Arios twisted nimbly in the air, sliding past Gale's spear strikes with an eerie calm. His two black knives danced, deflecting decapitating blows while delivering piercing strikes.

Gale should have had the ultimate advantage, as a spear wielder, given his advantage of range, he should have been toying with Arios. Yet, Arios was simply too skilled. With his fighting experience, how could he not have long since gotten use to fighting with a range handicap?

Thor watched from the ground, fighting intent brewing in his eyes. He was a spear fanatic, how could he not want to fight another spear user? Unfortunately, it wasn't his turn. He had no choice but to focus on commanding his regiment. With Arios and Caedlum fighting, they were missing two generals, so Thor had to pick up the slack.

**

Back within the Valley of Geniuses, Dyon had separated from Virvor. It wasn't that he was eager to get rid of him, but if the normally stoic and anti-social Virvor suddenly so eagerly began to follow someone, it would raise annoying questions. Plus, although Virvor was talented, he wasn't a top of the line talent, as seen by the fact his soul was still at the Blossom stage. The Inner Valley was definitely his limit for now, so it was best that he remain there.

Dyon spent a few days lingering around the inner valley, convincing a few statues to take a chance on him while also making sure enough people saw his face.

'More and more people are coming in now, it's best that I use my identity as Ri's husband to venture any deeper. I can't reveal too much talent as Dyon Jafari.'

Since he had already appeared as Dyon Jafari, there was no need for him to continue the faade. This was part of the reason he clapped and laughed before approaching Virvor. That way, there would be plenty of individuals who could confirm that he had entered, and so deeply at that. This would make it easier to reel in the Soul Market bosses.

It took only a moment before Dyon had switched back to his light blue robes and silver-gold mask. He once again bandaged his broad sword and catapulted toward the center regions, eager to see his master.

Truth be told, the smartest thing to do would probably be to continue on as Dyon Jafari. Although it would expose his talent to the 98th quadrant, and that might be partially detrimental to him in terms of the strength of enemies they sent at him, it would also help with making him more desirable to the Soul Market. In addition, it would also be less odd for him to happen to resonate with a statue from the Celestial Deer Sect.

However, Dyon's meeting with the Emperor Giant Clan ruined all of that. Dyon didn't fully understand why, but he could distinctly feel that his bloodline suppressed theirs. This feeling was something he had no means of suppressing, especially when his emotions raged out of control. Because of this, no matter what disguise he used, anyone of the Emperor Giant Clan would immediately know who he was.

This left Dyon with no choice but to risk it. There was definitely a chance that someone might connect him to the Celestial Deer Quadrant because of this, but who would have known that fate would throw such a wrinkle into his carefully laid out plans? The only saving grace was that this chance was incredibly low because everyone still thought Ri was from the Kitsune-Shruti quadrant.

Dyon soon reached another steep drop off. But, here, the landing wouldn't be so casual. From what Dyon could tell, the gravity multiplied by many times. Even with his body's strength, he would definitely become nothing more than a puddle of meat and blood.

'Interesting.' Dyon smiled lightly. A pair of black wings bloomed from his back as he dove forward.

Fierce winds threatened to tear Dyon apart, but his wings were far too sturdy, each of them comparable to a treasure in their own right. It wasn't long before Dyon touched down to the ground, landing lightly.

The moment he appeared, he felt fierce and unknown energies try and bombard his mind before being rebuffed. The fog here was much denser, and it seemed like this came along with fiercer illusions and mental attacks.

Although it was tougher to maneuver around the core regions, this also acted as a form of protection. Since you couldn't see more than ten meters ahead of yourself, that also became the case for everyone else as well. Thus, it made it more difficult for others to interfere with your resonance.

Since visibility was so low, Dyon could only advance slowly, making his way through slowly.

'Statues are much rarer here'

After a few hours of walking, Dyon had still not run into a single person, nor had he seen a single statue.

'The core valley is more about karmic luck. The space is so large, but the geniuses who can earn a right to be here are very few.' The Dragon King explained. 'It should also be noted that the requirements for being placed in the core region are quite special and sometimes even more difficult that the requirements to be placed in either the inner or outer regions of the celestial level valley of geniuses.'

Dyon nodded in acknowledgement before his feet froze for a moment. He had been walking for so long without seeing a single soul, yet now, just ten meters ahead of him, the alluring view of an elegant woman's back had invaded his vision.

The woman stood before a statue of what seemed like an untouchable goddess. At first, Dyon thought that it might have been master, but he was quickly disappointed since their features were far too different. However, Dyon could tell that this statue was definitely that of a soul cultivator.

Having seemingly sensed Dyon's presence, the alluring back of the woman swayed slightly before a beautiful oval shaped face came into view.

Her eyes were a deep and profound gold, only made bolder by her dark, jet-black hair. Her features were subtle, and delicate, curving softly to the form of her face.

A slight look of surprise crossed her eyes before she quickly hid it, instead smiling when she saw Dyon and turning her back to him.

"Do you recognize this woman?" She suddenly asked.

Dyon was surprised by the question. Considering the rarity of statues in the core valley, logically speaking, someone should be so calm when a potential contender invaded a statue the found first. Dyon wouldn't have even blamed this mysterious beauty for attacking first and asking questions about his identity later.

In the end, he decided to play along, curious about what she wanted. "I don't."

"Her name has been lost in time, but she's most definitely one of the 108 Holy Princesses."

"Holy Princesses?" Dyon asked in slight confusion.

"I'm surprised you don't know." The mysterious beauty spoke in a slight teasing tone. "Your wife wears a visor made of material from the Holy Arc. It was a legendary vessel, so much so that mere pieces of broken furniture that were once housed within it could be sold for astronomical prices today.

"Among those who rode the Holy Arc, there wasn't a single one who didn't cause world shattering events. The 108 Princesses, the 12 Queens, the 3 Empresses and the Holy Goddess. Legend has it that the First White Mother, the ancestor of the guardian beasts of the Celestial Deer Sect, was actually one of the Empresses of the Holy Arc. Imagine that, a woman that powerful was only one of three, and there was actually a woman even more powerful than her!"

Dyon blinked. When this mysterious beauty had mentioned Ri, he was slightly on guard. But, then he remembered that everyone knew he was Ri's husband. It wasn't a secret. After all, his video embarrassing Aki had spread through the martial world.

However, what was truly curious was why this woman was telling him all of this. If anything, telling him how important the figure in the statue was, would make him want it even more.

"Unfortunately," The beauty sighed. "No one understands the credentials required to gain her acceptance. She's very clearly a soul cultivator, but we've long since lost count of how many soul cultivating geniuses have come, yet not gained her acceptance. She's, by far, the longest standing statue here.

"Some think that her soul fragment has long since dissipated. After all, even the tower can't preserve a soul indefinitely. There must be some kind of limit."

Dyon smiled. "Is that why you're so confident in telling me?"