Against Heaven's Will

Boom! Boom! Boom!

That evening in the Water Land Capital's Palace was definitely full of disturbance. Even Sir Liu didn't seem to expect such consequences after inviting Xuefeng's team to spend the night at his Palace. 

"Good job Tianshi! You can finally wield two of them with ease!" Xinyu called out excitedly as the ground continued to shake. 

In front of her were two large Earth Golems carrying giant Elemental Qi swords. They hacked and sliced rock pillars left and right which caused minor earthquakes each time. 

Although the Training Grounds had barriers that were supposed to silence the sound, it was hard to block all the seismic waves from disturbing the neighbors. For them, it was the whole Palace which felt the explosions and ground shaking on their own skin.

"Oof! That was hard," Tianshi breathed out deeply, catching air after the intense session. Even her body was all stressed after manipulating the two Golems in battle. 

"Don't worry, you are doing well," Xinyu assured happily. "In just over two hours you were able to grasp both the theory and even practice as well. Manipulating two Golems are the same time on top of Elemental Swords is something to be proud of."

"Thank you, Xinyu," Tianshi acknowledged friendly. "I think I can equip all five of my Golems with weapons. I should make it before the sun is up."

"Oof, aren't you overdoing it?" Xinyu questioned surprised. "I can feel that your body is already reaching its limits and your mind shouldn't be different. Controlling a puppet is really taxing for both, especially for a long period of time. This is not a two-minute battle. We have been doing it for two hours."

Despite Xinyu's scolding, Tianshi remained firm with a smile on her face. 

"I'm here to train. I won't stop till my body is on its limits," Tianshi explained as she popped a shiny Golden Pill into her mouth. "Don't worry, I will be fine." 

The pill seems to work immediately as Xinyu noticed the change on Tianshi's tired face with a naked eye. Tianshi brightened with her eyes regaining their brilliance. 

"See? I'm already good to go." Tianshi proved her point by jumping a few times, causing Xinyu to be speechless. 

"Sure, we can continue, but can you answer me something? Why are you pushing yourself so hard? What is your motivation?" Xinyu asked curiously.

Tianshi pursed her lips. 

"Isn't it obvious? I'm doing it for Xuefeng. I would do anything for him and working hard to be strong enough to stay by his side is the least I can do," Tianshi explained as she glanced at the Palace. "Can't you see how hard he is working? If I don't increase my pace, he will escape me very quickly and I don't want to be a log he has to carry." 

Xinyu followed her gaze and saw a night sky filled with Blue Qi floating into the Palace from all sides. It was still as impressive as the first time she saw it and this time it was even bigger. The size of Water Qi clouds forming around the Palace was so thick one could bath in the Qi itself. 

"I'm sure he won't discard me even if I don't keep up with him. He would never," Tianshi added as she looked back at Xinyu. "But would you feel good being a weight on your lover's back who just slows him down?" 

"No, I would hate it," Xinyu replied honestly. 

"Then you have your answer. I can only push myself hard and he is my motivation," Tianshi concluded. "Shall we continue?" 

"You opened my eyes a bit," Xinyu muttered deep in thought, before straightening her back. "Let's do it. I feel like training all night as well now." 

Xinyu didn't waste time and disappeared from the spot, teleporting on one of the stone pillars. 

"Let's increase the difficulty then! Since you got used to stationary objects, we can switch to moving objects!" Xinyu called out as a stone disk spawned in her hand. "I will throw stone disks at you and your task is destroying them midair. We won't stop until you can control all five Golems with their Weapons and destroy all the disk I throw at you." 

Tianshi frowned at how small the disk was compared to the size of her golems but smirked right after. 

"I like it! Challenge accepted!" Tianshi announced as she closed her eyes. 

Rumble!

In the next seconds, a third Earth Golem broke through the ground. Her Fire Qi and Water Qi were already depleted to create the other two swords, so this time she used Lightning. Her Qi pool was too small for any fails, so she had to succeed on the first try each time. 

Although Xinyu's Sword Creation Art was complicated, she already grasped it fully. 

Bzzz!

The violent Lightning Sword brightened the Training Ground as her Golem gripped its five-meter blade. She felt a sting in her mind with a bit of sweat gathering on her forehead, but that was just the start. 

"Come at me!" 

———

"Ugh, I hate you! Let me out!"

While everyone was busy with their matters in the outside world, one of the main members of Xuefeng's Team was still locked. It wouldn't be that bad though if not for the nagging partner he was imprisoned with. 

"Can you just shut up already and let me sleep?" Drakos scolded helplessly, but he knew that wouldn't work at all. He tried too many times already. 

"No, I can't! I'm hungry! We didn't eat for a few days already!" the female Dragon complained while slapping her tail against the cage.

"I already told you what you can do. I can help you escape. There is no other solution," Drakos explained with a sigh. "We can't let this maniac create his machine else our whole race will be doomed. As much as the thought of being the last Dragon alive feels tempting, I can't let that happen. I should be the one who robs the Dragon Realm, not this oldie."

"Ugh, as if I can trust your technique so easily. You sound like an old scammer. I won't do it unless I'm really starving," the female Dragon grunted unhappily. 

"Sure, sure, your call. I don't mind waiting," Drakos shrugged as he closed his eyes again, readying himself for a nap. 

Rumble! 

Too bad, a sudden earthquake messed his plans. 

"Huh? Something is happening on the surface," the female Dragon noticed, but the ground shaking only intensified. 

"Someone is attacking the Dwarf Kingdom perhaps," Drakos guessed when a picture of a flaming beauty appeared in his mind. 

"Bella!" 

He wasn't wrong. 

Right above the Dwarf Kingdom, Bella's human body hovered in the sky while bombarding the whole place with colorful Fireballs. 

"Let him out or die!" Bella cried out coldly, breaking inside the Drawf Kingdom's barrier to create more chaos within. "Where is he?!" 

"Everyone, hide inside!" the King of Dwarfs announced by the gates as his people rushed inside. "We can't fight her in the sky!" 

Bella frowned at that and swiftly shifted targets, rushing towards the entrance instead. Her move scared the King of Dwarfs enough to let out a final order. 

"Close the gates!" 

Thud!

The massive gate shut down before all dwarfs could reach their safety which left only one fate for them. 

"Burn!" Bella shouted angrily as a sea of flames swallowed the whole outside city. 

Glaring at the gate, Bella transformed into her Phoenix Form without hesitation and stormed it. Too bad, no matter how much strength or flames she used, she only melted a bit of the outer layer. Getting through such a thick gate would take her weeks. 

"Let's see how long you can hide!"