Divine Emperor of Death

Sophie Alstreim's eyes widened, and her purple eyes dilated as she saw the handsome face that she didn't think of meeting here, especially at this Hundred Devil Thunder Archipelago. She instantly became aware that the sight she was viewing wasn't some illusion. It was undoubtedly him who was present in front of her and possibly the same person who had saved her from the Amberal-Armored Armadillos.

Sophie Alstreim had gone stiff in realizing all of this, and the close contact that she had with him made her incapable of pushing him away, almost as if her heart wanted to see what he would do next. 

It was as if time had frozen for her alone as it was abnormally silent.

"Are you alright?" Davis abruptly killed the silence as he pulled her waist to make her stand straight before he let her go and smiled, "You forgot to add the honorific 'Alchemist' when addressing my name..."

"I..." Sophie Alstreim went beet red. She scrambled to search for some answer as her hands shook, but she was unable to give an excuse.

"I'm sorry... Alchemist Davis." She helplessly added as she lowered her head.

Then, she noticed that her wet robes were the reason that Alchemist Davis had scanned her figure with his eyes! It wasn't see-through, but it still accentuated her curves!

Sophie Alstreim instantly turned around to hide her tantalizing bosoms but ended up revealing her perky butt instead. She realized this point a second later and dived into the room before closing the door on him!

Her back fell over the door as she screamed, "Please give me a minute!"

Her legs gave out as she slid down the door, but then she also realized that her heart was beating so fast that she delusionally felt that everyone could hear it, making her cheeks become crimson red in embarrassment!

'No! no! no! no! Why is Alchemist Davis here!?' Sophie Alstreim shook her head as she brought her knees to her face and enclosed her legs with her arms, hiding her face in it.

Simultaneously, the surroundings became hotter as she used her flame energy, feeling her robes becoming dried up. Abruptly, she recalled the feeling of one of his arms wrapping around her waist and the palm she felt over the fabric of her robe.

Her lips trembled, and her heart fluttered as she imagined the warmth generated on that particular location, but she instantly shook her head.

Once she calmed down after a few seconds, she thought of standing up and opening the door, but her courage wasn't still up to her normal self. This situation was just too bizarre that she didn't know what to make of it, nor did she know how to suddenly face him. 

======

Davis wryly smiled a bit as she closed the door, wondering why she was overreacting.

Was he that big of a presence in her life? Or was she just shy of her being seen in wet clothes? Funnily enough, this situation also made him think that last time, she was sweaty from forging, and yet this time, she was wet from the rain.

If there were some bystanders present here other than Nadia, he wanted to say that this was not his fault!

In any case, he was satisfied with the day's result. It should be night time outside, but in the Hundred Devil Thunder Archipelago, it was always night as dark clouds surrounded the area. He felt cultivation this day should be enough.

Half a day ago, he had just started to cultivate his Body Tempering Cultivation, and five hours later, he had successfully stepped into the High-Level Martial Master Stage without experiencing anything that would warrant him to forcefully 'touch' these women in this wooden house.

He had revisited Sophie Alstreim's room, and seeing that she still didn't wake up, he had gone back to his room to cultivate Essence Gathering Cultivation. Six hours later, he had refined and absorbed over 3,500 Mid-Level Spirit Stones, making some progress in his Mid-Level Law Manifestation Stage cultivation base. 

Judging by his consumption rate standard, he needed fifteen times the average amount. The average spirit stones required for a Mid-Level Law Manifestation Stage Cultivator to enter the next level were 5,000 Mid-Level Spirit Stones. Since he needed fifteen times the amount, that was approximately 75,000 Mid-Level Spirit Stones.

So the progress he made could be said to be not even one-tenth! 

This refining speed was only possible due to the Low-Level Emperor Grade Energy Gathering Formation he had borrowed from his mother that came as assets and used, but it was insignificant even then. 

There was no need to mention his own refining prowess as it was just pitifully weak. It wasn't his fault, but humans had a slow refining and absorption rate compared to magical beasts.

It was almost as if these spirit stones were not made for humans but magical beasts by yours truly, the heavens! 

Therefore, the only publically and popularly known way humans could refine the spirit stones faster was through the usage of Energy Gathering Formations. 

Nevertheless, Davis turned to look at Nadia, his eyes staring at her efficiency with jealousy. Compared to him, her refinement process was almost astoundingly fast that he couldn't help but want to strangle her and make her cough out the secret to her refinement method.

Nadia had begun to absorb Peak-Level Spirit Stones again, and since her level had increased, her refining speed had also increased, which in turn caused her to quickly absorb Peak-Level Spirit Stones as if she was drinking a lake!

