Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Even as Yunaia finished her shocking explanation, the expressions of Olivier and Linley remained unperturbed. Clearly, both young men had heard Yunaia's story in the past. But the same couldn't be said about Ace, Amira, and even Leona.

A place like the Gebados Prison where experts couldn't recover their energy freely…

You didn't have to be a genius to understand the implications of such a thing.

In this universe, one's energy was tantamount to one's livelihood. Although you wouldn't die if you were drained of all your elemental energy if you were suddenly deprived of your energy and then faced with an enemy expert…

In such a scenario, there would only be one outcome!

It was no wonder why Prime Saints were placed at the bottom of the pecking order. In fact, forget saints; Ace guessed that even Demi-Gods could only hide and cower away for fear of being targeted by more powerful deities.

"I don't know how much you know about deities, but for most, even when you break through to the deity realm, your body doesn't strengthen much, if at all. Well, not unless you're a Divine Beast," Yunaia said, glancing enviously at the three Apex Divine Beasts present and even Linley. "For the rest of us, the only difference between Demi-Gods, Full Gods, and High Gods is their varying levels of comprehension and the purity of their Divine Essence.

Still, because one can only express their comprehension of their respective Laws or Edicts with the use of Divine Essence, regardless of if you're a Demi-God, Full God, or even a High-God at the commander level, once one runs out of Divine Essence, you're no stronger than any other peak saint-level expert without energy.

At that point, even a saint-level expert who just broke through would be capable of defeating you – provided their energy levels were full."

As she spoke to there, Yunaia's eyes were filled with hope and ambition as she stared at Ace, forcibly suppressing her rising excitement and anticipation. "But that wouldn't be the case if one was capable of utilising the power of concepts!

When using the power of concepts, instead of relying on elemental energy, you rely solely on muscular endurance and the body's stamina. Something which is virtually limitless as a saint-level warrior."

As she said that, she took a not-so-subtle but still very telling glance at Linley.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Linley said suddenly. "Yunaia here was hoping to learn the secrets of wielding concepts. As was Olivier. But as it's not my secret to share, I told them that I could only ask you on their behalf."

As Linley's voice waned, both Olivier and Yunaia were staring at Ace with an almost pleading expression and a hint of anticipation. Especially for Yunaia.

Before entering, back when Lord Beirut first approached her and her grandmother about entering the Necropolis of the Gods, he had mentioned that if she entered and played her cards right, there was a chance that she could find a way to change their destiny.

At the time, though he hadn't said it in so many words, both Yunaia and her grandmother believed that he was referring to a way to escape the Gebados Prison Realm.

But now she believed that he may well have been talking about the use of concepts. Though ultimately, she would prefer to find a way to lead her grandmother out of the prison world that had held them captive for too long, if she were able to learn the method of using concepts and teach it to her grandmother, even if they were forced to stay in the Gebados Plane, they would at least be able to have an upper hand in that hell hole. Still, it all depended on the youth in front of them.

Ace's expression remained unreadable as he stared at the group before him. It wasn't that he was trying to add pressure to the two hopefuls. Truth be told, he was still processing all the information he had just been delivered.

First, that there was a prison world attached to their plane, and then the levels of brutality inside. It was beyond shocking, even for him, a reincarnate who had lived through the brutal pirate era.

Still, he could understand Yunaia's desire to learn the method of using Concepts. It would undoubtedly be a game-changer!

"That's fine," Ace shrugged casually. "You can teach them if you want." 

"Really?" Linley asked hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Ace raised an eyebrow as he stared at this long-haired rival of his. "What else would there be? Don't tell me you're so incompetent as an instructor that you need me to teach them for you?"

"Of course not!" Linley snorted. "I just meant, are you sure your master will be okay with his methods being spread without his permission."

"That old man doesn't care who learns it," Ace shrugged. "As far as he's concerned, the more people who learn it, the better. He believes that only when it becomes a mainstream method of cultivation will all its secrets be unearthed.

If not for Arianna forcing him to keep it secret until our feud with the New Yulan Empire has been resolved, then he probably would've publicised it long ago.

As for Olivier and Yunaia. Well, I trust that neither of them would spread it to our enemies."

As he said that, Ace's eyes fell on the two young adults standing alongside Linley. Though he wasn't actively doing anything to exert pressure on either of them, both suddenly felt their hairs stand on edge, as though Ace wouldn't hesitate to attack with intent to kill should they give the wrong answer.

The fact that Ace was able to put so much pressure on them was odd, especially as both of them were fearsome Soul-Mutates capable of challenging and defeating even Prime Saints. Still, they understood the opportunity that had been presented to them, and neither were willing to say or do anything that could jeopardise their chances.

"You have my word!" Both Olivier and Yunaia said with hurried sincerity, as though they were scared Ace would change his mind.

"Good! Then I have no problems with it," Ace nodded.

"Thank you!" Yunaia suddenly interjected, stepping forward to take a solemn bow. "Thanks a lot!"

"No need for all that," Ace sighed, waving his hands dismissively. "With you being a true Qingya descendant, I very much doubt either Arianna or the old man would have a problem with it. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd probably give me an earful if I said no."

"What do you guys intend on doing next anyway?" Amira asked, changing the subject. "You gonna stay here on the fifth floor or head up to the next floor?"

"We'll probably spend a while longer on the fifth floor," Linley sighed. "With Felicia having probably headed up to the higher floors, it'd be suicide to head up as we are now."

"Felicia? As in the High-Priests second disciple?" Ace asked curiously. "Why would running into her be suicidal?"

The last time Ace saw her, she was still just a powerful peak saint. As far as Ace was concerned, at best, she would've broken through to the level of a Prime Saint, which was why Linley's next words came as such a surprise.

"I haven't seen her in six months, but last time I saw her, she had already begun fusing the profound mysteries of the Essence of Light and Purity of Light."

Though he didn't say anything else, both Amira and Ace were knowledgeable enough to understand what Linley was implying.

In terms of talent, there wasn't a person present from both Ace and Linley's groups that wasn't far superior to her in terms of talent, but as a peak saint who had begun fusing at least two mysteries, her breaking through to become a Demi-God was a guarantee.

And in the Necropolis of the Gods, where the elemental essence was so dense and pure in comparison to the Yulan Plane, her rate of growth would be like a rocket.

Though it had only been six months, there was no telling how much she had improved. Chances of her having become a Demi-God were slim at best. Still, she had likely reached a level none of them were capable of facing – at least not on their own.

"Interesting," Ace smiled, a hint of excitement flashing across his dark iris'. "She'll serve as a fine warm-up before the main event."

He may not have said it in so many words, but there wasn't a soul present who didn't know he was referring to O'Brien. Still, no one thought he was being too arrogant. His rate of improvement was simply miraculous!

"What about you guys?" Bebe asked, hopping back to his usual spot on Linley's shoulder from the top of Olivier's head. "Where do you intend on going next."

"We'll probably try and look for Kong and the others next," Mira said.

Although she was confident in their strength, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried about the results of them running into Felicia. Still, finding them in here was easier said than done, especially with their spiritual essence so heavily restricted.

"But before that, I think it's about time I raise my cultivation level," Ace voiced, causing Amira and Leona to turn back to him in surprise.

"I thought you wanted to wait until you had reached the limit for comprehension at your current level," Amira asked back. "Don't let the news of Felicia's strength get in the way of your future."

"Don't worry, I'm not," Ace shook his head with a smile. "After that battle with Lachapelle, I can sense that I've finally reached the limits of comprehension for the seventh rank."

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Story Complete!

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