Ch. 2281..2290

Chapter 2281 Who Did This

“Yes! He’s here to steal the technique book and serums!”

“Yeah! He knows his place in the new era! He knows he’s old news now, but he won’t go down without a fight. He wants to get back to the top, so that’s why he’s here. To take the best technique to power himself up and boost himself as soon as possible.”

“So that’s why you came here? To steal?”

Everyone started scolding Levi, thinking he was here to steal. Even the top brass thought the same thing after listening to the accusers.

Levi was acting strangely, and he was alone in the control room for one hour. Of course, they’d suspect him, and after Edmund told them what he thought Levi was up to, only then did they ‘realize’ what Levi had been doing.

He’s here to steal the technique to boost himself.

When they saw the box of serum Mia was holding, they realized what she was doing.

So she’s his spy.

However, unbeknownst to them, the serum Mia was holding was used to suppress the special element in Levi’s body. It was ignorance on their part, so they thought Mia was holding the serum to boost Levi’s power.

Everyone thought Levi was a thief, but Robed Slayer had a different opinion. He knew Levi more than most people, so he knew Levi wouldn’t steal. He was someone who’d rather die than lose his honor.

Even if he lost his glory, he would never do something as underhanded as stealing someone else’s fruit of labor. Besides, with how proud Levi was, he wouldn’t even practice the technique even if someone gave him as a gift. Hence, there was no way he’d steal.

Levi sneered. “You think I care about trash like that?”

But his attitude only made everyone laugh, especially Edmund and his lackeys.

“Trash? Well, this stuff is not the top, but it can easily make the top five. And you call this trash? Don’t make me laugh,” Edmund sneered.

Everyone was glaring at Levi as well. They wouldn’t take that comment lying down. Levi was insulting the company and their hard work after all.

“You call ourselves trash? Look at yourself. You’re weak and pathetic. You don’t have the right to call us trash, you scum.”

“You call this trash, but here you are, stealing the very thing you call trash.”

Levi scoffed, “I was not stealing this trash, you buffoons. I was looking at something else.”

Edmund looked at him and shook his head.

Those guys at The Manifest Court said the guy who broke Skyward Sword feels similar to Levi? How could it be? They are not alike.

Levi’s a thief, not a grandmaster. He’s a humiliation to us all.

“Fine, I’ll let you off the hook this time. You are the company’s founder, and you have a lot of friends here. But if you do it again, I won’t let you go that easily,” Edmund said coldly.

“You’re so generous, Sir. You’d even let him go after what he did?”

“I bet you’re really glad now, Levi. Why don’t you thank Sir?”

Everyone praised Edmund, but he looked at everyone and warned, “If this happens again, I’ll punish all of you. That’s the rule.”

But then, Levi saw Robed Slayer looking pale and bloody. He went up to Robed Slayer and asked, “Who did this?”

“I-I’m fine. I hurt myself during training,” Robed Slayer answered nervously. Of course, he wouldn’t say the truth.

But Levi saw through him and turned to look at Edmund. “He did it, didn’t he?”

Edmund admitted, “Yeah, I did it. He let you in, and that’s against the rules. So what if I taught him a little lesson?”

Their gazes met, and sparks flew.

Chapter 2282 Payback

Levi stared at Edmund. “So what? So it’s payback time.”

The moment he said that, tension rose in the air.

However, Edmund’s lackeys laughed.

Is he trying to get himself killed? Payback time?

“Well, come get it then. Let’s see what you can do,” Edmund scoffed. He didn’t believe Levi could do anything to him.

Levi was about to teach Edmund a lesson, but Robed Slayer and Mia both held him back.

“Don’t!” they pleaded.

Both of them knew they must stop him, for they knew Levi would die if he were to fight Edmund. He would not escape alive as he stood no chance.

“This is my responsibility, Sir. Punish me if you want.” Robed Slayer pulled Levi back as he spoke.

“Calm down, Sir. Levi’s just acting tough,” everyone else tried to dissuade Edmund.

Edmund, in all his ignorance and stupidity, sneered. “I won’t get angry at someone like Levi.”

“Well, yeah. He’s just a weakling. I don’t think you’d get angry over him.”

After they came out, Robed Slayer said, “Maestro, I know they’ve wrongly accused you, but this is no time to get into a fight. There is no need for that. Besides, I’m fine. I did break the rules after all.”

