Celestial Bloodline

Kyle's eyes reflected suspicion when he heard her words, but he chose to trust Bia's words and settled back down, closing his eyes to resume absorbing the divine and spiritual energy into his body. Asher narrowed his eyes at him.

"Human, are you talking with someone through a mind link?"

Unfortunately, he received no response. Asher moved back, annoyance evident in his eyes. He felt like he was talking to a wall. Then, a smirk crept across his face as he decided to use his trump card.

'Let's see how long you can keep quiet!'

He didn't hold much hope for the human to speak, given his strength, but he cleared his throat to give it a shot.

"Hey, I know nearly everything about this tomb, including where treasures can be found. It's like my second home. You are lucky to run into me right as you entered the tomb. Wouldn't it be clever to team up rather than keeping mum?"

Kyle opened his eyes and gazed at the half-dragon sitting across from him. Without hesitation, he assessed the pros and cons of having a supreme-rank ally who possessed extensive knowledge about the tomb. The benefits outweighed the drawbacks since he could escape using instant teleportation if needed.

"Nice to meet you, Asher. I'm Kyle. I hope you could share the knowledge you possess with me."

Asher's eyebrow twitched as the human regarded him with a solemn expression, as if he was on the brink of making the most significant decision of his life.

"You-!"

He let out a sigh, and a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Just forget it. I can't expect much from someone who seems to detest the presence of others. I bet you don't have any friends or allies. You are somewhat like my former self, always alone, with only one goal in mind: to grow stronger."

Kyle didn't bother to clear up the misunderstanding about not having any friends as Asher gave him a sorrowful glance. He continued to absorb the divine and spiritual energy from the air. In that instant, Asher brightened with a smirk.

"Kyle, a nice name. Now that we have become acquainted, I should give you a gift. How about helping you reach the transcendent rank? I can sense you have reached the last stage of the divine rank. There's a powerful platform nearby that can help you ascend to the transcendent rank as long as you are at the pinnacle of the divine rank. Would you like to use it?"

Immediately, an intrigued expression appeared on Kyle's face. A platform that can help him reach the transcendent rank? He had indeed gathered enough divine energy to reach the pinnacle of the divine rank while awaiting the tomb to open.

'It seems my decision to keep this half-dragon around wasn't so bad after all.'

Noticing Kyle's interest, Asher's smirk grew wider. Despite many years passing since his last interaction with a human, he knew that everyone values treasures, especially those that can boost their strength!

"So...?"

Kyle stretched his neck. He was slightly irritated by the faint scent of blood on his body from all he had endured, but he would address it later.

"What are you waiting for? Lead the way. I hope you know a secure route to reach the platform. I would prefer to avoid any conflicts with the undead."

Asher chuckled, a glint of pride shining in his eyes as he casually rubbed his nose.

"Well, I've pretty much cracked every secret of this tomb. I mean, I've spent a century all alone in here, just wandering about."

He began floating, and upon noticing Kyle trailing behind him, he rapidly extended his senses in all directions.

Kyle noticed the subtle energy emanating from his body but chose to remain silent. It seems that despite Asher's vast knowledge of the tomb, the man lacked the confidence to face the undead emerging from the ground to roam the land at night. Well, he couldn't really blame the half-dragon for that, as he himself had sensed a large number of undead surrounding them using his scent perception skill. Otherwise, why would he linger around the lake?

Asher's expression turned solemn as they left the area near the lake and stepped into the dark, desolate terrain scattered with rocky structures. Kyle observed the man growing quiet and extending his scent perception skill to ensure they evaded any monsters and undead in the vicinity.

Unlike Kyle, who remained quiet, Asher promptly spoke up upon detecting the faint energy emanating from Kyle's body.

"You possess a strong detection skill; I noticed it before as well, and I must say your skill truly surpasses my supreme senses. Hopefully, with you here, we won't run into a horde of undead."

Kyle arched his brow.

"A horde?"

He attempted to pat Kyle's shoulder but tutted when the human recoiled as if burnt.

"That's quite common around here."

Asher paused, mischief glinting in his eyes as he looked at Kyle.

"Do you want to witness something amazing?"

Without waiting for Kyle's response, he strode off in another direction, and with furrowed brows, Kyle trailed after him.

After some time, the two of them found cover behind a massive rock above a slightly raised terrain.

Asher grinned when he saw Kyle's calm expression shift to solemn as they secretly watched a horde of undead howling in the vicinity. More than half of the undead held the supreme rank, while the rest were at the transcendent rank, all moving around with huge bony weapons in their hands. Asher tapped the rock and looked at Kyle.

"What do you think? If they spot us, we are both goners, haha."

All of a sudden, he let out a sigh.

"Actually, it wasn't like this a hundred years ago when I entered the tomb; it was very unusual to come across a being above the transcendent rank here. But for some reason, the spiritual energy in this place began to surge rapidly when a massive white creature resembling a spirit showed up about fifty years ago. That's why the undead have become so strong."

Kyle's eyes were locked onto the undead when he heard Asher mention a massive white creature resembling a spirit.

His pupils shook, and only one thought crossed his mind – that Asher was talking about a Celestial spirit. The very same Celestial spirit he had seen in the No Mana Land, the one Aze desired. After all, only Celestial spirits hold such immense spiritual energy within them.

"You saw it, right? The massive white creature. Do you know where it is?"

Kyle's voice sounded vastly different from usual. It carried a touch of anger and even a hint of darkness. His hand, which was on the ground, clenched tightly around the sand he grabbed, enough to disperse the sand into mere particles. But Asher didn't seem noticed and let out a sigh.

"I only caught a glimpse of the massive creature once when it showed up in the sky and caused a commotion by releasing a ton of spiritual energy. After that, it just disappeared into thin air."