.
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BOOM!
CRACK!
A single line of crack traversed across the mountain as it scattered with great force, disrupting the restriction that had been placed on it.
A smile formed on Socrates' face as he looked at the Monkey King, who had his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"I've released you.. Now do your part.." Socrates said lowly before falling backward, crashing his back on the solid floor as he drifted into unconsciousness.
The golden-eyed Monkey King pulled his body free from the mountain and jumped out of the restriction — destabilized now by nothing but Socrates' physical strength.
The Monkey King hadn't been serious when he told Socrates to release him. He knew it was an impossible task.
The restriction placed here had been set by a powerful entity that even a King Tier cultivator would have to fear.
But there was something that entity hadn't accounted for — an anomaly like Socrates. Someone with condensed energy, able to reach this point without cultivation. That possibility had never even crossed the entity's mind — and that was exactly why, when trapping the Monkey King, he had only placed the restriction between the mountains and not on the mountains themselves.
Socrates had known he understood nothing about restrictions. So he had opted to break the mountain down with his physical strength instead.
Not the entire mountain — just the parts carrying the restriction.
And after hours of punching with every ounce of strength he could gather, he finally destabilized it — and fell unconscious from the strain it placed on his already broken body.
The Monkey King looked down at the human lying on the floor, his expression neutral.
"I'm impressed by your courage, boy... If it was the former me, I would have just left you here and run away.. Hahaha.." He laughed out loud, the sound bouncing off the mountain walls around him.
"Tell me.. Why do I care about you anyway? I'm the Monkey King that reigns supreme in both Heaven and Earth..." He boasted, beating both hands against his chest.
"But I can't leave even if I wanted to. There's still a restriction at the exit of the mountain... I'll need your help to get past it..." The Monkey King sighed.
Then he stood — and dropped to his knees.
"Oh, how far have you fallen, Sun Wukong.. Seeking the help of a lowly human.." He cried out to the heavens — and then burst into laughter.
"That would be a disgrace to my lineage... But it doesn't really matter if I turn him into my slave.... Yes, I can order my slave around. Do this, do that..." The Monkey King jumped around Socrates, circling him, staring down at his cracked and broken body.
"Yes.. The Master Slave Contract is better — I can actually grant him one of my abilities, which is Regeneration.. It'll bring his body back to its peak... And then I'll order him... Hey.. You.. Slave Human... Break that restriction.."
"And he'll break it and I'll be completely free.. Hahaha.."
The Monkey King laughed out loud as he assumed a lotus position, clasping his hands together as his golden energy flared up and covered every part of his body, warm light spilling across the dark stone floor around him.
The energy extended forward and grabbed Socrates' body from the ground, lifting him into the air.
The Monkey King weaved another sign before biting his right thumb with his teeth — golden liquid sprayed out. He directed the flow of it into Socrates' nostrils, then weaved another hand sign before closing his eyes and dropping his hands onto his lap.
He had infiltrated Socrates' soul space with his consciousness — ready to turn Socrates into his slave.
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BREAKTHROUGH!
Kamira's energy flared up before receding instantly as her eyes opened, looking as sharp as ever.
She could sense powerful presences all around her as she squinted to see the team staring at her.
'How long did I take? Have they all been waiting for me? They all look worn out.'
Kamira stood up when Malena walked up to her with a smile on her face. "Congratulations on stepping into the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm."
"Are you trying to pull me into an illusion?" Kamira crossed her arms as Malena froze in shock.
The two ladies stared at each other, sparks flying between their eyes. Fatso quickly rushed to intercept them — only to find the mechanical spider blocking his path.
The mechanical spider had swallowed the black crystal and its body parts were now entirely black. It had grown from a palm-sized creature to a 3 meter tall beast with long curved pincers and thick six legs.
Fatso stared at the mechanical beast. The mechanical beast stared back. He quietly gave up the thought of intercepting the two ladies.
"Malena it's okay... The both of you are at the same level of cultivation and who knows what ability the fruit gave to Kamira — you both shouldn't fight each other." Judas stated, and the two ladies snorted before turning their backs on each other.
'Why is it Judas telling me not to fight?' Something struck Kamira as she turned around, registering the faces one by one.
Judas.
George.
Cleopatra.
Spidey.
Fatso.
Zina.
And lastly, Malena.
Someone was missing — and it was clear the team was already aware of that fact.
"Where is he?" She asked lowly. "Where's Socrates?" She asked again, this time her voice louder than before.
"Malena, please explain to her.." Cleo rubbed his eyes.
"No! I can't... Judas is in the best position to do that." Malena retreated backward. She already knew how Kamira would react to this news.
Judas sighed and stepped forward.
"While we were looting the treasure trove — after both you and Malena began breaking through — we were ambushed by experts from the Ichigo clan and the Lu family. They came with many Foundation Establishment realm experts. Their primary target was Socrates and all the treasures he had accumulated.
Socrates ordered us to protect you while the rest of us held them off. He single-handedly took down a lot of Qi Condensation realm cultivators but they overwhelmed us with numbers.
He was outnumbered 8 to 1 and they set up a spatial formation which transferred him to another part of the dungeon. That was the last we heard of him." Judas stated.
"The rest of us would have been dead if not for Malena's ability pulling the Ichigo elder into an illusion.. And it only worked because he was caught by surprise. Judas took care of the rest — and since then we've been here waiting for you to finish cultivating." Zina added.
"Why.. Why were you waiting for me to finish cultivating? You should have gone to find Socrates..." Kamira screamed out.
"You don't understand... Eight Foundation Establishment experts are out there with only one objective — and that's to kill us." George stated.
"Socrates gave the order to protect you.. We couldn't leave you here alone." Cleo added.
"And surprisingly, since three days ago... none of the experts came back." Fatso pointed out, his brow creasing as he said it.
"If they had killed Socrates, they would have come back to report to the elder." Fatso continued.
"And if Socrates had managed to kill them, he would have found his way back here by now." Fatso finalized.
"This only means one thing..." Malena's eyes sparkled.
"Socrates is still alive — hiding somewhere — and the experts are still looking for him." Malena concluded.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's go find him." Kamira yelled.
"Let's get the search started." Judas announced, rallying the team as they began moving — searching for the Son of Trueblood, who at that very moment was about to become a slave to a legendary beast.