Since Robed Slayer didn’t want him to do anything, Levi wouldn’t go against his wishes. “Fine then.”

“Levi, I was just about to give you these. Here, take it. Phoenix and the others are developing a stronger serum. I’ll send it to you in a few days.”

Mia handed the serum to Levi and explained why Azure Dragon, Kirin, and the others weren’t around. They were traveling across the nation to find a way to cure him.

“You don’t have to help me. I’m fine, really,” Levi said, but he had given up on trying to convince them.

“Oh, stop being so stubborn, Levi. We’ll help you out no matter what. You’ll be fine in no time.”

Levi smiled dryly since he knew they wouldn’t budge no matter what he said.

“Oh, Garrison Industry has a base in the North. It’s called Snow Dragon. Stop all the operations there at once and cordon it off. Seal it if you can, or everyone there will be in danger,” Levi told them.

Robed Slayer and Mia looked at each other. They were confused, but they nodded anyway. After they went back to tell Edmund about it, he sneered. “You actually believe him? Ignore him. Let’s see what happens.”

Garrison Industry ignored that warning, of course.

Levi thought Snow Dragon was a decent base, but to his surprise, it was one of the bases where Lab of Gods used to mine sunstones on a large scale.

It was the only undiscovered base, so it was preserved until this day.

Levi got a lot of information from Garrison Industry, but he wished he could have done more. Even though Sacred Organization managed to control a third of all the forces available, they didn’t manage to get their hands on the bigger ones, like Garrison Industry. If they did, he could have found more clues.

After he came back to North Hampton, Zoey didn’t look surprised to see him.

Levi asked curiously, “Aren’t you worried about me?”

“Master said you’d come back soon as you’re fine,” she explained.

Levi was surprised. “Do you trust your master that much?”

“Of course. He’s the person I trust the most aside from my family,” Zoey answered.

“I told you she lied to you. She was just using you.”

“Impossible. Master will never lie to me.” Zoey shook her head.

Levi didn’t dwell on that matter any longer, since he could feel someone approaching them.

Trouble’s coming.

Chapter 2283 Show Your True Power

Levi stopped talking about it, but Zoey wouldn’t let it go. She argued, “Trust me. Master is a nice person. Why won’t you believe me. I would have died if Master didn’t save me.”

Levi was frustrated, so he asked, “Dark Emperor is a woman, isn’t she?”

It was shocking that Levi knew Dark Emperor’s true identity, so that shut Zoey up for a while. “How did you know that?”

Zoey was in disbelief the moment he said that, and she gawked at Levi.

She didn’t believe anything Levi said about Dark Emperor, but now she was shocked. The reason was simple—it was the truth.

Dark Emperor was a woman, and Zoey had seen her face before. Of course, nobody in Sacred Organization knew that.

It was supposed to be top secret, so she wondered how Levi found out about that.

“Do you believe me now?” He smiled.

“N-No. Wait. How’d you know she’s a woman? This is top secret information. Nobody should have known about that. Tell me how you found out about it.”

Zoey was still trying to convince Levi to spill his secret, but then a bunch of people showed up in the front yard. They came from different countries, and most were new faces, but Levi had seen some of them before.

They were his old rivals. Some came from Zarain, and some from Raysonia. They used to be scared of Levi’s power, and they never showed themselves whenever Levi was around.

However, they powered up over the last three years and had a big boost, so they decided to seek out Levi to humiliate him. They wanted to serve him what he did to them before.

And so, they arrived at Levi’s house. But then another group of people showed up, but this time, there was about a hundred of them.

“You shall die, Zoey!” A voice boomed from the heavens. Apparently, the second group came to seek vengeance.

The two groups of fighters looked at each other and roared with laughter. “Fancy seeing everyone in this little place. Let’s see… six Divine Leaderboard fighters, and twenty three Provisional Leaderboard fighters, eh? Right, you guys take Levi, while we’ll kill Zoey. Is everyone fine with that?”

Levi and Zoey were already prey to them, since they thought both of them were nothing but weaklings.

“Oh, but I got some latest data here. Divine Leaderboard got updated along with the Provisional Leaderboard. Levi’s rank eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-five on the Provisional Leaderboard.”

“Okay, that’s news. Not a bad ranking though. He’s above average now. Top eleven thousand in the world.”

“But I heard he got ranked because they boosted his power a lot. It’s based on his old power level, so he’s not that strong in reality.”

