"Huu…"
"Huu…"
Two deep exhales resounded as one. Damien and Su Ren closed their eyes before slowly allowing them to flutter open, clear and unperturbed.
The two men stared at each other for a single moment before their faces broke into wide grins.
"That was amazing!" Damien exclaimed fervently.
"Indeed, I never thought I would witness such a sight in my life," Su Ren said, his voice steady and filled with reverence.
"Is that the height we aim for?"
Damien shook his head, an air of confidence surrounding his body. Nothing changed, but something about him felt different. He carried in his natural gait the slight aura of an emperor above the mortal world.
"No, we're aiming higher," he responded firmly.
Su Ren's eyes widened.
Indeed, he was not aiming for a glimpse of Divinity, his goal was to surpass the peak of everything.
A slight chuckle left his mouth.
"I cannot argue with that," he said in concession, straightening his back and continuing, "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Su Ren. I belong to no faction and only hold loyalty to one Master. Though I rarely leave the mountain, I have been bestowed a title by the universe for my efforts: Blade God."
He walked up to Damien with his hand outstretched.
Damien looked down with a smile and firmly shook it.
"Damien Void. I don't have any crazy titles, just a few embarrassing ones, but it's an honor to make your acquaintance."
The two nodded at each other and let go of their grasps.
Damien stretched lightly and got reaccustomed to his own body.
He never left it in the first place, but the pull of that law collision was literally soul-snatching. The reason he and Su Ren ended up in such terrible states was because they were pulled into their law manifestations.
They simultaneously viewed the phenomenon from both internal and external perspectives, which was extremely taxing on the mind.
'After exerting myself so much, I only received what could barely be considered a glimpse of the Divine, and of that glimpse, what I could retain was…'
'...no, I think my retention was actually pretty satisfactory.'
He smiled inwardly as he clenched his fist, feeling the definitive change in his mana.
What he gained was a hint, just like Leona, of a path forward. He had too much to do at the Grand Assembly to act on it immediately, but the feeling fresh in his memory was currently being immortalized.
Damien sent the Breath of Nothingness into his own spiritual world, severing the memory of the past battle and storing it in the Mind Prison so it would never fade.
'It's good that I have more control of the Mind Prison now. If it was back when I first made it, I would've forgotten that memory's existence entirely.'
As a consequence of removing that memory from the stream of memories existing in his head, he truly couldn't remember its contents, however, he still clearly understood what it represented and the fact that it was being stored in the Mind Prison, which represented an extreme level of mental strength.
'Now that that's been dealt with, Blade God, huh…so this is the level I'm at.'
Damien didn't comment on the grand title, as it didn't have anything to do with his relationship with Su Ren, but he surely knew what it meant.
How could he not? Anyone who'd ever seen the Dimensional Leaderboard would clearly remember the title that had been in the number one spot on that ranking for over a decade…
…and everyone who witnessed it would forever remember the day he was dethroned by the enemy.
'The Saint Emperor's son, I haven't had the chance to meet him yet, but he's supposed to be stronger than that guy?'
The Saint King never truly entered his eyes until this very moment.
'I should prepare for the worst.'
With that thought, Damien returned his attention to reality, where he suddenly became the only witness to an extremely comedic situation.
Currently, the domineering and stalwart Su Ren was helplessly collapsed on his knees with some kind of sloth-like animal wrapped around his head.
"Senior Brother, how could you do something so dangerous?!"
The sloth-like little girl cried out loud enough to scare all nearby beasts away. She hugged Su Ren's head as tight as she could and pounded on his back in anger.
"Xiao Yue, calm down already. It was not dangerous at all," Su Ren's muffled voice rang out, only making Xiao Yue angrier.
"Senior Brother, you are not alone in the mountain anymore! You have Xiao Yue now, and you can't leave me alone! I…"
Damien tuned out at that point. With an ironic expression on his face, he waited until her rant ended and Su Ren was finally able to pull her off of him.
He stood up and patted the first off his body before cupping his fist towards Damien.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," he said, slightly embarrassed.
Damien shook his head.
"It's fine, I understand," he responded, memories of his little disciple and sister popping into his head. "I thought you were unaffiliated, though?"
"I am,"
"She calls you Senior Brother?"
"I have tried to stop her, but it has proved impossible."
"I totally get it."
Damien patted his new friend on the shoulder in solidarity. After all, he fell into the same trap when he met Xue'er and somehow ended up with a new sibling.
"So your name is Xiao Yue?" Damien asked, turning to the little girl.
"Hmph, only Senior Brother can call me Xiao Yue! It's 'Princess' Yue to you!"
She harrumphed.
Damien chuckled slightly. "Alright then, Xiao Yue, I have a little sister around your age. Would you like to meet her?"
"Why should I care about your little sister? This Princess only likes Senior Brother!"
"Xiao Yue, phrasing."
"Hmph!"
Su Ren shrugged helplessly.
"She's an orphan I found in a secret realm. I eventually sent her to a sect to grow, but now that she's seen me again, she refuses to let go. It's not what you're thinking."
"You sure?"
"100%."
Damien shrugged back and turned to Xiao Yue again.
"You know, our Xue'er is only at the peak of 3rd class right now. She's never met someone her age who is such a genius. Wouldn't it be cool if you could become her role model?" he spoke coaxingly.
"Hmmmm…" she hummed, clearly moved.
"She might even call you Big Sister, and you can be to her what your Senior Brother is to you."
Xiao Yue's eyes immediately brightened.
"I can be like Senior Brother?!"
"Yup! But only if you can be a proper big sister. Do you think you can do it?"
"Of course I can! There's nothing this Princess can't do!"
"Great!" Damien exclaimed, winking at Su Ren as he received the man's silent thanks.
'I'm such a genius. The only thing that could possibly combat a teenage girl…is another teenage girl! Xue'er, I choose you!"
Damien snapped his finger, and his Xue'ermon spawned into the battlefield!
"Big brother? What's up?" she said, rubbing her eyes and adapting to the new environment.
"Ah, nothing," Damien responded, rubbing her head, "there's just someone I want you to meet."
"Hm?" Xue'er turned her attention in the direction Damien was indicating, and her eyes immediately narrowed.
"An enemy."
