Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 697 - Three Fists As One!

In Year 157 of the Hongli Federation, February 28.

It had been nine days since Holy Lion Simu retrieved the Sword of Despair and the Ao Yin rune upon its blade from the United States of Yana. It had also been about eight days since Cassius helped Blood Vulture Dominator Fist expel the totemic and annihilation energy within his body and began full treatment.

Back at God's Tears Lake, grass was growing again. The island had grown lush once more as green trees swayed at the water's edge and wildflowers peeked out with a faint fragrance. There were even some bees hovering around the flowers.

Compared to a week earlier, the island's condition was like another world. Blood Vulture Dominator Fist's earlier expulsion of calamity energy had been strong enough to annihilate the island countless times. Only Cassius's protective Qi shield had prevented that, but it had left the surface plowed bare. When the shield faded, not a blade of grass was left.

Since then, Cassius had tested the Rune of Death, drawing life force from elsewhere to make the island bloom with vitality again. Water plants flourished and fish swam freely.

Eight days had passed, and Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had quietly recovered. The root of his ailment had been removed, leaving only the need to nourish his essence and regain his perfected strength!

As he himself said, with enough life vibration energy, he would only need just over a week to recover. On February 28, he emerged right on schedule.

Now, an old man was practicing on the island. His movements were extremely slow, with his feet lifting and falling gently. His hands stretched and retracted, fingertips drawing long arcs in the air. It looked soft and lazy but closer inspection revealed that his palms carried eerie power.

Staring at his palms for a few seconds induced hallucinations. Countless palms tugged at a wheel around him, like petals blooming with him at the center. The hands shifted from skin-coloured to red, then bright crimson, then pale. The hands withered, falling away to reveal grim bone.

Corpses pieced together, forming an eighteen-tiered spiral wheel like hell behind him.

Clap.

His old palms met before his chest. He bowed slightly with kind brows like a buddha. A hell of bones and a merciful buddha... Two extremes indeed.

"Ninety-nine percent... Just a little more and I'll be at my peak again..." He opened his eyes. "No matter, two more days. No need to rush."

A figure in a black coat approached from behind.

"Our pace will surely precede the tide of calamity. Every move must be well prepared. Any carelessness could bring grave consequences..." Cassius said as he walked up to Blood Vulture Dominator Fist. "I can feel that my loyal men have reached East Sea City. The last Ao Yin rune is in hand... All five keystone runes are gathered. Next, only the union of the three fist arts remains."

Cassius turned slowly to Blood Vulture. "In my attempt to merge the three fist arts, you are crucial. You must recover fully. Ninety-nine percent won't do! The coming turmoil may not be avoided even with you protecting me in peak form..."

A mentally prepared Blood Vulture Dominator Fist nodded slowly. "Rest assured, once I'm at my peak, no enemy will harm you. My word is law..."

His tone was flat yet brimmed with unwavering resolve. Even if it cost him his regained essence, he would shield Cassius from harm. Not just for him, but for the world's future. After all, he saw the dawn of ending calamity in Cassius. It was what he, and the whole Southern Dipper lineage, had pursued for life!

"I believe you." Cassius turned and wordlessly sped toward the sect.

Healing Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had cost Cassius greatly. The vast life vibration energy he'd saved up plus the massacre upon leaving the World of Calamity barely sufficed for such a ruined fighter. Saving him from the brink and returning him to his peak had demanded immense effort. However, the cost was worth it. Cassius needed a guardian for the decisive moment.

A figure dropped from the sky into the sect headquarters. At the same time, a convoy of black cars sped along the straight wide road outside the headquarters. It was the procession from East Sea City, bound for the sect.

A tall, muscular, golden-haired figure stood like a lion in the sun. Holy Lion Simu had returned from across the ocean to offer a gift to his revered sect master!

"Lord Simu, would you not like to rest after your long journey?" A disciple awaiting him asked.