“I wonder if I can beat him. I’m about rank three thousand on the Provisional Leaderboard.”

“I’m rank nine hundred something on the Divine Leaderboard. I wanna have a go as well.”

Zoey panicked when she realized they were targeted by two groups of fighters. She instinctively got into her battle position, but it hadn’t been long since she lost her powers, and because she hadn’t healed up yet, that only made her injury worse.

When they saw that, all the fighters burst into laughter.

“Only you left, Levi. Let’s see how powerful you are now.”

Everyone was raring to go. They wanted to use Levi as their stepping stone, so they could have a shot at glory. But since there were too many of them, they couldn’t decide who’d have the first shot.

After all, everyone wanted to have a go.

“Come at me, all of you.” Levi beckoned them. Then, he turned around. “You wanted to know how I found out your master’s a woman, right? Because I saw her face, and I killed her.”

He told her the truth because he was about to show his true strength.

“Charge! Mess him up!” All the fighters were riled up by Levi’s insult, so they wanted to show him what true power meant. We’re gonna teach him a lesson he won’t forget.

Chapter 2284 I Have Surpassed You

They couldn’t believe Levi was still so arrogant. He was only ranked eight thousand something on the Provisional Leaderboard, and that was because the moderators overestimated his power. In reality, he was only around rank ten thousand or so.

Does he think he can fight all of us at once with that kind of power? What a joke?”

Waves of energy rolled and crashed the surrounding place, engulfing everything in its way. Such was the power of Provisional Leaderboard and Divine Leaderboard fighters. Every time they fought, destruction would be left in their wake.

“See that, Levi? This is the true power of a Divine Leaderboard fighter!”

Everyone sneered, but Levi remained rooted to his spot. If nobody knew better, they would have thought Levi was shocked by the sheer amount of power they displayed.

Everyone thought Levi had finally known his place after seeing the new era’s true power, so he had given up on retaliating.

It was a magical feeling, at least for Levi’s old rivals. They felt like laughing, for they finally made Levi realize the gap between him and them. They finally could see him looking in awe at the strength of the new era.

Let’s see if you can keep putting that arrogant act up, you b*stard. You can’t, can you?

However, unbeknownst to them, they were less than maggots in Levi’s eyes. After all, he could kill the top fighter on the Divine Leaderboard, let alone one that was ranked nine hundred or so.

Just when Levi was about to counter their attack, someone shouted, “Who dares attack my master? Die!”

Floyd made his appearance and hurled a punch at the incoming wave of attack. Another energy wave came crashing down, sending the thirty fighters who attacked Levi flying backward.

Not a single one of them could take the hit, not even the ones on the Divine Leaderboard. In the end, they fell and spewed blood. However, more than that, they stared at Floyd in disbelief.

“It’s Floyd! Number forty-five on the Divine Leaderboard. He’s one of the top fighters in the world!”

…

Everyone recognized Floyd at the first glance, but that was also why they had a look of horror on their faces. Floyd’s strength terrified them, and he was the source of their nightmares.

Only one kind of people were truly terrifying in the new era, and they were the fighters ranked on the Divine Leaderboard. The higher their ranking was, the more terrifying the fighter was. Of course, that included Floyd.

“We’re sorry, Mr. Floyd! Have mercy on us, please!” everyone kneeled and started begging for mercy despite him almost killing them moments ago.

Floyd looked at them smugly. He enjoyed the feeling and status that his power brought him. If he so wanted to, he didn’t even have to attack them earlier. All he had to do was show up, and these fighters would have been begging for their lives instead.

Indeed, he didn’t have to even do anything at all.

After showing off his strength, the first thing Floyd did was look at Levi. He was like a child who wanted his parent to praise him after he got a hundred on a difficult test.

“What do you think, master?” Floyd smiled.

Levi nodded. “Not bad.”

“Master, this isn’t just ‘not bad.’ Divine Leaderboard and Provisional Leaderboard meant power and status. Their rankings were proven true up until now. All the fighters there earned their places, and it’s a global ranking too.

“I don’t even have to do anything now. If someone tries to stir any trouble, all I have to do is tell them my ranking, and they’ll start begging for mercy,” Floyd explained.

To put it in simpler terms, he was saying the whole world would bow to him the moment he showed his face.

“Yes, he’s right. All he has to do is show up, and we’ll be begging for mercy like what we’re doing now. We won’t even do anything else.”

