FLDI Chapter 191

“Has it come out?”

Isabelle’s mind wandered as she gazed into the greyish expanse. All she could remember were battles—endless battles and more battles.

Countless skirmishes, endless slaughters.

Even she had lost track of how long she had fought or how many werewolves she had slain.

She only felt that her state was improving, growing stronger.

It wasn’t until the werewolves around her had all disappeared, and the new werewolves that appeared were far more powerful than anything she could have imagined, that she felt a sharp jolt. A single blow from one of them sent a tremor through her newly-formed soul.

It was then that she snapped back to reality and quickly withdrew from the Divine Ruins.

Thinking of the terrifying werewolf she had just encountered, her body involuntarily shuddered.

She shook her head vigorously, pushing away that lingering feeling, and only then did Isabelle have the presence of mind to assess her current condition.

As she took stock, her body shivered again, and her eyes widened in astonishment.

“I’ve broken through!”

Isabelle muttered to herself, disbelief in her voice.

To think that not long ago, she had only broken through to the early stage of the Earth Knight realm, and now, just a few days later, she had reached the late stage of Earth Knight.

From the perception of her life force, she could tell that her current late-stage Earth Knight realm was incredibly stable—only one step away from the peak of the Earth Knight.

This moment marked a significant leap in her strength.

With her previous pace of cultivation, it would have taken at least a few more years to reach this point.

More importantly, Isabelle could sense that her greatest improvement wasn’t just in her cultivation. She felt as though she was on the verge of touching something mysterious in the ether.

Though she couldn’t quite grasp it yet, once she reached a certain level, that mysterious force would surely bring her unimaginable benefits.

“Law!”

She whispered softly, fully understanding what that sensation meant.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Isabelle glanced at the illusory black mist in the distance and then made her way toward the city ramparts.

There, Joz and Aisha were already waiting.

“Sister!”

“Sister!”

Joz and Aisha greeted her as soon as they saw her, followed by Steve, Pelos, Carter, and Brian.

At that moment, it was clear that everyone had undergone some significant changes.

Joz’s strength had reached the mid-level of a Grand Knight, and Aisha had now entered the ranks of a Grand Knight as well.

As for Steve and Pelos, they had reached the late stage of Grand Knight, while Brian had entered the mid-stage of Earth Knight. Even Carter had become a formal Knight, and not just any formal Knight—he was already at the peak of this stage, just a step away from the Grand Knight level.

Though their powers had all increased by a small tier, there were still distinctions among them. Isabelle could sense a mysterious aura surrounding Joz and Steve, something that Aisha and Brian lacked.

It might not seem like a big difference now, but as they continued their cultivation, it would become evident. Those with a mysterious aura would progress more smoothly, while those without would still face great limitations despite their improvements.

But this mattered little to Isabelle.

She didn’t feel the need to say anything to her sister about it.

The Divine Ruins were open, and what one gained or didn’t gain was entirely up to them.

If someone failed to harvest anything, it was their own problem.

What mattered more to Isabelle was something else.

“Has your lord not come out yet?”

Isabelle raised an eyebrow, surprise in her voice, and looked toward the three of them.

“Yes, Miss Isabelle. Our lord and Rayne have not come out yet,” Steve said, a worried look on his face as he glanced into the distance.

“Has it really been this long?” Isabelle asked, her surprise evident as she stared at the horizon.

As for Thor, she didn’t believe something had happened to him. If he hadn’t emerged yet, it could only mean one thing—he was still holding out inside.

This endurance surprised even her.

“Miss Isabelle, do you think Brother Thor will be okay?” Carter asked, unable to contain his concern.

Seven days had passed, and most of the first batch had already come out. Only about five or six remained, with their lord and Rayne still among them.

Carter couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Isabelle replied with a gentle shake of her head, trying to reassure them.

She glanced off into the distance, her thoughts distant.

Meanwhile, the ten Holy Domain Knights in the distance looked on with somber expressions.

“Someone is still holding out?” one of them exclaimed, surprised.

“I remember the Seventh Prince of the Tulip Kingdom also entered, and there’s also a descendant from the Kalinina family,” another said, glancing at Kalinina.

“Hahaha, that boy has quite the talent, doesn’t he?” Kalinina responded with a proud smile, clearly pleased.

“The Divine Ruins this time are quite formidable. Just because they haven’t come out doesn’t mean they’re still holding out,” someone muttered under their breath, clearly displeased by Kalinina’s smug expression.

“True, but it’s still better than those who were eliminated from the start,” Kalinina replied with a mischievous grin.

His words made the person who had spoken earlier flush with anger.

“Hmph!”

The disgruntled figure couldn’t suppress his anger.

Upon hearing this, Kalinina’s smile grew even more pronounced. He wasn’t concerned about his family’s descendant. With that special artifact, even if something went wrong, they could quickly escape the Divine Ruins.

The fact that they hadn’t come out yet meant they were holding strong.

Most of the remaining people were the last batch holding out. How could Kalinina not be satisfied with this outcome?

“Alright, everyone. The first round should be ending soon. Let the little ones return.”

“Though the Divine Realm battle lasts for ages, if something unexpected happens and it ends early, this isn’t a safe place.”

As the group continued talking, a voice rang out.

Hearing this, the others exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

As the voice had said, the battle of the Divine Realm was not something for the young ones to partake in. Once it ended—no matter the result—these young ones were no longer suited to remain, lest an accident occur.

