" Yahut... did you decide to protect your children? I thought you would only make it in time if one of the beasts in the forest ate your children. Or I thought you'd run away again."
The drunk man looked at the man who had barely managed to block his sword. With his brown hair and beard, he didn't look that old. He was a charismatic hunter in his late thirties. That was Yahut Navan's appearance. Considering his strength and experience, however, it was clear that he wasn't that young.
Yahut looked at Wuma with a serious expression. He knew his children were terrified behind him.
He was terrified, too.
However, like them, he didn't hesitate to charge forward and fight.
"Take your brother and enter the inheritance, Evra. I'll distract Wuma."
At that moment, Yahut pushed Wuma's sword back with his sapphire-blue sword, and Wuma lunged forward at the same time. Yahut and Wuma collided with sudden, violent momentum. They both used their own techniques, and at that moment, their power surpassed the Sage Realm. Under the absolute authority of the Origin Heart Realm alone, they began an immense battle in a realm within the void.
At that moment, Ulam and Gomez emerged. Although they had started running directly toward the gate, they could see Evra trying to carry Malehit on his back; his legs were trembling. Gomez didn't care. For him, fewer opponents were better. Perhaps the legacy valued numbers.
But Ulam was not the same. He might have been a bit arrogant and proud, but that stemmed from his desire to overcome his own incompetence. He wasn't actually a bad person.
He hadn't been raised badly.
He stopped at that moment. He knew he should keep running, but the part of him that valued honor more stopped him. Before he knew it, he was running toward Ulam. Despite being knocked back by every clash between Wuma and Yahut, he kept running as if none of it mattered. When he reached Ulam and saw that the young man was overcome with emotion at his arrival, Ulam's eyebrows twitched with irritation.
"I'm not gay."
Ulam picked Malehit up and put him on his back. Then, he ran away toward the door with Evra. At this point, Wuma did nothing but watch them leave while fighting Yahut.
"The second gate has been activated."
The children stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. The elders paused only for a moment, stopping for just an instant before continuing to move. After that, the fight continued.
At the last moment, Malehit glanced back before entering the door on Ulam's back. He hadn't expected his father to be able to fight this powerful man. He had thought he was a coward. Just a coward...
Apparently, he wasn't.
" The third gate has been activated. The inheritance tests begin."
By this time, the noise had reached a deafening level, yet neither showed any sign of weakness. Only battle could resolve matters here, so they clashed once more.
Yahut was a Stage 5 Sage. Although he was at the same level as his son, their technical knowledge was different. Nor were their specialties identical.
Most of Yahut's techniques were intermediate level and had been mastered to the great success level. Moreover, his abilities were not limited to that.
When Yahut swung his sapphire sword, a blue mist began to spread from the blade. Although Yahut's power had not increased significantly, Wuma felt his own attack had weakened.
"Is it a high-level technique?"
It had also been developed to great success. Yahut's attacks with his low-level sword were almost at the 10th level.
But Wuma remained a monster before him. Yahut was pushed back with each blow. Cuts formed on his arms and legs. Wuma was like a flowing river—impossible to touch. Despite his injuries, Yahut was barely managing to hold Wuma off. He himself was getting hurt more and more. At this rate, he would also be badly injured and die.
'I just have to wait until his energy runs out. At this level, even his energy-drawing technique won't save him.'
Wuma must have been using an energy absorption technique for so long. While the energy in his cores was being depleted, it was being replenished. Still, at some point, the consumption rate must have exceeded the absorption rate. Wuma needed a high-level, forbidden energy absorption technique to continue much longer.
But this old man didn't even have a normal, high-level technique. How could he possibly have a forbidden technique at this level?
Suddenly, Wuma stopped. He pulled back suddenly and stood 5–6 meters away from Yahut. The cold winds did not stop blowing. As the sky darkened, clouds began to cover it. It looked like rain was coming. Wuma suddenly looked like an old man on the verge of death. His belly was visibly melting away.
"Your energy is depleted, isn't it? You've lost," said Yahut. There was a smile and a look of relief on his face. If Wuma's technique had ended, there was no need for him to worry.
At that moment, the liquor bottle that had been hanging from Wuma's waist or in his hand since the beginning of the battle slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
CRASH...!!!
A loud sound was heard, startling Yahut for some reason. The liquor bottle shattered into pieces when it hit the ground. There must have still been liquor inside because a red liquid spread around. This reassured Yahut. He breathed warm air out against the cold wind. If there was still liquor in the bottle, then Wuma didn't need it anymore. This confirmed Yahut's words.
Wuma's technique had ended.
"I lost... but not against you."
Despite the distance of several meters, Wuma's sword moved and severed Yahut's head from his body.
Even at the last moment, Yahut thought he had won. However, Wuma had become even stronger.
The Drunken Sage Transformation had reached perfection.
However, at the same time, Wuma's energy was depleted.
At that moment, he could hear footsteps approaching. A cultivator was coming this way, leaping from tree to tree. Wuma did not flee or do anything special. As light raindrops fell one by one onto his face, he tried to feel them. Still, the raindrops were too sparse to wet his face. He closed his eyes.
The Drunken Sage Transformation had ended. Wuma had sobered up.
At his current level, perfection was only a momentary state he could maintain in battle. A man approached. He wore a long robe. His face was deeply wrinkled, but his body was strong. He pulled the hood of his robe over his head as if to keep the raindrops from falling on his face. White hair peeked out from under the hood, and his beard had also turned white. Still, he didn't look as old as Wuma.
The man looked at Nomier in front of him, then at the bodies of John and Lima. Finally, he looked at Yahut's headless body lying in the distance.
He had seen many bodies like this on his way here.
"Ah, Wuma. You never seemed like the rebellious type. This was cruel. Most of them were quite young. Those who survived may be traumatized. On top of that, they were all my responsibility. Do you know how much my head will hurt when I go to the capital?" the man said. At this point, it wasn't hard to guess his identity.
Wuma bowed his head and smiled at him.
"Aren't you already going to pin all the blame on me? Or maybe you'll pin it on Baro?"
The robed man sighed and shook his head.
"My head will still hurt."
Wuma frowned and let out a bitter laugh.
"Meng Duo, we're similar people. That's why we're so cruel—"
PIRRRÇÇ!!!
A massive monster claw, seemingly coming from nowhere, tore through Wuma's body. As his legs fell to the ground, Meng Duo looked up silently at the bright Gate Number 3 stretching toward the sky. Then, he turned and walked away.