Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Despite your immense strength, your are just not enough to directly inherit my power. Nevertheless, you practice the God of War's cultivation methods. It is very evident that there is a special bond between you and the Five Gods. And with the power of the Fighting Crane in your body, it is further hard to gauge your potential," Jules said thoughtfully. "I can merge my power with yours by using the Heaven Fire Formula. Of course, I will also teach you the techniques on how to use it. By employing the skill, you will be able to activate my power. The higher the grade of the Heaven Fire Formula, the stronger the power you can activate. But it is not that simple as it sounds. It can have a catastrophic impact on your body. Hence unless it is absolutely necessary, try to avoid using the skill above the third grade. Under normal circumstances my power will not cause you any problems. So you can breathe easy on that." His explanation was in detailed.

"Yes I got it. I am ready for the test," Zachary affirmed with a nod.

"Alright then let's start," Jules said.

As he spoke, he started to rub his hands together. Suddenly, a small fiery red ball flew from his hands. Zachary soon realized what Jules meant, when he was explaining about his power. He could clearly sense that the power in that small ball completely exceeded his current strength.

Jules however did not stop, but continued to rub his hands. Soon, he conjured eight more balls in a row as they formed a circle, while they remained suspended in air. It was truly a sight to behold.

"Merge!" Jules exclaimed as he pointed at the nine balls. In an instant, they lit up and fused with each other, shining brilliantly like the sun.

"Seal!"

Jules commanded. The conjoined fiery ball fused into Zachary's chest and burnt his clothes, leaving behind a scorching mark.

As soon as the ball collided with his body, he felt like his entire self was on fire. For a fraction of a second he even panicked, as he thought he would be reduced to mere cinders.

But soon his body began to cool down and returned to its normal state. Slowly Zachary released his pent up breath.

"Well, your body's adaptability is far better than I thought. It seems to have accepted my power." Jules nodded with satisfaction.

"Is that all?" Relief washed through Zachary.

Jules wasted no time in teaching

upernal Continent," Sophie said enthusiastically, as she looked around.

"Yes. You are right. We should not disregard them." Zachary nodded as he too looked around. Soon his eyes fell on a pile of books located at the corner. He walked over and randomly opened a few of them. They contained Jules' carefully written notes on the weapon refining techniques.

"What Anne and Master Jace would react if they got their hands on these?" Zachary put all the treasures into the system.

After having a final look around, they left the treasure house and returned back to the entrance of the Martial Fire Tomb.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Zachary put the Supreme Cloud Lion into the system and instructed Mimi to arrange for an exclusive space for the beast.

"I am beginning to wonder, why hasn't Katrina come back yet? Didn't you send her a message with the route map?" Sophie asked Zachary with a worried look.

"There would be an explanation for her delay. There is no need to worry. Anyway, we have found what we were looking for. Our task is completed," Zachary said confidently.

Just as he finished speaking, a carrier beast swooped in from the sky and landed delicately on his shoulder.

"Zachary, we were ambushed! You have to come back quickly!" The beast urgently relayed the message.

"It is from Elva. They seem to be in trouble. We need to rush soon," Zachary said as he looked at Sophie.

"Let's go!" Sophie nodded.

Zachary and the two women immediately flew out of the Martial Fire Tomb, towards the place where the beast had told them.