All the Leaders are in front of me? Bai Zemin was internally startled and taking the opportunity he took a moment to look more carefully at the sky above his head.
Next to the person Lilith had just pointed out to be the Lord of Heaven, God, there was a man that Bai Zemin needed to look twice because at first he thought it was a woman. From Lilith he learned that this man was none other than Gabriel whose legends and might are recounted in the bible and other books sacred to Christians.
When Lilith noticed Bai Zemin's eyes lingering on two other people, she quickly pointed out: "The man with the tattoo on his head is Salazar, Leader of the Army of Evolution. He is a tremendously powerful Eighth Order zombie and would probably be one of your biggest nightmares if you fought him for obvious reasons... Also, I'm not sure about this but he is said to have Gravity Maker. As for the person next to him, his name is Ramses and he is a Seventh Order zombie focused on restriction magic."
Bai Zemin didn't say or gesture as he moved his head to a new pair. His eyes flashed slightly at the sight of these two. The man wasn't much, even looking somewhat ugly considering he was a Higher Existence... but the woman had a kind of wild charm that was very striking which Bai Zemin had never seen before. But that's not all about the woman.
"The man with brown skin and fierce eyes is Lethar, Leader of the Heavenly Moon Army. He is the simplest of the eight, but although he appears to be all muscle and no brain remember that no Leader reaches their position solely by using their fists. As for the woman next to him... she is Amelia, one of Lethar's commanders, a Seventh Order werewolf. She has a Firmament Fragment but its power is unknown."
Leaving the previous duo behind, Bai Zemin's eyes landed on a man dressed in black who stood alone. This man's red eyes gave Bai Zemin a bad feeling for some reason.
"That's Nikolay, Leader of Immortal Bloodlust... Zemin, that man has Blood Maker. It is said that even if you cut off his head or pierce his heart he can still continue to live and fight as if nothing. Although his defense and attack are not particularly problematic, his skills to control opponents and his regeneration are real headaches."
Blood Maker... Bai Zemin's eyes glittered slightly, and he finally understood the reason why he didn't feel comfortable looking at this person.
Nikolay was looking at him as if he was looking at a big piece of meat before, and that was the look Bai Zemin had in his eyes now knowing that Blood Maker was right in front of him.
He already had Blood Manipulation, the skill that allowed him to practically control a universal law at will... how powerful would he become if he could obtain Blood Maker, the skill that would allow him to take that law anywhere at any time? Bai Zemin was 200% sure that his overall strength would take a huge step forward just by obtaining Nikolay's skill.
Unfortunately, Nikolay was a soul evolver of Eighth Order. Bai Zemin wasn't stupid enough to think he could kill him and steal his skill... At least not yet, that is.
Noticing Bai Zemin's eyes resting on the only female Leader, she said softly: "Her name is unknown, but everyone calls her Eternal Phoenix, Empress of Endless Crimson Flame. Not only is she considered a beauty on the level of Uriel of the Army of Heaven, but her magical power is destructive enough to incinerate an entire continent in a matter of seconds. She is the being with the highest magical power in the entire universe, and in terms of destruction she is the closest to the Firmament Fragments."
The closest to the Firmament Fragments in terms of destructive capacity... That meant that the beautiful phoenix in front of him was the closest in terms of magical power to those beings that had left this universe behind such as the Ice Goddess Skadi.
For a brief moment, Bai Zemin met the eyes of the Phoenix Empress before he looked at the one he already knew even without introduction.
"Long Tian, the Dragon God who leads millions of dragons above the Fifth Order. He is usually wise and calm, but when he feels his pride or rule are being overshadowed he immediately loses his sanity."
Bai Zemin sneered in his heart and as he saw the increasingly bloodshot eyes with which the Dragon God stared at him he couldn't help but smirk.
"Zemin, remember that Long Tian is a dragon. His physical and magical power is terrifying at the same level as his defense. You have already offended him so in the future your clash with him will be inevitable... Keep in mind that Long Tian is considered one of the most powerful among the eight. Even Lucifer doesn't want to clash with him since he said it would be a big problem to defeat not to mention kill Long Tian."
In his heart, Bai Zemin corrected her: 'I didn't offend him, he offended me.'
But none of that mattered... It didn't matter whether these existences wanted to be allies or enemies... because to achieve his goal, Bai Zemin knew that being friends was not possible.
Right... They were all his enemies... Even that person.
Seeing Bai Zemin's eyes set on the last group of two, Lilith took a deep breath and said in a kind voice, "You know Fire Sorrow, she is the second in command of the Demonic Army. She has a special skill that allows her to receive the magical power and Mana of other soul evolvers, and the result of that attack is more than enough to compare to two Leaders attacking at the same time. Fire Sorrow is considered to be the most talented mage of all, Zemin. The only reason why Eternal Phoenix surpasses her in terms of magical power is because there is a great Order that separates them from each other."
