Chapter 475 - Friendship

Chapter 475: Chapter 228 FriendshipLeaving the wilderness, the two made their way to a basin and found a natural cave for shelter.

Surprisingly, Augustus also knew how to enjoy life, as he pulled out various fine wines and food from his Space Ring.

"Brother Tu, once again I express my gratitude. Let me drink in your honor first!"

"It’s nothing." Lu Hong took a light sip of the fine wine and then asked Augustus, "Is the Holy Light Path truly so weak they can’t raise their heads against external threats?"

"Not at all," Augustus shook his head and explained, "It has to do with the challenge of the ninth gate."

"Why bring up the ninth gate all of a sudden? Is there something peculiar about it?" Lu Hong was quite intrigued by the Holy Light Path’s challenge.

"Brother Tu, you may not know, this ninth gate is called ’Crushing the Sea,’ and trialists must break apart a vast expanse of seawater with brute force in order to pass."

"Break apart a seawater?" Lu Hong was confused, "Can seawater be shattered?"

"That’s precisely the difficulty," Augustus continued, "Of course, upon entering the ninth gate, everyone receives a unique fighting technique. This punch skill doesn’t belong to any existing profession and, according to my speculation, must be a unique attack skill created by the Holy Light Temple. The skill’s records claim that upon full mastery, one can ’shatter the sea with a single punch, and break the sky with one hand.’"

"Really?" Lu Hong was highly skeptical.

"How could it be false?" Augustus went on, "However, this punch skill seems to be only cultivateable within the ninth gate, and the method of cultivation likely depends on the realm of seawater created within the challenge. Nearly all of the top masters who enter the ninth gate get immersed in studying the punch skill, so they rarely leave. My return is only because my stock of food has run out. As for the other top masters of the Holy Light Path, they are so absorbed that they are completely unaware of what’s happening outside. I believe if they receive the news and break the challenge, those external threats won’t dare act recklessly in Holy Light Path’s domain."

Right after Augustus finished speaking, Lu Hong’s brows knitted in suspicion.

This anomaly caused him some confusion, "Brother Tu,,,,, you,,,,,"

"Shh! Don’t speak." Lu Hong signaled Augustus to move aside and then zeroed in his gaze on the cave’s entrance. After confirming, he rebuked, "Come out!"

Augustus turned to look but saw nothing at the cave entrance.

However, in the next moment, a series of crisp applause resounded, and Aragon appeared at the entrance with two guards, as if out of thin air.

Augustus’s eyes narrowed slightly, "A Space Magic artifact?"

"Yes, a little trinket. I didn’t expect to trip up here," said Aragon, trying to establish a connection which Lu Hong found somewhat awkward.

Not an enemy then?

"Who are you?" Lu Hong asked warily.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aragon from the Golden Divine Path. Seeing Brother Tu suppress a demigod Demon Beast with your own strength, I was indeed interested in making an acquaintance. I dare to intrude uninvited, but I presume Brother Tu will not mind?"

"Aragon?!" Augustus looked surprised, having already heard the renowned name.

"How? You know him?" Lu Hong asked.

"He is the top challenger of the Golden Divine Path, also considered the strongest among the thirteen paths of Star Sea."

Hearing Augustus’s introduction, Lu Hong’s gaze slightly changed as he looked at Aragon; the Golden Divine Path was the strongest, and its strongest trialist carried considerable weight.

Seeing that Lu Hong had not extended an invitation to sit down, Aragon wasn’t angered. He picked up a broken stone to use as a stool and joined them at the makeshift stone table.

"What a splendid dinner," he commented, "I happen to have some local specialties. Try them." With that, he pulled out an array of delicious food and a bottle of pure golden wine from his Space Ring.

This wine was no ordinary brew—each drop seemed infused with formidable Magic Power, carefully concentrated and crafted from magic as the source, an artistry few in the world could manage.

"Come on, try some," he filled up the glasses for Lu Hong and Augustus. Even before tasting, an irresistibly pure scent tempted one to gulp it down.

Augustus felt an even stronger urge. Severely deficient in Magic Power, his instincts told him that this wine would instantaneously neutralize the pervasive toxin and help restore some of his Magic Power.

Yet even so, Augustus still made no move to take up his glass.

Lu Hong reacted the same.

Seeing their hesitation, Aragon became a bit angered. This was a prized treasure given by his father on his eighteenth birthday, which he had kept to this day without tasting a single drop. He had hoped to share it with them, but they didn’t seem to appreciate it. Narrowing his eyes, Aragon asked, "Are you afraid I’ve poisoned it?"

"Not at all," Lu Hong shook his head and glanced at the guards behind Aragon.

