Six months later...

On a medium-sized cliff at the secluded ranges of Dawnreach, a deep hum resonated throughout the area.

It wasn’t a tune or bashing, it was a quiet resonance. The type of resonance when you finally master something complex.

A few miles away from the cliff, a young man stood against a large bear. It was a Verth Wielding Stage Two bear.

GROWLLLL!!!!!

It bared its fangs and let out a feral roar against the young man standing before it. Its roar alone carried enough force to knock some strong branches out.

But the young man? He just smirked.

"Well, well, is this the same level of creature I struggled so much against when I went through the tribulation?"

The confidence and the tone could not be mistaken. Emperal took a step forward and blocked the bear’s path.

’Hmph, how arrogant."

The Infernal Dragon snorted in his mind. Emperal’s smile only widened when he heard this.

"Heh, learned from the best."

Saying that, he stretched his hand forward. In an instant, a small, dense white needle formed on his fingertips.

Without hesitation, he launched the needle towards the bear’s head. The huge bear snorted when it saw the needle and didn’t even attempt to shift its position.

The white needle ripped through the air and struck the bear straight between its brows.

WHOOSHHH!!

The bear didn’t even understand what happened. Before it could even think about anything further, its eyes blackened.

Thud!

It dropped on the ground...dead.

Emperal nodded in satisfaction when he saw this, "This energy is the best, it takes very little output of Soul Energy, but the lethality and deadliness are off the charts. Just a single needle killed a Verth Wielder Stage Three beast!"

Emperal muttered. The Infernal Dragon nodded when he heard this.

"Do not forget it took you more than four and a half months just to gather this energy, let alone give it a shape to it."

"Indeed, heh, now if I concentrate more. I can even condense a Soul Dagger. A single cut with that dagger and you are dead."

He felt a heavy rush of euphoria inside him; he finally felt a bit of liberation. It was like some invisible shackles were slowly shattering one by one.

His strong will and confidence soared so high that they even bordered on arrogance. But...

"Heh, despite the two useless bloods flowing inside me. I can feel my arrogance returning."

Emperal exhaled lightly. A few seconds later, his expression returned to normal. Just as he was about to collect the bear’s body, he suddenly snapped his head to the side—specifically towards his mansion.

There...a pair of intense golden eyes watched his movements like a hawk. Emperal smiled wryly when he saw this.

"This woman...she is still angry with me."

Taking a deep breath, he turned towards his mansion. His legs glowed for a second.

ZHOOOOP!!!!

BOOOOM!!!

Like a rocket, he shot forward with immense speed. Ripping through the space, he landed perfectly in front of Soleine.

Who stared at him blankly.

Emperal also stared back, not backing down. The contest continued for a few more minutes until Emperal sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, alright. I understand."

He waved his hand, and an object appeared in his hand. Seeing the object, Soleine went still for a second.

"T-This, is this for...me?"

She couldn’t help but ask; her breathing became heavy as she stared at Emperal.

In his hand, there was a...hairpin. It was a phoenix, a pitch-black phoenix with precise white designs on it. Its carvings were simply a...masterpiece.

"Here, my first gift to you." A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he handed her the pin. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He had spent almost a month completing this, not all day, but he did dedicate a few hours a day to it.

It was made from the same Ashenfields mineral soil compounds. The phoenix rose from the pin’s base with its wings spread wide, its tail feathers trailing down along the pin’s length. It was pitch black, and there were some intricate carvings on it with genuine depth. The carvings were all white.

Yes, Emperal had done this with his Soul Needle. He had carved out everything with just his hands and fingers, nothing else.

That was one of the very reasons why his control over the needle had become so precise. But, hey. No one needed to know this useless information, right?

At the bottom, the Stormvein steel pin ran through the base; it was just two millimeters thin and was shimmering with blue-whitish lightning.

The black, the white, and the blue. The combination looked absolutely terrific, Emperal was sure most women would definitely melt when they saw this—especially when given as a gift.

And oh, melt—she did,

Soleine’s chest heaved up and down when she saw this; her intense golden eyes started shining and...swirling.

"A...gift, a handmade gift just for me?" She muttered. Emperal nodded when he heard that.

"For the earlier situation, to tell you that I like you more than that old thing."

He smiled. And oh boy, those words hit the spot perfectly.

It’s just that the people taking them had different reactions.

"Wow, brat, I didn’t think you would betray me outright for a woman?"

The Infernal Dragon shook his head inwardly.

But Emperal didn’t mind it and looked at Soleine.

"Did you like the gift? I know it is not much when we look at the amount I owe you."

There was a small smile at the corner of his lips when he said that, and that was the final move.

Soleine clutched his head and crashed her hungry, desperate lips onto Emperal’s.

This kiss was like a wildfire; it wasn’t the gentle one they previously had. It was hot, wet, and soul-stirring.

"Ahn~"

Soleine moaned softly into his mouth, further igniting his soul. Her soft, cloudy breasts heaved against his chest, her hardened nipples scraping against his well-built chest.

Emperal’s hand found her thin waist, and he gripped it tightly, further pushing her against him.

The passion bloomed; it was raw and unfiltered. The world narrowed down to just their lips.

Unknown to Soleine, Emperal’s eyes had turned far more intense than she could ever imagine.

Breaking the kiss, Emperal opened his jaw wide and...bit her!

"W-What are you doing~!!"