Gacha Sovereign

Without knowing what happened behind the scene, Alex's group started killing the monsters like crazy for about three days before Anya warned that the people started coming inside the pillar, and Nelson confirmed not long after.

Alex decided to return to the end of the first stage and headed toward the second one.

"Thank you everyone." Alex smiled.

The Spirits cupped their hands and bowed before Anya summoned them back to the outside.

They then walked toward the words planted on the wall, reading it.

"Danger! Outside World's Nature." Alex and Firia tilted their heads in confusion.

Alex glanced at Firia and asked, "I know there is a danger, but what does this Outside World's nature?"

"Something related to the outside world? I can see that there is nothing wrong with nature here… I mean, they are completely the same as the outside world despite being artificial itself." Firia looked down before she realized something. "Don't tell me…"

"What? Did you realize something?"

"I think?" Firia hesitated for a second and asked. "Can you look down and see whether there is something there?"

Alex didn't understand her intention but still scanned the underground with his Spirit Eyes.

"!!!" He gasped as he saw a path underground. It was a bit far ahead, so he needed to advance first before going down. The tunnel seemed to lead him right below the tower, bewildering Alex. "This is…"

"I can see a tunnel there."

"I know it." Firia's eyes turned sharp. "This might be the reason why these four words don't make sense… Well, I am a perfectionist, so I just felt weird when reading these words. Then I read the first letters of each word, and 'Down' became a word. Don't you feel it's weird?"

Alex scratched his head, embarrassed. He didn't think it was weird, especially since he had many experiences with this. The most memorable one for him was the Potential Tower since he only needed to understand the meaning instead of the words, so he thought this was normal. "I apologize…"

"Never mind." Firia stopped him and shrugged. "We should go through this place."

Alex nodded and walked to the entrance with Firia and noticed the interior. He could see many paths inside with mud walls separating each path. "This looks like a maze?"

"Indeed. Since we know about the real entrance, should we search around this area until we reach the goal? We have a week anyway."

"Sure." Alex nodded and walked inside the maze.

Suddenly, a storm of Spiritual Energy appeared before him and entered his body.

"Kh!" The sudden influx of Spiritual Energy was a bit hurt for Alex as he instinctively gritted his teeth.

"Alex?" Firia furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing what Alex experienced since she had yet to enter the maze.

"Wait a minute. This maze is weird…" Alex stopped her while checking his body.

[Host, this is the power of quenching… Ask Firia about it.]

"!!!" Alex frowned and asked. "Firia. Do you know the power of quenching?"

"Power of quenching?" Firia opened her mouth in surprise. "I know it. Why are you asking me this question? Don't tell me…"

"According to the system, this maze has the power of quenching. I want to know what it is…" Alex nodded and stepped outside once again.

"The power of quenching… It's just a common name to make it easy to understand. The real name of this technique is Yaentai Quaon. I don't know where that name comes from, but that's the name." Firia hesitated for a second. "This is a technique involving Divine Power. You can see there is a different type of energy inside me, right?"

"Yes."

"Just like your consolidation process… I also need to consolidate my foundation because the fast-paced cultivation will ruin one's foundation. However, I needed to return to your side as soon as possible, so Master used this power.

"Of course, this was not possible for her alone. She invited Uncle Maxwell and two other God Rank Experts to use their Divine Power for this technique. This one allows me to cultivate without worrying about the consolidation process because everything has been stuffed inside, or you can say they are already consolidated by this power."

"What? Really? Still, I can sense that power inside you. Wouldn't it be detrimental to you?" Alex asked, worried about her.

"Don't worry. It's not as you think. I can simply dispel this power after I reach God Stage, so it's not a problem for me. This power is only effective to mortals like us anyway." Firia shrugged.

"So… Do you think I should enter this place?"

"If there is indeed the power of quenching inside, I believe this is a good opportunity, especially since your strength is in the 10-Star Martial Monarch, where you need to consolidate your power. Considering it starts affecting you right on the moment you step in, I am sure that power is spread around the maze. If you can go around and collect that power while cultivating, I believe you might be able to fully consolidate your foundation and breakthrough." Firia nodded. "Of course, there is a risk about this technique, which is that the people who use this technique will be weakened for a period of time. That's why not many Gods would use this type of technique."

"Breakthrough to Martial Saint?" Alex raised his eyebrows. He couldn't say this didn't tempt him, but… "Doesn't it mean everyone will know about the Golden Lightning Tribulation?"

"Take a look at your current situation… Your Golden Lightning Tribulation has been known to the whole world back when you were a mere Martial Grandmaster and a Martial King. Suddenly, it disappeared without a trace. I think they have some suspicion about it already…" Firia glanced at Alex carefully.

"I know that… But it is still far dangerous because I won't know what kind of danger will befall after this, and our situation might turn out very different than our expectation…" Alex sighed. "If this is the last Lightning Tribulation, I can do it. But this is the second last since I need to undergo the Divine Tribulation later… Although I don't know whether I will have another Golden Lightning Tribulation, I need to be careful."