As for the second batch of candidates for the Divine Ruins, no one seemed too concerned.

The first batch reaped the greatest rewards and had the best chance of perceiving the power of the laws. The second wave would have minimal exposure to these laws, making it not worth their attention.

Of course, they still had to wait for the last wave of people to exit before they could leave.

At that moment, the nine of them had no idea that a great change had already taken place inside the Divine Ruins.

The few remaining were not there because their souls were stronger than Isabelle’s or because they possessed greater abilities. It was simply because, over time, two areas within the space had absorbed all the death law power.

Splash!

The ghostly river of the underworld was almost tangible now.

In these two isolated areas, enormous bloodthirsty werewolves appeared, their aura so powerful that they were far beyond the level of ordinary Earth Knights.

Yet, even under such circumstances, the two figures standing within the space remained as if they were war gods.

Any bloodthirsty werewolf that lunged at them was pierced through by either thunder and death or ice and death before it could even react.

The immense essence of death was continuously extracted, gradually merging into their bodies, causing the power of the laws surrounding them to almost solidify into a tangible form.

As this transformation progressed, the Divine Ruins, which had been in a semi-real, semi-illusory state, began to grow increasingly illusory.

The immediate consequence of this phenomenon was the near-total depletion of the death aura in the areas near Thor and Rayne’s respective spaces.

—-

“What’s happening?”

“Why is the death aura around these werewolves becoming so weak?”

A young man thrust his spear through a werewolf before him, frowning deeply as he felt the nearly negligible amount of essence being drawn to him.

It had all been fine just moments ago.

Suddenly, the number of werewolves around him started to dwindle, and those that remained were growing weaker.

His gains had become so trivial they were almost negligible.

This was clearly not what the records of the Divine Ruins described.

It wasn’t just him who felt this way. In another area, a blond-haired young man furrowed his brows tightly, his expression equally confused.

At this moment, neither of them knew what to do.

Continuing seemed pointless due to the lack of worthwhile rewards.

Leaving, however, felt like a waste.

This was the Divine Ruins—a place meant to lay the foundation for entry into the Divine Realm.

Yet now, without fully condensing the power of the laws, their chances of reaching the Saint Domain—let alone the Divine Realm—were laughably slim.

This left them in a truly awkward predicament.

—-

Thor and Rayne, of course, were entirely unaware of their dilemma.

As the power of the laws gathered around them, their soul power grew stronger and stronger.

This enhancement might not be very evident in the outside world, but within the realm of death, the strengthening of the soul was unmistakable.

Even as the werewolves grew increasingly powerful, they were still unable to hinder the two of them.

A faint lightning mark had even begun to form at the center of Rayne’s forehead—a manifestation of the Law of Thunder.

Once the mark fully materialized, Rayne would possess a portion of the power of the Law of Thunder.

For now, however, this mark remained in a state between reality and illusion, much like the icy-blue mark on Thor’s forehead—a mark formed by the Law of Ice.

Even so, the formation of such law imprints signified that Rayne and Thor were already on the path to the Divine Realm.

Once they broke through to the Saint Domain, the road to the Divine Realm would be far less obstructed.

With the gathered power of the laws, forming a Divine Realm would become much easier for them than for others.

—-

Time passed.

The slaughter continued.

Wave after wave of werewolves was wiped out.

Even the power of the Divine Ruins seemed to be reaching its limit under the relentless extraction of the laws.

After all, this was not truly a Divine Kingdom but merely a projection of one. Even though it had descended to an overwhelming extent, it remained a projection, and the power of the laws within it was finite.

Now, the Divine Ruins had begun to grow faintly illusory.

Boom!

A werewolf’s body exploded, and a dense death aura gathered as its essence merged into the surroundings.

“Huff!”

Thor exhaled deeply, his mind gradually clearing.

His gaze shifted upward to the faintly illusory River of the Underworld in the sky.

Then he looked at the nearly exterminated werewolves around him and the death aura still gathering incessantly. He shook his head slightly.

At this point, the law power from the werewolves was no longer sufficient to further enhance his comprehension of the laws.

Continuing to fight held little meaning now. It was better to leave before drawing too much attention.

“Time to go,” he murmured softly.

Without hesitation, Thor focused his mind. A beam of light descended on him, and his figure began to blur.

Rayne, not far away, seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Two beams of light illuminated the area, and in an instant, the two vanished from the Divine Ruins.

—-

Their departure caused the death aura in the two spaces they had occupied to surge back suddenly.

“More are coming!”

The blond-haired youth, who had been doubting his own luck, suddenly felt a change and turned toward the incoming werewolves. His eyes lit up with excitement.

Elsewhere, the other young man also sensed the change and showed a similar reaction.

Both resumed their slaughter.

However, something felt subtly amiss. Even though the number of werewolves had increased, both sensed a faint void where something was missing.

Still, there was no time to ponder such things. Every shard of law power they could gather was precious.

—-

As for Thor and Rayne, they remained unaware of the challenges left for those behind them.

With two flashes of white light, they appeared simultaneously in the outside world.

The moment Thor reappeared, he immediately sensed a dramatic shift in his condition. His aura had grown significantly stronger, and within him, the seed of life pulsed with an icy coldness intertwined with a terrifying deathly aura, signaling a profound transformation.

(End of Chapter)

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