, it meant someone had suffered injustice inside the Academy. For the Academy, that was a devastating stain. It would poison reputations and shatter political futures. And if the challenger actually succeeded… Then it was over. Azurehold would immediately enter an internal investigation. After that, the Outer Cabinet on the Arcavis Realm side would step in and take over Azurehold's case. The thought drained the color from Elder Vernell's face. He realized something even worse. Whether Taylor cleared the Arcavis Path or not, he, Vernell, would likely never set foot in the Outer Cabinet for the rest of his life. His career was finished. Completely. That single thought snapped something in him. Killing intent surged, sharp enough to feel solid. Beside him, Felix Santee had been just as stunned that Taylor would challenge the Arcavis Path. The surprise lasted only a moment before a cold smile tugged at his mouth. The Arcavis Path was not something ordinary people could survive. Inside were three trials personally left behind by the Arcavis Sword Master when he established it: Battle, Governance, and Heart. Back when the Arcavis Sword Master first created the Arcavis Path, challengers had come in droves, all dreaming of leaving their names in history. Yet the first trial alone, Battle, had eliminated ninety-nine percent of them. It was brutally simple. The challenger had to defeat ten experts at the same realm as themselves, ten opponents with no "discounts," no weakness, no mercy. Most importantly, if you failed, you died. Not "lost." Not "injured." You died. As for the second trial, Governance, and the third, Heart, nobody knew what they contained. In a thousand years, only the one person who truly cleared the Arcavis Path had learned what lay beyond. News of the Arcavis Path's reactivation spread through Myriadhold at terrifying speed. With Eldergem Spire driving the Arcavis Universe's technology to absurd heights, every Academy across Myriadhold began a synchronized livestream. In Azurehold, the Yale family poured out of their estate and rushed straight for Eldergem Spire Square. Tens of thousands had already gathered there, and the crowd kept swelling. Above the main hall of Eldergem Spire hung a massive light screen, and on it stood Taylor Yale, walking the Arcavis Path. "Brother Tianming!" In the Yale family crowd, Kobe Yale pumped his fist and shouted until his throat went raw. Around him, other Yale disciples waved and cheered, faces bright with feverish excitement. Only Isaac Yale looked grim. Worry sat heavy in his eyes, because he understood what it meant for Taylor to challenge the Arcavis Path. It meant he had been wronged inside the Academy. Just then, an Eldergem Spire manager stepped out and raised his voice. "Everyone, if you wish to stay and watch, you must pay three Spirit Crystals per person…" The square erupted. Someone immediately challenged him. "It's always been free. Why are we paying today?" The manager turned to the man with a pleasant smile. "What's your name? Where do you live?" The man fell silent. So did everyone else. The manager kept smiling. "Relax. We're not taking your money for nothing. Eldergem Spire is providing free water." He spread his hands as if he were doing them a favor. "Drink as much as you want. We've got plenty." The crowd burned with anger, but nobody dared speak. Somewhere in the shadows, a woman in green took out a notebook and began to write: Arcavis Era… April 12th, afternoon. Eldergem Spire's chief manager collected Spirit Crystals in violation of policy, provoking public outrage… … At Azurehold Arcavis Academy, countless students also streamed toward the assessment hall. The place had turned into a sea of people. They stared at Taylor Yale on the Arcavis Path, curiosity blazing in their eyes. Taylor walked toward the hall entrance, gaze steady, posture calm as if he were marching to his own execution. It was not that he wanted to challenge the Arcavis Path. He simply had no other road left. He had seen it clearly. That Academy elder and the Santee family had already decided to kill him. If he followed that Lord Fang, he would likely drag the man down with him and get him killed as well. Neither of them would make it to the Arcavis Realm. So there was only the Arcavis Path. Taylor approached the entrance step by step and murmured, "Spireprimus, do you know the Arcavis Sword Master?" Little Tower blurted out, "That damn-" It cut itself off mid-word, as if it had suddenly remembered something. Taylor frowned in confusion. "Damn what?" He had read plenty of books from the Milky Way Galaxy, but he still could not make sense of those words. Little Tower hurriedly explained, "Where I'm from, it's a compliment." Afraid Taylor would fixate on it, Little Tower quickly changed the subject. "The Arcavis Sword Master is famous across the world. Of course I know him. What I'm curious about is this. If you really meet him in there, what would you say?" Taylor's voice softened. "I want to ask him if he knows how dark this world is." Little Tower fell silent. Taylor stepped through the door. