A Reaper's Philosophy-Chapter 69: Duel

"2 million electrums!" Tempelis said as she kept the two large bags down in front of Grayson.

The surrounding spectator’s faces all went red with jealousy upon hearing that unrealistic amount. Most people in the sect have never even come close to earning that amount in a year let alone from only one mission.

Murmurs could be heard from behind Grayson as he picked up the two large bags of money. One of the spectators finally walked up to Grayson to voice out his thoughts.

"You expect us to believe that a mere Ordinary Host was capable of defeating an Unknown Beast that even our Elder Mai couldn’t defeat on her own? Don’t make me laugh!" A blond young man spoke up.

The man stood with pride. From what he was wearing, one could easily tell he came from a wealthy family.

Chatter immediately broke out in the crowd of spectators. They quickly recognized the blond young man.

"Oh, and what will you do about it?" Grayson asked the young man.

"I, Theodore Xander V, challenge you to a duel and wager half of my lifespan!" Theodore said as he drew out his sword and pointed it towards Grayson.

{A host of a higher realm has challenged you to a duel, do you accept?

Yes/No}

"You’re making a mistake." Grayson warned Theodore as he positioned the 2 bags to hang behind his back, not even looking at Theodore.

"Accept and prove your strength!" Theodore commanded as he exerted the aura of an Ascended Host.

(Sigh)

Grayson sighed heavily then said, "I, Grayson, accept your duel and wager all of my lifespan."

Grayson said nonchalantly then finally faced Theodore.

{The terms of the duel have been accepted}

"Today, I will show everyone you are just an arrogant fool." Theodore said then charged at Grayson with a powerful swing of his sword, that was drenched in fire.

The flames raged and looked like they could consume everything in their path.

Even Tempelis, who was behind the counter, could feel the heat coming from the flaming sword. This showed just how lethal this strike was.

Grayson casually waved his hand at the sword’s direction and blew out the flames. He then appeared at Theodore’s side and swept his legs off the ground with a swing of his foot. The act twisted Theodore’s ankle and caused him to fall over face first onto Tempelis’ counter.

Theodore put a lot of power into that attack. The Hardon Sect was made of a special material. Not even a Heavenly Host could destroy it easily. Had he not held back, Theodore could have very well killed himself hitting his head on that counter. Blood dripped out of Theodore’s nose as he held it in tears. He could not get back up due to the pain. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I win." Grayson said then walked away.

{You have won the duel. 100 years have been added to your lifespan}

"Wait nrrr! That was just a fluke. I wasn’t ready!" Theodore said groaning in pain, as he tried to save a little face.

"Your sword seemed very ready to cut me down. A normal Ordinary Host would not have survived that strike. Luckily, I’m not normal and you’re not all that extraordinary." Grayson said still walking away.

"How dare you look down on the house of Xander. A mere Ordinary Host dares to talk down to ME! Do you know who my grandfather is...?" Theodore began to go on a rant.

Grayson then handed over the bags of electrum to Lilith then turned back to Theodore.

"I do not know who your grandfather is, neither do I care. If it’s the realm I am in that bothers you so much and allows you to think that you are so much better than I, allow me to level the plain field." Grayson said with a smile.

He then began to gather all the exousia within his body to push through the bottleneck that separated the Ordinary realm and the Ascended realm.

Grayson had long met the requirements to become an Ascended Host. He had the kills from Axelia and his own as well. His comprehension was at a higher level as well, he only needed a little push to go over to the next realm.

A loud explosion, that was somehow contained, sounded from where Grayson stood. An aura of an Ascended Host now radiated off of him. His pathways expanded slightly and revealed new paths as well.

"No way! He just broke through to the Ascended realm like it was nothing!" A man in the crowd exclaimed.

"See? You’re not special, you’re just spoiled. Next time you try to attack me, duel or not, I don’t care who your grandfather is...I will kill you!" Grayson said coldly as he glared at Theodore with killing intent.

A look of disbelief was now on Theodore’s face as his back began to drip with cold sweat.

"Tempelis, where is Elder Mai?" Grayson asked.

"500th floor, first door." Tempelis answered.

Grayson then finally flew away with Gen and Lilith, leaving a crowd of dumbfounded spectators.

