Cultivation Through Artifacts

Taking deep breaths one after another, Khal's heart began to calm down bit by bit and soon his chest was no longer heaving up and down like crazy.

"This is bad... Real bad..." thought Khal, immediately realizing the weight behind Alde's Talent.

"This is fucking cheating! He can simply leave a duplicate of himself anywhere in the world, and once he thinks his life is in danger he can just simply swap his body, avoiding death like it was nothing! This is simply ridiculous!"

Khal began to move back and forth in Blade Mountain, trying to figure out what he should do next, but no matter what he thought about, nothing came up in his mind.

Alde's Talent was simply too powerful for him to counter, and even if he killed all the duplicates he created, a final one could be anywhere, pushing him back to square one once again!

"No, this is not right. Think Khal, think! No power exists in this world that has no weakness!" mumbled Khal, his brain never stopping to find a solution.

Just like his three Power Cores that had their own weaknesses and the ways they can be countered, Alde's Talent should have also one, but as for what, Khal couldn't think of any at all!

"I have a few guesses to think of, but all of them are hard to clarify and there is a high chance they are wrong!" Khal stood still and soon could only do nothing but sigh.

It seems, until he didn't learn about Alde's Talent in greater detail, he could do nothing but guess blindly and hope he was right.

"At least I haven't been busted thanks to my armor so I'm still okay. Maybe he will feel suspicious about me, but I have way too many witnesses that saw I was here before he 'died'. But to make sure I avoid his suspicion..." Without hesitation, Khal opened the space crack and stepped through it.

-

-

-

Back at the lake where Liza was still practicing without a moment of rest, Khal walked back his complexion as calm as ever.

"You are back! Where did you go? It has been hours!" Liza stopped what she was doing and walked before Khal, but just before she could have asked anything else, a figure appeared in the distance, walking toward them with a darkened expression.

"Alde? What are you doing here?" Liza's complexion turned ice-cold, even raising her guard as she was ready to fight, but who would have thought that Alde completely ignored her and stood right before Khal, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Where were you?"

"What do you mean 'where were you'? I went and searched for help to cure Rubie's condition that you caused with your bell obviously!" answered Khal, his gaze innocent but at the same time cold.

"Then where she is? Why aren't you with her?" asked Alde, his suspicion growing stronger with each second.

Khal wanted to answer he went to get medicine, but even before he had the chance, a voice already answered instead of him, "He went away to get herbs and pills for his bird."

Turning around to see Jane's figure appearing out of thin air, Alde sneered and asked, "Then show me your herbs and pills you have 'bought'."

Upon hearing this, a cold smile formed on Khal's face, and waved his hand, summoning several looking herbs and pills above his palm.

However, this only made Alde's expression even darker and say, "You could have obtained these several days ago, you sure you got them today?"

"Yes, and if you don't believe me, your 'friend', then you can feel free to go and ask the staff in Pharmacy Department. They will be more than glad to answer your questions." said Khal, but soon frowned and asked, "But still, why is this so important for you to know? Your face is darker than the clouds and your mood seems to be sour too. Something must have happened with you for sure, so if you feel troubled, you can always tell and ask for my help."

When Alde heard this his clicked his tongue but soon realized he need to calm down so did just like that. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and began to laugh, "Haha, I am sorry, I got over the line."

"Don't worry about it." smiled Khal, and said, "Though, your reaction still piques my interest, what happened with you?"

Alde however didn't reply to that question immediately and just shook his head, "Nothing special I can't solve. I was just curious where you were after you have left, but it seems I just overreacted things. Now, if you excuse me..."

With a deep bow toward Jane, Liza then Khal, Alde turned around and left, however, this time not from where he came from but toward the direction where the Pharmacy Department was seated.

Once his figure could be no longer seen, Khal turned to look at Jane and ask, "Is she doing okay?"

Jane who knew that there were greater things behind the curtains than it seemed to be at first glance, stared at Khal and said, "She is resting and her condition improves steadily, but her injuries were no ordinary ones. What happened with her?"

'...' Khal remained silent and only after a while did he sigh and explain what happened with Rubie.

Obviously, the part where he brought her back while he went back to Moon Mountain to get his revenge he didn't tell, but with simple logic, the way Khal ran away and from Alde's reaction both Liza and Jane could figure out the rest of the story.

"And what do you want to do next? You know he is not the easy guy to deal with, right?" Liza seemed to be anxious, worried about the consequences that Khal will have to bear if things get clear.

"You don't need to fear, I will be perfectly fine. I'm sure I will be able to find a way to solve this problem," said Khal and shifted his gaze at Jane in silence.

Jane immediately understood what he wanted and nodded, "I will take care of her until she gets better, you take care of the things you have to."

"Thank you very much!" bowed Khal and said, "I will find Respected Elder 3 days later and take her away. I hope it is not a problem."

"This is the least I can do for you." waved Jane her hand, showing she didn't feel bothered at all by the small task.

Khal nodded and after waving goodbye to Liza he ran away.

Meanwhile, in a dark corner close to the Pharmacy Department, Alde was standing with an impatient expression when suddenly a guy emerged before him out of thin air.

"So? How did it go? Did you find the man?" 

The man that was kneeling before Alde shook his head and said, "We searched the entirety of the cave system and even went to investigate the surroundings, but because there are numerous entrances and possible routes that the man could have chosen from is way many."

'...'

Feeling the cold stare on his skin, the man slightly trembled and quickly said, "But, we did find something, Young Master."

"I'm listening."