Immortal Supreme: Sovereign of the Grand Dao

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Arthur looked at Luke and Balor who sat opposite him and decided to start his first attempt at an inspirational speech.

Or not.

'Fuck it! I am not a shonen protagonist anyway!'

"So you are both weak, extremely weak. You are so weak that you can't amount to anything even in the outer court."

Balor frowned at that, while Luke's shoulders dropped a bit.

"But do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean? That we are ants, that can be crushed easily by the strong and powerful?" Balor asked with a self-deprecating tone.

He had never felt strong and powerful in his entire life and was fed up with being at the mercy of others all the time.

"Hmm, while that is not the direction I was heading, it is true. You are indeed ants that can be crushed at the whim of the strong."

"But here's what you don't know, or rather haven't thought of. Those two minions of the Blood Sword Factions are the same too, just slightly bigger ants nonetheless."

"What I want you to see is that you can still grow," Arthur stopped and waited for his words to sink in a bit before continuing when he saw that their heads were raised now.

"You can still cultivate right?"

Both men nodded at the question.

"Then what more do you want to hear? Go train!"

"The heavens are fair..." Arthur hid his dislike for the words he just uttered.

"...somewhat, and everyone has the opportunity to get stronger, to get better. Sure, there are some who are blessed with better talent, good background, and great fortune, but even those who have none of these can cultivate!"

"So what should you do?" Arthur asked them.

"Train, I will train till I can not move anymore, I will train till I break! And even then I will keep on training, even if it kills me!" Balor replied with great conviction in his eyes.

Arthur sensed a powerful will has been stirred up in Balor and for a moment he sensed great potential being awakened with his Fate Sense.

'Good, he needed to have some faith in himself.' Arthur nodded inwardly, then he turned to Luke.

"What about you?"

"I know what I must do now, Master," Luke's reply was short but Arthur could see the resolve in his eyes.

"Good, now that you both know what to do, I will like to tell you that you do not have to do it alone."

"I will do my very best to see you rise. And rise you shall, faster than many of your peers, why?"

"Because, you have...me," a smirk appeared on Arthur's face.

Arthur hadn't really focused on nurturing these young men. He only gave them resources and simply asked them to train.

However, now he realizes that if his 'minions' were weak like those two Blood Sword Faction members, he would have to settle matters like what happened today by himself all the time.

But before he moves on with his plan, he needed to confirm something.

"Balor, are you willing to pledge your allegiance to me? If you do, you will be one of my men, and as your master, I will ensure that grow stronger, quickly... And as to how strong you can grow, I will only say this..."

Balor listened seriously.

"...the Mortal Emperor Realm is only the beginning," Arthur said and went silent.

He will not add anything else and will leave the young man to connect the dots and decide for himself.

At the same time, he was also sensing Balor's emotions.

After arriving here he discovered he could sense the emotions of those around him.

This means he has indeed received a new ability from the Soul Gem, and it might be more than simply sensing emotions, but he will learn more in the future.

Meanwhile, Balor was thinking deeply about what he had just heard.

He wasn't one to take an important decision like this in the heat of the moment as with his personality, if he decided to follow Arthur he will not turn back.

He was the type of person to stick with any decision to the bitter end, and he was not too flexible.

This was something Arthur had noticed after watching Balor for some time now and was one of the reasons he wanted to draw him in.

Aside from that, he saw that Balor was one of the rare cases in the cultivation world.

He was one that can rise above the limitations that have been placed on him from birth with a powerful and unbending will.

'He will grow,' such was Arthur's belief and what he had 'seen' with his Fate Sense.

After a few seconds of silence, Balor spoke, "I have decided."

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A few days have passed since then and now Arthur was standing before an important member of his faction.

"Sun Wukong, what do you say? Will you accept my proposal?"

Arthur had spoken to Sun Wukong also as he couldn't let go of this legendary figure, especially now that he doesn't even know much about himself...about his past.

"Hmm, I don't mind taking you as my master, but on one condition," Sun Wukong stated with his hands crossed on his chest.

