Chapter 3805 Parting Ways?
A few seconds later, Stella reduced the pressure on Zenova Artoria before completely taking it away as the undulations they both released faded.
Still, Zenova Artoria quivered ever so lightly as she realized the implications of Davis's powers.
The prowess alone was simply impossible to achieve with one's own cultivation alone. How could he reach this level without taking the Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill was beyond her because he wasn't this strong when she had last seen him battle.
Her mind quickly thought back to the incident where trillions of souls were tugged a week before the Candidacy.
Was that the reason he could be this strong? His soul physique underwent an incredible change?
She didn't know what kind of change but could see the result because his prowess was comparable to hers.
It made her feel awe, so much so that it reminded her of what her father once said.
[There is little to no room to envy when you manage to surpass your peers vastly. You will only grant them awe or despair from the realization of their limits. That's how powerful you should become in order to survive, far more powerful than everyone else so that they will not dare attack you even if they were to know you are a Divergent.]
"…"
Zenova Artoria closed her eyes slowly.
The fact that she felt awe instead of despair told her what she felt about this person. Yet, she couldn't find herself simply content. This wasn't her limit. She imagined she could achieve far more if she played her cards right in the upcoming years without getting caught and executed by Heaven's Warriors.
However, for not one moment did she feel like she could surpass Davis anymore.
If she managed to reach his level, she imagined he might surpass that as well, leaving her in the dust.
"It's my loss indeed."
Her clenched fists quivered at the depressing reality for her but she calmed, opened her eyes, and smiled behind her veil.
"Aren't you glad you don't have to part with the Ruinbloom Cataclysmic Pear?"
She asked Davis who had regained balance mid-air and slowly walked towards her as though granting her enough time to realize her folly.
Her gaze flickered, knowing this bastard did everything intentionally from the challenge to the displaying of the so-called Judgment Laws that honestly scared her because she couldn't detect how the energy entered her until it extracted that black-purple wisp from her, appearing in his hands.
'A fusion of Death Laws and Karma Laws? His pure death energy could conceal to the utmost limit I've ever seen and karmic energy is harder to sense than most Greater Laws. No wonder I couldn't sense its fusion…'
With this kind of one-hit move, it makes sense why he was confident. But why?
What drove him to challenge her?
It couldn't be just making up a reason to give her the Destruction Law Treasure because she brought Evelynn here in one piece or was it simply because he wanted to test this so-called Judgment Laws?
Somehow, she could see the latter happening as she wasn't in the best of relations with him.
"I sure am glad."
Once Davis arrived before her, he nodded his head with an expression full of relief.
"I almost began sweating when you began to sacrifice your King-Tier Blood Essence. Was it fine to do that in a mere battle like this?"
"It's a battle with the Destructive Law Fruit treasure on the line. How can it be 'mere'?"
Zenova Artoria sounded amused, "Perhaps, it is 'mere' to you as you keep giving them all away to your wives for no reason other than they're your women. Some may be deserving but for most, you're merely spoiling them."
"Don't you want it too?" Davis's brows raised.
His vague smile made Zenova Artoria narrow her brows. It made her wonder what he was implying when she quivered after hearing his next few words.
"A lifelong environment where you're not used up and thrown after you're no longer useful."
"…"
Zenova Artoria gazed at him but he chuckled and waved his hand lightly.
"I certainly don't want my wives to throw me away after I end up getting crippled in some heaven-forbidden battle. Do you think they will? Maybe… but I have taken some steps to say that their value is not derived from their usefulness but simply because they're my lovely beauties. For example, Yilla didn't even know me but she stayed with me and healed me even though I was at the bottom when imprisoned by you. Don't you think that's what you should strive for when wanting a partner?"
"…"
The others also made it closer. Their expressions were filled with smiles as they felt like Davis was at it again, praising them to no end.
They felt he was such a sweet talker.
Yilla especially felt like she was being praised for her actions. Even she wasn't sure why she stayed and took care of him those days as she just felt like going with the flow which meant dying along with him.
From Saint Mo Tian to the Anarchic Divergent known as the Divine Emperor of Death, the reveal was wild.
But now, she understood that was because she worshipped him somewhere in her heart, which led to her falling in love with him.
"Now don't say that I'm naive again. I expect a different answer, wondering if you would be able to see through the other end of the spectrum where you don't need to act independently but as a group where others can ensure your safety when you're down. Although the opposite is true, I can assure you that my group is as tight-knit as it can be, so I'm relaxed rather than suspicious all the time."
Seeing that Zenova Artoria remained silent while staring at him as though treating him to the icy special of pitying a dumb man, Davis raised his hand and uttered solemnly.
It was as though his objective was dependent on her answer.
At this moment, Zenova Artoria felt a strange feeling. She pursed her lips, unsure whether to act on it or not but she tried to convey her thoughts.
"Divine Emperor of Death, if you're inviting me to your group, then I must decline because there simply can't be too many Anarchic Divergents in one place. It is too dangerous, so I will be leaving as soon as I'm done with the transaction you proposed."
"I see."
Davis's gaze flickered, "What if I told you I want to take you as my thirty-first wife?"
"…"