With a flicker of his Wind God Wings, Kael soared forward, covering kilometers in an instant. The howling wind roared past his ears as he blitzed through the air at terrifying speed.
Soon, however, he sensed a presence closing in from behind—the Pale Specter. Despite Kael's swiftness, the ghostly mage matched his pace, relentless in pursuit.
"Damn it, this brat's slippery! How is he this fast?!" The Pale Specter's ashen face twisted in frustration, his eyes glinting with cold fury. Even as a peak 11th-tier expert, he found Kael's speed unnervingly superior—something was clearly off about this kid.
"This little bastard's full of tricks. I'd better stay sharp." Having terrorized the Three Continents for decades, the Pale Specter was no fool. Recognizing Kael's unnatural agility, he treaded cautiously, wary of an ambush.
Kael, meanwhile, frowned at the unshakable pursuit. The Pale Specter was a top-tier powerhouse, not someone he wished to confront head-on—at least, not yet.
The little cat clung tightly to Kael's shoulder, its voice urgent: "Kael, that ugly freak's sticking to you like glue! The Dark Specter went after Einar, but Einar's holding his own—he hasn't been caught!" Its sensory abilities were frighteningly precise.
Kael nodded. Good. The Twin Specters have split up. Dealing with just the Pale Specter was far more manageable.
"Enough of this! Death's Abyssal Tide!" Realizing he couldn't close the gap, the Pale Specter resorted to magic.
This was dark sorcery—unmistakable in its corrosive, lethal aura.
Mana surged violently as black, cursed water erupted from the void, converging from all directions to engulf Kael in a tidal wave of decay!
"Dark Magic!" Kael's heart tightened, but he was prepared. Raising his staff, he channeled his own power—lightning crackled to life around him.
"Thousand Bolts of Violet Judgment!"
BOOM!
A web of violet lightning exploded outward, its blinding arcs intertwining into a colossal thunderstorm. With earth-shattering force, it collided head-on with the Death's Abyssal Tide!
"Lightning Magic!" The Pale Specter's pupils contracted sharply, a flicker of surprise crossing his narrow, serpentine eyes. This Kael truly is extraordinary.
Though lightning magic was merely a variant element, it had long been considered legendary—near-mythical in its rarity. Yet Kael had somehow mastered it.
CRACK!
A sound like shattering glass echoed as the Death's Abyssal Tide surrounding Kael was violently torn apart by the thunderous force of his lightning. The dark magic failed to restrain him!
Kael broke free effortlessly—the Pale Specter's spell had barely slowed him down.
"Damn it, this brat's relentless!" The Pale Specter's eyes burned with malice as he pursued Kael doggedly, refusing to let up.
Kael's brow furrowed. The Pale Specter clung to him like a parasitic shadow, an incessant thorn in his side.
He had no intention of fighting now. While he could hold his own, he currently held the advantage—three Divine Heart Fruits in hand. There was no need to engage prematurely.
Once he absorbed the fruits' power, killing the Pale Specter would be trivial.
"Little Cat, how far is that specter behind us?" Kael asked.
By now, the feline had given up correcting Kael's nickname—though anyone else calling it a "cat" would still earn a ferocious glare.
"About a few kilometers back—and the gap's widening!" The little cat sounded pleased. Though the Pale Specter was fast, Kael's Wind God Wings gave him a slight edge, steadily increasing the distance.
Kael relaxed slightly. Shaking him off shouldn't be a problem.
"A forest lies ahead—perfect for losing him." Kael's gaze sharpened as he spotted a dense, sprawling woodland in the distance, its towering trees forming an emerald canopy. An ideal hiding place.
Like a wisp of wind, Kael darted into the forest, his figure melding into the shadows.
The Underground Realm's woodlands were unlike the surface world. Saturated with mana, the trees grew rapidly and monstrously, some hundreds of meters tall, their gnarled trunks and sprawling branches blotting out the sky—providing Kael perfect cover.
"Where did that brat go?"
After a while, the Pale Specter arrived, his face darkening as he stared at the endless expanse of forest below. Kael's figure had long vanished, leaving only the towering trees stretching into the distance. Even his aura had disappeared, making tracking impossible.
"Damn it!" The Pale Specter snarled in frustration, flinging a few fire spells in retaliation. Flames spread, engulfing patches of the woodland, but it was futile—the forest was too vast to burn down quickly.
In truth, Kael was no longer in the forest at all. The woods had merely been a decoy to mislead the Pale Specter. The real Kael had already slipped away.
"Finally shook off that ugly freak!" The little cat cheered excitedly.
Kael patted its head, equally pleased. With the feline's keen senses acting like a radar, Kael could relax—any approach by the Pale Specter would be detected immediately.
Soon, Kael found a narrow, well-hidden cave deep in the mountains—perfect for concealment.
He entered and settled inside, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor.
Tapping the little cat's head, he said, "Keep watch. I'm consuming the Divine Heart Fruit."
The cat nodded eagerly, thrilled to be of help. It promptly hopped down and stationed itself at the cave entrance, standing guard like a loyal sentinel.
Kael chuckled at the sight but quickly composed himself, focusing entirely on absorbing the fruit's power.
He retrieved the Divine Heart Fruit, its golden surface shimmering with radiant light, casting a gilded glow across the cave walls.
Without hesitation, Kael swallowed it whole.
BOOM!
The moment it entered his body, a surge of immense energy erupted within him. His elemental forces stirred violently, and his mana channels expanded to their limits, causing a faint, prickling pain.
The Divine Heart Fruit's purpose was to purge impurities from the body, refining one's constitution to enhance elemental fusion.
As the fruit took effect, Kael felt a torrent of power surging through his mana pathways, scouring away residual impurities and expelling them along with his mana. The sensation left him stunned.
"These are the impurities accumulated during my usual magic cultivation..." Even Kael hadn't realized just how many residual imperfections lingered in his system. Seeing is believing.
What he didn't know was that his impurities were already exceptionally few. As an 11th-tier mage, the sheer volume of elemental energy he absorbed during meditation was staggering—yet compared to that vast intake, these residual flaws were negligible, almost insignificant.
Subtle transformations unfolded within his mana pathways, while the elemental energy in his body grew increasingly refined. More and more magical impurities were expelled, leaving behind only purity.
"Excellent results! But I'll hold off on consuming the second Divine Heart Fruit for now—better save it for when I break through to the 12th-tier Legendary Realm!" Though the fruit's primary function was purification rather than direct power boosts, the massive influx of elemental energy during his advancement would make it the perfect time to cleanse further impurities.
With that in mind, Kael closed his eyes, devoting his full focus to the purification process.
After nearly half a day, his eyes snapped open—crystal-clear and sharp. Though his tier hadn't risen, his combat prowess had undeniably grown!
"Now... it's time to make the Pale Specter regret his choices."