Firia looked down, thinking about it. "Fair enough. I was too excited and didn't think this through. If you actually released that Golden Lightning Tribulation here, your allies might even betray you just to know your secret… There is also another possibility, which is fear, but I doubt it. If they know about this, they might even make that alliance again, and it will be Spirit Nest versus the Seven Influences… Maybe except Blackwade Clan."

"Yeah. That's what I am talking about. I don't want to risk it. After all, I have been careful this whole time." Alex sighed.

Firia nodded, understanding his thoughts. "Still, we need some solutions. Judging how you acted earlier, there is a high possibility that you will call the Tribulation Cloud…"

Alex checked his body and confirmed what she said. "I certainly feel that way… Does this mean I can't enter this place?"

"There is also another possibility. You can simply enter the maze as quickly as possible before you challenge your Lightning Tribulation inside the tower. No one can see it, right?"

"Indeed." Alex nodded with a solemn face. "I can see that there is an invisible wall above the wall, preventing us from flying. So, the only thing we can do is to complete this maze through the legitimate way… Seeing how there is an entrance, I am sure that the trial is something like you are too focused on the tower instead of the real entrance of that tower.

"I mean, what if there is no entrance to the tower… Or the one that we can see on the surface? It will lead them to despair, especially with this kind of time frame. When the time almost ends, they will start having weird thoughts and pressure." Alex explained it the way Potential Tower taught him.

"Yeah. I can feel that as well…" Firia nodded in agreement.

"Still, this is our only option, huh…" Alex stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.

"I guess."

"What if there is a soul residing in that tower? Wouldn't I be screwed if they know about my secret?"

"Not really. They are only souls and won't possess too much of a problem for us. My Shawl is a Divine Weapon, so it can destroy the soul if necessary. How about asking your system?"

[You don't need to worry, Host. There is also a certain will inside those quenching powers, but you can eliminate it with your Pure Fire. Although your strength has yet to reach God Rank, you can still kill the soul if you want, especially with your Pure Fire. They are nonetheless the Evolved Pure Fire from one of the highest rank Gods. After you reach God Rank, you can simply dispel that power.]

"I see…" Alex checked his body and found the wisp of will inside that power. He eliminated it by burning the will with his Pure Fire. "I will go then. Although it seems dangerous, I feel I will get something precious inside this place."

"Sure." Firia smiled gently.

"Let's go." Alex stepped in again and felt the power coming inside him.

Firia frowned as she experienced the same. "As expected, it's indeed the power of quenching, but the strength is not comparable to my master, so it won't do anything to me… How about you? Can you bear the power?"

"Yeah. I should be able to bear it for a few minutes…"

"A few minutes? This power seems to be stronger than I expected… Normally, you should be able to handle it for a few hours. Now I am wondering how many Gods actually used this technique."

"We have no time to think about it. Our priority is to search for a way to get to that underground tunnel." Alex brushed the matter off, feeling the sense of emergency.

Firia didn't say another word and tried to complete the maze by running with Alex.

However, no matter how hard they searched, they were nowhere near that underground tunnel. Alex's condition began worsening, making Firia worry.

"Should we go back right now? If only we can bypass this stupid wall…" Firia gritted her teeth.

"Bypass it?" Alex suddenly realized something important. Unlike the other places, he didn't see any Space Elements around the wall. "Why didn't I think about this before?"

"Alex?" Firia tilted her head, confused by his action.

Alex took out his sword and struck the wall.

"Heaven Light Slash!"

The sword shattered the mud wall, albeit it instantly regenerated as if there was no damage before.

"What are you doing?" Firia asked.

"I just noticed that there is abundant Space Energy in this place, including the invisible barrier above us and the tower itself. However, the wall doesn't have anything like this, only this regenerative ability. I can see it with my Spirit Eyes, so I am sure about it. I might not last long, so I am planning to go straight to the entrance with this…"

"But you can't use Teleportation in this area, right?"

"Who says I want to use that technique?" Alex smiled evilly. "I only want to create a Spatial Gate and use the wall to connect it… Although this can only bypass a single wall, we can still advance far quicker toward the entrance in a straight line."

"!!!" Firia's body shook, never expecting Alex to have such a plan. "I see what you want… That is indeed a good plan. Let's go with it."

Alex smirked and placed his hand on the wall, creating two Spatial Gates, on the front and the back of this wall.

"Let's go." As soon as the two Spatial Gates were connected, Alex passed it, and he just succeeded in defeating the system.

Firia followed him without hesitation as they continued toward a certain location where Alex abruptly stopped.

"Alex?" Firia gasped as she looked at Alex clutching his heart.

"Don't worry. I can still go on… I have wanted to advance as soon as possible, but this is the first time I don't want a breakthrough…" Alex let out a long sigh as he created the Spatial Gates again.