“It’s our fault for troubling you, sir. We’ll make sure we pay up for our mistake. Just have mercy on us, please.”

Floyd really enjoyed the praises his power brought, and to make things better, he could show it off to his master.

After the new era’s arrival, he had always wanted to tell Levi that he had finally surpassed him. Now that he finally got the chance, of course, he was excited.

“I heard someone’s trying to attack my master. Now you die!”

Another group of fighters came on the scene as well.

“That’s Oren Yates! Number one hundred and twenty-seven on the Divine Leaderboard!”

“Look, that’s number one hundred and eighty-eight—Skye!”

“And that’s number two hundred and eighty-seven!”

“That’s six hundred and fifty-four!”

One after another of Levi’s disciples started coming to his aid.

Chapter 2285 Made Levi Proud

These disciples’ arrival scared the wits out of the fighters who came to kill Zoey and Levi.

These are all Levi’s disciples? All of them are ranked on the Divine Leaderboard!

All his disciples were either ranked on the Provisional Leaderboard or the Divine Leaderboard. To be honest, they had made Levi proud with their achievements, but Levi wasn’t happy with it. No, not one bit.

For that kind of achievement was useless. As long as it was a get-strong-quick method, it was useless even if they topped the leaderboards. After all, his brothers and disciples were serious, hardworking people. And that was the trait cultivators had to have.

If they tried to get strong too fast, that would not turn out well for them. They’d think they worked hard to get stronger, when in reality, it was because their technique and drug were get-strong-quick schemes. But even so, they wouldn’t suspect a thing, since they’d think it was the fruit of their own labor.

“They’re not the only ones here.”

Of course, another group of fighters showed up, and this time, it was Azure Dragon, Kirin, and the others. Even Sword Fiend came to help.

They agreed to meet up on that very day to check up on Levi and come up with a way to neutralize the chemicals in him.

“That’s number thirty-nine on the Divine Leaderboard—Kirin!”

“And that’s number forty-three on the Divine Leaderboard—White Tiger!”

The fighters thought things wouldn’t get any worse, but they were proven wrong when Kirin and the others showed up. After all, each and every one of those who came last was ranked highly on the Divine Leaderboard.

All of them were the top five hundred, in fact.

It was a really terrifying sight for the fighters. They thought Levi was already old news in the new era, but they never expected his erstwhile disciples to come to his aid.

Nobody would dare to touch Levi with the disciples defending him. After all, his disciples were ranked on the leaderboards.

If they were in a horror story, the fighters would be the main characters, while Levi’s disciples would be the serial killer or the supernatural entities that were here to kill them all.

And so, all the fighters remained kneeling, but they were already trembling with fear, and some even pissed their pants.

Floyd alone was enough to terrorize them, but a bunch of fighters of the same caliber or stronger than him? That was nothing short of a death sentence for them.

“Piss off, all of you!”

“Touch my master again and I’ll make sure you’re dead you cur! I’ll chase you to the ends of hell!”

“Same here, you little b*stards!”

The Divine Leaderboard fighters’ proclamation came as a shock for the fighters who tried to kill Levi. And so, they ran away in fear, deciding to never attack Levi again, lest his disciples hunted them down.

Even though they were gone, Zoey was still trembling slightly. “Good thing you guys are here, or we would have been in trouble.”

“No, we won’t. I’m here,” Levi scoffed. He was about to kick those guys’ butts, but then his brothers and disciples stole the limelight from him.

“What? Do you have any idea who those guys are? There were six Divine Leaderboard fighters with them. Do you think you can take them on?” Zoey glared at him.

“Please don’t yell at him, Zoey. Master’s a strong guy.” Floyd turned around, looking at Levi. “I see you’re ranked now, master. Number eight thousand something on the Provisional Leaderboard, huh?”

Everyone agreed, “Yeah, it’s a decent ranking. Above average, even.”

However, Kirin disagreed, “What the heck are you talking about? Number eight thousand something on the Provisional Leaderboard is nothing for boss.”

“Don’t look down on him. He might be on the Provisional Leaderboard now, but he’ll catch up to us soon.”

Floyd told Levi, “I’m sure you’ll adapt to the times soon, master. You’ll power up soon. I wish you the best in topping the Provisional Leaderboard and making your name in the Divine Leaderboard.”

