From the restaurant window, Javon watched everything calmly. “I hope he’s smart enough to stop,” he murmured softly.If not, he would not mind eliminating the problem at its root. He returned to a cross-legged position and resumed cultivating.The next morning.A knock sounded at the door. Selira Kain arrived right on time.“Let’s go.”The moment they stepped out of the restaurant, Javon sensed something different. The city was far busier than the day before. More guards were patrolling, and crowds filled the streets.“What’s happening today?” he asked.Selira smiled faintly. “Restoration Day. Every year, people from Sand City come to distribute holy water and holy medicine.”“Holy water?”The festival was unfamiliar to Javon.Selira explained that it was not an ancient tradition but one established about a hundred years ago by the twenty-seventh king of Sand City. On that day, special envoys would travel among the oasis cities, bringing holy water and holy medicine.Holy water was gi

“I have indeed drunk it,” Zarek said flatly. “Last year. Thanks to that holy water, I broke through from the first level of Celestial to the second level. But there is a limit, three times in a lifetime. Any more than that, and you won’t survive.”Forger Enterprise was not mentioned, yet the atmosphere of the arena felt like the cruelest corporate transaction, where profit and loss were measured in lives.“If more than three times?” Javon asked calmly.“Your body will rot.” Zarek stared blankly, as if seeing shadows of the past. “A few years ago, a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage drank it four times in a single year. His skin split open, oozing pus. His internal organs melted like rotten porridge. He died screaming.”Silence spread.Javon observed the small bottle in Zarek’s hand. If even someone at the Nascent Soul Stage could end like that, then this substance was not merely a cultivation-enhancing potion. It was a biological gamble.“In Celestial, many have already proven it,”

The city stood magnificently atop a massive oasis. Stone-paved roads stretched wide. Pavilions and towers lined up in flawless order. Martial practitioners moved about with powerful auras. Yet none of that was what made Javon’s jaw tighten.White banners bearing a red circle fluttered everywhere, on the city walls, atop shop roofs, and above the gates of noble residences.The Grand Sun Banner.“That flag?” he asked.“That is the emblem of the current kingdom,” Selira explained. “The previous king modified it. The noble family is called the Order of the Grand Sun.”Javon held his breath. The invasion nearly a century ago. Poison gas drums in the desert. And now the Grand Sun Banner. The picture was becoming clear.Selira walked too quickly and accidentally bumped into a young man dressed in distinct Javana attire. A white headband embroidered with a blazing red sun was fastened proudly across his forehead.“Idiot! Don’t you have eyes?” he snapped.Selira immediately lowered her head. “

Before Javon Forger could speak, Arken Solvaris said firmly, “He is my honored guest. You may leave now. I will settle your account later.”Ichiro Watanabe’s expression stiffened, but he still bowed and withdrew.Once the man had left, Javon Forger crossed his arms. “I heard the teleportation array is near the palace. I want to use it.”Arken Solvaris’s smile slowly faded. He returned to his throne and spoke casually, “You just arrived in the Silent Sands, didn’t you? Why not stay a few more days?”“I’m not interested. How many Aetherstones are required?”Arken Solvaris chuckled softly. “It’s not a matter of Aetherstones. At such a young age, you have already reached the Celestial Stage. Why not join the royal family? If you do, the supply of holy water will be unlimited.”He smiled meaningfully. “You must already be familiar with the holy water, right?”He was clearly trying to recruit him. A Celestial expert was a force coveted by every faction. The royal family naturally did not wa

“That’s Soul Hunter Strike! The brat is finished!” Arken revealed a cruel smile.The Grand Elder’s technique was a low-tier Great Grand Master move, enough to easily kill a low-level Celestial cultivator.The Second Elder also stopped holding back. He raised his Javana blade horizontally.“Imperial Underworld Slash!”A sharp blade light tore through the void, carrying a violent surge of true energy toward Javon. The palm strike and sword slash arrived simultaneously. Their momentum was nearly unstoppable.Javon narrowed his eyes slightly as the Azure Skyburn Spear spun rapidly.“DIE!”A blinding red light erupted from the spear. Dozens of crimson lightning bolts lashed out in every direction, turning the hall into a sea of destruction.Under everyone’s shocked gaze, Javon extended his hand and directly caught the incoming sword energy.Then he clenched his fist.Bang!The sword energy shattered into fragments of light. Javon’s punch then collided with the Grand Elder’s palm. When fist