"No need. I'll see the master now. He is waiting for me!" Simu stood before the sect, gazing up. An immense aura that only extreme combat artists could sense pierced the heavens.

"I'll go. You guys rest." He told his subordinates.

He strode inside with a long black hardwood box in his hands. Marble floors shone in the grand hall of the sect and silver-framed windows brightened the space. Golden patterns adorned the ceiling, white walls, and wooden furnishings.

Creak.

The three-meter-tall door opened. Simu's figure entered, bathed in sunlight. Inside, a broad figure in a black coat stood with his back turned. Perhaps it was an illusion, but two mysterious runes pulsed on the backs of his hands with each breath he took.

Simu advanced solemnly. He halted two meters away, knelt, and raised the box. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Master, I have not failed. I have brought back the rune. It was embedded in an ancient artifact."

The figure turned and the wooden box disintegrated without a trace. A heavy black sword appeared, its blade refined and beautiful.

The Sword of Despair floated silently. The twin-pupil symbol blinked at its core. The howls of ten thousand demons filled the hall as despair poured out like a black tide. A hand reached out and five fingers clenched.

A terrifying aura slammed down on the sword. The blade creaked as if suffering unbearable weight.

"Good. Don't resist. I won't waste an ancient treasure." Cassius's eyes landed on the sword.

It quieted. His finger tapped the twin-pupil symbol. He absorbed a wave of despair and a rune formed on his right shoulder.

The Black Rain Manor sigil that had been pushed there was again expelled.

This thing would be crushed by the five runes' resonance. Better to strip it out and give it to another. Simone is loyal and has been the longest by my side. Let him hold it for now... Cassius seized it, thinking.

Then he looked at the sword. Though its rune was gone, as an ancient artifact steeped in despair for countless years, it remained terrifying and far stronger than the Spiral-Eye Sword. With such a sword, a fighter's strength would rise even if he'd never practiced swordsmanship.

"Simu, take this sword. I need only the rune." Cassius pushed the sword through the air to Simu, who bowed.

"Thank you for the gift, master!"

"This sword was yours. It isn't a gift. This is the gift."

Suddenly, a finger pressed down on Simu's shoulder and primal Golem Qi flooded him. Two minutes later, Simu opened his eyes.

"Thank you, master!" He rose slowly. Cassius had not granted him life vibration energy, but a wisp of the Golem's true Qi. For one who trained the Golem Heart Codex, it was divine empowerment. Simu was focused on the codex. Other techniques were secondary. Hence, the gift was perfect for him.

"Master, when I seized the rune, I met someone from the Gate Organization. It was a deputy leader revived by necromancy and powerful beyond measure. Even using your Golem Seed's Qi, I couldn't capture him. The Gate Organization must know of us..." Simu reported carefully.

"Ignore them. Vermin will be crushed in due course..." Cassius turned away.

Soon, the Four Kings gathered in the hall, with Cassius sitting in the head seat.

The sect's Four Kings were Fist Demon Simone, who had crushed rival sects; Evil Dragon Damon, who led massacres against calamity forces; Holy Lion Simu, who had retrieved an Ao Yin rune and clashed with a Gate Organization deputy leader; and Savage Bird Amandes who remained to guard headquarters. Each had their respective tasks and strengths. All four were extreme combat artists, and strong enough to support the sect.

With the tide of calamity nearing, the Gate Organization would no longer stay quiet. Their millennia of heritage would erupt in the near future and the Four Kings would battle them.

Cassius and Blood Vulture would vanish to a remote corner of the real world to begin their breakthrough. It couldn't be in the World of Calamity as Xiadu had nearly recovered. Only in reality would its power be weakest.

***

On March 2, Year 157 of the Hongli Federation.

On a barren island of Blue Star Continent that was as large as a province, two figures sat cross-legged beneath the starry night. The night wind brushed past. All was silent, and all was free. Cassius gazed across heaven and earth, taking it all in.

Then, he closed his eyes and brought his palms together.

"It's time to begin... Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance, Three Fists as One!"