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in a void-like expanse of space and time. In front of him, ten phantom figures condensed out of nothing. Every single one of them stood at the Realm of Myriad Laws, with strength that was terrifyingly real. Taylor stared at the ten phantoms and felt pressure clamp down on his chest. Little Tower asked, genuinely curious, "How are you going to beat them?" Even it could not see a path to victory unless Taylor used the Path Sword. Those ten phantoms were a perfect one-to-one replication of Taylor's realm and combat strength. Ten against one. No openings. No chances. And this idiot still did not understand the Path Sword's true power. Taylor watched the phantoms without a word. Rumble… The ten phantoms suddenly spread their hands. Twenty bolts of divine lightning dropped straight from the heavens into their palms. A crushing thunderous might flooded the space. Taylor abruptly circulated his Cultivation Technique, Destiny Decision. In an instant, boundless Spiritual Energy surged from heaven and earth and poured into his body. His aura spiked violently. At the same time, dozens of lightning arcs gathered above his head, weaving into a storm. Little Tower's voice turned sharp with alarm. "You're forcing a breakthrough… Are you insane?" Taylor's eyes held only resolve. At this point, he had to gamble everything for a single thread of hope. Minor Calamity Tier could borrow heavenly lightning to temper the body until it became clear as glazed crystal, able to withstand ordinary techniques, divine abilities, and even the raw might of nature. Under normal circumstances, reaching Minor Calamity Tier was nearly impossible for him. He had no way to find enough calamity lightning to temper his body. But these Realm of Myriad Laws opponents… every one of them could wield divine lightning. He was going to use their lightning to forge his flesh. If he could smash through his bottleneck and reach Minor Calamity Tier, he could suppress them outright. If he failed, he would die and his path would end. Beyond that, he wanted to see whether Destiny Decision could devour energy other than Spiritual Energy. The ten Realm of Myriad Laws phantoms struck at once. Twenty bolts of lightning slammed toward Taylor in unison. The combined thunder might was so oppressive it nearly stole his breath. Taylor circulated his inner art again. Streams of Spiritual Energy flared across his body, coating his flesh like a second skin. In the next instant, lightning swallowed him whole. Rumble, rumble, rumble… The area around Taylor became a raging sea of thunder. And then, little by little, the lightning began to fade. It was being devoured. Taylor threw his head back and laughed. He had felt it. Destiny Decision really could devour this lightning energy. It was slow, and it could only swallow about fifty percent. The rest still tore into his body. Even so, it was a massive, unexpected gift. Because of the Cultivation Technique, when divine lightning struck him, half was devoured and absorbed, and half tempered his body. Under that relentless forging, his flesh began to transform, and his aura climbed higher and higher… In the distance, the ten phantoms seemed to sense the change. They were copies without true intelligence, but they possessed combat instinct. The moment they detected something wrong, they charged together, lightning flickering around them. As Realm of Myriad Laws experts, they could command techniques and divine abilities, borrowing nature's power such as heavenly lightning. The problem was, they were copied from Taylor. And Taylor did not know techniques or divine abilities. He only knew one move: controlling heavenly lightning. When the ten Realm of Myriad Laws phantoms rushed him, Taylor did not meet them head-on. He fought while retreating, devouring and absorbing as he went. Bang, bang, bang… Taylor could not overpower them. Yet because he could absorb lightning energy, the moment their lightning drew near, its power was cut in half. That was why the ten phantoms could suppress him, but could not kill him. More than that, as Taylor devoured more and more lightning, his body began to undergo a qualitative change. Dense sparks of lightning appeared across his skin, and those points of light fused into his flesh and blood. Time passed, though he could not tell how long- Rumble! A powerful aura erupted from Taylor. His body shone like glazed crystal, terrifyingly strong. Minor Calamity Tier! Taylor laughed loudly and swept his sleeve. Bang! Two phantoms were blasted away by the sheer force of his physical body. At the same time, the lightning power of the Realm of Myriad Laws opponents could no longer harm him. Minor Calamity Tier. A body clear as glazed crystal, able to withstand ordinary techniques, divine abilities, and even the raw might of nature… But then, not far away, the auras of the ten phantoms suddenly surged. In the blink of an eye, they climbed toward Minor Calamity Tier as well. Taylor's expression froze. …