Aragon seemed to realize something and looked back; the private guards wore menacing expressions as they watched Lu Hong and Augustus.

With a low growl, Aragon scolded, "What are you doing? They are my friends!"

One of the guards protested, "Master, your status is noble. How can you befriend such lowly individuals?"

Hearing the guard’s words, Aragon’s brows tightened in a frown. Throughout the journey, anything he wanted to do had been restrained by these two, which was truly unsatisfactory, "Get lost!"

Despite Aragon’s rebuke, the two guards stood their ground unyieldingly, "Young master, we are here to protect you by the orders of the matriarch."

Seeing the other party again invoking the Golden Holy Mother to suppress him, Aragon truly became angry, "Are you seeking death?"

As he spoke, an overwhelming force of Holy Light slowly rose from within his body, morphing into an invisible pressure that enveloped the two guards.

The guards were powerful, but they dared not strike Aragon, only enduring the pressure while continuing to provoke in their mindless manner, "Young master, do you intend to defy the will of the matriarch?"

"Get lost!" Aragon could no longer contain himself, and with a roar, the formidable power of the Holy Light burst forth explosively, flinging the two men out of the cave.

Aragon pursued them as well, and after a chase, he finally managed to drive away the two senseless fellows.

Returning to the cave, Aragon’s face relaxed, "Heh, sorry for the spectacle."

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing."

At this time, Lu Hong picked up the magic wine, and Augustus followed suit.

Aragon, pleased, nodded and picked up his own cup, "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

A cup of magic wine went down, and instantly, Augustus’s rot poison was cured, and his famished body began to voraciously absorb the surrounding Spiritual Energy, acting like an invisible black hole with the enveloped Spiritual Energy nearly visible to the naked eye.

After a short while, Augustus took a long breath and gave Aragon a bow, "Thank you for your assistance, brother."

"No need to thank me, curing the rot poison was just a matter of time; I simply hastened it by a few days," Aragon chuckled, pouring another cup for both of them.

"Please!"

"Thank you." Lu Hong nodded, raised his cup, and drank it all, and it must be said, this wine was extremely beneficial to his Great War Master training. The efficiency of converting Spiritual Energy into the strength of qi and blood was very low, thus most cultivation of qi and blood strength could not do without slaughter. But Pure Steel Battle Energy primarily used Spiritual Energy, so these two cups of wine were equivalent to several months of his arduous cultivation.

If he could drink an entire bottle from Aragon’s hand, it was likely that the time until his Third Transition would be considerably shortened.

Of course, greed wasn’t in Lu Hong’s nature. When Aragon went to pour a third cup, he was declined, "I’ve had the pleasure of this fine wine, and I believe it must be exceedingly precious. You should save some, Mr. Aragon."

"You’re wrong there; good wine is for sharing with friends. I’ve managed to keep it hidden for so many years precisely because I lacked a friend worth sharing it with. Seeing both of you today truly makes me happy; it doesn’t matter if we drink it all."

"Let’s listen to your suggestion and drink mine instead."

Seeing Augustus join in the persuasion, Aragon didn’t insist any further.

The three of them chatted casually at the table. Aragon and Augustus had fewer experiences in their travels, having spent most of their time facing the challenges of the divine path, hence their knowledge of the world was limited.

Gradually, both were deeply captivated by the footsteps and stories of where Lu Hong had been.

When Lu Hong mentioned how he was betrayed by Ethereal and stripped of his bloodline, Aragon was so furious he almost flipped the table, "Such a vile woman, it’s shocking to hear! Had I been there, I’d have flayed her a thousand times over!"

"Did you get your revenge in the end, brother?" Augustus, holding down the table, eagerly asked Lu Hong.

"Sort of," Lu Hong said with a smile, "I went through the elves’ super-sized portal and entered the Eagle Alliance. I had the chance to kill Ethereal, but I chose not to."

"Eh?" Aragon’s eyes widened, "Lionheart bloodline, you know, weakened by the strongest bloodline in the Star Sea; you could swallow that pride?"

Augustus seemed to understand something, "Is it because that Ethereal was exceedingly beautiful?"

"She was alright... to be fair, indeed very beautiful."

"Oh!" Aragon and Augustus nodded simultaneously, as if they suddenly understood.

Lu Hong was speechless, "What are you thinking? She was suppressed by her own mother and delivered to me for the kill. Tell me, would you have the heart to strike a woman powerless to even truss a chicken?"

"That’s how it was."

"What else were you thinking?"

"Yes, yes, we thought the same, come on, let’s drink, let’s drink."

After another three big bowls, urged on by the two, Lu Hong slowly recounted his experiences in the Eagle Alliance.