"Roar!"
The surrounding super class Danger Beasts erupted at once.
A flood of noisy thoughts poured into Caelum’s mind, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"Human, this is not something you can interfere in!"
"Get lost!"
"A mere human dares step between us. You must be tired of living!"
Thunder cracked.
Black and red lightning burst through the air.
Caelum had no mood to waste words on them. Conqueror Haki wrapped around Cloudrend, and in a single instant, countless streaks of blade light flashed out.
Cloudrift Style, Hundredfold Execution.
For one breath, slashes filled everything.
Up into the sky.
Down into the sea.
As if even space itself was about to be cut open, the air and ocean within hundreds of kilometers were crossed by blade marks.
The sky split into long wounds. The sea was carved into countless sections.
The world went quiet for a moment.
Caelum calmly sheathed his blade.
Only then did frozen time seem to begin moving again.
Click.
Cloudrend entered its sheath with a crisp sound.
Then came the crashes.
One enormous body after another fell from the sky and struck the sea, raising towering waves. Blood poured down like a storm, dyeing the ocean crimson.
The tangled chorus of thoughts vanished all at once.
Caelum heard the island turtle’s heartbeat suddenly quicken. Its enormous pupils shrank hard.
Across the sea floated countless remains of Danger Beasts. The larger bodies sank straight to the bottom.
In a single instant, an unknown number of super class Danger Beasts had been killed in one move.
The island turtle had lived for so long, yet this was the first time it had ever seen anything so absurd.
Since when could humans become this powerful?
It was truly frightening.
There was no longer anything in this world Caelum could not cut.
So what if they were super class Danger Beasts?
As long as they entered the range of his slashes, numbers meant nothing.
He said to the island turtle, "Now fulfill your promise."
The island turtle answered at once.
"Do you see the great tree on my back? There is a fruit on it. If a human eats it, they can obtain a physique and strength comparable to ancient Danger Beasts, along with a bloodline ability."
"Ancient Danger Beasts?"
"Super class Danger Beasts like me, with enormous bodies and very long lifespans."
"Understood."
Caelum listened to the island turtle’s thoughts with Observation Haki. After confirming it was not lying, he plucked the red fruit from the top of the great tree.
Before eating it, he asked, "Does the fruit have any side effects?"
"No."
The island turtle thought for a moment, then added, "After eating the fruit, you may fall asleep for a period of time."
"How long?"
"I do not know. Others have eaten it before, but the length of sleep differed each time. The only certain thing is that the stronger the eater is, the longer they sleep."
Now was clearly not a good time to fall asleep.
Caelum put the bright red fruit away and said to the island turtle, "You need to lay your eggs, right? How about I choose a place for you?"
"What place?"
Thunder rumbled.
Lightning flashed.
Weather on the sea changed in an instant, especially in the world of Legend of the Empire.
Even in the same stretch of ocean, a single day could pass through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
A scorching morning followed by afternoon snow was nothing strange. In special sea regions, the weather only grew worse.
Right now, a super massive storm connected sea and sky, surrounding the triangular sea region.
Dark clouds packed the heavens.
Terrifying lightning storms struck the sea again and again. Heavy rain poured down, forming a magnificent and shocking scene.
Dusk Island lay within the sea region inside the storm.
To enter it, one had to cross through both thunderstorm and storm.
For a sailing ship, that would be impossible.
For the island turtle, it was no problem at all.
How could mere lightning and waves shake such a colossal creature?
Carrying Caelum, it passed steadily through the two natural barriers and easily entered the sea within the storm.
After crossing the storm, an island soon appeared in view.
Caelum stood up and looked toward the faint ruins on the distant island.
"Finally here."
The island turtle slowly approached the shore of Dusk Island and began laying its eggs.
Caelum stepped onto Dusk Island and walked inward with a hint of anticipation.
He was curious which Divine Relic was sleeping on the island.
Inside Dusk Island, a vast and ancient ruin stood in broken silence.
Its ruined buildings seemed to speak wordlessly of the power of time and the ancient kingdom’s former glory.
Caelum walked among them as a visitor from two thousand years later, witnessing a miracle that could once have shaken the world.
The ancient kingdom seemed to have held some form of divine authority or nature worship.
In their architectural culture, they always seemed fond of altars and temples.
At the center of the ruins, a huge altar was surrounded by the building complex.
Long, narrow steps climbed upward, covered in moss. Every step was filled with cracks.
Caelum looked up at the altar and began walking.
Nothing obstructed him.
There was not even a single Danger Beast here.
In fairy tales, treasures were always guarded by monsters or sentries.
Here, there was nothing.
Caelum might very well be the first human to set foot on this island since the ancient kingdom’s destruction.
The search for the Divine Relic went more smoothly than expected.
Caelum reached the top of the altar.
Floating in the air was an hourglass no larger than a thumb, tied to a thin cord.
The hourglass slowly fell into Caelum’s hand.
By coincidence, this Divine Relic happened to be the only one Caelum already knew about.
Its name was Hourglass of Ages.
It could reverse the holder’s own time. Even if the holder died, it could turn their time back and revive them.
Its flaw was that after each use, it needed to cool down for a period of time.
Also, Hourglass of Ages could only affect the holder.
It could not influence anything outside the holder.
Reversing the time of the whole world was absolutely impossible.
The ancient alchemists were certainly powerful, but they had not reached the point of controlling the world’s time.
If they had possessed that level of power, the ancient kingdom would never have been destroyed.
After obtaining Hourglass of Ages, Caelum naturally understood how to use it.
He cut his hand twice with Cloudrend.
Both times, after reversing his own time, the wound disappeared.
Ten minutes.
That was the cooldown time of Hourglass of Ages.
If he died, it could revive him.
If he was injured, it could restore his wounds.
It could also freely control his own age, even allowing him to keep his youth forever and live without aging.
This was probably a Divine Relic countless people dreamed of obtaining.
Caelum was fairly satisfied with it as well.
With his current combat strength, a support type Divine Relic was indeed more suitable for him.
With the Divine Relic in hand, Caelum next entered the depths beneath the ancient kingdom ruins.
With one slash, he collapsed the ruin and buried himself deep underground.
This was probably the safest place he could think of.
Caelum took out the bright red fruit.
After eating it, he immediately fell into sleep.
In the haze, he felt his strength rapidly growing.
Swordsmanship Proficiency plus 10000
Observation Haki Proficiency plus 10000
Armament Haki Proficiency plus 10000
Conqueror Haki Proficiency plus 10000