Half a day ago, before Nadia broke through, she refined and absorbed three Peak-Level Spirit Stone every half a second. In these six hours, Nadia refined at the speed of four Peak-Level Spirit Stones every half a second and consumed 40,000 Peak-Level Spirit Stones. However, that was the case after she decided to stop her refinement process in one and half an hour. Otherwise, she would've absorbed all the Peak-Level Spirit Stones Davis had given her.

When Davis decided to ask her why she didn't use up all the spirit stones after he came out of his cultivation session, she spoke that she didn't want to waste his wealth and would instead hunt down the Eighth Stage Magical Beasts in this Hundred Thunder Devil Archipelago, devouring their flesh and absorbing the energy in their magical beast core for her improvement. 

Davis tried saying once that it was fine and she could absorb all those Peak-Level Spirit Stones he had given to her, but she remained adamant and also said that she needed some time for her body to become used to this power; in other words, she wanted to keep her foundation steady and her skills sharpened.

Apparently, the sleep she needed also seemed to be a way of digesting all the energy she had absorbed.

Davis almost cried out in injustice!

Unlike him, who needed to periodically or continuously circulate the cultivation method he used to digest the energy absorbed, Nadia did that just by sleeping! He felt that there was a limit to how much these heavens could make someone jealous!

For some reason, Nadia turned her head away as her cheeks blushed as he stared at her.

Simultaneously, Davis could hear the sound of a creaking door, and that took his attention away as he turned to look toward the front.

Sophie Alstreim appeared in front of him, causing him to look at her attire once again, realizing that it dried up now and was tidy, making her look publicly acceptable.

Nevertheless, he was more impressed with the fact that it was exactly a minute later from the time she entered and said that she would come out.

'What a trustworthy woman...' He inwardly nodded in satisfaction before he took two steps back to not scare her again before he gestured.

"Take a seat..."

Sophie Alstreim bit her lips before she nodded her head, "Thank you."

She then looked towards the right and became taken aback to see that there was a stunning woman. She instantly realized who it was as she knew about the King-Tier Dark-Winged Twilight Wolf named Nadia and her abnormally beautiful human form.

"Hello..." Her lips moved, and she regretted the next moment.

What was she doing, trying to initiate a conversation with a King Beast Stage Magical Beast? 

'Hopefully, I didn't enter her eyes...' Sophie Alstreim relaxed, but she instantly jerked.

"Behave properly in front of my master..." Nadia warned as she comfortably lay on the sofa, her eyes flashing with a golden gleam.

"Yes..." Sophie Alstreim forced a smile as she avoided Nadia's gaze.

She looked at the opposite sofa and approached before she sat and abruptly felt doubtful, 'Wait... Master...?'

'Isn't Nadia the Dragon Queen's Magical Beast Mount...?' She felt confused, but Davis suddenly sat beside her, causing her to become stiff for a moment.

She looked around with her pupils and saw that these two sofas were the only sitting space, so she came to know that it wasn't intentional, which in turn made her promptly relax.

"Sophie, what are you doing here?"

"Ahh!" Sophie Alstreim instantly realized before she stood up, her body facing him as she bowed, "Thank you for saving me. I didn't think that those Amberal-Armored Armadillos would have the audacity to entrap me."

"Is this related to the list they were talking about?" Davis asked in curiosity.

"Yes..." Sophie Alstreim replied, "Every Magical Beast Species living in the Alstreim Thunder Island has come under the rule of the Alstreim Family, so they have to pay tributes to be left existing. The list, also called the not-to-kill list, is almost known to all magical beasts of this island, so it is unlikely for the Alstreim Family's young elites to die or be even harmed. That's why this island is also the safest zone in the Hundred Devil Thunder Archipelago."

"I see..." Davis came to see more with her statement.

"Still, I didn't think that these armadillos would be this audacious enough to entrap me till I almost die of exhaustion. I'm definitely reporting this to the Elders after I return." Sophie Alstreim gritted her teeth as her purple eyes flashed with indignation.

Davis smiled at her adorable appearance. He considered for a moment before he spoke, "Don't bother. I already killed their lord and those armadillos who brought you, screaming that you were a sacrifice."

Sophie Alstreim became shocked, her lips trembling, "Sacrifice...?"

"Yes, sacrifice..." Davis calmly nodded, "It seemed that the lord of the Amberal-Armored Armadillos, a Peak-Level Lord Beast Stage Magical Beast known as Gaisha, was in cahoots with Weiss Alstreim in exchange for mutual benefits."

"These magical beasts didn't know that Weiss Alstreim ended up dead, so they still hunted for 'sacrifices', and if I am right, you, the woman who was alone, prevailed to be the perfect target for them." He shook his head before he looked at her, "You understand, right?"

Davis didn't explicitly mention, but Sophie Alstreim's expression severely trembled as she realized the meaning of the word, sacrifice!

Anyone who knew Weiss Alstreim's dark character could instantly connect the dots!