“When Imperishable Night eliminated the enemies, all their artifacts vanished with them. I couldn't find anything that could benefit us.”

  Sky Petal laments. Those rankers possessed magic artifacts of the armor type, as well as those related to attack. Just one of them would have been enough to break through substantial level gaps, but none remain.

  “Hah… The storage rings of the rankers are the most interesting, but it's still a pity.”

  Before her lie two mountains, one filled with valuable items and the other a mountain of corpses, both collected by the vines of her plants. It is Coldness Divine who takes care of the latter, incinerating them with her flames. Their conversation continues until they see Serene Will approaching, her serene expression unreadable.

  “It cannot be replicated.”

  Although they could have predicted it, it remains a pity that their thoughts become reality.

  “But the research was not fruitless, I achieved the second objective.” Serene Will's smile doesn't match Imperishable Night’s, but it's just as beautiful. “It is possible to interfere with the magic formation, the event we witnessed today will not happen again.”

  Knowing this is a relief, they won't have to worry about potential reinforcements from now on. They cannot depend on luck continuously, the appearance of a Supreme Ranker to their rescue is an occurrence that will not repeat.

  “Tsk, your innate ability never ceases to amaze me. Where does it get its information from?”

  Serene Will gestures that she doesn't know, “Ever since I consumed the Boundless Fruit, the information it provides is simply impressive, the same happens with-- Ah, right. Next time we see him, I’ll ask him to give you the last one we have.”

  Silently, Coldness Divine watches her walk towards Sky Petal. Until today she didn’t exactly know of its existence, but she could deduce it from her exchanges with Lawrence and his wives. She didn’t ask about it because she knew they were testing her, she didn’t think the judge would be this very woman.

  “I don’t know when the tree will give us a new fruit, we may never see another.”

  Serene Will's words can only be heard by Sky Petal, who sighs at the thought that only the first three wives will benefit, and all those who come later will forever be left behind.

  “It’s time to go. Everything we planned is already done.”

  On their departure, they leave behind a mansion in ruins. There is no corpse to give any indication of what happened, even valuables, every item has been seized with no clue left to implicate them.

  Just like this day, many more will come.

  Until they eliminate all their clients, this event will repeat.

  +++

  A little more than a week has passed since the last time he saw them. Lawrence knows that his pursuers will make no exceptions, they will continually improve their techniques to know where he is.

  But as much as they do, no one could predict that Lawrence has an ability capable of hiding him from all tracking. His Dimensional Rift is something no one would ever consider when they see him disappear in mere seconds.

  “I hope these women haven’t rushed things. There’s still so much time to achieve their goal, why do they always choose the hardest path?”

  If they raise their level a little more, they could easily achieve their dreams. And if they set aside that stupid pride, they could silently kill them one by one right now, but no. He is sure that these women want anything but that.

  Lawrence arrives at his residence and opens the door, only then does he remove his hood.

  Inside, three beautiful women await him, but what draws his attention is not their graceful figures, but their levels.

  “What did you do?”

  All have risen some levels, but Serene Will, whose level was already the highest before, now far surpasses them.

  He is furious. “What did I tell you?”

  That they remain so calm soothes him a bit, but he is still angry. Because he knows they must have done something big for Serene Will to reach level 601!

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  What scares him most is, is it a compressed level? Because if so, what did they do?!

  “No trace has been omitted, if you listened to me you would know.”

  It is the same woman who approaches him and caresses his cheek, the next second she brings her lips close and kisses him. Any man would be glad at such a sudden event, except Lawrence. From start to finish, he kept looking into her eyes.

  “Let’s return to the Inferior Plane, it’s a long story.”

  He is annoyed to see Serene Will conclude the matter when he hasn’t even heard anything about it, yet he clicks his tongue and creates a Dimensional Rift. After noticing the look from Sky Petal, he remembers to greet each of them with a kiss.

  He will remember this, despite his anger, he will greet them before addressing the main topic. Perhaps this is why she approached him first.

  In the Inferior Plane, he listens to the story from beginning to end.

  He was surprised to learn that they succeeded without Coldness Divine going back in time, but his skin tingled after learning about the existence of Imperishable Night, a Supreme Ranker.

  Lawrence asks: “Was she nearby? Or did such a destiny draw her from a remote place?”

  Whichever it was, the fact that one of them has a destiny capable of attracting the attention of a Supreme Ranker shows that reaching level 999 is not a dream, but a possibility.

