Chapter 49: Unexpected Rewards When Grey saw the results, a look of ecstasy immediately spread across his face. His Lightning grade had advanced to blue, the thing that caught his attention was the appearance of a new color on the stone. This represented he had gotten a new element. Although the grade was still Pink, it wasn’t an issue for him since he could improve it. With the addition of the Wind element, he would now be a Multi Elementalist. He had not heard of anyone in the history of the empire being one. Now he would be much faster in terms of cultivation, and also in terms of speed. “What an unexpected surprise,” Grey said with joy. With this, he could well be said to be ahead of his peers. “This should be the result of that unique state I accidentally entered. That battle gave me a lot of gifts. Not only did I break through, I advanced the grade of my Lightning element and also got a new element” Grey laughed happily. Grey stayed inside the cave and replenished the rest of his essence. With the addition of the Wind element, the absorption speed doubled and the amount of elemental essence he could refine was terrifying. The essence in the area suddenly dropped. The beasts in the area immediately felt puzzled by the sudden decrease in the essence in the area. When Grey also noticed it, he was shocked. “How will I be able to cultivate in the Academy if this continues” He felt a headache. Luckily the essence returned in a short period of time, when he tried it again, it wasn’t as strong as the first time. After Grey finished his round of cultivation, it was already midday. “I should go check out how strong I’ve become after breaking through. Then, also get something to eat” He got up and left the cave. Grey mobilized the Wind and Lightning element in his body and started moving. He felt lighter and much nimbler, his speed had increased to a terrifying level. With his current speed, if he uses ‘Lightning Steps’ His speed should be able to catch up with those Wind Elementalist in the Fourth or even Fifth stage of the Arcane Plane. Due to the refinement his body got from the breakthrough and the new element, his body grew stronger. Added to his normal intense physical training, the strength of his body alone could almost rival those at the Peak of the Fusion Plane. His body will continue going stronger with every breakthrough, coupled with his own training, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. “Now I shouldn’t have a problem with defeating those at the Third stage of the Arcane Plane easily. Although I don’t know if I can defeat those in the Fourth stage, I shouldn’t have a problem defending myself and even escaping unharmed” Since there was a gulf between the Early and Mid-stages of the Arcane Plane, Grey wasn’t sure if he could defeat someone in the Fourth stage while still being in the Second stage. Grey engaged in battle with beasts in the Third stage of the Arcane Plane and was able to defeat them easily without wasting too much effort. He felt great since he was advancing at a fast pace, he knew once his friends noticed his cultivation after his return, they would be shocked. ************* The southern part of the mountain “The treasure is about to completely mature,” The old man amongst the group said. The others had all felt it also, they looked at the valley ahead of them with greed visible in their eyes. Getting one of the treasures meant a chance to break through to the Overlord Plane, they had all been stuck in the Origin Plane for a long time now with no hope of breaking through. The old man walked up to the middle-aged man in the group. “Hey Mark, why don’t we join hands together to take the fruits. You can feel the amount of essence in the right, even if we got one we would be able to share it equally and break through our current bottlenecks” The middle-aged man didn’t reply and stared at the valley instead deep in thoughts. He knew for one person to be able to successfully get one of the fruits would be very difficult. Inside the valley, a tree which was about four meters in height and three meters thick could be seen in an open space. There were only two red-colored fruits on it. This was what they were all here for. This tree was a rare treasure that was birthed from the essence of the world. Its fruits are filled with pure essence which was very beneficial to all Elementalists. Even those in the Overlord Plane wouldn’t mind taking them. ************ Not too far from the valley, in the deepest part of the mountain. The Stone Lion raised its head and looked in the direction of the valley. Its gigantic body got up in a flash and charged towards the valley at an insane speed. Its body clearly didn’t hinder its speed in any way. Not just the Stone Lion, other beasts in the Origin Plane all over the mountain were all headed in the direction of the valley. They all wanted to get a chance at the treasure. The struggle for the treasure was about to start. Although the Stone Lion was the strongest, there was no way it could dominate them all. It was a wise creature and would definitely leave the scene after getting one of the fruits. Now it was up to fate for the one who would get the other one. ************** All this had nothing to do with Grey, he was currently humming a tune to himself as he roasted the leg of a Wild Boar. He was expertly adding the required ingredients to make sure the taste of the meat would be the best. Grey brought ingredients with him when he wanted to leave the Academy to ensure he was always prepared. After some time, a sweet fragrance wafted in the air. The color of the meat had already turned into a golden brown, this was a result of Grey smearing honey on the meat before roasting it. Grey took a piece of the meat and tasted it. He looked at the sky in pure bliss from the taste of the meat, it had a great taste. “Ahh,” He moaned with pleasure as he took another bite. Slowly but surely he finished the meat. He patted his stomach with joy before heading towards a spring not too far from him. He accidentally found it when he was searching for a meal. Grey removed his clothes before diving into the water. “What a great life” He sighed with pleasure. After he washed up, he walked over to a huge tree not too far from the spring and started cultivating. He wasn’t scared of being sneak attacked since now he had two sensory abilities. With the Earth element, he could sense any vibrations on the ground, and with the Wind element, he could feel any disturbance in the air caused by fast movements. It was about to turn dark, so he decided to rest till the next day. Later that night… “BAM” The sound of something crashing heavily into the ground reverberated in the mountain. Grey was startled by the sound and immediately stood up. He walked out of the hole in the tree and looked towards the south, “It came from that direction” Grey had unknowingly drifted close to the southern part of the mountain. After waiting for some time and confirming it wasn’t a fight, he headed in the direction cautiously. When he got there, he was surprised to see a man lying in a pit motionless. Clearly, the pit was made when the man fell and hit the ground heavily. Grey looked around to confirm no one else was around, after confirming he got closer to inspect the man. When he got closer, he noticed it was a middle-aged man and he had a hole in his chest. The hole was already starting to rot, this was obviously the work of being attacked with poison. By the side of the man was a pouch. From its shape, Grey deduced a fruit was inside. He picked it up and opened it slowly. The moment a little part of it was opened, thick essence immediately spilled out of the small opening. Grey quickly closed it. “What pure and thick essence. This is definitely a treasure” Grey was ecstatic, “This must be the reason this man was killed, I better leave now since his killers wouldn’t be far” He immediately kept the pouch in his backpack and ran from the place. He used ‘Lightning Steps’ while also enhancing himself with the wind element to further increase his speed. Not too long after Grey left, an old man walked out of the trees. “I felt the energy coming from this place” he looked around before seeing the corpse on the floor. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to get far. I spent over half of my savings to get my hands on that poison all for this” He laughed with elation as he walked towards the corpse. After getting close to the corpse, he started searching the corpse for what he wanted. “Where is it?” He exclaimed with disbelief. “It was clearly with him after we managed to escape” He started looking around the area to see if he could find the pouch. He couldn’t find it. He continued searching like a mad man but still, he couldn’t find it. Grey who had already run far away from the location heard a loud roar, it was a roar that was filled with anger. He knew it must be from the person who killed the man or maybe an accomplice of the man, he didn’t care who roared and didn’t want to know either. He fastened his speed and bolted out of the inner regions of the forest towards the outer regions. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶 He wanted to find a secluded spot there before using the fruit. ‘With this, I should be able to break through to the Late stages of the Arcane Plane’ he said with elation in his heart.