CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: KING AYRION’S DECREE

So essentially, Armad had advanced his cultivation during those ten days, progressing from the middle stage core formation to the late stage core formation stage.

The speed of his advancement surpassed anything even the late prince had ever witnessed in the First World. There was a famous decree issued by King Arion, declaring a death sentence for anyone caught siphoning years of cultivation that belonged to another person.

Several events led to the High King’s decree. Unrest among other tribes, including the Wilberforce clan, almost incited uprisings against them. While the Wilberforce tribe wasn’t afraid of war, King Arion wasn’t inclined towards indiscriminate killings solely because he had the power to do so.

However, there was a legitimate grievance; they opposed the indiscriminate stealing of cultivation by certain Wilberforce.

The king himself regarded stealing cultivation from the weak and the younger generation’s failure to seek cultivation through legitimate means as laziness. Hence, he decreed death for anyone caught in such acts, without considering negotiations for a lesser sentence.

The only exception was if the cultivation was stolen from the deceased, particularly if they did not play a role in the person's death, directly or indirectly. Although cultivation could be extracted from the dead, the yield was not as significant as from the living.

After the initial decree, King Arion noticed some individuals resorting to murder to steal cultivation from the deceased. Upon learning of this, he convened a meeting of his Senate and amended the decree to include death for those caught siphoning cultivation from the dead, especially if they had contributed to the victim’s demise.

This legendary decree contributed to the unity of most tribes even after many years.

This was why, even after years of that legendary decree, most tribes remained united. Families from the Wilberforce tribe received stern warnings. Regardless of their status, capturing people and forcefully stripping them of their cultivation was prohibited, even for princes like Ikenga or Armad.

The only sanctioned method for absorbing cultivation was through the air. This decree had been considered since the start of Aldaima’s reign, but it wasn’t implemented until about two millennia ago when Arion took over. The delay stemmed from concerns about weakening the power of the Wilberforces while potentially empowering other tribes unfairly.

Despite lingering fears, Arion stepped up, confident in his might. He believed he was the strongest force, capable of conquering and commanding obedience from other tribes. Arion took the law further, and while the other tribes cheered, they also knew better than to challenge him openly. Even with restrictions on his kinsmen, no other tribe dared challenge them throughout that era.

However, underground plots and schemes were not unexpected from them. Additionally, there were secretive alliances aimed at shaping the future.

The decree marked the establishment of the King’s Legion. Despite imposing restrictions on the youthful Wilberforce, Arion always planned. He realized that one day he would no longer be present, just as Aldaima had departed. Concerned for the fate of his tribe after his passing, he recognized the need for seasoned cultivators from among his kinsmen who could rival him and ensure the well-being of his people.

Following this realization, he convened a meeting with his Senate, leading to the birth of the King’s Legion. Consequently, despite the limitations imposed on the Wilberforce tribe, the law granted more authority to the King’s Legion. They became so influential that even the Senate and Arion himself refrained from directly challenging them or issuing decrees to disband them.

This was largely due to the weakened state of the rest of the Wilberforce, both young and old, who had become reliant on the King’s Legion. Without the presence of the King’s Legion, the Wilberforce clan would likely face overthrow if Arion were to pass away suddenly.

Hence, they acted with impunity, facing no consequences for their actions. The Senate and others were aware of this but chose to tolerate it as the only viable option.

However, Armad stumbled upon a new skill known as the System, something that neither the King’s Legion nor their allies possessed. This System could accelerate cultivation significantly within a short period.

It was akin to discovering a cultivation enhancer that could augment both his and his men’s years if he desired. This advantage surpassed anything the King’s Legion possessed, including their closely guarded secret methods for gaining cultivation. While they held exclusive ownership of their secrets, commoners were relegated to absorbing cultivation from the atmosphere, a method less potent and restricted by the decree.

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Within the Wilberforce clan, Armad was unaware of anyone, including Ikenga, possessing skills capable of such rapid cultivation gains within a mere ten days. He had augmented his cultivation by over twelve hundred years in less than a week and would continue to do so given more time.

Given enough time, Armad’s cultivation would surpass even that of the King’s Legion, rendering them unable to withstand him.

And thus, he was keenly aware of the need to safeguard this secret. The System remained locked within the depths of his heart, never to be divulged to the curious or enemies.

He sighed heavily. People needed to understand that the supremacy of the King’s Legion was merely a matter of time. Given the chance, he could ascend to the heights they arrogantly believed belonged exclusively to them.

Currently, aside from cultivation booster pills, he possessed two other sets of pills: energy booster pills, which he had already experimented with, and another called horse pills, which he had yet to try.

The System provided only minimal information about these pills. Before experimenting with them, he wanted to consolidate his cultivation first.

It was only logical for every cultivator to allocate time for any cultivation enhancement to settle and circulate throughout their body before fully utilizing it. The duration required for circulation depended on the magnitude of the increase.

If he were anyone else, it might have taken Armad around five months for the enhancement to settle, given the remarkable amount he had achieved. However, Armad was not like everyone else. He bore the blood of Arion, Aldaima, and Wilberforce. It would certainly not take him as long to circulate the enhancement within his body.

Without further delay, he commenced the process of extracting all the Negrinki substance from his core. Comparing it to the amount he had at six thousand pol years, he noticed a slight increase in the substance. Although not substantial, he understood that every increment mattered greatly with Negrinki.

This fact became evident when the System notified him of a 2.1 increase in the likelihood of mastering it, compared to the previous 1.4, marking a 7 percent increase. Excitedly, he reached out to touch the Negrinki and was promptly drawn inside.

Upon arrival, he found himself on the mountain he had seen during his prior visit, now expanded by approximately 5 square meters in size. While the increase seemed modest, it extended evenly on all sides. The restricted zones had slightly diminished, while the safe zones expanded.

“How much stronger is my realm now, System? And what level of defense can it offer against attacks?”

The System deliberated briefly before responding.

“[Your world’s defensive capability has increased by 3.5 strength against all offensive maneuvers. Additionally, it can increase attack power by 4.5.]”

Armad felt elated, despite the surprise and confusion lingering in his mind. Initially, he had assumed that both the strength and the protection would correspond, logically expecting both to increase to 4.5.

However, the System presented a different scenario: one aspect would increase to 4.5 while the other to 3.5. Realizing that the protection he would receive this time wouldn’t match the force of his attacks, he understood that his previous assessment of the System as the sole factor for expanding his Negrinki world was flawed.

It became clear to him that he could contribute to expanding it by enhancing his cultivation. Even though the increase seemed minor, it was significant, especially considering it involved a rank S skill. This realization brought him cause for celebration.

Leaving the Negrinki world, he emerged from his room and headed to the training grounds. He began experimenting with various skills, starting with Cultivation Sword. Injecting about two thousand cultivation years into the sword, smoke enveloped the training grounds, and the sword quivered as it emitted an ominous aura.

The smoke now enveloped the entire training grounds, obscuring Armad from view completely. Standing amidst the haze, he commenced his sword dance, a spectacle akin to that of skilled sword-wielders. To an uninformed observer, it appeared as an immaculate performance.

Yet, to a knowledgeable adversary, it was a dance of terror, reminiscent of a lion toying with its prey. A literal dance of death...