Emery was on the boundary between the dark, outer space and the Hyperion planet.

After only a few hours of cultivating in the place called the Zero Abyss, his chest heaved up and down as he began to gasp for air.

Emery discovered that the situation in him cultivating in this place was not the least bit similar to his time in deep water.

With the help of a [Water Breathing] spell, he could keep the air in his lungs and stay under for days. The only uncomfortable thing that he had to endure was the crushing pressure that the deepwater imposed upon his body.

As for this place, however, it was like a vacuum space that sucked out the air within. It didn't even let a wisp exist for more than a few moments. It was suffocating.

Hence Emery had to learn a way, a method in order to breathe from such a thin, almost nonexistent air and eventually adapt to the place.

Just like what Magus Ramora had told him, this place was truly not advisable for an acolyte. The obvious reason for such advice was the latter's necessity for air to breathe, as magus had almost zero dependence on air due to their ascension.

Either way, Emery still chose to come and cultivate - all for the unique energy existing in this place. This drive became even stronger especially when he could feel some similarity between the energy existing in this place had with the energy of Khaos.

[Spirit force increases]

[Spirit force increases]

Apart from absorbing the surrounding energy, Emery discovered one other thing he could do - observe the glowing moss scattered everywhere in this place with great curiosity. To see such a simple life form that was able to live in such a harsh place without sun, water, minimum air, and only relying on the dark rock as its dwelling; it was quite a fascinating sight.

The unique moss and the entire situation of the place itself were already able to help him gain more understanding of the darkness element and its subsequent correlation to nature, which in this instance were plant and earth elements.

Coupled with the surge of spirit energy the Spirit Foundation Pill provided upon consumption that warmed his solar plexus, Emery's spirit force didn't have any other choice except to rise up again.

[Spirit force increases]

[Spirit force increases]

However, even though his spirit force continued to rise, Emery actually did not have his attention on it at all. Instead, his mind was completely focused on comprehending the intricate rune formation that came with the new spells.

It was like solving a puzzle that involved his understanding of the spell and the complex relation with the spirit core, which in his case: darkness and nature core. Moreover, this was the first time Emery took his hands-on Tier 5 spells. So it was only natural that he would need time to be able to learn the spell.

One of those spells was [Ash Blast]. It was a spell that had great similarity to his already learned [Whiplash] spell, as both involved controlling a concentrated amount of elemental energy into a wave of force. In this case, [Whiplash] controlled the water element while [Ash Blast] controlled a combination of the earth and darkness element.

The second spell Emery purchased was [Seed Bomb]. This particular spell unexpectedly needed a lot more concentration than Emery previously assumed. In fact, he wouldn't have been able to learn it so quickly were it not for his prior experience with the [Dark Matter] spell.

The two spells were also somewhat similar to each other, as both started by creating multiple roots of elemental energy, channeling it outward, and building it up into one concrete momentum before releasing it.

All in all, it took Emery one whole day to finally learn the [Ash Blast] spell and another day to learn the [Seed Bomb] spell. Quite an impressive feat, as both were Rank B Tier 5 spells.

Not only that, Emery also didn't forget to keep consuming more Spirit Foundation Pill during his endeavor of mastering his new spells. Thanks to that, his spirit power continued to increase without any stagnation.

[Spirit force increases]

[Spirit force increases]

Now, Emery only had one day left before the agreed duel with the Dragon bloodline protege. Considering the fact he spent an average of one day learning a Rank B Tier 5 spell, he concluded that he would not be able to, and thus chose to give up on mastering the Divine spell he had - [Aegis Void].

Even though it was basically impossible to master with the given time constraints, he, at the very least, hoped to grasp the basic understanding of the void that the Divine spell was based upon.

Void was an emptiness within space.

He had learned about space fluctuation thanks to his frequent dabbling in spatial spells. He had learned how to take away a form and release or move it into another space. On the other hand, the void had the other half of the concept as it involved the disappearance of a form or a particular space.

[Dark Void] spell; although stated as the upgraded version of his [Hide in Shadow] spell, it actually had a much different concept. One needed the rise of darkness to take effect, while the other was using the distortion of space to hide within.

The spell [Dark Void] allowed Emery to transform a limited area of space, turning it into a place where he could bend others' perception or just channel it to space around himself to make himself less conspicuous.

Obviously, the current strength the spell possessed was not much. But fret not, as Emery gained further mastery of the spell, the prowess of the spell would also strengthen proportionally. One day it might even be as good at concealment as Klea's bracelet was capable of and, perhaps, reach a level beyond it.

[Spirit force increases]

[Spirit force increases]

Three days had unknowingly passed, and within hours Emery had already had to face the Dragon bloodline protege. In the last 70 or so hours, he had consumed a total of 35 Spirit Foundation Pills.

Therefore he went ahead and checked his current stats.

[Emery Ambrose]

[Battle Power: 244 (245)]

[Spirit Force: 1252(1290)]

[Acolyte Rank 9 - Early Stage - 6 Pillars Formed]

Emery was left speechless when he saw the results he had obtained over the past three days as he did not know if this would be enough for his upcoming opponent. Still, now that everything was ready and nothing could be done anymore, he decided not to dwell on his thoughts longer.

He dashed out of his seclusion spot, flew out of the asteroid, and headed to the designated place for the duel.

It was an open field full of rocks of various sizes, and apparently Emery's opponent - Zach the Dragon bloodline - had arrived early. He stood firmly on a rock 3 meters high and calmly turned his head when Emery arrived.

Upon arriving, Emery's attention was immediately attracted to the sides of the field where he found hundreds of people standing. It was clear that they had all come to see the fight.

Emery discreetly threw a glance at Zach to see his reaction. After all, the latter had told him that he wished for a fight between the two of them alone, and from the looks of it, it was apparent that wasn't going to happen.

Also, to his surprise among those who had arrived, Emery saw his Earth friends - Klea, Thrax, and Chumo. Their faces brightened when they saw him arrive on the field. One of them, in particular, shouted things that made Emery want to cover his face.

"Come on, Emery!! Beat that Lizard Bastard!!"