Better late than never

--- Chapter 39 ---

Hayate picked a dark sphere from Dullahan's head on the frozen ocean and released a cold mist off his mouth.

"Dullahan's core." He swallowed it casually.

An enormous amount of profound energy within the core immediately poured into Hayate's body, staining his first Myriad Genesis Profound Veins with dark attributes.

Kaiju Creation reacted with dark attributes and fused it with Hayate's Profound Veins, granting him a great affinity with darkness.

There is also Primordial Energy inside Dullahan's core, but less in quantity than Chaotic Devouring Ant's core had.

It was understandable because Dullahan's strength leaped a lot using Primordial Energy, while Chaotic Devouring Ant only devours and stores it within her body.

(An: Imagine an accumulated exp for level up)

A memory flashed inside Hayate's mind.

The first thing that came into his sight was a vast dark land filled with darkness. Dullahan arrived in bad condition and felt there was no string attached to his Kaiju Core anymore.

The Headless Knight was confused and had adventures in the shadowy realm, fighting several unknown beasts for years.

Dullahan's strength wasn't that great compared to other beings in the shadowy realm, so he had to use Primordial Energy inside his core.

Divine Origin Realm isn't much for higher Star Realm, but Dullahan is one of Hayate's creations. He possessed a unique trait, making him impossible to be killed by normal means.

A few months ago, Dullahan sensed a faint connection with Hayate again. The headless knight was excited to kill him with this newfound strength he reached.

The following pieces of memories were easy to guess.

Hayate sighed and sensed there was nothing wrong with his body at the moment.

"It's better than nothing." He could feel the Primordial Core revolve with Dullahan's Primordial Energy and become slightly better.

Hydra, Kraken, and Devil-Eyed Leviathan appeared from the frozen ocean and bowed their heads at him.

Hayate stared at them and said, "It's been a long time."

The three enormous Kaiju roared because of Hayate's words and looked at him like puppies. Unfortunately, Hayate couldn't even form a smile in his current state.

"Thank you." He calmly added while returning them to his inner world.

"Have a good rest..."

Hayate gradually moved his gaze back to Cocytus and stared at her with a complex look.

"How are you, Cocytus?" He asked with an odd tone.

"I'm okay, Master!" Cocytus answered immediately.

Hayate opened his mouth in wonder and whispered, "I see..."

.

.

.

After several minutes of an awkward moment, Hayate patted Cocytus's head again and praised, "I'll give you a reward later."

Cocytus's gem-like eyes shone brightly and replied, "Thank you very much, Master."

Hayate forced a smile and added, "You earned it."

Cocytus bowed her head more and entered Hayate's inner world, jumping left and right in excitement.

"YEY!"

Hydra, Kraken, and Devil-Eyed Leviathan gazed at Cocytus weirdly and looked back at each other, questioning if her head was okay.

Hayate walked to the nearest beach and sat on the white sand calmly. He could feel his cultivation quickly return to its initial level.

Divine Origin Realm.

Sovereign Profound Realm.

Tyrant Profound Realm.

Cough!

Hayate spewed blood from his mouth and frowned because his cultivation stopped at Tyrant Profound Realm, clearly one primary realm higher than his original level.

He sensed power leaving his body, especially physical strength enhancement from God's Inheritance and Hercules's core. Kaiju Creation set the limitation again, and his body reacted violently.

A few of his blood vessels exploded abruptly, making some parts of Hayate's skin smeared with purple color. It wasn't over because excessive use of [Miyabi Orochi]'s poison caused his entire muscle tissue to get torn apart.

Hayate gritted his teeth and circulated [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation] to soothe his body, yet [Frozen Cloud Art] still connected to it.

A faint light blue hue covered Hayate's body and cooled him down with a perfect combination of light and cold energy.

He breathed in and out, drawing out any impurities from his internal body. He transferred [Miyabi Orochi] slowly out and cycled the everlasting vigor to recover his body.

Of course, Hayate also used regeneration abilities from the Kaiju cores he swallowed in the past.

After half an hour, He opened his eyes naturally and saw the frozen ocean. "I need a few months to recover." He commented while clenching his hand.

"At least two weeks to reach 30% recovery."

He clicked his tongue and tried to smell the sea breeze, which wasn't working. "I also lost my sense of taste and smell." He added casually.

