Chapter 825 Hadrian Returns
“Dad!”
Tanya spotted Kael first and threw herself into his arms.
“You’re finally out of seclusion,” Harper said, smiling warmly at her husband and daughter.
“Your timing is perfect, Kael,” Malcolm said. “We finished deploying the Solar Apex Firmament Array today. Unfortunately, maintaining it consumes a staggering amount of resources.”
Malcolm had lost a noticeable amount of weight. He had clearly devoted everything he had to deploying the formation.
“You’ve worked hard. Even so, I need to test its power myself and determine whether it can withstand an Eternal Realm cultivator.”
Kael’s tone grew serious.
The ancient formation that had once protected their homeworld had been powerful enough to stop Solvaris, but that did not necessarily mean it could withstand an Eternal Realm expert.
“Very well. I’ll control the array compass myself. Strike whenever you’re ready, Kael.”
Malcolm accepted the array compass from Tanya.
“Then make sure you unleash the formation’s full defensive power. I may strike harder than you expect.”
“I will.”
Kael soared into the sky and soon passed beyond the atmosphere. From this distance, even he had to rely on his Spiritual Sense to detect the faint fluctuations of the Solar Apex Firmament Array.
Malcolm immediately activated the formation’s strongest defensive state.
At the formation core, the Top-Grade Prime Essence Stones and other rare spiritual materials were drained of energy in an instant. All of it surged into the formation’s barrier.
A deep hum rolled through the void.
Kael assumed his strongest form, transforming into a towering fiendgod with two heads and four arms. An enormous spirit sword more than a hundred yards long appeared in his hands.
The next instant, he struck.
The colossal blade slammed into the barrier.
Violent ripples spread across the formation, one after another rolling outward in every direction.
Impressive.
Kael was delighted.
He had used thirty percent of his Origin Power in that strike. Even with the amplification provided by Stage Twenty of the Fiendgod Transformation, he had failed to tear open the Solar Apex Firmament Array.
The formation was every bit as formidable as promised.
Kael immediately increased his output to eighty percent and swung again.
The sword’s tip plunged into the barrier like a stroke of heavenly judgment. The rest of the blade, however, became firmly wedged inside it and could advance no farther.
At the Star River Sect’s formation core, the strain drained all color from Malcolm’s face. He forced another surge of Origin Power into the array compass.
Another flood of resources poured into the formation core.
At the same time, Malcolm drew upon every trace of Origin Power within his body, preparing to withstand Kael’s third attack.
The towering fiendgod planted one foot against the barrier and pulled with both arms. The spirit sword tore free with a metallic shriek.
This time, Kael poured every last trace of his Origin Power into the strike.
The fiendgod roared. Twin jets of white vapor blasted from his nostrils like steam from a pair of furnaces as tremendous power gathered in his arms.
With a thunderous shout, Kael brought the sword down.
The full-force strike crashed into the heart of the Solar Apex Firmament Array.
Half of the enormous spirit sword sank into the barrier before becoming trapped once more.
Malcolm coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The force of Kael’s attack had shaken his foundation and inflicted minor internal injuries.
“Dad, stop!”
Tanya screamed.
At the sound of his daughter’s voice, Kael blinked, and the bloodlust in his eyes began to fade. The battle frenzy clouding his mind finally receded.
He immediately dismissed the Fiendgod Transformation and returned to his normal size.
The Fiendgod Transformation possessed astonishing power, but it also drove Kael into a state of extreme exhilaration whenever he used it. If he allowed himself to be consumed by that battle frenzy, he could easily lose control and kill an ally by accident.
Kael crossed the distance in several flashes and landed beside the formation core. Blood still trickled from the corner of Malcolm’s mouth.
“Tanya, wipe the blood from your master’s face.”
Shame weighed heavily on Kael’s voice.
Tanya hurried over and carefully wiped the blood from Malcolm’s lips.
“You truly are formidable, Kael,” Malcolm said, unable to hide his relief. “If Tanya hadn’t called out when she did, you might have forced that final strike through the formation and hit me.”
“I’m extremely satisfied with the formation. Even if more than a dozen ordinary Eternal Realm cultivators attacked it together, they shouldn’t be able to break through quickly, provided we continue supplying it with enough resources.”
Kael nodded in approval.
“Then I’m going to rest for a few decades. I’m exhausted.”
Supported by Tanya, Malcolm left the formation core.
“Gather everyone.”
After watching Malcolm depart, Kael turned to Evelyn Zhou.
“At once.”
Before long, all the senior members of the Star River Sect had assembled in a side hall of the Alchemy Pavilion.
Even if Kael consumed all the Immortal Spirit Liquid he had refined, it would not be enough for him to advance to the Great Circle of the Eternal Realm. He had no choice but to try another approach.
“Aria, Seraphyne, I need to leave again. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, so all of you must keep a low profile while I’m away.”
Kael held Aria’s hand as he spoke.
“You have to leave again?” Harper asked, unable to conceal her reluctance.
“I do. I have no other choice. But I promise that once we survive this crisis, we’ll remain together forever. We’ll never have to part again.”
Kael felt deeply guilty, especially toward Calla and Seraphyne. He had only recently married them, yet they had barely spent any time together as newlyweds.
“It’s all right, husband. I will always support you,” Aria said firmly. “With our current lifespans, we’ll have plenty of time together in the future.”
As Kael’s first wife, Aria had always been strong-willed and decisive.
She understood that they had reached a critical moment.
They could not allow their reluctance to become another burden for Kael.
Only by letting him confront the crisis without worrying about them would they have the chance to continue growing stronger.
“Father, Adrian and the others would like to enter your Inner Cosmos and travel with you,” Arthur suddenly said. “They want to see more of the universe.”
“Oh?”
Kael turned toward Adrian and the others.
Nearly a thousand people stood behind them, their cultivation levels varying wildly.
“What I intend to do may be extremely dangerous. Are you certain you want to come with me?”
“We understand the danger,” Adrian replied. “We would also like to see Sunlance Academy for ourselves.”
“Very well. Suppress your auras, and I’ll bring you into my Inner Cosmos.”
Everyone immediately concealed their auras. Kael then drew them all into his Inner Cosmos.
The weakest among them had only reached the Qi Refining Realm.
In truth, these cultivators had their own selfish reason for accompanying him. Cultivation progressed ten times faster inside Kael’s Inner Cosmos than it did in the outside world.
Once everyone had entered his Inner Cosmos, Kael turned to his son and daughter.
Nothing more needed to be said. Kael pulled both of his children into a tight embrace.
The next moment, he stepped into the center of the teleportation array.
...
On the Machine Race homeworld, twelve Eternal Realm members of the Machine Race stood around a newly constructed body.
It looked exactly like the Machine Race Patriarch.
Each of them pressed a finger against the body’s forehead and transferred a portion of their memories into it.
Time passed.
No one knew how long the process continued before the mechanical body abruptly opened its eyes.
Unlike ordinary members of the Machine Race, who were half flesh and half machine, his new body was almost entirely mechanical. Only his brain remained organic.
“Patriarch, you’ve finally been resurrected!”
The Machine Race leaders dropped to their knees around him.
The Machine Race Patriarch shot to his feet and immediately examined his new body.
A fierce red light blazed within his eyes, pulsing with rage.
“That insignificant human Kael actually lured my original body to its death? He forced me to activate my backup body?”
As he spoke, flames erupted from both eyes.