Kirin chimed in, “Yes. Boss is a talented guy. If he has the resources, powering up will be easy as pie. He’ll be stronger than us in no time, even.”

Levi shook his head. “No thanks. I don’t really care about that sh*t leaderboard. Not like I can get anything even if I top it.”

He killed Dark Emperor, the number one on the Divine Leaderboard very easily. Because of that, he didn’t think highly of the leaderboards.

You call that weakling the strongest? This leaderboard is nothing but sh*t.

“Ah, stop talking. We need to check boss’ condition,” Phoenix suggested.

A moment later, everyone started checking up on Levi’s condition to see if Maya Industries’ weapon’s chemicals were acting up.

“Hm? Something’s wrong.”

Chapter 2286 Disciples Teaching Their Master

“How so?”

Everyone gathered around Phoenix after she said something was wrong. They were all nervous, thinking that a problem had arisen.

Phoenix’s brows furrowed. “Impossible. How did this happen?” she mumbled to herself.

“What happened? Can you just drop the other shoe already?” everyone asked nervously.

“Boss is fine. Perfectly fine. It’s like the weapons had no effect on him,” Phoenix remarked in surprise.

After she scanned Levi’s body, she found nothing wrong with it. He was healthy, and there were no chemicals running rampant within him.

But that’s impossible.

“What? How did that happen? That’s impossible!”

“Anyone who gets hit by Maya Industries’ weapon will get eaten up by its chemicals. Nobody can escape that, not even Dark Emperor. And he’s number one on the Divine Leaderboard!”

“Boss shouldn’t have been okay no matter how tough he is!”

Now everyone was troubled, but not for the reason they came. They were trying to figure out why Levi was fine after getting hit by the weapon.

“I guess it’s probably the drug working its magic. It’s suppressing the chemical, keeping it from rampaging in boss’ body. We’ve been developing this drug, so we know they can hold off the chemical for a while,” Phoenix explained to them.

Everyone was delighted after hearing that explanation.

“That’s good to hear, Phoenix!”

“Now that we have this drug on with us we’ll have enough time to find a way to neutralize the chemical!”

“Yeah, that’s good news. Now we’ll have the time to find a way to really help master out!”

“I went around and asked a lot of people, and know what I found? Lots of organizations are trying to come up with a way to counter the weapons’ chemical as well. And a lot of them managed to come up with some great solutions. I know we can do it too if we have enough time.”

“Don’t worry, boss. We’ll make sure you survive this.”

Levi smiled dryly. “You don’t have to worry, guys. Don’t waste your time on this. I’m fine, really. The chemical you guys are talking about is just poison. That poison like that can’t even hurt me, really.”

Floyd rebutted, “Master, you’re fine because Garrison Industry’s drug is working. But the chemical will eventually build up immunity. Once that happens, the drug won’t be able to save you.”

“Yeah, you’re fine because of the drug, but it’s just temporary. Just let us do our stuff, boss.”

…

Levi was slightly frustrated. They wouldn’t listen to him no matter how much he explained, and not to mention he didn’t even take Garrison Industry’s drug.

“Boss, I think you can try powering yourself up in the meantime. It’ll probably help you to suppress the chemical,” Azure Dragon said.

Everyone agreed with his idea.

“Hey, that’s a great idea. Killing two birds with one stone, I’d say. Boss can power up, and he can hold the chemical down on his own.”

…

Azure Dragon looked at everyone. “I know, right? So now it’s time for us to shine.”

“Sorry?”

Everyone looked at him, confused. They wondered what Azure Dragon was trying to get at.

A moment later, Azure Dragon brandished a few books and handed them to Levi. “Boss, this is the technique I’m practicing, and there are some supplementary books in it as well. Oh, I even brought the drug with me. It shouldn’t take too long for you to master it. You can ask me if you need anything.”

Everyone finally understood what Azure Dragon meant earlier. Azure Dragon handed his technique over to Levi so Levi could power up as soon as possible. Even so, they were surprised that Azure Dragon would go that far.

After all, he was giving all he had to Levi.

“Hey, I can do that too!” Kirin announced, then he handed his technique books over to Levi as well.

“Me too. Don’t forget about me.” Floyd also handed the same thing to Levi.

Everyone whipped out their technique books without hesitation. If anyone else saw this, they’d have their minds blown. After all, these were the secret techniques of the Divine Leaderboard fighters. It was their most powerful skill.

However, they gave it all to Levi willingly.