  “It's uncertain, we didn’t glimpse even a small part of her power.” Coldness Divine crosses her legs and caresses her fan while remembering what happened, “For such characters, traveling between kingdoms might be a mere blink. There’s no need for portals.”

  She appeared in an instant and disappeared the next. Were they really talking to her, or was it just an illusion?

  “If she couldn’t discern that destiny, it’s pointless to consider it.” Lawrence sighs and moves on to the next topic, “What was that place?”

  They saw something at that moment, a remote place, impossible to comprehend. The little knowledge they had about it was shared, but like them, Lawrence only ended up with more questions than answers.

  He leans back in his seat and then nods.

  “Coldness Divine, come with me.”

  A single look from Serene Will was enough to understand. It’s time to retrieve the last fruit from that tree, delaying it might cause the opposite result.

  Both go down to the basement and stop before a wall. A portal is located there.

  “You are someone who hasn’t passed the test, what lies beyond this portal is the end of a Forbidden Area.”

  “Forbidden Area?!”

  Coldness Divine could deduce a thing or two, but even in her wildest dreams, she never believed that the coveted fruit was the result of overcoming a Forbidden Area.

  Lawrence nods, “We don’t know what will happen if you step into that place, so at the slightest suspicion, you’ll return to the mansion.”

  She was born in the Inferior Plane, she knows the importance, the mysteries that a Forbidden Area holds. That this portal automatically directs her to the end of one of these fills her with excitement and adrenaline, but she also understands the dangers this may entail.

  If Lawrence makes such a face despite his high level, the Forbidden Area is not as simple as it seems.

  “Everything’s ready, let’s enter.”

  He is the one who crosses the portal first, followed by Coldness Divine.

  Everything seems to be in order, mocking their initial concern. Everything changes in a second.

  “Get back! Now!”

  Explosion.

  A tremor shakes the ground with a spine-chilling force. Despite being underground, hidden hundreds of meters deep, the tremor does not lessen in intensity.

  Coldness Divine doesn’t think twice and enters the portal. As soon as this happens, calm once again prevails.

  “That damned deer…” Lawrence clenches his teeth, “You wake up at any intruder who skips the line eh, bastard.”

  He can vaguely feel small vibrations in the earth. If he could expand his senses, he would clearly appreciate how that deer, a Qilin of great proportions, returns to his previous position and curls up before falling asleep again.

  Minutes later, Lawrence ascends to the surface, noticing the vast crater under his feet. If they had delayed just a second longer, the next blow from this beast would not be as scrupulous as the previous one.

  “Tsk.”

  Lawrence removes the last Boundless Fruit from the tree and then heads toward the crater. He clicks his tongue upon noticing the half-open look of the Qilin, who seems to want to express his hatred and mockery towards him, but something forces him to close his eyes and enter a deep sleep.

  There will be no need to face each other again. That tree, without fruits, is useless.

  After crossing the portal, he sees Coldness Divine as if nothing had happened. So indifferent, so cold, sometimes he thinks the love this woman feels for him is false.

  “The Boundless Fruit, it’s yours.”

  Coldness Divine observes the apple in her hands as if it were the most precious good in this world, reflecting a smile rarely seen. Later she returns to her senses and directs her gaze towards Lawrence’s eyes.

  “What was that?”

  But a dragon does not express concern for others, that she asked this question implies that, in her eyes, he is different from the rest. Someone special.

  After explaining what happened, along with the history behind this Forbidden Area, he urges her to consume the Boundless Fruit. If her innate ability is already incredible, what changes will occur after this enhancement? Lawrence feels as anxious as Coldness Divine herself.

  Bite after bite, the fruit feels in no way unique.

  It’s not until the last bite has been consumed that Coldness Divine frowns. Nothing, she feels no change in her body.

  “Hah… What I feared.”

  “Explain.”

  Coldness Divine gets angry at being the only one who doesn’t understand.

  Lawrence then says: “Your innate ability relies on regressions after your death, consequently… You have to die to know what changed.”

  “…”

  After understanding this, she returns to her usual cold face. She heard from Lawrence the changes that occurred in him, Serene Will, and Sky Petal after consuming the Boundless Fruit. The difference between them is clear, their innate ability can be activated whenever they wish, she is the only exception.

  “When a day has passed, I’ll check what has changed.”

  She turns around and leaves the basement. If her innate ability had any change… she would wish not to have to die constantly. It's not like that, everything will remain the same as before. Committing suicide just to find out what changed, her life increasingly loses more meaning.