"What condition?"

"As long as you are stronger than me, I am willing to follow you. But if I ever defeat you then I will be the leader," Sun Wukong stated seriously.

He will not follow someone weak, and although he knows that Arthur is strong, he still feels confident in himself, especially the him of the future.

"Okay, I agree, but why such a condition?"

"Because I can not bow my head to someone weaker than me. In fact, even to those stronger than me, there is this innate feeling in me to challenge them."

"I understand, so in short, you are a battle maniac." Arthur thought about what he knew of Sun Wukong's identity, not from Earth's mythology but from his memories of the cultivation world and he knew how to deal with him.

'For him, if I want him to follow me, I need to be overwhelmingly stronger than he is. So strong that he can not even resist.' Arthur knew what he had to do.

"I wouldn't say I am a battle maniac but I do respect the strong...because fighting them is fun!" Sun Wukong said with a grin on his face.

"So Invincible, let's fight!" Sun Wukong summoned his martial spirit.

.....

A few minutes later, a brutality-beaten Sun Wukong lay on his back with one of his eyes closed.

"You...are...indeed...strong," he said to Arthur who stood on in front of him with his clothes unscathed.

"Yes, I am. And as per our agreement, you work for me now."

Sun Wukong struggled to nod and said, "Yes...but...I will...challenge you again... one day."

Arthur smiled, "Anytime."

"Take care of him Luke, and the three of you should come to my place by noon tomorrow," Arthur ordered and swiftly left the scene.

Luke who was at the side came out and bent down at Sun Wukong's side.

"You shouldn't have challenged him. I hate to say, but I told you so. You lost."

"Hehe," Sun Wukong chuckled dryly.

"You wouldn't understand. I have no regrets, even though I lost...badly. It was a worthy battle, one that I still thirst for," he said with a mysterious look in his eyes.

'Master Sage, I found someone that can keep me in line just like you said. But, I had no idea he would be this powerful...hehe. When next I see you, I will tell you of how your eyes never saw a monster like him, that they are not so all-seeing...'

Luke shook his head when he saw the lost look in Sun Wukong's eye and placed a pill in his mouth.

*Gulp*

After a little while, Sun Wukong stood up with strength.

"Are you good now?" Luke asked.

"Never better, I even feel like I am about to break through."

"Oh, it seems getting beaten up by the master has its benefits."

"Yes, and I think I might go get beaten up again," Sun Wukong said seriously.

"..."

'There is definitely something wrong with this guy's brain!'

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The next day.

Within the hall in Arthur's assigned apartment, Luke, Balor, and Sun Wukong stood with surprised expressions on their face.

"Master, that might be an impossible task for us," Luke stated.

"I agree. I am not confident of doing what you ask of me," Balor shook his head.

"That's what you guys think? Well, as for me I am excited about taking on this 'mission'," Sun Wukong sneered at them.

"Well, of course, you would be excited. It is about fighting after all!" Balor scowled.

They were about to continue but Arthur who sat before them raised his hand, and they went silent.

"Now, will you all listen?"

"I know what I am telling you to do would seem impossible to achieve but you are all forgetting one thing."

Arthur saw their expressions become one of thoughtfulness, as though they are trying to think of what they might be forgetting.

Well, just two of them, Sun Wukong's face was blank.

Arthur decides to speak directly.

"You have me."

Then the realization dawned on them.

'That's right, our leader is no ordinary person, so he must have a way!' Balor said in his heart, finally seeing some hope.

'Hmm, if it's Master he should have a plan already. I can not believe I even doubted him,' Luke felt a bit ashamed.

'We have you? Man, I just want to fight, no need for all this talk,' Sun Wukong didn't get it.

But Arthur continued, "With my help, it would be easy for you three to win the first three places in the next Outer Court Ranking Battles."

That was the task Arthur had for them, and also a way to give his response to the threatening 'order' of the Blood Sword Faction for him to disband his faction.

The Invincible Sword.

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------------End of Chapter------------

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