The Innkeeper

Chapter 1316  Hellions

Cornelius looked down at his chest and observed the terrible gash on his chest. It was continuously bleeding, as if something was stopping his blood from coagulating. He could feel the sword intent, still continuously cutting his flesh.

”Yeah, itʼd be great if you could heal this,” Cornelius said.

There was no need to be arrogant. An attack designed by a Dao Lord was far from simple, even if Lex hadnʼt completely mastered it.

Lex extended his finger and touched Corneliusʼ chest, channeling his healing techniques while withdrawing any lingering traces of his own energy from the wound. This was the first time heʼd used the Ten Tribulations attack, and it was his only attack that ended up reaching Cornelius. While that was a clear indication of how powerful the attack was in itself, it was also a benchmark for the kind of power Lex could be using, but wasnʼt able to.

It only took a few minutes for Corneliusʼ wounds to heal, which was a testament to Lexʼs healing capabilities more than anything. But for once, after a very long time, Lex didnʼt feel like his abilities were anything all that great. After all his numerous advantages, he was only Corneliusʼ equal - and that too in a spar. Who knew what would have happened if they fought for real?

It was actually quite hilarious that in the Crystal realm Lex encountered a human who was his equal, but in the Champions tourney every immortal he faced was merely a slight obstruction at best.

Cornelius teleported them back to his castle, and pulled out a crystal.

”This contains all the information I have on the Kraven. I used to have the spatial coordinates for most of their major bases, but ever since things started to change, itʼs hard to keep track. Spatial coordinates change almost on a monthly basis. All of our teleportation formations are crippled because of it, which is honestly hurting the war efforts more than anything else.”

Lex channeled his spirit sense inside the crystal and learned about the Kraven. Despite years of war, their numbers had increased, not decreased. They continued to devour laws, turning more and more of their members into immortals.

To be fair, Lex had devoured a law or two in his time, but that at most gave him a new affinity, and that too was because of his unique situation. He was not certain how eating laws made one into an immortal, but then again, this was a race thing.

”What about the examinees? Are they going to be a problem for me?”

Cornelius pulled out another crystal and handed it to Lex.

”If you run into them, definitely. They werenʼt able to wound me because theyʼre stronger than me. Instead, itʼs because theyʼve prepared thoroughly. They have countless weapons that exceed the kind of power earth immortals can tolerate, armor which can block even the influence of laws, and they never travel alone.

”I canʼt tell you how many examinees there are, because even I donʼt know. What I can tell you is that they seem to be Hellions. Like how humanoid races are categorized together, Hellions are as well. If youʼre not familiar with them, Hellions generally have strong fire affinities, but have no one set weakness.”

Lex suddenly sat up as his instincts clicked. This was the reason he had an urge to come to the Crystal realm. His instinct wanted him to know about Hellions. Or perhaps these specific Hellions would do something to him in the future. Or perhaps learning that Hellions were another race faction, like the humanoids, is what he needed to learn. Either way, he wouldnʼt just stop asking questions here.

”Like humanoid races, as in like humans and Celestials? Theyʼre a part of the same group universe wide?”

Cornelius nodded.

”Precisely. The only relatively good news I can share is that the examinees are not necessarily united. There will be competition between them for the top few ranks, so they wonʼt necessarily work together, and might even sabotage one another. But those are all just possibilities.

”Also, there is still a possibility that there might be examinees from other races, but I have yet to encounter any. Communication between the Crystal realm races is also at an all time low, considering no one can know when one might betray the other.”

”Is there anything else you think I need to watch out for?” Lex asked, ready to set off. He did not want to rush into an assassination, but he also did not want to delay matters any longer. The best outcome would be to finish this entire thing undetected, since he wanted to avoid getting involved with these examinees. But unless he was able to eliminate his target in one hit like he was planning, it was an inevitability.

”Yes, watch out for the Crystal race. Theyʼve been… acting oddly ever since they became involved in the war. Itʼs clear that many of their members are not happy to be forced to join, and even Aizel and Firin, the progenitors of the Frio and Sol birds have left their domain. They might end up doing something unexpected, so keep your distance if you can.”

”Is there anyone I can trust?” Lex asked.

”If you need my help with anything, you can let me know. If you end up in a situation where you might need to trust someone else, then the Trelops are your next best bet. After the Crystal race and Monsters, I think itʼs the Trelops who are the strongest in this realm, which is why the examinees have been targeting them the most.”

”I just have one last question,” Lex said. ”If I end up facing the examinees, and we get into a fight, will Ventura come after me?”

”No, all things considered, youʼre an Earth immortal, so even if you kill them, Ventura wonʼt come after you. Private grudges, however, are something youʼll still have to look out for.”