"It's not that bad compared to what I imagined."

Hayate was ready to lose some of his senses forever, but [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation] and Kaiju Creation are a miracle combination because they kept his body together.

He could tell his senses would recover eventually.

"Midori," Hayate called the emerald phoenix.

"Hmm?"

There was no response, and when he tried to summon the emerald phoenix, a weird reaction of electric current attacked his body.

Hayate sighed inside and watched his hand cramp because of the electric current. He noticed two sun marks on his palm, signifying how long he couldn't summon or use the Kaiju Core.

"Two months..." He shook his head a little.

"I deserved it."

Hayate lifted his body off the sand and walked away from the destroyed battlefield. He slowly walked back to Heavenly Sword Villa because he couldn't afford to use Profound Floating Technique at the moment.

Well, he barely has the profound energy to use it.

A few people with Sovereign Profound Realm arrived at the seashore and looked at the destroyed scenery with a speechless look.

"What kind of battle could produce such destruction?"

"Did Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace finally have a Monarch?"

"After 1000 years..."

They stared at each other solemnly.

"It seems that a new holy ground will appear in a few decades."

A man frowned because when the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace gained Monarch and reached their level, the balance of strength between the four holy grounds might become unstable.

The holy ground he is currently in also doesn't have a good relationship with Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace because of a past event.

"I have to tell the Sword Master." He glanced at the members of other holy ground and disappeared instantly.

The other people disappeared from the sky, and Hayate watched them solemnly from a tree.

With enhanced hearing, he could easily hear their voices.

"Four Great Sacred Grounds, huh." He rested his head against the tree.

"I have placed Frozen Cloud Asgard in a difficult spot."

"What a long day." Hayate glanced at the frozen sea and moved his gaze to the sky.

.

.

.

A carriage arrived at the bottom of Heavenly Sword Mountain Range.

"There." Hayate threw a purple coin at the coachman.

After an entire day of riding a carriage, he finally returned to Heavenly Sword Villa.

Little Ghost arrived from the shadow and approached Hayate from behind. "Are you okay, Master?" She frowned because her master's condition was horrible from the outside.

She could see Hayate's posture was somewhat worse than usual.

Hayate tried to pat Little Ghost's head but stopped midway because his emotion was unstable. He found out that Cold Blood couldn't be deactivated when traveling with the carriage.

"I'm okay," He answered calmly.

Little Ghost frowned because of Hayate's cold demeanor because he would usually smile at her.

She grasped Hayate's hand and whispered, "Cold..."

"I'll explain when we are in my room," Hayate replied while walking to the Heavenly Sword Villa.

Little Ghost felt distressed because Dragon God's blood inside her body trembled in agony when she looked at Hayate's lonely back.

'Master, you carried too much burden for us ...' She thought solemnly.

Since Little Ghost listened to Hayate's conversation with Hong Guan, she knew he was fighting a dangerous enemy who was more powerful than the limit of this world.

(An: She only knew the highest realm was the Sovereign Profound Realm.)

Dragon God's last echoed in Little Ghost's mind.

"Your master is a monster, but sometimes even monsters need a rest."

"I know you loved him, so I bestowed a special technique from my Clan."

"It's not as effective as Virgin Dragon Seed, but you'll surely be able to recover him with your blood stimulation."

Little Ghost shook her head because Dragon Good was a pervert, which means she couldn't 100% trust the primordial creature's advice.

Hayate's step quivered a little, and Little Ghost quickly approached him, supporting his body with her shoulder.

"It's okay, Master," Little Ghost said before Hayate could even spout a single world. "I'll help you."

As they walked to the front Gate, Hayate opened his mouth and said, "I'm glad you're my Ghost."

"Me too, Master." Little Ghost's cheeks gained some redness.

Even though Hayate is like a typical playboy because he used a poor young maid to support him, no one can criticize him because they know about his background.

Nonetheless, Hayate could hear multiple people muttering and gossiping about his action. He gave them a cold gaze and quickly moved to his residence.

"Hmm, no one here?" Hayate couldn't sense anyone inside his residence. Well, besides some Ghost.

"Where are they?"

Little Ghost cleaned some dust off her dress and answered naturally, "Mistress and Princess currently were on the assessment place."

"The Blue Wind Ranking Tournament started six hours ago."

Hayate tilted his head and replied, "I see."

