"..." the entire group stared in disbelief, as the strike of a single blade of grass chopped off the forelimb of the Divine Emperor Beast, and blood sprayed onto the field.
"Howl!" the beast screamed in pain, and awkwardly jumped forward to strike with his other paw.
Pef reflexively struck with his Cutting Skill once more, disarming the beast. Blood sprayed over the group, while furious clouds began to gather over the battlefield.
'Well, the Cut thing works. However, this does seem too easy. Wasn't there something about agonizing pain?' Pef mumbled inward, and coincidentally glanced upwards to notice the tribulation clouds forming.
"Fly guy, cover me!" Pef ordered as he launched another Skill at the incoming jaws.
Luckily, even injured the Sky Realm Master was quite close and experienced enough. In a fast flash, the man jumped to grab the young boy and roll away from the incoming bite, and incidentally protecting the Holy Son at his chest.
A trio of white Heavenly Lightnings fell onto the man's back, bursting open his armored vest and exploding the protective plates, then coursed through his qi meridians until the energy left his body and electrocuted the blonde boy.
A giant 'thud' followed as the corpse of the Divine Pangolin crashed onto the ground, followed soon after by the tribulation's victims.
"Pef!" The Holy Mother shouted in fear, as she rushed to check on her little child.
"I'm fine, Mother. Just lift this heavy oaf off me...." a small voice resounded from under the smoking body of the Sky Realm Master.
Both the Grand Elder and Rena jumped in to help extricate the boy, then began checking him for injuries. Amazingly, excepting his tousled bloody hair and a fistful of grass and earth in his mouth, the prodigy child was alright.
As for the other victim, the man groaned in terrible pain, then leaned to the side to cough some dried blood and lots of ash, while also covered in beast blood like all the group.
Pef smiled grimly at the scene, then turned around to check his target, finding his last strike had managed to slice the open mouth and bisected the brain of the beast.
'Hmmm. I seem to be much stronger than I remember. Luckily I only used some grass and not a real weapon...' Pef mused inward with a shiver. Tribulations could be a terrible danger if he struck with a weapon.
The Earth Ranked Elder turned to stare at the boy and then at the dead beast fallen next to them. He shivered as well, though for a different reason. All this time, he thought himself a decent powerhouse, learned and skilled in a dozen Daos, but this single display of sword mastery left him far behind. "What kind of Sword Mastery is needed to cut like this with a blade of grass?" he asked out loud.
"At least One with the world" the boy answered absently, as he observed the beast.
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'Still no experience...but I gained a Star from the tribulation. Lightning Dao as well.' the young cultivator mused inward, as he monitored his own status carefully.
A somewhat strange diagram had appeared in his mind, accurately describing his cultivation progress and the newly awakened Skill. 'Voidcutter 3 percent' the page showed, even using the old numbers from his memories. 'So I wasn't crazy after all. I have reincarnated into a new body.' Pef decided as he drew his gaze outwards.
"My circuits...they've grown..." the Sky Ream Master muttered with a weak voice.
"Grandpa, harvest the organs in our rings. I've just thought of a way to increase your cultivation." Pef demanded as he turned away from the dead beast and walked near the injured Supreme Master.
"Holy Son...I don't have doubts anymore..." the man whispered in a feverish voice.
"Uhm. I am quite a special boy, aren't I?" Pef answered as he leaned to poke the wound in the shoulder. The frozen ice shards in the wound had melted away, leaving only raw flesh instead.
Rena knelt beside the man and began washing and bandaging him, her eyes filled with worry.
Pef glanced up, feeling the sky had come a little closer for some reason. It wasn't yet a full plan, but he could work with this.
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In another world, a young girl was exploring her new powers, flying around while chasing after a giant sword.
"I'll catch you one day!" she shouted as she felt her qi was close to depletion.
'Not today, little Lara' the Heart Ruler answered in her mind, while the girl landed among the amazed villagers. A flying cultivator was something of awe and respect, even if she was a tiny girl.
'There is a trade shipyard only 300 light-years away. We can lift off this planet whenever we want.' the glove said on the Legion Network.
'They will just let us take a ship?' the Ruler asked with a sudden suspicion.
'Eh. I'll just change a few details on their travel logs. Then we board the ship and take it over. I've never been a pirate before.' the glove admitted with glee.
'As long as we get to fight something, I'm good.' the ruler decided after a moment.
'I know. You're a battle idiot, and I respect you for it. It's the users who are difficult.' the glove answered in faint irony.
'Pef was fine though. He even gained a Heart of the Sword.' The Ruler said in a deep tone, as if sad. Swords were never sad, but they did miss people sometimes.
'I believe the Heart of the Sword still remains after reincarnation. Supreme Daos are a dignified lot, and wouldn't allow something as minor as death separate them from the cultivator.' the glove mused softly, as he kept watch over the young Soldier being bathed by her mother.
The glove also kept watch over the planet, the galaxy and the entire universe, reading secrets and stealing libraries, always in a search for more knowledge and information. Plus, knowing your enemies was very useful anyways. Universes existed to be conquered after all.