Chapter 2287 Your Technique Book Is Worthless

All the technique books were the most powerful skill of the Divine Leaderboard fighters. Every single one of them was worth billions. Some would even say they were priceless.

Countless people would kill to have their hands on one. Even if a single one were to show up on an auction, all the people there would pay billions to get one.

But now, a few dozen of those priceless technique books were sitting before Levi. If they included the supplementary books, modern tech, drugs, and divine tools, then Levi had more than a thousand items sitting before him.

Levi’s brothers and disciples didn’t hold back. They actually gave him everything they had.

“Take these too, boss. It’ll save your life when you need it most. Maybe you can power yourself up too.”

“Yeah. Sometimes we can’t reach you in time, and you’ll be in danger.”

They gave Levi some items that could keep him safe as well. All the fighters were doing everything they could for him, so they spared no expense. They’d do anything to keep him safe until he could get stronger.

“There’s a ton of technique books here, so there’s bound to be one that suits you. We know you’re talented enough, so if you work hard, you’ll make your way up to the Divine Leaderboard. We know you’ll surpass us soon.”

Everyone looked at him, excited.

Divine Leaderboard might be a trash leaderboard, and Levi had already technically topped it. But, he was touched by how much his brothers and disciples cared about him.

No matter what, they were standing firmly on his side, so he was glad they were here with him.

“But I really don’t need them,” Levi refused. He didn’t want to hurt them, but he really didn’t need anything they had.

Sure, it might be worth billions in the public eye, but for Levi, these items were no better than garbage.

And then Zoey spoke up, “Save it, you guys. He won’t even touch any of these, let alone train in them. He’s still practicing the same thing he did three years back, and he told me to do the same. He insisted it’s the best technique ever. According to him, not a single technique book can compare to his.”

Everyone was surprised to hear that. They knew what technique Zoey was talking about, since they benefited from it three years back as well.

Back then, Levi taught them everything he knew about that technique, and they gained a lot from it. Kirin, Azure Dragon, and the others even became fighters and managed to catch up to Levi because of that technique.

But that technique was old news in the new era. After all, it was just a basic technique. After everyone had forged their foundations, there was no point practicing that basic technique anymore. It wouldn’t show any visible progress quickly, after all. And some said it showed no progress at all.

They were in an era where everyone had the chance to be the most powerful fighter. If they practiced the basics, they’d be eliminated from the competition very soon. After all, no improvements meant regression.

Being slow in this era meant elimination.

“Boss, we need to tell you something. Your technique isn’t bad, but it’s outdated. It’s useless in this era.”

“Yeah, and there are tons of the same technique out there. They’re actually more logical than yours too to boot.”

Kirin and the others tried to dissuade Levi from practicing the basic technique.

Floyd stared at him as well. “Yeah, master. It’s old news now. You should look forward instead. Don’t keep holding on to the old. Any regular technique is better than what you have by miles. Just pick one and train in it.”

“Yeah, just pick one. We guarantee you’ll power up fast. No cap, master. If you don’t power up, we can give you some tips.”

Everyone really wanted him to practice the new era’s technique.

In the end, Zoey stepped up and accepted everyone’s gifts. “I’ll take them for him and try to convince him. It’s impossible to persuade him that quickly. He’s stubborn and proud, after all.”

Chapter 2288 Cannot Be The Strongest

“Sure. We’ll find a way to heal you, Zoey. You’ll be up again in no time. And please convince boss to pick one of the techniques to train.”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Once Zoey accepted the technique books, they knew Levi would pick one in the end. He just didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of them after all.

“Oh yeah. If someone tries to attack you guys again, just tell them our names if we’re not around.”

“Why don’t we leave something behind to prove we know them? I mean, tons of people don’t know Levi’s my boss. If they know we’re their friends, they won’t do anything to the boss and Zoey.”

Kirin and the others left something that could prove their identity. They were Divine Leaderboard fighters after all, and that meant they had power and prestige. Just the mention of their names struck fear and reverence in everyone.

“Sure. Thank you.” Zoey took the items too.

“Great. Now we don’t have to worry anymore. Go on with your work, guys. We need to find a way to heal the boss and Zoey.”

Azure Dragon and the others left. They went back to work so they could neutralize the chemicals in Levi’s body as soon as possible. Or at least they thought the weapons actually had an effect on Levi.