"With your current situation, I advised you not to go there, Master." Little Ghost brushed Hayate's arm and felt his muscle tissue cramping.

"Little Ghost, I might be injured..." Hayate's golden eyes shone coldly. "But, it's not the point where I can't participate in this feeble tournament."

"I promised Cang Yue to win it, after all."

Little Ghost's eyes widened at Hayate's statement and smiled because he was still her master, even without showing much of his emotion.

'Yeah, this is the master I know.' She thought to herself.

She supported Hayate's arm and said, "Then, let's go there."

"I'm sure everyone was waiting for you right now."

--- Assessment Site ---

"AH!!! Just how long do we have to wait?!" A young man shouted in frustration.

It's been six hours since the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament started, and 1499 youngsters have shown their talent/cultivation level with the assessment stone two hours ago, except one person.

The Young Master of Silver Lake City, Hayate.

Hong Guan smiled naturally and drank her tea, enjoying the assessment site scenery. A faint pressure was emitted from her body, making everyone in high rank close their mouths.

"Guan, where are your son actually?" Xuanyuan Yufeng asked weirdly.

"He went somewhere for a moment." Hong Guan answered without batting an eye. "I'm sure he will arrive soon."

No one noticed Hong Guan trembling legs because of how nervous she was about Hayate's condition.

Even though he had a plan to fight Dullahan, she was still afraid to see him injured.

Cang Yue grasped the sword near her and calmed herself down because Hayate promised her to win this tournament.

However, when Yunlong arrived at the assessment site with Little Ghost, Xia Qingyue was the quickest to sense him.

(An: A yandere indeed have a built-in radar to detect their loved one XD)

"Big Brother..." Xia Qingyue's eyes shone brightly.

"You've finally arrived."

Hayate dismissed Little Ghost's help and walked straight toward the assessment stone, showing no weakness to everyone in the field.

Ling Kun, the guest elder of Heavenly Sword Villa and the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament's witness, observed Hayate curiously.

He seemed to be about forty to fifty years of age, with an average build and expressionless face, wearing a fashionable blue robe.

He has heard about Silver Lake City's incredible progress in the past four years. He knew very well about the Silver Lake City's lord and her son because they were very famous on the continent.

"I'm sorry for the late arrival." Hayate cupped his hand at Ling Kun, knowing he was from one of the great sacred grounds.

"I have something to do beforehand, which made me late."

Ling Kun chuckled a little and commented, "Well, better late than never."

"Let's start your assessment, young man."

"I want to see just how talented the rumored Silver Lake City's young master is."

Ling Kun pointed his finger at the assessment stone, a pillar made of rare rock to test one's cultivation through profound energy.

Hayate nodded and walked to the assessment stone, pressing his hand gently against it.

"Hmm, Nothing happened?"

"Is he joking?"

The audience looked at Hayate with a weird gaze.

"No, he might be just weak..."

"From all the rumors I've heard, I know he was just using pills to cultivate."

"He was someone with a golden spoon, after all."

"I bet he used a lot of money."

Hayate ignored their words and channeled his second cultivation's energy into an assessment stone, revealing the peak Elementary Profound Realm level.

"Pfft-, HAHAHA!"

"Looks, he's only at the peak elementary realm."

Hayate pushed the drop of primordial energy into the assessment stone, and his cultivation record increased to the late Nascent Profound Realm.

The assessment stone could only read "Profound Energy." cultivation, the "Primordial Energy.", which is more potent and raw in every aspect, is definitely hard to read.

"Just another little drop..." Hayate's cold voice echoed in the assessment site.

[Tenth Stage of Spirit Profound Realm]

The assessment stone showed Hayate's cultivation, and everyone looked at him with a surprised gaze. His cultivation jumped two primary realms instantly.

Cracks!

"Eh?" Ling Kun noticed a crack appeared on the assessment stone.

BOOM!

The assessment stone couldn't handle a few drops of Hayate's energy and exploded into pieces, leaving everyone in the field speechless.

"..." Ling Kun.

"Monster." Ling Jie, who watched from the audience seats, commented while rubbing his eyes.

Ling Kun calmed himself and commented, "Well, that was strange."

However, Hayate suddenly turned around and said, "How much?"

"What?" Everyone stared at him.

"I'll pay for it," Hayate added casually.