Chapter 99: Foundations That Will Endure for Eternity [Part 2]
Foundations That Will Endure for Eternity [Part 2]
Yet strangely gentle toward their master.
Each circulation made Austin feel stronger than before.
Watching everything unfold, Akeno’s beautiful purple eyes widened slightly.
Even she found it difficult to remain calm.
"...Your Patriarch..."
Her voice carried genuine astonishment.
"...is unbelievably generous."
She slowly inhaled.
"This cultivation scripture..."
"...is a Heavenly-rank supreme-grade technique."
Austin’s pupils contracted violently.
"What?!"
He had already guessed it was extraordinary.
But...
A Heavenly-rank...
Supreme-grade?
Even the Celestial Dawn EMPIRE’s imperial cultivation technique barely reached the lower Heavenly-rank.
Countless great sects regarded Earth-rank scriptures as priceless inheritances.
Yet Victor...
Had handed such an incomparably precious scripture to him...
As casually as though giving away an ordinary book.
Austin slowly clenched his fists.
His chest grew hot.
Not from the cultivation technique.
But from gratitude.
From this moment onward...
He silently swore another oath.
His life...
Belonged to the Patriarch.
And that conviction would never change.
Austin slowly lowered his head.
The blazing True Spiritual Power continued surging through every one of his meridians, washing away years of hidden injuries.
Each circulation made him feel lighter.
Stronger.
More complete.
The despair that had weighed upon his heart for years seemed to melt away beneath the crimson flames.
He clenched his fists.
A faint crackling sound echoed from his bones as dormant strength awakened once more.
Beside him, Akeno quietly observed everything.
Her beautiful face carried a complicated expression.
She had lived for countless years.
She had seen emperors rise and fall.
She had witnessed peerless geniuses illuminate an era before fading into history.
Yet today...
She found herself genuinely shaken.
She looked at Austin before slowly speaking.
"...Austin."
"You truly possess an incredible family."
Her voice was calm, but admiration could not be hidden.
"I originally accepted you as my disciple because I hoped one day you would become powerful enough to help me fulfill a long-forgotten wish."
She paused.
"But now..."
A bitter smile appeared.
"It seems the things I can teach you are becoming fewer and fewer."
Her purple eyes drifted toward the Heavenly Crimson Summer Sovereign Scripture resting in Austin’s hands.
"This scripture alone surpasses nearly every cultivation technique I possess."
She let out a quiet sigh.
"Aside from the Eternal Tribulation Flame Scripture I passed down to you—the cultivation art that grows stronger by refining heavenly flames..."
"There is little left I can truly offer."
Even saying those words felt strange.
She had once been the awe-inspiring Purple Flame Empress.
Countless powerful cultivators had begged to become her disciple.
Now...
She suddenly realized...
Her own disciple stood within a family whose foundation exceeded even her imagination.
Even her newly stabilized soul...
Had only been possible because of Victor’s flawless Mirror Soul Pill.
Without that pill...
She might still have remained a fragile remnant soul.
Akeno lowered her gaze.
Her expression became unusually lonely.
"Austin..."
"You no longer need me."
The room suddenly became silent.
The words had barely left her lips—
When Austin immediately interrupted.
"No."
His reply was firm.
Without hesitation.
Without even allowing her to finish.
Austin looked directly toward her.
His black eyes shone with unwavering sincerity.
"Master."
"Once my teacher..."
"Forever my teacher."
His voice echoed clearly throughout the room.
"The promises I’ve made..."
"They will never change."
"My heart remains clear."
"My will remains unshakable."
"If I abandon my own master simply because my circumstances improve..."
"Then I would become someone unworthy of standing beside the Patriarch."
His fists tightened.
"My Patriarch taught me how to become stronger."
"But you..."
"You were the first person who believed I could stand again."
"I will never forget that."
Every word came straight from his heart.
No hesitation.
No falsehood.
Only absolute conviction.
For a long moment...
Akeno simply stared at him.
Then...
A faint tremble ran through her soul.
She slowly closed her eyes.
A warm smile finally appeared.
It had been...
Far too many years...
Since someone had spoken to her with such sincerity.
Even after everything she had lost...
She had gained a disciple worth being proud of.
A tiny tear silently slipped from the corner of her eye before quickly evaporating into purple spiritual flames.
"...Good."
She smiled gently.
"Very good."
"I truly didn’t choose the wrong disciple."
At that exact moment—
BOOM!!
An astonishing wave of True Spiritual Power erupted from Austin’s body.
His state of mind had completely transformed.
Years of depression...
Self-doubt...
And resentment...
Had all disappeared.
His heart had become perfectly clear.
His cultivation, which had already recovered to its former peak—
Spiritual Awakening Great Perfection!
—continued climbing.
Without any resistance.
Without encountering the slightest bottleneck.
His aura surged violently.
Arcane Meridian Realm First Level!
The surrounding spiritual energy rushed toward him like countless rivers.
His cultivation continued rising.
Arcane Meridian Realm Third Level!
The pressure filling the room intensified.
Flames danced around his body.
His Fire King Body radiated brilliant crimson light.
Finally—
His breakthrough stabilized.
Arcane Meridian Realm Fifth Level!
Silence returned.
Austin slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was clearer than ever before.
The fallen genius...
Had truly returned.
No.
He had become someone even stronger than before.
Akeno watched proudly.
This disciple...
Had finally broken free from the nightmare that had haunted him for years.
Her eyes gradually lifted toward the endless sky above the Sovereign Blessed Land.
Through her powerful spiritual perception...
The ordinary sky slowly disappeared.
What replaced it...
Were countless invisible Great Laws of World intertwining throughout heaven and earth.
Among those endless laws—
A solitary black figure stood silently in the heavens.
Elder Black.
He stood motionless.
One hand rested behind his back.
The other calmly traced mysterious runes through empty space.
Every movement engraved incomparably profound divine patterns into the heavens themselves.
Invisible restrictions spread throughout the entire Sovereign Blessed Land.
The laws of the world themselves seemed to acknowledge his authority.
Akeno’s breathing stopped.
She could vaguely sense the terrifying pressure hidden beneath that seemingly ordinary old man.
The more she observed...
The colder her heart became.
She remembered the countless wailing souls she had once sensed upon the old man’s broken sword.
Powerful experts.
Ancient Saints.
Supreme figures.
All reduced to silent spirits.
She slowly looked away.
Her heart pounded violently.
"...That old man..."
"...is terrifying."