……

After they left, Zoey told him seriously, “I know you’re a proud man, and you can’t accept the fact that your disciples are actually tutoring you, but please, don’t let them down. If you really don’t like it, why don’t you just merge their techniques together and create your own? Take the best of everything and make a brand new technique, alright?

“I know you’re smart enough to do that. I just do.”

…

Zoey genuinely wanted Levi to get stronger. That way, Levi wouldn’t let everyone down, and he wouldn’t get embarrassed, and he could also get stronger. It was three birds with one stone.

Levi might do just that in the past. Merging all kinds of techniques together was something he used to do. After all, a lot of his skills were created through the Forbidden Technique.

Even back in the Prison of Darkness, he merged the Forbidden Technique with everything he mastered. In the end, he thought it was a viable method, since he could become absurdly powerful.

However, he could never be the strongest.

It was the same thing here. If Levi merged all the techniques together, he could create something absurd and raise his power to an unimaginable level, but he could never be the strongest.

Zoey smiled at Levi. “Try it out. I know this is acceptable to you. There’s nothing embarrassing about it. As long as you can create it, it’ll be your own thing.”

“No. I really don’t need it,” Levi rejected her suggestion outright.

Zoey asked, “You can’t still be practicing the same thing you did three years ago, can you?”

Levi nodded. “Yes. I’ll do it my own way. Quantity doesn’t always correlate to quality.”

Zoey shook her head, giving up on convincing him anymore. “I see. I’ll respect your choice. I hope you’ll gain something from it, but your chances are slim.”

“Master told me to practice your technique the last time we met, but I refused. She respected my choice and let me choose. I chose to go my own way, so now I’ll respect your choice as well.”

Levi smiled. “Alright then.”

“Oh, you saw what she really looks like, didn’t you? She must have done that because of me. I knew it. She spared you for my sake.”

When she thought about it, she quickly realized why Levi managed to see what Dark Emperor really looked like.

It’s for my sake.

After telling him a few more things, Zoey went back to heal herself.

Levi wanted to observe her, but Death Fiend sent a message to him.

This is going to be trouble.

Chapter 2289 One Punch

Someone challenged Dark Emperor. After the Divine Leaderboard’s update, Dark Emperor was still number one. To top that off, Dark Emperor’s prestige was nigh unassailable because of what Levi did in Adrune.

Even so, some fighters still couldn’t hold their pride in. They thought the leaderboard was biased, so they wanted to challenge Dark Emperor. They wanted to top the leaderboards, after all.

There were four challengers this time, and they were, in Divine Leaderboard terms, number nine, number seven, number five, and number four.

They came to Sacred Organization and issued a challenge. Unbeknownst to them, Dark Emperor’s true identity was Levi.

Left with no choice, Death Fiend told Levi about the challenge, asking if he would accept it.

“Good. Accept their challenge and tell the world they can come right at me if they want to fight,” Levi said.

“I understand.”

A short while after that, Sacred Organization released a statement under Dark Emperor’s name, telling everyone who wanted to challenge Dark Emperor to come to Sacred Organization after three days.

As of now, four Divine Leaderboard fighters were already there, but still, the news shook the world.

It might even change the power dynamics. If some fighters came out of their training and defeat Dark Emperor, that’d be new history right there.

But for most people, Dark Emperor was undefeatable.

When Zoey found out about what happened, she sneered. “They don’t know how powerful master is. Nobody can win against her. Nobody. She’s at the top of Divine Leaderboard for a reason. The moderators won’t make any mistakes here.”

Levi shook his head in disapproval.

Undefeatable? I killed her with a single punch, girl.

But he had to say that Zoey was right. Levi was undefeatable, and since he was Dark Emperor, that meant Dark Emperor was undefeatable as well.

Levi didn’t think much of the challenge. The whole world could come after him, and he’d still end them with one punch.

Zoey heard him sneer, and she stared at him. “What? You don’t believe me?”

“I-I do believe you.” Levi had to nod. After all, he was Dark Emperor. Of course, he knew he was undefeatable.

Zoey looked at him proudly. “There’s nobody Master can’t beat. Just wait for the good news.”

Of course, I know that. I mean, I’ll win in the end.

Levi only cared about training and searching for the Lab of Gods, but the whole world was already abuzz with excitement.

Nobody had ever seen Dark Emperor fight, so this would be the first time for them.

Levi didn’t even take a look at the technique books his friends and disciples left him, but just because he didn’t care didn’t mean nobody cared.

