The Innkeeper

Chapter 1314  Spar IV

Lex had long ago learned how to manipulate divine energy, but it was scarcely useful except against Ra. There was also the fact that Lex could not produce divine energy out of thin air, and his only source was the Butter Knife. He typically avoided using it, since the divine energy from his mask and knife would only replenish based on the people who followed the Deity of the Butter Knife, and the Invincible Tyrant.

But it was better to get the hang of it before he needed it, so now was as good a time as any. The first part of using divine energy was to enhance his body and his attacks, and only the second level of using it was to make use of its completely magical properties to bring about various changes.

Unlike Cornelius, Lex did not have any Lawcrafts that he already knew how to construct, so instead of overwhelming changes, he was going to use divine energy to subtly affect the world around him.

The fight almost immediately took a turn, with Lex finally gaining an advantage. The laws that would target him would end up missing him, and unexpected accidents kept happening around him, not weakening Corneliusʼ attacks in any way, but just giving Lex a convenient exit.

But the advantage was not decisive. Considering he had spent the majority of his life a mortal, the importance of physical strength was always apparent to him. Sometimes, sheer brute strength could overcome what clever tactics could not, and it could drastically change the outcome of any battle.

That was why Lex was pretty proud of his strength. But facing Cornelius, as long as he did not completely restrict Corneliusʼ control over laws, it was useless.

Cornelius maintained his distance, using either laws or his bow to attack Lex, all to stay outside the range of his Domain, which meant that when Lex tried to punch him, Cornelius would just put up a wall of air containing the exact same amount of strength as his punch, perfectly negating it.

No matter how much strength Lex used, the wall always perfectly negated him, and for some reason, even the divine energy failed to interfere with that.

”Alright, watch out,” Cornelius said after a while, and pulled out a different looking arrow. Lexʼs instincts sensed immense danger, and he knew that they had arrived at the end of the spar. He took a step back and summoned forth his strongest shield.

Lex used Heavens Furnace for a very long time as his strongest defense, but the problem with that was that the technique was designed to keep something contained. In that case, it would be best if he trapped his enemy inside the Heavenʼs furnace, or trapped the attack within it somehow. But if the attack came from the outside, while still strong, Heavens Furnace was not at its best.

As such, inspired by his Domain and how much he excelled in controlling laws associated with defense, he created a new technique. It wasnʼt quite Lawcrafting, but Lex would find a way to get it to that level now that he knew about it.

Immortal Aegis!

A massive, yellow shield appeared before him from thin air. This technique was strengthened by countless laws despite Lexʼs currently incapacitated tenet, since that was the result of the technique itself. This was the culmination of Lexʼs current capabilities.

Looking at it, Cornelius only smiled, and then let the arrow loose.

Lex had long wondered what it would be like to survive a nuclear bomb. To be honest, he knew there were stronger attacks, not to mention the fact that a nuclear attack would only inflict physical harm, devoid of spiritual energy and any laws, so it would not harm him much. Even so, for a large part of his life, that was the ultimate power, and so he subconsciously compared everything to that.

The arrow was like the cultivation world version of a nuclear bomb.

Lex felt the same chains that locked his tenet wrap itself around all the laws around him. But instead of holding them in place, the chains were guiding them towards a certain outcome. Even the laws in Immortal Aegis were affected, though they were resisting. There was an explosion, but not in the kind that Lex was used to, or even expected.

Immortal Aegis, his strongest shield, could protect him from normal attacks from a specific direction, but it could do nothing about it if his entire environment was changing! This was the strongest Lawcraft Lex had seen yet!

The mountain range vanished, but not because it disappeared. No, it transformed. The rocks and the dirt and the soil all merged together, affected by countless laws, to form the most pristine, unblemished marble floors, while grand, white pillars rose from the ground as if to support the sky. Metallic dishes hung from the air, with each sat a Sol-bird, lighting it.

In front of Lex, an enormous throne appeared, tens of thousands of feet large, and it was the presence of that throne which was so overbearing that it caused an explosion or aura.

As all of this happened, Immortal Aegis remained in front of Lex, as if taunting him, reminding him that the way he thought about the world, and about combat was still deeply entrenched in the habits of mortals. A shield could protect him from an attack, an impact, perhaps even explosions of stars and planets out in the Origin realm, but it could do nothing for him right now.

Cornelius appeared before Lex, though this time as a giant, sitting on the throne before him. Lex suddenly felt a strong feeling of being a plebian - a mere mongrel, groveling in front of a mighty and powerful King. He felt an urge to kneel.

He could tell that his feelings were being influenced by his surroundings. They were incredibly powerful, and perhaps if it was anyone else, they would not have been able to resist.

But from deep within his dragonʼs heart, Lex felt an incredible reluctance, which was quickly turning to rage. Of course, even if Lex didnʼt have a dragons heart, much like how Cornelius had tempered himself in the gauntlet of war, Lex had been tempered through the gauntlet of his incredibly bad luck. His will was not so easily challenged.

Domination erupted from his body.