Of course, Bai Zemin knew that Fire Sorrow was a very talented and powerful being. The fact that she had known the Heavenly Wolf Sirius in person was proof enough for one to know that she was not someone normal. After all, Sirius had surpassed the limits of this universe; it was impossible for someone like that to be next to a normal, untalented soul evolver.
But, her eyes were focused on the pitch-black eyes of the man wearing pajamas.
"That person is Lucifer, the Leader of the Demonic Army, faction I am a part of. Zemin, Lucifer may seem lazy and even dumb but don't underestimate him. If at some point I had to fight all of them and I could leave one out I would definitely choose not to fight him... Besides, he possesses Darkness Manipulation."
'That's why I can't be friends with any of them.' Bai Zemin softly closed his eyes and said in his heart, 'Gravity Maker, Blood Maker... and Darkness Manipulation. I don't think they'll hand them over to me willingly, will they?'
Putting aside the other skills and treasures they might have, Bai Zemin needed to get his hands on those three skills no matter what.
It wasn't him being greedy but he simply had no choice.
In about 5 years and a few months, Bai Zemin would have to reach a level of battle power higher than the eight most powerful soul evolvers in existence in order to prevent most of the life in the universe from being annihilated by the invaders of The Golden Domain... and obtaining those three skills would help him greatly to achieve this goal.
It was no longer about being the strongest for the future... He had to do it to survive and protect those he loved. Bai Zemin would rather antagonize potential friends than see his friends and family being slaughtered before him with nothing he could do.
Therefore, although Lilith had told him before that if possible she hoped he and Lucifer would form a friendship, Bai Zemin could not please her in this request.
As hundreds of thoughts crossed his mind, Bai Zemin subconsciously released a kind of aura that not only expressed his intention to fight to the death with each and every one of them but also expressed his intention to fearlessly oppose them.
And they all felt his intention.
While Lucifer looked at him with indifference, Fire Sorrow opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but no sound came out and instead looked at him with worry as she wondered what had happened. She could feel that Bai Zemin was now looking at her with much more caution and aloofness than before, it was almost as if the little friendship they had formed before had disappeared.
Surprisingly, the first to speak was Long Tian.
The Dragon Monarch did not jump on Bai Zemin as some thought he was going to do but instead took a deep breath and said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Everyone, what do you think?"
There was no need for Long Tian to say more or clarify the meaning of his question. Everyone present understood what he was talking about.
However, no one said anything even after several seconds and so Long Tian continued while looking at the clenched right fist of the human standing on the dead dragon's head, "I think everyone here is smart enough to see what's going on around, but since no one seems to be willing to believe it I'll point it out myself... Not only does this brat have two Manipulation type skills but he also has a skill that allows him to steal the records of other soul evolvers."
Stealing records of other soul evolvers!
Everyone felt their hearts tremble as they looked at the level 100 human's clenched right fist. They could feel a great amount of power locked in his clenched fist, and they knew that there was the small consumable pearl with the records of the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon.
"... Although it's hard to believe, the reality is right in front of our eyes." Lethar sighed and said cautiously. "At first, I thought this kid might be the reincarnation of the great Sirius, but after seeing his ability to steal records I'm not so sure anymore. He probably stole both Manipulation type skills from other soul evolvers using that strange skill of his... and the reason his soul hasn't collapsed is because that skill adjusts his soul accordingly to the records he steals to then absorb them."
They all knew that Earth was not normal after it was hidden for who knows how long even from them. However, it wasn't until now that they realized how abnormal this world was.
Leaving aside the terrifying defeated dragon with the potential to evolve to the Fifth Order on his own, leaving aside the terrifying human standing on the head of his defeated enemy, and leaving aside a few humans standing around the base who were able to compare to their commanders before evolving to Higher Existences; all the Leaders could sense several soul evolvers powerful enough to compare to the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon or the human before them.
In fact, two of these terrifying soul evolvers seemed to be clashing beyond the ocean, on another continent. Their factions had begun to clash.
Therefore, Lethar's reasoning saying that Bai Zemin obtained two Manipulation skills from other soul evolvers was not so crazy... Earth was a huge anomaly to begin with so it was entirely possible that some Manipulation-type skill users would appear.
The problem was that something like 'stealing records' shouldn't be possible... no one had ever heard of anything even remotely similar.
"The Soul Record makes us evolve and through a large network that connects us all allows us to absorb Soul Power and obtain records." Long Tian looked at Bai Zemin with slightly cold eyes as he said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "But this brat is doing the opposite of the Soul Record. He can steal the records we gained through the universal connection with all that exists... almost as if he were the alter of the Soul Record."
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