The Lopez and Black families sneaked in on one fine day and picked the technique books while they were in there.

After all, they belonged to Divine Leaderboard fighters, which meant they were priceless. It wasn’t every day they could get their hands on treasure like these.

But now, they had a mountain to choose from.

“This is mine! I saw it first!”

“I want this one. You guys pick another one.”

The Lopez and Black families were whipped into a frenzy, snatching technique books and divine tools from each other. Their boundless greed showed in its full and hideous glory.

“Hey, is Levi stupid? Why’d he toss this aside and choose the basic technique instead?”

“I guess he’s mad. Everything here is top tier. That guy must be mad. Does he really think his technique is better than the ones lying around here?”

“What a joke. Everything here is so much better than his technique.”

Right then, Zoey came in and glared at everyone. “What are you doing? Put those down! These are for Levi! You can’t take them away!” she stopped the families from taking the items away.

“That idiot Levi won’t even practice any of these techniques, Zoey! It’s just a waste to have them lying around here. Why can’t we have it?”

Chapter 2290 I Am Waiting For You

Everyone else agreed, “Yeah. He doesn’t care about these, but we can’t let them go to waste!”

Every single thing in that heap was garbage to Levi, but the families thought it was priceless. They saw it as divine providence, for every single one of them was top tier.

Everyone’s eyes gleamed the moment they saw the items since all of them were the new era’s treasure. Of course, they’d go crazy over them.

“And besides, we’re family. Whatever is his is ours too, so it’s still the same.”

“Yeah, that idiot doesn’t want these even though they’re top tier, but that doesn’t mean we’ll let them go to waste.”

Everyone mocked Levi as they split the items among themselves.

“Zoey, you want him to practice these techniques, right? Why don’t you let us have it, and we’ll start training right away? He’ll see how powerful these things really are once we get stronger, and I bet he’ll start training too.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. And besides, sharing is caring.”

“We can also protect you guys when we get stronger. We can’t remain your burden forever.”

Zoey thought they had a point. After all, strengthening her family was always a good thing. Not to mention she couldn’t stop them even if she wanted to.

They left right after getting what they wanted, and she couldn’t tell them to give back what they took. She hadn’t healed up yet, so she couldn’t force them into it. All she could do was watch as they divide the loot among themselves.

Of course, she told Levi about the families’ looting.

“Eh, I don’t mind. I don’t really want them anyway. But still, there goes their kind intention. I’ll make sure I compensate them fairly,” Levi said.

They could never imagine how great Levi’s compensation was. It would be loads better than what they gave him.

Zoey nodded. “Sure. I’ll keep this a secret from Kirin and the others then.”

“You do that.”

Three days flew by like a breeze, and Levi excused himself. He said he was going somewhere, but in reality, he was assuming his identity as Dark Emperor to face the challenges.

At the same time, Floyd and the others showed up. They wanted to check up on Levi, but most importantly, they wanted to see if he was practicing the techniques they left behind.

They searched the whole place, but their technique books were nowhere to be found. Since Levi was gone, they thought he went into solitary training again.

“Master has finally given in! He started practicing our techniques!”

“That’s great news, isn’t it?”

Everyone laughed heartily.

“Master knows everything about the new era, and he knows he’s lagging behind, but he just can’t admit it.”

“I mean, I can understand him. No master would actually train under their disciples, right? Let alone practice their disciples’ technique.”

“True. It’s hard to do what Master did. We can’t do that if we’re in his place.”

“But luckily he listened to our advice. Zoey told me Master might be merging our stuff to create something new.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I know Master can do it. He’ll surpass us on the Divine Leaderboard soon.”

The disciples were delighted to find out that Levi was practicing their techniques, or so they thought. But still, they happily told Kirin and Azure Dragon about the news.

They were happy to hear that too since they were doing everything they could for Levi. As long as Levi could get better, everything would be worth it.

At the same time, they commented, “A fighter from the old era is joining the Divine Leaderboard soon.”

They really looked forward to Levi making his way up into the Divine Leaderboard.

At the same time, Levi came to Sacred Organization, but he assumed his Dark Emperor persona and accepted everyone’s challenge.

Aside from thirteen Divine Leaderboard fighters, twenty-eight unranked fighters came to challenge him as well.

Those guys were never seen before in the public eye. Once Levi made his entrance, a great battle ensued.