’He definitely is not normal. To break through so quickly like that on command, and even have enough control to contain the burst of energy is no easy feat.

Even I am not capable of such a feat. He just displayed a level of control comparable to that of a Legendary Cultivator. No one knows his background or where he came from, only that Ravana vouches for him...this man is dangerous!’ Tempelis thought to herself as she came to a difficult decision in her head.

’I must eliminate him!’ Tempelis concluded, leaking a miniscule amount of killing intent.

Grayson and company were now flying up to the 500th floor.

"I knew you were probably strong, but that was incredible. Only an extraordinary genius could break through in in such circumstances." Gen praised.

"It was nothing." Grayson responded as he kept flying.

They then landed on a platform with a door on it. A number 1 decorated the wooden door.

"This door looks different from the rest. I can feel a lot of exousia leaking out of it!" Lilith exclaimed.

Lilith seemed completely uninterested with everything happening thus far, but now her curiosity was piqued.

"Of course, this is a special room. Normally, you would need special permission to go through this door, but seeing how we need to report to Elder Mai..." Gen began to say as he opened the door with a greedy look.

"This, is the Garden of Donations!" Gen said proudly as we walked in.

They were then in the middle of a beautiful garden, rich with exousia. A clear and beautiful sky could be seen above us and treasures leaking powerful exousia were scattered all around like vegetation. Any treasure placed in that room sinks halfway through the ground and needs special permission to pull them out.

There were treasure of different kinds all around. Swords, armors, plants, jewelry, etc. were all sunk halfway through the ground.

"We’re inside, how the hell does this room even have a sky?" Lilith asked out loud.

"Many of these rooms are set in a different dimension created by a deity long ago. It was this same deity that founded our Hardon Sect.

The Garden of Donations however is special because hundreds of hosts have contributed to making this space. When a host reaches certain realms, some of the resources and treasures that they had are no longer useful to them. In such cases, they come here to donate their resources for the other hosts in the lower realms.

You can find all kinds of treasures here. From sacred fruits to powerful weapons. There are even manuscripts for some techniques." Gen replied.

After walking around the garden, they finally spotted Elder Mai, sitting beneath a tree. She was reading a book.

"Great Elder, we have returned and have accomplished our mission." Gen said respectfully.

Elder Mai then closed her book and got up.

"I didn’t think I would be seeing you again." She said as she walked to Grayson and looked him straight in the eyes, as though to study him.

"You broke through! Your talent goes without saying, but I still wonder as to how you managed to defeat the Unknown Beast. I could see your soul power before. So, I expected you to at least be able to stall the beast long enough to evacuate the civilians.

Imagine my surprise when I heard that you soloed the beast. For some reason, there seems to have been no witnesses that had seen this happen. To make matters even more strange, I can’t seem to see through your soul now. You’re an interesting young man Grayson. From what family do you come from?" Elder Mai asked.

"I come from the Reaper family." Grayson answered casually.

"Hahaha, cocky brat." Elder Mai laughed not taking Grayson seriously.

"What is happening here?" Gen asked out loud, unable to believe how Grayson is talking so casually to the great Elder.

"I will take you both in as my disciples." Elder Mai said to Grayson and Lilith.

"What good would being your disciple do us?" Grayson asked Elder Mai.

"You fool, this is the Hardon Sect. The greatest sect in Madsus City. Any Elder taking you in as a disciple would guarantee your future growth." Elder Mai said with frustration.

"What future would I have in a rundown sect like this. Your greatest and only disciple, has been reduced to work as a city guard and another one of your strongest is dealing with mission tubes.

The number of Mythical Cultivators that I have passed by, so far in this sect, can be counted with one hand. You have more Ordinary and Ascended Cultivators than you know what to do with, but what good will they do?

When faced with someone in a stronger realm, even a hundred of them won’t stand a chance against one Mythical Cultivator. Although this sect has 2 Heavenly Cultivators, they have been in seclusion for the past 200 years. They have been gone for so long that some even doubt if they really exist.

You yourself won’t go into seclusion because you are the last line of defense for this shit show. The sect you all boast so much about isn’t what it used to be and is filled with arrogant amateurs.

We however, are talents that come only once in a generation, as you would say. Even a fool can see that it is us doing you a favor. So, tell me. What good would it do us?" Grayson asked.